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Transformers is Free on Google Play
It's Google Play's birthday, and it's giving away free HD copies of Transformers to celebrate. Happy birthday Google Play!
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Mars May Once Have Had a Massive Ocean
NASA scientists have discovered Mars may once have had a massive ocean covering half of its northern hemisphere.
The research looked at the planet 4.5 billion years in the past and calculated that the water could have been 450 feet (137 meters) deep, according to Ars Technica. However, since the planet is not completely flat, scientists believe that the water likely pooled in the lower depressions of the planet's northern hemisphere, covering about a fifth of the Martian surface.
Legend of Zelda Gear Available in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Now
The first free DLC pack for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is available now, complete with Link's sword, shield and bow, along with a variety of quests and equipment.
The pack includes 14 new quests and 11 new weapons, including the aforementioned Hero of Time gear, as well as the winners of Capcom's Weapon Design Contest: Emperor's Speech and Clockwork.
Check out the complete list of additions below:
• 4 Complete armor sets (8 including Blademaster and Gunner)
• 2 Palico armor sets
• 1 Palico weapon
• 1 bonus Palico: Calico Red
Hearthstone Coming to iPhone; Blackrock Mountain Adventure Announced
A new expansion for Hearthstone, titled Blackrock Mountain, was revealed by Blizzard today at PAX East. The company also announced iPhone and Android versions of its wildly popular digital card game are on the way.
Blackrock Mountain is made up of five wings, each containing bosses with unique cards and abilities. The expansion also brings with it thirty-one new cards you'll be able to earn by defeating the seventeen bosses.
Also included are nine new class challenges and a new game board unique to Blackrock Mountain.
The five new wings will be released over the course of five weeks, with a new wing being released each week. Each wing can be purchased for 700 in-game gold or $7 USD.
Two New Overwatch Characters and Beta Details Revealed
Today at a PAX East Blizzard panel, the developer revealed two new Overwatch characters, a map, and more details about the beta.
The two new characters are McCree and Zarya, both pictured below. McCree is a bounty hunter (or a "BAMF" if his belt buckle is to be believed) who blasts enemies with his speedy six-shooter and hits every enemy in sight with his ultimate skill.
Zarya is a tanky soldier from the Russian Defense Forces. Her particle cannon fires beams of energy, sets up protective barriers, and launches gravity bombs. Blizzard commented on Zarya's bulky character model -- a far cry from many of the lean female characters seen in games -- saying she is a response to the community's call for more diversity in games.
GTA 5 to Launch With New Music on PC
A collection of new music for Grand Theft Auto V, titled The Alchemist and Oh No Present: Welcome to Los Santos, will debut alongside the PC version of the game on April 14, Rockstar Games announced today.
The album, which features music from Earl Sweatshirt, Little Dragon, Phantogram, Freddie Gibbs, Popcaan, Killer Mike, and more, can be heard on a new in-game radio station hosted by underground hip-hop artists The Alchemist and Oh No, called The Lab.
Bates Motel is Back and Norman’s Not Well
As Bates Motel has progressed, we’ve seen Norman Bates go to increasingly dark places, as he makes some changes for the worse - and that looks to continue in the new season, beginning Monday.
On a visit to the set of the show this past fall, Bates Motel executive producer Kerry Ehrin remarked, “Season 3 is very much about the characters trying to figure out right and wrong, walking through that kind of murky terrain. Norman definitely is getting to a point where he is more torn between two parts of him and in a lot of ways, it’s about the battle for his soul and for who he is. Norma is going through a lot of enlightenment. In a weird way, Norma has become so much stronger since we first met her and she’s starting to develop the ability to look at the truth a little bit, which she’s never been strong enough to do before. So that’s a really interesting development for her character.”
Valve’s Steam Controller Isn’t for Console Gamers
Valve’s Steam Controller design is finalized and set to ship this year, and I don’t think it’s a controller console gamers are going to like. Its layout is unconventional and its form is unfamiliar, but more importantly, it makes games feel like they’re under the control of a mouse.
In short, limited bursts, I played Epic Games’ latest Unreal Tournament, Monolith’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and Croteam’s The Talos Principle using the new hardware. Some succeed much better than others.
The Talos Principle relies on logic to navigate its world, so casually navigating its environments with the left analog stick, and looking around with the right track-pad, felt about as natural as expected. The track-pad operates like a trackball in flat, soft form, so a quick swipe on the rubbery pad sends the camera spinning, depending on your thumb’s aggression. It’s easy to make precise movements, like looking up at a turret, or to grab objects in the world, but there’s still a twitchy sense to the “looking” part of playing. The movement of the camera looked like it might if you used a mouse with low DPI features, or on a small mousepad. Adjusting sensitivities could solve this, but I had limited exposure to modified settings while using the device.
Star Wars: Building a Better EU
One of the great things about Star Wars is that it's become so much bigger than just the movies. There are countless novels, comics, and games that comprise the Expanded Universe. Star Wars: The Clone Wars and its successor, Star Wars: Rebels, have done a great job of growing the universe on the small screen. And with Disney's purchase of the franchise and the establishment of the Lucasfilm Story Group, there's no longer a need for the term "Expanded Universe." Everything going forward - the film sequels, the TV shows, the novels and comics - is all part of one Disney-approved whole. However, as Disney sets about building their unified Star Wars universe, they need to take care to avoid the mistakes of the old Expanded Universe.
Plague Knight Changes Everything About Shovel Knight
The new expansion for Shovel Knight, called Plague of Shadows, is exactly what we want from Shovel Knight. As one of our favorite games from 2014, any add-on would get us excited, but playing as one of the original game's bosses is really exciting.
Playing as Plague Knight makes Shovel Knight feel totally different -- he throws potions, double-jumps, and super-jumps to traverse more effectively than our original hero. And, without a shovel to bounce around with, the platforming is fundamentally different than we're used to.
For more on Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, stay tuned to IGN.