Apple : Kojima tries to explain Death Stranding's babies at Gamescom 2019 |
- Kojima tries to explain Death Stranding's babies at Gamescom 2019
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- Death Stranding: release date, trailers and news
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| Kojima tries to explain Death Stranding's babies at Gamescom 2019 Posted: 19 Aug 2019 01:54 PM PDT We knew Hideo Kojima was going to make an appearance at Gamescom: Opening Night Live to premiere new footage from Death Stranding, but it was probably too hopeful of us to think his appearance would be straightforward. Kojima just doesn't roll like that. While the gaming auteur certainly tried to explain Death Stranding, and in particular the baby we see Norman Reedus carrying about, it still manged to be a convoluted affair. But don't worry, we've attempted to unravel exactly what we've learnt.
What's with the babies?We kind of have a better idea about what Death Stranding's Bridge Babies are about thanks to a couple of new trailers. It seems like Bridge Babies (or BBs) are babies who are born on "the other side" (aka stillborn). However they remain attached to their mothers via some sort of supernatural umbilical cord, which means they exist in a kind of mirror plane to the real world - ethereal, but still 'connected' to their mothers. The babies then seem to be used to allow people in the real world, like Norman Reedus' character Sam, to see BTs (supernatural, shadowy creatures). So Sam attaches a device to him that acts like a mother's womb, so the BB thinks it's still in there. It seems Sam needs to keep his BB calm and happy because they're "unpredictable" and can possibly fail. It seems like Sam will die if the BB dies. So essentially you're a delivery man and a surrogate mother... What else did we...uh...learn?After the two trailers on BBs, Kojima revealed gameplay of Death Stranding which started with Sam urinating to empty his "tank". The pee also caused a mushroom to grow a bit. We can only assume there's a survival mechanic that means you need to drink, eat and pee. We assume... Next, the trailer detailed Sam interacting with a character modeled after Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley (who is literally in the game now). Sam delivers a package and then a new strand is uncovered, showing more of the map. Then, he fell off a cliff face-down into the ground, flat on the baby resting in its artificial womb on the character's chest, which was... unscathed. We have no idea. The baby then start crying and Sam has to rock it to calm it down. The new trailers didn't shed a whole lot of light on Death Stranding but it seems the babies are technically dead and create a link to another world, allowing Sam (and anyone attached to BBs) to see the shadowy BT figures. Maybe? Who knows. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best back to school sales 2019: deals on laptops, backpacks, tablets, and more Posted: 19 Aug 2019 01:04 PM PDT September is just around the corner and that means school is officially back in session. To help you save money before the new year we've listed the best back to school sales that are happening now. We've found the best discounts and prices on laptops, tablets, backpacks, appliances, headphones, and more. You can find excellent deals from retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy on top brands such as Dell, Apple, Samsung, and more. The best back to school sales:
Back to school deals:See our roundup of the best laptops under $500: the best budget laptops around and our 10 tips for buying a Back to School laptop. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Death Stranding: release date, trailers and news Posted: 19 Aug 2019 01:03 PM PDT Finally, after years of being in development, we know when Hideo Kojima's upcoming title Death Stranding will release and we also know a little bit more about what to expect from the game...kind of. On May 29, Kojima Productions dropped a brand new, lengthy trailer for Death Stranding that was - honestly - still a bit confusing. Norman Reedus, the return of the jar baby, Mads Mikkelsen leading an undead soldier army and demon militants? All just a day in Death Stranding it seems. But the trailer did reveal something very important: Death Stranding will release on November 8, 2019. So, while fans the world over try to dissect the latest trailer and piece together the various puzzle pieces, let this article guide you through everything there is to know about Death Stranding so far. [Update: Hideo Kojima has appeared on stage at Gamescom 2019: Opening Night Live to show off two new story trailers for the game, both revealing much about what in the world is with the babies, as well as a gameplay trailer. See the trailers below.] Image credit: Kojima Productions Cut to the chase
Death Stranding trailers and screenshotsDeath Stranding trailers are becoming increasingly focused and the latest two, released on August 19 at Gamescom 2019, brought the enigmatic infants into closer view. The trailers revealed a new character that is the mother to an infant who was born still, and so its soul exists in a mirror plane to the real world, the world of the dead. Then, some of the characters in this world have managed to manipulate and navigate this world with actual stillborn infants connected across planes with still mothers ... we think. It's wild stuff that borderlines on taboo – and it features Guillermo Del Toro, too. Finally, Kojima revealed gameplay of Death Stranding, which detailed a character interacting with a character modeled after Geoff Keighley (who is literally in the game now). Then, he fell off a cliff onto the baby resting in its artificial womb on the character's chest ... unscathed. We have no idea. Prior to Gamescom, Kojima gave us a two minute look at a brand new character: Heartman. Played by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, this character's heart stops every 21 minutes. Each time his heart stops he dies for around 3 minutes and enters the world of the dead before being revived by a defibrillator strapped to his chest and returned to the land of the living. The most revealing Death Stranding trailer dropped on May 29, announcing the game's release date and attempting to shed some light on the storyline. Check it out below: The Tokyo Game Show 2018 trailer revealed voice-acting veteran Troy Baker has joined the cast as the mysterious villain The Man in the Golden Mask. E3 2018 brought Death Stranding gameplay to our eyes and left our minds somewhat confused. Before E3 2018, Death Stranding featured at the Game Awards 2017. Coming in at nearly eight minutes long, this isn't a quick watch and unfortunately it doesn't answer many of the questions we have about the game (actually we think we have more). Watch it for yourself below: The reveal trailer that was shown at E3 in 2016 may have been more than 3 minutes long, but it didn’t reveal much about the game at all other than that it would star The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus. A second even longer and 4K trailer was shown at The Game Awards at the end of 2016. This trailer starred Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen and Guillermo Del Toro and although it didn’t give us any more of an idea of what the game will actually even be about (in fact leaving us more confused than we were before) it did send expectations soaring. Death Stranding release dateThe most recent trailer revealed that Death Stranding will release on November 8. 2019. Death Stranding is available to pre-order now from the PlayStation Store. The standard digital edition will cost you £54.99 / $59.99 / AU$99.95, while the deluxe digital edition costs £64.99 / $79.99 / AU$114.95. Image credit: Kojima Productions What do we know so far about Death Stranding?No longer listed as PS4 exclusive Gamescom 2019 Check out the tweet below: Hopefully the new footage will explain a bit more about Death Stranding's gameplay mechanics and what we can expect in terms of narrative. But this is Hideo Kojima we're talking about, so don't expect everything to be so straightforward... Death Stranding could be out on PC as soon as May 2020 Bear in mind that it is just a rumor, and nothing more at this point, but the source of the speculation, an Italian journalist by the name of Antonio Fucito, previously leaked the game’s release date correctly (before it was officially revealed as November 8). In a livestream session, Fucito said that Death Stranding would be a PlayStation 4 exclusive for a set period, before releasing on PC (but not Xbox). Regarding the possible length of exclusivity period, he added: “I don’t know if it’s a 6 or 12 months exclusive.” So we could potentially be looking at a PC release in May 2020, a year from now, or November 2020. Of course, that’s pure guesswork, and we still have to be cautious about any PC release happening at all. Keanu Reeves was almost cast in Death Stranding "I originally was recommended Keanu Reeves but I wanted Mads," Kojima explained during the panel, according to Twitter user Kalai Chik. Check out the tweet below: Release date revealed in trailer Kojima has stated the game centers around 'connection' Check the tweet out below: Death Stranding's pre-order page is live now Check out all the items below: Image credit: Sony Tribeca Film Festival “In Death Stranding I’m trying to put every aspect [of Norman] in there,” Kojima said through his interpreter, “and you will see his … everything, in the game,” he finished, suggestively, cracking up the crowd. By the end of the game, he says, you’ll “love Norman”. Non-branching narrative Online features Image credit: TechRadar Troy Baker is a villain E3 2018 We also got look at two more famous faces who will make an appearance in the game – Léa Seydoux and Lindsay Wagner. Something edgy We do know that Kojima is planning to do something different with the game’s mechanics, most notably around the concept of dying and involving the baby that has appeared in every trailer. Kojima said in the interview that the mechanics of Death Stranding were inspired by a Japanese short story. Image credit: Kojima Productions In the story it’s stated that the first tool mankind creates is a stick for protection, but that the second tool mankind created was a rope to keep things close and secure. “Most of your tools in action games are sticks,” Kojima explained, “You punch or you shoot or you kick. The communication is always through these 'sticks.' In [Death Stranding], I want people to be connected not through sticks, but through what would be the equivalent of ropes… But of course you will be able to use the sticks too.” Unfortunately we haven’t seen any gameplay that would give us a better insight into how this rope approach will actually work. A mystery to its own devs Before this, the game's star Mads Mikkelsen admitted he "got lost" when Kojima tried to explain the game's plot to him. Sporadic details We know the game will run on the Decima engine which was created by Horizon: Zero Dawn developers, Guerilla Games. Kojima praised this engine during PSX 2016 as being an excellent engine for creating open world games, something that Horizon: Zero Dawn’s reception suggests has an element of truth to it. Though its unsettling trailers suggest otherwise, Kojima has said that Death Stranding won’t be as dark as some fans are expecting. It’s certainly not a horror game, he told Glixel, and it would have comedic moments which isn’t entirely surprising considering the overarching tone of the Metal Gear series. An impressive cast O'Brien posted a picture to Instagram which showed her alongside Baker and Reedus, with a caption stating "Honored to be working alongside these two fine lads on [Hideo Kojima's] new project Death Stranding." While Baker is well known for his starring roles in video games such as The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite, O'Brien has had roles on both TV and in games, featuring in Telltale's Guardian's of the Galaxy and Batman: The Enemy Within as well as Rock in a Hard Place. Players won't die The game apparently explores the themes of life and death and it's for this reason that Kojima would like to explore the traditional death mechanic in games and let players know that in-game death isn't the end for them when it happens. In this underwater area, he explains, “you're not dead or alive. It's the equivalent of that screen that says 'Continue?' and a counter ticking down towards zero.” When players decide they're ready to leave and return to the game world, they won't be returned to a point before their death. Instead the game acknowledges their defeat and coming back to life is more of a reincarnation than a respawn. There's a weird time rain What's the deal with the babies? What could it all mean?Though the game’s trailers don’t tell us much about how we’ll eventually play Death Stranding, they do reveal some important thematic elements. Quotes from William Blake, the repeated appearance of ruined dolls, and the inclusion of what looks like oil (but could very well be ink) and dead sea creatures suggests Kojima will be exploring the fractious relationship between man and the natural world and the impact it has on us and future generations. The littering of dead crabs on beaches and tanks with definitely living tentacles coming out of them suggests to us a post-apocalyptic world over-run with robotic sea creatures which would certainly be interesting. After all, Kojima is working closely with Guerilla Games whose Horizon: Zero Dawn game focused on robotic dinosaurs. Image credit: Kojima Productions There’s also a curious mix of futuristic technology and elements of the past in the game’s various trailers. In the second game trailer though Mads Mikkelsen is wearing a modern army uniform and appears to be using some kind of cable, the undead soldiers around him are wearing WW2 era uniforms and the game world outside of the tunnel he’s in is almost certainly from the second world war time period. Image credit: Kojima Productions Whether this mix of past and future will manifest itself as time travelling or simply alternate universe science fiction isn’t clear. Safe to say, as a Kojima title, there’s a lot of mystery and symbolism at play here and fans online are tearing through what little materials there are to try and find out more information about the game. We’ll keep updating as more solid information becomes available. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The Witcher 3 on Nintendo Switch may mean I finally play the DLC Posted: 19 Aug 2019 01:01 PM PDT I’ve put enough hours of my life into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but its debut on Nintendo Switch may mean I have to pick it up and travel to The Continent again. After 92 hours of monster hunting, romancing and playing Gwent, I don’t need to return to this game only a few years after finishing it, but there's one key reason why I may buy it again - and that's the DLC. I've been lucky enough to play around an hour of the game's Nintendo Switch port, and that short burst of The Witcher's world has encouraged me to return and play through both Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Both DLC packs sit waiting at home for me on my PlayStation 4 – well, after I reinstall the 50GB+ game – as I've already bought them before. I loved the ending of the main story, and something about how long I'd spent in that world meant I wasn't desperate to pick up the controller again and dive into those DLC storylines, even though they were ready and waiting. How Long To Beat, a game aggregation website that estimates the length of games, says Hearts of Stone takes between 10 to 19 hours to complete, while Blood and Wine takes between 15 and 40 hours depending on how much you want to do. That's another big undertaking in itself, so maybe the Switch is how I'll finally find the motivation to do them. I commute for over an hour a day, and the idea of being able to finally dive into these mammoth DLCs that themselves are longer than your average console game is an exciting one. So far, my testing time has proved The Witcher 3 on Switch is still a fantastic experience. It runs smoothly, although those load times are obviously still long, but I found it graphically looked similar to the original game despite its lower resolution. This is likely to look much better on your TV - although it's only 720p - as it's running 540p in the handheld mode. It still looks beautiful in this play style, but it's obviously not the optimum way to play The Witcher 3. If you want that, you'll want it on a top-end PC but the trade-off in power for portability is something I'd be willing to make. If you’ve never dived into The Witcher 3, or you want a new way to play one of the largest and most sprawling video games in recent memory, then there’s likely no better way to do that then at the back of a bus with the Switch in your hands. So far I've only had the opportunity to play the game while it's undocked, so I'm excited to see how it performs on a TV. But the whole reason this port is exciting is because you're able to take this adventure out into the world for the very first time. Came and GwentThe Witcher 3 on Nintendo Switch is the full package too. Everything is sat there waiting on the 32GB cartridge, and that includes both the extra DLCs I've mentioned as well as all the other free upgrades that were provided for the game after launch. If you want the full experience from the very beginning, this may be the way you can finally get it. CD Project Red hasn’t dropped any missions, any elements of the story or Gwent to make this work. Despite how much I loved it, I'm not clamoring to pick up Geralt's main adventure again but I think I'm finally ready to experience the final chapter that I've somehow managed to avoid for so long. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Huawei condemns US move extending ban to 46 more affiliates Posted: 19 Aug 2019 12:58 PM PDT The US government has extended its Huawei ban to 46 more affiliates, dashing the company's hopes that it would be lifted. Instead, the temporary license allowing Huawei to procure American parts for existing products has been extended another 90 days. Huawei didn't mince words with its response: "It's clear that this decision, made at this particular time, is politically motivated and has nothing to do with national security," the Chinese company said in a statement sent to the press. "Attempts to suppress Huawei's business won't help the United States achieve technological leadership." Those 46 Huawei affiliates have been added to the US government's Entity List, which restricts business they can do in the US. But the point of the 90-day license extension isn't to spend more time mulling over whether to lift the ban - it's reportedly to give US rural telecoms time to extricate Huawei products from their infrastructure. “As we continue to urge consumers to transition away from Huawei’s products, we recognize that more time is necessary to prevent any disruption,” US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, according to The New York Times.
Dwindling hope for Huawei in the USWhen the 90-day reprieve was first announced in July, it was seen as a potentially promising move for a company drawn into Trump's trade conflict with China. But this update doesn't seem like good news for Huawei's ambitions in the US. It's also not promising for Huawei's ambiguous situation with Google. While the Chinese company's phones have gotten renewed access to Android content and security updates, it's anybody's guess if and when that could be rescinded should the ban progress. If not, Huawei has been developing HarmonyOS, the cross-platform operating system (much like Google Fuscia) that could in theory be used for the company's slate of phones, like the upcoming Huawei Mate 30 Pro. HarmonyOS was finally revealed at Huawei Developer Conference in late July - and it's coming first on the Honor Vision smart TV. There's no official word on when it will be ready to deploy on phones, tablets, or other devices.
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| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare release date, trailer and news Posted: 19 Aug 2019 12:50 PM PDT Call of Duty Modern Warfare is going back to the series' roots. Forget the zombies. Forget the WWII battles. Forget the jetpacks, exo launchers and all the other future weaponry – Call of Duty is going back to one of the most beloved series within the franchise with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a reboot of the highly-lauded 2007 first person shooter that's set in today's battlefields. It’s all about the gritty realities of war this time out, with the ‘modern’ of the ‘Modern Warfare’ title referring to the high-tech gear of today, the cutting-edge killing machines employed in combat right now in places like the Middle East and Russia, rather than the far-flung fantasies of science fiction. With the battle royale genre taking up many shooter fans’ spare gaming time, Call of Duty’s crown as the king of competitive shooters has slipped in the past few years. Can a return to its most-popular roots bring it back to glory? And will we see some more Modern Warfare gameplay at Gamescom 2019? Read on for what we know so far. [Update: Infinity Ward has released a new trailer showcasing Modern Warfare's real-time ray tracing. Check it out below.] Cut to the chase
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare release dateAnnounced right before E3 2019, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare leaked ahead of the event but a trailer gave us our first glimpse and a variety of details for the game. It included the release date, which is set for October 25, 2019. You're already able to pre-order the game on the official site too. Call of Duty Modern Warfare screenshotsCall of Duty: Modern Warfare trailersAt Gamescom 2019, Infinity Ward released a new trailer revealing Modern Warfare's ray tracing in action. Check it out below: Not had enough footage of Modern Warfare multiplayer? Check out the 24 minutes of multiplayer footage released by Infinity Ward in August 2019 below. The latest multiplayer trailer has been revealed for what's being claimed to be Call of Duty's most immersive multiplayer to date. Infinity Ward has confirmed a brand new multiplayer mode for Modern Warfare called Gunfight and released five whole minutes of crisp 4K gameplay to give players a better idea of what to expect from this fast-paced, 2v2 mode. Watch it for yourself below. The first trailer for Modern Warfare was the release trailer that debuted on May 30. In it, we can see series protagonist (and all-around badass) Captain Price light up, and some intense - and dare we say great-looking - nightvision sequences. You can watch it below: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare betaAs expected, there will be a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta held prior to the game's release. At the moment, details are sparse but there are some important dates to note down if you're interested in taking part. The beta will take place across two weekends, first on PS4 and then on PS4, Xbox One and PC. On the first PS4-only weekend, early access to the beta will run from September 12 to 14 while open access will run from September 14 to 16. The second weekend which will be for both PS4 and Xbox One will run in early access across September 19 and 20. The open access for this weekend will run from September 21 to 23. Specific start times will be announced closer to the time. Wondering how you can get in on those early access days? You'll have to pre order the game. If you don't want to pre-order, you can still get access on the open access days. As far as what's included in the beta, not much is known at the moment. What we do know, however, is that it'll feature PC and console crossplay while any progress or items unlocked will carry over to the full game. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare newsCrossplay Battle royale possibilities The rumors are unconfirmed but they do come from YouTuber LongSensation, a source with a fairly good track record. However, until Infinity Ward confirms or denies we can't be sure. PC optimzation Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be fully optimized for PC players, according to recent reports, complete with some PC-specific features as well as cross-play with consoles. As reported by DualShockers, the PC version of the game will have an uncapped frame rate as well as a slider for Field of View so that you can decide how much of your surroundings you want to see in your peripheral vision. Ultra-wide monitors will be supported with the ability to configure monitors to suit your needs. For any console players concerned about mouse and keyboard advantages in cross-play scenarios, matchmaking will be done according to peripherals so it's down to you whether or not you play with those using a mouse and keyboard. Infinity Ward is already ahead of those ultra-sneaky players who might think about changing their peripheral mid-match; you can't, it's locked in. Multiplayer reveal As promised, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's multiplayer reveal took place in August. Fans have already seen the brand new 2v2 mode, Gunfight, but now there's a bigger picture that suggests a truly reinvigorated Call of Duty multiplayer experience to look forward to. First up, there's cross-platform multiplayer between consoles and PC as well as a free season pass, showing Infinity Ward is taking a cue from popular multiplayer titles like Fortnite and is making efforts not to split up its playerbase. Further to 2v2 fights in Gunfight, there are 6v6, 10v10 and 20v20 matches though the real surprise is a new mode called Ground War which will support up to 100 players, though there's no footage of that just yet. With this expansive multiplayer offering, it seems that Infinity Ward is looking to appeal to all kinds of shooter fans. Watch the multiplayer trailer for yourself below. Killstreaks are back Ahead of the full multiplayer reveal scheduled for August 1, Activision has confirmed that Killstreaks will make a return in Modern Warfare, making it the first game in quite a while to include the feature. As players rack up kills, they'll be able to unlock weapons and armor. Some of the killstreaks have been revealed on Twitter already including the intimidating Juggernaut suit from Modern Warfare 3, the light infantry assault vehicle and, most unpleasantly, the controversial White Phosphorus. More information on the game will be revealed on August 1. Female multiplayer options Infinity Ward has been drip-feeding multiplayer news ahead of the full reveal on August 1st. The latest announcement has come from a Reddit post in which communications manager, Ashton Williams, has confirmed that there will be playable female models in Modern Warfare's multiplayer. Multiplayer intro In addition to that confirmation of playable female characters, Infinity Ward has also revealed some footage of what the short cinematic preceding a multiplayer match will look like to Twitter ahead of the full multiplayer reveal. Like in Call of Duty: WW2's War Mode, the cinematic will show players in a scene heading towards their drop point. Full Multiplayer Reveal Gunfight Gunfight is a mode for four players where two teams will play in “multi-round cage matches” across three small custom maps. Every two rounds, teams will swap to opposite sides of the map. All four players will have the same loadout which will typically be comprised of a primary and secondary weapon as well as a tactical Grenade and a piece of Lethal Equipment. The first team to win six rounds are the winners. This is going to be a mode for players that like fast rounds, with each round counting down on a 40 second timer. If one team hasn’t wiped out the other by the time the 40 seconds is up, a flag will appear on the map. The first team to control the area around the flag for more than three seconds is them the winner of the round. Each round, overall, will last for around a minute so speed is key. Aim Down Sight reload Aim Down Sight reload will mean that, while aiming down the sight of your weapon, your view won't be pulled away to watch an animation when you reload. Instead, you'll stay on target. Animation director Mark Grigsby offered some details on the feature in the post: “One other thing we added this year is the ADS [Aiming Down Sight] reload. In the past, if you're ADS, and you're shooting and you reload, the weapon would go off to the side, and you'd have to retrain to get to your target. This time if you reload, it stays on the target, so you can stay in the battle.” "Ripped straight from the headlines" This mission sees you tracking down the instigator of the terrorist attack (AKA The Wold) to a townhouse in North London. As a member of the SAS, the player creeps up a ladder and into the back of the dimly lit home where they methodically assassinate the plain-clothes terrorists occupying the residency. There's even an unsettling situation involving a woman using her baby as a shield. It's pretty rough but Infinity Ward claims the new Modern Warfare sees missions "ripped straight from the headlines" and investigated the "civilian collateral damage" that comes hand-in-hand with war. What was peculiar was that our presentation was shorter than those who had attended earlier in the week. We were only shown the London townhouse mission, whereas other journalists were shown an extra - more controversial - segment which seen players taking on the role of a child soldier in an unspecified war-torn country. Image Credit: Infinity Ward Is this a reboot of the classic Modern Warfare? Instead, Infinity Ward is using the Modern Warfare name here to evoke a similar feeling, and some of the same characters will return but this is an entirely new storyline set in a different timeline. It's totally separate to what we've seen in the previous games as here those events haven't occurred. We'll still follow Captain Price in this different timeline, and it may mean we see over returning characters throughout too. Price features heavily in the trailer above, and he ends it by saying there's a team of his "old comrades" so it may well be that we see the return of other fan favorite characters such as Soap or Gaz. This new timeline is also why the game isn't called Modern Warfare 4. It should mean it's a good place for new entrants to the series to pick up the game, but there's sure to be a few nods to the original series for die-hard fans. Narrative director at Infinity Ward, Taylor Kurosaki, also noted that the game's storyline is still being tweaked but it's anywhere between five and nine hours long. That means it's not set to be very long, but at least this time there is a storyline. Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 4 opted to drop the storyline in favor of focusing on online play, which is something we've heard very little about so far for this game. Image credit: Activision/Infinity Ward No Zombie mode for Modern WarfareZombie mode might be a staple of the over-the-top Black Ops entries into the Call of Duty series, but the undead horde will not be being reanimated this time around in Modern Warfare according to Campaign Gameplay Director Jacob Minkoff. In an interview with PlayStation Lifestyle, Minkoff said that the team's goal is to create something on par with today's battlefields - which, unfortunately, don't include any undead wandering around. "We don't have the flexibility to do something like put zombies in the game. That would compromise the feeling of playing in a world that feels realistic and authentic and relative to today's conflicts and things we face," Minkoff said. If you want Zombies, you'll just have to wait for the next Black Ops game. Image Credit: Activision / Infinity Ward Return of the JuggernautWhile Call of Duty Modern Warfare didn't have a huge presence at E3 2019, it did pop up at an E3 Coliseum event where Activision had the first two multiplayer screenshots. One shot shows a sniper in a ghillie suit, while the other shows a juggernaut suit – one of the most powerful pieces of gear from the original game. A whole new engineThis title will be the first to use a whole new engine for the series, and that should allow for some drastic graphical improvements over previous titles including Black Ops 4. It's the first time the games will use a new engine in 14 years. We've yet to learn the name of the engine, but we know that the franchise has been working on it for five years. We expect to learn more about it in the coming months, but we can expect some more detailed environments, improved volumetric lighting and ray tracing technology too. Expect controversyAccording to ComicBook.com, the game be "heavy on troubling, realistic emotions, very much inspired by the controversial 'No Russian level" That mission is in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. It was highly controversial at the time for depicting an undercover CIA agent who takes part in a mass shooting of civilians. The trailer suggests other terrorist attacks may feature in the story, and children also feature so it may be these elements are used to stir up controversy.
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| FIFA 20: release date, news, Volta modes and everything else there is to know Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:59 AM PDT Better manual defending, revamped shooting and a 'Volta Football' street and indoor five-a-side mode: FIFA 20 is on its way, and we've got the first details here. Yep: goal, goal, goal. Football, football, football. No ‘soccer’ shenanigans here folks – we’re talking about the beautiful game, FIFA 20, the 2020 season’s updated footie simulator. There’s a new FIFA game on the way from developers at EA Vancouver. With it being one of the most successful sporting game franchises of all time, and it having had an annual release since 1993, it’s as safe a bet that EA will be pulling out all the stops for a gargantuan game before the introduction of the PS5 and Xbox Two consoles. So, with a FIFA 2020 game now certain, what can we expect from the next FIFA game? How’s Alex Hunter’s ‘Journey’ from amateur to pro going to conclude? And what changes can we expect when we play FIFA 20? With a September release date, it's likely we'll get a final push of trailers, and possibly a better look at the new Volta modes, in the coming weeks – possibly at Gamescom 2019. [Update: EA has dropped a new trailer showcasing Volta Football. Read on to find out more.] Cut to the chase
FIFA 2020 release dateLike the changing of the seasons (and the football seasons themselves), there’s an annually expected launch window for FIFA games. For more than a decade, FIFA games have launched towards the end of September, and that's now confirmed with the FIFA 20 release date being set for September 27. If you're an EA Access player however, you get a week's early play, with the game launching on the subscription service on September 19. The news was confirmed with a new teaser trailer, posted on Twitter. You can find it embedded below: The previous two FIFA games landed on the final Friday in September (29 September, 2017 and 28 September, 2018) which, as we predicted, would align FIFA 2020’s release for Friday 27 September 2019. Note that FIFA games launch with a title suggesting the year ahead – FIFA 20 may come out in 2019, but its FIFA 20 / 2020 naming will reflect the coming season. FIFA 20 trailersVolta gameplay trailer Volta football trailer There will be a campaign mode, online leagues and squads and customisable player avatars – almost enough for a full game in its own right, it would seem. It'll only be available in the PS5, Xbox One and PC versions of the game though, skipping out on the Nintendo Switch, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Check out the trailer below: Official gameplay trailer FIFA 20 gameplay development updatesGameplay footage reveal EA has finally shown off FIFA 20 gameplay footage for the first time during a Twitch live stream. However, it's a pretty boring match and doesn't do much to showcase the game's new features. Check out the stream below: Cover Star EA has now revealed two of the cover stars for FIFA 20 ahead of its September release. On the Standard Edition Eden Hazard of Real Madrid fame will take centre stage while on the Champions Edition Virgil van Dijk is the star. After a few weeks of waiting, we now also know that Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane will feature on the cover of the FIFA 20 Ultimate Edition, as well as in the FIFA 20 Ultimate Team as an Icon. Following E3 2019 many FIFA fans still had questions about the upcoming addition to the franchise. Now, EA has started providing some more answers in a new blog post which delves into some of the changes to Pro Clubs. Pro Clubs FIFA 20 will be bringing in a new avatar system which will see player creation change in Pro Clubs and across the rest of the game. While it maintains features of the old system—commentary name and setting celebration styles included—it builds on it, giving players more control over the creation of their, well, player. That includes a new morphing tool which will allow for more granular face shape creation and skin tone selection. FIFA 20 will also bring back some player positions due to fan feedback so now Left and Right Forwards, Left and Right Wing Backs and Left and Right Midfielders are returning. Greater control over players doesn't stop at their appearances. In FIFA 20, the player progression system has upped its game slightly and now your choice of player height, weight and position will effect how they play. There are also 30 new player traits that can be paired with "specialty traits" can bring real benefits. There is, of course, an element of risk and reward to this as big benefits to one attribute can lead to a dip in others. Outside of customization, there's going to be some new broadcast features and game modes added to FIFA 20. There will be replay transition wipes, an on-screen watermark, club banners and a new Pro Clubs logo as well as augmented reality overlays at half-time and match intros. Oh, and celebrations aren't restricted to one player anymore. Now, the camera won't stay zoomed in on one player, it'll stay out so that you can coordinate a celebration that includes the whole team. Finally, there are two new match types: House Rules Cups and Practice. House Rules Cups is inspired by FIFA Kick-Off Mode's House Rules and will see a new match type rotated each day with a different cup each weekend. Practice, on the other hand, does exactly what you'd think; you can pit yourself against a variety of AI either alone or in your team. You can choose how challenging you want the AI to be and you can even choose which kind of tactics you want them to be using to ensure you're feeling the right kind of pressure and practicing in the way you want. If that means playing against a team of 99-rated players applying high pressure you can do that. Ahead of the game's official reveal at EA Play and E3 2019, EA Sports has addressed some of the updates it has planned for FIFA 20 in a blog post, many of which have been inspired by player feedback from FIFA 19. As a series, FIFA isn't known for making any huge gameplay changes between releases but these are some of the features EA Sports has decided to focus on for the latest release. Volta Football FIFA Street makes a return as a game mode for FIFA 20, as Volta Football. 3v3 Rush (no goalkeepers), 4v4, 4v4 Rush, 5v5 and Professional Futsal will all be match types in the new game. It's all about flair, with customisable players (male and female players will play alongside each other) online squads and more. Scroll back up for that first trailer, focussing on this aspect of the game. 'Football Intelligence' A new combination of features that tweaks on the ball, off the ball and the play of the ball itself. You'll get more time and space on the ball, with a tweak to the physics of the ball. You'll get more one-ones as a result of this system, with greater emphasis on user controlled defending. Off the ball players will spread around the pitch in a more authentic way, too. Spin will now also affect the trajectory of the ball, with more realistic deflections. The part of a player's shoe that hits the ball also plays into the flight of the ball now. AI Defending As mentioned above, players will now see more benefits to manually defending, rather than relying on the skills of the game's AI. Computer-controlled defenders will now be less efficient and effective (less on-the-ball, if you will) while those controlled by you will perform better. Manual tackles are also more likely to go in your favor than those attempted by AI. This should create a balance which will see players who make the effort to manually defend feel that it's more rewarding. Pace will also get tweaked to give defenders a better chance of catching up with particularly speedy players. Shooting, and 'composed finishing' As far as shooting is concerned, one-on-one situations between the player and the goalkeeper are about to become less frustrating. In FIFA 20, 1v1 shooting accuracy will be improved allowing for more shots on target, while goalkeepers will be slightly less "superhuman" when it comes to their reactions. Even manual goalkeepers will be slowed down to more realistic speeds. Players controlling their goalkeeper using right-stick movement will now have to commit to a direction when attempting to make a save, making it feel more rewarding or more galling when you make it or miss it. Away from the goal, volley-crossing and volley-shooting are being checked to make them more realistic. By more realistic, of course, we mean less accurate and a little more unpredictable. Strafe dribbling This will give you more dimension in attack, letting you lure an opponent in, opening up the potential to take on a defender with an agile, speedy player. New penalty kicks and free kicks All new systems come to penalty and free kicks, making them easier to pull off great goals from set pieces.. Free kicks in particular will be completely revamped, giving you greater control of spin on a shot. Passing It's not just shooting mechanics that are being addressed, passing is seeing a shakeup too. Easy passes will now be more accurate but more difficult passes like those at 180 degrees, first-time and those attempted in high-pressure moments will now result in slower/weaker balls which are less effective and easier to intercept. There are two new options for passing in addition to this. Manual 'Dinked' passes, which will be used to elevate the ball over a defender's leg and the Driven Pass-and-Go which will take over from the current manual pass combo. Timed Finishing Timed Finishing was a new mechanic for FIFA 19 and as a result EA Sports has garnered a lot of feedback in order to fine tune it. If you missed its introduction, Timed Finishing meant that players could take advantage of a Green Timing Window in order to make a more accurate shot. This should have been a high risk and high reward feature but players felt that it was just too easy to perform. As a result, EA Sports has reduced the Green Timing Window from 2-4 frames to strictly 2 frames, making it more difficult to pull off, while Green Timed Shots will generally just be less accurate. They will still, however, be slightly more accurate than a standard shot. Otherwise what's the point? With these fixes, as well as improvements to player switching and set-piece positioning, EA Sports seems to be at pains to show that it plans to address some of the biggest fan concerns over FIFA 19 ahead of announcing FIFA 20. FIFA 20: what we want to seeFIFA titles make incremental improvements over the years – it’s rare to see one massively change the formula, and FIFA has been in a pretty stable state for the best part of a decade now. If you’ve played a recent edition, you’ll be able enjoy the latest one, with a few months work needed to master its new systems. FIFA is in a good place then, with FIFA 20 set to be built on solid foundations – but that’s not to say we can’t look forward to some improvements. Here’s a handful of things we’d like to see changed. The end of the ‘Journey’ – and the start of something new? FIFA introduced a character-driven story mode back in FIFA 2017, focussing on fictional upcoming star Alex Hunter, and it’s now a much-loved staple of the game. Hunter’s story concludes with FIFA 20, so we’d like to see something new and expanded with which to carry on that legacy. EA’s Madden series has a narrative-focussed Longshot mode – it’d be great to see that idea carry over into EA’s other big sporting title. Dynamic weather For a while there, EA’s mantra seemed to be that anything rival Pro Evolution Soccer could do, FIFA could do better. But EA’s never picked up Pro’s dynamic weather systems. Just like in real life, rainy weather can blow in mid-game, changing the pace and flow of play in the Pro series. It’s a realistic consideration, and one that’d have a subtle but welcome effect to moment-to-moment tactics in FIFA 20. Career Mode changes Career Mode is FIFA’s answer to a managerial system. It’s not Football Manager, but it’s a great way of building up a lengthy relationship with each year’s entry into the franchise. It could do with a spruce up though to its core systems after its flashy-but-shallow FIFA 18 UI overhaul. Some extra depth to the managerial challenge is what we’re really after – player wage negotiations, stadium changes for smaller clubs on the rise, that sort of thing. It’d be great to bring back the Player / Manager career option of FIFA 13, too. Build-your-own team mode Fans have been crying out for this one for years – bringing back the old-school ability to create your own team, from branding and kit right down to player names and attributes. We’re guessing EA isn’t keen on this as it’d give you the ability to make updated squad information on the game even years after release. But it’d be great to be able to make a team made up of just work colleagues or online mates, for instance, and see them bring the cup home. FIFA 2020: Early Access? FIFA as a subscription?EA has been toying with different sorts of distribution models for a while now, with its EA Access subscription model, and its Origin Premier service, letting players try out the firm’s top games for a monthly fee. With the launch of FIFA 19, EA allowed gamers to play FIFA 19 nine days before the game’s general release, and we’d expect to see the same occur for FIFA 20. What’s potentially interesting though is the possibility of FIFA becoming its own live service, with EA offering a subscription fee for the game, or elements of the game, being constantly updated rather than as an annual release. It’d let the company drip-feed updates, as well as keeping team sheets and player likenesses up to date, and remain competitive to titles like the free-to-play phenomenon Fortnite, which follows a similar model of constant updates. To be clear, EA has not stated that this is to be the case for FIFA, but with the franchise such a powerful draw, and the idea of games-as-a-service becoming more of an industry standard, don’t be surprised if a future FIFA game takes this route. Is there a FIFA 20 demo?Although we know FIFA 20 will be officially launched in September 2019, EA Sports has yet to set a date for its FIFA 20 demo. They're released every year before the official launch, and we've got our fingers crossed for another early demo this year too. In the past, the demo has been available in a trial capacity for a week or two earlier than the launch date. Looking back, FIFA 19's demo was available on 13 September, 2019, two weeks before the game's full launch – EA followed this same pattern for FIFA 18, FIFA 17 and FIFA 16 too. If the same pattern applies to this year, which we assume it will but can't guarantee, then we'd expect the demo to have dropped by 14 September, 2019. Again though, this is all speculation for now – but we'll be sure to update you when we get official confirmation.
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| Google Stadia has all the tech, but few exclusive games to care about... yet Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:56 AM PDT Another Google Stadia Connect has concluded, and we’re still waiting for a worthy reason to ditch our consoles and jump onto Google’s game streaming bandwagon. The August 2019 Google Stadia Connect was intended to be a further showcase of all the games coming to the ‘Netflix-for-games’ that Google had planned, and in some respects, it was a success. It certainly had a lot of games. From Watch Dogs Legion and Mortal Kombat 11, to Cyberpunk 2077 and Borderlands 3, Google has done a great job of securing some of the biggest franchises in gaming for its streaming platform. The problem is, so has everyone else – with the exception of a single games, all that was announced at the August Stadia Connect has already been confirmed for consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One, or PC platforms. And that exclusive? Looking perfectly fun, but hardly a blockbuster.
The exclusivity struggleOrcs Must Die! 3, is a charming action-oriented tower defense style game, and is (at least initially) a Google Stadia exclusive. It has has a loyal fanbase, but not a big one – the last game in the series was Orcs Must Die! Unchained, a free-to-play title that had to close its doors as it was “unable to maintain a sufficient player base to cover the operational costs,” needed to support it. It's not exactly Google’s answer to Super Mario or Uncharted, then. So keen were we to see an exclusive during the showcase, that we got excited by the sight of Darksiders Genesis during the stream. It's the fourth entry in a series that has always been one 'A' short of a 'Triple-A' franchise. It has its fans, but the Zelda-meets-God-of-War action has always struggled to set the world on fire. Genesis will take the franchise in a new direction, however, into the realms of the hack-and-slash isometric action RPG, facing competition from Path of Exile and Diablo. But, showing how eager we were to see something new during the stream, it wasn't until after the Stadia Connect showcase concluded did we realise it had already been announced for multiple platforms earlier this year – and showing that, ultimately, it's looking a bit forgettable. So that's it. One exclusive announced in a 30 minute presentation. No exclusives? No personalityAs such, it’s hard to get a sense of the personality behind Google Stadia. For better or worse, there’s still a sense of competition and tribalism among the gaming community, the race for ever-more-ambitious and exciting exclusives a big part of what makes playing on the PlayStation or Nintendo Switch or Xbox One so exciting. So far, Google hasn’t exhibited enough exclusive games to get passionate about what its platform is offering. If it was an “all-you-can-eat” subscription service, that’d be easier to swallow – it’d be a value proposition, an instant game library without the need for a console or powerful PC. But with each Google Stadia game currently a sold-separately purchase (with a few free-to-play exceptions), that position in the market is being lost. What you’re left with then is a platform, and its technology, buoyed by an impressive list of games that you could get elsewhere without investing in an unproven service. The ability to stream at the highest graphical settings possible at 4K and 60fps is an enticing one (provided your internet connection is up to scratch of course). But if you’re purely interested in the games and less so the marvel of the underlying cloud computing wizardry going on behind the scenes, Google Stadia doesn’t yet offer anything you can’t get elsewhere. It's early days yet. Establishing a brand new gaming platform is a tough task, and there are already game streaming casualties like OnLive to act as a cautionary tale for Google. The web giant appears to be in this for the long haul, however, and will likely have done its homework too – there's time yet before launch for Google to reveal a killer exclusive, and even if it doesn't, the line-up it's established here could still tempt enough players to breathe life into Stadia. But if it wants to lure players away from their existing consoles, Google will, sooner or later, need to attract some big exclusive names into its gaming stadium in the sky. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Fake Android apps downloaded millions of times Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:47 AM PDT Android users have downloaded fake apps which slow down their devices and drain their batteries millions of times according to research from Trend Micro. Researchers at the cybersecurity firm found 85 different photography and gaming apps that were filled with adware on the Google Play store. These fraudulent apps have been downloaded more than eight million times to user's smartphones and tablets. Trend Micro has published a full list of the fake apps but some of the most popular ones were Super Selfie, Cos Camera, Pop Camera and Line Puzzle.
Mobile threat researcher at Trend Micro, Ecular Xu explained how the apps avoided being detected by users, saying: “We found another example of adware’s potential real-life impact on Google Play. Trend Micro detects this as AndroidOS_Hidenad.HRXH. It isn’t your run-of-the-mill adware family: Apart from displaying advertisements that are difficult to close, it employs unique techniques to evade detection through user behavior and time-based triggers.” Adware appsOne of the techniques the adware apps discovered by Trend Micro used to avoid detection was to create a shortcut for the app on a device's home screen 30 minutes after the app was installed. This helped the apps to become more visible while also deterring Android users from uninstalling them. When launched, the apps functioned in much the same way as the photography or gaming apps they were trying to impersonate. However, they also displayed long, full-screen advertisements that are impossible to close. Google has since removed the fake apps from the Play Store after Trend Micro informed the company of its findings. Although the apps are no longer available on the Play Store, users who have already downloaded one of the fake apps will have to manually delete the app to fully remove it from their devices.
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| Little Nightmares 2 announced, darker and more adorable than ever Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:38 AM PDT Little Nightmares was one of the best indie games when it came out in 2017, but we were always hungry for more. Luckily Tarsier Studios has finally announced Little Nightmares II at Gamescom 2019. Little Nightmares II will, obviously follow in the footsteps of the original title, with the same spooky aesthetic and spine-tingling encounters. And, while we didn't get a lot of specific information, you can expect more of the same brilliant gameplay in a dark, yet wholesome, world that made the original game so beloved. When asked about if combat would be in the game, Tarsier Studios said it would be there, but wouldn't confirm that it would be a huge part of it. However, you can repurpose kitchen utensils to tackle enemies you face in Little Nightmares II – maybe we'll explore some haunted kitchen (again). This all comes on top of a couple of new playable characters, which you will take out into the wilderness to explore the horrors nature has to offer. Add on top of that sadistic teachers and hunters, and this indie game is sure to live up to its title. We don't have a release date for Little Nightmares II yet, but we do know that it will make it to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC in 2020.
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| Best value for money phones under Rs 20,000 in India Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:30 AM PDT The smartphone industry has become more competitive over the past few years as customers are opting for smartphones that offer more value for money instead of blind brand loyalty. While some smartphone makers have been able to capitalize on this trend with their aggressive pricing strategies, some are still trying to catch up. Between companies like Xiaomi, Motorola, Samsung and Lenovo battling it out in the Indian smartphone segment trying to win over the mid-range consumer, there's never a shortage of features in these phones. That said, selecting a phone can still be a challenging task despite the plethora of options. While some companies may have the best specs on paper in a given price range, the lack of software optimisation can make those phones a poor option when compared to others. In this post, we look at some of the best value for money options under Rs 20,000. The Poco F1, the only launch so far from Xiaomi’s first sub-brand Poco is a feature packed mid-range device. It is the cheapest Snapdragon 845 powered device in India and with the recent price cuts, it offers even more value for your money. While the device’s design is something that the company has compromised on, the Poco F1 is durable with a sturdy plastic build. If you prefer performance over looks, the Poco F1 is the device for you. It is priced starting at Rs 17,999 in India. Read the full review: POCO F1 Review Xiaomi offers great value for money with its hardware, but its MIUI skin has its share of critics. For such users, the company has a line-up of Android One smartphones that offer the stock Android experience coupled with the value for money factor that Xiaomi smartphones are known for. The second-generation Android One device is worth considering if you are looking for a new budget device. The Mi A2 might seem a little old at this point, but if you are looking for that smooth, stock Android experience under Rs 10,000, the Mi A2 is what you need. The Honor Play, as the name suggests was launched keeping in mind the gamers. The device’s powerful internals coupled with a huge screen and a premium look makes for an all-round impressive device. The smartphone was launched with Huawei's flagship Kirin 970 chipset and a new GPU Turbo feature. If you are looking for a gaming phone or a secondary phone, the Honor Play with its affordable price is worth looking into. The device is priced starting at Rs 12,999 in India. Xiaomi has dominated the budget and entry-level smartphone segments for a long time now. This is no different this year either - the launch of the Redmi Note 7 Pro changed the market dynamics yet again. Offering a high-resolution, premium grade 48MP camera at budget prices was the primary clincher for the Redmi Note 7 Pro. Apart from its imaging capabilities, the Redmi Note 7 Pro offers a great bang for your buck thanks to the great display, a well-balanced chipset and battery life that we've all grown to expect from Xiaomi's Redmi Note series. Topping it all off is the glass design which gives it a premium look. It has a great value for money quotient which is why the Redmi Note 7 Pro is the phone to buy. Read the full review: Redmi Note 7 Pro review If you are looking for a smartphone that will stand out, the Realme X is another device worth considering. It offers excellent value for money in and is packed with features. The device features a pop-up selfie camera and comes with a gradient back design. The company has offered a near bezel less display with the device, giving it a premium look. Along with the pop-up selfie camera, the device also sports an in-display fingerprint sensor, making it one of the most affordable devices to feature these two technologies. It has a starting price tag of Rs 16,999 and is available in three color options. Vivo has upped its game in the budget and mid-range segments over the last few months in India. While a few other smartphones are aimed specifically at a slightly younger audience, Vivo has tried to offer a slightly more rounded package with the recently announced Z1 Pro. The Z1 Pro is also one of the few smartphones in this price range to sport a punch hole notch. If you are looking for a smartphone that offers really long battery life, the Z1 Pro won't let you down with its massive 5,000mAh battery. The display, camera and the glossy design round off the remaining important aspects. The Samsung Galaxy M40 was launched in June as part of the company’s new Galaxy M series. The device features the company’s new Infinity-O display design and sports a triple camera setup at the back. In addition to the Infinity-O display, Samsung has also opted screen sound technology, allowing it to free up space required by traditional speakers. With the Galaxy M40, the company is offering a premium design to users, taking inspiration from some of its more premium smartphones. If you are looking for a smartphone from Samsung under Rs 20,000, the Samsung Galaxy M40 is the best option for you. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Google Stadia games: Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077 and all the other newly-announced titles Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:25 AM PDT The Google Stadia streaming service certainly has a lot riding on it: all those AAA titles that need to run on our terrible home internet, competition with traditional consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, and plenty of internal technical challenges we’ll likely never hear about. But what will make or break the service is its games, and the latest Google Stadia Connect live stream has shown off a bunch of titles coming to the games streaming service, and it’s certainly catching our eye. Google Stadia will no doubt be launching with a smaller library of titles to the likes of Xbox and Nintendo Switch, given its relative infancy, but it’s clear Google is working to bring games people actually want to play to the service. Here’s the list of new Google Stadia games just announced, and why they might tempt you to try out the platform.
Cyberpunk 2077CD Projekt’s technological dystopia looks set to be one of the biggest games of 2020, if not the decade. Unsurprisingly, Google wants it on its platform. As the spiritual-successor follow up to The Witcher III, and featuring Keanu Reeves no less, Cyberpunk 2077 will no doubt be a very popular game for the Stadia service. SuperhotSuperhot seems to be getting announced on everything nowadays: just hours after learning the hit indie game was coming to Nintendo Switch, it looks like it will be landing on Google Stadia as well. A time-bending polygonal FPS that speeds up the clock as you move, and freezes the action as you’re still, it’s a puzzle as much as a shooter, and a must-play if you haven’t tried it already. Orcs Must Die! 3They really must. This cartoonish tower-defense game has been going for three iterations now, pitting you as the keeper of a castle who has to stop invading forces of orcs and monsters from laying waste to your property. With a third-person view and the requirement to get right up in the action, Orcs Must Die! stands out from the breadth of top-down tower-defense games out there. KineWho said machines can’t dream? Following three down-on-their-luck robot musicians, this this is a silly and playful 3D puzzle game, with a forgiving undo feature that should make it more thoughtful than stressful. Darksiders GenesisThe fourth Darksiders game, and the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. A fiery and chaotic hack-and-slash game due out later in 2019, those playing on Stadia will get to be one of the first to play it too – unlike a lot of the older ports on this list. Watch Dogs: LegionThe latest in the Watch Dogs series looks set to raise the stakes, with a post-Brexit UK London setting, and a bafflingly impressive ability to pick out any in-game person you pass in the street and make them become a playable character – with a “unique gameplay build” and personal backstory – making for a fun commentary on the giant interconnected media platform we live in today. Gods and MonstersPart Zelda, part Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, all Ubisoft. Gods and Monsters was first shown at E3 2019, and promises to offer third-person adventuring with a sprinkling of Greek mythology to season it all. It has a fun cel-shaded art style, and seems to very much take its cues from Breath of the Wild. But can it match Breath of the Wild 2 when it lands? Mortal Kombat 11The latest Mortal Kombat game is an interesting one, throwing franchise favorite characters into the fight against their past (or future?) selves for some truly narcissistic battles. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of spines being torn in two, and basically everything you’d expect from a Mortal Kombat game. Windjammers 2Windjammers is one of those games we never thought would see a sequel, but the 1994 extreme sports title – if, you know, frisbee was an extreme sport – offers a top-down perspective of the high-octane action only two frisbee athletes can create. This should be a fun one. Destroy all Humans!A bit of silly fun, with this remake of the PS2-era alien-em-up. Expect some light third-person shooting and exploration, with a dollop of B-movie humor thrown in. Farming Simulator 19: Platinum EditionIs there anything more pure than a player’s love for their tractors? Farming Simulator 19 is the kind of game that prides itself on faithful recreations of farming machinery, and offers a peaceful respite from the chaotic hack-and-slash fighting games also found on Google Stadia. Speaking of which... Samurai ShowdownShowing Google’s confidence in framerate and stability is Samurai Shodown, another twitch-perfect arcade fighting game coming to the platform. It’s the latest instalment in a franchise that first spawned on the NEO-GEO. If Google can impress the demanding hardcore fighting crowd, that’ll be a huge achievement. GridThe latest Grid racing game from developer Codemasters, set to bring a whole world of cars to your living room. But will Grid feel different from the other competitive racing games out there? You’ll have to wait until September – or November, if you’re waiting on Stadia – to find out. Attack on Titan 2: Final BattleThe second Attack on Titan game, based on the iconic anime and manga series. If battling giant humans and whizzing around the air with lightning-fast swords is you thing – and why wouldn’t it be – Stadia will have the goods for you. Elder Scrolls OnlineThe Elder Scrolls MMO has somehow managed to become one of the best MMO’s out there, despite an initially rocky launch, and throws together the stalwarts of the Elder Scrolls franchise – dragons, magic, typical high fantasy – with a flourish. Borderlands 3A gazillion guns, and a gazillion bad jokes from love-it-or-hate-it robot Claptrap. Yep, Borderlands 3, the sequel to the original loot-em-up shooter is coming to Google Stadia.
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| Gears 5: release date, news and trailers Posted: 19 Aug 2019 11:08 AM PDT Microsoft's exclusive Gears of War series is one of the most popular to hit Xbox, with the Lancer and its chainsaw bayonet as recognizable as Halo’s iconic Warthog. And at the Microsoft E3 2019 keynote, the company announced Gears 5 is coming out September 10, 2019. Called Gears 5 rather than Gears 'of War' 5 the latest game in the series will have a female protagonist, Kait. Marcus Phoenix will still appear, but Kait will take the starring role as she leads her team on a personal mission continuing from the emotional ending of Gears of War 4. Microsoft shared more details about Gears 5 during it's E3 2019 conference: a new 3-player online and local co-op mode 'Escape,' a special character pack featuring Terminator skins in a crossover with the upcoming 'Terminator: Dark Fate' film, and a new teaser. Another fun addition: Gears 5 will get a Map Editor, a first for the series, per an Xbox official tweet. And if you sign up for the new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can play the game four days early on September 6. [Update: During the Gamescom 2019 Opening Night Live keynote address, Microsoft unveiled a new Horde Mode trailer for Gears 5, showcasing new powers for players.] Cut to the chase
Gears 5 trailersDuring the Gamescom 2019 Opening Night Live keynote address, Microsoft unveiled several new Gears 5 player powers through a new trailer detailing an addition to its Horde Mode. Ahead of some Versus Tech Tests in July, The Coalition released a trailer showing off the game’s brand new Arcade mode. At E3 2019, Microsoft gave more details about Gears 5, including the new 3-player co-op mode Escape. Here's the trailer, showing off the three new characters who will fight to get out of a Locust-infested area. Microsoft and The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson confirmed Gears of War 5 during the Xbox Keynote at E3 2018. To go alongside the announcement we got a new trailer starring Kait Diaz, Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Gears crew. Locusts will again play a major role in the series when the game comes out later this year. You can check out the Gears 5 announcement trailer below: Gears 5 release dateGears 5 is coming on September 10, 2019, as Microsoft announced during its E3 2019 keynote. But you can get it four days early on September 6 if you subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Gears 5 news and featuresGamescom 2019 We'll be getting hands on time with Gears 5's Horde mode during Gamescom 2019 and, in addition, we'll be getting a closer look at Gears 5's campaign mode during Opening Night Live. No battle royale...at launch In a conversation with GameSpot, multiplayer director Ryan Cleven has said that Gears 5 won't have a battle royale mode when it launches. That's not to say it'll never happen, though. According to Cleven, The Coalition are "big fans" of the genre and that following the release fan feedback will be an influential factor in deciding what modes to add. “Gears 5 does not include a battle royale mode,” Cleven explained. “We're big fans of the battle royale genre, but we would want to ensure we bring a battle royale mode to Gears in a meaningful way. We're actively listening to our Gears community and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.” This is in line with previous statements the developer has made with regards to a battle royale mode where it was said efforts would have to be made to do it right rather than to shoehorn it in. The "largest Gears to date" In an interview with Game Informer, The Coalition's multiplayer design director Ryan Cleven revealed the next installation in the Gears of War franchise is going to be the biggest we've seen yet, primarily due to its wide and diverse range of modes. "Gears 5 is the largest Gears of War to date," Cleven said. "It's the largest campaign ever made, the largest PvE ever made, the largest versus ever made." This isn't particularly surprising considering the vast number of single and multiplayer modes Gears 5 is bringing with it: Campaign, Escape, Horde, Arcade, Tour of Duty, Bootcamp, Escalation, King of the Hill, Arms Race, Dodgeball, Execution, Guardian, Team Deathmatch and Warzone. And, those are just some of the ones we know about at launch. In addition, Gears 5 will feature new map-building and sharing tools which will keep players busy for hours on end. Multiplayer Tech Tests coming in July The Coalition has confirmed that it will be kicking off multiplayer tech tests for Gears 5 in July. The testing will take place across two sessions: July 19 to July 22 and July 26 to July 29. Pre-load will be available from July 17. According to the studio, those taking part in the tests, whether they’re on Xbox One or PC, will be playing three distinct Versus modes across two of the game’s new multiplayer maps. These modes will be Arcade, Escalation and King of the Hill. There will also be a chance to try out the new features Bootcamp and Tour of Duty. Access to the tests is included with Xbox Game Pass memberships but non-members can also get involved by pre-ordering Gears 5 from the Windows and Xbox stores or through participating third-party retailers who will be distributing the access codes. System requirements If you want to purchase the game or take part in testing sessions on PC you’ll need to make sure your machine is up to scratch. The Coalition has confirmed the minimum, recommended and ideal system specs required for Gears 5. Recommended specs
No loot boxes or season passes As we count down the days until Gear 5's September release, The Coalition has announced some more details around how players will be earning new content and items as they play. In Gears 5, all DLC maps will be free in both matchmaking and private play scenarios and there won't be any loot boxes in sight. New content will be earned through the Tour of Duty system. This will involve daily challenges and medals that you can complete to rank up and earn cosmetic rewards and you'll also get some of the in-game currency, Iron. It will, according to Coalition, be clear what's required of you to earn each item and there will be no premium, pay-only content in Tour of Duty. As well as getting a small amount of Iron through Tour of Duty, you'll also be able to buy it using real-world currency. All store purchases will also be direct so there won't be any RNG causing issues. Another way to unlock new content will simply be by playing - supply drops will happen at random as you rack up the hours and these can't be purchased with real-world currency. If you get a duplicate item, it'll automatically be scrapped and you'll be able to use the remnants to craft new items or upgrade skills. E3 2019 We got hands on with Gears 5 during E3 2019. Our first impressions of Escape Mode are that it's a fun co-op experience but that it runs the risk of growing repetitive. XO18 show During the XO18 show in November, 2018, The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson promised "a bunch of innovations, a bunch of changes, a bunch of things that are really exciting and different but still feel like Gears of War" (via GamesRadar). Cult of personality During the XO18 show in November, 2018, The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson E3 2018 Gears of War 5 was confirmed during E3 2018, and will be called Gears 5 to be released in 2019. Following on from the ending of Gears of War 4, this game will follow Kait as the star of a new trilogy. Breaking her chain of command, the game will follow Kait as she breaks the chain of command and takes her squad on a decidedly personal mission. PC Gaming Microsoft has been pushing its PC Play Anywhere program, that sees you able to take your Xbox games and play them on Windows PCs. Gears of War 4 made use of it way back in 2016, so there’s no reason why Microsoft would drop the service for a sequel. (Which is a nice change, considering Gears of War 2 and 3 never saw releases on PC.) What we want to see from Gears 5Unanswered questions Gears of War 4 ended with JD and Kait fighting their way through the Swarm to try and save Reyna, Kait’s mother, only to find it was too late. Reyna wasn’t dead but the Swarm were trying to integrate her into their hive and removing her would kill her. But, at Reyna’s request, JD and Kait tear her away from the Swarm. Before she does, Reyna teases a great mystery: she gives Kait a necklace that she says she was given by her own mother, Kait’s grandmother. The symbol is one Gears fans will recognize looks remarkably similar to one worn by Queen Myrrah of the Locust, your nemesis in original trilogy. A Gears sequel would have to explore this further – are Reyna and Kait descendants of the Locust? There are hints that Adam Fenix, Marcus’ father, JD’s grandfather was close to Myrrah before the wars, so there’s a chance that Locusts and humans coupled but it would be new territory for a Gears of War game to explore. Wish List Besides continuing the campaign story, we’d like to see more of the changed world we were introduced to in Gears of War 4. Taking place 25 years after the original trilogy, the sequel is set in a world where humans were forced to abandon fossil fuels and collect together in small martial law-governed encampments and violent windstorms sweep the land, tearing up anything left unprotected. Gears of War 5 should explore that further, showing us how desperate humans are trying to fight off the Swarm on a planet that is trying to kill them. The Coalition worked to make Gears of War 4’s battlefields more dynamic places, giving you the ability to pull enemies out of cover and leap forward with short range charges. A sequel should continue this, giving players greater freedom of movement and ways to break stalemates between human and Swarm forces. The original Gears of War cemented the cover shooter as a subgenre, now its sequels have to rattle its foundations by taking away the safety of sitting behind a low wall. (Image credits: The Coalition/Microsoft)
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| Cyberpunk 2077 will hit Google Stadia in 2020 Posted: 19 Aug 2019 10:16 AM PDT Cyberpunk 2077 has now been announced for the Google Stadia streaming service for games. Hype is building around Google's Netflix-for-games platform, which is angling to offer a way to stream and play games through seemingly any screen-based device with an internet connection.
Cyberpunk 2077, meanwhile, is a massive RPG game from the creators of The Witcher III, CD Projekt RED, featuring a sprawling metropolis of cybernetic limbs and technologically advanced warfare – oh, and Keanu Reeves, because fan service is amazing. Set to launch in April 2020 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC – with a Switch port likely a while off, if it will ever come – the Google Stadia announcement points to an ever bigger future for this futuristic game, one that could even appear on next-gen consoles, PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett, given the timeline of the game's release. We're still amazed at the prospect of such a demanding game being streamed over our piddly Wi-Fi connections, but hey, we're not complaining. We'll be sure to keep you in the loop with any other announcements to come out of the Google Stadia Connect live stream too. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best free website builder 2019 Posted: 19 Aug 2019 10:07 AM PDT Creating a website used to be the domain (geddit?) of professional designers and coders, but thanks to free website builder applications, these days it's something anyone can tackle. The problem is that there are so many website creation applications and services vying for attention that it can be difficult to know which one to opt for – this is where we can help. We've collated the very best free website builders available, including a mixture of offline software and online tools. It's usually quicker, easier and more efficient to create and edit a site entirely online with a WYSIWYG editor, but if you want complete control over every aspect of your site's design and web hosting, you'll need a desktop-based free website builder. So whether you're looking to create a site for your business, a new blog, or you just fancy creating an online presence for yourself, here are the best free website builder services to help you out.
Wix makes it very easy to design a website, while giving experts plenty of power to customize elements if they need it Wix is a big-name website builder which offers a free plan, enabling you to have the run of this service without having to put your hand in your pocket. And you benefit from one of the most impressive website editors in the business. This editor can be run in ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) mode, which has a very basic interface to keep everything really simple and user-friendly. This is great for beginners, as you can create a basic site without even remotely breaking a sweat (a range of attractive templates are provided, as well). Those who want to get more involved with tweaking the design of their website can step up to the full Wix editor, which boasts powerful functionality, and the ability to really hone your website and get it looking just as you want. Visual previews of page elements make it easy to pick what you need for any particular part of a web page, too. Wix is so polished that putting together your site using the editor feels more like using a native application rather than a website builder, and it also sports excellent support for a diverse range of media, and quality customer support as well, even on the free plan. In addition, Wix Turbo was recently released which improves the performance and speed of all Wix websites. Powerful blogging functionality rounds things off nicely, and you’re getting a truly high quality offering with the free version of this website builder. Constant Contact provides an intelligent website builder and ecommerce store platform, both of which are free to use. Setting up a website is easy using drag-and-drop functionality, allowing you to set up a design simply and easily, and insert the features you need. Settings are automatically optimized for mobile platforms and SEO, and there is a free image library with over 50,000 images included as part of the package. The ecommerce platform allows for online payments through Paypal, Mollie, or Stripe. There are order and inventory features that automatically updates inventory with orders, and sends an email alert when items become out-of-stock. While the basic level website is free, there are paid plans which add more features. Additionally, there is also a paid email marketing option available to allow you to reach new customers. Overall, Constant Contact does a good job of setting up the basics. The free plan is a great way to set up your website, and there is a 60-day free trial if you do upgrade. If you want to create a website as quickly as possible, look no further than Weebly. It's so easy to use, you'll have a great-looking site online in mere minutes Weebly offers you two ways to build your website. Both involve creating it online, and both are as quick and painless as possible. The simplest option is to use the basic editor builder which will guide you through a series of questions before automatically creating a site for you. There is scope for customization, but the focus here is really on fast results for anyone who is terrified of designing websites. A more hands-on approach is available if you decide to use the standard Editor. There are literally hundreds of stylish templates to choose from – and, yes, they are genuinely impressive – which you can tweak and tailor to your needs using a beautiful WYSIWYG editor. Despite being a cloud-based website builder, Weebly gives you a great degree of control over the look of your site and placement of page elements. You can also liven it up using additional features such as a newsletter and live chat. This power and flexibility make Weebly a top-notch website builder. WordPress is the tool of choice for many blog owners. It takes a little getting used to, but once you've mastered it, you'll love its flexibility Causing a slight degree of confusion, there are actually two different versions of WordPress. The more complex variant can be downloaded from wordpress.org, and you will need to upload it to your own web space and install it using the automated online installer. You can then customize the templates and use add-ons to make the site your own. This is the route many bloggers go down, but there is a simpler option for people who don’t want the hassle of fiddling about with scripts and getting dirty with hardcore editing. The hosted version of WordPress lets you create your own site on wordpress.com. You can create everything from a blog or photo site, to a fully fledged online store, and there are a number of templates to choose from. Additionally, Mailchimp users have a benefit of adding a Mailchimp block, which can grow your mailing list among other things. Whether you're creating a static site, or a blog-style site with regularly updated content, the online editor is a joy to use and allows just about anyone to create an impressive, professional-looking site. The only downside is the limited range of plugins and templates compared with the desktop website builder. WebSite X5 makes building a website on your desktop easy, with good-looking templates and an intuitive site builder Incomedia WebSite X5 received an overhaul in April 2019 with new templates, an updated interface, new paid versions and more. The main thing to note is that the service now has a free version for everyone (note that the free version for TechRadar readers is still available to download). There are two paid versions, Evo and Pro, priced at $79.99 and $229 respectively. This is a one time purchase and naturally, both versions come with additional and improved features compared to the free one. There is also a demo version of both paid versions that you can try out. Unlike WordPress and Wix, WebSite X5 is a desktop website builder, which means you can work on your site offline and have more freedom to make your website look exactly the way you want. There's a range of ready-made templates to choose from, or you can create your own design from scratch. Next, build up your site map, showing the hierarchy of your pages and how they connect to one another – a feature you won't find in most web-based site builder apps. Once that's done, you're ready to start building your pages using Website X5's simple drag-and-drop interface, which includes tools for editing both rich text and photos. If you don't want to be tied down to an online site builder, WebSite X5 is the tool for you. CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor isn't a WYSIWYG website builder, but it provides a live preview of your site as you create it CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor is one of a dying breed of web building programs that don't use a CMS (content management system). While not in the same league as the likes of Adobe Dreamweaver, Free HTML Editor packs quite a professional punch. With split screen code/preview views, it's possible to see the effect the changes you make have straight away. To help you get started quickly, there are a number of templates built into the program, and there are some very nice features such as tag and code suggestions as you type. For absolute beginners, the program might seem a little overwhelming to start with, but it's worth sticking with – assuming you have some HTML knowledge. There is one slight issue; a number of features, such as spell-checking and code optimization, are only included in the paid-for version of the program. If you've used WordPress before, you might be interested in the power of Joomla. It's not as easy to use though, so beginners are better off sticking with a simpler option like Wix Joomla is a well-known name in the CMS world. It may not be as popular as WordPress, but it offers the same two options: build a site using the web app at launch.joomla.org and have it hosted on the company's servers, or download the software from joomla.org and host it yourself. If you choose the latter option, you'll notice that the interface is much less approachable than WordPress. It's not completely impenetrable, but there are lots of menus and options to work through and it doesn't feel quite as polished as WordPress. Joomla's online website builder is nearly as complex, but doesn't involve the same setup process, making it a better option for beginners. Its key selling point is a huge collection of themes and extensions, which provide endless ways to customize the way your site looks and works. You might also want to check out our other website hosting buying guides:
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| Best website builders for portfolios of 2019 Posted: 19 Aug 2019 10:00 AM PDT Creating a new website is a lot easier than it used to be – rather than learning HTML and CSS, you can just click and drag with your mouse and have something very professional-looking on the internet in minutes. The wealth of website builders means you've got a great selection of tools to choose from, but it can be difficult to pick out the best from a crowd of so many. To help you narrow down your choice, we've picked five website makers that are particularly well-suited to portfolio work and offer a good balance of price points and features.
All of these site builders offer simple ways of customizing your pages once they're online, so you can regularly change the look of your work, and make sure your talents are always being well promoted on the web. Weebly Weebly was first set up with the intention of making it easy to set up a portfolio of work online, and those origins stand it in good stead today, even as it has broadened its horizons to become more of a general website builder. If you don't mind a Weebly subdomain, some ads on your site, and a limit of 500MB storage, you can actually use it for free. While the choice of themes is relatively small, they're all fully customizable, and they all work on any size of screen, automatically reformatting to suit the display dimensions. Weebly has one of the most elegant and user-friendly website editor interfaces we've seen, so you can tweak your portfolio in exactly the way you want. One of the many areas where Weebly excels is in the way it calmly handles a lot of technical stuff quietly in the background: it gives you enhanced SSL security by default, and (on the paid options) advanced analytics for your website, plus the option to transfer over a domain name. If you want to get up and running quickly, would like to spend some – but not a lot – of time customizing your site, and need something that's going to be reliable and comprehensive, Weebly fits the bill. The fact that you can get started for free to see if you like it is an added bonus. Cargo There's a lot that appeals to us about the website builder Cargo: the unconventional and varied choice of templates, the intuitive page tweaking interface you can edit them with, and the way that you can build up an entire site without paying a penny (you won't be charged until the site goes live). It's certainly got more of an edge than other comparable website builders, which might be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. The templates available are all eye-catching and bold, and will work best for people wanting to stand out from the crowd, whether that's with photography or writing. Every template is responsive and works on a variety of screens, while Cargo also offers some cool animated image effects you can play around with too. On top of that, the site builder is to be commended for its wide choice of fonts as well, plus, even more fonts are being added from time to time. Besides all of the features on the surface – including an online template editor that hits a nice balance between simplicity and customization – you get 6GB of cloud storage, unlimited pages, unlimited bandwidth, the option to transfer over a domain name if you need to, and a ton of help and support (including tutorial videos). IM Creator Built on the latest HTML5 technology and with useful extras like e-commerce and domain name support included, IM Creator is going to be too advanced and in-depth for some, but will suit other portfolio builders perfectly. That's not to say it's difficult to use – there's just more going on. You don't need to know a shred of code to get started, there are plenty of different themes and looks to choose from, and we like the way the themes are already pre-populated with content. That means you can just edit the sample material that's already there rather than starting from scratch, which can be more daunting. If you want to go deeper into your website building and customizations, then IM Creator makes this possible. The site editor includes a variety of gallery and slideshow options, plus image effects to drop over your uploaded pictures, and the option to change everything from the fonts used to the page margins. We'd recommend IM Creator if you're looking to stand out from the pack – it has a wide choice of templates and some detailed editing options too. On the other hand, it does need a bit more of a time and effort investment than other site builders. Krop Krop is a creative jobs site and a portfolio builder rolled into one, so you know that its services are trusted by people in the same industry as you (or the same industry that you're trying to break into). What's more, its template options are some of the most well-designed that we've seen. The website builder ticks all of the boxes that you should be looking for. Setting a site up is quick and easy, you can register a custom domain if you want to, and making tweaks to the design and layout of your pages is very straightforward too. On top of that, you get neat extras like Dropbox and Instagram syncing, and Google Analytics integration. If you do know some CSS, then you can take more control over the way your site is designed. If not, you can just use the simple site editor instead – picking colors and fonts is as easy as clicking on a side panel. Those of you who are looking to get a gig at the same time as building your website can of course switch straight over to the job section of the Krop site to find work – there are some big-name employers on the portal. You can try out the service with a free 14-day trial. Adobe Portfolio Considering Adobe makes some of the best creative software in the business, you would hope it knows what it's doing in terms of displaying portfolios on the web – and we're glad to report that is indeed the case. This is slightly different to the other services we've mentioned here, because it's a free add-on to the Creative Cloud suite developed by Adobe. If you don't already pay for the programs then Portfolio is unlikely to tempt you to part with your cash, but if you are a CC subscriber, it's worth looking at this before venturing anywhere else. While it doesn't offer as many customization and layout options as some of the other site builders we've mentioned here (although, the popular feature request - video backgrounds, has been added), Adobe Portfolio does make the process of getting your work online simple and fun. Of course there's also the tight integration with Adobe's apps, so you can easily share your work straight from Lightroom to the web. You can also purchase and connect a domain if you wish. Pages are optimized for any device and certain ones can be password-protected if needed, and there's also the option to bring over a domain name you already own. For a simple portfolio maker that plugs right into the apps you already use (assuming that's the case), it's ideal.
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| Gamescom 2019: schedule, dates, predictions, news and rumors Posted: 19 Aug 2019 09:57 AM PDT Are you ready for Gamescom 2019? With the summer gaming event about to kick off, and some of the biggest titles in the gaming calendar set to be on show, you better be. While Gamescom isn't typically a big show for announcements – that's usually the remit of the earlier E3 2019 event in July – journalist and presenter Geoff Keighley is looking to shake up the formula, hosting a pre-show announcement live stream called Opening Night Live which will feature announcements and new content from Square Enix, Google Stadia, Epic Games and many more – and kicks off in just a few hours time. TechRadar will be live from Cologne all this week, bringing you all the latest news, announcements and previews from Gamescom 2019. So without further ado, here's everything you need to know about Gamescom 2019 including the latest news, rumors, exhibitor schedules and our predictions about what we're likely to see at the show.
Gamescom: Opening Night LiveIn a new twist, Geoff Keighley (the creator of The Game Awards) will be hosting a pre-Gamescom live show called Opening Night Live. Keighley promises the show will include plenty of world premiere content and announcements. Check out the list Keighley tweeted below with just some of the companies that we can expect new content from: Keighley has a some great contacts within the gaming industry, so we're expecting some surprising announcements to come out of the show. With Private Division, Ubisoft and Epic Games on the billing, it would be fair to assume we will be getting a closer look at The Outer Worlds, Watch Dogs: Legion and new Fortnite content. What's more, we know that Hideo Kojima will be making a live appearance to premiere an "exclusive new look" at Death Stranding. You can watch the Opening Night Live stream from the comfort of your home. The livestream will be available to watch on Twitch on August 19 at 7pm BST / 11am PT / 2pm ET / 8 pm CEST or August 20 at 4am AEST.
Sony at Gamescom 2019Sony attending Gamescom 2019 will be the company's first public appearance of the year - and we're very excited following such a long period of radio silence. So what are we expecting from Sony? Well, according to Geoff Keighley's announcement line-up, Sony will be showing new content or making an announcement of some sort. Whether that is confined to the Death Stranding footage is up for speculation, but we're hoping for more details on Sony's exclusive titles such as The Last of Us: Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima. Despite announcing the PS5 earlier this year, we don't think it's likely that Sony will reveal more about its next-generation console during Gamescom 2019. But we can always hope... Microsoft at Gamescom 2019Microsoft Xbox is going pretty hard for Gamescom 2019. Xbox will have nearly 200 booths on the show floor, including the first public hands-on of both Minecraft Dungeons and Gears 5's Horde Mode. Fans will also have the opportunity to try out Project xCloud. We also know Xbox Games Studios will be making an appearance during Opening Night Live, so we're expecting to hear more on Gears 5, Sea of Thieves and maybe Halo Infinite? But that could be wishful thinking. It's also possible we could get more details on Xbox Project Scarlett. Fingers crossed. In addition, Inside Xbox will be hosting a special episode live from the Gloria Theatre in Cologne on August 19 at 5pm CEST / 4pm BSt / 8am PT / 11am ET or August 20 at 1am AEST. Xbox will also be hosting Open Doors at the Gloria Theatre from August 21 to August 23. Entry to Xbox Open Doors is free and fans will be able to participate in community events, game tournaments, panel sessions and other experiences. Check out the opening times below:
Nintendo at Gamescom 2019Nintendo has now revealed what its on and offline plans for the show will be. Gamescom itself runs from August 20 to August 24 but the majority of Nintendo’s online activity will take place between the August 20 and August 22. Across these dates, those not attending the show itself will be able to watch a series of videos featuring extended gameplay from the publisher's upcoming Switch lineup. Games getting some time in the spotlight will include Luigi’s Mansion 3, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, The Witcher 3, Astral Chain, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Dragon Quest 10 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age. For visitors to the show floor, Nintendo will have a booth where it’ll be possible to get hands on with titles including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Dragon Quest 10 S, Pokémon Sword and Shield and even that highly-anticipated The Witcher 3 port. New gameplay is all very well and good but if you like nothing more than a good competition then you’ll want to tune into Nintendo’s one-off Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gamescom 2019 Invitational on August 22. The event will start streaming on Nintendo’s YouTube channel in the afternoon and will see players go head to head for the chance to be flown to Japan for the Ultimate World Challenge Cup held in October. Unfortunately there's not been any mention of the newly announced Nintendo Switch Lite, but we're hoping Nintendo will have some surprises up its sleeve. Nvidia at Gamescom 2019Nvidia will be at Gamescom 2019, but its unlikely it will have any new graphics cards to show off, much less an entire generation like it did last year. However, Nvidia is going out of its way to show off ray tracing by announcing a range of games that will now feature the technology. These include Synched: Off-Planet which will use ray-traced reflections and shadows, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remake, which comes with ray-traced shadows and new downloadable content for Metro Exodus called The Two Colonels. The upcoming Watch Dogs: Legion will also get ray-traced reflections, and Dying Light 2 will get real-time ray tracing. However, perhaps the biggest news is that Minecraft will be getting ray tracing support in a free update. One of the most popular games in the world getting ray tracing is a big win for the budding technology, which can drastically improve the quality of shadows, lighting and other graphical effects. We've also seen some rumors of a possible RTX 2080 Ti Super, but we suggest you don't get too excited about that. However, if you recently dropped stacks on an expensive Nvidia Turing graphics card, Nvidia has plenty of new games to show off that take advantage of those RT and Tensor cores.
IntelWhile we do know that Intel is going to be at Gamescom this year, we really don't know what it's going to have to offer. If we were to hazard an (optimistic) guess, Intel would take this gaming event to show off its answer to AMD Ryzen 3rd Generation. But, we wouldn't get our hopes up. What we could see happening is Intel taking its recent announcement of Ice Lake processors and the Gen11 graphics that are packed in, and let gamers know what it means for them. And, we might even get some updates about Intel Xe graphics cards – Gamescom seems like the perfect place for that. Still, we don't really know what Intel has up its sleeve, so we'll just have to wait and see. Dell and Alienware at GamescomDell and Alienware will also be present at the European gaming show, and while we're not sure what to expect, you can bet they'll have some slick gaming hardware to show off. Whether its the latest in accessories, a new Alienware desktop PC or something nobody sees coming, we don't know what we're in for.
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| Tim Cook speaks out against US-China tariffs Posted: 19 Aug 2019 09:47 AM PDT The CEO of Apple has told US President Donald Trump that tariffs planned against goods manufactured in China would have a negative impact on the company. Devices such as the iPhone famously have ‘Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China’ on the back, meaning the cost of the Cupertino-based company’s products would be affected if the tariffs were introduced. Tariffs on several product ranges, including AirPods, Apple Watch and HomePod are set to come into force in September with the MacBook and iPhone set to follow later in the year, but Cook believes he presented US President Donald Trump with a “good case” that the plans were damaging.
Apple in ChinaCook argued these tariffs would not only affect Apple’s economic contribution to the US, but would also give chief rival Samsung an advantage because it would not be subject to the same tariffs. “I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I’m thinking about it,” Trump was quoted as saying. In a timely reminder to the US President, Apple published new claims last week that it supported as many as 2.4 million jobs in the US and is on pace to directly contribute £350 billion to the American economy by 2023. Across its supply chain, Apple says it deals with 9,000 supplier in the US, spending $60 billion and supporting 450,000 jobs. It says 1.9 million jobs rely on the app economy partly stimulated by the iPhone. In addition to its financial contribution, the firm claims it pushes innovation and quality standards across the board because of its high demands.
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| Devil May Cry 5 and Blair Witch Project are coming to Xbox Game Pass Posted: 19 Aug 2019 09:42 AM PDT Devil May Cry 5 and Blair Witch are among the latest additions to the Xbox Game Pass roster. During a special Inside Xbox live stream from Gamescom 2019, Microsoft announced a host of new titles joining the Xbox Game Pass service. Among the new additions are the critically acclaimed Devil May Cry 5, upcoming horror Blair Witch Project, The Bard’s Tale IV, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, Ape Out and Stellaris: Console Edition.
However, it's worth noting that Devil May Cry 5 and Stellaris are only coming to console and Ape Out and Age of Empires: Definitive Edition will only be available on PC. Meanwhile The Bard's Tale IV, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Blair Witch will be available on both PC and console. All titles are due to be on Xbox Game Pass by the start of August. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Global fintech investment plummets worldwide Posted: 19 Aug 2019 09:36 AM PDT The ongoing trade war between the US and China led global fintech investments to fall by 29 percent during the first half of 2019 according to a new report from Accenture. The value of fintech deals worldwide during the first six months of this year declined to $22bn which is a significant decrease when compared to the $31.2bn spent during the same period a year earlier. At the same time though, the number of global deals increased by two percent to 1,561 during the first half of this year. The largest fintech investment of last year was made by Ant Financial Services, which operates Alipay and is an affiliate of Alibaba Group, and the firm raised $14bn during the first half of 2018. According to Accenture, global fintech investments would have increased by 28 percent during the first half of this year if it wasn't for the deal made by Ant Financial Services.
The US remained the largest market for fintech transactions and investments increased by 60 percent to $12.7bn during the first half of 2019. In the UK, investment almost doubled to $2.6bn while Germany, Sweden and France also reported strong gains. Global fintech investmentsSenior managing director for Accenture's Financial Services department, Julian Skan explained how fintech fundraising could likely soon reach a plateau, saying: “There’s been a lot of interest and demand from consumers for new fintech propositions, particularly in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Fundraising is also moving to support the scaling up of challenger and collaborative fintech, which will cause lumpiness in some [funding] rounds. However, the question is: How long can that last? Fundraising is likely to reach a plateau soon and will most likely dip going forward.” The trade war between the US and China had a big effect on Chinese fintech investments which fell by almost half to 79 transactions when compared with the 155 fintech deals made in the country during the first half of 2018. China played a big role in driving global fintech funding during 2018. The total amount of fintech investments in China was $820m during the first half of the year which is quite low when compared to the $17.7bn invested during the first half of 2018. Without the Ant Financial transaction, fundraising in China fell by 79 percent during the first half of this year. If the trade war between the US and China were to come to an end, we could see an increase in fintech funding but that is highly unlikely given that both countries are reluctant to finalize a deal.
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