Xbox Series S

 

What is it?

Why is it here? 

Apparently we shall find out soon. It looks like the digital only next gen Xbox effort. original the PS5 Digital only was estimated at $400

The estimated retail price for the Xbox Series S is at a mere $299

Nintendo Reveal Mario Remasters

Along with a huge host of games remasters coming out, Nintendo is no different. They have announced the release of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy which will all be coming to the Nintendo Switch. The compilation is called Super Mario 3D All-Stars and will be sold from September 18 until March 31, 2021. 

This does mean that after the end of March the game will no longer be able to be purchased. 

With this compilation we also see the return of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3 in a re-release of the classic Super Mario All-Stars for the Switch.

And lastly for this series of Nintendo releases in February we shall see the release the Wii U game Super Mario 3D World which will have online and local co-op multiplayer, new levels new Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibos. .

Fall Guys Auction for Charity hits 1 Million

 

Fall Guys developer Mediatonic launched a charity auction last month to determine the sponsor of a new in-game cosmetic. After a rather long winded battle of bidders, four front runners came together to place a winning bid of $1 million (£745,000).

Ninja famous for his Halo 3 esports participation and in more recent years Fortnite, announced that he had "decided to team up" with YouTuber Mr Beast, esports organisation G2 Esports and in-game analytics provider Aim Lab, who had temporarily held high bids in the auction, for "a combined donation".

Mediatonic also confirmed that the four parties will each receive their own skin, stating that "we'll now sort out the donations while out artists start to collab with the winners on their skins". 

All four parts of the bidding team will continue to stream and raise money for the UK based charity Special Effect who help people with disabilities access games. 

"Our work is transformational and unique. Our team of therapists and technologists are determined that everyone, whatever their physical disability, should be able to share the fun, laughter and inclusion that video games can bring.

From controller mods to voice and switch controls, all our customised gaming setups are designed to suit the very specific individual needs of each person we help."

PS Plus Games for September

 

Coming on the 1st of September we have Street Fighter V and PUBG. The good thing about this bundle is that it will give the online multiplayer of both titles a huge surge, delighting both veterans and newcomers. 

For trophy hunters both are probably a no go. Both needing a predicted 150 hours of playtime and Street Fighter V being one of the few games rated a 10/10 difficulty and also 150 hours. However if you just want some good old fashioned online fun, then you have a lot to look forward to.

Huge Impending Warframe Update

 

With the new Heart of Demios update Warframe players will see possibly the largest amount of changes that have happened at one time in a while.

I have played the game on Xbox, PC and now the Playstation 4, I have never "finished" the game. Really, unless you make the game your life you are unlikely to complete everything. It is a game that really is what the player makes it. 

On the Xbox me and my good friend wandered around blind and had a lot of fun. We didn't even get as far as The Second Dream quest, which kind of flips the game on its head and the real game begins. 

My PC experience was very different, I was guided and educated by more veteran players. I focused on maxing out and formaing two weapons and two frames, essentially making them fairly unbeatable. Nothing was an obstacle between my two choices. 

Now on the PS4 I have taken to exploring as much as possible. I recently hit over twenty warframes and have started preparing some more end game frames for the harder content. Now it is about embracing the beauty of the game, the friends I play it with and just having a good time. 

The wonderful thing about the game is that it is free and you can do all of it for free. Unlock every warframe, weapon and access every mission. There is a grind to get end game abilities and gear but you can do the entire story and enjoy the game without ever attaining it. 

The good news is that with the Heart of Demios release we will see a new opening for new players, hopefully a more player friendly and exciting start to match the later quest arcs. The twists and turns the story takes along the way are suprising and baffling. The Second Dream and the Chains of Harrow really pulled me in like no other free to play game ever has. 

For old and new alike the Heart of Demios will be worth downloading or re-logging into the game. Give it a spin and I promise you you will not be disappointed.

Crysis Remastered

 

In the line of remasters coming out we finally see the remaster of Crysis. The game will have a number of graphical updates like ray-traced reflections and 8K textures.

Crysis Remastered was supposed to be released in July but the fans reaction to the leaked footage was not what Crytek expected. While the Switch version still was released, the remasters for the other consoles "needed more time".

On the PC this will be an Epic Games store exclusive, but for consoles it should be out in this coming September.

Call of Duty Warzone Gets an Update

 

Modern Warfare has an update on Friday that fixes some of the graphical issues players have been experiencing. On the Xbox this will set players up to the task of downloading 66GB while PS4 and PC users will content with a mere 2GB. 

Infinity Ward have said that the reason the Xbox update is so huge is due to an issue with the patch delivery system on that platform. The games size should not increase to much but this means a lot of the content already on the system has to be reinstalled.

Sorry Xbox users, looks like you are in for a long haul.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Delayed

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 like many things in life right now, has been delayed. In a statement released this morning, developer Hardsuit Labs and publisher Paradox Interactive confirmed that the launch date has been pushed back to 2021.

Xbox Game Pass Hitting Android

On the 11th of August Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to start playing a number of Game Pass games via their phones as part of a new xCloud beta streaming service.

“We’re entering a limited beta period to ensure a smooth transition of the cloud gaming experience to the Xbox Game Pass app on Android,” a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge in a statement. 

The beta will allow gamers who are subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate to use the service’s existing Android app to stream a few titles to their phones. Regretfully Apple have a ban on streaming game services, so iOS users cannot partake in this experience.

The Frontier Pursuit: Red Dead Online

I recently turned my back on Red Dead Redemption Online. It was a big decision and it hurt to discard it. The instability of the online world and the lack of content for so long made the game, for me at least, unplayable.

Now we see an update that will land on Tuesday, July 28. The Frontier Pursuit has yet to be detailed, but Rockstar promises that it’s an all-new role focused on naturalism. In addition, the update adds a new Outlaw Pass. It also boasts to add a host of features and bug fixes that fans have been asking for. Hopefully this time they will be true to their word.

PS4 Exclusive Top 5 Bestsellers

In just a few mere months, both The Last of Us Part 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake have ranked among the best-selling PS4 exclusives in the US. It is no surprise when you see the astounding feedback of both from critics worldwide.

 

Rocket league is Soon Free to Play

The developer of Rocket League, Psyonix has announced the news today that the Rocket League will be free-to-play. This will not only mean major changes to Tournaments and Challenge systems, but will also add cross-platform progression for players' item inventory, Rocket Pass progress, Competitive Rank, all by linking to an Epic Games Account. 

Rocket League will make its debut on the Epic Games Store when it officially goes free-to-play. Following the move to free-to-play, Rocket League will no longer be available to download on Steam for new players. Existing players on Steam, and every existing platform for that matter, will still get full support for future updates and features.

If you already have Rocket League never fear as you will gain Legacy Status. 

Legacy Players will gain:

All Rocket League-branded DLC released before free-to-play
"Est. 20XX" title that displays the year when the player first started playing Rocket League
200+ Common items upgraded to "Legacy" quality
Golden Cosmos Boost
Dieci-Oro Wheels
Huntress Player Ban

Microsoft's New Flight Sim Comes on Ten Discs

Microsoft's new flight sim is set to be released in Europe on not one but ten discs! The boxed version will also be close in price to the online download, so perhaps its just worth getting the physical copy instead.

"Our DVDs contains ‘all’ of part 2, apart from the updates Microsoft and Asobo do between the moment the the DVDs are pressed and release. When you install, the sim will updates all files immediately form the servers and you will get the very latest code for the simulator itself and all content is updated. This is very much a simulator that depends on the cloud if you want to use it to its full potential. So the boxed version makes it possible for people on a slower internet connection to get the sim installed without downloading the ‘content’. So the simulator is in every way, 100% the same. 

The boxed retail version just gets you a nice box, printed manual and about 90 Gb you do not have to download. There is no difference between boxed retail and the version MS sells directly." - says Areosoft

No Man's Sky Desolation

Today is the release of another enticing No Man's Sky Update. Desolation allows players to dive into the remains of derelict freighters that have been left spread across the star systems since the exo-mech update.

“Being a small dot amongst the stars can bring a sense of awe and wonder, but we’ve always wanted to explore a little more those feelings of fear and dread that come from being alone in the depths of space,” said No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games in a press release.

Each freighter has now become a far less chilled out experience than the rest of the game. These horror filled dungeons are Packed with lore, scrap, and  technology. Each of these derelicts comes with its own risks and challenges. The procedurally generated explorations contain a whole host of hazards and horrors lying in wait for the explorers.

Thankfully No Man’s Sky is also scheduled to receive an update to its combat mechanics alongside Desolation. It is said to bring a faster and more dynamic combat experience by way of several tweaks and balance adjustments to the game’s weaponry. 

Lego x Nintendo

Lego has revealed a surprise on its official Twitter account. Thankfully over at VJGamer they revealed a leak that shows it's a NES console and a retro TV to made brick by brick. The set even comes with a mechanical Mario.

The set contains 2,646 pieces and the European retail price is around €230. 

The Sims Spark’d

A reality show themed around The Sims is happening.

The Sims Spark’d is set to premiere on the 17th of July. The show challenges its contestants with building “the most unique characters, worlds and stories” in The Sims 4. 

With a prize of $100,000 at stake, the show is bound to be as tense as it sounds crazy. For more information watch the trailer below.

Black PS5?

Originally posted over on ResetEra, a Sony marketing pamphlet shows what seems like a black and red PS5 console and controller.

Whether or not this is legitimate remains to be seen, but the black and red PS5 as well as the pamphlet look believable. Of course we will see special variants as time goes on, but this is the first glimpse at a possible alternate scheme for the next gen console.

PS5 Backwards Compatibility

Backwards compatibility is one of the most sought after features for the PS5. Sony has revealed that the console will be backwards compatible with a host of PS4 games but could not confirm any further details..

There is still hope! According to a new Sony patent discovered by Twitter user Renka_schedule, there might still be some hope in playing PS1, PS2 and PS3 games on the PS5.

This patent suggests that Sony can use a virtual machine to emulate these consoles through the cloud. Specifically, it talks about how:

 "a large number of game titles across PS1/PS2/PS3 and various generations of game consoles can be stored and used via the cloud gaming library." "these games can be run on a virtual machine that mimics the operating system associated with each game console."

While this may just be a patent, it could be promising news.

Far Cry 6 Leaked

Far Cry 6 has been revealed a little earlier than planned via a PlayStation Store leak, which has listed it for launch on 18th February 2021.

In the teaser we see that Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito will play a major role as the dictator of Yara, a fictional country which looks heavily-inspired by Cuba.

As with all the games in the series you will be playing as a person aiming to take down a dictator's rule. Ubisoft boast that it will be the largest Far Cry to date and that we will see the return of much loved elements, such as companions and fangs for hire.

PlayStation 4 copies of the game will upgrade for free if you play on PlayStation 5, which I can only imagine will be the same for be the same for Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

Ubisoft's event is this Sunday at 8pm BST time where hopefully we shall see more.

Spider-Man Box Art

Today was the reveal of the Spider-Man Miles Morales box art. Many PS fans in the VP community are hyped for this release more than any other. Hopefully this slow drip feed will keep everyone excited until the biog day comes.