The Division’s Post Launch Content Revealed


Posted on March 3, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Ubisoft has announced that three paid expansions will be coming to Tom Clancy’s The Division after the game launches. The first titled “underground” will hit the June followed by “survival” which is due out in the summer and finally “Last Stand” will come out before the end of the year on all platforms. Each of these expansions, at least based upon the descriptions provided, will differ greatly. Survival seems to have players defending themselves against waves of enemies while underground will have agents exploring the New York City subways.

Here is how Ubisoft’s press release described each add-on:

Expansion I: Underground
Available in June, this first major expansion lets players explore the uncharted underworld of New York City. Players will chase deadly enemies with up to three other Agents through an endless maze of tunnels and subways.

Expansion II: Survival
Available this summer, this expansion will challenge players to survive as long as possible by gathering essential supplies in a very hostile environment.

Expansion III: Last Stand
Next winter, a new threat rises as players and their squad must prepare to defend against a relentless foe.

Not all of the post release content will be paid, however. Ubisoft will also release at least 2 major updates to the game that will add end-game content, new features to the Dark Zone and a brand new item trading system.

Here is a more in-depth description of the Incursion and Conflict free updates:

Incursions: In April, the first free update will introduce the first incursion, a new challenging end-game activity developed specifically for squad play. Teams will be able to test their skills as they face seemingly unstoppable enemies to gain high-level weapons and equipment. This update will also add one of the community’s most-wanted feature, loot trading; allowing players in the same group to trade loot collected during a co-op game session.

Conflict: In May, the second free update will add new features to the Dark Zone and add a new incursion in the iconic Columbus Circle.

Tom Clancy’s The Division will be out next Tuesday, March 8th, for Xbox One, Windows PC and PlayStation 4.

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Paragon Early Access Founders Pass & Beta Weekends Detailed


Posted on March 3, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Epic Games sent out an email blast to everyone who has signed up for the Paragon open beta this afternoon informing them that an early access Founders Pack is now available. If you don’t want to put down the $19.99 USD for the early access pass Epic will also be holding free beta weekends before the open beta’s launch.

In part here is what the email read:

As someone who has signed up for the beta, even if you don’t want to buy a Founder’s Pack, you will be invited to free Beta Weekends during the Early Access Season.

You can also choose to buy a Founder’s Pack starting on March 14, and begin playing March 18. We’ll have more details on Founder’s Packs and Beta Weekends soon. If you’d rather wait, the game will be in free Open Beta in the summer of 2016.

Steve Superville from Epic Games also took to Reddit this morning to further explain the announcement. All heroes and cards in the game can be earned for free only by playing the game and Epic will monetize the game by selling skins, emotes and other non-gameplay changing add-ons in addition to providing paid early access.

There are two other packs available if you want to put down a little bit more cash – the Challenger Pack and Master Pack which Steve described like this:

Founder’s Packs will cost $19.99, and include access to the game, skins, boosts, and other cosmetic items you can unlock by playing. Challenger Packs ($59.99) and Master Packs ($99.99) will include a huge number of skins, unlockable items, boosts, a unique skin, and a Founder’s Pack to give to a friend. We’ll be sharing complete details soon.

What do you think about the monetization and paid founder’s access to Paragon? The open beta will begin sometime later this summer and the founder’s pack will be available on March 14th. We’ll bring you our hands-on impressions once we get access to the game.


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Bethesda Crafts Fallout Shelter Version 1.4


Posted on March 3, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Fallout Shelter

The surprise mobile hit Fallout Shelter has been updated to version 1.4 according to a press release that Bethesda released this morning. This brand new release offers players the chance to check out a crafting system for the first time. Overseers can turn the useless junk that their vault dwellers might have laying around into useful items to help them survive. Other enhancements include new rooms like the barbershop which will allow you to customize the look of any dweller as well as new pieces of fashion and pets.

Fallout Shelter was one of the many surprises Bethesda had in store for fans at 2015’s E3 conference. The game was immediately announced and release the same day and allows players to take on the role of an overseer, building and expanding one of the universe’s many fallout shelters. The game has been among one of the most played titles in Apple’s app store and has grossed over $5.1 million dollars in microtransaction related purchases. It is available for both ios and Android.

VaultBoy

Here are the partial patch notes that Bethesda released today:

· Turn worthless junk into useful items! Introducing… crafting!
· New Rooms! Build the new Weapon and Armor crafting rooms and use them to create your own items in game!
· Lunchboxes now contain a bonus 5th card: Junk! Trust us – it’s more useful than it sounds. Lucky wasteland explorers may also find junk on their adventures.
· Take the Overseer role to the next level. Build the new Barbershop and customize the look of any Dweller.
· Keep up with the latest fashions! Find new Outfits and Weapons straight from Fallout 4 in lunchboxes, or craft them yourself!
· Because four-legged companions bring overwhelming happiness, we’ve added new Dogs and Cats, and are introducing… Parrots! Plus, new Pet bonuses!
· Time of day is now properly reflected. Because authentic Vault simulation is our #1 goal!

Source: Bethesda Press Release


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New Nintendo Direct Later Today, Covers 3DS & Wii-U


Posted on March 3, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Nintendo will be holding a surprise Nintendo Direct video presentation later today that will focus on titles for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U. They have stated that this presentation will include titles for both platforms that are due out by the end of the summer but will not include any information on the companies’ plans for mobile phones or their upcoming Nintendo NX Console.

Things kick off later today at 5PM EST / 3PM MST / 10 PM GMT and will be broadcast on the official Nintendo sites for North America, Europe and Japan.

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What do you think Nintendo will announce? We already know that Pokemon Moon & Pokemon Sun are slated for release in Winter 2016 so any new details on those two titles is unlikely. Perhaps Ninty will surprise everyone with a few often requested Virtual Console releases? With Nintendo it is really anyone’s guess.

Here are a few titles that are currently scheduled for the first half of 2016 from Nintendo:

Metroid Prime: Federation Force (3DS)
Star Fox Zero (Wii U)
Bravely Second (3DS) / Published By Square Enix
Hyrule Warriors: Legends (3DS)

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Phil Spencer: There May Be Room For Large Hardware Upgrades For Xbox One


Posted on March 2, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phil Spencer

Microsoft’s Xbox One platform was center stage last week when the software giant held a games’ centric press event in San Francisco to show how exclusives on Xbox One and Windows PC could be developed & released simultaneously. Sure demonstrations like Remedy’s upcoming Quantum Break and Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport 6: Apex running on both platforms showcase how titles can run great on both platforms, but what happens when the available PC hardware outclasses the nearly three-year-old Xbox One?

The answer, according to Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer is how in how Microsoft looks at the Xbox One platform as a whole. Rather than looking at things through the traditional 5 – 7 year console generation framework that has existed since the 1980s, Microsoft is thinking about the Xbox One similar to how consumer mobile phones are approached. This could potentially mean substantial hardware updates without breaking backwards compatibility thanks to Xbox One’s universal application structure that was introduced alongside Windows 10.

Speaking to Polygon Spencer had this to say about where the future of Xbox One’s hardware may be heading:

“We look at these other ecosystems out there like mobile, tablet and PC and we see that they have a very continuous evolution cycle in hardware, whereas between console generations most of the evolution is making it cheaper and potentially making it smaller.

 Both are meaningful but don’t make the games play any better. If you look at PC specifically and see the evolution that happens there, there’s no reason why console can’t ride that same curve.”

No solid details in regards to what we could see from a potential Xbox 1.5 in the future. Perhaps it will be powered by the next generation Polaris APUs from AMD? Right now it’s all speculation but here’s hoping that Microsoft has paid attention to previous attempts to supercharge existing consoles with add-ons, lest the next Xbox One iteration become Microsoft’s 32X.


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Resident Evil Sale Causes Deals To Rise From The Grave On PSN


Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

News of a Resident Evil 6 re-release on PlayStation 4 isn’t the only reason to resurrect your interest in this series starring the undead. Capcom has discounted nearly every RE title available on PlayStation 3, 4 and Vita including the recently released Resident Evil Zero HD edition.

Perhaps battling the undead isn’t your thing? Well, Tecmo-Koei is offering a discount on the entire roster of DOA 5: Last Round for PlayStation 3 & 4. If you’d like to try their newest fighter and don’t want to spend any cash you could also download Dead or Alive: Last Round Core Fighters which includes four fighters out of the gate with most game modes available, plus as an added bonus this week Tecmo Koei has made Jan Lee a free downloadable permanent unlock (available this week only).

If you’re looking for more gratis gameplay the March slate of PlayStation Plus titles including Broforce (PS4), Galak-Z (PS4) & others is also now live on the store.

Here’s a selection of some of this week’s best PSN deals:

Full Games On Sale

store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com (PS4) – $12.99 USD
Resident Evil Zero HD (PS4) – $15.99 USD
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (PS4) Season’s Pass (includes most DLC / All chapters) – $9.99 USD
Resident Evil 6 (PS3) – $6.99 USD
Resident Evil 5 PS3 Deluxe (Includes Lost In Nightmare DLC) – $10.49 USD
Resident Evil 4 (PS3) – $6.99 USD
Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City – $4.99 USD

Select Add-Ons On Sale

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round Character Jan Lee – Free
Resident Evil Revelations 2 Costume Packs – $2.50 USD Each
Resident Evil 2 Raid Mode Throwback Map Pack – $2.49 USD
Resident Evil 20th Anniversary PS4 Theme – Free


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Forza Motorsport 6: Apex Coming For Free To Windows 10


Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Forza Motorsport

Microsoft held a behind closed doors press event last week to showcase upcoming games & technologies coming to Windows PC and Xbox One. Among the announcements, set to be unveiled later today at 9PM EST, is the fact that a free version of last year’s Forza: Motorsport 6 will be coming to Windows 10 for free.

In a now removed Seattle Times article which was accidently posted before the event’s embargo reporter Matt Day summarizes Forza Motorsport 6: Apex as a “a slimmed down version of its Xbox cousin, will be released free to users of Windows 10 this spring.” Day continues that Microsoft hopes that Forza Motorsport 6: Apex will be a showcase for what Windows 10 powered gaming rigs can do.

Forza isn’t the only previously Xbox One exclusive franchise to make the jump to Microsoft’s longest running product.  Killer Instinct season 3, the third batch of add-on content for the 2013 Xbox One brawler, will make the leap later this month. Developer Iron Galaxy Studios recently unveiled that Halo’s The Arbiter will be playable once Season 3 releases.

Expect more news from the Microsoft press event when the embargo drops in a few short hours.

 


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StarCraft II World Championship Series Premiere League Begins Tomorrow


Posted on March 1, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void’s World Championship Series winter season culminates in a 32 player premiere league finale that kicks off tomorrow.  These 32 highly skilled finalists have honed their strats &  stretched their clicking fingers through both the WCS Regional Qualifiers and WCS Challenger rounds to prove that they are some of the best in the world.

What’s on the line? $35,000 for first place and 3,000 WCS points.  These points are used to determine who the final finalists will be who compete at the WCS Global Finals at the end of the year.

WCS2

Here’s a peek at some of the prizes on the line at this week’s winter finale:

1st Place
$35,000 USD & 3,000 WCS Points

2nd Place
$15,000 USD & 1,400 WCS Points

3rd & 4th Place
$10,000 USD & 900 WCS Points

Even if you don’t follow the current StarCraft II meta, which some of us just don’t have the time or dedication to do, watching high-level play can still be enjoyable. It’s hard not to get swept up in the excitement as the tension between players rise in a long match, or that one moment when a player pulls off an unlikely strategy and absolutely crushes their opponent.

If you want to read up on WCS rules, bracketing structure and how players advance you can check out the official BlizzardWCS site or this thread. We’ll update this story with links / embeds of WCS streams as soon as they come online.


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Minecraft 1.9 ‘Combat Update’ Out Now On PC


Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Minecraft 1.9

Mojang has just released the latest update for the smash hit Minecraft. Version 1.9 brings a number of changes to how combat works including the addition of shields, attacking now has a cool-down and several new weapon types like tipped arrows. It’s not all fun & games in the latest addition however as new mobs & content threaten to devour would be adventurers. A brand new mob called the “Shulker” now lurks around the world of Minecraft.

Here is a small selectin of changes that V1.9 brings according to the Mohjang Blog:

  • Added shields
  • Attacking now has a “cool-down” delay, making it more important to time your attacks
  • You can now hold items in both hands (default quick key to swap items is ‘F’)
  • Swords have a special sweep attack
  • Axes have a special crushing blow attack
  • Added the elytra
  • New mob: Shulker
  • Expanded The End
  • Added Chorus plants
  • New Purpur blocks
  • New End Rod block
  • Added dragon head block
  • Ender Dragon can be resummoned
  • Added beetroot and beetroot soup (from MC:PE)
  • Added grass path block
  • Added igloos
  • Armor protection values have been lowered
  • Added tipped arrows
  • Added spectral arrows
  • Added Frost Walker enchantment and frosted ice block
  • Added a whole bunch of new sound effects
  • Added sound effect subtitles
  • Brewing Stand now requires Blaze Powder to activate
  • Added skeleton riders
  • We believe we’ve fixed MC-10 and a whole bunch of other issues
  • Removed Herobrine

Don’t forget that Minecraft creator, and indie dev turned billionaire, Markus ‘Notch’ Persson will be receiving the pioneer award at next month’s Game Developer’s Awards as part of GDC 2016 in San Francisco. The whole thing will be livestreamed on Twitch.TV so if you are unable to make it in person, you can view the next best thing over the net while waiting for a creeper to blow up your house.


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HTC Vive Pre-Orders Go Online @ $1200 Canadian


Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

HTC Vive

The impressive VR system that is aware of your movements across an entire room, the HTC Vive is now available for pre-order and they ship to Canada! If you’ve got $1200 dollars laying around then you too can be one of the first to experience consumer ready Virtual Reality.

HTC VIVE Canada

In terms of hardware specs the Vive’s head mounted display contains two 1080×1200 displays each set for 90Hz – meaning your VR games should no at no less than 90 FPS for an optimal experience. Your movement in 3-D space is calculated thanks to an onboard camera and a separate “lighthouse” sensor pods that is placed within your room.

Anyone have a spare $1200 I can borrow?

Here are the official minimum specs for the HTC Vive:

HTC Vive

  • Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 or better
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 4590 or AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • RAM: 4GB or more
  • Video port: HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, or better
  • USB port: 1 USB 2.0 or faster port
  • Windows 7 SP1 or newer

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Titanfall 2 Retail Displays Deploy Without Notice – Reveal Soon?


Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Take this with a grain of salt but fans of Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall have begun to hype themselves up for the supposed incoming reveal of the game. All of this kicked off this morning when NeoGaf noticed that a twitter user by the name of Niall Maher noticed a “Titanfall 2” display box in the PlayStation 3 section of a local retailer.

A few hours later it was found that the game is also listed on Amazon.co.uk for the PlayStation 4 although it currently it has no description is simply filled with “to be determined”.

Could the reveal of Titanfall 2 be only a few days away? Perhaps Microsoft revealed it at their recent closed doors media briefing in San Francisco, the embargo from that event drops tomorrow morning (March 1st). We will of course update this story if anything official is announced.


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BrokenCast: Ty Taylor & Tumblestone


Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Today on BrokenCast we interview Ty Taylor, developer of The Bridge and the upcoming Tumblestone. We talk about all sorts of things like what it’s like to start an indie studio, how Ty handle testing a whole bunch of different platforms and how surprisingly easy it is to translate one single game into a number of different languages.

If you’d like some insight into how indie titles are made or just want to learn more about Tumblestone give this podcast a listen.

Featuring The Voices of:

Rae Michelle Richards

Renee Gittins

Fionna Fox

Ty Taylor

You can of course also find the podcast on iTunes here:

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Call of Duty: Blacks Op III Multiplayer Starter Pack Free This Weekend


Posted on February 27, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Black Ops III

Activision Publishing has provided its’ recently released Black Ops III Multiplayer Starter Pack for free on Steam this weekend. The Multiplayer Starter Pack includes the complete Black Ops III multiplayer experience up to level 55. While it includes all of the operator / weapon / perk unlocks included up until that level it does not include the ability to prestige or access Custom Games or the popular Zombies mode.

Alongside the free weekend of Blacks Ops III multiplayer time Activision is also providing players with double XP for the entire weekend as a nice little leveling bonus.

The Starter Edition will only be available until the end of this month and currently costs $18.99 CDN. To be honest I think this is a great way for casual COD fans like myself to enjoy the core multiplayer experience while it is still quite popular without making a full $90 CDN investment. To be honest I never really play the Zombies mode and add-on DLCs are usually hit or miss with me. The Starter Edition is also compatible with any upcoming DLC.

Here’s the full announcement from the Blacks Ops III Steam Community:

The Multiplayer Starter Pack is free to try from 10AM PST on Thursday, 2/25 to 1PM PST on Sunday, 2/28.

Pick up the full game on sale this weekend also, including a 33% discount on the Black Ops 3 standard edition and 20% off the Digital Deluxe edition. Those that already own the Multiplayer Starter Pack can also upgrade to the full game at a discount. Sale ends Monday 2/28 at 10AM PST.

On top of all this, Double XP starts tomorrow, Friday, 2/26 at 10AM PST and ends Monday, 2/29 at 10AM PST.

With the Multiplayer Starter Pack you can try out Black Ops 3’s online multiplayer as well as ranked Arena play, Gunsmith, Weapon Paint Shop, Freerun, Theater tools, and the Black Market. Upgrade to the full version of the game to gain access to:

  • Zombies game mode
  • Campaign game mode
  • Ability to play in Multiplayer custom games
  • Ability to Prestige (your level will be capped at 55 in the Starter Pack)
  • Access to mod tools or modded content (once released)
  • Access to unranked server browser (once released)
  • Ability to Fresh Start your profile
  • The ability to access Dead Ops Arcade II and Nightmares mode

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The Division’s Highly Detailed 60 FPS PC Trailer


Posted on February 27, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Get ready for some high-octane action scenes ripped right from the Windows PC version of Tom Clancy’s The Division. If you’re playing on PC and have the hardware this game look absolutely breathtaking and this new trailer proves it! Load up the embedded video below and see with your own eyes what a contaminated post-order New York City looks like in 1080p.

[youtube id=”UtynOSw446o”]

 

Will your rig run The Division? Here are the recommended specs for high settings as per Ubisoft:

Recommended Requirements

  • Supported OS: Windows® 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 | AMD FX-8350, or better.
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon R9 290, or better.
  • Notebook support: Laptop models of these desktop cards may work as long as they are on-par in terms of performance with at least the minimum configuration.
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Hard Drive Space: 40 GB available space.
  • Optical Drive: DVD-ROM Dual Layer.
  • Peripherals Supported: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, headset, optional controller.
  • Multiplayer: Broadband connection with 512 kbps upstream, or faster.

 


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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Launch Trailer


Posted on February 27, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Nintendo has released the official launch trailer for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for Wii U.

The game will be out next Friday – March 4th – bundled with a special Wolf Link Amiibo that unlocks a hidden set of challenges.

I suppose Pokemon re-releases weren’t the only big news from Nintendo today!

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