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.

The shadowy merchant Xur is back again with a fresh batch of exotic wares to peddle in Destiny‘s Tower of Guardians, and he really doesn’t have anything too exciting this time around.

Notable selections from the Agent of the Nine’s weekly inventory include a decent Defender Titan helm, a body armor exotic engram that could drop a Heart of the Praxic Fire for your Sunsinger, and a fantastic Achlyophage Symbiote upgrade with 127 max Discipline.

Xur’s inventory selection for Week 30 lasting from April 3 – 4, 2015.

Other goodies include a decent Crest of Alpha Lupi Titan variant, as well as a ton of weapon upgrade repeats like impressive combo Bad Juju pulse rifle and the Arc-infused Thunderlord machine gun.

As far as location, for Week 30 the interstellar tradesman can be found in one of his usual haunts outside of the Speaker’s quarter.

This week Xur is in the western quadrant of the Tower, outside of the Speaker’s quarters next to the railing.

It looks like Heavy Ammo Synthesis are here to stay, priced at their usual exchange rate of 1SC per stack of five. As far as Telemetry models go, Xur has Pulse Rifle, Fusion Rifle and Rocket Launcher EXP boosters up for grabs for 1SC per five-stack.

Without further adieu let’s jump right into our analysis of Xur’s exotic wares for April 3 (Week 30) and find out if his wares are worth your hard-earned strange coins or not.

“Everything is luminous.”

The Glasshouse – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Fragments, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Intellect: 110/118
• Rain Blows: Increases melee attack speed
• 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?

Yes, if you’re a Defender Titan.

The Glasshouse is a very useful utility-grade exotic that serves a very specific purpose: to boost your Weapons of Light for extra damage. This is particularly useful during raids like the Vault of Glass Aetheron battle or high-level Strikes where high-output damage is key.

The Quintessence Transfer mod is pretty useful too especially if you have the Magnetic Grenade equipped. Basically you’ll get something extra out of kills you’d already be getting thanks to the grenade, and get to use your shield more often.

It’s something that every Defender Titan should have in their arsenal, but it doesn’t replace the Helm of Saint-14 for everyday use. The higher-end Intellect roll is also a nice touch that further boosts your bubble shield recharge.

“Amputated from a creature that stumbled out of a Vex gate. A vestigial defensive reflex still remains.”

Don’t Touch Me – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Any)
• Upgrade Mats: Spinmetal, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Gauntlets
• Defense: 333/366
• Discipline: 77/83
• Special Weapon Loader: Increases reload speed of all Special Weapons.
• Inverse Shadow: Cooldown for Super Ability is reduced by 2.5 seconds per kill of minions of the Darkness.
• Defensive Reflex: Taking damage from a melee attack makes you briefly invisible.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe.

These pair of gauntlets are strictly PVE, so it depends on what kind of character your Hunter is. That being said, this particular exotic is incredibly useful during the first segment of the Crota’s End raid where you’re running blind for the lamps.

Basically every time you get smacked by a Thrall you turn invisible, which pretty much allows you to keep gaining ground without taking too much damage. And considering how many thralls there are to hit you, the part becomes pretty easy to just sneak past.

But Don’t Touch Me aren’t useful as a main item–they’re not going to replace your Mask of the Third Man or Golden Gun-adding Achlyophage Symbiote.

“When one can wield the fire of stars, what use is flesh and bone?”

Sunbreakers – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Warlock (Sunsinger)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Gauntlets
• Defense: 333/366
• Intellect: 79/85
• Special Weapon Loader: Increases the reload speed of all Special Weapons.
• Serpent’s Tail: Causing damage with a melee reduces your grenade cooldown.
• Helium Cycle: Increase the duration of your Solar Grenade.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe, but there are better Sunsinger class exotics.

The Sunbreakers are good gauntlets for the Sunsinger class, but you have better options like the Heart of The Praxic Fire which makes Radiance incredibly potent. Another better option is the Claws of Dire Ahamkara gauntlets which grant you an extra Scorch charge, meaning you’ll get two opportunities to trigger your Flame Shield.

The Sunbreakers are pretty much a tier three item, and they’re okay, plus the stat roll is in the middle so if you don’t have anything else, go for it. Otherwise keep on the look out for those other items and stick with what you have for now.

“Burn the world. Burn it all.”

Dragon’s Breath – 17 Strange Coins

• Upgrade Mats: Spirit Bloom, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Rocket Launcher
• Damage: 302 (Solar Elemental Damage)
• • Smart Drift Control: Predictable and controllable recoil. Penalty to Velocity.
    • Linear Compensator: More predictable recoil. Slight boost to Velocity and Blast Radius. More recoil.
    • Confined Launch: Greatly reduced recoil. Significant penalty to Velocity.
  • Tripod: This launcher’s tube can hold three shells.
  • Upgrade Damage: Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.
  • Quickdraw: This weapon can be drawn unbelievably fast.
    • Javelin: Increases warhead velocity.
    • Heavy Payload: Increases warhead blast radius.
  • Pyromancer :Rounds fired from this weapon leave a Solar Flare upon detonation.

Should You Buy It?

No, save your coin.

The real downside with Dragon’s Breath is that it takes up your exotic weapon slot for a very conditional type of weapon. This rocket launcher is primarily used as a “area denial” solution by leaving a Solar Flare (just like the Warlock’s ability) which delivers damage over time in a specific area.

In PVP you can use it to shoot at an area you want enemies to stay away from, as the explosion leaves behind that damage-dealing flare, pretty much cutting off that particular pathway.

This rocket launcher is curious, and is more for strategic use rather than total annihilation, but it does have a huge blast radius.

Exotic Shard – 7 Strange Coins

Body Armor Exotic Item Engram – 23 Motes of Light

Armor Upgrades

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet)

Stellar upgrade here, buy this one if you’re in the market for an upgrade. Achlyophage Symbiote is amazing for all Gunslingers, as that extra Golden Gun shot helps in every single game mode, from PVP to PVE. The extra shot is a constant source of recurring value.

• Cost: 7177 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 119/127
• Defense: 407/447

Lucky Raspberry (Chestpiece)

Lower Intellect stat roll, so pass it up. The Lucky Raspberry is a very useful tool that arms you with more rocket and fusion rifle ammo (works with Vex Mythoclast) for PVE raids. Plus you instantly spawn with full grenade energy in PVP. And your Arc-infused grenade’s chain lightning effect stretches further outward, making it a good PVP finisher.

• Cost: 7393 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Bladedancer)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 121/130
• Defense: 444/488

Crest of Alpha Lupi (Chestpiece)

Proper high Intellect stat roll, so upgrade it if you have the extra shard laying around. The item’s worth is conditional, but spawning extra orbs can help out in boss fights as well as taking down Crota on Hard difficulty.

• Cost: 7547 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Any)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 148/159
• Defense: 444/488

No Backup Plans (Gauntlets)

Middle tier Strength roll here, so pass it up for now. You don’t want to invest the Exotic Shard and Glimmer cost until you see a fantastic Strength buff. No Backup Plans are pretty useful for Defender Titans, and stack with defense melee skills to make the Force Barrier overshield a powerful extra line of defense.

• Cost: 7759 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 80/86
• Defense: 333/366

Apotheosis Veil (Helmet)

The stat roll here is decent, but with a registered max of 128 Discipline, this particular RNG helmet isn’t anything amazing. The Apotheosis Veil is another conditionally useful item that is best equipped during Raids or other high-stakes activities. It allows the wearer to regenerate health from various triggers.

• Cost: 7013 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Any)
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 93/100
• Defense: 407/447

Sunbreakers (Gauntlets)

Another “meh” roll here, so save your Glimmer and shards. We’ve already weighed the value of the Sunbreakers above, and the extra defense boost isn’t worth the cost.

• Cost: 7549 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Sunsinger)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 80/86
• Defense: 333/366

Weapon Upgrades

Bad Juju (Pulse Rifle)

Bungie has just buffed up Pulse Rifles quite a bit in 1.1.1 so now’s a good time as any to upgrade. Bad Juju on its own is pretty damn effective and is a great go-to weapon for Voidwalker Warlocks when used in tandem with the Obsidian Mind helmet. With this combo you’ll get instant reloads and build up your super after kills, and gain more energy from killing Hive enemies thanks to the Obsidian Mind.

You can also use Bad Juju effectively with the Skull of Dire Ahamkara to build some serious super energy.

• Cost: 7019 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 24

MIDA Multi-Tool (Scout Rifle)

Upgrade this one. The MIDA Multi-Tool is already amazing, and with extra damage it becomes even more amazing. Essentially it’s a fast-shooting, fast-reloading mid to long-range rifle that empowers you with extra speed when equipped. And the best part is that it gives you a Third Eye that lets you see your radar when you’re scoping down the sights.

• Cost: 7459 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 21

Thorn (Handcanon)

Pick this upgrade up. Even when it’s not upgraded Thorn is a very powerful weapon. Sure it’s not as good as the all-star Hawkmoon, but it does the job quite well thanks to its lingering damage and Send It perks. The extra damage is well worth restarting all over again.

Plus there’s even word that Thorn might somehow combo with the Hunter’s Tripmine-boosting Young Ahamkara’s Spine gauntlets

• Cost: 7673 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 9

Patience and Time (Sniper Rifle)

Upgrading this one depends on how much you like it. That extra damage boost will come in handy to be sure, and thanks to the active camoflage, the gun is pretty flexible in a variety of situations. Basically it’s the ultimate sniper rifle for stealthy assassins.

• Cost: 7561 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302 / 331 (Arc damage)
• Magazine: 4

Thunderlord (Machine Gun)

Great opportunity to get that extra damage buff on an already amazing machine gun. The Thunderlord is a great go-to weapon in PvP or during Weeklies when Arc Burn is up, and is one of the best heavy machine guns in the game because it packs a powerful punch as well as retains accuracy.

Essentially it combines everything you’d want to see in this type of weapon: power, speedy reloads, and amazing stability. Plus the Lightning Rounds perk makes the gun become more accurate the longer you fire it. Win-win.

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

Super Good Advice (Machine Gun)

Apart from the Arc-infused Thunderlord, Super Good Advice is Destiny‘s other badass machine gun. It returns missed shots to its clip with the Super Good Advice perk, deals bonus damage every time you kill an enemy, packs a Solar-powered wallop, and can reload amazingly fast.

• Cost: 7817 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302 / 331 (Solar damage)
• Magazine: 58

Curios

• Pulse Rifle Telemetry - Stack of 5x per 1 Strange Coin

• Fusion Rifle Telemetry - Stack of 5x per 1 Strange Coin

• Rocket Launcher Telemetry - Stack of 5x per 1 Strange Coin

• Heavy Ammo Synthesis - Stack of 5x per 1 Strange Coin

• Plasma Drive Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

• “Emerald Coil” Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

The post Destiny: Analysis Of Xur’s Exotic Wares For April 3 (Week 30) appeared first on VR World.

2015 is shaping up to be a pretty substantial year for console gaming, with each of the three leading consoles–Wii U, Xbox One and PlayStation 4–receiving a nice variety of titles.

While most games on the list are cross-platform, there are a few timed exclusives as well as console exclusives to boot, and we weigh which games look to be solid hits that gamers are anticipating.

Since the gaming industry is in a sort of creative standstill as far as original content goes, most of the hotly anticipated games are sequels and continuations of popular franchises. To start things off, though, we do have an a rather distinctive indie that’s captured our collective imaginations to redefine what a sci-fi game can be.

No Man’s Sky is one of the most anticipated games in recent memory, bringing a true sense of sci-fi and fantasy with a completely randomized universe.

1. No Man’s Sky

Release Date: TBD (2015)
Publisher: TBA
Developer: Hello Games
Platform: PS4 (timed exclusive), PC, Xbox One?
Genre: Space Sim, Procedural Universe

No Man’s Sky is one of the most impressive looking games in recent memory, taking a huge leap forward in sci-fi space sims.

Developed by indie studio Hello Games, No Man’s Sky soon took the gaming world by storm when it was revealed at Spike’s VGX 2013 showcase. The indie itself is a beyond-massive game that maintains randomized, procedurally-generated universes that are so big gamers could spend months at time exploring them.

“It’s a real place, a real planet. You can walk for days and days, or depending on the size of the planet, weeks and weeks. Players can play for months on end and still never meet,” Hello Games founder Sean Murray said.

Every planet, star system, and galaxy are unique, complete with exotic flora, fauna and bizarre sci-fi secrets hidden deep within every asteroid, sun or moon. Explore regions to snag precious materials and build up your ship, or scrap

To keep things action-packed, gamers can engage in interstellar ship-to-ship dogfights throughout the cosmos. There might even be alliances and warring factions throughout the universe, and enemies will likely be just as randomized as the environments.

The Witcher 3 is the last chapter in CD Projekt RED’s open-world RPG saga, infused with dark fantasy, magic, and medieval swordplay.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Release Date: May 19, 2015
Publisher: WB Games
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Platform:  PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: RPG

The Witcher series has always been the premiere dark fantasy RPG, and CD Projekt RED concludes its epic saga with The Wild Hunt.

Few games of this generation tap the raw power and potential of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, showcasing a new era of console performance in all areas: graphics, smooth and steady frame-rate performance, sound quality, and everything else.

The Witcher 3 harkens back to what made the previous Witcher RPG games successful while also streamlining combat to a tee, adding in a wealth of new features and content that promises to keep even the die-hard Geralt fans busy for weeks on end.

Boasting over 200 hours of content, players will traverse multiple landmasses and explore regions that are rife with beauty–from rolling plains to frosty mountain ranges–and tackle a huge array of sidequests to build nobility and foster alliances that shape the world around you.

With the Witcher 3 there’s a true sense of epic magic throughout every turn, but the game makes it clear right from the get-go that this isn’t your fairtale world where princes ride off into the sunset: this is a gritty, dark and bloody world filled with murder, death and chaos, and you’re doing what you can to save it.

CD Projekt RED also wants to turn exploitative DLC on its head, and that’s why they’ve decided to pack every game with 16 packs of free add-on content. Plus they’ve done what they can to equalize performance on all systems, trying to put an end to the “console fanboy wars”, assuring that The Witcher 3 is the “same build” across PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The next in the Xenoblade line, the upcoming Wii U exclusive blends classic RPG and sci-fi sentiments for a truly unique JPRG experience.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles X

Release Date: TBD
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Monolith Soft
Platform: Wii U (exclusive)
Genre: Open-World RPG

Xenoblade Chronicles X represents the preeminent JRPG experience. It’s the ultimate foray into massive open-world content and stylish, innovative battle mechanics, and marries the worlds of epic fantasy with sci-fi majesty.

Monolith Soft’s indirect sequel remains one of the most anticipated and strong titles the Wii U has to offer this year, culminating in a remarkably vivid experience that’s filled with unique combat, a dazzling array of distinct worlds filled with alien flora and fauna, and a compelling story arc that absorbs players into a new frontier world.

The Wii U exclusive has so much to offer that playtesters have clocked in 300 hours of time with their playthroughs, showing just how huge the game really is.

From extremely dynamic battle sequences to deep character customizations and skill sets, XCX whisks you away to a unique world called Mira where humanity has crash-landed and must begin anew.

It’s up to you as a special BLADE operative to recover lost life force energy for the survivors at New Los Angeles, exploring and charting the strange alien planet and tackling juggernaut enemies along the way. You’re in charge in protecting the last vestige of humanity within this new bizarre frontier world, and when the menacing alien threat returns to finish the species off, it’s your duty to rise up and meet them head on.

Everything about the game looks absolutely enchanting, and it’ll assuredly be one of the strongest JRPG’s released in recent memory.

Halo 5 continues Master Chief’s legendary journey, but splinters off into a cryptic arc that delves into the mystery of the iconic hero.

4. Halo 5

Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: 343 Industries
Platform: Xbox One (exclusive)
Genre: Shooter

Halo 5 represents a bold new direction for the landmark shooter. Developer 343 Industries has spun a new story arc that weaves in a new protagonist, the ONI Spartan operative Agent Locke, who’s conscripted to search out and find Master Chief.

Set in a more cryptic tone shrouded with mystery and possible treachery, the ONI spy searches across the galaxy for the legendary warrior, who’s become a shadow throughout the years. And when Locke finally catches up to Spartan-117, things get even more confusing, as you can see in the dual trailers below.

As far as mechanics go, 343i has totally rebuilt Halo’s framework to make competitive multiplayer feel decidedly more “next-gen”.

The team has added in 7 new Spartan abilities that every player has access to that range from simple sprinting to dodge-thrusts straight out of CoD: Advanced Warfare and even a lethal, but tricky, ground-pound maneuver.

After playing the Halo 5 beta in January, I have to say that the new changes feel decidedly stylish and intuitive. These mechanics add a whole new layer of depth and strategy to the game, allowing players to tactically plan out maneuvers on-the-fly.

Not much is known about the campaign in terms of mechanics though. While the new trailers certainly sparked our interest in terms of the story, we haven’t seen any actual gameplay footage of the singleplayer mode in action, but we’ll likely see it at E3 2015.

Gamers are still dubious about trusting 343i after the travesty that is The Master Chief Collection, but for now they’ve piqued our interest and managed to build hype, and the game certainly does have its own unique and elusive flair.

Be sure to drop by Halo 5‘s new ARG #HuntTheTruth campaign for tidbits on the game’s story arc, as they’ll likely fall into place as time goes by.

The post Top 10 Most Anticipated Console Games of 2015 appeared first on VR World.

With the recent news of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Jaws of Hakkon DLC being timed exclusive for Xbox One and PC, gamers are once again at the mercy of the strategic business tactic.

And it’s seriously aggravating the community whose paid good money for their games only to be denied content because they don’t own the competitor’s console.

If you play Dragon Age: Inquisition on PS4, then you’ll have to wait an undetermined amount of time before you get the DLC. EA’s (NASDAQ: EA) signed agreement prevents them from even delivering a timeframe, showing just how far these exclusivity deals can go.

We can not discuss when Jaws of Hakkon will be coming on other platforms

— Mark Darrah (@BioMarkDarrah) March 23, 2015

Instead of creating their own exclusive games for their respective systems, gaming titans like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) have taken to a new game: buying out the rights to have multi-platform games and content come to their consoles first.

The unfortunate future of gaming

Timed exclusivity first manifested itself with Bungie’s huge multi-platform hit Destiny. Sony signed a major deal with Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) that ensured specific content would be exclusive to PlayStation platforms up until a certain timeframe, punishing Xbox gamers to no end.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a Xbox One timed exclusive, and no one’s sure when it’ll come to PS4.

Microsoft did the same thing with Rise of the Tomb Raider, snagging a deal with Square Enix (TYO: 9684) and Crystal Dynamics that ensured the game would release first on Xbox consoles. We still don’t know when Rise of the Tomb Raider will release on PlayStation 4.

Sony even went so far as to snag a timed-exclusivity deal over No Man’s Sky once it realized how popular the game is in the gaming community.

Then there’s Titanfall 2, which is coming to the PS4 now that Respawn Entertianment is free of the exclusivity deal it signed with Microsoft for the original Titanfall.

It’s a bad and confusing business tactic in terms of consumer relations, as timed exclusivity ultimately alienates your constituency while also building shaky brand loyalty.

So why do it at all?

No Man’s Sky has gained incredible momentum, and remains one of the most anticipated Sony timed exclusives.

Why embrace timed exclusivity?

Console game exclusives don’t have the big payoff they once did. Back in the days of the original Xbox and PlayStation 2, Microsoft and Sony were both able to fire off a ton of first-party exclusives that helped define their brands. And since the games couldn’t be played anywhere else, it worked.

But in today’s industry, multi-platform games reign supreme and exclusives have taken a backseat. The big AAA hits are more accessible than ever, and you often don’t have to have any one system to play them.

Now that multi-platform is a secure bet, publishers are less-inclined to take the risk of developing a game on a single platform, considering they’d be missing out on the revenue streams from sales across all systems.

Sony and Microsoft’s first-party publishers are reticent as well, as they recognize the dynamic shift for cross-platform consumption as a clear threat to their respective regimes.

Every new exclusive is a gamble, and sometimes they can be multi-million dollar bets that don’t pay off, leading to crumbling sales and over-extending projections.

The post Timed Exclusives Are The Future of Gaming 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.

Developer: Ninja Theory
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Platform: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One
Genre: Hack n’ Slash, Action
Playtime Length: Middle (~10 hour campaign)
MSRP: $39.99

Disclaimer: A digital PS4 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the DmC Definitive Edition review.

Ninja Theory’s DmC: Definitive Edition might be the most purely fun PlayStation 4 game I’ve played so far simply because it doesn’t try to be anything other than a good Devil May Cry game.

It’s not pretentious, it doesn’t try to bore you with a winding story arc, nor does it push new mechanics onto the player: it sticks to its original guns by harking back to the authentic and stylish dark mayhem that built the franchise.

The hack-and-slash action is made all the more riotous thanks to the new 60 frames-per-second update, which assures every combo is supercharged with lightning-fast responsiveness.

Every second matters in games like these, and with this upgraded port, players are able to make use of every extra millisecond to wreak total chaos with Dante’s devilish powers.

Although the game is a straightforward remaster in terms of content, it does toss in a nice handful of extras to make the meal all the more enticing.

Vergil’s Downfall, an extra DLC-style extension that chronicles the story of Dante’s brother, bolsters the original campaign mode and lets you tap Vergil’s katana-wielding style of combat.

Other additions include being able to customize how Dante looks during the campaign–particularly useful if you really hate Dante’s new appearance–along with an incredibly fun Turbo Mode that doubles the game’s speed.

If you’re a hardcore combo-stringer that’s looking for a serious challenge, the Definitive Edition has you covered with no less than five new difficulty modes like Gods Must Die or the uber relentless Hell and Hell mode, which makes Dante die from a single hit.

One of the more significant additions is the ultra-survival Bloody Palace mode that’s unlocked when you beat the game. In this timed high-score mode you’re swarmed by endless waves of enemies who are hellbent on annihilating you from existence. The Bloody Palace can be played as either Vergil or Dante, and serves as an excellent way to refine your stylish combo-building skills.

Ninja Theory’s prequel has a pretty strong story that seamlessly delves into the origins of Dante and Vergil, tying in a nice webwork of myth and demonology into the mix as well.

It turns out that Dante is a nephalim–that is part demon and angel–and is the fruits of the union between his father, a demon named Sparda, and his mother, the angelic Eve. Their union broke immortal mandates and both Eve and Sparda were sentenced harshly, but Dante and his brother Vergil were freed.

Being a nephalim has all kinds of advantages, and they manifest quite creatively within the game. As a devil-hunter Dante can cross-over to Limbo, a kind of vibrant and colorful bizarro-universe where nasty demons and corrupt chaos reigns supreme, as well as wield weapons infused with demonic and angelic power.

Combat is elegant, fluid and incredibly stylish. Every combo is enthralling and empowers you to really feel your role as a devil-hunter and develop your ass-kicking prowess along the way.

The real beauty of combat is how dynamism of the attacks ensure you can make your own customized combos, pretty much letting you string together a near-infinite flurry of explosive chaos the way you see fit. Being able to define your own style has always been a hallmark of the series and its in full force in the DmC: Definitive Collection.

Dante has quite a varied arsenal this time around that makes every single battle much more layered and tactically strategic.

Since Dante is a nephalim, he has angelic and demonic weapons that can be switched on the fly by holding LT and RT respectively. Each set has its own unique set of abilities and moves, plus you’ll have to mix and match to take out certain enemies like the harpy, whose shields are weak against angelic attacks.

Angelic weapons include the sweeping scythe Osiris and the dual-wielding Aquila, which can be thrown at a distance or used to slice and dice weaker baddies. The trick is you can only have one angelic item equipped at a time, but you can switch between these on the fly

The other half consists of demon-powered tools like the fiery fists of Eryx (super useful for uppercutting and launching enemies in the air) and the powerful slow Arbiter axe that takes whole chunks out of demons’ life bars.

Dante’s immortally iconic Rebellion sword and Ebony and Ivory handguns are in the mix too, making for an expansive arsenal that can be tapped to deal with a wide variety of situations and bosses.

To me, the best part about combat is how Dante can use his devil or angel chains to yank enemies forward for some punishing destruction, or to sling across levels like an inter-dimensional Spider-Man.

With the chains you can dish out severe havoc on a baddie, fling them away with a crushing blow, and then just pull them right back for more pain. This is essential for chaining together those stylish combos and serves as a major advantage against certain enemies like the hulking Tyrant.

Having so many weapons and abilities might sound like too much to handle, but Ninja Theory remedies this with their amazingly balanced control scheme, making sure you never get overwhelmed.

Gameplay is masterfully paced in such a way you’re not too strong or too weak at any given time. Also the better you perform in-game–high combo strings, finding collectibles, etc–determines your overall grade, netting you extra skill points and the like.

The real beauty behind the game’s pacing formula is that it creates a distinct sense of accomplishment after ever level, dishing out tangible rewards and practical bonuses along the way.

Dante still racks up red orbs to spend at angel statues for helpful items to restore health, boost his Devil Trigger super, or even revive him once he’s been slain–but the progression ins’t just about orbs and items, it also perfectly punctuates boss fights and level completion by granting a brand new weapon.

DmC‘s bosses are exceptionally creative and deserve a nod, too.

From the grotesque foul-mouthed succubus that taints the world’s favorite Coca-Cola-like soft-drink with nasty chemicals to Raptor News’ Bob Bargas that attacks players as a giant digital head, the bosses are amazingly fun and provide a nice throwback to those methodical battles of old.

Something has to be said about the game’s amazingly bizarre world of Limbo, which manifests as a literal playground for demon overlords. There’s a distinct sense of otherworldly chaos pulsing within the heart of this dimensional rift, and it’s not the dark, blood-red universe we’ve seen before.

Instead Limbo is represented as a quite colorful and eerily beautiful sort of acid-trip with a true sense of artistic flair, providing a feast for the eyes at every turn. Vergil’s Downfall taps the mystical eldritch style of the between-world quite well, showcasing a universe that tethers the very fabric of reality within its scintillating colors.

Conclusion: The Devil You Know

With the DmC: Definitive Edition, Ninja Theory has refined the game’s rough edges and creating a shining example of what all remasters should be. Tossing in a bunch of extra DLC and modes is a must, but the real substance lies with the new frame rate enhancements that make every millisecond count even further.

This is the type of game you can extensively replay over and over again even after you beat it simply because of it’s proven fun-inducing formula.

Every moment spent in Dante’s stylish boots is enjoyable, and it’s a game that goes exceedingly well when complimented by other styles in a game library, providing an excellent foray when you’re in the mood for something stylish and chaotic.

Capcom’s DmC re-release is a perfect fit for long-time Devil May Cry fans and new players alike, melding everything that made the franchise so damned addictive with a fresh new storyline and a huge armament of stylish weapons.

The post DmC Definitive Edition Review: Dante’s Inferno appeared first on VR World.

Since it was announced last year, EA hasn’t revealed very much about the new Star Wars: Battlefront reboot; we’ve gotten a teaser trailer, some concept art, and a Holiday 2015 release window. But that’s all about to change.

Electronic Arts today revealed that they’ll be blowing the lid of off the new Battlefront game during the official Star Wars Celebration held in Anaheim, California this April.

“We’re thrilled to share that Star Wars Battlefront will be taking part in Star Wars Celebration next month in Anaheim, CA from April 16-19.

“We could not think of a better or more appropriate place to debut the game officially for the first time than the premier event that celebrates the Star Wars universe and the legions of fans who have fallen in love with it.”

As for the reveal, we’ll likely see a press conference consisting of gameplay footage (maybe live action), an on-stage breakdown on what to expect from the game itself, and maybe even a finalized release date. DICE may even host a few panels at the event to talk about Battlefront’s development followed up by possible Q&A sessions.

Additionally a recent Tweet from DICE confirms that Battlefront will only be available on next-gen consoles and PC.

@KyleHackley Star Wars Battlefront will be available holiday 2015, on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

— EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) March 19, 2015

Holding a reveal at the convention is a pretty ingenious tactic, considering everyone who attends the venue are die-hard Jedi fanatics who look forward to more new and unique games set in their beloved universe.

Also the event looks pretty promising seeing as Jedi Knight Mark Hamill, renown princess Carrie Fisher and the Sith Emperor himself Ian McDiarmid will all be in attendance.

J.J. Abrams, the director of The Force Awakens, will also be hosting an exciting early morning panel so we might get a few hints and tidbits about the upcoming movie as well.

Star Wars Battlefront has a tentative release window of Holiday 2015 across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

The post New Star Wars Battlefront Reveal Coming Next Month 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.

Destiny‘s infamous starbound broker is back again at the Tower for another week of exotic goods, and this time around he’s toting one of the most powerful pulse rifles in the entire universe: the popular (and quite bloody) Red Death.

Other goodies include a decent roll on the efficient Striker-specific Insurmountable Skullfort plus some nifty Claws of Ahamkara for Sunsingers who enjoy spamming Flame Shield as much as possible. As far as upgrades, our shadowy distributor has laid out super impressive stat rolls on both Mask of the Third Man (a Blandedancer’s best friend) and Helm of Saint-14 (a Defender’s best friend) as well as a 160 Intellect max roll on the Lucky Raspberry.

The snazzy Hard Light auto-rifle joins the arsenal of weapon upgrades, accompanied by the Universal Remote, the ultra-stealthy active-camo-inducing Patience and Time sniper , and others.

Plus Xur has ammo syntheses again! Hope this becomes a regular thing–and I can’t be alone on this.

For Week 27 the fleeting vendor can be found downstairs in the Tower, past the Crucible headmasters and right next to the Vanguard handlers. He’s been known to show up here from time to time, and you shouldn’t have any problem finding the purveyor of fine goods.

Without further adieu let’s jump into our analysis of Xur’s exotic wares for 3/13 (Week 27):

“BRAINVAULT Sigma-ACTIUM-IX Cranial Dreadnought (Invincible Type)”

An Insurmountable Skullfort (Helmet) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Titan (Striker)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Discipline: 101/108
• Infusion: Replenishes health each time you pick up an Orb of Light.
• Impact Induction: Causing damage with a melee reduces your grenade cooldown.
• Improved Transfusion: Kills with Storm Fist immediately trigger health regeneration. You also respawn with full Melee energy.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, if you’re a Titan Striker.

First this Insurmountable Skullfort sports a good stat roll at 101 Discipline–it’s not great, but it’s still good. Secondly the helm has uses in both PVP and PVE, which makes a good utility item.

In the Crucible the full Discipline stat helps boost your effectiveness with grenades, and as any Striker worth their salt knows, the Titan’s Lightning Grenade tends to wreck–especially when it’s specced with Aftershocks and used in conjunction with Fists of Havoc’s Aftermath talent.

Spawning with Storm Fist at the ready is already awesome, but you’ll also trigger cooldown reduction of your ultra-powerful Lightning Grenade–and get some health back when you defeat an enemy with your melee attack. Double synergy.

In PVE you’ll get bits of health by picking up orbs which adds a nice insurance policy in the Crota’s End raid. The Improved Transfusion stat is immensely helpful because you’ll also get some HP back when you do Shoulder Charge, too.

“You can see the point, right? Who wants to team up with one?”

Knucklehead Radar (Helmet) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Any)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Strength: 98/105
• Light the Blade: Causing damage with a grenade reduces your melee cooldown.
• Inverse Shadow: Increased Super energy gained from killing minions of the Darkness.
• Sensor Pack: Radar remains visible while aiming primary weapons.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe.

Decent-ish stat roll here, and although the Knucklehead Radar lets you see your radar when scoped into your primary weapon, it’s still a conditional kind of item that doesn’t deliver results like the Gunslinger-specific Achlyophage Symbiote or the Bladedancer’s friend Mask of the Third Man.

It does generate super energy pretty fast when killing Hive, and you can switch your subclasses without losing any specific buffs, so there’s that. Plus the radar effect is super helpful when you’re in PvP and doubly better when you use shotguns and camp around corners, but all in all it seems a kind of so-so item.

“Look at all this life, oh bearer mine. There is so much left to burn…”

Claws of Ahamkara (Gauntlets) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Warlock (Any)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Gauntlets
• Defense: 333/366
• Discipline: 52/55
• Strength: 56/60
• Special Weapon Loader: Increases the reload speed of all Special Weapons.
• Snap Discharge: Increases melee attack speed.
• The Whispers: Gain an additional charge for Scorch and Energy Drain.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, if you’re a Sunsinger.

Although these gauntlets technically work for both classes, they work best for Sunsingers simply because you can, as users put it “abuse the hell out of the Flame Shield” ability. Basically you get an extra Scorch charge, meaning you get two chances to activate your Flame Shield to protect you in PVP.

The Heart of the Praxic Fire should be your first choice, but these gloves amplify a nice defense measure for Sunsingers, plus you get to reload your shotguns, sniper rifles and fusion rifles faster.

If you’re a Voidwalker, you need to use different exotic gear like the Skull of Dire Ahamkara or the Obsidian Mind instead.

“Vanguard policy urges Guardians to destroy this weapon on sight.”

Red Death (Pulse Rifle) – 25 Strange Coins

• Class: Any
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Attack: 302 / 331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 27
• Type: Pulse Rifle
• Accurized Ballistics: More range and impact. Increased recoil.
  • Aggressive Ballistics: More predictable recoil. Enhanced impact. Shorter range and more recoil.
  • Field Choke: More range and impact. Increased recoil.
• Unflinching: It’s easier to aim under fire using this weapon.
• Snapshot: Aiming this weapon is incredibly fast.
  • High Caliber Rounds: Oversize rounds built to stagger targets and leave them reeling.
  • Single Point Sling: Switch weapons faster. Move quicker while aiming.
• Red Death: Each kill heals you and speeds up reloads.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, yes you should.

Bungie just boosted Pulse Rifle damage and performance with a new update, making the Red Death even more lethal. But what makes it so good?

Basically the gun makes you into a vampire of sorts.

With every successive kill, you get some health and also get a reloading boost, making a kind of destructive synergy that fuels the flow of battle quite well. The Unflinching mod helps with this flow by reducing the annoying flinch that’s incurred when you’re shot, letting you aim much more effectively while under fire.

Because of this the Red Death has been rightfully called the best Pulse Rifle in the entire game.

So aiming is faster, you don’t flinch as much while you’re getting shot while aiming, and you heal and reload faster when you kill someone. Now that everyone is going to have a Red Death in their arsenal, the Crucible is going to be positively ridiculous.

Outside of PVP, the Red Death is a godsend for players trying to tackle the Crota’s End raid on Hard. Since there’s no Chalice, you can now regen life thanks to this helpful pulse rifle, improving the odds quite a bit.

Exotic Shard – 7 Strange Coins

Exotic Helmet Engram – 23 Motes of Light

Armor Upgrades

Mask of the Third Man (Helmet)

Fantastic stat roll here, so if you need to upgrade your vanilla version now’s the best time to do it. This one is a great choice for Bladedancers who love to cut swathes through enemies with their super attack in PVP, and you’ll even net some extra health from orbs along the way, making it a good PVE helm during raids.

• Cost: 7207 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Bladedancer)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 113/122
• Defense: 407/447

Lucky Raspberry (Chestpiece)

Astounding Intellect stat roll here, so upgrade it if you can. The Lucky Raspberry is a very useful tool that arms you with more rocket and fusion rifle ammo (works with Vex Mythoclast) for PVE raids. Plus you instantly spawn with full grenade energy in PVP. Plus your Arc-infused grenade’s chain lightning effect stretches further outward, making it a good PVP finisher.

• Cost: 7393 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Bladedancer)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 149/160
• Defense: 444/488

Helm of Saint-14 (Helmet)

If you happen to be a Defender Titan and don’t have this one upgraded, you need to do so asap. The max 124 Intellect is very high, plus you get that snazzy defense boost to boot. This particular helmet is a must-have for all Defenders, which pretty much makes their bubble shields into offensive weapons that are useful in all modes of play.

• Cost: 7841 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 116/124
• Defense: 407/444

Helm of Inmost Light (Helmet)

Low Strength roll here, and you always want to wait until you see a great stat roll before you upgrade, considering it’s going to cost you 7.4K Glimmer as well as an Exotic Shard. Either way this particular helm is a superb choice for Strikers who want to unleash as much havoc as they can with their super attack, making it an advantageous bit of armor for PvP.

I’d still hold off for a better stat roll though.

• Cost: 7451 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Striker)
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 89/96
• Defense: 407/447

Light Beyond Nemesis (Helmet)

Stellar max Strength roll here, and Light Beyond Nemesis is a good helm to use when you’re on a raid. It’s a very conditional sort of item so I don’t think you need to upgrade unless your current version has low stats or if you really want the extra defense.

• Cost: 7159 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Voidwalker)
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 117/126
• Defense: 407/447

Sunbreakers (Gauntlets)

Low Intellect stat roll, and the odds are your pair have better numbers, pass it up for now. The Sunbreakers are great for the Sunsinger class, making your solar grenades last longer, and can be paired up with the Pocket Infinity to do some serious damage in PvP.

• Cost: 7549 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Sunsinger)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 87/93
• Defense: 333/366

Weapon Upgrades

Hard Light (Auto Rifle)

Good chance to upgrade here, as we hardly ever see this gun in Xur’s inventory. The Hard Light rifle is noted for its high-capacity magazine with 40 rounds at a high rate of fire, making it a great solution for crowd control. Sadly it was hit hard by Bungie’s recent auto rifle nerfs in the 1.1.1 update.

• Cost: 7669 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 40

Red Death (Pulse Rifle)

Really no need to buy this one considering Xur is selling an upgraded version for coin. If you don’t happen to have the 25 Strange Coins to pick it up the other way, you can go this route–either way you’ll be getting an upgraded and clean gun that’s noted as the best pulse rifle in the entire game–and for good reason.

• Cost: 7669 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 27

Universal Remote (Shotgun)

Even if you absolutely love shotguns, this really isn’t worth upgrading. Sure you’ll get the extra damage boost, but chances are if you love shotguns, you’ve already heavily invested in upgrading and filling out the gun’s mods. Stick with your old outdated shotty and focus on maxing out some primaries or picking up powerful gear.

• Cost: 7027 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 5

Plan C (Fusion Rifle)

Another great upgrade for an already impressive gun. The Plan C is one of my favorite weapons simply because it’s so dependable in just about any situation, and it completely wrecks when Arc Burn is active. It fires very fast and has a superlative charge rate, which is pretty much the bane of fusion rifles everywhere. That damage boost is worth the upgrade, even if you’ve maxed your version out.

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

Patience and Time (Sniper Rifle)

Upgrading this one depends on how much you like it. That extra damage boost will come in handy to be sure, and thanks to the active camoflage, the gun is pretty flexible in a variety of situations. Basically it’s the ultimate sniper rifle for stealthy assassins.

• Cost: 7561 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Arc damage)
• Magazine: 4

Truth (Rocket Launcher)

Pass this by. Truth has some interesting mods, and it can help in Nightfall when Void Burn is active, but you really don’t need the extra damage so much. Focus instead on your primary weapons and gear, as mentioned above.

• Cost: 7039 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Void damage)
• Magazine: 2

Curios

• Scout Rifle Telemetry - Stack of 5 per 1 Strange Coin
• Machine Gun Telemetry - Stack of 5 per 1 Strange Coin

• Rocket Launcher Telemetry - Stack of 5 per 1 Strange Coin

• Emerald Coil Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

• Void Drive Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

• Heavy Ammo Synthesis - Stack of 5 per 1 Strange Coin

The post Destiny: Analysis of Xur’s Exotic Wares For 3/13 (Week 27) appeared first on VR World.

Creative Assembly, the dev studio that brought us the amazing sci-fi thriller Alien: Isolation, is working on another big multi-platform game.

The news was gleaned from a new job listing posted up by the studio (originally spotted by Z-Giochi) that outright says they’re “creating another multi-platform AAA blockbuster” and lists the platforms as PS4, Xbox One and PC.

“We are seeking an talented programmer has thorough experience developing a range of online features. We are creating another multi-platform AAA blockbuster and the successful applicant will be part of a team which allows our game experience to be shared.”

Since the official job listing is for an “Online Multiplayer Programmer” it’s a safe bet that Creative Assembly’s new in-development title will feature an online-based component, possibly PvE style co-op modes or even a competitive PvP gametype.

VideoGamer spotted a secondary job listing which calls for a “talented programmer who lives and breathes graphics tech”, which hints that their new game might call for a new graphics engine–or maybe a new peripheral altogether.

“We are creating another multi-platform AAA blockbuster and the successful applicant will be part of a very talented engine team working at the cutting edge of interactive graphics technology.”

Could the new game embrace VR tech? Maybe we’ll see Creative Assembly’s next AAA title on Valve’s new Vive VR headset, or maybe prototyped on Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) Project Morpheus? And let’s not forget Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) own VR-ready Hololens headset, which acts as the Xbox One’s virtual reality hardware.

VideoGamer also suggests that the new game might be a sequel to Alien: Isolation, citing that Creative Assembly’s lead designer Gary Napper says that “the plot for a sequel is a daily topic in the studio”.

We have no clue what Creative Assembly is working on next, but could we hear an official announcement at E3 2015 in June? I personally hope it’s a sequel, but a co-op component could be iffy, considering a lot of Alien: Isolation‘s suspense is a very intimate thing indeed.

Source: Z-Giochi

Via: VideoGamer, PC Gamer

The post Creative Assembly Working On New Multi-Platform AAA Game 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.

It looks like we can’t expect Street Fighter V any time soon, and will have to wait about a year before we can shoryuken

According to a recent blog entry, Capcom’s next installment in the landmark fighting franchise is planned for a release in Spring 2016 across PlayStation 4 and PC.

Interestingly enough the entry itself has nothing to do with the game itself, and was posted to show off Capcom merchandise available for purchase at PAX East. But Gregaman, the Capcom employee who wrote the post, said something very interesting that caught the attention of one sharp-eyed NeoGAF user:

“Everyone is fired up for Street Fighter V coming to the PS4 and PC next Spring. Until then, you can sport the official SFV key art T-shirt, which features Ryu in a heroic pose, for $25.”

In the mean time, Capcom is planning a beta test for Street Fighter V on both platforms, and the company is calling the test “the largest and most ambitious online beta program” in the history of the franchise. Fans who pre-order the game are guaranteed access to the beta once it launches, but Capcom hasn’t delivered a finalized date as of yet.

Also we’ve included the brand new Nash character trailer that showcases his definitive moves while giving a closer look at Street Fighter V in action.

The Street Fighter V release window looks to be planned for Spring 2016, and it’ll be interesting to see if Capcom confirms or denies the release window, or if they stay silent on the matter.

Either way it looks like we’ll have to tide ourselves over with Super Street Fighter IV which is slated to release on PS4 the next few months.

Source: NeoGAF
Via: Gematsu

The post Street Fighter V Release Window Revealed For Spring 2016 appeared first on VR World.

Our favorite intergalactic peddler is back again to clean out our Strange Coin coffers with a batch of new shiny exotics and curios to power our exploits throughout the cosmos.

This week, Week 26, has proven to be pretty special because the Nine have finally decreed that the trade embargo on Heavy Ammo Synetheses has been lifted. That’s right, Xur finally has those long-awaited ammo boosters up for sale, at the same 1 Strange Coin per 5x stack exchange rate we know and love.

Be sure to fill up while you can. For those of you that are satisfied with your gear already, you might just want to shell out your entire SC wallet on synetheses. We never know when Xur’s going to have them again.

This time around Xur can be found in the hanger, in his usual haunt downstairs underneath the Future War Cult representative and right next to the Shipwright.

As far as items go, he’s got a rather badass Helm of Saint-14 up for grabs, which is incredible for Defender Titans, and the game’s most badass all-in-one rifle, the legendary Ice Breaker, returns to the scene for 17 Strange Coins. I’m sure most of you already have it but if not now’s a good chance to join the club.

When it comes to armor upgrades, Xur has a nice helping of goodies on-hand, including a superb roll on the Bladedancer’s Mask of the Third Man helmet as well as a great Light Beyond Nemesis Warlock hat to boot.

Weapons see upgradable versions of the ultra-handy MIDA  Multi-Tool, Suros Regime, Bad Juju and even the super powerful Gjallarhorn solar rocket launcher. If you own a vanilla version of any of these now’s a good time to boost their damage.

In any case, here’s the full analysis and breakdown of our analysis of Xur’s exotic wares for 3/6 (Week 26):

“He walked out into the demon light. But at the end he was brighter.” — Paean to Saint-14

Helm of Saint-14 (Helmet) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Titan (Defender)
• Upgrade Mats: Relic Iron, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Intellect: 106/114
• Rain Blows: Increases melee attack speed.
• Inverse Shadow: Increased Super energy gained from killing minions of the Darkness.
• Starless Night: Your Ward of Dawn blinds enemies who enter it.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe. If you’re a Defender Titan and you haven’t got one of these helms already, then you really want to pick it up.

This is a great roll with a base of 106 Intellect, and the helmet itself is pretty much a Defender Titan’s best friend, as it literally blinds enemies who step into your bubble shield. This is tremendously useful regardless if you use Weapons of Light to do enhanced damage or Blessing of Light to boost your shields, and literally makes the bubble shield an offensive weapon.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve saved myself and the lives of my teammates by blinding nearby enemies–basically it’s like a huge flashbang went off right in front of their face, and it works every time they enter, regardless if they just ran out and ran back in again.

This helm adds in a huge layer of tactical advantage that can seriously turn the tide of any tough battle. Highly recommend this for any Titan, because you might want to try the Defender class out later on.

Plus if you picked up the No Backup Plans gauntlets that were sold last week, you can switch between these two items for maximum proficiency as a Defender.

“Give me your arm, oh bearer mine. Let me help you fill the world with teeth.”

Young Ahamkara’s Spine (Gauntlets) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Upgrade Mats: Spinmetal, Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 333/366
• Discipline: 91/98
• Special Weapon Loader: Increases reload speed of all Special Weapons.
• Ashes to Asset: Increases the amount of Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
• Improved Tripmine Grenade: Tripmine grenades last longer when placed.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe.

This one is very conditional. The stat roll isn’t too good, but these gauntlets have a neat purpose and make your laid trip mines last for quite some time. They are most useful in PvP where tripmines can afford serious tactical advantage by sort of corralling enemies, or just laying defensive explosives around zone points.

So if you have max Discipline for grenades you’ll be spawning tripmines more often, and with this pair of gloves your mines will last longer and longer.

Plus every grenade kill you score feeds your super energy, and when used in tandem with the Unyielding Casque Hunter raid helm, you’ll get even more super power during grenade kills and even boost your melee cooldowns when doing damage with a tripmine.

There’s also word that it combos well with Thorn, but I can’t see any real relation other than the possible lingering damage mod. Maybe you shoot with thorn, poison the enemy, and corral then into a tripmine to finish them off?

Also the gauntlets look pretty badass when equipped.

“Reality is the finest flesh, oh bearer mine. And are you not…hungry?”

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Helmet) – 13 Strange Coins

• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Upgrade Mats: Helium Filaments Exotic shard (last tier)
• Min Level: 20
• Type: Helmet
• Defense: 407/447
• Intellect: 94/101
• Energy Projection: Increases grenade throw distance.
• Quintessence Transfer: Replenish Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
• Delusions of Grandeur: You take reduced damage while using your Nova Bomb. Your siphon abilities are also improved.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, if you’re a Voidwalker Warlock.

In conjunction with the right talents and perks, this helmet will speed up and actively fuel Nova Bomb generation to the point where you’re spamming explosive balls of fury much more often than normal.

You’ll want to have Soul Rip and Embrace the Void activated so that your Energy Drain is specced to reduce the Nova Bomb’s cooldown, then you’ll get the synergized bonus from the helm. You can also use the Bad Juju pulse rifle to help charge your super attack after each kill, although it’s not as effective as when combo’ed with the Obisidian Mind helmet.

Plus like the other Ahamkara item, it looks pretty snazzy when equipped. It’s sheer utility value outweighs the mid-range stat roll, too.

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 Chestpiece Engram* – 23 Motes of Light

*Since there are a tons of exotic chestpieces like the Heart of Praxic Fire, Voidfang Vestments, The Armamentarium or even the Lucky Raspberry, you should buy as many as these as you can.

Armor Upgrades

Achlyophage Symbiote (Helmet)

Bad roll on an expensive upgrade, so I’d say pass it up, especially if you upgraded it last week. The extra defense isn’t worth wiping out your current version–unless, maybe, you just got it and it’s clean. It’s true the Achlyophage Symbiote is amazing for all Gunslingers, as that extra Golden Gun shot helps in every single game mode, but hold off for now.

Chances are Xur will have a better roll next week, considering this helmet has been up for two weeks in a row now.

• Cost: 7177 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Gunslinger)
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 97/104
• Defense: 407/447

Mask of the Third Man (Helmet)

This is a pretty decent Intellect roll (just 2 points shy of last week’s) so you should consider going with the upgrade.

Mask of the Third man goes great for PvP Bladedancers who love to wreak havoc in the ring. You’ll generate more super charge more quickly, and be sure to use the Encore talent with the helmet equipped for even more tactical advantage.

• Cost: 7207 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Hunter (Bladedancer)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 116/125
• Defense: 407/447

Helm of Inmost Light (Helmet)

Semi-decent Strength roll here, but you always want to wait until you see a great stat roll before you upgrade, considering it’s going to cost you 7.4K Glimmer as well as an Exotic Shard. Either way this particular helm is a superb choice for Strikers who want to unleash as much havoc as they can with their super attack, making it an advantageous bit of armor for PvP.

I’d still hold off for a better stat roll though.

• Cost: 7451 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Striker)
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 100/107
• Defense: 407/447

An Insurmountable Skullfort (Helmet)

A better Discipline stat roll than last week’s abysmal rate, so there’s that.

The Insurmountable Skullfort is pretty useful in a variety of situations across both PvE and PvP, seeing as you can grab extra bits of health recovery from teammates’ spawned orbs (great in a raid situation). Plus you spawn with full melee energy giving you quick explosion of Arc damage via Storm Fist (extremely helpful when Arc Burn is up) and you’ll also regen health when you kill with that particular lightning punch.

Also the straight Discipline buff synergizes very well with Lightning Grenades stacked with Aftermath and Aftershock talents. a variety of uses.

• Cost: 7283 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Titan (Striker)
• Light: 30/36
• Discipline: 95/102
• Defense: 407/447

Light Beyond Nemesis (Helmet)

Stellar Strength stat roll here, and Light Beyond Nemesis is a good helm to use when you’re on a raid. It’s a very conditional sort of item so I don’t think you need to upgrade unless your current version has low stats or if you really want the extra defense. If you’ve maxed out the one you have, just pass on, seeing as it’s such a conditional helm.

• Cost: 7159 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Voidwalker)
• Light: 30/36
• Strength: 111/119
• Defense: 407/447

Sunbreakers (Gauntlets)

Low Intellect stat roll, and the odds are your pair have better numbers, pass it up for now. The Sunbreakers are great for the Sunsinger class, making your solar grenades last longer, and can be paired up with the Pocket Infinity to do some serious damage in PvP.

• Cost: 7549 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Class: Warlock (Sunsinger)
• Light: 30/36
• Intellect: 86/92
• Defense: 333/366

Weapon Upgrades

SUROS Regime (Auto Rifle)

Since the only thing you’re upgraded on a weapon is it’s damage, you’re going to want to pick and choose which items you plan on using the most and upgrade accordingly.

The Suros Regime is a great go-to weapon with tons of potential in all gametypes, providing accuracy as well as consistent damage along the way, but it really doesn’t combo too well with skills and classes the way items like Bad Juju and Thorn do. That being said there’s nothing wrong with Suros, and it’s a solid choice for any Guardian.

• Cost: 7789 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 33

Bad Juju (Pulse Rifle)

Bungie has just buffed up Pulse Rifles quite a bit in 1.1.1 so now’s a good time as any to upgrade. Bad Juju on its own is pretty damn effective and is a great go-to weapon for Voidwalker Warlocks when used in tandem with the Obsidian Mind helmet; basically you’ll get instant reloads and build up your super after kills, and gain more energy from killing Hive enemies thanks to the Obsidian Mind.

You can also use Bad Juju effectively with the Skull of Dire Ahamkara to build some serious super energy.

• Cost: 7019 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 24

MIDA Multi-Tool (Scout Rifle)

Upgrade this one. The MIDA Multi-Tool is already amazing, and with extra damage it becomes even more amazing. Essentially it’s a fast-shooting, fast-reloading mid to long-range rifle that empowers you with extra speed when equipped. And the best part is that it gives you a Third Eye that lets you see your radar when you’re scoping down the sights.

• Cost: 7459 G, 1 Exotic Shard
• Attack: 302/331 (Kinetic damage)
• Magazine: 21

Plan C (Fusion Rifle)

Another great upgrade for an already impressive gun. The Plan C is one of my favorite weapons simply because it’s so dependable in just about any situation, and it completely wrecks when Arc Burn is active. It fires very fast and has a superlative charge rate, which is pretty much the bane of fusion rifles everywhere. That damage boost is worth the upgrade, even if you’ve maxed your version out.

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

Thunderlord (Machine Gun)

Great opportunity to get that extra damage buff on an already amazing machine gun. The Thunderlord is a great go-to weapon in PvP or during Weeklies when Arc Burn is up, and is one of the best heavy machine guns in the game because it packs a powerful punch as well as retains accuracy.

Essentially it combines everything you’d want to see in this type of weapon: power, speedy reloads, and amazing stability. Plus the Lightning Rounds perk makes the gun become more accurate the longer you fire it. Win-win.

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

Gjallarhorn (Rocket Launcher)

Chances are if you don’t have an upgraded Gjallarhorn you haven’t been playing very much (either that or you’re a non-DLC player). Either way do yourself a favor and upgrade this beastly rocket launcher. It’s pretty much a must.

Curios

• Auto Rifle Telemetry - 1 Strange Coin per stack of 5

• Shotgun Telemtry - 1 Strange Coin per stack of 5

• Rocket Launcher Telemetry - 1 Strange Coin per stack of 5

• Plasma Drive Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

• Stealth Drive Vehicle Upgrade - 23 Strange Coins

• Heavy Ammo Synthesis (FINALLY!) - 1 Strange Coin per stack of 5

The post Destiny: Analysis of Xur’s Exotic Wares For 3/6 (Week 26) appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida took the stage at GDC 2015 today to unveil new details on the company’s Project Morpheus VR headset, including specifications and a 2016 release window.

“Project Morpheus will be launching as a consumer product the first half of 2016,” Sony said in a recent Tweet.

A new prototype was revealed on-stage, along with “near-finalized specs” that underlines the VR headset has very low latency that’s registered at under 18 milliseconds to increase “immersion in virtual reality”, and features new dual 5.7 inch 1920 x  1080 OLED displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate.

“Our goal with VR is to deliver a sense of presence, making the player feel as though they’ve stepped inside the world of a game. The new Project Morpheus prototype brings us closer to that goal, as it improves the visual experience and tracking accuracy, both of which are critical to achieving sense of presence.”

The prototype also sports more accurate position tracking thanks to three new LED’s for a total of nine LED’s for “robust 360 degree tracking”.

• OLED display: In exchange for the 5 inch LCD, the new Morpheus VR headset is equipped with a 5.7 inch 1920 X RGB X 1080 resolution OLED display. This new screen expands the field of view and enables low persistence, removing motion blur.

• 120hz refresh rate: The previous refresh rate spec has been doubled for this new prototype, which means games for Morpheus can be rendered at 120fps. When combined with the OLED display’s high refresh rate and the power of PS4, Morpheus is able to output amazingly smooth visuals.

• Super low latency: We know how critical low latency is to delivering a great VR experience, and we’ve reduced latency to less than 18ms, about half of what the first Morpheus prototype had. Low latency is critical to deliver a sense of presence, at the same time making the VR experience comfortable to players.

• More accurate tracking: To make positional tracking more precise, we’ve added three LEDs to the headset – one on the front and two on the side – for a total of nine LEDs to support robust 360 degree tracking.

• User-friendly design: We’ve made the Morpheus VR headset easier to put on and take off, with a single band design and quick release button. The headband supports the weight of the unit on the top of your head, so there is no pressure on your face. Other components have also been adjusted and configured to make the headset lighter, so that players do not find the headset cumbersome or uncomfortable to use.

As revealed before, Project Morpheus will be compatible with the PlayStation 4 and will feature PlayStation Move-like peripherals for wireless controller input.

It’ll be interesting to see how Project Morpheus continues to take shape throughout the months, and how Sony aims to finalize the peripheral’s design.

While VR might still be new in various ways, it looks to be the undisputed future for gaming as a whole, but Sony will have its work cut out for them when they take on big rivals in the VR sector like Valve’s and HTC’s Vive as well as the Oculus Rift.

The post Sony’s Project Morpheus VR Headset Coming First Half of 2016 appeared first on VR World.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) has just announced the free games lineup for the PS Plus March lineup, which includes a nice array of digital goodies whose varying tastes ensures there’s something for everyone.

To make up for the late reveal, Sony has included a nice listing of indies to tide us over for March’s big PS4 releases like From Software’s spiritual Dark Souls successor Bloodborne and Square Enix’s new re-mastered Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (which comes with the long-awaited FF15 Episode Duscae demo).

Below you can find a complete listing for March’s PlayStation Plus lineup, which is mostly comprised of cross-buy indies:

Oddworld New N’ Tasty (PS4)

“It’s the return of a PlayStation classic! Join Abe in this rebooted platformer that has enhanced visuals, sound, and controls. Help him free his people from a dastardly meat processing facility, and see why gamers fell in love with good ol’ Abe in the first place!”

Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4)

“The story of intersecting lives that suffer under the impossible duress of the first World War. Inspired by actual WWI tokens from the friends and family of the development team, this game may be colorful, but tells a dark and devastating story. Bring a box of tissues!”

Olli Olli 2: Welcome to Olliwood (PS4/PS Vita)

“Grind, kick, jump, and trick your way to a high score in the “skate-em-up” sequel to OlliOlli. Players can push their skills to the limit with a refined combo system, new modes, and more. Don’t fall!”

CounterSpy (PS4/PS3/PS Vita)

“Inspired by the Cold War, this stylish adventure tasks you with keeping the world’s superpowers in balance, all while blending covert operations and high-intensity gunplay into a colorful pastiche of gaming subterfuge.”

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS3)

“You are the legendary detective. Use your powers of wit and deduction to piece together several grisly cases and pass judgement on the accused. Will you live up to the legacy embodied in the name “Holmes?””

Papo and Yo (PS3)

“Papo & Yo is the story of a young boy, Quico, and his best friend, Monster. Monster is a huge beast with razor-sharp teeth, but that doesn’t scare Quico away from playing with him. Build your friendship with Monster by solving puzzles together and adventuring through a magical, surrealist world.”

Sony has once again proven that good things come to those who wait, and this batch of half-a-dozen games will help bolster game libraries of PlayStation games everywhere.

The post PS Plus March Lineup Revealed: Valiant Hearts, Oddworld New N’ Tasty And More appeared first on VR World.

A batch of new House of Wolves leaks for Destiny‘s upcoming expansion have emerged, revealing new content and that the Reef might serve as a Tower-like social lobby for the upcoming expansion.

Check below for a closer look at what the Reef’s social hub will look like.

The House of Wolves leak show off Director navigation screens for the expansion’s new Reef-based “social space” within the heart of the Asteroid Belt, pretty much saying that the Reef will be the Guardians’ home away from home as they aid the Awoken Queen.

Planet Destiny notes that the Reef social space can accommodate up to 16 players simultaneously, and should feature merchants and the like similar to the Tower.

The Belly of the Beast level 28 Strike is highlighted, along with a level 30 Queen’s quest entitled Nightcrawler and two new Crucible matchsets: Inferno Rumble and Inferno Skirmish.

The Inferno modes have been spotted in the past, and it’s believed the new gametypes might roll out around March 3 – 10.

The images come from Japanese Reddit user megamanexe4, who has been responsible for leaking House of Wolves item sets in the past. It appears megamanexe4 has been able to access latent portions of the expansion thanks to its on-disc data via an exploit, but were’ not sure just how he did it.

The Japanese gamer’s information has proven to be quite accurate when his leaks  matched up with Destiny DB‘s massive data-mined lists, so it’s quite possible that this newly gleaned info is authentic.

Bungie has since released Destiny Patch 1.1.1 that brings a host of new changes and updates across the board, introducing a new faction reputation UI system along with some pretty substantial alterations to weapon efficiency.

House of Wolves is set to release in the Q2 2015 window, meaning it could launch as early as April and as late as June. Expect more leaks in that frame of time, as well as new highlights from Bungie along the way.

Source: Reddit
Via: Planet Destiny

The post New House of Wolves Leaks Show Reef As New Social Lobby appeared first on VR World.

Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: Feb. 10, 2015
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: Online Mulitplayer Shooter
MSRP: $59.99

Note: Our Evolve review was conducted on the Xbox One via a copy purchased independently by the reviewer.

Evolve is a curious game that’s built upon a fantastic idea: a sci-fi take on a Godzilla-esuqe hunter vs. hunted scenario complete with high-stakes strategic gameplay.

But as we’ve seen in the past, fantastic ideas have a way of losing sight of their core goals, becoming something quite different when made a reality. Evolve is a prime example of a great idea that lost a lot of its magic during execution.

The main problem with Evolve is that it makes players gamble with their time. There’s no guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself while playing, and that’s quite true with just about any game, but it’s moreso true here.

This is mainly because the game’s steep learning curve, its emphasis on teamwork, and the wildly varying pace.

As a monster, you’re lone-wolfing it and are pretty much responsible for your own survival. Basically you want to hunt down as many creatures as you can and trigger evolution as quick as possible while avoiding hunters along the way.

Every premature encounter lowers your odds in winning, and while there is some pretty good tutorials, it’s up to you to figure out which skill combos work in which situations.

Panicking almost always leads in death–especially with the Goliath–but gameplay can get pretty entertaining if you’re lashing lightning blasts with the Kraken or slicing and dicing with the Wraith.

Every match is a clean slate for the monsters. You get to pick which skills you want to use and allocate three points before the match. You’ll want to pay attention to the hunters that you’re facing and match your skills accordingly–like if Bucket is an enemy, pick up the Goliath’s stone throw so you can easily take out his pesky sentry guns.

Ultimately as the monster you have to find successful ways to outwit, outmaneuver, and out-hunt your opponents, all while paying close attention to the tracks you leave and chomping on wildlife to fuel your evolution.

As interesting as this sounds, playing as the monster can often be pretty menial and rote, and sometimes you’ll find yourself asking why you’re playing to begin with. Victory just means you get more points to spend in a light RPG like progression system, unlocking perks and more monsters along the way.

Seeing as your main goal is to literally avoid hunters until you hit Stage 3 for the final chaotic showdown. In a sense, Evolve is kind of like the Dragonball Z saga: there’s a ton of talking and commercials that culminate in a short fight, where the powers clash.

When you’re playing as the monster, there can be a sense of urgency and danger. But this feeling fades away as you explore the rather drag environments–despite the “interactive wildlife”, everything seems so tacked on–and start to feed.

Maneuvering and controls vary from monster to monster; the Kraken, for example, can float and wisp along in the air, whereas the Goliath is primarily ground-based. The Goliath can leap and climb quite adeptly, but he’s not so fast when you need to get out of an area in a pinch.

The Wraith is my personal favorite; it’s snake-like and oily, using a variety of deadly skills like the dreaded Supernova and basic melee slices to dish out chaos. Plus the Wraith also has a decoy ability that’s amazing fun, even if it’s a bit broken.

How much you get out of being a monster just depends on how crafty you are and how well you adapt to your surroundings and pick up on new strategies. But the novelty, like the thrill of the hunt, seems to wear off fast, letting the mediocre shooter elements shine through.

When you’re playing as a hunter, there’s a distinct heavy emphasis on teamwork and knowing your role and sticking to it. Now FPS mechanics are in play here, but they take a backseat to team-oriented strategy with defined roles like Trappers, Medics, Assault and Support classes.

Trappers are responsible for dropping domes and laying out hook traps then dealing some DPS when possible; Assault classes are simply wreaking total chaos as the main DPS/tank; Support pays close attention on mitigating damage whenever possible with the shield projector and using cloak to hide and revive teammates; the Medic heals with a medgun, burst heal, or even heal grenades.

The beauty of the classes is that there are three different sub-classes, or characters, that each have their own unique weapons and abilities. The principle role still stands, but there’s a number of different ways going about it thanks to the sub-classes.

The post Evolve Review: Monster Of The Week appeared first on VR World.

UPDATE: The hidden codes found in the new trailer have been cracked by Reddit user SixSided, revealing three different sets of character bios for Ivy, Scarecrow and Harley Quinn. The codes below can be entered at the game’s official website for access to the bios.

• ‘qeL e2uLEE2 zul2e’ for Harley
• ‘pPL2a3Mn Ppi3mAMpyL2′ for ivy
• ‘c Rcn3n3 N2Jn3tjHn2′ for Scarecrow.

Original story as follows.

Batman: Arkham Knight is set to wrap up Rocksteady’s gritty magnum opus centered on the Caped Crusader, and today we’ve been given a brand new trailer that sets a rather ominous shadowy tone for the game.

Scarecrow, that maniacal fearmonger we all know and love, looks to be the principal ringleader for Arkham Knight, with the iconic Joker taking a hiatus.

According to Rocksteady game director Sefton Hill, the Joker won’t be featured in the game at all, leaving room for other villains–Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, etc–to form a tenuous alliance and carry out their menacing plan to utterly destroy Batman once and for all.

But why Scarecrow?

In the DC Universe, Dr. Jonathan Crane represents a sort of figurative learning tool that reveals the truth about various characters through their fear. But as far as a major force, Kotaku argues that he’s pretty much a terrible choice for a leader–especially when he’s leading notorious baddies as the crazed Two-Face or cunning Riddler who could easily outwit and overpower him.

In any case, the trailer does a fantastic job in depicting the premise for Arkham Knight, though, which is undoubtedly the whole point–that and to show off some snippets of gameplay in the process.

Basically Batman has to face a broken Gotham City that’s been overrun with treacherous thugs and conquered by his worst foes, all of which are vying for his utter destruction.

Scarecrow isn’t satisfied with just killing the Batman, though. He wants the Dark Knight to suffer, he wants to break everything the daring detective stands for. Essentially Scarecrow and the others want to effectively annihilate Bruce Wayne in every way possible.

It’s a plot we’ve pretty much seen before, but the real star of the show is of course Batman. Armed with a huge array of weapons and definitive gadgets like the batarang and the grapnel gun, the Caped Crusader uses his superlative skills of ass-kicking and deduction to cut a swath in the villains’ newest scheme.

This time, though, things will be much more dark and gritty. Arkham Knight will show “Batman at his darkest”, a sentiment that’s earned the game an M for Mature rating.

“I’m not blind to the fact that [the M rating] does mean some fans will miss out… I don’t want to be oblivious to that fact,” game director Sefton Hill said.

“It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn’t believe in to keep the game ‘mass market’ or enable it for more people. We feel that’s the wrong way to go about it. We said we love the story and we don’t want to jepoardize that.”

Also some keen-eyed viewers have noticed some interesting easter eggs peppered in the new trailer. It looks like Rocksteady has hidden a variety of enigmatic codes that would make Edward Nigma proud.

According to Game Informer, the “codes are part of cypher with multiple entries on the game’s official website (under the Persons of Interest tab)”, and gamers are trying to figure out their meaning as we speak.

Batman Arkham Knight is slated to release on June 2, 2015 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

The post Scarecrow Reigns Over Gotham In New Batman Arkham Knight Trailer appeared first on VR World.

Dragon Quest Heroes has been confirmed for a launch in North America and Europe exclusively for the PlayStation 4, Square Enix today announced.

The action RPG has since launched in Japan, and a recent post on the PlayStation Blog affirms that fans can expect a Western release in 2015.

“That’s right! You read that correctly, the announcement is real — Dragon Quest Heroes will be coming out in North America in 2015, exclusively for PS4, and will be available as both a boxed retail release and digital download via PlayStation Store.”

This is pretty substantial news considering Dragon Quest Heroes looks to be quite amazing, melding traditional action-based combat with distinct sword-and-sorcery style JRPG mechanics.

The PS4’s high graphical fidelity brings Akira Toriyama’s definitive artistic style to life right before our eyes, introducing a must-have for all Dragon Quest fans.

Combat looks pretty dynamic, featuring arena-style live-action mechanics wherein players take on hulking monsters and squadrons of baddies in full-scale battle sequences. There’s a distinct Dynasty Warriors-style feel going on here, but it’s decidedly more focused and compact to match classic JRPG sentiments.

To make sure the game stays as authentic as possible, Yuji Horiji, the creator and general director of the Dragon Quest franchise, and Koichi Sugiyama, the series’ master soundtrack composer, have teamed up to instill their gaming magic into the project.

This is exactly the kind of game the PlayStation 4 needs to boslter its lineup–a strong JRPG-style exclusive that taps into nostalgia and brings with it a new fresh take on a classic series.

No exact release date has been pinpointed for the 2015 PS4 exclusive, but Square Enix has begun taking pre-orders, so you can reserve your copy right now.

The post Dragon Quest Heroes Coming To North America In 2015 appeared first on VR World.