It’s not so surprising that the beleaguered online game-streaming service OnLive is officially shutting down later this month. What is a bit surprising is how Sony (NYSE: SNE) swooped in to pick its bones clean by purchasing OnLive’s patent rights, presumably to bolster its own game-streaming service PlayStation Now.

It is with great sadness that we must bring the OnLive Game Service to a close. Sony is acquiring… Read More: http://t.co/WGaO1IsrmY

— OnLive (@OnLive) April 2, 2015

Starting April 30 all of the databanks that powered OnLive subscriptions will be wiped.

That means all your PlayPass games, saved files, achievements and account information will be deleted and all game-streaming hardware (and the controllers) will be rendered useless.

“After April 30, 2015, our data centers will shut down and the service will be offline,” the company’s support page wrote in a recent FAQ.

“All accounts will be closed, and all data deleted including game save data, achievements, and credit card data will be deleted. If you purchased a Steam game from OnLive, that game will still be available on Steam.

“No refunds will be available for any game purchases, hardware purchases, or subscriptions.”

Although the service is being axed, there is one way you’ll be able to keep your save files and achievements. If you happened to use CloudLift, a feature that let you stream-play games from your Steam library, your data will still be intact.

While OnLive has been in trouble for a while, it bridged an accessibility gap by letting Mac users play PC games on their machines.

Essentially the service was used as a sort of intermediary between the two system types, and soon gamers will be left with a Steam library filled with games they might not be able to play.

Plus, as the FAQ notes, you won’t be getting any refunds from Steam games you purchased through OnLive. Plus those exclusive OnLive controllers are so exclusive that they aren’t compatible with any other devices or hardware.

OnLive’s patents were a big acquisition by Sony, and could be used to completely turn around their flagging PlayStation Now game steaming service.

While this is as big disappointment for many, Sony has won out big here. The Japanese gaming titan has acquired an extensive patent portfolio specifically targeting cloud-based game-streaming.

Thus armed with OnLive’s array of patents, Sony stands to enhance and fortify its currently underwhelming and unpopular PlayStation Now game-streaming service.

Harnessing the raw power of Gaikai, which Sony purchased and absorbed into its own cloud framework, these patents could very well swing a huge blow towards the Japanese console-maker’s competitors.

“These strategic purchases open up great opportunities for our gamers, and gives Sony a formidable patent portfolio in cloud gaming,” said Philip Rosenberg, a Sony Computer Entertainment exec.

It is yet another proof point that demonstrates our commitment to changing the way gamers experience the world of PlayStation.”

But are OnLive’s strategies enough? The company did fail, after all, and the service is being nixed, so there will indefinite hurdles ahead of Sony copies their path.

All in all the big problem with PlayStation Now is how it’s marketed. Sony has experimented with offering a rental-fee structure when PS Now launched, and now the company offers monthly subscription plans at $19.99/month or $44.99 for 3 months.

Even still gamers still aren’t buying and are reticent to adopt the new platform. Considering how much games cost these days, and the current exploitative trends of the industry, I’m not surprised.

Investing in cloud gaming hasn’t come cheap for Sony. Back in 2012 it shelled out $380 million for Gaikai, the framework that would power the present-day PS Now.

We still don’t know how much the company paid for OnLive’s filed patents, but so far the cloud-gaming business hasn’t been very profitable for the PlayStation creators.

The post Sony Buys Up OnLive’s Patents Amid Service Shutdown appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has announced that the long-awaited Spotify app will launch on PS3 and PS4 later today, and that the app will be exclusive to PlayStation systems “for the foreseeable future”.

The PlayStation Music app, which taps the power of the music-streaming service Spotify, is free on both PlayStation consoles.

An active PlayStation Plus isn’t required and it’s free to listen to music, however a premium subscription is offered for $9.99 a month that blocks out ads and improves stream quality. Sony is offering a free 30-day trial for the service.

The app will be available to download on the PlayStation Store, but most users will find it already on their console, replacing the Music Unlimited app on the main menu.

Using PlayStation’s new Spotify app, users can easily listen to customized playlists and music tracks without going through the hassle of switching between the pesky Music Unlimited and the game session.

Sony has locked down exclusivity rights for Spotify as well, signalling that app software has joined as a major contributor of the timed exclusivity console wars.

“PlayStation [consoles] have gaming exclusivity,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe UK marketing director Murray Pannell told Eurogamer.

But how long with the timed exclusivity last? “That’s to be decided exactly, but certainly for the foreseeable [future].”

While Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox One won’t get access to Spotify, it does have its own premium console-based music streaming service called Xbox Music Pass. The service is priced at $9.99 a month and features cross-platform streaming across various devices, and even supports offline streaming.

The Spotify PS4 and PS3 is a win for Sony because it replaces their awful Music Unlimited service and lets users actually listen to music while playing a game. But in terms of competition, it isn’t a big deal to Microsoft, considering it has its own unique multi-platform music service.

Along with the live TV streaming service PlayStation Vue, this move into a more consolidated music streaming service fits in with Sony’s major new rebranding focus.

It’ll be interesting to see how app software is leveraged in the future to bolster each console brand, and how it fits in with each company’s growing ecosystem.

Also before you hand over your credit card information to Sony, be aware that the company doesn’t have the best track record in regards to protecting your info, and is constantly hit by hackers. Buyer beware!

The post Spotify PS4 And PS3 App Launches Today, Is Timed Exclusive appeared first on VR World.

In a recent post on the PlayStation Blog Sony (NYSE: SNE) has confirmed the PS4’s new 2.50 firmware update will release tomorrow.

The new update, codenamed “Yukimura“, adds in a ton of extra functionality to the console including the long-awaited suspend/resume feature, trophy screenshots, custom button-mapping, and even full system HDD backups.

Suspend/resume effectively adds a sort of low-power pause menu, letting gamers jump right back into any session from the PS4’s Rest Mode.

Suspend/resume takes the frontline as the most anticipated addition introduced with firmware v 2.50; originally announced as a PS4 launch feature, Sony had delayed the function due to technical difficulties.

Come tomorrow users will finally be able to seamlessly jump right back into any session where they left off without needing to load or start up the game itself. The PS4 must be put into Rest Mode before suspend/resume can be used, as it won’t work if the system is turned completely off.

Here’s a look at what a game looks like when it’s been resumed with the suspend/resumd feature.

One surprising new feature is the ability to fully back up and restore your PS4’s hard drive to an external USB drive. This includes everything from saved game data, games, screenshots, videos–the works.

Being able to backup and restore your precious data is an amazing feature and lets players avoid the soul-crushing data corruption that can plague our digital files.

While PS Plus already automatically uploads save files to Sony’s cloud, this feature adds even more depth to ensure your beloved data stays safe.

With the Yukimura update you can now customize button assignments for different game.

New accessibility options include the oft-requested customized button-mapping (right in time for the Final Fantasy X HD remaster!) as well as the convenience of text-to-speech for party interactions and messages.

Remote Play and Share Play are also getting updated to support 60 frames-per-second gameplay and streaming, but you’ll have to download a new compatibility update for the PS Vita. Also your connection must meet bandwidth requirements to stream 60fps across Share Play, so be forewarned.

Sony affirms that the PS Vita update will be released tonight, along with a new software update for the mobile PlayStation App.

All in all the update looks pretty solid and adds in a bevy of new functionality to the PlayStation 4.

Oddly enough it’s becoming more and more like an Xbox One with its trophy screenshots and suspend/resume implementation, which the Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) all-in-one system supported on launch despite Sony’s own promises.

Then again the PS4 features Share Play and a more dynamic friend system, plus now supports video uploads directly to YouTube and DailyMotion, which is pretty huge. While the Xbox One has only just now received screenshot support, it trumps the PS4 in terms of multimedia playback, so the two systems are still pretty different.

Also let’s hope that the beta test for Yukimura worked out all the kinks and bugs, and no one’s consoles get bricked.

The PS4’s previous major system updates proved to be quite disastrous, forcing Sony to institute a beta testing system for future updates.

Check below for a full list of features that Yukimura will add when it’s released tomorrow:

• Suspend/Resume* — Supported by nearly all of your PS4 games, you can jump in and out of your games with just the press of the PS button. Quickly switch from Rest Mode to powered-up so you can pick up where you left off.
• Back-Up and Restore HDD to USB — Back-up and restore your hard disc drive data associated with users on your PS4, including settings, saved data, screenshots and video clips as well as games, patches and download data, to and from an external USB drive.
• Find and Connect with Friends — “Yukimura” adds to an already robust set of social tools, bringing several updates to continue making PS4 the best place to play with your friends, including:
  • Facebook Friend Finder — Using your linked account, you can expand your network by searching and connecting with your Facebook friends.
  • Improved Friend requests — Friend requests and Real Name requests can be sent together in one step when adding a friend on PS4.
  • Streamlined Party process — The process to create a Party has been streamlined with a reduction in the number of steps required.
  • Find Friends who play your games — Easily view what friends are playing on each game detail page with a real-time “Friends Who Play This” section, which also highlights which friends are currently online and playing it, and if you own the game, allows you to jump directly into the game.
  • Join Friends directly from news feed — A new tile will be added on your What’s New feed where you can see what your friends are currently playing, enabling you to join in the game if you own it.
• Share Earned Trophies and Optimize Your Trophy List — We know that Trophies are important to many gamers, so we’re bringing more control with how you show them off:
  • Automatic Trophy Screenshots — A screenshot will automatically be captured when a Trophy is earned, preserving the moment to share with friends.
  • SHARE Trophies — Players can share Trophy information to Facebook, Twitter or via Message by pressing the SHARE button.
  • Additional Trophy sorting options — Sort your Trophy list by Earned Date, Not Earned and Grade.
  • Delete 0% Trophies — Remove games from your Trophy list that have zero percent completion.
• Improved and Expanded Accessibility Options — New options added to customize the user experience include:
  • Customized button assignments for DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller.
  • Zoom for displayed pictures and inverted colors for all system functions, apps and in-game.
  • Text-to-speech for all graphical user interface, including Message and Party.
  • Enlarged text for all graphical user interface, including Message and Party, as well as the system’s browser.
  • Bolder fonts and higher contrast UI for all system applications (but will not apply to games or third-party applications).
• Remote Play and Share Play — For games that support 60 fps, users will be able to automatically enjoy those games with 60 fps for both Remote Play and Share Play** on supported devices.
• Automatic Installation for System Software Updates — Enable automatic installation for future system software updates.
• Sub-Account Upgrade — Enable users 18 years of age or older with sub-accounts to upgrade to a master account directly on PS4, removing restrictions on chat and enabling users to add funds to their Wallet, purchase content and more.
• Verified Accounts — Select game developers, producers, designers and community managers will be verified with a badge.
• Dailymotion — Upload video clips directly to Dailymotion via the SHARE button.

The post Suspend/Resume Coming to PS4 Tomorrow appeared first on VR World.

Batman: Arkham Knight has been delayed again, and Warner Bros. Interactive is now eyeing a finalized release date of June 23, 2015 across all platforms.

The publisher shared the news in a recent Twitter post, revealing that the game has been pushed back three weeks from its original June 2 launch.

We are pleased to announce our new release date – Batman: Arkham Knight will officially launch worldwide on 06.23.15 pic.twitter.com/3XEBhghpK6

— Batman Arkham (@BatmanArkham) March 23, 2015

This new revised date marks the second delay for the final chapter in the caped crusader’s saga, and Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill delivered a public apology on the subject.

Plus we also get a new gameplay trailer, but at this point fans are probably getting wary about further delays, especially the ones who pre-ordered the game and expected it to get their hands on it last year.

So is this new date set in stone and completely finalized? It should be, and judging by the footage it’ll be well worth the wait, but any more delays will test gamers’ patience.

“We’re a developer that hates to make any compromises,” Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill said, “so we are sorry to say this means it’s going to be just a little bit longer until you can play the epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy.

“As a reward for your patience and understanding, and to make the wait even more unbearable, we are pleased to whet your appetite with a new gameplay video of Batman: Arkham Knight.”

In other news, it looks like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as a new remastered bundle.

Sources told both IGN Italy and Videogamer that the collection will be released “around Christmas” and that both games will run in 1080p HD with possible frame-rate buffs.

This hasn’t been officially announced by Warner Bros. Interactive, but it’s not really a surprise considering all of the current-gen remasters floating around.

Batman: Arkham Knight is slated to release on June 23, 2015 across Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.

The post WB Delays Batman: Arkham Knight Again appeared first on VR World.

The Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo is here, bringing a small taste of what’s to come in Square Enix’s hugely anticipated and long-awaited open-world RPG.

For the first time in nearly a decade we get to experience the action-oriented combat that the game has to offer, set in an amazing-looking backdrop filled with whimsy and wonder.

We’ve played a good portion of demo itself and chronicled our adventures within Duscae. detailing the basics while underlining the toils and troubles we had along the way. So without further adieu, let’s jump right in! Campfires, male bonding, and epic battles await!

The four main characters of FFXV, from right to left: Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, and Ignis Stupeo Scientia.

Final Fantasy XV Combat:  Targeting, weapons, MP and more

The fighting sequences in Final Fantasy XV are seamless within the open-world itself, so there’s no battle transitions that lock players into smaller environments like the old-school games. Combat is action-oriented, but it’s not as fluid as, say, Devil May Cry games where you can get away with button-mashing.

That being said you can auto-attack by holding down Square, but you’re going to have to pay attention go what’s going on around you in order to keep out of danger.

The combos in Episode Duscae aren’t your traditional button sequences. Although you do have different moves, they’re not really strung together so much as separately sequenced out. And the game doesn’t really explain how to execute the various types of attacks.

There’s also a Defensive stance that’s activated by holding L1. You can dodge attacks as well as parry while in this stance, and if you hit Square after parrying, you’ll deliver a devastating counterattack.

You can even cross-parry and cross-counter against two enemies at once.

Essentially you get a number of different attacks like Ravage, Vanquish, Crush, Counter and Descend, but you have to experiment to see how to actually do them in battle.

• Ravage - Melee barrage, executed by holding Square for constant attacks

• Crush - Initial assault, activated as the first attack when you press Square

• Vanquish - Lethal Force Strike, executed as the final killing blow on an enemy

• Blood Sword - Counter, activated when you attack after dodging

• Descend - Crushing blow from on high, executed when you attack in air

Once you enact a specific attack like Counter, which is activated when you subsequently land a blow after dodging, the battle status menu will briefly show the attack you just executed.

Players can customize which weapons they want assigned to various attacks, providing tactical strategy against different enemies.

Weapons and attack slots

Noctis has a nice array of weapons that can be mixed and matched in various ways to provide some impressive customized strategic advantage.

Remember those different attack types? Well they’re actually sort of “slots” that weapons can be assigned to. The way it works is that you can, at any time, assign any of the five weapons listed below to the battle stances.

Let’s say you have the Zweihander set in your Descent slot. This means every time you jump attack, you’ll slam down the heavy two-hander that negates defense and has quite a decent range. Also personally I like having my Blood Sword set in my Counter slot so I regain mana every time I dodge-slash.

This setup is quite tactically sound, making for an impressive array of strategem for every single battle, and you can change your loadout at any time and adapt to different enemies.

Plus every weapon has its own unique Technique attack that acts like a sort of special ability, but they tend to drain MP so you’ll want to use them sparingly.

Noctis’ weapons include:

• Avenger – Default blade with no special attacks or abilities, short to mid-range blade

• Wyvern Lance (Dragoon Jump) - MP recovery attack, long reach

• Partisan (Full Thrust) - Critical x3, MP recovery attack, longer reach

• Blood Sword (Drain Blade) - MP recovery attack x 3, Regeneration x2, mid-range blade

• Zweihander (Tempest) - Negates enemy defense, long range, slow wielding

Setting up your weapons to your attack slots is only half of the battle, and the actual combat proper is actually rather…awkward. It’s very much unlike anything we’ve seen in the series to date, despite the fact that it’s action-based like Final Fantasy Type-0.

Targeting and MP system

Final Fantasy XV‘s combat requires a steep learning curve, and to get it just right you’ll have to practice a bit. The real problem is the game’s awkward targeting system which gets kind of crazy when you’re fighting a big group of baddies.

At one point I was fighting a pack of sabertusks when all of a sudden a sortie of magitek troopers dropped in from the night sky. That’s when things started to get out of hand.

The game’s combat system seems like it was built upon 1vs1 style fights, as Noctis can only target one enemy at a time. The key to taking on groups, though, is to switch targets and whittle away HP here and there while trying to focus taking out baddies one at a time.

When you’re fighting a group you’ll need to pay attention to what’s going on around you. You can’t have tunnel vision and fight only one target, you’re going to have to switch targets quite often, dodge, and even warp to higher ground or hide to regenerate MP.

Warping to higher ground is a great way to regenerate MP, which is a significant resource in FF15.

MP is extremely important in Final Fantasy XV, and if you run out, you go into a sort of “staggered” state called Stasis. While in Stasis you can’t use your warp ability, you can’t dodge, nor can you cast techniques.

Dodging is one of the most important things you can do in the game, and you’ll be doing it a lot, but you can’t do it too much, because dodging actually takes MP. That’s right, you need MP in order to dodge.

The only ways to regenerate your MP in battle is to use Noctis’ warp ability to zap to a metal tower, hang there, and replenish your magical energy, or you can hide behind rocks, trees and other outcroppings.

This hinders that fluid, action-packed feel quite a bit, but it also does something quite important and forces players to pay attention and carefully weigh their choices in battle. You can’t just spam Dragoon Jumps or dodge every attack, and like or not you’re going to take a few hits here and there.

So what happens when you get overrun and wiped out?

The neat thing about FF15 is that you don’t “die” when your HP runs out. When you’re knocked out you can still move around–you go into a “Danger” state that’s akin to the Stagger state–and there’s a secondary health bar that can be depleted before you’re K.O.’ed.

When you’re in the Danger state one of your teammates can jump in and Rescue you, and you can always do the same for them, basically adding another level of depth to combat.

The post Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae Demo Impressions appeared first on VR World.

PlayStation Vue, Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) web-based service that brings live TV broadcasts to PlayStation consoles, is now available today in New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago.

PS Vue “aims to take the burden out of watching television”, and essentially unifies all the functionality of a cable set-top box with a customized Netflix-like subscription model.

Subscribers can schedule, record and save their favorite TV shows thanks to Vue’s DVR, and since the content goes directly to Sony’s cloud network, you won’t have to worry about all that HD video eating up your precious hard drive space.

The service also has a considerable on-demand presence that taps into Sony’s established PlayStation Store content. “Vuers” get the further benefit of a “smart customization” feature that learns what you like and adapts to your preferences, tailoring to your specific tastes.

Subscription fees are on a month-by-month basis, and there are three different plans: $50 a month for Access, $60 a month for Core and $70 monthly for Elite.

Each successive tier delivers more channel options, and Core brings a dedicated sports package whereas the Elite plan includes everything in the previous tiers along with extra lifestyle, music and family channels

If you live in the trio of launch cities you can get a free 7-day trial to PlayStation Vue.

The service launches today with “over 75 channels” including major content providers like Fox, CBS, Comedy Central, Bravo, Nickelodeon and even AMC, which will be available next month. Below we have a handy list of what you can expect from the service:

• CBS – At launch, PlayStation®Vue will offer the live linear signal from CBS Television Network’s owned-and-operated TV stations in select leading markets in addition to on-demand prime-time programming.

• Discovery Communications – Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Family Channel and 11 more brands.

• Fox – FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD. Additionally FOX Sports’ national and regional programming services – FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, BTN, Fox’s regional sports networks, including YES Network and Prime Ticket. The agreement also covers Fox’s owned and operated television stations.

• NBCUniversal – All local offerings from NBC, Telemundo and regional sports networks as well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, NBCSN, Oxygen, Sprout, Syfy, USA Network and more.

• Scripps Networks Interactive – HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel.

• Viacom – BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, PALLADIA, Spike, VH1 and more.

Sony’s bold gambit to circumvent cable and satellite providers might pave the way for other console-makers to follow suit. With PlayStation Vue, Sony’s home consoles become decidedly all-in-one style systems that embrace a new frontier of TV-over-internet streaming on a games console.

It’ll be interesting to see how the market responds to the service, and what kinks and follies arise on the way. First and foremost is Sony’s problem with securing customer’s credit card info with it’s shaky online framework, whose security has been make a mockery of time and time again.

It might be possible to use prepaid PS Store cards to pay for the recurring monthly fee, but odds are that you’ll need to use a credit card, and that means entrusting Sony with a responsibility it’s proven it’s not so ready to handle.

Be sure to drop by the official PS Vue website for more info.

The post Sony’s PlayStation Vue Live TV Service Launches In Select Cities appeared first on VR World.

After recent delays, Sony (NYSE: SNE) has finally pinpointed a finalized release date for the launch of their next-gen console-and-handled combo for the Chinese market.

According to a recent press release from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia, Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PS Vita comes to China on March 20, 2015 for 2,899 RMB and 1,299 RMB respectively.

SCEJA has revealed two special edition “dragon” variants for each system to commemorate the Chinese launch, and both systems will be accompanied by the following day-one games:

PlayStation 4 Chinese Launch Titles

• DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition
• King of Wushu: Free Early Access Edition
• Knack
• Mr.Pumpkin Adventure
• Rayman Legends
• Trials Fusion

PlayStation Vita Chinese Launch Titles

• DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition
• Farming Simulator 14
• FINAL FANTASY X HD Remaster
• FINAL FANTASY X-2 HD Remaster
• One Tap Hero
• Rayman Legends
• TOUKIDEN-KIWAMI

While that current launch selection might seem lackluster, SCEJA plans to release a “steady stream” of titles to the region with the help of more than 70 third-party software development studios–26 of which are native Chinese developers.

Sony is committed to actively supporting Chinese developers to ensure the platform has a thriving and expansive library of games, so it looks like the PlayStation has a solid future within the region.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) got a head start over Sony by releasing the Xbox One last September following the Chinese government’s decision to lift the 14-year ban on consoles, and it’ll be interesting to see if Sony can assert their dominance to the new frontier that is the Chinese gaming market.

The Xbox One was first to launch in China, but can Sony win over this region as well?

But Sony’s biggest competitor won’t be Microsoft; it’ll be China’s black-market gaming sector that’s thrived over the last decade and a half thanks to the government’s tight gaming restrictions.

Although the red tape has been lifted and the PS4 and Xbox One are now legal, consumers may be hesitant to embrace the consolidated and limited entertainment options that the consoles offer and instead stick to the huge array of games available on the underground market.

Like Microsoft, Sony will also go against the mobile gaming sector, which has proven to be massively popular within the region.

Despite the hurdles, in the next few months we may see China’s gaming presence make a paradigm shift towards console gaming thanks to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as the People’s Republic of China represents a relatively new frontier for the console games market–and a new battleground for Microsoft and Sony.

The post Sony’s PS4 And PS Vita Come To China This Month appeared first on VR World.

Reports indicate that Sony (NYSE: SNE) will roll out a new firmware update for the PlayStation 4 that will add in a number of interesting new features including the long-awaited game suspend/resume function, customized controller button mapping, and more.

The info was leaked by participants of Sony’s PlayStation MVP Program who are currently beta testing the PS4 2.50 firmware update, which is currently slated for a release sometime in April.

PlayStation 4 gamers have been waiting for the resume/suspend mode since Sony announced the feature before the system’s launch, but the addition was delayed and has been anticipated ever since.

In the meantime Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) sought to one-up Sony by implementing the “Resume Game Quickly” feature for the Xbox One, effectively introducing a suspend and resume mode for the all-in-one console.

The mode is essentially like opening and closing the Nintendo 3DS and being able to easily and quickly jump back into your game without any loading or data loss.

Suspend and resume will be nestled as part of the PlayStation 4’s Rest Mode and will essentially enables users to pause their game and preserve their progress while the console is in its low-powered state.

With the custom button-mapping feature, PS4 gamers will finally be able to recreate the original Japanese face button meanings where O is confirm and X is cancel; a scheme that a lot of JRPG gamers have come to know and love.

The button mapping may be universal across all PlayStation 4 games, which is a pretty amazing addition. Then again we have reports that the custom mappings may need to be set for every game instead of being a global option (thanks justerthought!).

Plus it looks like V 2.50 will update Share Play to 60 frames-per-second along with allowing gamers to take snapshots of game scenes when trophies are earned and share them just like screenshots, similar to the Xbox One’s achievement structure.

Also the PS4 will automatically delete games at 0% trophy progresson from your list, making for easy navigation.

But there is some bad news, as you’ll need to update your PS Vita past v 3.35 in order to use Remote Play with the PS4. Let’s hope both updates arrive side-by-side or gamers won’t be able to tap into the cross-platform streaming action.

The new firemware update is looking to be quite hefty and it’s great to see that Sony is opting for a beta test this time around considering how some past updates have led to various performance issues and problems.

Hopefully the Japanese console-maker will be able to iron out all the kinks and stay on track for an April release, as it’d be nice to play Final Fantasy X HD Remaster in May with the revised button mapping controls.

Below we have a huge breakdown of what v 2.50 has to offer straight from trusted industry insider Wario64 (via Gematsu):

Main Features

• The system can now enter rest mode without closing any applications. You can adjust this setting in [Power Save Settings] > [Set Functions Available in Rest Mode].
• [Accessibility] has been added to [Settings]. You can adjust accessibility settings such as zooming and button assignments.

Trophies

• You an now delete trophies with 0% achievement progress.
• [Earned Date], [Not Earned], and [Grade] have been added as sorting options for trophies. You can also sort by [Earned Date] and [Not Earned] options when comparing trophies with other players.
• You can now search the Internet for details about trophies from the options menu in [Trophies].
• Screenshots of scenes when you earn trophies are now saved automatically. You can view saved screenshots in [Capture Gallery].
• You can now share trophy details and screenshots. Select the trophy you want to share details about in [Trophy], and then press the Share button.

Share Play

• You can now test the host’s connection speed when starting Share Play.
• You can now enjoy Share Play at 60 fps. A host in a party can adjust the setting in [Party Settings] > [Video Quality for Share Play] > [Frame Rate].
• A user who is running version 2.50 or earlier on their system cannot use Share Play with someone who is running version 2.50 beta on their system. Users who are both running system software version 2.50 beta can enjoy Share Play.

Other

• Users who are your Facebook friends can now be displayed in [Players You May Know].
• You can now send real name requests in addition to Friend requests to users who are currently not on your Friends list.
• You can now apply a shadow style for text in [Themes].
• You can now enter up to 140 characters for your self-introduction.
• If you enter 22 characters or more for your self-introduction, only 21 characters will be displayed on a PS4 system running system software version earlier than 2.50.
• You can now use the touch pad to operate playback of videos on discs.
• [Discover] has been added to introduce users to PS4 system features. You can view information about features in [Notifications] > [Discover].
• Remote Play cannot be used with a PS Vita system running version 3.35. A system software update for the PS Vita (to be released later) is required.

Source: Gematsu, @Wario64 1, 2, 3 and 4

The post New PS4 2.50 Firmware Update Brings Suspend/Resume, Custom Button Mapping appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has recently confirmed that the Project Morpheus VR headset will require a wired connection to “ensure high-speed data transfers”.

Speaking with Gamespot at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC 2015), President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida had some interesting things to say about the company’s new virtual reality peripheral.

According to Yoshida, Project Morpheus’ internal hardware is “pretty much done”, but the Japanese console-maker will continue to add in “lots of tweaks and improvements” before it’s ready to ship.

Earlier at GDC Sony slated an early 2016 release window for the VR headset, revealing a slew of specs and a brand new prototype to be demoed at the event.

But there’s something the prototype assets seemed to leave out: the required wire that tethers the headset to the PlayStation 4, and an extra box that will basically process the image data directly to the headset.

Although its a prototype model, this press pic doesn’t adequately portray the headset’s required direct-wired connectivity.

During the interview Yoshida state that Sony won’t be releasing a wireless flavor of Project Morpheus, stating that wired HDMI connections were a must to transfer full 1080p HD at refresh rates of 120Hz–which is responsible for that “immersive VR feel”.

Essentially a wired connection is required to maintain the headset’s reduced latency rate (less than 18 milliseconds) to keep that authentic virtual presence. If there’s too much lag, the illusion of VR breaks down entirely.

It’s worth mentioning that all VR headsets, from the Oculus Rift to the newly announced HTC Vive, will be wired to their respective sources.

Since Project Morpheus’ source is the PlayStation 4, that means an extra bit of hardware is needed to ensure the PS4’s only HDMI out slot isn’t taken up by the headset.

Sony will ship the Project Morpheus with an external “Processing Box” that attaches via HDMI and USB, and currently has its own power input, meaning things are going to get even more trip-worthy.

Yoshida says that the 1080p video signals are being sent to the headset, meaning data is being fed from the PS4 through the external processing box and out towards the headset.

Richard Marks, Sony’s Director of Research and Development, explained what the external box actually does in a recent interview with Tested at GDC 2015:

“We call it a PU, and it’s a box that takes the output from the playstation 4 and it splits it, splits it for something for the headset and something for the television.

And it does this conversion of the 120Hz output of a PS4 that something a TV can display, and it doesn’t get warped. That let’s the people in the room that are there to see what you’re seeing.”

According to Digital Foundry, the Processing Box “features a processor that runs the social screen – an external display output that takes one of the stereoscopic views, ‘undistorts’ the image, zooms into the main area of interest and beams it out via HDMI to your HDTV”.

Essentially Morpheus will need to be tethered to the console by way of this external processing box at all times in order to function, which seems to go against the sleek, stylish form factor that Sony tries to depict.

So in order to operate Project Morpheus you’re going to need an ecosystem of PlayStation products: the PlayStation Camera, the PlayStation 4 that powers it, the external processing box, and a DualShock 4 or PlayStation Move controller to interact with it.

And, of course, the VR headset itself.

One of Sony’s major tenets with Project Morpheus is a “user friendly design”, but instead of focusing on environments outside of VR, they just ensure the headset is physically comfortable to wear.

Good news is the controllers will be wireless, but they’re a modified version of the PlayStation Move free-hand peripherals which are basically Sony’s answer to the Wiimote. The DualShock 4 is also compatible with the headset if you prefer a more direct gamepad approach.

Bear in mind the recent photos of the Project Morpheus are prototypes, and they’re not finalized, so that’s probably why we aren’t seeing the dangling HDMI cord or the extra processing box in any of the photos.

While this isn’t something that will necessarily inhibit your experience with Sony’s VR hardware, it can help you better understand the logistics of the device and how to weigh your expectations before 2016.

Yoshida also had something to say about Project Morpheus’ games library. It looks like Sony is having a hard time winning over publishers to the new hardware, as AAA has its thriving home base centered on the current console and PC platforms.

The Project Morpheus looks quite sleek in this state, but it’s non-operable. The reality resembles something a little different.

“Large publishers tend to wait until there’s enough of an install base,” he said, discussing how VR is still an early gambit for most big-name publishers. To help resolve the gap, Yoshida affirms that Sony’s first-party studios are making VR-ready games for the platform.

In any case, let this be a reminder that it might be too soon to get super excited about virtual reality.

Thing are going to be messy, and there are going to be cables and peripherals everywhere–look at the Vive’s ecosystem that’s comprised of the SteamVR Lighthouse, Vive Controller, the VR headset, and the fact that you’ll need to wire it up to a PC.

And it’s likely going to be expensive, too. So tamper your expectations and save your cash, and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.

The post Sony: Project Morpheus VR Headset Won’t Be Wireless appeared first on VR World.

A fresh batch of Final Fantasy XV screenshots have emerged, showing off some more of the upcoming Episode Duscae demo.

The FFXV Motherlode

Also in case you missed Square Enix’s massive Final Fantasy XV demo blowout, just last Friday franchise director Hajime Tabata showcased a huge livestream made up of 40 minutes of pure gameplay footage.

The livestream proved to be a wealth of information on the demo, displaying in-depth action-based combat sequences with the Active Cross Battle System along with exploration and even campfire cooking.

And that Behemoth battle…yikes! Word is that the monstrous baddie will be able to wipe your entire party, so you should definitely be prepared before you go tracking him down.

As for quests, DualShockers reports that the player’s basic motivation in the demo is to scrap up enough cash to pay Cid (who’s now been rendered into a woman mechanic) to repair Noctis’ car. This means exploring, tackling enemies, and of course taking down the Behemoth to earn that sweet 75,000 Gil bounty.

The storyline should take players about three hours to complete, but the demo is bolstered by a hefty amount of exploration activities.

As for a taste of gameplay, party members will naturally interact with the environment and point out specific areas and points of interest along the way. Also players will have to visit camps in order to level up and allocate exp points and cook food to receive various buffs.

And the more you camp, the more camaraderie you build with your team, the stronger they get and learn more moves. This is a very interesting dynamic take on “male bonding” in the great outdoors.

On that same note we also got our first glimpse at the in-game map system, which looks pretty comprehensive and functional. It also looks like the final game’s map will be 10 times the size of the Duscae region.

Although gamers will be able to keep the demo and replay as long as they like, it will have certain limitations. Weather and night effects won’t be present, and the demo won’t run in 1080p at 30fps. Plus you won’t be able to carry over your saved data to the final release version.

Demo Availability

As far as availability, Square Enix has revealed that the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo will be bundled with digital copies of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for the first two months after the game’s release.

Download codes will only be available in the physical Day One editions of Type-o HD, and pre-orders are guaranteed access to the demo.

So if you haven’t pre-ordered, you can still get the demo if you pick up a digital version of Type-0 in the two-month window. After that it’s gone for good.

Also the Final Fantasy XV demo will go live the day that Type-o is released, and will be available to download about an hour after the game’s release.

2016 Release Window?

But when can we actually expect to get our hands on the final release? Probably not any time soon. Maybe not even in 2015.

In the livestream, Square Enix game director Hajime Tabata said that the team was 60% finished with the game. That sounds pretty good, right?

Back in September 2014 Tabata told Kotaku that Final Fantasy XV was 55% finished. So in about half a year the game’s progress has only been bumped by 5%. Considering how big the game actually is, 5% could be a helluva lot of progress.

Final Fantasy fans have been waiting almost 9 years for FFXV, so what’s another half a year? Square hasn’t even released a tentative release window yet, and it’s pretty much fair to say that the game won’t be hitting shelves in 2015–not unless the studio rushes it out the door.

The Final Fantasy XV demo releases alongside Final Fantasy Type-0 HD on March 17, 2015 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.

The post Explore Duscae In These New Final Fantasy XV Screenshots appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: Ready At Dawn’s CTO Andrea Pessino recently told DualShockers that the studio’s internal team estimates The Order: 1886 will take up to 8-10 hours of play, with the hard mode taking at least 12 hours to beat.

Original story as follows.

The narrative-driven PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886 has come under fire in the last few days as early recipients have recorded playthroughs lasting as little as five and a half hours.

Now it’s been no secret that The Order is primarily focused on story, but until now we haven’t really been able to gauge the gameplay to cinematics ratio–and the revelations have crippled expectations just four days short of the game’s release.

This has lead to a marked crash in hype, splintering the gaming community’s initial reaction to Ready At Dawn’s historical drama.

Gamers are questioning the developer’s story-driven approach, lambasting the studio for creating a “cash grab” that’s mostly made up of cinematic scenes, QTEs and very little actual gameplay.

Mostly, though, it was all due to the fact that gamers were led to believe The Order: 1886 was an action-driven game by some of the promotional material, when it has become abundantly clear in the last few days that it’s anything but.

It’s not your typical shooter. Yes it has third-person shooter elements, but mainly the game blends cinematic storytelling with player interaction, pushing the whole idea of “cutscenes” to a new level.

The controversy all stems from a playthrough uploaded by YouTuber PlayMeThrough who actually completed The Order: 1886 in five hours. The user cited that the experience is more like an “interactive movie” than a game.

His video was circulated throughout the internet, adding even  more credence to the game having hardly any gameplay, and furthering the criticism against the studio.

PlayMeThrough also answered a number of questions in a FAQ to clarify his time spent with the game, and it looks like players can wring out an extra few hours by searching for collectibles or playing on hard mode.

• Took me a little over 5 hours on my first playthrough (including all cutscenes)

• Not much replayability. You can’t level up any skills or anything and there is no New Game+. And you cannot skip cutscenes either, so it would be the exact same experience I’m afraid. Pretty much the only side thing you can do is looking for collectibles, but that’s it. No challenges or whatever.

• It’s more of an interactive movie to me, which isn’t a bad thing. Hence the film strips.

• If you really get into finding collectibles I’m sure you can spend much more time with it. Or if you play on hard difficulty (which I wasn’t). But my best guess, based on what I have captured it’s around 1,5h-2h gameplay and rest was cutscenes. Take the first 4 chapters for example, maybe 35% of that was gameplay. Some chapters consist only of cutscenes. And often times there are these “interactive” cutscenes with QTEs where you need to press some buttons, but I wouldn’t count that as gameplay.

SPOILER WARNING: The video below contains a complete run of The Order: 1886 and will spoil major plot points.

The major concern is The Order‘s $59.99 retail price tag. Should a game that is mostly made up of cinematic scenes be priced at $64 with tax? And what does Ready At Dawn have to say to defend their game?

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Ready At Dawn’s founder and CEO Ru Weerasuriya flat out said that the studio had no plans to discuss the length of the game before its release.

“At the end of the day, we’re not going to comment on it,” Weeraysuriya began.“We can’t stop people from writing the things they do. And we’re not going to jump at every single mistake that is made out there.”

To be fair, though, this is a pretty big situation that could end up crushing sales if left unchecked. Even still Weerasuriya argues that the games industry has always had iconic one-shot games, and that the age-old adage of quality vs. quantity is right on the mark.

“To tell you the truth, that’s something we always keep in our heads. We know people want to be entertained and have things they can play longer.

“But the industry has always had diversity. You go back 10 years, there were a lot of games that were just single-player, one time play.

“Gameplay length for me is so relative to quality. It’s just like a movie. Just because a movie is three hours long, it doesn’t make it better.”

This kind of controversy isn’t healthy for any video game, especially a console exclusive that seemed to have iffy reception from the start.

And since The Order; 1886 will go up against February’s major chart-toppers like the 3DS mega hits Majora’s Mask and Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate, and Turtle Rock’s new cross-platform shooter Evolve, this criticism will likely take a big chunk out of sales.

The idea of a stylish steampunk retelling of the 17th century history mingled with the fabled Arthurian legends sounds like an amazing premise for a game.

But story is just a part of any good game, and mechanics are essential for the foundation as well.

It’ll be interesting to see how the game fares in terms of reviews and overall reception when it’s released on Feb. 20, but things aren’t off to a good start so far.

If The Order: 1886 fails we’ll likely see fewer and fewer PS4 exclusives over the coming months simply because they’re now a gamble, but only time will tell.

The post Hype For The Order: 1886 Falters Amid Reports Of 5 Hour Playthroughs appeared first on VR World.

Developer: Techland
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Release Date: Jan. 27, 2015
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: First-person Survival, Action, Horror
MSRP: $59.99

Disclaimer: A digital copy of the game was received for Dying Light review on PlayStation 4.

Dying Light might look like any other zombie game, but I assure you, it’s not.

Yes it is made by Techland, and no it isn’t just another Dead Island clone. It’s something special and unique that represents the culmination of everything the developers learned from their mistakes with the previous games.

While Dying Light does borrow heavily from the core mechanics of Dead Island, the game has a deft and fluid grace that its predecessors lacked thanks to its new parkour-based locomotion.

And it also takes some of the best elements of the former series like crafting–adding makeshift blowtorch modules onto garden sickles or electrifying a police baton–as well as a RPG progression system.

Drop-in/drop-out co-op is also included, and is responsible for a good portion of the game’s replayability and fun factor.

Complimented with a bigger open-world sandbox filled with quests and activities and unique day-to-night transition that seamlessly changes a players role from hunter to hunted, Dying Light is one of the most entertaining and truly fun zombie games I’ve played in any generation of consoles.

Now let’s take a closer look at the bloody streets of Harran. Are you afraid of the dark? You should be.

A hero’s (zombie) journey

The overseas city of Harran is in flames. Misshapen monstrosities roam the streets, and the dead walk the earth, tearing swaths in the remaining population. The tropical resort has become a hellish nightmare that only gets worse when sun sets: that’s when the real terrors come out.

Society has splintered off into survivor factions, all fighting for precious supplies like weapons, food, and antizin, a drug that delays the symptoms of the zombie virus. But antizin is used as a commodity by Rais, a brutal despot who extorts survivors with his band of machine-gun toting ruffians.

Players take the role of GRE operative Kyle Crane, who acts as the central agent of change for the city of Harran.

Crane is a nondescript hero who must juggle a number of alliances to uphold his undercover status, ultimately leading to a true test of his morals and willpower as things become more and more dire for the citizens of the Tower.

The story has a distinct dramatic flair, with a few twists and turns, but overall is a decent backdrop to a ruined world. The stage is set by a soldier who soon realizes that his mission will ultimately compromise his humanity–standard fare in the weight of secrets upon a truly good-hearted hero.

But it becomes more and more dynamic and winding the more you progress, taxing our hero more and more. At one point Rais captures him and forces him to fight in an arena against undead, which ends up going quite amazingly well.

B-movie style

To me Dying Light feels distinctly like a B-movie, and that’s one of the many reasons I love this game.

Having seen a ton of horror movies and monster flicks, it has a decidedly cultish flair that seems to marry classic Romero sentiments with outlandish Troma-style gore. And the music feels very Carpenter-esque (something of a mix between Halloween III and Manhunter‘s creepy synth-tones).

And like a lot of campy B-movies and cult flicks, Dying Light makes use of no-brainer concepts like keeping safe zones completely devoid of ladders or stairs. Some zones are even built on floating piers, away from prowling undead.

Small things like these speak wonders and make traditional pop-culture zombie franchises look rather foolish by comparison.

It has style, it has its own allure that is suffused with a number of visceral horror elements that make it stand out quite clearly when compared to other zombie games. It’s a delightful mish-mash of both subtle fear and obscene blood and guts that shines an intimate look at the genre as a whole.

This is mostly fleshed out by the game’s day and night transitions.

During the day, players are pretty much free to do what they like: scout for items, molotov an entire horde of undead, tackle sidequests or just soak up the rays on a tropical beach. In the daytime, you’re the hunter.

But during the night? You’re the hunted. You’re prey.

Terror rules the night. The symbolism of night being dangerous and full of evils (as GRRM would say, the night is dark and full of terrors) has always interested me. So it’s with no small enjoyment that I found myself utterly captivated by the disorientation of being hunted in the dead of night.

Night is when the Volatiles, those super-powerful agile zombies, come out and play. And not all the parkour in the world can save you once you have a horde of those horrors on your back.

To even the odds Crane has a UV light to ward them off, and there are also UV light traps strewn through the city, but overall stealth is your best bet at night.

Strategic undead warfare

Combat is the most enjoyable part of Dying Light, and it’s a delicious meal that has all sorts of dishes and tastes.

There are so many different ways you can take on zombies in the game. If you’re the type that likes to bathe in zombie blood, jump right in and start swinging with a meat cleaver for some slicing-and-dicing.

You can use the multitudes of spike traps or explosive pools of gasoline to annihilate groups, or pick them off with well-placed shots from a rifle. Be aware that Walking Dead rules apply here, and loud bangs will attract tougher menaces to deal with.

Crane is a very nimble fighter, and in many ways he kind of reminds me of the Waterdancer Syrio Forel. His dodge move allows him to easily hop out of the way of an incoming Demolisher’s strike, or a skull-crushing swing of a two-handed rebar maul.

The kicks are another amazing feature. When I played Dead Island: Riptide as John Morgan, I kicked and kicked and kicked some more. I loved it. And this game adds the kick as a simple secondary feature, letting you disarm and sometimes even stun enemies.

Strategy and preference make up one half of combat, and really it’s all up to you how you dispatch the undead.

I myself love using firecrackers to get zombies massed together, and then tossing a molotov to slowly burn them out. When you level up your Survivor tree things can get much more interesting.

For example you can use freezing throwing stars to immobilize troublesome baddies in place, or toss a toxic grenade in their midst for some slow poison damage. You can even use some flammable liquid and combo off of your fire-enhanced weapons for explosive damage.

Loot, sweet loot

Items are the other hemisphere of combat, and Dying Light one-ups Dead Island in a few key ways. You can still pick up swords and axes and hammers–the basic advantages of melee weapons over guns still stands–but Techland has raised the ante a bit in terms of customization.

Every item can be upgraded and fit with a custom mod for double the carnage. Upgrades only raise stats like damage, durability and handling, whereas mods will imbue the item with interesting elemental affinities.

Also a lot of these affinities can combo off of specific materials and items–we’ve already explored how flammable liquid combos off of fire weapons, but the same is true for conducting liquid and electrically-charged crowbars, swords, etc.

There are a ton of unique items peppered through Harran, some of which are secrets. There’s the Excalibur sword hidden in a zombie corpse, the devastating sick bomb that’s awarded to you after a tedious game of checkers, the ultra-powerful Korek machete (named after a Techland employee) and a number of other goodies.

Sometimes, though, the best items are the ones you make yourself. Other times you’ll want to go ahead and just upgrade a Korek machete with a King’s Mod and just go to town.

Bloody chaos and parkour

Combat is a visceral, bloody and brutal experience.

You get up close and personal with the zombies–the game makes you feel when you hit that perfect critical and smash in their heads, bringing the total panicky terror when you’re overrun by dozens of undead.

Sometimes it can be satisfying, other times it can get out of control. I myself keep things interesting by complimenting my melee strikes by using throwing weapons, traps, and other mechanisms of destruction.

In terms of movement, the game flows exceedingly well thanks to its new parkour system. This pretty much gives you the freedom to explore and move across any area of the game, sprinting across rooftops or wall-jumping and leaping across high distances.

The parkour is smooth, and to me it’s smoother than Mirror’s Edge simply because you don’t have to keep that momentum going at all times. Plus later on you get a wall-jump that pretty much makes it so you can grasp any ledge, no matter how high it is.

That being said the parkour can be finicky at times. Early on you’ll learn what ledges you can grasp (anything without barbed wire) versus those you just can’t. And sometimes you’ll miss anyway. It happens.

And there’s a grappling hook. Yes, it’s amazingly fun, but you won’t get it until you’re level 12 in Survivor rank.

Skill progression

Speaking of ranks, there are three major RPG skill progression trees: Agility (running, jumping, sliding, parkouring, etc), Survivor (saving NPC’s, doing missions, side quests, grabbing air drops) and Power (killing zombies in any fashion, whether with weapons or traps).

Each tree has three tiers, and my favorite is the Survivor tree.

You can use it to create some pretty badass items, from elemental throwing stars, shields that can actually soak up damage and inflict status ailments, boosters and tonics too buff your armor and stamina, and even makeshift grenades.

Add to that a massive open-world sandbox filled with tons of easter eggs, hidden items, blueprints and volatile zombies and you’ve got the city of Harran. The in-game world is pretty huge and there’s a ton of side quests and NPC’s to interact with, along with a sprawling metropolis replete with different sections and areas.

In short there’s always something to do in the game, and all of it is pretty entertaining.

Co-Op

The co-operative play is amazingly well done.

Even when I’m playing with a full team of four I have hardly had any lag, and we pretty much decimated everything that was in our path. It’s a great way to blow off steam for some mindless chaotic fun, and to earn a lot of cash looting the dead zombies.

The only gripe I have with co-op is that all the players have to be in the same spot to initiate a mission or quest. A lot of the time random players will scatter to the four winds, but if someone’s trying to kick off a quest, you can actually teleport to their location in a jiffy.

I’ve had a blast with the co-op so far, and I’ve actually met a few new friends who I join for some high-stakes questing–and they even showed me a thing or two about Easter eggs, especially the incredibly amusing Super Mario Bros. parkour level.

Quirky NPC’s

I have to give a shout out to some of the most odd and comical NPC’s I’ve encountered in my time as a gamer.

Dying Light is full of unique characters who actually have character. It’s very refreshing to come in contact with a guy who’s willing to give me an impression before he just sends me on a fetch quest.

Some memorable NPC’s include those idiosyncratic twins Tolga and Fatin, who, after sending me on a fetch quest, initiated in a very entertaining bit of banter where they argued about who’s smarter Cornelius or Dr. Saius.

“Orangutans are smarter”, Tolga tells his half-wit brother in an obvious tone, “Cornelius didn’t even have a PhD.”

Then there’s Edwin Snowberg, a horror movie director who actually flew into Harran just so he could get cheap footage for his next zombie movie, Zombie Annihilation IV: Dying Lunch. Snowberg sends you on a mini-game where you blast zombies with a shotgun, and rewards you with cash. I love it.

Conclusion

Dying Light is zombie survival sim done right.

It keeps the tried and true Dead Island formula but patches up so many things that the original series missed out on, including free-flowing parkour, a more dynamic open-world, and more satisfying combat.

There’s a massive level of depth to the game that can be explored in so many ways, whether it’s with a friend (or group of friends or strangers) in co-op, or simply alone. The storyline is pretty decent and has some memorable characters like Jade and Rais to fill things in, but all in all the mechanics make the game what it is..

With a range of amazingly satisfying strategic-based combat mechanics, massive level of replayability, dazzling graphical fidelity, quirky NPC’s and a huge artillery of quests and side quests, Dying Light is pretty much my new favorite zombie game and we’re confident that after you try it, it’ll be yours as well.

The post Dying Light Review: Dead of Night appeared first on VR World.

Amid the sea of overhyped gameplay footage and misleading bullshots, the new Persona 5 trailer is a breath of fresh air that might just be the most stylish bit of preview footage I’ve ever seen.

And based on the wildly enthusiastic reception from most of the gaming world, I’d say I’m not alone in this verdict. In just three days the Persona 5 trailer has been consumed by almost 2 million people (the current YouTube stats total up to 1,986,744 hits).

Wow.

The trailer is a pure extension of the Persona series’ distinct stylish flair that seamlessly and effortlessly blends the worlds of gaming and anime together for 3 minutes of eye-popping wonder.

The merger of these two worlds often leads to superlative works of art that deliver a truly unique and original representation that carries viewers off to another world of fancy, whismy, and badass demon-slaying JRPG action.

Right from the start the footage whisks us away to an artistic rendition of Tokyo that enraptures our eyes. We’re carried off the main character’s Persona, a mask-clad thief known as the Phantom, as he takes on his latest heist.

Like the entire trailer, the Phantom has a kind of liquid grace that flows with the animations, capturing Persona 5‘s new protagonist in a memorable and stylish way.

Then the intro proper takes us across a beautifully rendered monochrome rendition of Tokyo contrasted by a blood red sky. The Phantom leaps like a daredevil in the sky, performing one death-defying stunt after another, his motions sure and quick and perfect.

Then everything just starts to flow, creating a pure visual treat that marries so many different mechanics–from comic-like tearaways during character intros to perfect frame-to-frame transitions. Every single scene is like a work of it in itself, and it plays altogether like a block of some fantastic radical lucid dream.

Throughout the footage our ears are treated to some jazzy bass-lines and guitar solos that bring have a decidedly Cowboy Bebop vibe, with upbeat orchestrations to match its funky licks.

And then there’s the menus. Oh those beautiful menus.

It’s almost as if everything about Persona 5 is going to stand out when compared to the backdrop of today’s humdrum AAA lineup.

Even the in-game menus are works of art, animated with such pizzazz and vitality that it’s hard not to be amazed and bewildered as to why this kind of thing isn’t in other games.

Likewise the in-game footage is presented with that same stylish flair, making even monotonous classroom lectures into entertaining expenditures.

Cast in the dazzling neon glow of Tokyo proper, Persona 5 also makes the everyday cityscape into something dazzlingly beautiful, turning a train ride home into a memorable occasion.

But things get truly interesting once Shujinko and his team cross over into the realms of Personas, showcasing combat sequences and hinting at some mechanics that quick-eyed viewers might be able to catch.

Persona 5 takes place over a year in the life of an everyday student who has a unique ability to summon Personas, that is facets of his personality that manifest in the real world, and eventually allies with others who have the ability.

Gameplay traditionally marries the “real” world with that of the “Persona” world to deliver fantasy-like interactions.

As this game focuses on the main characters being thieves, the party wears masks and takes on heists, but also traditionally battles demons along the way in turn-based JRPG combat.

Many of the characters have thief-like abilities to fit in with their roles. For example, we see Phantom teleport to cover in rapid succession, hinting that there might be an emphasis on stealth.

Also players will be fighting what look to be demons in knight armor rather than the swirling Shadow enemies.

And the quick look at combat revealed that characters have multiple weapon types for each Persona–it’s been known that Phantom will be able to use melee weapons as well as a gun

Persona 5’s cast from left to right: Ryuuji Sakamoto, Anzu Takamaki, Morgana the black cat, and Phantom, the player character protagonist.

Now let’s take a look at Persona 5‘s cast.

First we have the Phantom (aka Shujinko), the leader and protagonist/player character; Anzu Takamaki, a blonde-haired who’s Persona could give Catwoman a run for her money; Ryuji Sakamoto, another agile masked thief who is also Shujinko’s classmate; and then we have Morgana, a whimsical black cat.

All of the characters are presented with highlights of their own unique personalities and traits as part of the stylized footage, but we still don’t know much about them despite getting glimpses at their real-life and Persona depictions.

At the very end of the trailer things get pretty interesting.

From the looks of it Phantom, the main character, somehow transcends into a wicked demonic manifestation of himself. Could this be the a new evil Persona adaptation that’ll be featured in the game? How does this transformation link to the story?

Did Shujinko’s master thief Persona somehow “stick” to his real self?

No one knows for sure, but we do know one thing: everyone who’s seen the trailer can’t wait to find out.

Persona 5 is slated for a release in 2015 across North America, Europe and Japan for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. For more information be sure to visit the game’s official website.

The post Persona 5 Might Be The Most Stylish Game I’ve Ever Seen appeared first on VR World.

It appears that both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One might be getting new models that support 4K video streaming, Forbes reports.

As more and more consumers make the push towards 4K-ready Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV’s, the lack of UHD support on PS4 and Xbox One becomes much more obvious.

Juggernaut streaming service Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) anticipates that Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will include 4K video playback in the next wave of PS4’s and Xbox Ones.

Netflix is one of the leading 4K content providers out there, but there’s not very much to choose from–a trend that will reverse as the platform is embraced by consumers.

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2015) Netflix’s Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt told Huffington Post that Sony had “promised” to make an updated 4K-ready PS4 model.

Despite assurances that the PlayStation 4 would support 4K video playback upon release, the console, like its competitor, doesn’t afford the feature.

Both systems have had to play catch-up with the growing technology sector since their release 18 months ago, featuring outdated hardware and limited capabilities across the board.

Although the PS4 has strong console hardware, it’ll need a few buffs to support 4K video playback.

Even armed with beefier RAM and heavily customized APU’s, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have had to rely on a slew of firmware updates to improve functionality and content–and for a while it’s worked.

But they’re still playing catch-up when it comes to 4K UHD. This is a problem that can’t be solved by software updates, and Microsoft and Sony will have to roll out new revised hardware solutions to meet the requirements of 4K video playback

A “leaked” image for a Slim PS4 model was spotted on the net, but has since been proven as a fake.

Netflix‘s CTO believes that Sony will make the necessary hardware adjustments when the company kicks off the PS4’s next revision model, which is projected to release sometime this fall (October or November).

Past trends indicate that most console makers launch an updated wave of systems two years after the initial release, and November 2015 will mark the second year for both the Xbox One and PS4 systems.

The assumption is that if Sony goes 4K with the PS4, then Microsoft will follow suit, as they’ve had to catch up with the Japanese console maker in many respects, including price. Plus it’s a bit odd that the system, touted as an “all-in-one” entertainment solution, is missing a key modern playback format.

Evidence also suggests that the systems will get the “slim” treatment for their next wave. In October of last year, an AMD employee let slip that the chipmaker had fabricated a smaller 20nm APU for the Xbox One, which paves the way for a smaller console variant.

And since AMD makes chips for both systems, the PS4 could get the same “slim” transformation as well.

The Xbox One has a definitive all-in-one presence, but it still doesn’t have 4K video, which actually goes against its entire status.

If both console-makers are indeed planning on compact revisions for their respective systems, it’d only make sense to embrace 4K playback, considering the market is starting to gravitate towards UHD.

Not everyone is ready for the bandwidth-punishing resolution, but those who have adopted the technology have few very choices. Right now 4K isn’t widely utilized but its presence continues to grow, and Sony and Microsoft could benefit from the catch-up.

The only frustrating aspect would be that current console owners would be left out, as they already are, despite promises and assurances from Sony’s own Shuhei Yoshida that the PS4 would play 4K video.

To mitigate this disappointment they could perhaps launch an accessory for UHD support on current systems, but it probably would depend on how popular the new resolution turns out to be in order to merit the effort.

Remember that 4K gaming most assuredly won’t be coming to this generation of consoles, seeing as only high-grade PC’s are capable of sustaining UHD clarity.

4K video playback is a start, but 4K gaming is currently out of the reach of consoles, and judging from the ever-widening rift between PC and consoles in terms of power, 4K gaming probably won’t be coming to the platform any time soon.

The post Rumor: 4K Ready PS4 and Xbox One Models Incoming appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: One Reddit user affirms that the Slim PS4 leak was indeed a fake, citing that the smaller model isn’t big enough to play standard Blu-ray game discs.

Using the picture that compares the standard and slim PS4’s as a template, the user approximated that the Slim PS4’s width measures about 166mm (as compared to the 275mm width of the current PS4 model), with an ~88mm disc drive.

Considering all PS4 game Blu-ray discs measure 120mm, there appears to be an obvious disproportion between the Slim PS4’s disc drive and the game discs themselves.

Original story as follows.

It appears that images of Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) Slim PS4 model may have been leaked, leading to massive speculation and buzz within the gaming sphere.

The leaked images come from Italian games site Multiplayer Italy, and purportedly reveal a new compact form factor for the PS4 console.

Sony is no stranger to shrinking and changing up its consoles to make them more efficient–all three PlayStations have seen transformations throughout the decades, leading to “slim” redesigns across the board.

The purported Slim PS4 is much smaller than the current model, leading to possible complications like heat management, HDD memory and more.

According to the images the Slim PS4 is code named “Monolith”, and despite the being markedly smaller than the current rhomboid SKU model, it still retains the sleek angular design.

The pictures show off a side-mounted disc slot as well as new eject and power buttons, making the model look quite akin to a futuristic DVD player.

There is also strong evidence suggests that Sony is indeed working on a Slim PS4 variant.

In October of last year, reports revealed that AMD successfully shrunk the Xbox One’s APU to a more efficient 20nm size, which is the first step to a more compact Xbox One console.

Project Monolith is shown here with a DualShock 4 controller for scale.

Shrinking the APU chip has some very real advantages. First, a smaller size means that the transistors can become more dense, thus improving speeds by up to 30%. Secondly a smaller APU means that power consumption will decrease as well, along with manufacturing costs.

And since AMD is directly responsible for the PlayStation 4’s customized APU, it’s only a matter of time before Sony’s next-gen system got the same slim treatment.

Even still there are some very real doubts concerning the authenticity of the leaks.

Due to the size limitations the Slim PS4 would need an external PSU, most likely facilitated in a power-brick structure similar to the last two Xbox models.

But what kind of HDD capacity would Sony target with the slim model?

Gamers are able to fill up the current 500GB models quite fast, seeing as some games take up to 50GB to install. Chances are the Slim PS4 would be shipped with a low-capacity SSD and would need to be complimented by external hard drives.

Thanks to AMD’s recent shrinking of the Xbox One’s APU, it’s highly likely that Sony is working on a Slim PS4. But is it Project Monolith?

And the Slim PS4 would need a way to regulate heat. A larger console shell affords a wider area for heat distribution, and obviously a more compact area would mean the system gets hotter faster. If you want to know just how hot the PS4 can get, check out these FLIR thermal images.

Even with the higher transistor density afforded by a smaller APU, the Slim PS4 may have a high risk of overheating. The Xbox One minimizes this risk with its massive casing and external power source.

As always we must take these “leaks” with a grain of salt and always remember nothing has been confirmed just yet. These images may very well be a big practical joke thanks to a quick Photoshop mock-up.

In any case, we may hear something from the Japanese console-maker at E3 2015 or maybe during this year’s Tokyo Game Show, but for now we have to chalk it up to rumor.

The post Report: First Pictures Of Sony’s Slim PS4 Leaked appeared first on VR World.

Xur, that fleeting merchant who peddles his exotic valuables across the universe, is back again at the Tower of Guardians with a whole new set of rotated gear.

For Week 19 the sable Agent of the Nine is selling the infamous Ice Breaker, which holds the prestige of being (arguably) most powerful sniper rifle in the entire game. The best part about this fiery sharpshooter is that it literally replenishes it’s own ammunition over time, and it deals incredibly potent damage. All in all this gun is one of the most versatile tools of destruction in the entire galaxy, and remains a must-have for all Guardians.

So there’s no excuse for you not to pick it up.

Xur’s other wares aren’t so exciting. We have three different helms for each class, two of which are Dark Below DLC-only items. We’ve gone over this before, but just in case you don’t know, Xur won’t let you buy DLC-marked items unless you own Destiny‘s Dark Below expansion.

If you didn’t shell out an extra $20, then you can only buy 2 of Xur’s 4 exotics.

For Week 19, Xur can be found next to the Crucible Quartermaster right at the exit of the stairs.

Furthermore Bungie has done some very lazy work yet again with Xur’s wares. Once again the Exotic engram is missing (no surprises there), but the most aggravating part of Xur’s new inventory is that he’s not selling Heavy Weapon Syntheses (another nasty surprise).

Why is this such a big deal? Since Bungie has announced that Crota’s End’s long-awaited hard mode is coming next week, Guardians need to prepare. And we all know that heavy weapons can boost performance in any given raid.

By not including the Synthesis modules in Xur’s inventory, gamers can’t easily stock up on these necessities. Sure you can always buy them from the Gunsmith at a whopping 950 Glimmer a pop. But since you need all your Glimmer to upgrade armors and weapons at Xur, chances are you don’t have any space currency to spare.

So what’s a Guardian to do? Nothing. We’re up a rather foul creek, without a paddle. Just another week in Destiny, just another instance in Bungie’s laziness.

In any case, below we have a breakdown of Xur’s wares for Week 19 along with an analysis on whether you should buy them or not.

“Everything is luminous.”

The Glasshouse (DLC Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 113/122
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Quintessence Transfer: Replenish Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
• Bathed in light: Blessing of Light and Weapons of Light last longer.

Should you buy it?

That depends on if you’re a Defender Titan or not. And even still, it’s a yes and no kind of deal. If you have the spare Strange Coins, go ahead and pick it up, as it’s a great utility type of armor.

As a Defender Titan, I’ve used this particular item quite a bit. But if you have the Helm of Saint-14, a nifty exotic helm that blinds enemies who enter your shield dome, you’re not going to really need the Glasshouse.

This item is particular used when Defenders need to spec Weapons of Light, as it’ll make the buff lasts longer, and is very useful to finish off pesky high-level bosses or in PVP where damage is king.

Switching from the Helm of Saint-14 you’ll lose the helpful blinding, but the trade-offs are obvious. Having this helm will make you a more versatile, flexible Guardian that can help out your team in various ways during Strikes, PVP, or Raids.

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 104/112
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Mod 1: Increases Grenade Throw distance
• Mod 2: Replenish Super Energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade
• Mod 3: Golden Gun gains one additional shot per use

Should you buy it?

Are you a hunter? Do you not have this item yet? If you’ve answered yes to both of these, then you should absolutely shell out your Strange Coins for this helm.

The Achlyophage Symbiote is one of the most powerful helms for any hunter, specifically because it gives you an extra shot with your Golden Gun. This is one of the most devastating special skills in the game and can often decimate foes across the board, whether it be treacherous bosses or fellow Guardians in PVP.

And since the Iron Banner is back up, what better time to flex your competitive muscles than now? This helm will give you a nice edge against your opponents.

Also this is a very good roll, with 104 base Discipline, so pick it up if you don’t already have it.

“Power from the ash.”

Obsidian Mind (DLC Helmet) - 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Warlock (Voidwalker)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic Shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 49/53
• Strength: 50/54
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Energy Projection: Increases grenade throw distance
• Inverse Shadow: Increased Super energy gained from killing minions of the Darkness.
• Insatiable: Nova Bomb kills reduce the cooldown of your next Nova Bomb.

Should you buy it?

If you’re a Warlock in the Voidwalker subclass, then yes, you definitely need this helm for one key reason: Nova Bomb.

This special is incredibly powerful and can annihilate whole groups of enemies in every mode of play. Although it takes a bit of time to get used to–aiming is a bit tricky–Nova Bomb is exceptional in its capacity for utter destruction. It’s an AoE-type attack that’s best used against clustered baddies, and as you could expect, deals massive Void elemental damage in a specific radius.

Use this helmet in conjunction with the Voidwalker’s Soul Rip talent and Bad Juju to drop tons of Nova Bombs for optimum chaos.

“Please replace these components if use causes fatal damage: HEAT SINK. MAGAZINE. OPERATOR”

Ice Breaker (Sniper Rifle) – 17 Strange Coins

• Class: Any
• Upgrade Mats: Spirit Bloom, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Attack: 302 / 331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 6
• Type: Sniper Rifle
• No Backpack: Cannot be reloaded. Regenerates ammo over time.
• Mulligan: Missing a shot has a chance to return ammo directly to the magazine.
• Quickdraw: This weapon can be drawn unbelievably fast.
• Ice Breaker: Ice Breaker’s victims spontaneously combust, dealing damage to others nearby.

Should you buy it?

YES. 

Ice Breaker is a must-have, I repeat, must-have item for any Guardian. It is one of the most useful items in the entire game, and delivers on all fronts: damage, accuracy, dependability, and just about any other quantifiable measure you can think of.

The beauty of this gun is that it has infinite ammo, but it only has a six-shot magazine. The ammo slowly replenishes over time, about one bullet per 4-5 seconds, and you can’t pick up special weapon ammo packs to refill it.

Essentially it refills its rounds, not its magazine.

It’s a bit strange using the gun at first, but it truly is one of the most powerful items in the game. While it’s mostly effective against Solar shields (you really won’t do much against an Arc shield), headshots against broken-shielded enemies are incredibly devastating–in the 6k+ damage range.

If you only have 17 Strange Coins, pick this up. You don’t want to pass on this one.

Exotic Shard – 7 Strange Coins

Exotic Armor Upgrades

Below we break down what exotic armors that Xur can upgrade for Week 19, and whether or not you should actually invest in them or not. Some of these rolls are pretty bad in terms of randomized stats–Xur’s gear is fully randomized in terms of their boosted stats and upgrade materials.

Check below if these upgrades are actually worth the time and Glimmer it takes to fill out their spec trees. Sometimes you’re better of just saving your Exotic Shards, Strange Coins, and more importantly, your time.

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet)

This is a bad roll. Avoid this one at all costs.

• Cost: 7177 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 95/103
• Defense: 407/447

Lucky Raspberry (Chestpiece)

Nice Intellect roll here, and this armor works great in tandem with the low-ammo Pocket Infinity fusion rifle, and even synergies with the Vex Mythoclast, which is technically a fusion rifle.

• Cost: 7393 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 154/166
• Defense: 444/488

Crest of Alpha Lupi (Chestpiece)

Lesser roll than we’ve seen in the past; you’re better off passing on this one.

• Cost: 7547 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 127/136
• Defense: 444/488

No Backup Plans (Gauntlets)

Bad stat roll here again, so pass this up. The whole purpose of upgrading your gear is to actually boost its effectiveness. Hold out your Exotic Shards unless you have Coins for days.

• Cost: 7759 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 77/83
• Defense: 444/488

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Helmet)

Stellar stat roll here, but you’ll want to grab the Obsidian Helm over this one. Pass it up for now.

• Cost: 7907 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 110/118
• Defense: 407/447

Light Beyond Nemesis (Helmet)

Icky stat roll and honestly this helm has no real benefits for Warlocks. Avoid it at all costs.

• Cost: 7159 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 101/109
• Defense: 407/447

Exotic Weapon Upgrades

This week’s exotic weapon upgrades are phenomenal, giving some incredible boosts to some already incredible guns. The Pocket Infinity, one of the most powerful fusion rifles in the game, is up, along with Plan C and Gjallarhorn. If you have a ton of Strange Coins sitting around pick up a bunch of Exotic Shards and cash in for some high-damage exotic guns.

A lot of these guns synergize quite well with the upgraded armors: Plan C and Pocket Infinity go incredibly well with Lucky Raspberry, and Bad Juju naturally compliments the Obsidian Mind helm for Warlocks.

As we’ve seen in the past, Xur had 2 primary weapons, 2 special weapons, and 2 heavy weapons for upgrades.

Bad Juju (Pulse Rifle)

A great weapon to have for Voidwalker Warlocks, especially when using Obsidian Mind. The boost in super energy helps you generate more Nova Bombs, which will be your main DPS output.

• Cost: 7019 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331
• Magazine: 24

The Last Word (Handcannon)

The Last Word is a fantastic handcannon for all uses, and is an excellent PVP weapon that has high-damage output along with ultra-fast firing. And it barely has to be aimed when it’s fully maxed. Pick this up.

• Cost: 7559 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331
• Magazine: 8

Pocket Infinity (Fusion Rifle)

This weapon is your go-to gun for PVP, as it wrecks the opposition with merciless force. Part of its devastating capacity owes to its ability to fire in “full out”, dishing out utter havoc. And when you use it while wearing Lucky Raspberry, you’ll not only have more ammo thanks to the armor, but you’ll find more ammo thanks to the gun’s own mods.

• Cost: 7309 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 3

Plan C (Fusion Rifle)

• Cost: 7187 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Arc elemental damage)
• Magazine: 5

Plan C is one of my personal favorite fusion rifles. It’s powerful, dependable, and utterly wrecks Fallen as well as the new Hive Knights/Wizards with Arc shields. The best part about the gun is that it’s fast-firing thanks to its high Charge Rate, which is very important when considering a fusion rifle.

Thunderlord (Machine Gun)

A fantastic choice for a machine gun, and devastating when Arc Burn is on for Nightfall Strikes. With the help of its mods the gun becomes more accurate and actually reloads faster after kills, reducing one of the most annoying aspects of this type of heavy weapon.

• Cost: 7681 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Arc elemental damage)
• Magazine: 38

Gjallarhorn (Rocket Launcher)

Not much can be said about Gjallarhorn besides it’s awesome. The launcher’s rockets splits into clusters that literally track enemies, making it near-impossible to miss.

• Glimmer Cost: 7933 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Solar elemental damage)
• Magazine: 2

The post Destiny: Xur’s Location And Analysis Of Exotic Wares For 1/16 appeared first on VR World.

Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) on Thursday indefinitely delayed the launch of its PlayStation 4 videogame console and PlayStation Vita hand-held videogame console in China, three days before its January 11 planned release date.

Andrew House, president of the company’s game division Sony Computer Entertainment, told the Wall Street Journal Friday the decision was made after receiving “a request from the authorities to make an adjustment to the business plan,” namely Sony’s “go-to-market strategy” for the PlayStation 4.

The Japanese company’s joint venture with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to make the PS4 consoles for Chinese consumers was not affected by the move to halt the release.

Sony and its American rival Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have welcomed China’s move to drop its 14-year-ban on console sales last year. However, the Chinese government still imposes strict limits on any videogames that contain content perceived as antisocial such as drug use, sex, and violence.

Microsoft got a head start over Sony when the company released its Xbox One in the country in September. However, negotiations with Chinese regulators over game titles caused Microsoft to delay the release of its console by a few days.

Both companies seem to have accepted the restrictions as worth it in order to get a taste of the third-largest gaming market in the world. According to Reuters, gaming revenues in China reached $15 billion last year mainly on the success of PC and mobile games.

This market is highly appealing to Sony. The company has seen massive losses in its mobile business over the past year and has suffered significant damage by the recent cyberattacks on its movie division and its PlayStation Network.

The PlayStation 4 has been doing particularly well. Sony reports sales of 18.5 million units worldwide just over a year. In preparing to enter China, the company has applied for licences for 30 games – three times the amount of titles offered by Microsoft in the country.

Once Sony finally does launch in China, it also looks to be trying to undercut Microsoft by offering a cheaper product. Sony intends to sell the PlayStation 4 in China for $467 (2,899 yuan) – more than the $400 retail price offered in the United States – and sell the PlayStation Vita for $209 (1,299 yuan), Microsoft’s Xbox One is significantly more expensive, selling for $595 (3,699 yuan).

Nonetheless, Sony’s could struggle to win over Chinese consumers, which can be hostile to buying Japanese products. With territorial disputes between the two rivals simmering in recent years, Japan’s top automakers in particular have suffered large losses whenever tensions escalate.

While Japan-China relations have improved slightly in recent months, fears of conflict remain on both sides of the East China Sea. Sony recognizes that this remains a concern but Andrew House said that the decision to postpone its PlayStation 4 launch was not tied to the recent cyberattacks “or indeed any kind of Japan-China relations.”

The post Sony Freezes Planned Chinese Release of PlayStation 4 appeared first on VR World.

Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4 console has been discounted to $329 in Walmart’s new holiday sale, knocking off almost 20% (approximately 18% or $70) of the system’s $399 retail price.

This offer only includes the PS4 system, and no games are included. The deal is only available exclusively as in-store pickup, meaning you won’t be able to get it delivered, but you can still order it online and have it shipped to your local Walmart.

Walmart isn’t the only one offering holiday sales on this year’s hottest consoles: online retailer Amazon also has a nice PS4 offer.

The ‘Zon’s PlayStation 4 sale  bundles the console, a PlayStation Camera, The Last of Us: Remastered and a second game of your choice out of LittleBigPlanet 3, Far Cry 4, Destiny or NBA 2K15 all for $439.

Amazon also has three other PS4 bundle variants including a console, free game (selected out of those above) and a wired mono headset for $399,  or a PS4 with The Last of Us: Remastered and another game out of the same selection pool for $399.

The other variant has the deluxe special edition glacier white Destiny-theme PlayStation 4 bundle for a whopping $489. Compared to the above deals that’s a chunk of change, but it’s nothing compared to the audacious prices that the 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4’s have gone for.

Amazon and Target are giving $50 gift cards with the purchase of the AC: Unity Xbox One bundle, lowering the price to $300.

If you’re in the market for an Xbox One and happened to miss out on this year’s amazing Black Friday deals, both Amazon and Target have you covered. They’re currently giving out a free $50 gift card with the purchase of the Assassin’s Creed: Unity Xbox One bundle for $349.

The free $50 gift card lowers the price of the Xbox One to $300, and Target Red Card members save an extra 5% to boot. All in all you’ll be saving a total of $65 if you buy the bundle from Target, and you’ll also get an extra $10 off of an Xbox One controller with your purchase.

It’ll be interesting to see how much these sales boost up Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) console sales–this route has proven to be successful, as the Xbox One outsold the PS4 for the month of November thanks to the tremendous Black Friday markdowns, and we’ll likely see this trend continue in light of these new deals.

Thanks, Polygon.

The post Holiday Sales: PS4 For $329, $50 Gift Card With Xbox One appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has handed out over $1300 worth of free games this year with every PlayStation Plus subscription, Push Square reports.

PlayStation Plus has always been considered a necessity for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita owners. The service doles out value on a monthly basis, offering a substantial backlog across Sony’s trio of systems and ensures subscribers will always have new games to play for their respective consoles/handhelds.

And if you own all three platforms, Sony has you covered with cross-buys that deliver copies on two different systems.

For $50 a year you get access to two free games every month for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

PS3 owners are getting the major benefit thanks to the system’s age and selection of yesteryear AAA games–titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Borderlands 2 have been offered.

The PS4’s PS Plus offerings are different. Instead of being a major selling point, Sony has taken to offering popular indie games to bolster the PlayStation 4’s retail selection. So far we’ve seen indie greats like Don’t Starve, Outlast, Resogun and Binding of Isaac: Rebirth as free titles.

But how much value does PlayStation Plus really represent? In 2014 Sony dished out a total of $1349 worth of games in North America and £960 in Europe across PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. And that’s just for this year alone.

Despite free games, PS Plus also delivers unique features like the PS4’s innovative Share Play option. You also get exclusive discounts on new and upcoming games as well as online multiplayer.

Considering most of us are playing titles like Bungie’s MMOFPS cross-over Destiny, PS Plus is already required and the free games are an extra perk.

PlayStation Plus has its downside, too. If you interrupt your paid subscription you lose access to your entire library of free games granted by the service. That’s across all three platforms.

Additionally free trials only work at the start of your PS Plus subscription. That means if you’re light on money you can’t float your subscriptions with 30-day free trial codes–you have to cough up money right away or miss out on your collection.

Sony isn’t the only one who is doing this kind of thing, though: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is keen on tapping into this model with their own Xbox LIVE service.

Games With Gold has been going strong on Xbox 360 for some time, but the company has only recently brought it over to the Xbox One. Both systems get two free games a month, with the older Xbox receiving the same weighted content as the PS3 with PS Plus, while Xbox One is left out in the cold with somewhat lackluster indies.

Even though Games With Gold on Xbox One is markedly less substantial than the PS4’s PS Plus offerings, the project continues to gain momentum. To date Microsoft has dished out almost $600 worth of games across both new and old Xbox’s. And you also get discounts with Deals With Gold across both platforms.

But like PS Plus, Xbox LIVE is required for online multiplayer, so for many the free games and discounts are added perks to something they’d be subscribed to anyway.

Earlier this year Microsoft changed their policy so that gamers no longer needed Xbox LIVE Gold memberships to watch Hulu or Netflix, but of course you’re still locked out of your Games With Gold library if the sub is interrupted.

In any case, Microsoft has a ways to go to catch up to Sony’s established and long-running value with PS Plus, but both companies do things a little differently.

In many ways Xbox LIVE Gold and PlayStation Plus are the same, but their differences–mainly in the selection and quantity of free games–remain clear. Sony does have an extra platform with the PlayStation Vita, but who knows?

We might see some interesting action with Windows Phone games thrown into the mix on Microsoft’s side.

The post Sony Gave $1300 In Games With PlayStation Plus This Year appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox One console has broken the PlayStation 4’s standing sales streak.

According to Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President for Xbox’s Marketing division, the Xbox One surpassed the PlayStation 4 in sales in the United States and the U.K. for the month of November.

This marks one of the first times that the all-in-one console interrupted the PS4’s impressive record, and might hint at a comeback for Microsoft.

“November set a new record for sales of Xbox One,” Nichols said in a statement to IGN, “and Xbox One was the best-selling console in the US and UK.” The Xbox exec didn’t provide any concrete sales figures, however.

Although this is a win for Microsoft, it took reducing the Xbox One’s price by $50 in order to move more units. The console’s new $349 price tag is much more attractive to buyers, especially since the system is now bundled with two hit AAA Assassin’s Creed games.

All Xbox One models, including game bundles, were discounted by Microsoft in an effort to bolster sales.

Thanksgiving sales vastly contributed to this milestone, as Black Friday sales saw even more pronounced markdowns from vendors like GameStop who sold the console for as low as $329–and, in some cases, as low as $312. Since the Xbox One will stay at $349 until early January 2015, Microsoft will no-doubt accrue more sales during the main holiday season.

Before the Black Friday rush the Xbox One had seen lackluster sales compared to Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4, which remains a popular choice across the globe.

Despite growing sales, November’s total game and console sales have slowed down.

The industry analyst firm NPD Group reports that hardware and software sales for November  2014 have dropped by 11 percent as compared to last year’s sales. “Hardware declines totaled $294 million while software declined $17 million or 2 percent,” NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan wrote in the new report (via Joystiq).

Despite its abysmal campaign, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare dominates November game sales and takes the top spot.

Compared to November 2013, eighth-generation consoles made up 38% of declines for November 2014, but this isn’t so surprising given last year’s respective launches of the Xbox One and PS4.

On the software front Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare hit the number one spot, followed up with Rockstar’s new-gen port of Grand Theft Auto V.

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Super Smash Bros.
4. Madden NFL 15
5. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire
6. Far Cry 4
7. Pokemon Omega Ruby
8. NBA 2K15
9. Assassin’s Creed: Unity
10. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Nintendo’s popular brawler Super Smash Bros. took third place and has fueled growth in Wii U sales, racking up over 700,000 units sold for the platform.

The 3DS port of Super Smash Bros. has overshadowed the Wii U flavor with an estimated 3.67 million global units, cushioning Nintendo amid its financial woes while revitalizing the brand and the Wii U platform. The duo of new Pokemon games has also boosted 3DS handheld sales and has been a tremendous success for the ailing Japanese games maker.

Strangely enough Dragon Age: Inquisition isn’t on the map even though it launched in November. The stunning open-world RPG won Game of the Year at this year’s inaugural The Game Awards 2014, and has been a fan favorite since it was released.

Microsoft has been vague about Xbox One’s total sales, but VG Chartz pinpoints the PS4 has sold over 15 million units globally.

Coming back to the eighth-gen console wars, Microsoft is having a good start, but when the Xbox One goes back up to $399 we’ll likely see sales taper off. The platform doesn’t have very many exclusives and is seriously lacking on the supplemental indie front, which Sony  is dominating with its PlayStation Plus subscription model.

The Halo: Master Chief Collection was supposed to augment the smallish selection of games, but thanks to a tremendously broken launch incurred by the thrown-together nature of the game, this attempt failed.

Also the recent PlayStation Experience reminded gamers why they should pick up a PS4, showcasing a huge number of exclusives and upcoming games along with a variety of trailers and on-site panels with developers.

Despite being the second choice, the Xbox One is amazing for media playback and has a number of features not included with the PS4–and Microsoft is committed to add new capabilities via updates.

Hell even the Xbox One’s own one-year birthday party was severely eclipsed by Sony’s own 20th anniversary celebration, which kicked off a new special edition 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4.

To celebrate one year of its all-in-one console Microsoft offered a few paltry extras to Xbox LIVE members, which were nothing more than token “thank yous” for sticking with the brand. You got to try out Sunset Overdrive for 24 hours (the best part) along with two limited movie rentals, a gamer picture, and, if you were an early adopter who paid full price for your Xbox One, you got a special background image.

This was a genuine opportunity for Microsoft to actually make its mark, but instead they dropped the ball and ultimately were overshadowed once again by Sony.

In any case, in order to solidify long-lasting competition Microsoft will need to further its games campaign to once again catch up with Sony.

The Redmond-based tech giant might have caught up with the Japanese console maker in terms of one-month sales, but the gap is still very pronounced, and the company still has a lot of work ahead if it wants to turn the tables.

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