Firewatch is already a success, passing the developer’s “wildest expectations”

So far, 2016’s biggest indie smash has been the first-person adventure game, Firewatch. Campo Santo’s exploration of the Wyoming frontier has left its stamp on the gaming universe, and everyone who has played it loves sharing their experiences and even photos with one another. What’s more, they can even get them printed physically and mailed to their homes!

Fans will be happy to know that the developers have also declared the game to be a hit, stating in a Twitter post that sales have exceeded their “wildest expectations.”

Regardless of whether or not this game doesn’t sell as many copies as The Witness, Firewatch never got center stage air-time at E3, and it blazed out of nowhere to become just one of those “lightning in a bottle” sensations.

With the money raised from Firewatch, the team will be financially sound enough to create another game. Hopefully, some of that cash will be put towards a rocket-launcher death-match mode before it moves on to a follow-up game.

SOURCE TWITTER

Star Ocean 5 character trailer for Relia – Do those clothes weigh more than her?

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is back with another character introduction, this time looking at its pint-sized priestess, Relia.

This twerp fills the amnesia quota as required by every JRPG storyline. She indeed has no idea where she is from or who she is, but she joins Fidel and Miki on their intergalactic quest to bring these memories back. She speaks in a childish manner, comforting those around her, but she also lacks emotions, filling yet another important anime void.

It would also appear from the trailer that someone is out to get her. I can’t imagine how she might blend into a crowd, though. Her pursuer could spot that outfit from seven star systems away, and the weight of such heavy robes would bring her crashing to the ground should she be forced to run.

But, hey! JRPG logic! Just accept it, and move on.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness launches on the PlayStation 4 later in 2016.

source:  GEMATSU

Xbox Live Downtime Drags Past 12-Hour Mark [Update]

Xbox One users have reported faults with Microsoft's Xbox Live service for more than twelve hours, with the service down and unable to allow customers to use apps, buy content, or play games online.

Throughout the early hours on Tuesday morning Pacific Time, Microsoft battled to restore its flagship games service, but connections have been up and down for some 14 hours at the time of writing.

Xbox Live Status web pages across North America, the UK, and Australia have flickered between green and red lights; telltale signs that the company's engineers are working to fix the issue but problems are persisting.

[Update: 02:56 am Pacific - Microsoft has said the Xbox Live service has been restored for now.]

As a result of a suspected DDoS attack, Xbox Live has been knocked offline on numerous occasions for more than seven days. At the time of writing, Microsoft's status page is reporting that core services are back online, though notifications have yet to be sent to customers, suggesting that the corporation is still verifying that the service has been restored.

A Microsoft spokesperson was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

source: gamespot

The Future of Mobile Game Graphics, As Demonstrated by Epic Games

This week at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2016 event, during which the company announced the Galaxy S7 and more, Epic Games showcased what mobile games might look like in the future. This was done by way of a video for ProtoStar, a real-time 3D "experience" built using the Unreal Engine 4. It's one of the first publicly demonstrated applications using the new Vulkan API, which has a number of gaming-specific features.

First, check out the video below.

"The new industry-standard Vulkan API brings key elements of high-end console graphics technology to mobile devices, and Samsung is leading the way with the amazing new Galaxy S7," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. "As the first engine supporting Vulkan, Unreal Engine 4 provides a solid foundation for developers joining in the mobile graphics revolution."

According to Epic, Unreal Engine 4's use of the Vulkan API is capable of delivering a number of improvements, including more dynamic onscreen objects and faster performance overall.

Here's a list of some of the technologies used in the ProtoStar video and available with Vulkan in Unreal Engine 4.

• Dynamic planar reflections (high-quality reflections for dynamic objects)
• Full GPU particle support on mobile, including vector fields
• Temporal anti-aliasing (TAA)
• High-quality ASTC texture compression
• Full scene dynamic cascaded shadows
• Chromatic aberration
• Mobile dynamic light refraction
• Filmic tonemapping curve
• Improved mobile static reflections
• High-quality mobile depth of field
• Vulkan API support with thousands of dynamic objects onscreen

The new Samsung Galaxy S7 (and the S7 Edge model) comes with a water-cooling system, a "No Alerts" setting, and the ability to record and broadcast gameplay footage. Check out this post for more on the phone's gaming features. Preorders for the new device (pricing has not been announced) open on February 23 and come with a free Gear VR headset.

source: gamespot

BioWare Producer Asks If You'd Play a Dragon Age "Tactics" Game

Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah has a question for you: "Would you play a Dragon Age Tactics game?" He's launched a Twitter poll asking fans to weigh in. Something to note here is that by "tactics" he says he means something along the lines of tactical franchises like XCOM or Fire Emblem. 

Your options are "Yes," "No," "Only on PC," and "Only mobile/handheld." Voting closes later today, so if you want your voice heard, now is the time to submit your response.

There is no guarantee that BioWare will indeed make a turn-based Dragon Age tactics game, of course, but it's still interesting to think about.

Darrah also clarified that if this game were to happen, it would not replace the mainline Dragon Age series, something fans will probably enjoy hearing.

This would also be a "full game," he mentioned.

Like the first Dragon Age, 2014's Dragon Age Inquisition allowed you to play from a top-down view for some portions, which amounted to something of a more tactical experience.

Inquisition is the latest entry in the main series; no new games have been announced.

source: gamespot

Hyper Light Drifter’s Wii U version is “currently in limbo”

While we all “patiently” wait for Kickstarter sensation Hyper Light Drifter to finally make its way onto shelves and change our lives forever, the word is out that Wii U owners might not get the chance to experience the sting at all.

Developer Heart Machine explains in an update on the game’s Kickstarter page, detailing why the Nintendo build of this highly anticipated indie game is “currently in limbo.”

We had information about our engine, two years back, when we announced support for the platform. This had assured us we could port to the Wii U with relatively little hassle by now. However, due to ongoing internal contractual issues beyond our control between the platform holder and engine developer, we just don’t know when or if this situation will have a good resolution. We are looking into the options available and doing what we can to help push the issue, including posting about it here.

It sounds as if the whole situation is out of Heart Machine’s hands. The update says that it will keep the Wii U version on the table should the problem resolve itself. However, if Hyper Light Drifter is forever doomed to not grace a Nintendo platform, then Heart Machine will happily give Wii U owners a code for another version.

The cynic in me says that they’ll have nothing to worry about. Hyper Light Drifter will no doubt be delayed into 2017, and hopefully the whole situation will resolve itself by then. Afterwards, a new issue will arise when all of the Wii U owners have moved onto the NX.

When does it ever end?! Hyper Light Drifter is scheduled for a release in Q1 2016 for the PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, and PC.

SOURCE:  KICKSTARTER

PlayStation offering free online multiplayer this coming weekend!

Thanks to a little game called Street Fighter V, Sony is dropping the pay-wall and opening its multiplayer for the public this weekend.

Staring Friday, 12:01 AM PT and running until Sunday at 11:59 PT, you will be able to access the multiplayer content on any game without a PlayStation Plus subscription. Keep in mind that this deal doesn’t just extend to Street Fighter V. Any and all games are free to come to the party including Call of Duty:Black Ops III, Star Wars: Battlefront, and whatever else the kids are playing these days.

Hopefully, this will give plenty of others a chance to enjoy Street Fighter V, since the offline components have been panned as “lacking” so far. Jump online for free this weekend, and maybe it will be the game to convince you that paid-multiplayer is an okay investment.

SOURCE: PLAYSTATION BLOG

Google Play Games gets new feature that should have been there all along

Google Play Games received a small but important update recently that delivers a feature most might argue should have been there all along. That’s right, you can now create a custom gamertag for your Google Play Games account. Previously, the service would just show your first and last initial.

“Over the next few weeks we’re rolling out Gamer IDs to Google Play Games,” Google product manager Ben Frenkel said. “Gamer IDs give you the ability to create a gaming persona, so you too can embrace your inner gaming hero. You can customize a unique Gamer ID and select a Gamer Picture to create a whole new gaming identity.”

Gamers will receive a prompt to set their Gamer ID when they log into a new game, which will kick off a whole customization process. You’ll be able to choose from more than 40 avatars for your picture, for example, and can set specific privacy settings to allow people to view your gameplay activity or not.

Act fast if you have a particular Gamer ID in mind – they’re all unique, so no two can be alike. Open the Google Play Games app on your Android device to get started.

SOURCE: GOOGLE

Sega’s giving away Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe and more on Steam for free right now

Well, thanks, Sega! The company has tossed up a bundle of games on Steam right now for absolutely nothing. If you were to buy the games separately, you’d pay almost $35. Snag the bundle now, and they’re free.

How long? We’re not sure.

The bundle includes Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit(two of its DLC releases) and Sega Classics.

This giveaway comes as the first prize for Sega’s Make War Not Love 3 event. Play any of Sega’s war games on steam (Company of Heroes 2, Total War Attila or Dawn of War 2, all of which are 75% off), and your action is added to the tally.

Basically, the world at large wins because players are partaking in the event. This prize was meant for then players of these games, but it’s open to everyone with a Steam account.

So, grab your free games! Go to that link, click into any of the games in the bundle and click install. That will give you access to all the games featured. You’ll need a Steam account, obviously.

SOURCe:  STEAM

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana’s setting sounds like an absolute nightmare

Nihon Falcom has pushed out a new batch of screenshots and concept art to detail its upcoming fantasy action-RPG, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. The company recently delved into long-time protagonist Adol Christin’s newest companions, Raksha and Sahad, and this new gallery gives a look into the horrors of the game’s setting, Siren Island.

Nothing good ever comes from Siren Island. Local legends paint a dark picture of the place with some saying sailors sink their own boats after a monstrous voice destroys their will to live. Others call it an “Eternally Cursed Island” and claim that not a soul goes there on their own free will.

Naturally, Adol Christin finds himself stuck in the middle of this setup in Ys VIII. It makes sense, too, because he’ll be shipwrecked there, as is often the case with poor Adol, and he definitely does not go on his own free will.

The creatures on Siren Island are called “Ancients,” and they come in many forms. From birds and fish to dinosaurs and other enormous abominations, some are violent and will attack Adol, and others will passively ignore him.

No man knows what Adol Christin is bound to discover on his latest adventure. No doubt a blue haired anime girl is waiting at the finish line, though.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana will be released for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita in Japan this summer. No word on an English localization just yet.

source:  SILICONERA

Need for Speed coming to PC in March

EA has confirmed that the most recent Need for Speed is ready for launch on PC and will see a release on March 17. Those who pay subscription fees for Origin and EA Access will be able to pick up the game a week early on March 10.

The PC port of Need for Speed was delayed for visual performance reasons after it released on consoles last fall. EA claims that on top of fixing the performance issues, it has also added other improvements detailed in the reveal trailer above.

These improvements, like manual transmission, will eventually be making their way to the console versions. You know, just because we don’t want people feeling left out.

Need for Speed will release for the PC on March 17. Get low, EA!

source: technobuffalo