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Sony's new PSVR shooter is a rollercoaster ride of horror
"When we announced this, we saw a 50/50 split among the fan base," said Simon Harris of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Supermassive Games' recently announced virtual reality shooter. The title, which debuted at Paris Games Week, is an extension of the PlayStation 4 exclusive released last August. The reason for the mixed reaction? Although its predecessor is an intense interactive drama, Rush of Blood is an on-rails arcade shooter (think House of the Dead or Time Crisis). Fans of the original want more drama, more Until Dawn, and this clearly isn't more of the same. But after playing a brief session of Rush of Blood and talking to Harris about the studio's plans, I'm convinced Supermassive knows what it's doing.
'Dreams' isn't an enigma, it's 'LittleBigPlanet' reborn
Sony hasn't worked out how to explain Dreams, the new title from LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway creator Media Molecule. Its debut at E3 was exciting but enigmatic, with a focus on player-driven creation and animation mechanics. At Sony's Paris Games Week press conference on Tuesday, the studio showed off a little more of Dreams. But it still wasn't clear how exactly what was shown on screen would work in practice -- we've seen a lot of creation tools, but not a lot of gameplay. Luckily, Media Molecule took some time after the event to talk us through its grand vision for Dreams. And, despite the confusion, it most definitely will be a game.
Download every 'Tribes' game for free
Fancy yourself a fan of playing awesome PC shooters online? Boy howdy, do I have a story for you: Developer Hi-rez Studios has released every game in its Tribes series for free on its website as part of the franchise's 21st birthday celebration. That means everything from Starseige: Tribes to the free-to-play Tribes: Ascend is available right now, gratis. And you don't even have to buy it a drink -- the party's on Hi-rez's dime! As if you had any big plans for this weekend anyway.
Video games are pretty lazy in their portrayal of PTSD
It's reported that one in three troops returning home from war are being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress symptoms. If you look at video games, those numbers are probably exponentially higher considering the events characters endure while saving the (virtual) world. But games aren't exactly known for being particularly subtle, and that's what the latest episode of Low Batteries from Eurogamer is all about. The clip examines Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Spec Ops: The Line, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and a few others. The findings? Sadly, games use PTSD as short-hand to fill in character backstory or motivations and sometimes are pretty lazy about it.
Terror returns in 'Outlast 2,' confirmed for fall 2016
Outlast was one of the most horrifying games of 2013 -- and perhaps of all time. Our review called it a "perfect nightmare" of gore, mental strain and tense sound design, and the Whistleblower DLC, which followed in 2014, was similarly heart-pounding. Just two days before Halloween 2015, independent studio Red Barrels has unveiled Outlast 2, due next fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Details are scarce, but we know that this sequel will be a brand-new beast. "The game will be a survival-horror experience and it will take place in the same universe as Outlast, but it will have different characters and a different setting," Red Barrels co-founder Philippe Morin outlined in October 2014. A brief teaser trailer released today suggests Outlast 2 will continue the franchise's theme of haunting religious imagery.
Steam Halloween sale slashes prices on 'GTA V' and more
You know Steam loves to celebrate most holidays in a big way -- with notable discounts on ton of different games. And since Halloween is almost here, the service is now letting you save cash on spooky titles such as BioShock, Left 4 Dead 2, Alien: Isolation, Outlast, ARK: Survival Evolved, Dead Realm and SOMA, to mention a few. There's also Grand Theft Auto V, which is priced at about $40 right now, compared to the usual $60 -- while we wouldn't exactly call Rockstar's title "spooky," it's great to have it as part of the promotion. Speaking of, the Steam Halloween sale will be live until November 2nd at 1AM ET, so you have some time to look over the games list and determine whether you want to pull the trigger on any of them.
'Mirror's Edge Catalyst' release date pushed back to May 2016
Mirror's Edge Catalyst, the long-awaited sequel to 2008's free-running spectacle Mirror's Edge, has been delayed from February 23rd to May 24th, 2016. The developer, DICE, will use the extra months to polish the game's mechanics and make it "as entertaining, impressive and memorable as it can be," Senior Producer Sara Jansson writes. The publisher, EA, will probably put the extra time to good use as well -- Catalyst's original February date was getting crowded, with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Far Cry Primal also launching then. Packed release dates aren't new: Last year, it looked like five major games would launch on the same day, October 7th, and of course a few of them ended up changing dates.
Playdate's Xbox 360 Halloween Horror: 'Dead Space' and 'Condemned'
Today on Playdate, we're facing our fears. Not of things that go bump in the night, but of industrial mining spaceships and rabid hobos. It's all in the name of good fun though! We're taking a trip back to check out some of the Xbox 360's best horror games this Halloween week with Dead Space and Condemned: Criminal Origins. Join myself and Sean Buckley for the scream-fest starting at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific for two hours of survival horror here on this post, the Engadget Gaming homepage or Twitch.tv/joystiq if you'd like to make fun of Tim's shrill shouts of terror.
Sony's CD rootkit fiasco marks its inglorious 10th anniversary
Here's one product anniversary that Sony probably wants you to forget. It's the 10th anniversary of security researcher (now CTO for Microsoft Azure) Mark Russinovich publishing details of the Sony BMG rootkit, a CD copy protection system that compromised the security of Windows PCs and was near-impossible to safely uninstall. The music label was initially dismissive, but it soon had to change its tune -- it paid millions to settle charges and recalled legions of discs. To top things off, the discovery made Sony a punching bag for anyone unhappy with digital rights management (DRM) and other heavy-handed uses of copyright.
'Titanfall' is going mobile
Titanfall, the mech-based multiplayer shooter from the creators of Call of Duty, will land on iOS and Android in some form in 2016. Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment has partnered with free-to-play publisher Nexon and mobile developer Particle City in a multi-year, multi-game deal. There are no details about the mechanics or style of the coming Titanfall mobile games, but considering Nexon's involvement, it's a good bet that they'll be free with in-app payments. "Nexon's unrivaled publishing network and free-to-play expertise will allow Titanfall to reach new global audiences. And with Particle City, we are closely collaborating to create all-new standalone games with original gameplay experiences that expand the Titanfall universe to players everywhere," Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella says in a press release.
T-Mobile will reportedly give you free data for streaming video
T-Mobile is known for making bold moves at its Uncarrier events, and it appears the next one might be the biggest yet. According to the often-reliable @evleaks, T-Mobile will soon start offering unlimited, high-speed data for select video-streaming services, including Netflix. He also mentioned HBO, but it's not clear whether that's referring to Go or Now. Either way, the announcement is expected to happen at Uncarrier X, which is scheduled for November 10th in Los Angeles. Interestingly enough, T-Mobile tweeted about the event and mentioned there was "no reason to hit pause now," in what could be considered a hint about the network's upcoming plans. If the rumor's true, this would be huge for people who have capped data services, as it would let them stream movies and TV shows free of worries -- similar to what T-Mobile's been doing with Google Play Music and others.
I played through 'Halo 5: Guardians' solo and hated it
This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk. Halo 5: Guardians is not the Halo you remember. It's a different kind of game altogether, something that more closely resembles a modern first-person shooter that focuses on multiplayer rather than a strong solo experience. This isn't the first time that's happened, but it is the first time in 11 years that a new Halo campaign feels like a massive step backward compared to its predecessor. Microsoft-owned studio 343 Industries is capable of better than this and proved as much with its killer freshman effort, Halo 4. But instead of addressing what it got wrong with that installment (e.g., an unexplained main villain) and doubling down on what it did right (e.g., an emotional storyline and constantly varying gameplay), the team fundamentally altered how a Halo campaign works to horrendous results.
Siri will soon control Music on the new Apple TV
With the new Apple TV landing on customers' doorsteps in the coming days, the company will finally join its streaming rivals in offering universal search (with a little help from Siri). Right now, the voice-activated assistant can perform its duties on movies and TV shows, although BuzzFeed reports that Apple extend the same functionality to Music from the beginning of next year.
Befriend a bear or get killed by it in PS4-exclusive 'Wild'
When Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman, first demoed Wild, the PlayStation 4-exclusive game set in a lush Neolithic world of ancient tribes and animals, it was generally met with raves. After nearly a year, however, gamers actually want to know how it plays. At Sony's Paris Games Week event, Ancel replied in the best way possible: By showing you could ride a freaking bear. In Wild, you can also take control of animals and play as them, summon spirits and walk (or swim) around the vast open world. But before any bear-riding happens, you'll need to get savvy about your environment. As Ancel explained in his charming French accent, "For hours and hours at the beginning of the game, you will be killed by the bears."
Watch all of Bob Ross' 'The Joy of Painting' on Twitch
To celebrate the Bob Ross' birthday, streaming video outfit Twitch has secured the rights to broadcast all 403 episodes of the well-coiffed artist's The Joy of Painting series. The magic runs for a week, starting today, over at Ross' Twitch channel, and is part of a bigger announcement: Twitch Creative is partnering with Adobe as a launch sponsor, and the category's getting its own homepage that'll highlight, well, folks painting and doing other creative stuff on the service. What's more, the fledgling Music category's getting brought over under the Creative umbrella, so there's a good chance you could log on and see Deadmau5 making his next electronic track on the homepage soon.
LG's mobile business just lost $67.8 million
If you were under any doubt that companies will struggle to make a profit from the smartphone business, you won't after today. LG has updated its financial results to reveal that the firm's mobile division lost $67.8 million in the last three months. That's in sharp contrast to the previous quarter, where the company could boast of squeaking a 1.2 cent profit from every handset that it sold. LG believes that the recent launches of both the Nexus 5X and V10 smartphones will help to wash away some of that pain. If executives were looking for reassurance, they'll get it from Sony which also posted its updated financial results today. The rival mega-conglomerate conceded that its own mobile division is losing $1.9 million every single day -- ouch.
BBC iPlayer is finally coming to Apple TV
In its bid to bring programming to the largest possible audience, the BBC supports all manner of hardware and devices for its popular iPlayer service. iPhone and iPad owners have been able to stream on-demand for some time, but the company never completed the set by making it available natively on Apple TV. Now that Cupertino's new streamer is up for pre-order, however, the Beeb has decided to put everyone out of their misery: it today announced that a dedicated iPlayer app is coming to Apple's latest set-top box.
Oculus Social Alpha delivers group watching to virtual reality
Oculus announced a "multiplayer mode" for its Cinema app was on the way, and today it has arrived. Currently available in the Oculus Store for any of Samsung's Gear VR devices (make sure you update your Oculus Video app too) the Oculus Social Alpha lets up to five people watch a Twitch or Vimeo stream in a virtual home theater setting. As seen in earlier previews the viewers are represented by head-tracked avatar disembodied avatars. When I tried it, the effect was slightly disconcerting, but the video stream on the screen looked just about as good as Twitch can, and the heads turned and represented each viewer realistically enough that conversation wasn't awkward.
Samsung's price cuts for high-end phones worked, but hurt profits
First, the good news for Samsung: it made more money in the third quarter (as it predicted) than it did in the same period last year. In 2015 it racked up $6.46 billion in operating profit for Q3, which is far better than 2014's $3.8 billion haul, but still not back to 2013's peak of $9.6 billion. In its detailed release today (PDF), Samsung confirmed brisk sales of new flagships like the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy 6 Edge+ but price reductions on the new S6 models and more sales of midrange phones.
'Batman: Arkham Knight' returns to PC with some lingering issues
Warner Bros. removed Batman: Arkham Knight from Steam in June because that version of the game was essentially too broken to function. Today, it re-launched Arkham Knight on Steam, though some players are still experiencing problems. In an effort to address these issues, Warner Bros. posted an update with a few suggestions for specific problems: Windows 7 players may encounter hard-drive paging issues after "extended gameplay sessions," but "re-launching the game will resolve" that. For Windows 10 players, Warner Bros. says, "having at least 12GB of system RAM on a PC allows the game to operate without paging and provides a smoother gameplay experience." It should be noted that 12GB of RAM would provide a smoother gameplay experience for just about every game in existence. The studio is also looking into stabilizing the experiences on specific graphics cards.
