BradyGames Announces the Official BioShock Infinite Strategy Guides

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Explore every part of BioShock Infinite with illustrated maps and a full campaign walkthrough. Take your game further thanks to tips and tactics for using every weapon and ability at the hardest level and find every collectible with detailed lists and appendices.

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BioShock Infinite puts players in the shoes of U.S. Cavalry veteran turned hired gun Booker DeWitt. Indebted to the wrong people and with his life on the line, DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. With the help of BioShock Infinite Strategy Guides, navigate DeWitt past countless dangers and enemies, and find out more about the characters and exciting storyline.

Signature Series Features (£14.99, 272 pages):

· Foreword –  by Creative Director, Ken Levine

· The Mission – Researched on site at Irrational Games, our in-depth walkthrough guides you through every step of the game and highlights every collectible item. The walkthrough is written in a spoiler-free format that alerts the reader of choices in the story and leaves the outcomes to be discovered

· Illustrated Maps – Our illustrated maps call out every pertinent item in the floating city of Columbia. Learn the location of every Vigor, vending machine, and static piece of Gear for 100% completion

· The Enemies of the People – Expert strategies and tactics for dealing with the denizens of Columbia. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of every heavy hitter so you can dispatch them when the need arises

· The Guns Of Liberty – Detailed data and information for all of the arms and armament of BioShock Infinite. Learn the best uses for every gun and Vigor in this dangerous world

· And Much, Much More – Special supplementary information by the Irrational Games’ staff, strategies for unlocking every Achievement and Trophy, transcriptions of every Voxophone, and a vast collection of images you won’t find anywhere else

Limited Edition Features (£19.99, 272 pages):

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· The Bird/Cage Key – This exclusive 4” enameled metal replica keychain of the iconic Freedom Key is a must have for any BioShock Infinite fan

· Exclusive Board Game Card – Includes an exclusive action card for the upcoming BioShock Infinite board game

· Foreword – by Creative Director, Ken Levine

· Deluxe Hardcover – All of the tips and tactics that are included in our Signature Series guide, packaged in a deluxe hard cover featuring exclusive cover art

Whether you’re playing on PS3, Xbox 360 or PC, Get the full BioShock Infinite experience with the official strategy guides from BradyGames.

Visit http://www.dk.com/bradygames to purchase the BioShock Infinite Signature Series or Limited Edition Strategy Guide today.

Introducing the Xbox 360 Special Edition Camouflage Wireless controller

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Announced today, an Xbox 360 Special Edition Camouflage Wireless controller will be launching in May.

As well as featuring a unique camouflage design, the controller will have a 30-foot wireless range and a transforming D-pad, enabling rotation between the “plus” and “disc” formats for greater precision.

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The controller will be available in selected EMEA markets beginning in May. List of markets: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK, United Arab Emirates.

The controller will cost $54.99 USD.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Siberian Strike DLC launch trailer

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CI Games have released the Siberian Strike DLC for Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 and we have the launch trailer.

The DLC is set in an isolated Siberian location and will offer a more open world experience for solving missions.  Players will not be guided and the only way to find their way through the new location is by using the map.

And here is the trailer:

Available now on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800MP, PlayStation Network for 9,99 €/9,99 $/ 8,99 £ and Steam for 9,99 €/9,99 $/8,99 £.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Siberian Strike DLC now available

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CI Games have released the Siberian Strike DLC for Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2.

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The DLC is set in an isolated Siberian location and will offer a more open world experience for solving missions.  Players will not be guided and the only way to find their way through the new location is by using the map.

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In the remote abandoned Siberian city of Birsovik, the Russian government established a top secret military installation focused on arms R&D. American intelligence gets word that the facility shifted its focus recently to weapons of mass destruction. A CIA operative, M. Diaz is sent in undercover, posing as lab personnel, to uncover the truth. When he stops sending in reports, a search mission is quickly put together.

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The player steps in the shoes of Cole “Sandman” Anderson, a veteran special ops sniper, now in the ranks of Task 121 – a group put together to counter any WMD-hungry warlord’s whim in the Asia – Pacific region. Anderson is ordered to locate Diaz’s GPS signal and assess the situation on the ground, then extract any intelligence he may have found.

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Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is the only multi-platform first person shooter exclusively designed around the modern military sniper experience. Using the advanced capabilities of CryENGINE3, the game delivers deep graphical environments, diverse challenges, a responsive AI system and the exacting precision and accuracy that made the original a worldwide hit.  With unprecedented levels of authentic weaponry, ballistics and environmental factors, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 offers the ultimate balance of skill, tension and action.

Available now on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800MP, PlayStation Network for 9,99 €/9,99 $/ 8,99 £ and Steam for 9,99 €/9,99 $/8,99 £.

Deep Silver releases new KILLER IS DEAD trailer

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Deep Silver released a new reveal trailer for the highly anticipated action game “KILLER IS DEAD” from KADOKAWA GAMES, LTD., to be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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Following “LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW,” KADOKAWA GAMES has been working together with GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC. and executive director SUDA51 on development for this title.

And here is the trailer:

“KILLER IS DEAD” is set in a not-so-distant future similar to (but not the same as) the world we know now. The player takes control of an executioner named Mondo Zappa who wields a Japanese sword in his right hand and brandishes interchangeable weapons in his left artificial arm. His ultimate goal is to execute various heinous criminals scattered around the world and beyond.

Completely unique visuals and outstanding stylish action come together to deliver an unprecedented gaming experience in “KILLER IS DEAD.” This brand-new action title is being jointly developed by KADOKAWA GAMES and GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE, with SUDA51 lending his trademark sense of style at the helm. It will be available worldwide in summer 2013.

Visit the Official Site at www.loveandkill.com

Xbox LIVE Spring Sale 2013 now on

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The Xbox LIVE Spring Sale, a week-long promotion which will see select Xbox LIVE Arcade games, Games on Demand, Add-ons and movies available at up to 75% off is now on.

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The following list of Xbox LIVE Content that will be on sale starting Tuesday, March 26 2013 until Monday, April 1 2013 for both Xbox LIVE Gold and Free members.

Check out what is available from here.

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Is there anything on the list you are interested in? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Watch the Terraria launch trailer

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Terraria launched today on XBLA and we have the launch trailer for you.

Welcome to the world of Terraria! DIG, FIGHT, EXPLORE, BUILD! Nothing is impossible in the special edition version of this action-packed sandbox adventure! Over a dozen environments and hundreds of items to craft and enemies to defeat! The world is your canvas – make it your own.

Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MErDGPrXVuQ

Terraria is available now for 1,200 MS Points. There is also a demo you can download too!

Have you played Terraria yet? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Exclusive Terraria Q&A with David Welch

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Terraria launched today on XBLA and to mark the release, we have an exclusive Q&A with David Welch, the producer of the XBLA version of the game!

Welcome to the world of Terraria! DIG, FIGHT, EXPLORE, BUILD! Nothing is impossible in the special edition version of this action-packed sandbox adventure! Over a dozen environments and hundreds of items to craft and enemies to defeat! The world is your canvas – make it your own.

1. How does Terraria differ on the Xbox 360 to what we’ve seen on the PC? What will fans gain from this version of the game?

The new controls & menus—especially the crafting system and world map—are easily the most significant changes to the game. Those are the kinds of changes players will notice every single moment. The new pets, items, enemies, music—those certainly reward the hardcore fans—but there’s really something to be said for just being able to kick back on your couch, grab a controller, and play Terraria on a nice big TV set. I think that’s huge.

2. What’s the best new feature of Terraria for XBLA?

I think split-screen will really revolutionize how people play the game. It adds a whole new level of collaboration and fun—it’s really addictive!

3. Will there be any crossover content between the PC and XBLA games?

There are no plans for the time being, but it’s hard to say what the future holds.

4. Are there plans for multiplayer co-op support in the XBLA version?

It’s already in there! Especially the bosses—they’re much easier to defeat with friends. Some of them are almost impossible without help!

5. The PC controls of Terraria rely on a free cursor controlled by the mouse. How are you going to adapt the game to be playable by a 360 gamepad?

We get a lot of questions about this, and after a lot of experimentation we think we arrived at a really innovative solution. The vast majority of gameplay is accessible simply by using the right thumbstick to aim in a direction; we added a very intelligent “auto cursor” to detect the closest blocks to target. However, for precision activities such as building the player can switch to a more accurate “manual” cursor mode that behaves more like a mouse. From there, all the other controls—jumping, inventory management, grappling, etc.—are pretty straightforward and feel very natural on the controller.

6. One of the inescapable facts of Terraria is that it’s a joy to look at. How did you approach your design process and how long did you spend getting the look and feel just right?

Maintaining the look of the original was hugely important to us—and in a lot of ways, especially motivated by split-screen, we go even further to showcase the world and sprites by minimizing the amount of on-screen text and HUD elements. Every pixel was important to us, and as a result the game looks really stunning on a big screen.

7. Was the success of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition the reason to port Terraria to Xbox LIVE Arcade?

We actually got started on the console version of Terraria just before Minecraft 360 came out—so no, I can’t say that it was. But it did absolutely validate the decision. It was a very real concern that there simply wasn’t an audience for this type of game on console. But now that we now that there is an audience—and a very large one at that—in a lot of ways it’s added a lot more pressure since Minecraft 360 set such an insanely high bar. We want to make sure we’re able to meet the expectations of the audience. I think we will.

8. How do you see Xbox LIVE Arcade as an opportunity for young or new developers?

It can sometimes be easy for young developers to write off consoles since there’s such a thriving community on PC—and there’s such a low barrier of entry to develop on PC. But then you remember that consoles are the way that almost all of us first got introduced to gaming—and they’re still the way that most young people get introduced to gaming. There’s an incredibly hungry audience there, and tools like XNA and Xbox Live Indie Games have really opened up the platform. And with hits like Braid and Super Meat Boy there’s just no denying its power and reach. Small teams are great because you can work really fast and experiment—but consoles really teach you to be disciplined and to create something really stable, and really polished.

Terraria is available now for 1,200 MS Points. There is also a demo you can download too!

Have you played Terraria yet? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

ZombiU gets an update

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Ubisoft have released an update for ZombiU.

The update includes:

  • On Mission 12, in the Nursery MAP, the interaction with the door in the basement of nursery was missing at rebirth if specific steps were followed.
  • On Mission 13, in the Gas Station MAP, a Mission object that is mandatory to complete the objective was missing if specific steps were followed.
  • On Mission 14, in the Circus MAP, if the player died right after recovering his Backpack, and rebooted the Wii U console, the objective was not updated.
  • On Mission 15, in the Bunker MAP, the Panacea disappeared after the Player died while downloading it. However the objective remained the same (download Panacea).
  • On Mission 10, in the Tower MAP, the Objective “Secure landing site” was not validated if specific steps were followed.
  • On Mission 15, in the Bunker MAP, if specific steps were followed, the Player might get stuck in the Bunker after he took Doctor’s eye / Panacea because a Ladder disappeared.
  • On Mission 16, in the MAP Safe House, the iron curtain in the Safe House lacked of collision during Mission 16. This Bug could lead to a scoring exploit on leaderboards.
  • In the Safe House MAP, the Player saw a placeholder text when he dragged & dropped an item from the Blue Box to his holsters following certain steps.
  • On Mission 12 or 15, in the Nursery MAP, the game crashed if the Player burned the Zombi Nurse while she died.
  • Zombies animations transitions.
  • Online messages spawned in the first section of the MAPs.
  • Scanner’s start volume.
  • Uplay cricket bat Cast Shadow has been removed.
  • Optimizations of the framerate”

The update should download and be applied automatically.

New screenshots for Grand Theft Auto V released

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There has been some new screenshots released for GTA V!

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And here they are:

Grand Theft Auto 5 from Rockstar Games will be released later in the year.

Are you going to buy it? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Last chance to win tickets for The Gadget Show LIVE at the NEC

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The Gadget Show LIVE returns to the NEC in a few weeks and we have got 10 pairs of tickets to giveaway.

So all you have to do to win a pair of tickets is click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page and tell us what day you want to go (the tickets are only valid on a weekday). Make sure you use a valid email address when submitting your entry otherwise we can’t contact you. You can enter as many times as you like, but only one entry per day will be accepted.

Each winner will receive a pair of tickets to use on any of the weekday show days. Unfortunately you will have to cover your own transport costs and anything else, but each pair of tickets is worth over £40.

Usual contest rules apply, and the winners will be selected at random and will be contacted after the contest ends.

The contest closes Thursday 28th March, so good luck.

The event takes place on 3-7 April at the NEC, Birmingham, and more details are available from www.gadgetshowlive.net/birmingham.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Announced at GDC

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Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has been announced at the Game Developers Conference.

Franchise creator Hideo Kojima revealed today (27th March) that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain together make the Metal Gear Solid sequel.
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Described as an open-world game, it follows Snake as he wakes up from a nine-year coma. A gameplay demonstration showed the game’s tutorial, with the protagonist waking up in a hospital and being forced to escape, but too weak to stand. However, Snake is soon aided by a man named Ishmael, a character who many are speculating is voiced by 24 star Kiefer Sutherland.

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Kojima was at GDC discussing the new Fox Engine that Kojima Productions was building when he officially unveiled the game. A trailer for Metal Gear Solid 5 was also shown, featuring footage from both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain.

It was confirmed at the end of the video teaser that the game would be coming to both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Guild Wars 2 Flame and Frost: The Razing out now

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If you play Guild Wars 2, there is a new update called Flame and Frost: The Razing which starts today.

In addition to the continuing Living Story, which sees a hybrid army erupt through fiery portals in the Shiverpeaks, this update also brings exciting new updates to the Guild Mission systems and World vs. World content:

  • Guild Mission Updates – Take on ‘Guild Bounty Target’ missions, cash in for new rewards and many other system improvements
  • New Guild Mission Type – The ‘Bounty Hunt Training’ missions are designed to provide small and casual guilds with an avenue for accessing and unlocking guild content
  • World XP and World Ranks – Participate in WvW events and defeat players to earn World Experience (WXP) and unlock special World Ranks
  • World Abilities, Titles and Scoreboards – Improve your characters, show off your expertise to your enemies through titles and new improved scoreboards

To learn more about this update, click here.

Flame and Frost is part of a multi-stage narrative that will bring big changes to Guild Wars 2 in the months to come.

And in case you missed it, we recently interviewed the Guild Wars 2 Game Director Colin Johanson:

Check out our review of Guild Wars 2

Are you playing Guild Wars 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

NVIDIA releases GeForce 314.07 WHQL driver with BioShock Infinite support

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The new GeForce 314.22 WHQL driver is now available to download. Featuring performance optimizations of up to 41% in BioShock Infinite, and 71% in Tomb Raider, 314.22 WHQL is an essential update for all GeForce GTX systems. Other highlights include single-GPU and SLI performance improvements of up to 30% in Civilization V, 22% in Sniper Elite V2, and 12% in Sleeping Dogs.

314.22 WHQL also includes SLI profiles for Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter, Resident Evil 6, and Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army; 3D Vision profiles for Brutal Legend, MUD, and Tomb Raider; and a NVIDIA Control Panel Ambient Occlusion profile for BioShock Infinite.

You can download the GeForce 314.22 WHQL drivers with one click from the GeForce.co.uk homepage. Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 packages are available for desktop systems, and for notebooks there are Windows 7 and Windows 8 downloads that cover all non-legacy products.

If you have a technical issue please report the problem through the NVIDIA Display Driver Feedback Form.

BioShock Infinite & Tomb Raider Performance Enhancements

GeForce 314.22 WHQL introduces sizeable performance gains of up to 41% in BioShock Infinite, and 71% in Tomb Raider.

Gains will be seen on other GPUs also, though to varying degrees.

In BioShock Infinite, performance improved by 32% at 1920×1080, powering our GTX 680 past 90 frames per second when using Ultra DirectX 11 settings. With optional Alternate Post-Processing added to the mix, we saw a 25% improvement over 314.07 WHQL performance, taking the GTX 680 from 61 frames per second to 76 frames per second.

At 2560×1600, the GTX 680 achieved a result of 41 frames per second using Ultra settings and our older 314.07 WHQL drivers. Following the installation of today’s 314.22 WHQL drivers, performance increased by 41%, yielding an impressive 58.6 frames per second at the demanding resolution. Enabling Alternate Post-Processing’s performance-intensive diffusion-based depth of field effect, meanwhile, saw the frame rate reduced to a still-perfectly-playable 46.2 frames per second, which was 31% faster than the result seen when using 314.07 WHQL.

314.22 WHQL dramatically enhances performance in Tomb Raider, building upon the improvements introduced in 314.21 Beta earlier this month. On the GTX 680 we recorded a 49% improvement at 1920×1080 using Ultra settings, and a 30% improvement using Ultimate settings. At 2560×1600, Ultra performance increased by 59%, and Ultimate performance increased by 40%, pushing the GTX 680 past the all-important 30 frames per second mark.

On the GTX 660 we recorded even greater gains when using the new 314.22 WHQL driver. At 1920×1080, performance increased by 61% using Ultra settings, and by 46% when using the demanding Ultimate settings. At 2560×1600, performance increased by an astounding 71.4% when using Ultra settings, taking the GTX 660 from an unplayable 19.9 frames per second, to a playable 34.1 frames per second.

Please note that performance improvements benefit all GeForce GTX graphics cards, though obviously to varying degrees. We would of course love to show how our optimizations benefit the entire range of GeForce GTX GPUs, but sadly this is unfeasible given the number of benchmarks required. If you test the changes out at home on hardware not represented in this article please share your results with the community via the GeForce.co.uk Forums.

Additional Performance Improvements

In addition to the BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider optimizations, 314.22 WHQL also includes performance improvements for Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Civilization V, Sleeping Dogs, Sniper Elite V2, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Below, we offer a snapshot of the improvements on a few different configs, but please bear in mind that your results may vary.

GeForce GTX 680

Game Settings & Results:

  • BioShock Infinite: Performance increased by 40.9% at 2560×1600 when using Ultra DirectX 11 settings.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: Performance increased by 3.2% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and 4xMSAA.
  • Civilization V: Performance increased by 8.7% at 1920×1080 when using max DirectX 11 settings.
  • Sleeping Dogs: Performance increased by 12.8% at 2560×1600 when using Extreme settings and High Anti-Aliasing.
  • Sniper Elite V2: Performance increased by 22.2% at 2560×1600 when using High settings, High Anti-Aliasing, and 2.25x Supersampling. With Supersampling disabled, frame rates increased by 21%-24% at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 using High settings, with and without anti-aliasing.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Performance increased by 3.6% at 1920×1080 when using High settings.
  • Tomb Raider: Performance increased by 29.7%-58.7% at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 when using Ultra and Ultimate settings.
GeForce GTX 680 SLI

Game Settings & Results:

  • Batman: Arkham City: Performance increased by 3.4% at 1920×1080 when using Very High detail settings, Tessellation High, and FXAA High.
  • Battlefield 3: Performance increased by 3.2% at 2560×1600 when using Ultra settings and 4xMSAA. Gains of up to 9.9% were registered at lower resolutions and detail settings.
  • BioShock Infinite: Performance increased by 30.9% at 2560×1600 when using Ultra DirectX 11 settings and Alternate Post-Processing. At 1920×1080, performance increased by 18.3%.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: Performance increased by 3.2% at 1920×1080 when using max settings and 4xMSAA.
  • Civilization V: Performance increased by 30.2% at 2560×1600 when using max DirectX 11 settings and 4xMSAA.
  • Sleeping Dogs: Performance increased by 16.9% at 1920×1080 when using Extreme settings and Normal Anti-Aliasing. At 2560×1600 using High Anti-Aliasing, performance increased by 11.9%.
  • Sniper Elite V2: Performance increased by 21.8% at 2560×1600 when using High settings, High Anti-Aliasing, and 2.25x Supersampling. With Supersampling disabled, frame rates increased by 19.7%-23.3% at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 using High settings, with and without anti-aliasing.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Performance increased by 3.6% at 1920×1080 when using High settings.
GeForce GTX 660

Game Settings & Results:

  • Batman: Arkham City: Performance increased by 5.4% at 2560×1600 when using Very High detail settings, Tessellation High, and PhysX High.
  • Borderlands 2: Performance increased by 3.5% at 2560×1600 when using max settings and PhysX High.
  • Sleeping Dogs: Performance increased by 7.3% at 1920×1080 when using Extreme settings and High Anti-Aliasing. At other resolutions and detail levels performance increased by 6%-7.8%.
  • Sniper Elite V2: Performance increased by 22.2% at 2560×1600 when using High settings, High Anti-Aliasing, and 2.25x Supersampling. With Supersampling disabled, frame rates increased by 21.2%-24.2% at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 using High settings, with and without anti-aliasing.
  • Tomb Raider: Performance increased by 46.5%-71.4% at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600 when using Ultra and Ultimate settings.
Other 314.22 WHQL Highlights

New & Updated SLI Profiles
  • Dungeons and Dragons: Neverwinter – Added DirectX 9 SLI profile
  • Resident Evil 6 – Updated SLI profile
  • Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army – Added DirectX 11 SLI profile

New & Updated 3D Vision Profiles
  • Brutal Legend – Rated Good
  • MUD – Rated Good
  • Tomb Raider – Updated Rating To Good

NVIDIA Control Panel Enhancements
  • BioShock Infinite – Added NVIDIA Control Panel Ambient Occlusion support

 

You can download the GeForce 314.22 WHQL drivers with one click from the GeForce.co.uk homepage.