Latest Articles (Page 1475)
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Digital Foundry | What can we learn from The Witcher 3 "downgrade" fiasco?
Honest trailers.
Mere weeks away from E3, developers and publishers are working flat-out behind the scenes to make this the show of their lives. There will be new game announcements, surprise reveals and eagerly anticipated re-reveals. In many cases, it'll be our first opportunity to see some of the biggest titles of this year and the next. Doubtless, we shall see some amazing software running on console and PC - but at the same time, we strongly suspect that there'll be a vast array of marketing materials that end up bearing little resemblance to final software, or at the very least misrepresent the quality of the featured game. Even with the very best intentions, it's a situation that can backfire badly, as CD Projekt Red has discovered over the last couple of weeks.
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The Witcher 3 biggest UK launch of 2015 so far
Sales up 600% on Witcher 2.
Open-world role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has scored the biggest UK release of the year so far, smashing Battlefield Hardline's week one sell through by an impressive 53 per cent.
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Microsoft E3 2015 press conference date, time confirmed
"See the greatest games line-up in Xbox history."
Microsoft will hold its E3 press briefing on Monday, 15th June at 5.30pm UK time.
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Digital Foundry | Performance Analysis: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection revisited
New patch boosts frame-rates. Has Gearbox finally delivered a locked 60fps?
The idea behind Borderlands: The Handsome Collection was enticing: billed as the definitive console editions of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel, the remaster promised full HD visuals and a smooth 60fps update on both PS4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately, the launch code felt distinctly uneven and lacking in polish, with a wildly variable frame-rate and intrusive screen-tear. Last week, Gearbox Software released patch 1.02 to tackle these performance issues in addition to squashing a number of bugs. Weighing in at around 9GB on both consoles (around 7GB for The Pre-Sequel and 2GB for Borderlands 2 on Xbox One), the update is remarkable, a genuine game-changer. The developer has finally handed in something closely resembling the experience we were hoping for - 1080p60 gameplay on both PS4 and Xbox One.
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Resident Evil Zero remaster announced for early 2016
Coming to PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One.
Capcom sold more than 1m copies of the recent Resident Evil remake, so its no surprise that the developer today announced a remastered version of Resident Evil Zero.
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Recommended | Galactic Civilizations 3 review
You eXy thing.
Barely a week seems to go by without a new star-spanning 4X game appearing on Steam, claiming to either offer another variation of Civ in space, build upon the venerable foundations of Master of Orion, or to head off towards strategy's final frontier in the quest to deliver the definitive game of interstellar domination.
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Feature | Video: Eurogamer plays Agario
There's always a bigger blob.
Right. Yes. It's a bank holiday in the UK and I should probably be using this extra time to play some more of The Witcher 3, right? That's a big ol' game and those monsters won't slay themselves. But the thing is, I've been playing a free-to-play, web browser game instead. It's called Agario and it's really quite good.
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Recommended | Destiny: House of Wolves review
Expansion pack hunting.
Destiny's developer Bungie has recently got into the habit of referring to last September's release and the two subsequent expansions as falling under Year One, as if they're talking up an origins story of which this much maligned, much played massively online shooter is the subject. There's certainly a neat arc there: the somewhat downbeat beginnings, with Destiny initially slumping under the weight of expectation, before it limped towards a nadir with The Dark Below's slim, far from stimulating addition. All of which sets up The House of Wolves, the final expansion before - we fully expect - a more substantial overhaul that marks the beginning of Year Two, as the third act redemption, where all of Destiny's latent potential is untapped.
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Feature | Beneath Assassin's Creed Unity's bugs lurks a surprisingly human game
The 99 per cent.
There's something about playing a character whose face consists of nothing more than floating eyes and teeth that will pull you right out of your immersion. If you played Assassin's Creed Unity at launch, you'll probably know what I'm talking about, just as you'll know about highly-trained killers who like to run on the spot for no good reason and Nobles of the Robe who are apt to collapse on the floor in rubbery puddles mid-conversation, like discarded Halloween costumes. Ubisoft's swing at revolutionary Paris felt half-finished on release, less Les Miserables and more just plain miserable. I suspect a lot of Unity disks ended up as coasters as a result.
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Video | Video: Farming Simulator 15 brings co-op farming to consoles
Plus more from Outside Xbox.
Farming Simulator 15 cropped up this week for consoles, going against the grain with a new online co-op mode for Xbox One and PS4. We had more agriculture puns but the official multiplayer tagline asks "do you play well with udders", so frankly we're done here.
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Feature | Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven was the apex of a lost ninja franchise
Vintage sneakers.
We're fast approaching the endgame of ITV's knockabout Saturday night gameshow Ninja Warrior UK, the latest international incarnation of a tried-and-tested Japanese format. Centred around a comically oversized and carefully padded obstacle course, the show is an absolute triumph of non-lethal razzamatazz, with guffawing commentary from former footballer Chris Kamara as competitors negotiate awkward hurdles and tumble into water hazards. There are no shurikens but lots of shrieking. Any true ninja would harrumph at the overeager procession of Lycra-clad, would-be shinobis and rightly dismiss the whole gaudy enterprise as frivolous shadowplay, a noisy, inelegant distraction from the important business of infiltration, sabotage and assassination.
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Digital Foundry | Face-Off: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
To what extent can PS4 and Xbox One match the fully maxed PC experience?
The Witcher 3 is a game of many firsts. Above all for CD Projekt Red, it has the distinction of launching on three platforms at once, pushing for PC, Xbox One and also its first Sony format - PlayStation 4. Also breaking new ground is a more open-world design than we've seen before in the series, widening the scope of Geralt's adventure as we enter a sprawling third act. We've had a cursory glance at how console versions hold up in performance terms, but factoring in a PC release with plenty of visual bonuses, how do the consoles compare?
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Feature | Video: The Witcher 3, Farming Simulator 15 and Bertie visits CD Projekt
It's this week's Eurogamer Show.
I can't really put into words the joy I felt while watching my colleagues discuss the merits of horse farming versus grain harvesting, so you'll just have to catch this week's Eurogamer Show to experience that particular delight for yourself.
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Feature | Chris Donlan on: Gaming's cruellest downgrade
Drawing a line.
The big news this week is that The Witcher 3 is out. The other big news is that The Witcher 3 no longer looks quite as good as it did back at VGX a few years ago. This narrative - let's call it the downgrade narrative - is something we seem to be hearing quite a lot these days, so much so that something will probably have to be done about it. Vertical slices (these are carefully-prepared portions of a game that offer a sense of the ideal finished product) look amazing, but they apparently look too amazing to be viable as anything other than a vertical slice. The Witcher 3, Watch Dogs, Aliens: Colonial Marines - this list is going to keep getting longer. It's a crying shame, not least because it's easy to understand the bind that developers find themselves in when showing off a game at such an early stage. Even so, the impossible vertical slice leads to an erosion of trust, and to a situation where you approach an exciting new project warily, with a weather eye open for all the ways it will eventually disappoint you.
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Shenmue and Streets of Rage to receive vinyl soundtracks
Pre-orders open next week, ships in September.
Sega classics Shenmue and Streets of Rage will receive vinyl editions of their soundtracks via new London-based record label Data Discs.
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Desura addresses complaints that it hasn't paid developers
Payment delays due to CEO's hospitalisation.
Multiple developers have claimed that digital distribution platform Desura hasn't passed its sales revenue onto the actual developers whose products are being purchased. Now Desura owner Bad Juju, Inc has addressed the matter, admitting that it's behind in paying its clients due to its CEO being in the hospital.
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Feature | Does Nvidia HairWorks really "sabotage" AMD Witcher 3 performance?
Digital Foundry benchmarks high-end GPUs from both manufacturers.
In the wake of poor performance on Project Cars, AMD's GPU drivers are once again under scrutiny with the release of CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game runs in a sub-optimal state if Nvidia's HairWorks fur and hair rendering technology is active - and AMD isn't happy about it.
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BioWare have the years gone?
Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare has turned 20 today, but it doesn't look a day older than 19.
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Feature | Polybius: The story behind the world's most mysterious arcade cabinet
The truth is out there.
Legend has it that in 1981 an arcade cabinet called Polybius briefly took residence in Portland, Oregon. But Polybius was no ordinary video game. Many believe that it was a tool of the United States government to test one's mental and physical agility as a method of recruiting soldiers, just like The Last Starfighter. Others say that it caused seizures or brain aneurysms, and was possibly being tested by the CIA as a brainwashing tool. Some think it was just a prototype version of Tempest. Many more believe the whole thing was a hoax, while others say it never existed at all.
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Feature | Video: Let's Play P.T in Minecraft
Silent Hills lives on. Sort of.
Still mourning over the loss of Silent Hills in between checking whether the PT demo is still playable on your console or not? Good news - even if PT's scares have been relegated to the history books, there's still a way to experience that infamous 'L' shaped corridor without forking out a couple of grand for a pre-installed PS4 on Ebay. Ian's hunted down a fan-made homage in Minecraft, and it's surprisingly eerie. It also contains squids, so there's that. Enjoy!
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The PlayStation 4 version of Ultra Street Fighter 4 supports PS3 fight sticks, Sony has announced.
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Roll with it.
There's an officially-licensed Crysis board game on Kickstarter.
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Razer's new mousemat has customisable lighting effects
16.8m colour options, or so we red.
The latest mousemat from PC peripheral manufacturer Razer features illumination in up to 16.8m colour options.
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F1 2015 release date delayed by a month
Now due off the starting grid in July.
Codemasters has delayed the release of F1 2015 until 10th July.
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Blizzard explains decision to stub out Tychus' cigar
All about productivity.
Blizzard has explained its decision to stub out Tychus' cigar in Heroes of the Storm.
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Yep, Nobuo Uematsu's new Final Fantasy song sounds lovely
Mournful piano intro then...
Legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu has created a new song for Final Fantasy, and lovely it is indeed.
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Lizard Squad teen pleads guilty to 23 charges of harassment
Swatting spree targeted girls who declined his friend requests.
A 17-year-old member of hacking group Lizard Squad has pleaded guilty to 23 charges relating to online harassment.
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Blizzard's new Overwatch gameplay videos show complete, unedited matches
Hanzo! McCree! Mercy! Zenyatta!
Blizzard's spent the last week-and-a-half putting out complete, unedited 60 frames per second matches of its in-development team-based shooter Overwatch, and we've rounded them up.
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Flashback creator's Subject 13 out next week
Incroyable!
Subject 13, the next game from the creator of cult classic adventure Flashback, launches on PC and Mac on Thursday, 28th May. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will follow.
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YouTube now supports 1080p 60fps live streaming
Your move, Twitch.
You can now stream live at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second via YouTube.
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