Most Recent: PC

Here’s the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles

Posted on May 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Activision and Treyarch unveiled the Zombies Chronicles expansion for Call of Duty: Black Ops III earlier this week, and now they’re back with a brand new gameplay trailer.

The Zombies Chronicles expansion goes back to the beginning of the popular co-op mode with eight rebuilt and remastered maps including “Nacht der Untoten,” “Verruckt,” “Shi No Numa,” “Kino Der Toten,” “Ascension,” “Shangri-La,” “Moon,” and “Origins.” It’ll be available to download for the PS4 on May 16, before coming to the PC and Xbox One later this Spring.

And in case you were wondering… yes, the trailer is soundtracked by a cover of Flock of Seagulls’s “I Ran (So Far Away).”

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Sega will bring Vanquish to the PC on May 25

Posted on May 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Shinji Mikami is best known for creating terrifying works of art like the Resident Evil and The Evil Within. But the prolific developer has also tried his hand at a number of action games over the years, including 2010’s underappreciated Vanquish.

But if you missed it the first time around, Sega announced that Vanquish will soon be available for the PC (through Steam) on May 25:

Directed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, Vanquish is a sci-fi shooter of epic proportion. Take control of DARPA operative Sam Gideon, who has been assigned a mission to battle legions of future-tech enemies using a vast arsenal of weapons. Vanquish boasts fluid and frenetic combat, spectacular melee moves, and intense speed, wrapped in a gripping story. Vanquish is the latest best practice conversion from Sega, and features a host of PC optimized options, including an unlocked framerate, 4K resolution support, extensive graphics options, and full keyboard and mouse support.

Best of all, Sega’s John Clark also revealed that even more Sega-published titles will soon be available for the PC.

“It was great to see the positive response from our community to the Bayonetta PC launch last month, and we are pleased that we are in a position to be able to announce Vanquish, another of our highly requested back catalog titles,” said Clark, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Publishing for Sega Europe. “There’s more to come from Sega in this space, so stay tuned for further announcements.”

Steam users who pre-order Vanquish before its May 25 launch date will also receive a five-song soundtrack sampler, character and enemy avatars, a digital art book, and exclusive wallpapers. On top of that, fans who already own Bayonetta on Steam will receive an additional 25% off when they pre-order Vanquish.

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Visor sees everything in the latest Quake Champions trailer

Posted on May 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Quake Champions “Large Scale Technical Test” begins this Friday, May 12, but Bethesda and id Software have decided to whet our appetite for destruction with a small appetizer… a sneak peek at the newest Champion to enter the Arena, Visor.

Here’s what players can expect when they encounter the “Cybernetic Clone,” straight from the developer:

Visor (Cybernetic Clone)
Now – let’s turn our attention to Visor. Another veteran Champion returning from the bloody halls of Quake III: Arena, this cybernetic clone is as cold as the Russian winters of his youth. His mutilated body — impervious to panic or pain — is the result of attempts by Moscow’s GRU to create the perfect infantry; his grafted mask is filled with putrefied blood that allows him to see through matter with his Piercing Sight Active Ability. And he has unlimited speed with his Passive Ability. That’s a vicious combination for Deathmatch and an absolute killer in Duel.

Active Ability – Piercing Sight: You can’t hide from Visor. Using his Piercing Sight Active Ability, Visor can briefly see through all matter, glimpsing foes as outlines running behind walls. You might think you’re sneaking up on Visor, but he’s probably waiting for you with a tasty Rail Gun gift. Твоё здоровье!

Passive Ability – Grasshopper: Speed kills. Are you sick of all those psychotic Anarkis hoverboarding around the Arenas, turning it “up to eleven” all over your face? Visor’s Passive evens the playing field. Grasshopper allows Visor to continually gain speed when strafe-jumping – with no cap. Skilled players will be able to keep up with anyone, even that drug-addled freak.

If you haven’t signed up for Quake Champions’s “Large Scale Technical Test” yet, there’s still time to request a key. All you have to do is head over to Quake.com now and fill out a short form.

Bethesda is also encouraging fans to join the “Large Scale Technical Test” so they can practice for the first Quake Champions tournament, which will be held at this year’s Quakecon. A qualifying round for the tournament, which will feature Duel and Sacrifice Mode, will be held in June.

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EA delays BioWare’s untitled next game and EA Sports UFC 3

Posted on May 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts hosted their quarterly financial report yesterday, and while the publisher was quite proud of their increased revenues, they also chose to delay two upcoming titles.

BioWare is fresh off the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and the developer was planning to launch a brand new game unconnected to any of their previous franchises in Early 2018. But according to CEO Andrew Wilson, that title has been pushed back to “Fiscal Year 2019” (April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019) to make it more “disruptive”:

Looking forward, we will continue our aggressive pace of innovation through experiences that capitalize on our technology, network and creativity. We are very pleased with the progress of our new action IP from BioWare. The design is stunning, gameplay mechanics are excellent, and the action will be exhilarating. This game is built around a live service, and through our creative process, we’ve decided to add more to the disruptive new social designs for our players. To accommodate that, we are moving the launch date for this project into Fiscal Year 2019.

Earlier in the same presentation, Wilson also confirmed that EA Sports UFC 3 won’t be released by the end of the year as originally planned. The fighting game is now scheduled to launch in Early 2018.

With the 2017 E3 Expo less than four weeks away, we’ll likely learn more about both of these games soon.

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New Agents of Mayhem trailer introduces the showboating “Franchise Force”

Posted on May 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

Volition wants to bring back the sugary goodness of Saturday Morning Cartoons this Summer with Agents of Mayhem. That mentality is definitely on display in this new trailer for the game, which introduces viewers to the “Franchise Force,” a trio of agents with big guns and bigger personalities:

As the “Face of MAYHEM,” Hollywood thinks of the agency as a franchise which needs to be marketed. With Fortune and Hardtack making up some of the first recruited agents, it only seemed natural the three of them should be the driving “force” behind that “franchise.” Thus Franchise Force was born! Of course, it also helps their combat capabilities complement each other well since Fortune is swift and damaging, Hardtack is tough and deadly at close range, and Hollywood combines both of the previous two traits with precision skill.

Volition wants to give players plenty of options for superheroics in Agents of Mayhem, and that includes the ability to create three-member Squads with instantaneous swapping, “allowing the best agent for a particular fight or task in your squad of three to replace the currently active one.” Sounds very similar to another “Saturday Morning” game from the NES era… 1989’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Agents of Mayhem will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 15.

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Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels expansion is now available

Posted on May 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

If you’re a Hot Wheels fan, you’re likely very familiar with the massive orange tracks and loop-the-loops that have become the brand’s signature accessory over the years. Starting today, you can transport that same style of racing into Forza Horizon 3 with the brand new Hot Wheels expansion.

Available as part of Forza Horizon 3’s Season Pass (or as a standalone download for $19.99), the Hot Wheels expansion includes a very unique new locale to explore:

The Horizon Festival and Hot Wheels have teamed up to create the ultimate playground for cars! Located off the coast of Australia, this chain of islands is here to make your Hot Wheels fantasies come to life with loops, corkscrews, boost pads, high bank turns, half-pipes, insane jumps – and even mechanical dinosaurs! Use the new Stunt Swap feature to modify stunt track sections and dare your friends to try them. Race ten new cars including Hot Wheels icons like the Twin Mill and Boneshaker. Discover a new hidden barn find car, earn new Xbox Live achievements, and more.

To celebrate its launch, developers from Playground Games will showcase Forza Horizon 3’s Hot Wheels expansion during a special livestream scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time) today. Tune in to watch it on Beam or Twitch.

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Open Beta for Quake Champions begins on May 12

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

Bethesda Softworks and id Software have announced that everyone will get the chance to try out a pre-release version of Quake Champions beginning this Friday, May 12. Officially known as the “Large Scale Technical Test” (a fancy-smancy term for an Open Beta), you can sign up to receive your key at Quake.com now.

The Large Scale Tech Test will remain open continuously until Sunday, May 21, so PC players will get ten full days in the Arena. They’ll also have access to a brand new game type, Sacrifice Mode. Unlike a typical Free-For-All match, Sacrifice Mode is a 4v4, team-based competitive mode.

Finally, Bethesda confirmed that they’re dropping the non-disclosure agreement that beta participants had to agree to on May 12. So you’ll soon get to hear what everyone thinks of Quake Champions so far.

A full release for Quake Champions is still planned for later this year.

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Capcom unveils a trailer for Ed, Street Fighter V’s next downloadable fighter

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

Street Fighter V‘s 2017 Season Pass continues to roll on with the reveal of Ed, the young commander of Bison’s Shadaloo forces. Raised by Balrog, Ed’s boxing prowess is augmented by Bison’s Psycho Power, which you can see in his embedded debut trailer.

Introduced to the franchise in Street Fighter IV, Ed is a rather unique character in that his special moves are performed with “simultaneous button presses, repeatedly pressing a button, or holding down a button.” A lengthy rundown of Ed’s fighting style was posted on the Capcom-Unity blog this morning:

Character Overview
At a young age, Ed was kidnapped and experimented on by S.I.N., a division of Shadaloo, in order to become a replacement body for M. Bison. Many of you might remember a young Ed appearing in Rose’s Street Fighter IV story and Balrog’s story in Super Street Fighter IV. Due to the experiments, Ed’s body ages faster than normal humans until they are old enough to be suited for battle. Since Balrog raised Ed, his fighting is centered on boxing but since he carries M. Bison’s genes, his fighting style is enhanced by Psycho Power.

Night after night he is troubled by Bison’s ghost, and struggles desperately to prevent M. Bison from possessing his body.

V-Skill: Psycho Snatcher
Ed releases Psycho Power from his palm, pulling himself or opponents depending on how long he charges it up.

V-Trigger: Psycho Cannon
With a full V-meter, Ed releases an enormous amount of Psycho Power. He can follow alongside it, allowing him to pepper in shots when it connects with the opponent.

Critical Art: Psycho Barrage
Ed lunges forward with a series of punches. If at any point he connects, he’ll continue weaving around the opponent, slipping in quick combinations of Psycho-punches ending with a powerful uppercut.

Street Fighter V fans will get their first chance to go toe-to-toe with Ed this weekend during the next Capcom Fighters Network beta test. The test includes access to all previously-released characters, and it’ll run from Thursday, May 11, through Sunday, May 14, on the PC and PS4.

A final release date for Ed will be announced “in the coming weeks.”

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