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The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Patch Notes Revealed, Additional Content Listed

With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s release on next-gen platforms soon upon us, CD Projekt RED has released just what exactly will be in the title update. Listed below are the official The Witcher 3 next-gen update patch notes, and it even lists the new content alongside new changes.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update Patch Notes:

Schedule of patch roll out: 7 pm ET/4 am PT/8 am HKT/1 am CET (Xbox, PC). 5 pm ET/2 pm PT/6 am HKT/midnight CET

After the update your game version will be 4.0. Below you’ll find the list of changes:

PC and Next-Gen Exclusives

  • Added ray traced global illumination and ambient occlusion.
  • Additionally, PC players with compatible hardware have an additional option to turn on ray traced reflections and shadows.
  • Added various mods and mod-inspired content to the game to improve visuals and overall game quality. We’ve included some community-made favorites in addition to our own modifications in areas such as environment and cutscene improvements, realistic pavements, and many decoration upgrades.
  • Community-made and community-inspired mods include:

• The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project by HalkHogan

• HD Monsters Reworked by Denroth 

• Immersive Real-time Cutscenes by teiji25 

• Nitpicker’s Patch by chuckcash

• World Map Fixes by Terg500

  • Upscaled texture to 4K for various characters, including Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, Ciri, Eredin and more.
  • All main characters, including Geralt, now cast high-resolution self-shadowing even outside cutscenes. Additionally, hair clipping through armor as well as some other armor-clipping issues have been fixed.
  • Environmental improvements:

• Added a new weather type – “Gray Sky”

• Updated sky textures

• Vegetation and water improvements

• Various mesh improvements

• Improved some select VFX

• Updated global environmental lighting

  • Added AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution (FSR) 2.1
  • Added photo mode, allowing players to take stunning pictures within the world of The Witcher 3.
  • Added the option to pause the game during cutscenes.
  • Added an alternative camera option that’s closer to the player’s character and that reacts more dynamically to combat and movement. You can find this new setting in Options → Gameplay under Exploration, Combat, and Horseback Camera Distance.

PC-Specifc

  • Added “ULTRA+” graphical settings on PC, which significantly increases the visual fidelity of the game. The graphical settings available on ULTRA+ affect:

• Number of background characters

• Shadow quality

• Grass density

• Texture quality

• Foliage visibility range

• Terrain quality

• Water quality

• Detail level

  • Added DLSS 3 support. Available only on compatible hardware.

Next-Gen Console-Specifc

  • Improved the overall quality of graphics on next-gen consoles. Including enhanced textures, improved fidelity, shadow quality, greater draw distances and crowd density. 
  • Ray Tracing Mode — provides ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion with dynamic resolution scaling targeting 30 FPS for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
  • Performance Mode — ensures smoother gameplay targeting 60 FPS with dynamic resolution scaling for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
  • The Xbox Series S version has no ray-tracing features. Quality Mode provides increased resolution and better image fidelity targeting 30 FPS, whereas Performance Mode targets 60 FPS and prioritizes smoother gameplay over visual quality.
  • Implemented the use of adaptive triggers and haptic feedback on PS5 DualSense controllers.
  • Added Activity Cards for PS5.

Online Features

  • Added a cross-progression feature between platforms. Your latest saves will be automatically uploaded to the cloud so you can easily pick up where you left off on other platforms. Cross-progression provides the latest save for every save type. This feature becomes available after you log into your account.
  • By signing up to MY REWARDS in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, players can receive:

• Swords of the Nine-Tailed Vixen

• White Tiger of the West Armor

• Dol Blathanna Armor Set

• Roach Card

Detailed information on how to redeem the rewards will be available from Dec 14th, 1 AM CET at thewitcher.com/my-rewards.

Additional Content

  • Added a new side quest, In The Eternal Fire’s Shadow, in Velen. Rewards are inspired by Neftlix’s The Witcher series.
  • Added an alternative appearance for Dandelion inspired by Netflix’s The Witcher series. You can enable it in Options → Gameplay. 
  • Added an alternative Nilfgaardian Armor set inspired by Netflix’s The Witcher series. You can enable it in Options → Gameplay. 
  • Added Chinese and Korean voice-over. Availability on consoles varies by region.
  • Various improvements and changes to Russian voice-over, including fixes for accelerated / slowed lines in the vast majority of scenes.

Quality of Life Changes

  • Added a Quick Sign Casting option. It allows signs to be switched and cast without opening the radial menu. You can find it in Options → Gameplay.
  • Added a new default map filter. The new filter hides some icons such as “?” and boat icons in order to reduce icon clutter on the map. These icons can be turned back on with the “All” map mode toggle.
  • Adjusted the minimum height for fall damage, allowing the player to survive falls from higher heights.
  • Herbs can now be instantly looted with a single interaction – without the additional loot window.
  • Added options that dynamically hide the minimap and quest objectives when not in combat or using Witcher senses. You can find it in Options → Video → HUD Configuration → Hide minimap during Exploration and Hide objectives during Exploration.
  • Added the option to slow walk when playing with a controller. You can now slow walk by lightly pushing the left stick forward.
  • Added an alternative sprint mode option when playing with a controller. It’s activated by tapping the left stick. You can find it in Options → Control Settings.
  • Added an option to make target-lock unnaffected by camera inversion. You can find it in Options → Control Settings.
  • Improved the radial menu so bombs, bolts and pocket items can now be switched dynamically without opening the inventory.
  • Added the option to scale the font size for subtitles, NPC chatter and dialogue choices. You can find it in Options → Video → HUD Configuration.
  • Added various other small fixes, tweaks, and quality of life changes, including a few secrets to be discovered by players.

Gameplay

  • Added the mod Full Combat Rebalance 3 by Flash_in_the_flesh which includes balance changes and various fixes to gameplay. We took a curated approach to this mod, with some elements further tweaked from what you’ll find in the mod by default, while other elements were omitted.
  • Scavenger Hunt: Wolf School Gear – Fixed an issue where the chest at the Signal Tower couldn’t be opened.
  • From Ofier’s Distant Shores – Fixed an issue where the diagram in the chest at the bandit’s hideout could be missing.
  • Hard Times – Fixed an issue where Geralt couldn’t talk or give the letter to the blacksmith.
  • Swift as the Western Winds – Fixed an issue where the quest could sometimes fail despite winning the horse race.
  • Echoes of the Past – Fixed an issue where, after defeating the Foglets, the quest could get stuck and it wouldn’t be possible to talk to Yennefer.
  • Wine Wars – Fixed an issue where the quest couldn’t be completed if the player destroyed one of the required monster nests during exploration.
  • Fixed an issue where clearing the Ruined Inn Abandoned Site situated on the southern shore of Ard Skellig was not possible in certain scenarios.
  • Fixed an issue where the Grandmaster Wolven Set wouldn’t require Mastercrafted items.
  • Various small fixes to quests and cutscenes.

CDPR also adds that the last-gen versions (PS4, Xbox One, Switch) will also get an update, with the patch notes for that set to be released at a later time. If you’re curious what the next-gen version of The Witcher 3 looks like with an added sheen, head on over here.

Source: The Witcher

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Kojima Productions Seventh Anniversary Celebration on Dec. 7 to Reveal Content to Commemorate Event

Hideo Kojima‘s Kojima Productions is about to become seven years old, with the studio celebrating its seventh year anniversary on December 16. The special day may also include new information on upcoming content that Kojima Productions is working on.

Kojima recently revealed Death Stranding 2 at The Game Awards, and we may get some more content on the sequel during the anniversary.

While the studio has been around and independent for almost seven years at this point, they’ve still only managed to release one title thus far. Still, with Death Stranding being as well-made as it is, a lot of expectations are riding on the new sequel. 

Death Stranding 2 isn’t releasing any time soon, so those who haven’t tried Kojima Productions’ debut title should give it a go. We reviewed Death Stranding and gave it a solid 9/10, so give it a read if you’re still on the fence. It’s definitely one of the most unique games out there, and you’ll be well-informed about Death Stranding’s story as the sequel inches its way to an eventual release.

Carlos Perez

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The Callisto Protocol Review – It’s a Start (PS5)

The Callisto Protocol set out with a lofty goal – to give the same kinds of thrills that the fan-favorite Dead Space gave gamers around a decade ago. With one of the co-creators of that series at the helm, it should be a no-brainer, right? Can magic strike again, or has the hype built up perhaps a bit too high for developer Striking Distance Studios’ debut horror title? Read our The Callisto Protocol review to see if this is a horror thrill ride worth experiencing or it needs to be shipped off-orbit.

Damn, the Future Looks Great

The Unreal Engine 4 was chosen for The Callisto Protocol, and it mostly stays up with the action. Some frame rate drops do occur when Jacob takes on more than a few enemies, however. A performance mode toggle is available on the PS5, and this helps things to run much more smoothly without sacrificing too much in the graphics department. Character models are great for the main cast, with facial animation that is surprisingly nuanced. Loading times are just a handful of seconds, most likely simply because of the PS5’s SSD speed. There are even a couple of gamma options to get a deeper level of black shades depending on what type of display you have your console hooked up to.

Graphically, The Callisto Protocol is a great-looking game. Besides the excellent character models, the environments have a good amount of detail. Jacob travels from the frozen surface of Callisto, to a large prison, an abandoned underground research colony, and a few other locations which look well-weathered or hastily left. There are only a few different types of enemies, however, so it’s a good thing the environments are interesting to look at.

Audio work is also great here, which makes sense when you consider some of the work was done at a Skywalker location. Beyond the voiceover work performed by Josh Duhamel as protagonist Jacob Lee, Karen Fukuhara as alleged terrorist Dani Nakamura, and Sam Witwer as antagonist Leon Ferris, there are also audio logs scattered throughout each level to be found and listened to. Though, there are only a few audio logs to find in each chapter, and these don’t really do a good job of expanding the lore – you’ll usually hear the person’s final moments as they curse someone they had a disagreement with before screaming as the enemy bares down on them.

You Can See the Twist From a Galaxy Away

This brings us to one of The Callisto Protocol’s main issues. The team at Striking Distance have done a good job of building out some interesting locations, but it feels a bit generic. Storytelling is one of the hardest things to get right in most games, but perhaps extra challenging in a setting where most people have died. There’s a weird shift in Jacob’s attitude towards Dani that occurs in the game’s third act, which occurs before he ends up knowing her true past. The ending also felt particularly rushed, when after spending several hours with survival as a core focus and hardly any story progression, suddenly there’s a race for a cure and multiple boss fights. In summation, pacing is an issue here.

Speaking of boss fights, there are only two major foes spread across five fights within the last two chapters of the story. It’s a bizarre choice that further reflects the wonky pacing towards the latter third of The Callisto Protocol. One powerful, two-headed enemy shows up in a pretty epic, hard-fought battle aboard a moving platform, and when all is said and done the enemy is clearly killed. But before much longer, you have to defeat this same type of enemy not once, nor twice, but three additional times. The epic battle quickly devolves into a fight against a bullet sponge, who never changes up their strategy. It would have been much more memorable if the two-headed baddie only showed up once, but it seems this was a way to pad some sections out.

Dodge This

The Callisto Protocol does try something new out with its combat system. While there is a decent amount of ammunition for Jacob’s multi-tool gun, it’s not unlimited, and so the game offers up a few melee strategies. Chief among them is the ability to dodge incoming attacks by holding the left analog stick either left or right (holding it back performs a block, which does still inflict some damage) in the opposite direction of incoming attacks. When done right, it feels and looks pretty slick, and against a single enemy it is manageable. But The Callisto Protocol seems to enjoy throwing multiple enemies at you, with almost all of them faster and stronger than you. When attacks can come from any side, it’s difficult to dodge everything, and some sections feel quite unfair.

Even on the easy difficulty setting, The Callisto Protocol is pretty ruthless. Jacob can be killed in just a few hits, health pickups are scarce, and there are some lockers or chests which are booby trapped with a worm-like enemy, with no way to tell if that is the case ahead of time. Also, despite the dodge mechanic being available for physical attacks, the same tactic cannot be used against incoming projectiles, such as the couple of enemies that like to spit at you. There’s also a stealth section which introduces blind enemies that far overstays its welcome, even forcing the player to go back through this entire section, with the only difference being that there are now regular enemies. Those blind enemies are also the most inconsistent of the bunch: they have super hearing, and you are told to crouch and not make any noise near them, yet when you stealth kill their buddies, which makes a ton of noise, they don’t seem to hear much of anything. There was some amusement in killing a group of around five of them at one point, all huddled together as they seemed to wonder just what was going on.

the callisto protocol sequel

Verdict

The Callisto Protocol is a good first shot at terrifying you in space. While not as scary as Dead Space, and lacking the same kind of satisfying combat, there is still fun to be had amidst the sometimes enragingly-unfair fights and odd story pacing. After just eight chapters, the adventure is over, as it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Things are also setup nicely for a sequel, should sales meet or exceed expectations, so with any luck Striking Distance will have another chance to deliver a more refined adventure that truly terrifies us.

Score: 7/10

Pros:

  • An audiovisual treat
  • Slick dodging…when it works
  • A few good scares

Cons:

  • Overwhelming numbers of enemies
  • Boss fight loses its edge with repetition
  • Mediocre story

The Callisto Protocol review code provided by publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

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Paulmichael Contreras

Paulmichael has been writing in the gaming industry since 2008. Living just outside of Los Angeles, he has been lucky enough to attend numerous gaming events around the world, including the last ten E3 shows (RIP)! A thoughtful reviewer, every game you see scored by PmC has been given careful attention. Paulmichael is also an aviation fan and an avid snowboarder. Favorite games include: No Man's Sky, Gran Turismo 7, skate., CloverPit.

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Train Sim World 3 Update 1.18 Out for Holiday Express DLC This Dec. 12

Dovetail Games has released Train Sim World 3 update 1.18 today for all platforms. Today’s update is to implement the new ‘Holiday Express’ DLC for the game. Check out the Train Sim World 3 December 12 patch notes below.

Train Sim World 3 Update 1.18 Patch Notes | Train Sim World 3 December 12 Patch Notes:

While patch notes have not been released, Dovetail Games did announce what will be included in the new DLC. You can read the details down below. We will update this post if proper patch notes are revealed. 

‘Tis very much the season here at Dovetail Games and whilst work goes on behind-the-scenes to bring future routes and locomotives to Train Sim World 3, we couldn’t help but bring some festive cheer to the game too. The holiday season is all about having fun, right? We all enjoy sitting back in our favourite comfy chair, with keyboard or controller in-hand and relaxing with a casual gaming experience. No signals, no arrival times, no safety systems. Just you, the locomotive and a warm, cosy and nostalgia-filled living room train set to explore at leisure this Christmas.
 
But someone is up to no good. With the clock ticking down to midnight on Christmas Eve, a mischievous elf is running riot round the living room, moving presents and batteries to where they shouldn’t be! By the time you’re at the helm of the miniature locomotive, these items need to be tidied and the culprit brought to justice… It’s Richie Rails to the rescue!
 
Using the power of the unique Richie Rails F7 and a freely switchable layout of track, your tasks involve collecting up the scattered batteries and moving items back to where they belong before hunting down the naughty elf. There’s a place for them over on the naughty step! Simplified controls and plenty of switches and points mean that the whole living room can be explored and there is the chance for the whole family to get involved. There’s even a unique unlockable to obtain that will make your ability to traverse ‘Television Towers’, round ‘Xmas Tree Loop’ and stop at ‘Sofa Central’ much, much easier… for the first time in Train Sim World, players can unlock a car to drive in the form of a toy 4×4!
 
Once Christmas has been saved, then it’s time to relax with the living room train set. Locomotives and units from Train Sim World 3 and Train Sim World Compatible content can be swapped out through Scenario Planner, allowing you to thread some of the fastest, largest and longest trains through the living room’s landmarks. Speed past the sofa with the ICE1 or haul heavy freight below the hearth with the ES44C4. And with Livery Designer, adding a splash of colour to your trains can make it a uniquely casual Train Sim World experience.
 
The Holiday Express – Runaway Elf Add-on arrives for Train Sim World 3 on December 13th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam! It will be available for £7.99/$9.99/€9.99
(Estimated Add-on download size for PlayStation platforms: PS5 = 1GB, PS4 = 500MB)
 
Source: Dovetail Games

Damien Seeto

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Jurassic World Evolution 2 Update 1.18 Jumps Out for Minor Fixes This December 12

Frontier Developments has released Jurassic World Evolution 2 update 1.18, and this is a minor update, which is understandable given we just got the big Update 5 patch last week. Read on for the Jurassic World Evolution 2 December 12 patch notes.

Jurassic World Evolution 2 Update 1.18 Patch Notes | Jurassic World Evolution 2 December 12 Patch Notes:

Hello Park Managers!

Update 1.6.2 is now available for all versions of Jurassic World Evolution 2. Please see the changes below:

  • Various stability fixes

That’s about it for this title update. For the slate of new content from the new premium DLC and Update 5 details, head on over here.

Once a new patch is out, we’ll be sure to let our readers know, so bookmark our Jurassic World Evo 2 game hub.

Source: Frontier forums

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Jurassic World Evolution 2 Update 1.006.002 Out for Patch 1.6.2 This December 12

Frontier Developments has released Jurassic World Evolution 2 update 1.006.002 today for all platforms tagged as patch 1.6.2. This update is released a few days after patch 1.6.0 came out for new content. Check out the Jurassic World Evolution 2 December 12 patch notes below. 

Jurassic World Evolution 2 Update 1.006.002 Patch Notes |Jurassic World Evolution 2 Update 1.6.2 Patch Notes:

Hello Park Managers!

Update 1.6.2 is now available for all versions of Jurassic World Evolution 2. Please see the changes below:

  • Various stability fixes

That’s all the notes for today’s patch. You can read more about the game from the PlayStation Store description below. 

Jurassic World Evolution 2 is the much-anticipated sequel to Frontier’s ground-breaking 2018 management simulation, Jurassic World Evolution, offering an all new narrative campaign voiced by cast members from across the Jurassic World film franchise, exciting new features, four engaging game modes, and an expanded roster of awe-inspiring dinosaurs.   

Source: Frontier forums

Damien Seeto

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Need for Speed Unbound Update 1.000.005 Races Out This December 12 (Update)

Criterion has released Need for Speed Unbound update 1.000.005, and this is a small download, and given the game just got released, don’t expect much from it. Read on for the NFS Unbound December 12 patch notes.

Need for Speed Unbound Update 1.000.005 Patch Notes | Need for Speed Unbound Update December 12 Patch Notes:

Size: 250MB (PS5)

Update: EA has relayed what’s in the patch, and as one might expect, it’s nothing major. Here’s the message from Community Manager “EA_David” over on the EA Answers forums for the game:

Hey NFS Unbound players,

On Dec 12, 2022 at 1AM PT / 9AM UTC / 10AM CET, we’ll be deploying a required update for all platforms.

This update will not require downtime, but you will be required to download and install the update the next time you launch the game.

This update is a small update to address stability issues regarding crashing across all platforms and to resolve some bugs with entitlements.


Currently, Criterion has not released the official patch notes just yet, but don’t be surprised if this patches out some of the known unlimited money glitches floating about.

Same as always, we’re keeping an eye out and will update the post once we see anything surface. If you spot anything, leave a comment and let us know what you find.

Need for Speed Unbound is out now on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and you can also check in here to see the supported wheels at launch.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Generation Zero Update 1.34 Out for Dangerous Experiment Patch This Dec. 12

Avalanche Studios has released Generation Zero update 1.34 today for all platforms to deploy the Dangerous Experiment patch to the game. This includes new content and a ton of fixes. Check out the full Generation Zero December 12 patch notes below.

Generation Zero Update 1.34 Patch Notes | Generation Zero Dangerous Experiment Update Patch Notes | Generation Zero December 12 Update Patch Notes:

HELLO EVERYONE,

We’re happy to bring you our latest update to Generation Zero, Dangerous Experiments! This update will do precisely what it says, to bring you new dangerous top-secret military plunders, as well as a whole lot more to make Östertörn even better.

Let’s start with what you’ve all been talking about; the new Experimental Weapons! The Resistance has been really nifty this year with both new weapons and tactical equipment, and to end the year on a high note, they’ve now managed to salvage three brand-new top secret experimental weapons for you to start using. These weapons will have a chance to drop as all other experimental ones by beating Rivals, Reapers, and completing Base Defense missions. But enough talk about the Resistance; let’s take a look at what they’ve put together!

The Experimental .44 Magnus – The Shrapnel Gun

Shred your enemies to pieces with the Experimental .44 Magnus! This canon will blast straight through your enemies and materials to create a shotgun-like blast behind your target, surprising any foe that might be behind with its deadly shrapnel blast. Great for crowd control!

The Experimental KVM 89 – Thermal Machine Gun

It’s getting hot in here; the KVM 89 just got an experimental alloy upgrade! At low temperatures, the alloy has terrible performance; it is inaccurate and inefficient. But when the heat is on, and the temperature rises, the barrel alloy performs exceptionally well, giving you extreme accuracy, efficiency, and damage. Be careful, though; you do not want to overheat it!

The Experimental Älgstudsare – The Artillery Rifle

As you fire the bullet from the Experimental Älgstudsare, it is covered by a slow-burning coating, slowing the bullet down a bit but completely changing its behavior. The longer the bullet stays in the air before it hits something, the higher the energy build-up of the coated shell. At short ranges, it does minor damage, but as the travel time of the bullet increases, so does the damage. A true Resistance fighter makes this weapon exceptionally lethal by hitting targets that are more than 100 meters away!

Tomas, one of our Game Designers, has this to say about the new experimental weapons: “We know that many of you appreciate realistic depictions of real-world firearms. We also acknowledge that there are many of you that enjoy a moderate dose of sci-fi. Thus, we decided to introduce more experimental weapons to the game. Top secret, military, prototype weapons that balance in-between realism and fiction.

Make the most out of these weapons by leaning into their experimental nature. Conduct your own experiments in the field to figure out how to use them efficiently. If unsure where to start, read the weapon description to get a general idea of its function.

Want to turn the experimental up to 11? Try combining these weapons with experimental ammo and see what happens.

These have been very interesting to develop, and we hope you have as much fun using them as we had making them!”

NORTH COAST COLLECTIBLES

Time to go on a hunt again; a new collectible set has been added to Östertörn! Bringing you 9 new war figurines and a strategic map to go with them, these collectibles are spread all across the North Coast for you to find. If you know your way around Östertörn well enough and manage to find them all, you’ll be treated with a deeper understanding of what really happened as the Soviets came to Östertörn!

Amanda, our Mission designer, adds: “With these collectibles, we wanted to give some more information about why the Soviets came to Östertörn. What goals do they have in Östertörn, and what hardships they met as they arrived. The narrative is focused on the experiences of different individuals among the Soviet forces. Through these soldiers’ eyes, we were able to give a new perspective on what’s happening in Östertörn and how it is to live in this dystopian war between machines. We hope that you will enjoy the stories and the pretty figurines that come with them!”

NEW SCHEMATIC TREE

Crafting schematics will now be unlocked in an entirely new way! Previously, when you found them hidden throughout the world, you will now be able to unlock them through the Schematics tree. Five new paths, each allowing you to purchase Schematics with its own currency of points; each currency earned by crafting items or completing specific gameplay. Additionally, where the Schematics previously could be found in the world, there are now new pickups that will give you Schematic Points and XP to help you jumpstart your progression! And don’t worry, if you have already picked up a Schematic out in the world, it will be unlocked for you already.

“One of the pain points of crafting in the past has been unlocking the Schematics. Particularly for newer players, having only a small number of Schematics unlocks stops them from taking full advantage of the system, and there was no clear path to unlock more. Now with the Schematic Tree, unlocking schematics becomes much more straightforward and gives players more agency over which Schematics they unlock first. We hope this lets more players craft what they want and, in turn, can play how they want by crafting the ammo/consumables they most enjoy using.” our Senior Systems Designer, Matthew, comments.

CRAFTING IMPROVEMENTS

Along with the addition of the Schematics Tree, you can now craft 17 consumables that you couldn’t craft before! To make it more intuitive for the player where to find the materials to craft items, we’ve also made it so they can be found more predictably from logical sources. Wondering where these materials can be found? It’s now explained in the description of the craftable item!

Talking about recycling, you can now see ahead of time what recycling an item would actually give you back.

And finally, you can now tag items used to craft to keep track of what you’re looking for and see when you’ve found the right thing.

“These last several patches have all included improvements to crafting, and this is the next piece of the puzzle. Crafting is more useful than before, giving you access to more items and making it easier to seek out the resources you need. We hope you enjoy the crafting improvements and look forward to hearing what you think of it!” says Matthew.

PERFORMANCE UPDATES

There are not only new things introduced to the game with this update, but we’ve also taken a look at how the game performs and how we can improve that for you players. Here’s a short rundown from our Gameplay Programmer, Giulio:

Memory optimization: “Now, the game should use less memory; this should help the players on earlier console versions to experience much fewer crashes while playing, especially in very big cities. This is a step in the right direction, and we’re constantly working to improve this to prevent crashes while roaming with vehicles.

FPS boost: “We worked on improving the CPU workload in FPS-heavy situations like chaotic fights and roaming in big cities. This should ensure the player a smoother experience, especially on Gen 8 consoles.”

Streaming time improvements: “The game should be able to stream certain big areas faster now, resulting in less loading time and fewer graphic artifacts when moving fast.”

“All of the above was done without reducing the graphic quality or touching the rendering pipeline of the game. This means that the graphic of the game isn’t changed and still remains amazing, but also that players on PC that were GPU bound won’t see any improvement unless they reduce the graphic settings.”

FARMLAND IMPROVEMENTS

The Farmlands has gotten a little retouch! With the New Dawn Update, we introduced 12 new Control Points to the Farmland. Now, we’ve taken a stab at three of them to offer a more varied experience and expand on the narrative a bit. Look out for these changes:

Floda Control Point – This one has turned into a Community grown garden with allotment garden plots used by the locals in the past. Post-cataclysm, this location has been used by the Resistance as a source of food production, and now players can set up their base in this garden to protect the potatoes.

Broängen Dirt Track Control Point – This one used to be a regular farm field. Now it has changed into a Dirt track for motorbike riders. Within the build area for the Control point, there are also opportunities for some stunt riding.

Överby Control Point – Located south of the Airfield where there used to be a farm field where Machines and the Swedish military had battled each other. This narrative has been expanded upon, and 2 lines of defensive trenches have been dug out around the Control Point. The first line has been overrun, and the second one is more fortified and acts as a second line of defense.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE PLACES WITH APPLES?

Beneath a growing tree

The apples are placed.
But can you see their beauty?
It is time to feel.

BUG FIXES

General

  • [Community Reported] Fixed an issue where the zoom-out would function after reassigning it to another buttonWorld
  • [Community Reported] Fixed issues with houses not rendering in Fiskebäck
  • Fixed an issue where if you deleted your world and created a new game in the main menu, safehouses would still be on the map
  • Fixed an issue where deleted worlds would reappear after restarting the gameMissions
  • Fixed an issue where “The Farm” was stuck on the “Destroy the Machines” step and couldn’t be completed.
  • Fixed an issue where “Break of Dawn” got soft-locked after a multiplayer game
  • Fixed an issue in “Death From Above” where clients in a multiplayer session would still see the mission icons after the mission was completed

KNOWN ISSUES

  • [Community Reported] Xbox – “The Home Team” mission soft-locks in single-player after completing it in multiplayer mode
  • [Community Reported] The Tuned Moped can sometimes sink into the ground when dismounted
  • PS4/5 – Some users can’t access their DLC content after purchase
  • Machines can sometimes become unresponsive and invulnerable during a multiplayer session
  • The Tesla Bombs from the Firebird only damage the host of a multiplayer session
  • Motorbikes might not be visible to other players during a multiplayer session
  • There’s a missing UI section for the North Coast collectibles in the Collectables tab in the Log
  • Steam – Clients can sometimes crash in a multiplayer session when fighting the Firebird
  • Steam/PS4 – Machines might not spawn from Harvesters and Command Centers
  • The “Simple First Aid Kit” schematic is missing on older save files with the mission “Sanctuary” completed
  • Firing a weapon while mounting a bicycle will make the weapon continue firing indefinitely

Source: Generation Zero

Damien Seeto

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WWE 2K22 Update 1.20 Rolled Out This December 12

Visual Concepts has released WWE 2K22 update 1.20 (PS5 version 1.020), which is yet another unannounced patch for the wrestling game. Curious what’s in this one? Read on for the WWE 2K22 December 12 patch notes.

WWE 2K22 Update 1.20 Patch Notes | WWE 2K22 Update 1.020 Patch Notes | WWE 2K22 December 12 Patch Notes:

Update: Here are some of the confirmed fixes included in the patch via the community:

  • Universe Money in the Bank (MITB) issues fixed (per XQPY)

We’ll be updating the article as more fixes are found, so keep an eye out and refresh it from time to time.

Given the studio’s latest patch notes rollout was way back in July, don’t expect to hear anything about this patch as well, which has been par for the course for the game’s last few title updates.

We’re checking in with the community to see what got fixed, but in the meantime, here are some of the issues still not patched by the devs:

Based on the last patch released in October, here are the issues that weren’t fixed then:

  • Skull mask for male superstars bug
  • Tag team finishers not saving
  • Universe crashing bug if you are in a tag team creation or superstars section
  • Create-A-Wrestler (CAW) infinite loading glitch still not fixed, but workaround provided by ChrisP1223!

Once we know more about this patch, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Returnal PC Version Won’t Feature Crossplay, File Size and System Requirements Surface

At this year’s The Game Awards, Sony announced what’s probably one of the worst kept secrets in gaming, and that’s Returnal is headed to PC! For those picking the game up and thinking of playing with their PS5 friends, we’re here to be the bearer of bad news that it’s now confirmed that the Returnal PC version won’t feature crossplay with its PS5 sibling.

This was confirmed in the game’s Steam page where the following note was added in the game’s features list:

**** The Tower of Sisyphus, House sequences and Challenge Mode are not available in Co-op Mode. Cross-play with players on PlayStation®5 consoles is not supported.

In addition to that, the Steam page has also revealed the Returnal PC system requirements! Players will need to clear up around 60GB of disk space to run the game, with the recommended and minimum requirements listed below.

Returnal PC System Requirements:

MINIMUM

OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 (4 core 2.7GHz) AMD Ryzen 5 1500X (4 core 3.5GHz)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB)
Storage: 60 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD Recommended

RECOMMENDED:

    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
    • Processor: Intel i7-8700 (6 core 3.7 GHz) AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (8 core 3.7 GHz)
    • Memory: 32 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER (8 GB) AMD RX 6700 XT (12 GB)
    • Storage: 60 GB available space
 
Returnal on PC has no firm release date yet other than firing out in “early 2023.” If you’re thinking of getting it, go read our in-depth review right here, where we state, “Housemarque largely succeeds with their first AAA outing in a big way and have released what I feel is the first true Game of the Year contender for 2021.”

Thanks, NextGenPlayer!

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Sony Involvement in The Callisto Protocol Was Minimal, Striking Distance CEO Confirms

The Callisto Protocol launched with mixed reviews on Xbox and PC due to performance issues cropping up on both platforms. On the other hand, PS5 versions of the game seemed to be running just fine, and this caused frustration among non-PS5 users.

To add to this, it was also revealed in the game’s credits that Sony staff were mentioned to work on the game. This led fans to believe that Striking Distance Studios somehow sabotaged the Xbox and PC versions while leaving the PS5 version in a playable state.

Attempting to quell the rumors, director Glen Schofield released a statement on Twitter, claiming that Sony’s involvement in the game was limited to performance capture for the game’s cinematics.

Striking Distance Studios is aware of the game’s performance issues on PC and Xbox, and they’ve been working to address the issues since launch and has even released a patch that enabled ray-tracing reflections on Xbox Series X. In the meantime, if you want to optimize your performance for the game on your device, check out our best settings guide for The Callisto Protocol.

Carlos Perez

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Elden Ring Has “Several More Things” Incoming, Miyazaki Hints at More FromSoftware Projects

Elden Ring’s had a good run in 2022, with the FromSoftware game winning multiple awards during The Game Awards 2022, including Game of the Year. During his acceptance speech, Hidetaka Miyazaki thanked his co-workers and fans, but he also hinted at more things to come in Elden Ring and beyond.

“As for Elden Ring, we still have several more things we want to do, so getting this GOTY Award really, really encourages us,” said the director. The game just received its free Colosseum update a few days ago, and with more plans for Elden Ring in the future, it looks like the game still has quite a few updates to go, and perhaps this could pertain to a full-fledged DLC drop?

Miyazaki also claimed in his speech that he’s decided to make games that top even Elden Ring, stating “I have made up my mind to create even more interesting games than this one.” While he didn’t mention anything specific, knowing Miyazaki, we could be in for quite a surprise the next time FromSoft releases something he directed.

It’s worth noting that the long-awaited Armored Core 6 was also mentioned at The Game Awards, which is also being developed by FromSoft, but Miyazaki isn’t the current director of the project. Instead, the game is handled by Masaru Yamamura, who worked on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Carlos Perez

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Them’s Fightin’ Herds Review – Cute and Deadly (PS5)

Could your next fighting game feature nothing but four-legged ungulates? Developer Mane6 thinks so. While it may no longer have the blessing of Hasbro, this My Little Pony-inspired fighter has more legit fighting prowess than might be surmised at first glance. But is there enough here to warrant a purchase? Find out in our Them’s Fightin’ Herds review.

Fighting Is Magic

Let’s start at the beginning: Them’s Fightin’ Herds actually has a history dating back to at least a decade ago. Someone going by the alias of “Anukan” posted concept art of a game called Marevel vs. Clopcom; an obvious nod to the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise. It showed what a fighting game within the My Little Pony universe might look like. Fast-forward a few years, and a development team was formed, dubbed Mane6. Without taking any money of their own since they were using Hasbro’s intellectual property, they soon had a working game. MLP: Fighting is Magic was a mostly-working game created in the Fighter Maker 2D engine, one that was invited to be showcased at the 2012 EVO Championship Series. Shortly after, Hasbro sent a cease-and-desist letter, and production halted.

With newfound experience in making games, Mane6 charged ahead, and the result of their hard work has been realized with the release of Them’s Fightin’ Herds. The premise is similar to Fighting is Magic, as all of the game’s playable characters are four-legged ungulates (large mammals with hooves, think horse, cow, llama, etc) with differing cute styles. While not quite as over-the-top kawaii as My Little Pony, there is still no blood or anything too “ugly” here with the exception of the game’s main enemies, simply called Predators.

Don’t be fooled by the game’s outwardly cute appearance. This is a technical fighter, one that has been featured in the EVO fighting game tournament in the past, and no doubt will appear there again in the future. There are simple combos consisting of just a couple of sequential button presses, as well as 25-move combo abominations that take forever to execute but deal massive damage, which the game delightfully calls quarter pounds. Combos must be performed within just a few frames, and most moves can be blocked by holding the analog stick away from the attack and at the correct height. There’s grabs, counters, jump cancels, all the things you’d expect from a modern fighter, really, all wrapped up in a colorful, 2D art style that is as distinctive as it is playful. A 3/4ths perspective was chosen to compensate for the characters’ wide stances, since they are all four-legged. If you hope to become a competitive player, expect to dedicate dozens of hours of your life to do so.

The story that has been released thus far was crafted with the help of My Little Pony creator Lauren Faust, and it features the nations of Foenum sending forth champions to fight to help secure a mystical key that will help destroy evil Predators, ghost-like creatures that take on the form of coyotes, panthers, snakes, and other real-life hunters. The player takes on the role of Arizona, a young calf who was declared the Champion of the Prairie. Only Chapter 1 of the story has been released thus far, ending with a fight against Oleander and on a cliffhanger.

Pixelated Pixel Lobby

The campaign will be completed by most people within a couple of hours, though it should be noted that the difficulty cannot be changed once chosen, and outside of the tutorial there are sharp increases in difficulty that feel a bit unbalanced. It’s not clear why the difficulty cannot be changed, and no doubt this will be a source of frustration for some people who reach the final battle only to be stuck against an opponent who is much tougher than those who came before her. I am reminded of Mortal Kombat 11 where the final fight against Kronika was incredibly difficult, but there I was able to dial down the difficulty to get through it. Such a feature is immensely helpful for those of us who like a challenge but only to a certain point.

Outside of the campaign, there are a couple of game modes to choose from. Local play is always an option, including an arcade mode and training which allows you to see the combos available for your chosen character, as well as which you have completed. Online play is also available, with traditional lobbies and casual matches but also something called a Pixel lobby. These are areas done in the same pixel art style as the campaign, where players can meet to socialize and participate in matches while exploring. A salt mine can also be found in these areas, which become a mini quest of sorts where players mine for salt, the game’s currency. There are also predators within these mines, which can be fought for more salt. Once a timer counts down, a wave-ending scenario takes place. Players simply stay until either the timer runs out or they run out of health, keeping any salt they earned along the way. This salt can be cashed in for cosmetics at a vendor in the lobby, and can only be earned as there are no microtransactions to be found.

Shallow Roster

Part of the appeal of most fighting games is in their wide variety of characters. Them’s Fightin’ Herds unfortunately has only launched with six. While they do each bring something different, seeing such a short roster is a bit disappointing. Considering Super Smash Bros. had a much larger development team and only launched with twelve characters, perhaps this isn’t really that small of a roster, and with time perhaps Mane6 will expand the character selection to something larger. There are also eight stages to choose from, which can at least help the game’s variety a bit.

Online play experience will of course depend on your internet connection, but Them’s Fightin’ Herds does utilize GGPO (Good Game Peace Out), which is a version of rollback netcode. This uses predictive algorithms which attempt to keep things even by having the game wait a certain number of frames before applying each player’s inputs to determine what is happening in-game. In theory, this results in a nearly lag-free experience for both players, and in practice it does seem to help. Before each match, the game takes the ping times of both players and recommends a skip value to apply to the match. I saw ping times that were in the hundreds of milliseconds, and yet the game still felt smooth when playing online.

A custom engine from Lab Zero Games called the Z-Engine keeps things running pretty well, though some slowdown does occur as matches end. Otherwise, it runs fine and stays out of the way to let players fight. There are no graphics options in terms of say a 4K or a performance mode, and levels naturally load in just a few seconds owing to the PS5’s SSD. There is no haptic feedback or even simple vibrations, though such features would likely reduce the competitive nature of this game anyway.

Verdict

Them’s Fightin’ Herds has the technical chops to roll with the competitive fighting scene. Looks can be deceiving, and this game will probably be skipped by too many people simply because it doesn’t look the part. The small character roster won’t help things, either. Still, with a solid fighting core, Mane6 has a good thing going here, and hopefully the release of Them’s Fightin’ Herds fuels a continuous stream of updates.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

  • A technically-competent fighter
  • Rollback netcode ensures a smoother online time
  • No microtransactions

Cons:

  • Not enough characters to choose from
  • Solo campaign difficulty cannot be changed
  • May have too limited of an audience

Them’s Fightin’ Herds review code provided by publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

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Paulmichael Contreras

Paulmichael has been writing in the gaming industry since 2008. Living just outside of Los Angeles, he has been lucky enough to attend numerous gaming events around the world, including the last ten E3 shows (RIP)! A thoughtful reviewer, every game you see scored by PmC has been given careful attention. Paulmichael is also an aviation fan and an avid snowboarder. Favorite games include: No Man's Sky, Gran Turismo 7, skate., CloverPit.

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Sackboy: A Big Adventure Update 1.22 Ads New Shirts, Emotes and More

Sumo Digital has released Sackboy: A Big Adventure update 1.22 (PS5 version 1.022), and this adds new content in the game! This patch is out on all platforms including PC, and we have the Sackboy: A Big Adventure December 10 patch notes available below.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure Update 1.22 | Sackboy: A Big Adventure Update 1.022 Patch Notes | Sackboy: A Big Adventure December 10 Patch Notes:

This update includes the Sackboy T-Shirt, Baroque Costume and Renaissance Costume that were originally released for the launch of Sackboy: A Big Adventure on PlayStation consoles and are now available for Sackboy PC – Just download this update and they will be available in your collection.

Besides these costumes additions, we also have some further performance fixes and some UI fixes for issues reported by the community, along with a number of other general bug fixes to improve the overall experience of Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

And to top it all off…

We also have our brand-new (and still totally free!!) Emote Pack DLC containing 6 New Emotes that your Sackboy or Sackgirl can use to impress your friends!

New Emotes:

  • Big Love
  • Boogie Time
  • Feel The Beat
  • Jump About
  • Lollipop
  • Look At Me

PATCH NOTES:

  • Added Sackboy T-Shirt
  • Added Baroque Costume
  • Added Renaissance Costume
  • Added Emote Pack DLC
  • Resolved a Performance Issue When Grabbing Another Sackboy with Certain Costume Pieces Equipped
  • Fixed an Issue Where UI Overlapped in the Friend Invite List
  • Improved Sticker Book UI
  • Other General Bug Fixes

That’s about it. If there are other changes that surface, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.

Source: Steam

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Armored Core 6 Being Helmed by Sekiro Lead Designer, Story Overview and Screenshots Surface

With yesterday’s big reveal of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, it seems more info regarding the game has come to light. For starters, we now know that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Director Lead Game Designer Masaru Yamamura is the one helming the project.

This info was spotted on the game’s Steam page that now offers more news on the game’s story as well. In it, it mentions that the development team working on Armored Core 6 was initially started Hidetaka Miyazaki (director of Elden Ring), but since then, Yamamura has taken over as Director. 

Development Team
Hidetaka Miyazaki will be involved as the Initial Game Director. Based on the initial development, Masaru Yamamura has taken over as Director.

In addition to that, the game’s story overview sheds more light on the upcoming action game as well.

Story Overview
A mysterious new substance was discovered on the remote planet, Rubicon 3. As an energy source, this substance was expected to dramatically advance humanity’s technological and communications capabilities. Instead, this substance caused a catastrophe that engulfed the planet and the surrounding stars in flames and storms, forming a Burning Star System.

Almost half a century later, the same substance resurfaced on Rubicon 3, a planet now contaminated and sealed off by the catastrophe.

Extra-terrestrial corporations and resistance groups fight over control of the substance. The player infiltrates Rubicon as an independent mercenary and finds themself in a struggle over the substance with the corporations and other factions.

For reference, the last Armored Core game released, which was Armored Core 5 released back in 2012 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, was directed by Naoyuki Takahashi.

Take a look at new official screenshots as well:

According to the game’s Steam page, Armored Core 6 will feature “dynamic, fast-paced mech action.” In the game, players will pilot their ow mech with 3D maneuverability and take on “difficult challenges” that can be overcome with dynamic movements, ranged and melee combat. Yep, sounds like an Armored Core game, alright. 

Armored Core 6 is set for launch sometime in 2023 on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Update: Post has been updated to amend that Yamamura was Lead Game Designer on Sekiro and not the director. (Thanks, NextGenPlayer!)

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Alex Co

Father, gamer, games media vet, writer of words, killer of noobs.

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Online Action RPG Wayfinder Announced, Featuring Fast-Paced Combat and Looting

A new action RPG titled “Wayfinder” was just announced at The Game Awards 2022. It’s a character-based action game that revolves around looting materials and gearing up your character.

The game revolves around your character using a device known as a Gloom Dagger, and this lets you take on adventures that are different each time, hinting at rogue-like elements.

Take a look at the official reveal trailer!

Customize every play experience by stepping through a doorway of endless adventures with the help of a mysterious device known as a Gloom Dagger. Each adventure has unique modifiers and challenges you conjure and control, customizing what you hunt, and gather.

There are currently five known Wayfinders, each with their own unique playstyle. These range from the armor-clad Wingrave to the arcane-wielding Kyros.

The game will feature a lot of exploration, yielding materials that you can use to become even stronger. It’s also also made for co-op, allowing you to fight alongside friends and even build houses in neighborhoods. 

Wayfinders are stronger together. From adventuring with friends to adding your house and its powerful buffs to a neighborhood, all of your social interactions, character and housing progression are tied together by the most important thread… each other.

Wayfinder has yet to have an official release date, but you can sign up for the closed beta here if you’re interested. The beta is available on PS4, PS5, and PC.

Carlos Perez

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New Dead Cells DLC “Return to Castlevania” Features Collab With Cult Classic, Releasing Q1 2023

Dead Cells just announced its latest DLC, titled “Return to Castlevania.” As the title suggests, it’s a collaboration DLC with the popular Castlevania franchise. Here’s the animated trailer for the upcoming Dead Cells DLC.

This surprising collaboration was likely teased as early as July earlier this year. The 2022 roadmap released during that time hinted at a “surprise” for Winter 2022, but nobody could have expected a collab like this.

Dead Cells and Castlevania are forging an unexpected crossover in Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania. The teaser trailer showed Dracula, Alucard, and Richter together. The DLC is expected to release Q1 2023.

Dead Cells has been around for years now, and the game still receives regular updates. In fact, the roadmap posted earlier this year mentions that 2023 would be “the most exciting year in Dead Cells’ history,” so there’s a lot to look forward to as a Dead Cells fan.

While we don’t have an exact release date just yet, the game is currently slated for a Q1 2023 launch.

Carlos Perez

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Crime Boss: Rockay City Gameplay Footage Showcases Six Minutes in Rockay City

The upcoming crime game Crime Boss: Rockay City is already off to an explosive start with its star-studded cast. And while the game just got announced during The Game Awards, we now have some Crime Boss: Rockay City gameplay footage, which gives us a glimpse at how the game plays.

The gameplay footage features the player in a team that’s tasked to steal valuables from a vault. Have a look:

If you’re not sure what this game is about, check out the official description of Crime Boss: Rockay City from the Epic Games Store:

Rockay City. A thriving metropolis with excitement buzzing from the sandy bay to the towering skyscrapers. But beyond the glamour, there is a fierce turf war raging on…
After the demise of the previous crime boss, there’s an open vacancy for a new King of Rockay City – but it isn’t just you who is fighting for the throne. Choose your crew based on their skills and expertise, and execute daring missions with the hopes of walking away with the cash, the turf and, ultimately, the crown.

Make Sure You’re Connected
Rockay City doesn’t just look and feel like the 90s, you’ll find a few familiar faces there too. From the charismatic Travis Baker (Michael Madsen) and his team of planners and handlers (Michael Rooker, Kim Basinger, Danny Glover and Damion Poitier), to rival gang bosses (Danny Trejo and Vanilla Ice) and the righteous Sheriff Norris (Chuck Norris): it’s not what you know, but who you know.

Keep Your Friends Close
Stealing everything from cash and drugs, through to priceless artifacts is more fun with accomplices. Jump into the PVE co-op multiplayer and take on thrilling hits and heists with up to four players. Fail and you leave empty handed, but succeed and you’ll find yourself richly rewarded.

And Your Enemies Closer
Play as Baker as he builds his empire using strategy, cunning and a little fire power to carry out heists and take territory from rival gangs. Winning the turf war won’t be easy though – between Dollar Dragon, Hielo, Cagnali and Khan trying to take the city for themselves, and Sheriff Norris aiming to stop you all in your tracks, this roguelike campaign will reward and punish in equal measure.

The Best Revenge is Massive Success
These aren’t just nameless thugs – these are real people, with real big problems. Explore how Ropes, Jupiter, Runaway and the gang ended up in Rockay City and help them pull off different jobs to get back on top. Each story is made up of multiple missions, which allows you to fully experience their life of crime.

Odds are, those who played heist game Payday will see some similarities from this game. Hopefully, the gameplay is as good.

Crime Boss: Rockay City releases this March 28, 2023 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Carlos Perez

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The Lords of the Fallen Gameplay Trailer Revealed, Coming Out This 2023

Months after a sequel for the 2014 souls-like Lords of the Fallen was announced at gamescom, a new trailer was unveiled at The Game Awards. Titled “The Lords of the Fallen,” the new teaser shows off the game’s stunning graphics and soundtrack.

A vast world awaits in all-new, dark fantasy action-RPG, The Lords of the Fallen. As one of the fabled Dark Crusaders, embark on an epic quest to overthrow Adyr, the demon God.

Take a look at The Lords of the Fallen gameplay trailer below.

The Steam store page for The Lords of the Fallen is already up, and you can wishlist the game here if you’re interested.

After an age of the cruellest tyranny, the demon God, Adyr, was finally defeated. But Gods… do not fall forever. Now, aeons later, Adyr’s resurrection draws nigh. As one of the fabled Dark Crusaders, journey through both the realms of the living and the dead in this expansive RPG experience, featuring colossal boss battles, fast challenging combat, thrilling character encounters, and deep, immersive storytelling. Will your legend be one of light… or one of darkness?

Dare to Hope.

Explore A Vast, Interconnected World
Journey across two expansive, parallel worlds in your epic quest to overthrow Adyr. While the living realm presents its own brutal challenges, untold terrors lurk in the nightmarish realm of the dead.

Define Your Own Legend
Fully customise your character’s appearance from a wide array of visual options, before selecting one of nine character classes. Whichever starting path you take, develop your character to your own playstyle by upgrading stats, weapons, armour and spells.

Master Fast, Challenging Fluid Tactical Combat
Only those that master the deep, tactical combat can hope to survive. Choose from 100s of uniquely brutal weapons, or forgo metal for magic with devastating attacks of the arcane.

Unite or Fight in Online Multiplayer
Experience the expansive, single player campaign alone, or invite a second player to join your adventure in uninterrupted, online co-op. But be warned – heroes from other realms can, and will invade.

Wield a Device of Ungodly Power
Your lantern possesses the ungodly power to cross between worlds. Use this dark art to reach forgotten places, unearth fabled treasures, and even manipulate the very soul of your foe.

Rise from Death
Fall in the world of the living, and rise again… in the world of the dead. You now have one final chance to return to your living state, as all manner of hellish creature descends upon you.

Key Features:

  • Embark upon two vast, parallel worlds – that of the living… and the dead
  • Master a fast, fluid and challenging combat system
  • Wield devastating magic attacks and character buffs
  • Invite a second player to join your campaign in uninterrupted, online multiplayer
  • Encounter a wide array of characters, eager to offer a dubious hand…
  • Fully customise your own unique character
  • Choose from 9 starting character classes, including Knight, Rogue and Fire Apprentice

The Lords of the Fallen aims to be much more ambitious than the previous title, with the upcoming RPG being “five times larger” than the original game. With two parallel worlds for you to explore, there are a lot of things to discover along the way.

As a souls-like, The Lord of the Fallen also puts heavy emphasis on combat. You can build your character using a variety of weapons and stats, allowing you to carve your own identity and unique playstyle in the game.

The Lords of the Fallen is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2023.

Carlos Perez

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Sonic Frontiers Review – Rolling at the Speed of Sound (Xbox Series)

At 31 years old, Sonic is bonafide video game royalty. I’m nearly as old as the franchise, and despite the fact that I grew up in a Nintendo family, he still played a major role in my and everyone else’s childhoods. For me, it was early PC ports of the original trilogy, the first few spinoffs, and the anime cartoon. For others, it was the Rush games on DS or the later console games like Generations and Unleashed. He has been on almost every console since Sega stopped making their own, and he has jumped several genres, including multiple racers, RPGs, puzzles, and even pinball games.

On paper, it would seem that Sonic should have a cabinet full of classics that have defined their era: much like his counterparts from other companies have. But somehow, there are only a handful of games that most people think of as good. Sonic has always had serious fans, myself included, but his games have never been held in high regard beyond the original Genesis trilogy. He’s one of the boldest examples of a character surviving on star power alone. So what are we to make of the first real attempt at an open world Sonic game? Given that this feels like it should have been an obvious choice for the past 15 years. As it turns out, it’s as much of a mixed bag as you might expect from the Blue Blur.

Setting the Stage for a Heroes Parade!

Sonic Frontiers opens with a familiar sight: Dr. Eggman up to something nefarious with ancient technology and Sonic riding on the wings of Tails’ plane as they are off to search for the source of Chaos Emerald energy fields. Amy Rose, Sonic’s sometimes unwanted romantic advancer, sometimes needy cousin (depending on what source you’re using) is along for the ride. Things go wrong immediately. The friends get separated and trapped in a parallel dimension called Cyberspace. You play through a typical 3D Sonic level and are then spat out into the the open world environment.

It is a particularly uninspired opening, even for a Sonic game, and it feels oddly barebones. As you learn about the mystery of what’s going on on the island chain and the story unfolds, I couldn’t help but feel like these were narrative beats and cutscenes that would have made sense in 2006. But the game presents its story with a dedicated and heartfelt sincerity. I get the feeling that Sonic Team really wants you to feel something playing this. The bones of a compelling narrative are there and I’m sure that some people will be able to look past the severe lack of polish. It’s just that the presentation lets it down in major ways that made this brand new game feel like it could be over a decade old. You would be forgiven for thinking that Sonic Frontiers was originally a late era XBOX 360 game. If feeling something from the story was the goal, there should have been more care put into the graphics and animations.

Given the success and legacy of the franchise it is disappointing to look at. Textures are basic. The environments feel like a demo of SpeedTree and there is very little of the striking personality that Sonic’s world is normally filled with. Zany grid pattern grass and bold colors are nowhere to be seen and what is there is extremely generic looking naturalistic fields and desert.

Compounding this is the fact that this game is clearly heavily inspired by Nintendo’s two recent Zelda and Mario games (Breath of the Wild and Odyssey respectively), both of which were known for their strong art direction. I’m going on about this because I actually think the gameplay in Frontiers is a fun breath of fresh air for the franchise, and has a mildly addictive throwback collect-athon kind of quality to it. It’s just so bizarre that it is wrapped in a bundle with the graphics and presentation here. But even in regards to the gameplay, there are fossilized mechanics lurking around.

Got Ourselves a Situation, Stuck in a New Location, Without Any Explanation, No Time for Relaxation!

After finding yourself in an open area and trying to familiarize yourself with controls that are more detailed than most Sonic games have been, the collecting begins. The game is split into five different areas, four of which are large open islands that have maps full of collectables to go after. There are at least half dozen collectables ranging from the standard Rings to the Chaos Emeralds themselves. Character gems are the lion’s share of the action. Throughout the worlds are what amount to short little trick courses you might see filling a normal 3D sonic game that have the character gems at the end. The part of this that’s so addicting is the density. There are hundreds of these. The loop of running as fast as Sonic ever has, hopping from one short course to the next feels kinetic and fun.

It’s in these moments that the potential shines through. But then there are still design issues that feel dated by decades. Exchanging the little Koco characters for speed and ring capacity is a prime example. You have to select every single point you want to assign one at a time. That means going through the full 13 second animation and menu selection for every single individual point. Once, after I collected 40 to 50 points or so worth of the Koco’s, I spent nearly 10 minutes slowly upgrading my speed one point at a time. It makes no sense especially considering that you can upgrade your attack and defense all at once by just asking to upgrade both.

Then there’s the difference in controls between the open world and the traditional level/Cyberspace shrines. While the button inputs are the same, the feeling and reaction feels entirely different at times. With the controls in the levels being much looser and less precise. It often feels like you’re having to learn an entirely different set of physics for these levels. The level design is mostly solid for this style but the juxtaposition between the two can be positively infuriating at times.

Trustin’ in What You Can’t See

Despite the strange holdbacks and design anachronisms, I really liked this game. I think it’s one of the strangest games I have ever played. The oddity of Sonic and company being as cartoony looking as ever running around a naturalistic environment seriously reminiscing on things like friendship and legacy will never not be odd. But the moment to moment action can be some of the best Sonic has ever had. Even the music is a mix of the usual fantastic music associated with the franchise and softer more contemplative tracks that again, make the whole thing feel frequently bizarre. More than once I found myself literally shaking my head.

Open world Sonic should have happened a long time ago. One can only hope that they decide to give it another shot. Should that ever happen, we can just hope that they learn their lessons making this one. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a new Sonic game or are interested in a light single player experience, you could do worse than Sonic Frontiers. You could probably do better, but you could definitely do worse too.

Score: 7/10

Pros:

  • Open World Sonic
  • Solid Level Design
  • Strange in an Endearing if Frequently Frustrating Way
  • Some Great Music

Cons:

  • Poor Graphics, Cutscene Animations, and Textures
  • Strange Dated Design Choices
  • Control Inconsistency in the Levels
  • Some Out of Place Music

A copy of Sonic Frontiers was purchased by MP1st, played on Xbox Series You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

Tim Lawrence

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