Items tagged with Gaming
As time marches onward, new developments and technologies come along, requiring the sunsetting of that which came previously. It appears that time has come for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as Rockstar has announced the shuttering of Grand Theft Auto Online on December 16th for the antiquated yet beloved consoles. Around 2005 and 2006, the original Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were revealed, bringing gaming into more people's living rooms. Then in 2010, both consoles got a facelift with a "slim" version that gave upgrades and fixes to both platforms. Three years later, GTA V and GTA Online released on both consoles, beginning the saga of one of the most played video games in current history....
Read more...
Just a few months ago, we reviewed the Alienware m15 R4, a seriously powerful 15.6-inch form factor laptop that, at the time, posted the best gaming performance benchmark results we had ever seen from a notebook. Not that we were particularly surprised—armed with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU based on Ampere and a 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10870H CPU (Comet Lake) CPU, it packs some serious artillery. Well, we've now tested an even faster gaming laptop, and it just so happens to be the 17-inch Alienware m17 R4. Call it sibling rivalry, if you wish, but the bigger 17.3-inch brother to the m15 flexes a bit more muscle as it arrived to us. Specifically, it touts an even burlier GeForce...
Read more...
Microsoft has more surprises up its sleeve than just a new version of Windows (a Windows 11 ISO is making the rounds). On the console side, Microsoft announced at E3 that is bringing its Xbox Cloud Gaming service (previously known as Project xCloud) over to its previous generation Xbox One game consoles. This is a smart move for a couple of reasons. For one, with the shortage of silicon affecting the technology industry at large, current-generation game consoles like the Xbox Series X/S and Sony's PlayStation 5 are often out of stock, leaving millions of gamers on last-gen hardware. And secondly, the decision effectively casts a wider net for Microsoft's game streaming service. "We’re excited...
Read more...
The Cyberpunk 2077 launch for PC and consoles left much to be desired after many bugs and glitches ruined the play experiences. However, the company behind the game, CD Projekt Red, has been working hard to recover from the nightmare, and it seems things are now going in its favor. Cyberpunk 2077, which was once removed from the PlayStation store, has seemingly reappeared in what could be a return to grace. On December 17th, Sony decided to pull the plug on Cyberpunk 2077 after game-breaking bugs hampered the initial launch. It is now six months later, and we are several patches deep, like Patch 1.2, which fixed several problems but brought in new ones. Regardless of the new issues, it was thought...
Read more...
Today was Nintendo's E3 event, and much was covered in the 1+ hour Nintendo Direct show. Now that everything has wrapped up let us look at some of the big game announcements below… Life Is Strange If you are a fan of the Life Is Strange series, Nintendo's E3 event held several announcements that should have you excited. First out of the gate is the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection that will be arriving in Q4 2021. It will bring both Life Is Strange Remastered and Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered with better visuals and animations to "breathe new life into the great cast of characters and gripping stories." Also, a "bold new era of the award-winning Life is Strange begins"...
Read more...
NVIDIA has some good news for a portion of the more than 70 million gamers who play Rainbox Six Siege, the popular competitive first person shooter. There is a new update available that adds support for NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, and with it comes a performance gain of up to 50 percent when playing at 4K. The caveat is that you need a GeForce RTX graphics card to benefit from DLSS, be it a current generation GeForce RTX 30 series based on Ampere, or a previous generation GeForce RTX 20 series card based on Turing. Actually buying a new graphics card is a difficult task at the moment (unless you're willing to pay way above MSRP), so this mostly benefits existing RTX...
Read more...
In 2020, Amazon Luna was announced as the company’s first foray into video games to compete with Google Stadia and Microsoft’s Project xCloud program. Through many trials and tribulations, the game streaming service is finally becoming more accessible. Starting on Prime Day (June 21st), Amazon Prime members can access Luna for free for seven days, but the Luna controller is on sale for the first time right now if you want to jump in as soon as possible. For just $5.99 a month, players can play a rich library of games from Ubisoft, Capcom, 505 Games, and Team 17, among others. From action to racing games, the Luna library is also constantly growing with both new and old titles like...
Read more...
Later this afternoon, video game company Take-Two will be hosting an interactive panel during E3, the multi-day video game industry event. Though they are the parent company of Rockstar Games and 2K Games, which could have several games to announce, this is not quite what we are expecting today. Starting at 10:15 AM PT / 1:15 PM ET, the Take-Two event is a panel discussion about “diversity, equity, and inclusion in the gaming industry.” On stage, you will find Susanna Pollack of Games for Change, Jim Huntley of USC Games, Gordon Bellamy of Gay Gaming Pros, and Laila Shabir of Girls Make Games. If you want to tune into this event, you can do so on E3’s YouTube or Twitch channel....
Read more...
Start penning your letter to Santa now, because I have little doubt that one of this holiday season's hottest items will be a miniature fridge that looks like an Xbox Series X game console. Yes, the aptly named Xbox Mini Fridge is a real item (I checked the date and we're far removed from April Fool's Day), and I am undoubtedly not alone in wanting one. How did this come to be? Around a year ago Microsoft gifted a full-size fridge to iconic rapper Snoop Dogg for his birthday, who posted a video of the awesome appliance to Twitter. Microsoft also gave one to i.Justine, a tech YouTuber and influencer. Not surprisingly, the novelty fridge received a ton of attention, and now a mini version is being...
Read more...
On June 9th, EA and DICE unveiled the latest in the Battlefield series: Battlefield 2042. At the time, we got a glimpse of the game through game engine footage and the Battlefield 2042 website. Now, the team behind the game series has released game footage that looks incredible. Wednesday’s Battlefield reveal showed off quite a bit about the upcoming game, like the multiplayer changes and new maps. Spanning across up to seven different maps, up to 128 players will fight in an all-out war for survival. Facing natural disasters like never seen before in a Battlefield game, the maps will constantly shift and change, modifying how players play. Also, new “specialists” have been...
Read more...
E3 is upon us and so too are several game debuts and preorders becoming available right now. Today we will look at some of the more popular games being shown off so you too can know what is coming and be excited as we are… Battlefield 2042 For months we only had leaks, but now Battlefield 2042 has been unveiled, showing a dystopian world mired in suffering. This game marks a new generation of Battlefield, with 128-player maps, special operators called “Specialists,” new modes and maps, and even natural disasters. Battlefield 2042 looks like it will be quite exciting, so we cannot wait for its launch on October 22nd. If you want to grab BF2042, it starts at the regular price...
Read more...
Back in February, developer CD Projekt Red confirmed it fell prey to a "targeted cyber attack" and went about contacting former employs and contractors, saying at the time that it did not know if any personal data was compromised, but that the "probability of such a leak is low." Now four months later, the Cyberpunk 2077 developer has provided a sobering update on the matter. "We have learned new information regarding the breach, and now have reason to believe that internal data illegally obtained during the attack is currently being circulated on the Internet," CD Projekt Red states. "We are not yet able to confirm the exact contents of the data in question, though we believe it may include...
Read more...
Cybersecurity is a hot topic nowadays, with attacks happening frequently like the Colonial Pipeline or JBS Global ransomware attacks. Now, it appears that EA is facing its own issues after hackers allegedly managed to exfiltrate around 780GB of source code, frameworks, and engine tools from the company. Recently, hackers began boasting about their recent EA attack on private hacking forums. In the posts, the hackers explained that they took FIFA 21 source code, Frostbite engine source code and tools, proprietary EA frameworks and software development kits, and code bundles to streamline game development. This adds up to 780GB of data which has gone up for sale on a variety of forums for "Only...
Read more...
We have a high opinion of Control, the game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games in 2019. When we explored the title, we called Control a visually stunning ray-traced gem of a game, noting that Remedy did a masterful job of creating an engrossing world that looks outstanding. If you still haven't played it, now is your chance to add it to your games catalog without spending a dime. No, we're not talking about visiting a sketchy download site or a five fingered discount at GameStop (good luck finding a boxed copy, anyway). Instead, Control is the latest free game at the Epic Games Store. All you have to do is sign into your Epic account (or create one if you don't have...
Read more...
Minecraft 1.17, AKA part one of the Caves And Cliffs update, was released yesterday and with it came new flora and fauna to see in the wild. Now that we have been able to explore a little bit, let's take a look at some of the cool stuff we have found or handy tips you may want when playing. The Rare Blue Axolotl While exploring the wilds of Minecraft, you may stumble upon Axolotls in any pool of water. While they may make cute noises, they are the apex predator of the oceans, rivers, and lakes at the moment as they kill nearly anything in sight. According to the Minecraft Fandom Wiki, what is interesting about these animals is that there is an extremely rare blue breed of axolotls...
Read more...
Games are one of the best testbeds for AI as they require problem-solving, forward-thinking, and other skills that normally only humans possess. So far, AI has gotten a handle on games like Go and up to 57 different Atari 2600 titles, but those are not terribly difficult. What if AI was pitted against one of the most notoriously hard games of all time? As it turns out, that is exactly what Facebook wants to do to bring down NetHack. NetHack is an 80s text-based single-player dungeon exploration game with a focus on “discovering the detail of the dungeon and not simply killing everything in sight,” as the NetHack website explains. If you decide to kill everything in sight, or at least...
Read more...
In the last few months and even hours, we have seen numerous leaks and rumors about the upcoming Battlefield title, and it all comes to a head today. The trailer is now out there, and the store page is now live, so let's look at all we know about Battlefield 2042... The World-Changing Years Leading Up To 2042 In the years leading up to 2042, humans faced several world-changing events like super-storms, depressions, food and fuel shortages, and countries collapsing. This has led to "the greatest crisis in human history," with over 1.2 billion people left without homes and countries locking down their borders. These people, called the Non-Patriated or No-Pats, band together and become a staple...
Read more...
Anticipation is running high for the next major installment in the Battlefield franchise. As we wait for today's official reveal, more information has leaked out, seemingly confirming the game that has often been referred to as Battlefield 6 will indeed be branded Battlefield 2042, based on the upcoming title's time frame and setting. How much ends up being a surprise at this point remains to be seen. The reveal is scheduled for 10:00 am ET (7:00 am PT) today, in which developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts will provide concrete details on what promises to deliver a "jaw-dropping experience for you to enjoy." Working towards that goal, DICE has assembled its largest team ever to construct...
Read more...
The quirky little Playdate handheld gaming console is finally getting closer to release. Panic, the company behind the eye-searing yellow device, says that it will finally be available to preorder in July. And if all goes according to schedule, the Playdate will start shipping later this year. Unfortunately, Panic isn't more specific on the official preorder date but said that the Playdate would come with a $179 price tag. That's $30 more expensive than initially announced, but Panic promises to make it up to customers when it comes to games (more on that later). As for the console itself, it's powered by a miserly 180MHz Arm Cortex M7 SoC with 16MB of RAM, paired with 4GB of NAND flash (up from...
Read more...
In June, some mysterious crop circles appeared in Fortnite, potentially alluding to the now released Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 7. Now, aliens have arrived and are attacking the island vigorously, but you can take them on. Using new characters, weapons, and sheer elbow grease, players can help save the Fortnite island from the alien invaders. The new chapter kicked off with an alien army coming to Fortnite with an "explosive opening attack," as Epic Games explained it. These alien invaders threaten the island, but Fortnite players are not ones to roll over and accept their fate. Under the command of Doctor Slone, the Imagined Order (IO) has decided to fight back against the invaders...
Read more...
We are just two days out from the official reveal of the upcoming Battlefield title, and things are starting to heat up. While leaks are still rolling out, Battlefield is also running a new marketing campaign that has players worldwide quite excited. While we wait for June 9th to roll around, take a look at what has happened so far below... Leaks And Rumors Galore Over the weekend, users have been dropping rumors and potential leaks within prolific leaker Tom Henderson’s Discord server. These were then compiled into a rather extensive list of information about the upcoming Battlefield title on the GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit. The top item in this list is the potential for the new game...
Read more...
As computer components get better, so too do the visuals in games like Fortnite. When the new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony came out late last year, Epic Games introduced new visual effects and features to improve the player experience. Now, those upgraded visuals are finally making their way to PC on June 8th with the Fortnite v17.0.0 update. Beginning with Chapter 2, Season 7, players on the Epic quality preset will notice "improved Storm and cloud effects, as well as enhanced simulations for smoke and liquid." Moreover, these players will also see improvements in post-processing and lens flare effects. All of this should culminate in better overall graphics in-game and a better experience,...
Read more...
