All Articles: Doom (2016)

Overwatch wins Game of the Year at 2016 Game Awards

gameawards-statueThe 2016 Game Awards were filled with surprises, but I’m sure no one was shocked when Blizzard’s Overwatch walked away with the most statuettes last night, including the coveted “Game of the Year” prize. The popular online shooter also won the “Best Multiplayer” award, as well as the fan-voted “Best eSports Game” award. And Blizzard was honored for their development work on Overwatch with the “Best Game Direction” award.

Naughty Dog and id Software also had a good night with two wins apiece. The familial tale at the center of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End won “Best Narrative” and Nolan North won “Best Performance” for his final turn as Nathan Drake. Meanwhile, Doom blasted its way into the spotlight with wins in the “Best Music/Sound Design” and the “Best Action Game” categories.

Playdead’s Inside (“Best Art Direction” and “Best Independent Game”) and Pokemon Go (“Best Mobile/Handheld Game” and “Best Family Game”) also earned multiple awards last night at the Game Awards.

Congratulations to all the nominees, and the full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)

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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End leads the way at 2016 Game Awards with eight nominations

gameawards-statueWe’re rapidly approaching the end of the year, and that means the 2016 Game Awards are right around the corner. The Game Awards will once again be produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, who will honor this year’s best games and look to the future with a number of huge World Premieres, including the first gameplay footage from BioWare’s Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Before we blast off to a far away galaxy, let’s stop and recognize Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which received eight nominations this year from the Game Awards Advisory Board. In addition to “Game of the Year,” Nathan Drake’s final adventure is also up for “Best Game Direction,” “Best Art Direction,” “Best Narrative,” and “Best Action/Adventure Game,” along with a “Best Performance” nomination for all three of the game’s main performers.

Uncharted 4 will compete with some of 2016’s biggest titles for “Game of the Year” at the 2016 Game Awards including Doom, Inside, Overwatch, and Titanfall 2.

“The Game Awards is all about celebrating the state of video game art,” said Keighley. “In just a few short weeks we will recognize the most outstanding games of 2016 in unexpected ways, and preview the most anticipated games of 2017 and beyond with the longest, most in-depth world premieres we’ve ever attempted… including surprises and new game announcements.”

The Game Awards will be held on December 1 at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time), and fans can watch the show through their favorite video streaming service or at TheGameAwards.com. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

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Doom gets doomier… Hell Followed multiplayer expansion and Free Update 4 are now available to download

Id Software is bringing some hell-raising new content to Doom this weekend with the launch of Hell Followed, the game’s second multiplayer expansion. Priced at $14.99, and available to download now, Hell Followed adds three new multiplayer maps to the game, as well as a new Demon Rune (the Cacodemon), a new weapon (the demonic Reaper), new equipment (the Threat Pulse), and a variety of additional Armor Sets, Patterns, Colors, and Taunts.

Doom: Hell Followed – New Multiplayer Maps

  • Argent Breach – Battle among ancient burial ruins of the Night Sentinels, where statues of heroes past overlook the machinery of a fallen society.
  • Molten – Clash in a world littered with volcanic temples and fight inside a crumbling facility dedicated to harnessing energy from the lava that envelopes the entire planet.
  • Orbital – Fight in low gravity aboard a robotic station in deep space. Surprise opponents from above, but be careful not to fall into the vastness of space below.

Doom fans will be able to put this new content through its paces this weekend with a Double XP Weekend that begins tomorrow at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time) and ends just in time for trick or treating at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time) on October 31.

And in case you missed it, the developers also recently released Doom’s “Free Update 4,” which includes the score-based Arcade Mode, as well as two new multiplayer modes (“Bloodrush” and “Possession”) and Classic Doom Modules for the SnapMap creation tool. A trailer for “Free Update 4” can be found after the break. (more…)

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Doom’s “Free Update 3” adds Deathmatch, Private Matches, and Custom Matches

Doom‘s third “Free Update” is now available and players of the game’s multiplayer mode will finally get the chance to compete in a free-for-all Deathmatch. The inclusion of Deathmatch in the original Doom is one of the things that put the 1993 shooter on the map, so it’s great to finally see it added to this year’s reboot.

“Free Update 3” will also add an option to create Private Matches in multiplayer, as well as Custom Matches that’ll allow players to adjust “the modes, maps, length of play time and other match settings.”

To celebrate these changes, id Software has unveiled a new trailer for Doom, and kicked off a Double XP Weekend for multiplayer players. The Double XP Weekend begins today and will run until Monday, September 26, at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time).

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Almost three years after its release, GTA5 was NPD’s best-selling game in July 2016

grandtheftautov-box-largeWith a sweltering Summer in full swing, game publishers mostly skipped the month of July. And nowhere is this more evident than the monthly NPD ranking of best-selling games, which was topped by Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, a game that was originally released almost three years ago. The only new release to crack the top ten in July was Capcom’s Monster Hunter Generations, which claimed the #4 spot.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD analyst Sam Naji said: “Lack of strong new titles for the month resulted with poor comparison with last July’s Batman: Arkham Knight with consumers spending 14 percent less year-on-year on hardware, software and accessories. However, the release of Monster Hunter: Generations and the price drop for the 2DS helped to bolster spending for 3DS and 2DS hardware by 44%”

While brand new titles were a rare sight in the NPD’s July 2016 top ten, new-ish titles like Overwatch (#2), Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3), and Doom (#8) continue to be popular with shoppers.

The NPD Group continued their foray into tracking sales of digital downloads last month, though Capcom, Mojang, Bethesda, and Blizzard (for Battle.net sales) chose not to participate.

A full look at July 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)

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Doom’s Free Update 2 is now available; Unto the Evil DLC Pack launches next week

Doom is going to unleash Hell on Earth over the next seven days.

Let’s start with today, and that’s because id Software has now pushed out Free Update 2 to all players. The shooter’s second major patch will add two new multiplayer modes to the game (“Exodus,” a one-flag Capture the Flag Mode, and “Sector,” an objective-based Capture and-Hold Mode), as well as a series of new building blocks for SnapMap.

Also beginning today is Doom’s first Double XP Weekend. Players will be able to collect the extra XP from now until Monday, August 1.

In addition to shining a spotlight on Free Update 2, a new trailer for Doom gave us a sneak peek at the Unto the Evil DLC Pack, which we now know will be available on Friday, August 15. Available as part of Doom’s Season Pass (or as a standalone download for $14.99), the DLC Pack will include three new multiplayer maps (“Offering,” “Cataclysm,” and “Ritual”), as well as a new Demon Rune (the Harvester), weapon (the UAC EMG Pistol), piece of equipment (the Kinetic Mine), Hack Modules, and new customization options.

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Overwatch climbs to the top of the NPD’s list of best-selling games for June 2016

overwatch-header

June is typically a slow period for new game releases, but The NPD Group’s look at last month’s best-selling games proves just how slow it was. According to tracking firm, consumer spending on games was down 20% from last year, when Batman: Arkham Knight launched to strong reviews and even stronger sales.

To make matters worse, the only new release to crack the top ten were Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3) and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst (#5). But that means the path to the top of the list was clear for Overwatch, which rode a wave of support from fans to become June 2016’s best-selling game. Grand Theft Auto V (#2) and Doom (#4) rounded out the top five.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in June, as NPD Analyst Liam Callahan told GamesIndustry.biz: “After 32 months since the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, the combined cumulative hardware sales for these two consoles exceed the sales of [the PS3 and Xbox 360] by 40% at the same point in their lifecycles.”

However, the biggest news this month might be the new way that the NPD reports their monthly sales data. Provided a publisher supplies the numbers, the company has agreed to begin integrating digital sales into their monthly tally. Most publishers have already signed on, though Bethesda, Sony, and Mojang remain holdouts, and Blizzard has decided not to share sales data from Battle.net.

A complete look at last months top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)

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Xbox Store Today: Trials of the Blood Dragon, Monkey King Saga, E3 Demos

If you’re looking for new games on the Xbox Games Store this week, you won’t find much, but you will find a handful of new games and a few E3 demos that are definitely worth talking about.

First up is Trials of the Blood Dragon (Xbox One), Ubisoft and RedLynx’s mashup that combines “the top notch gameplay of Trials with the unique style and attitude of Blood Dragon.” That means players can expect a lot of side-scrolling stunt action set within a ridiculously over-the-top universe. But I guess that’s to be expected when your main character is named Rex Power Colt. Also available this week is Monkey King Saga (Xbox One), a top-down tower defense game based on the Journey to the West, one of history’s earliest novels.

However, if you’d rather try out a few free games this week, both id Software and WB Games have added new demos to the Xbox Games Store this week in honor of the E3 Expo. Doom was released a month ago, but anyone who skipped out on the gloriously gory first person shooter can try out the first level now. Meanwhile, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in two weeks, but fans can try it out now.

More information on both of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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