Last night saw the first crews compete in Battlefield Hardline: Live (#BFHardlineLive), a competition giving players the chance to lead their crew in a high adrenaline, high stakes experience that could see them win £10,000.
PlayStation Access had a preview of the experience and a video of them fulfilling their criminal fantasies.
Players wanting to win a place to lead their crew in Battlefield Hardline: Live can still enter at www.battlefield.com/hardline/live where an ongoing leaderboard of crews that have taken part will be listed. Entry is open until 23:59 this coming Sunday 22nd March.
Those that win the opportunity to take part in Battlefield Hardline: Live against other crews will lead their chosen crew in to a murky world where deceit and destruction are all in a day’s work. Can crews get in, get the goods, then get out without being caught to pull off the perfect crime?
Theatre company differencEngine are hosting Battlefield Hardline: Live at a secret Central London location for eight days until Wednesday 25th March 2015. It is a one-hour controlled yet immersive experience with the winning crew leader claiming the £10,000 bounty but then facing a dilemma – keep it all or share with their crew?
Battlefield Hardline: Live draws inspiration from three of Battlefield Hardline’s new game modes – Heist, Blood Money and Rescue as well as the multiplayer maps Growhouse, The Block and Derailed.
Dan Sheridan (@EA_ActionMan), UK Social & Community Marketing Manager, said: “We hope our fans in the UK enjoy this real-world competition inspired by Battlefield Hardline. If I had some advice for crews taking part, I’d say focus on playing the objective (PTO), play as a team and define a winning strategy!”
With Battlefield Hardline will be available tomorrow the 20th March in the United Kingdom on Origin for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Following a sell-out world tour and hit album, Final Symphony, the FINAL FANTASY concert programme from Merregnon Studios, will return to London on 12th September, with an exclusive, all-new programme of music.
Titled Final Symphony II, and performed by the world famous London Symphony Orchestra, this is a concert set to delight fans with a musical programme that takes in some of Nobuo Uematsu’s most treasured themes from Final Fantasy V, VIII and IX. In addition, the London Barbican concert will also feature a new suite of music from Final Fantasy XIII, arranged by original composer Masashi Hamauzu himself.
To make the evening even more special, composer Nobuo Uematsu will be in attendance and is set to take part in a ticketed, pre-concert talk. Here he’ll discuss his musical career and influences while answering questions from the audience in what is sure to be a fascinating insight into the world of the video game music.
“It’s wonderful that we’re able to return to the Barbican with such an exciting new programme of music,” said Final Symphony II producer, Thomas Böcker. “Performing the original Final Symphony with the LSO back in 2013 was a musical dream come true, and recording the album at Abbey Road Studios was the icing on the cake. The arrangers, Roger Wanamo and Jonne Valtonen – plus Masashi Hamauzu – have been working very hard on something extremely special and we think it’s exactly what fans of Final Fantasy have been waiting for!”
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Final Fantasy fans back for Final Symphony II,” said Gareth Davies, the LSO’s Principal Flute, who’ll also be joining Uematsu-san for the pre-concert talk. “Working on the concert and album for the first Final Symphony was a wonderful experience. The music is incredibly epic and fantastically arranged for the orchestra, and it’s hugely exciting to be playing the music of Uematsu and Hamauzu again. We can’t wait for fans to experience it.”
Final Symphony II marks the third concert collaboration between the London Symphony Orchestra and Merregnon Studios, the original Final Symphony having been the orchestra’s first ever live performance of video game music. The LSO also performed on Final Symphony the album, which was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios and released digitally, around the world, earlier this year. Described as “one of the best video game music albums ever made,” by leading website VGMOnline.net, it went straight to the top of the iTunes Classical chart in more than ten countries at launch, including the UK, USA, Canada, France and Sweden, while also racking up top five Classical Album positions in both the Billboard and Official UK Charts.
Tickets for Final Symphony II go on sale tomorrow, March 20th, from 10am, and range in price from £30 to £65. Tickets for the pre-concert talk by Nobuo Uematsu will also go on sale at the same time, priced at £10 each. To book tickets please visit the official concert site: www.lso.co.uk/finalsymphonyii
Today Microsoft has announced that Xbox Music has integrated with OneDrive to allow access to your entire personal music collection from your Xbox Music application for free!
As of today, any music files that you upload to your new “Music” folder in OneDrive will start to show up in your collection on music.xbox.com and in the Xbox Music apps for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, Xbox 360, and Xbox One no Music Pass required!
If you do have a Xbox Music Pass, you even get an extra 100GB of storage on your OneDrive!
The Mario Party series has been around for four console generations now, with few of them going to the effort to really shake up the main core formula.
The point has always been to finish with the most stars and beat your friends at a handful of mini-games. That formula, for better or worse, has not really changed.
With many of these elements still remain intact in Mario Party 10, right down to the bad luck spaces that can turn the game around at the very last second. While this new Wii U iteration of the series plays it mostly safe, it does take enough advantage of the new console hardware to make this particular game worth a peek.
Get ready for a Ride
It was the case with Mario Party 9, individual players no longer explore the game board on their own in the classic Mario Party game mode. Everybody shares a vehicle and takes their turn, as normal, going down a linear path that only occasionally branches out.
It’s an idea that takes a lot of the “board game” feel away, albeit without compromising much of the randomness or the competitive element. The board game design does keep the game fresh with certain boards utilizing gimmicks. For example, Airship Central will offer spaces that blast away at a Bowser airship, while Haunted Trail has Boo haunt certain spots. Miniboss and boss battles will also spice things up, putting all four players against one of Mario’s rogues in an obstacle-filled environment. These are generally well-designed and put the focus on competing with other players while trying to take out the target.
While the Wii U GamePad itself isn’t used in classic Mario Party mode, it does use some neat visual cues. One of the main ideas is that Bowser is locked away, imprisoned behind bars within the GamePad.
Rolling any of the numbers of the dice at least once will remove one of those bars. When the final number is rolled, Bowser will burst forth and appear on the television screen, in a nice touch.
Meanwhile, many of the mini-games feel mundane or uninspired at first glance. The classic minigame ideas are all there: jump on moving platforms to survive, count how many objects are on-screen, memorization, races to the finish line, etc.
There are few, if any, of them that break new ground. Even the motion-controlled mini-games had more hits than misses, focusing more on using the Wii Remotes to point at objects or use simple flicks of the wrist. There were a few instances where the Wii Remote needed to be used for tilt-based movement, which were a definite lowlight, but the reliance on motion control simply isn’t here as much it was in more recent Mario Party outings.
Is it Good to be Bad
There was some good natured fun to be had in the classic Mario Party mode, but with Mario Party 10 the best new feature is undoubtedly Bowser Party. This is a mode for up to five players, with up to four Wii Remote players competing to stay alive against a single GamePad player that controls the King of the Koopas himself. So rather than collecting stars, everyone has hearts and must proceed across the board to keep possession of those hearts.
Anyone that has followed the Mario Party series at all knows that Bowser is a dirty cheater who cheats, which makes the opportunity to actually play as him marvelously evil. After everyone takes their turn, Bowser will roll four dice to try and catch up with the other four players and engage them in one of his Bowser mini-games. And being who he is, the villain will cheat constantly. Bowser Jr. will sometimes sprinkle in an extra die or if the dice roll doesn’t favor the big guy, he’ll get a chance to re-roll.
This can even extend to certain luck sequences. For example, if a player gets a chance to pick goodies from a chest at random, Bowser Jr. will come along in the GamePad to show the Bowser player the chests’ contents. At that point, the Bowser player can doodle on the GamePad to try and throw the players off the scent. This novel use of the GamePad even extends to the end of the game, where Bowser can hide the star in the pocket of one of his minions.
Playing as Bowser is one of the most fun additions to the Mario Party series in a long time. The kids I played with even started fighting over who would get to play as him next. The only negative here is that the GamePad player truly does stand to have more fun than everyone else, who will essentially be playing just another regular Mario Party game.
Figure’d Out
The other major addition to Mario Party 10 is the ability to use Amiibo figures for their own game mode, appropriately called Amiibo Party. While it sounds like a great use of the collectibles, the actual game mode feels like a major disappointment. Two to four players will compete on a smaller Mario Party board with the old-school Mario Party rules of passing by star spaces and purchasing stars for 20 coins. “Smaller” is the ample word, because the boards themselves feel tight and constricted, with few spaces really helping vary the experience. It feels like an abbreviated version of the main game and one that feels noticeably lacking in comparison to the other game modes.
Amiibo Party also feels like something of an overuse of the GamePad sensor. Players will need to hold on to their figures at all times, as they’ll need to place the Amiibo on the sensor to do just about everything, including roll the dice. The novelty wears out quickly and this idea starts to wear thin. The game also lasts for a mere ten turns, so it goes quickly, but it’s only a brief reminder of the manic fun that previous Mario Party games were.
When you scan the Amiibo figures will also unlock themed boards, with their own distinct luck spaces. They can also unlock a special in-game Amiibo base to grant bonuses, but the Amiibo Party mode itself doesn’t feel deep enough to support such unlockables. As much as I had hoped to use my Amiibo collection for a new purpose, the party doesn’t last too long with this game.
Rolling the Dice
While Mario Party 10 is a lot of fun, it’s really hard to make a case for this game standing out over previous Mario Party offerings. Anyone who has played a previous installment of the game (including any of the ones currently available on the Wii Virtual Console) may find it tough to make the case for an upgrade. Bowser Party is worth a big look though, and is great for playing with kids or adults alike.
Summary
+ Bowser Party is a blast
+ Minigames are decent and don’t rely much on motion control
+ Creative board designs
– Amiibo Party is a little disappointing
Prepare to rise to a new level of Call of Duty DLC with the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Ascendance. On 31st March, the second massive DLC pack for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare from Activision and Sledgehammer Games will be available first on the Xbox LIVE for Xbox One and Xbox 360, with other platforms to follow.
Fans will be able to see the gameplay world premiere of Ascendance during the 2015 Call of Duty Championship, Presented by Xbox, broadcast on Xbox Live and other broadcast partners on Sunday, 29th March.
“Ascendance has it all, four all-new maps that were designed from the ground up for Exo abilities and the next chilling entry in the Exo Zombies experience. We’re really excited and can’t wait to play with the community in just a couple of weeks,” said Michael Condrey, Co-Founder and Studio Head, Sledgehammer Games.
“The community response to Advanced Warfare continues to inspire us, and we’re pushing ourselves every day across all the teams to deliver our best. Havoc was a great start for DLC, and we think Ascendance delivers even more of the nonstop action fans love,” said Glen Schofield, Co-Founder and Studio head, Sledgehammer Games.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Ascendance is the definitive DLC package, with its four new, thrilling multiplayer maps, the formidable OHM directed energy light machine gun/shotgun hybrid, the OHM Werewolf custom variant, and the all-new Exo Grapple ability playlist that introduces the Exo Grapple ability to multiplayer. Exo Grapple gives players a faster way to reach strategic vantage points or a brutal secondary weapon to take down the competition, exclusively on Ascendance maps.
Perplex: Get vertical in Sydney as you fight to dominate this five-story modular apartment complex. Take the high ground or blast through the close-quarters interior in this small to medium sized map. Adapt your strategy mid-match when construction drones shift apartment modules, creating new routes and cover positions.
Site 244: An alien spacecraft has crash landed, spilling its mysterious cargo under the shadow of Mt. Rushmore, USA. This medium to large three-lane map allows for any style of gameplay, focusing combat through the space ship’s fuselage and around the debris-littered landscape. Use the map-based scorestreak to crack open an alien spore and instantly enhance your perks and exo abilities.
Climate: Fight your way through a futuristic man-made utopia in this lush, climate-controlled enclosure. In this small to medium sized circular map, land and water routes channel frenetic combat around the central island structure. Watch your step when the river water changes from an asset into a deadly bubbling obstacle.
Chop Shop: Think fast as you make your way through the black market exoskeleton industrial complex and engage in fast-paced shootouts in this medium sized, symmetrical map. Activate the map-based scorestreak to take control of an Advanced Repulsion Turret that radiates a deadly microwave EMP to help lock down key areas.
The Exo Zombies saga continues in the all-new episode, Infected, as the four Atlas employees, portrayed by the returning celebrity cast of John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire, RED, Burn After Reading), Bill Paxton (Aliens, Titanic, Edge of Tomorrow), Rose McGowan (Planet Terror, Scream), and Jon Bernthal (Fury) fight tooth and nail through undead zombie hordes. Located on the outskirts of an Atlas facility, the new Exo Zombies episode introduces a slew of never-before-seen undead masses, a robust arsenal of new traps and armaments and everyone’s favorite fast food joint, Burgertown.
Fans can see the world premiere of live gameplay from Ascendance and a new trailer for the next episode of Exo Zombies when they tune into the 2015 Call of Duty Championship, Presented by Xbox for the ultimate Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare tournament, where 32 teams from around the world will face-off to stake their claim in the $1 million prize purse.
KOEI TECMO Europe has today announced that the Troop Command Action title, Bladestorm: Nightmare, will be available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this Friday, 20th March. The strategic game is also available for the PlayStation 3 as a digital-only release.
In Bladestorm: Nightmare, players take the role of a mercenary choosing to fight for either England or France in missions inspired by the real events and battles of the Hundred Years War era (1337 – 1453). Successful mission completion will put the player’s fighting prowess, leadership, strategy and tactical abilities and skills to the test. The Mercenary rides to the field as the commander of an army unit chosen to fit each individual situation—some missions are better fought with foot soldiers, others with lances, archers, light cavalry, or a combination of melee, ranged and mounted units.
Bladestorm: Nightmare transports players to one of the most turbulent eras in history as they exercise strategy and tactics in real time to determine the outcome of the Hundred Years War. With an improved battle system allowing immediate control as action unfolds, the player is fully in control of all aspects on the battlefield.
The updated battle mechanics in Bladestorm: Nightmare allow for simultaneous control of up to four army units, increasing the game’s strategic edge. Units can be repositioned at any time and ordered to take certain actions such as attacking from specific angles or holding a position to aid in mission success. The player can choose to command any unit in real time, combine them in a 200-soldier troop for a charged attack, or issue orders to any of them using the battle map interface.
Players can choose to experience a realistic depiction of the Hundred Years War period through the game’s normal mode or explore a fictitious original narrative in the new ‘Nightmare’ mode. In Nightmare mode, the war between England and France is interrupted by a mysterious horde of outlandish creatures apparently led by an evil form of Joan of Arc. England and France must momentarily join forces to battle the malevolent army, which is comprised of numerous types of Dragons, Giants and Demons. Nightmare mode also allows the player to take control of an additional 32 playable characters based both on fictional and prominent historical figures. With their assistance, the player must attempt to control the demonic armies, restore Joan of Arc to her former self, and save the world from evil.
Turtle Beach today announced that the preorders for the Turtle Beach Elite 800X premium gaming headset for Xbox One is almost here, and you can reserve yours starting today!
Head over to the Turtle Beach website or to your favourite participating retailer to pre-order the Elite 800X when it becomes available 22nd May.
The Elite 800X is Turtle Beach’s top-of-the-line headset for Xbox One gamers. It’s fully wireless for game audio AND chat audio. That means there’s no cable going from the Elite 800X headset to your game controller, and no cable going from your game controller to your console. You get crystal clear game audio and chat audio via 100% wireless connectivity, using the latest, cutting-edge technology.
Noise Cancelling– Eliminate unwanted background distractions with active noise cancellation when connected to your game console (and mobile/tablet devices).
7.1 Surround Sound– The Elite 800X uses DTS Headphone:X to create amazing, 360-degree soundscapes with unmatched spatial accuracy.
Superhuman Hearing & Sound Modes/Presets– From the faintest of enemy footsteps to weapon reloads off in the distance, Superhuman Hearing ensures you hear it all. This exclusive Turtle Beach preset gives you the competitive advantage of hearing your enemies before you see them. The Elite 800X also includes a variety of custom DTS Surround Sound modes combined with enhanced genre-specific presets to further immerse you in your favorite games, movies and music.
Magnetic Charging Stand & Rechargeable Battery– Whether you need a break from dominating other players in your favorite multiplayer game, or it’s simply time to retire for the evening, just place the Elite 800X into its low profile, magnetic charging stand to store it and keep your headset powered-up without any cables. The Elite 800X features a built-in rechargeable battery that delivers up to 10-hours of fully wireless gaming.
Swappable Speaker Plates– Customise your Elite 800X headset to your liking with easily swappable speaker plates that can be changed out with new designs from www.turtlebeach.com/plates.
High Quality Hidden Microphones– The Elite 800X features dual hidden microphones, with environmental presets to ensure you’re always heard, regardless of your surroundings.
Bluetooth Wireless Versatility– Enjoy wireless Bluetooth connectivity with all your mobile devices. And gamers never need miss a call or text again, as they can pair the Elite 800X to their mobile phone to hear text notifications and take calls while playing.
Easy Setup– The Elite 800X setup is made easy through its magnetic charging stand, which doubles as the wireless transmitter to the headset. Simply connect the charging stand to your game console using the provided USB and optical cables, and start playing.
Companion App– Download the Ear Force Audio Hub app to wirelessly change presets on the fly using your mobile/tablet device.
Elite Membership w/Purchase– You demand the ultimate in performance, and you get the ultimate in benefits. When you purchase the Turtle Beach Elite 800X headset, you also receive:
o Turtle Beach Elite T-Shirt or Hooded Long-Sleeve T-Shirt
o Two additional sets of speaker plates
o Free Twitch Turbo trial membership
o 2-year extended warranty
o Concierge product support service (for U.S. and Canada)
o Early access to the latest Turtle Beach news and product info
Battlefield fans get ready to give the chance to be among the first to get their hands on its latest instalment, Battlefield: Hardline, before its official launch on Friday 20th March.
Battlefield: Hardline sees a shift from the traditional backdrop of warfare, as gamers are immersed in a world of street crime and heists. Play as either the cop or criminal as you navigate through this action-packed blockbuster in gripping single and multiplayer modes.
And if the chance to get the game before anyone else wasn’t enough to tempt fans to get along to their local store, the Battlefield: Hardline Deluxe Edition, only at GAME, includes a Versatility Battlepack, Precision Battlepack and Suppression Battlepack – all featuring unique assault rifles, weapons, camos and XP boosts. There are also 10 gold backpacks delivered in-game once a week, featuring a host of invaluable extras.
For those visiting GAME Stratford, GAME Liverpool Lord Street, GAME Birmingham Bull Ring, GAME Newcastle Eldon Square or GAME Edinburgh St James’ Centre, there is the added bonus of having your prison mug shot photo taken. Gamers can stand in front of an official GAME prison wall and share their photo on social channels using #GAMEmugshot.
Dave Howard, Operations Director at GAME Retail Ltd, says: “We’re really excited to open so many store at midnight for this highly anticipated title. There will be lots of added theatre at our stores across the UK and more importantly, the Exclusive Deluxe Edition looks to be a much-needed lifeline for gamers to help them navigate through the game.”
War Thunder was one of the first games I ever played on a PS4 and had been around a long time before then on the PC too. As with anything competitive there are the usual collection of balancing alterations, nerfing and buffing going on. Gaijin really are tireless and they haven’t let off the pace even long after the release of War Thunder.
But more impressive than Gaijin’s commitment to updates is the constant additions of planes and tanks to the roster. I really don’t know where they keep finding new vehicles to add that don’t feel reused or boring. War Thunder’s roster was already impressive even when it was first launched as a beta but now it is hugely expansive.
But it’s plain to see that the current focus of War Thunder is targeting Ground Forces. That’s not to say that planes are being neglected but there is a definite push towards battling on the ground. I still find myself thinking of War Thunder as a flight game and even avoided Ground Forces for a long time, but if ever there was a time to start, it’s now.
I think for me the biggest reason for my avoidance of Ground Forces came from the huge amount of time and money (and I mean lots of real money) I’d already put into the standard game. It’s really quite off putting after spending 10’s of hours unlocking, grinding and spending Golden Eagles only to switch to a different unlock tree and find that you’ve made no progress at all. As a further gut punch those pesky but all important crew upgrades that stop your pilot passing out whenever he banks very slightly are completely wasted in Ground Forces as the tank crew have their own stats.
That aside the only place to start is to get in the drivers seat and go for it. It’s instantly obvious that War Thunder’s attention to detail is not lost on the Ground Forces. Each antenna moves faithfully as you operate the vehicle. The dirt and rust that covers each of the vehicles looks amazingly realistic. As we’ve come to expect from War Thunder things look accurate and realistic throughout.
That accuracy also goes for the sound effects. There’s nothing quite like the thud of a Hispano or the roar of a ShVAK cannon in the regular game and ground vehicles have certainly not been overlooked. Every time a shell is fired there’s the inevitable chunky explosion followed by some all important subtleties. The ting of a shell casing and the clunk as a new shell is loaded are just as important and War Thunder doesn’t disappoint. Based on sound alone firing pretty much anything from a Ground Forces vehicle is satisfying but add to it the feeling of power and some nifty particle effects and the vehicles really pack a punch.
And that applies especially to some of the latest vehicles added to War Thunder’s already expansive list. This is your best bet for a full list of changes but this is the list of new vehicles that come with patch 1.47 for you to earn:
New Ground vehicles:
USA: М26Е1, M42
Germany: Pz.Kpfw VI Tiger Ausf E, Pz.Kpfw Maus, Flakpanzer Gepard, Marder III H
USSR: Т-126 (СП), Т-28E, Т-54-1949
New aircraft:
USA: A-20G-25 (З replaced old A-20G-30 model), B57B, B-29
Germany: Bf.109G-14, Fw-200C-1
USSR: IL-2 1941, La-5FN (updated visual model, as well as German premium one. German premium camouflage has been changed to fit La-5FN type 39 from late production of the La-5FN series, and La-5FN type 41 – previous one was made on La-5FN type 39 of end of 1943 and beginning of 1944 production years (main production series)
Japan: J2M4 Kai
There’s just so much new to unlock and fly/drive but even so it’s almost impossible not to be instantly drawn towards the German Maus. Oh yeah they went ahead and let you ‘drive’ the Maus. It’s such a ridiculous vehicle and the kind of thing that never gets included in a game. Go Gaijin for letting us use this ridiculous beast.
But I do wish there was an incentive for pilots to switch from a hugely upgraded crew and set of planes to a brand new load out other than the promise of more/different gameplay. Having to level up crews again is a particular pain for me. Once you get playing it’s fun but it’s difficult to push yourself knowing how long those tier 4 and 5’s take to earn.
It’s great to see that even given the push towards Ground Forces War Thunder has far from forgotten it’s roots and still updates and adds to the core flight gameplay. Patch 1.47 is a great update to both the flight and ground forces and adds tons of new content.
Watch the first official trailer for “Pixels” coming this summer, it’s game on or game over! When aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, they attack the Earth in the form of the video games. Watch as the arcaders tries to save the world.
Telltale Games, in collaboration with the developer Gearbox Software, and the beloved Borderlands franchise, and publisher 2K, today announced the release of ‘Atlas Mugged,’ the second of five episodes for Tales from the Borderlands: A Telltale Games Series.
The episode is available today on PC and Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services. The episode is also available today in North America on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. The episode is expected to be available Wednesday, March 18th on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One and Xbox 360, and on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in Europe. The series will also be coming to compatible iOS devices via the App Store and to Android-based devices starting on Thursday March 19th.
Tales from the Borderlands is our proudest studio collaboration to date. We’re over the moon to be working with the incredible team at Gearbox to continue the Borderlands story in ways we don’t think fans will ever see coming,” said Kevin Bruner, CEO and co-founder of Telltale Games. “The season premiere was a wild ride, and we were incredibly happy with its reception. The team has been hard at work on the second chapter with our biggest cast and most epic set-pieces yet. We’re asking everyone to strap in and hang on tight; we’re just getting started!”
Set on the unforgiving world of Pandora after the events seen in Borderlands 2, Tales from the Borderlands is a five part episodic game series full of Borderlands’ trademark humor following two adventurers on their quest for greatness.
In this second episode of the season, ‘Atlas Mugged,’ the discovery of the Gortys Project fuels a madcap race to find just what the Atlas Corporation was up to prior to Hyperion’s takeover of Pandora. Our intrepid heroes are not the only ones on the trail. Vault Hunters, Bounty Hunters, Vasquez, and a giant monster thing with a mouth that looks like a… well, you’ll see… are all in pursuit. And to complicate matters, Rhys is being haunted by visions of a dead despot AND what Vaughn looks like without his shirt on. Can Fiona and Sasha hold everything together? That’s up to you.
Today Sierra has announced that Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions will expand thanks to a new Evolved add on, which will update the core game with a super state of new challenges and features. It adds 40 new stages of fast-paced neon action to Adventure mode, including new boss battles, 3D grid shapes and gameplay types, as well as the mighty Sweeper drone and Detonator super ability. It also revises the previous level gating system, making it much easier for players to progress.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved includes a number of improvements. For instance, “Hardcore” mode lets players tackle 20 dedicated levels without using a drone or super, including individual leaderboards for no-loadout purists to compete for high scores.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved will be available as a free download for existing Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions owners in the UK on 31st March on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, as well as Windows PC, Mac and Linux via Steam. It will be available on 1st April on Xbox One and the Xbox 360.
For the new players, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions will become Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved when the update arrives, delivering the expanded experience at the same price across all marketplaces. The total package will feature over 100 total levels, with multiple bosses, grid types, drones and supers, as well as the same competitive (online) and cooperative (local) multiplayer Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions first launched with.
Today Sony has announced that a private beta for PlayStation Now begins this spring in the UK (at last).
PlayStation Now is a game streaming service, which will lets you play PS3 games on PS4 using Gaikai’s cloud gaming technology.
PlayStation Plus members will given the opportunity to “be among the first” to use PlayStation Now, but you have to register your interest on PlayStation.com.
You register their interest to be involved in the later phases of the beta trial.
The closed beta is available to users in the UK on PS4 only, Sony said, and will be free of charge during the initial stage of the beta. Here’s the small print:
Taking part in the PS Now private beta trial will initially be free of charge – however, at later stages of the trial we will be testing rental periods and pricing models, which will require payment.
When PS Now launches in the UK you’ll be able to stream games at a “low rental cost”, initially to PS4 then to other devices, including PS3, PS Vita and Sony Bravia TVs starting with model model KD-X9500B, KD-X9000B, KD-S9005B, KD-X8500B, KDL-W950B, KDL-W850B, KDL-W800B, KDL-W700B, KDL-W600B, KDL-W585B and Series onwards.
You will need a DualShock 4 or DualShock 3 wireless controller and a broadband internet connection (minimum 5mbps recommended).
Here is the list of games available during the closed beta:
