How developers make use of Project Scorpio’s power is up to them, Microsoft says. That sounds good, but how far does it go? Microsoft’s Xbox engineering lead Mike Ybarra expanded on this on Twitter on Friday. Ybarra said that “developers are free to choose how they use the power of Project Scorpio for games,” adding that Microsoft has “no requirements limiting frame or fidelity.” A...
Activision’s reveal of the Destiny 2 PC build went off without a hitch this past weekend, and perhaps the biggest news of all was that the game would be coming exclusively to Blizzard’s longtime online host Battle.net. The legendary service will be the only place that PC gamers can buy and play the game, not allowing it to come to other outlets such as Steam or Amazon. Bungie’s rare...
When I think back through my experiences with Arkane Studios' Prey, and try to lay them all out for easy digestion, I feel like I'm talking about a few different games. They each have a crossover with the others, but they also diverge from each other at times. I think it's worth talking about them separately. But first, some context. I don't want to risk spoiling some of the context...
Has it really almost been a full year since Overwatch launched? “Yes,” responds Father Time, “it has. You’re dying.” While we all enjoy this slow death, let’s pace it out with some video games! Overwatch is turning a year old, and Blizzard is celebrating with a litany of content. That includes a free weekend of play, sale of a Game of the Year edition (which looks a lot like the...
When we venture into space in video games, it’s usually in something small, fast, and decidedly airplane-like in configuration. Yager Interactive’s Dreadnought goes a very different direction. If you’ve ever wanted to take charge of a massive space cruiser, Dreadnought is your poison. And now, it’s out in open beta on PC, free to anyone who wants to try it out...
Being a kid, when you haven't yet figured out what's real and what isn't, is equal parts magical and terrifying. The imaginary creatures that live under your bed might as well be real. Strangers all look weird – they're not mom, and not-mom is terrifying – and even your own home can have unfamiliar areas and dark corners. That's where Little Nightmares starts: the terrifying experience...
Look around you. Can you see them? Those people around you are gamers. At least, two out of three of them are, according to a report from Nielsen, the group known primarily for its TV ratings. 64 percent of the United States population, aged 13 and older, are gamers, Nielsen says. That’s up from 58 percent in 2012. Nielsen attributes this to growing choices in both software and...
We talked the other day about how Quake Champions is trying to reclaim the legacy of the first person shooter it started along with Doom and Wolfenstein back in the 90s. While id Software is doing everything it can to stay relevant, other, smaller developers are celebrating that era of games, each in their own way. Two upcoming shooters look to reclaim everything about those shooters,...
Yooka-Laylee didn’t live up to expectations on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Critics mauled it for a choppy camera angle, insufferable character voices, and design choices that haven’t evolved since the era it was aimed at. Luckily, two of those can, and will, be fixed with a patch, and one doesn’t have to be. Which one is that? Well, the idea that the game hasn’t kept up with...
“Man, Reinhardt’s ultimate is so broken!” That’s something I’ve heard in chorus since essentially the launch of Overwatch. The Earthshatter smashes the ground and puts everyone in its path down for a while so Rein and his team can dish out some significant damage. A good Earthshatter can result in a team wipe, so it really stinks when it catches you while you think you’re safe. Well,...