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Sony has a PS4 Pro bundle for 'Kingdom Hearts III' fans
If you're a Kingdom Hearts super fan, you know the third installment of the franchise is just around the corner. Don't worry if you're currently without a console to play it on, Sony has you covered. On January 29, the worldwide release date for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III, Sony is dropping a limited edition PS4 Pro bundle centered around the title. The package is available for $400 in the US or $500 in Canada.
The 'Assassin's Creed: Odyssey' season pass will take you to Atlantis
Of course Assassin's Creed: Odyssey will have a season pass. The first add-on pack will drop sometime in December, according to a post on the UbiBlog, with "two major new story arcs told across multiple episodes." Each episode will land six weeks apart from one another, there will be three episodes per arc according to IGN and the full-on second arc will be released sometime next spring.
'Spider-Man' is my web-slinging dreams come true
Sony first revealed Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4 at E3 two years ago, but how it actually plays remained a mystery until now. At this year's show I finally got to go hands on with the PlayStation 4 exclusive. My demo was a little different than what Sony showed off at its media briefing. Rather than a frantic mission during a stormy night above and around New York City's East River, I had an hour to explore a sunny daytime chunk of Manhattan's Lower East Side, mostly as I pleased.
'Tetris Effect' is PlayStation's trippy take on the classic puzzle game
If you've been looking for something to whet your appetite after finishing Rez Infinite on PSVR, Sony's got you covered. Tetris Effect is a trippy new project from rhythm game legend Tetsuya Mizuguchi, best known for Rez, Child of Eden and Space Channel 5. There's a lot going on in the short reveal trailer beow, but the game's website has a few descriptions that should help make sense of everything. The game will surround you with "fantastic, fully three-dimensional worlds that react and evolve based on how you play. Music, backgrounds, sounds, special effects -- everything, down to the Tetris pieces themselves, pulse, dance, shimmer and explode in perfect sync with how you're playing."
'PES 2019' hits PC, PS4 and Xbox One on August 28th
If you'd rather not support EA's definitions of "gambling" and "loot boxes" but still want to play virtual soccer football, maybe this year's Pro Evolution Soccer from Konami will tickle your fancy. PES 2019 will be in stores August 28th (US) and August 30th (Europe) for Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It'll feature 4K HDR video across "all capable platforms," too. Hopefully that means support for the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X in addition to PC. Earlier last month it was revealed that the franchise would lose its license for the Champions League teams and players, and Konami hasn't provided any information yet on what will replace them. However, its announcement trailer for the new game features and awful lot of David Beckham, and there will even be an edition of the game named after Posh Spice's husband. The game is up for pre-order right now, and we'll probably get answers to our burning questions about which leagues and stadiums will be featured next month at E3.
'Doom' is the latest game to get a 4K patch on consoles
The next time you venture a little south of Heaven in Doom it'll have an awful lot more Hellish detail. Developer id Software is pushing out an update tomorrow that'll bump the game's resolution pretty dramatically on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X hardware, up to 4K. Doom uses a dynamic resolution scaler (which explains how it can run on the Nintendo Switch), but at the moment the resolution is capped at 1080p. So, while the game currently looks better on PS4 Pro than base PS4 hardware, it's not playing in 4K. Unfortunately, publisher Bethesda's blog post doesn't mention HDR or what frame-rates the game will run at in UHD.
'Burnout Paradise' is back with a $40 4K remaster March 16th
Burnout Paradise was one of those rare racers that transcended its genre and was just a killer game. If its recent 10th birthday had you feeling nostalgic, then we've got good news. Come March 16th, you'll be able to hit the streets of Paradise City once again, to the complete original soundtrack, and replete with all 150 cars and eight main expansion packs -- including the "Big Surf Island" premium DLC -- in Burnout Paradise Remastered.
Sony's $400 PSVR bundle finally includes the required camera
Much of Sony's advantage with the PSVR was that it was the cheapest way to get (non-cardboard) virtual reality into your home. Now that Oculus has dropped the price of its bundle, that advantage is evaporating. In response, Sony has added the required PlayStation Camera to its core bundle and kept the $399 price tag. But for the full experience, you'll need a pair of Move motion controller wands. Sony has a bundle for that as well, but it'll set you back $449 starting September 1st. And if you want the best PSVR experience, you'll need to pony up for a $400 PlayStation 4 Pro.
Sony's white-hot PS4 Pro debuts with 'Destiny 2' in September
PlayStation is repeating history. Once again it's dropping a white Destiny bundle, except this time it's for this September's Destiny 2 and the hardware is a PlayStation 4 Pro. The limited edition 1TB console will set you back $449.99 in the US and it will be released on September 6th. In addition to the game and PS4 Pro, the bundle includes early access (like all PS4 editions) to bonus bits, as well as an expansion pass. If your white 2TB Xbox One S needs some company in your A/V rack -- and gold isn't your color -- maybe this will do the trick for you.
Playing witness to an android riot in 'Detroit: Become Human'
I don't know when I'll get to play Detroit: Become Human again. The latest game from David Cage's Quantic Dream studio (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls) conspicuously didn't have a release date, or, hell, even a release year when Sony showed off a brand new demo at its media briefing earlier this week. Behind closed doors I was shown an extended version of the stage demo and saw just how an android riot starts.
PS4 Pro might have a 'boost mode' to improve frame rates (update)
Sony's new PS4 Pro provides a noticeable visual upgrade to games that have been patched to take advantage of the console's extra horsepower. But what about all the rest of your games that developers haven't updated yet? Well, a thread over at the NeoGAF forum indicates those games may soon look better too, thanks to a new feature called "Boost Mode."
'Fallout 4' visual upgrade demands a monster PC
Fallout 4 is already a good-looking game (insofar as a nuclear wasteland can look good, anyway), but Bethesda is about to kick things up a notch. An update rolling out next week will add a High-Resolution Texture Pack that adds an absurd level of visual detail for PC players -- check out the rust and scratches on the power armor above if you need evidence. To say that this will demand a beefy system is an understatement, though. The developer recommends at least a 2015-era desktop Core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a monster graphics card -- you should have either a GeForce GTX 1080 or (until Bethesda pulled mention of it) the as yet unreleased AMD Radeon RX 490. And did we mention that you need an extra 58GB of storage for all that new art?
Dino VR adventure 'Robinson: The Journey' stomps to Oculus soon
Virtual reality is the best (and safest) way to get up close and personal with dinosaurs. And next month folks with Oculus Rift headsets can do just that thanks to Robinson: The Journey's PlayStation VR exclusivity going going extinct expiring.
Sony has sold 50 million PlayStation 4s
After surpassing 40 million sales back in May, Sony has now sold 50 million PlayStation 4s. That figure includes PS4, PS4 Pro and the new slim version of the console, and represents sales to customers, rather than shipments to stores. The 50 million milestone took just over three years for Sony to reach. For comparison, the PlayStation 3 was on sale for four and a half years before Sony had shipped the same number.
Pros and cons: Our quick verdict on the PS4 Pro
It's going to be another year yet before Microsoft ships its next-gen console, codenamed "Scorpio." So for the next 12 months, then, the most powerful gaming console you'll be able to buy is the PlayStation 4 Pro. Still, that doesn't mean it's worth the upgrade -- at least not now, and certainly not for everybody. Because one of the PS4 Pro's biggest draws its ability to handle 4K HDR video, you won't get much out of it if you don't already own a matching 4K HDR set. So if you already own a regular PS4 and a 1080p set, you have no immediate reason to upgrade. Plus, even if you do have the right kind of TV, many games haven't yet been updated to offer 4K HDR video quality. Also, because the PS4 doesn't support 4K Blu-rays, your only way of getting 4K video right now is through Netflix or YouTube. It's probably best to wait not just for those game patches, but for Sony to port over the 4K streaming store already offered on its Bravia TVs.
12 gifts for the gaming geek in your life
Whether they've got a fully tricked out PC gaming rig or just looking to get a little retro button mashing done on their new 4K TV, we've got the gift for the gamer in your life. Obviously, with some new consoles on the scene, there's an obvious upgrade out there for the hardcore in the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S. But you don't need to drop $300 - $400 to upgrade your favorite geek's gaming experience. A high-end mouse, top notch controller or a new headset can make a world of difference for those glued to online battles. And, for those in your life that prefer their gaming be a little more... let's say physical, you can't go wrong with a board game like Mechs vs. Minions or King of Tokyo. For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don't forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
Firewatch's free-roam mode wants you to take a hike on PC, PS4
Sometimes the best therapy for whatever you're going through is taking a walk in the woods and reconnecting with nature. With temperatures starting to drop and urban living, though, that might not be the easiest thing for everyone to do. A pair of free updates to this year's indie darling Firewatch, might offer a virtual respite from current events, however. The game's free-roam mode is available now for players on PlayStation 4 and Steam. it made its way to the Xbox One prior to today. Before you can start hiking what develop Campo Santo describes as "miles of trails" and experiencing a dynamic 24-hour day-and-night cycle, though, you'll have to finish the story mode first. Just a heads up.
It sounds like Microsoft has shelved its Xbox streaming stick
Prior to Microsoft's keynote at E3 this year, a raft of rumors were swirling about. Microsoft's answer to the PlayStation 4 Pro (which we now know as Project Scorpio) and the Xbox One S garnered most of the attention, but loose lips also suggested an Xbox-branded streaming dongle was in the works as well. The Chromecast-like device would've streamed Windows 10 apps and "light Universal Windows Platform" games in addition to content from an Xbox One. It would cost $99 according to Windows Central. Not anymore, however.
4K gaming has a video service to do it justice
The problem with this Ultra HD future we're moving toward is that we're in a weird in-between spot where the most convenient media delivery method (streaming) can't hold a candle to the quality of the source material. The tech-minded folks at at Digital Foundry are acutely aware of this. As such, rather than relying on YouTube's lossy and compressed method of hosting videos, DF has struck out on its own for offering source-quality downloads for its game-tech analysis videos.
Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro is a perfect way to show off your 4K TV
The PlayStation 4 Pro is a new breed of console. It's not going to replace the original system. Instead, it's meant to tide over gamers who've upgraded to new 4K TVs with fancy high-dynamic-range (HDR) lighting features. It's a more significant step up than the Xbox One S, which is mostly centered around upscaling 4K content, but it'll compete directly with Microsoft's bigger console upgrade, Project Scorpio, next year. Welcome to the new era of gaming systems, which is beginning to resemble the world of PC games with a multitude of minor upgrades, rather than completely new system generations. (Nintendo, ever the iconoclast, is trying to do something both new and traditional with the Switch.) There's no doubt that the $399 PlayStation 4 Pro is the closest we've gotten to high-end PC-quality graphics on a home console. But the thing is, it's not going to be a major upgrade for existing PS4 owners. And to really see the benefits of its faster hardware, you'll have to wait for games to get upgraded. At the very least, though, it's a welcome reward for anyone who's held off on buying a PlayStation 4 until now.
