Game Tech News

Ever since rumors surfaced of a new Nintendo console, it’s been assumed that Nintendo would launch a new platform before either Microsoft or Sony could finalize their own next-generation offerings. Nintendo’s annual fiscal year report just dashed those hopes — a brief line in the earning’s report states: “For our dedicated video game platform business, Nintendo is currently developing a gaming platform codenamed “NX” with a brand-new concept. NX will be launched in March 2017 globally.”



File this under “Nintendon’t.” (This is not a Nintendo NX, just in case that’s not clear).

Nintendo also confirmed it would not show the NX at E3 2016, as had previously been widely expected. In fact, E3 won’t be a major focus for Nintendo at all; the company will only show one game, the upcoming Zelda open-world title. The demonstrations will all be done with the Wii U version of the game, though the final version will be available for both the NX and the Wii U by the time the new console launches.

Ceding ground to Sony

We can’t fairly call this a delay, since Nintendo hasn’t previously set a target for its NX launch. But waiting to launch the console until March 2017 has definite pros and cons. Even if Nintendo is playing coy with its phrasing (the console could go on sale in Japan before its global launch in March 2017), the Nintendo NX is going to launch after the PlayStation 4 Neo — and that’s assuming Microsoft doesn’t have its own super-secret project to reveal.



With Nintendo only showing one title at E3 it’s going to be another slow year for the company’s fans.

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Cheating in multiplayer games is nothing new and every launch title suffers its share of problems, but Ubisoft’s The Division has had more than most. While the game launched to positive reviews and high initial sales, it’s had serious technical and cheating issues since. A significant number of glitches have allowed players to quickly gain access to endgame gear that was supposed to take months to achieve, and Ubisoft has been perceived as chasing problems rather than getting in front of them.

Now, new analysis from game network consultant Glenn Fiedler suggests that Ubisoft’s latest title isn’t just buggy — it’s written in a way that’s going to permanently prevent the company from fixing its own problems unless they commit to a total network code overhaul. The problem, according to Fiedler, is that Ubisoft’s game appears to be based on a trusted-client model.

A broken paradigm

As the name implies, a trusted-client model means that information relayed from the client is assumed to be accurate and is implemented as such in the game world. In its simplest form, this allows for hacks that would fire ludicrous numbers of bullets per second or assign billions or trillions of health to a character that might ordinarily have a few hundred hit points.



But hey — at least the art is really pretty.

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Free-to-play games have been growing in popularity on the PC for over a decade now, but it wasn’t until the last two or three years that the console makers started to take this business model seriously. Developers big and small are entering the fray here, and as such, we wanted to see exactly how these games stand up on the PS4.
Since the early days of the PS4, we’ve been keeping an eye on each and every F2P release. While some of the games on the PlayStation Store aren’t even worth mentioning, there’s a variety of rock-solid titles. And thanks to the low barrier to entry, you can try anything that strikes your fancy. Now let’s jump in, and find something to play.



Trans-Galactic Tournament

It’s becoming a rarity to see true platform-exclusive titles these days. Usually, games come to the PC alongside a console release, but not Trans-Galactic Tournament. Developed by Kiz Studios, this accessible little MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) offers a handful of different modes and a rotating roster of free champions.

You can unlock different champions outright with either “chips” (cash currency) or “coins” (earned currency), but boosts and bundles are only purchasable with chips. If you want to buy-in, you can drop anywhere from $4.99 to $69.99 at a time. Just remember that it’s still listed as a beta on the PlayStation store, so think twice before investing real money.



Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 myClub

Sports games are incredibly popular, but they’re surprisingly underrepresented in the free-to-play market. Thankfully, the PS4 finally has a F2P sports game, and it’s actually pretty solid at its core. The latest version of PES 2016 is well reviewed, and this slimmed down version still offers a lot of what makes the full version work. If you just love playing virtual soccer, this release allows you to do that without paying a dime.

You can simply play friendly matches against opponents locally and online if that’s your jam, but the big draw is the more involved myClub mode. By implementing a strategy element, myClub adds a lot of depth to what is otherwise a relatively straightforward experience.
Sadly, there’s been some significant criticism of the micro-transaction model Konami has in place. And since you can spend up to $99.99 at a shot for the “myClub Coins” in-game currency in hope of making a better team, there’s definitely some pay-to-win accusations being hurled. But even if you never seriously interact with myClub, there’s still plenty of fun to be had with regular ol’ soccer.



Smite

Available on both PC and Xbox One for quite some time, Smite has finally made its way to the PlayStation 4. This colorful action-strategy game pits different deities against each other in an arena — making this the epitome of a behind-the-back MOBA designed to appeal to a crowd that isn’t sold on more traditional entries in the genre.

A selection of free deities are always available to play, but you’ll need to spend either “gems” or “favor” to unlock characters permanently. You can dump an absurd amount of money into the system for skins, voice packs, and boosters, but none of that is necessary for a good time. And if you’re willing to make a one-time purchase of $29.99, you can unlock all current and future gods. If you end up spending dozens of hours playing Smite, that’s a very reasonable asking price.



World of Tanks

Many shooters in recent years are fast-paced games riding off the coattails of Call of Duty’s modern and futuristic themes, or sci-fi-tinged cover shooters in the model of Gears of War. However, the strategic historical shooter is seeing something of a renaissance in the free-to-play market. This 15-versus-15 tank warfare game from Wargaming.net delivers an experience that rewards tactical thinking and teamwork over pure reflexes. And with a wide selection of mid-1900s tanks on offer, enthusiasts of the real-world war machines have a lot to love.
The gold in-game currency is being sold on the PlayStation Store in packs ranging from $4.99 to $99.99, and you can spend real money on consumable items like repair kits. Different tanks can be purchased with the earned currency (Silver), but you’ll need to spend gold if you want boosts and premium tanks. None of the purchases are strictly necessary, but you’re going to need to work pretty hard to be on equal footing with paying members.



Paragon

Epic Games, the company that brought us the likes of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, is trying its hand at making a MOBA of its own. It features the third-person camera and controller-friendly combat of a game like Smite while serving up a more realistic aesthetic and a business model closer to Dota 2.

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Over a decade ago, Koei announced a game based on an unproduced Kurosawa script called “Oni.” The game was shown off in the mid-aughts as “Ni-Oh,” Koei merged with Tecmo, and then an entire console generation slipped by. We went long stretches without hearing much of anything about this game, but it was evidently put under the tutelage of Team Ninja at some point. 2015 rolled around, and it finally showed up as “Nioh” at the Tokyo Game Show. As it turns out, this game really does exist, and a demo was released exclusively on the PS4 earlier this week. Finally, we get to see if it was worth all this turmoil.

This demo is listed as an alpha in the PlayStation Store, and the developers hit you over the head with the disclaimer that this is still a work in progress. Strangely, the demo is only available until May 5th, and it requires Internet access, so it seems that Koei Tecmo is legitimately attempting to collect real-world data to improve the game. This isn’t just a crude attempt to get headlines or build hype.


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2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution was hailed as a strong reboot for the classic franchise that, while not without some issues, still captured much of what made the original Deus Ex great. Its sequel, Mankind Divided, is set to launch in August, and a new six-minute gameplay trailer manages to both fill in the backstory of what’s happening in protagonist Adam Jensen’s world as well as showcase the different ways the game can play out.
The Deus Ex franchise has always focused on two things: Shadowy government and corporate conspiracies, and flexible, player-directed gameplay. Want to crawl through ducts, become invisible at will, and stealth-murder your way through secret labs? Deus Ex allows it. Feel like impersonating the Juggernaut from X-Men, with heavy melee attacks, wall-smashing takedowns, and embedded weapon systems? You can.


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Last month, Blizzard’s legal team shut down one of the largest third-party servers dedicated to classic World of Warcraft. That decision drew considerable fire from World of Warcraft subscribers, so much so that the company issued a formal statement explaining why it shuttered the Nostalrius server and pledging to continue discussions around the issue.

Last week, former lead World of Warcraft designer Mark Kern challenged part of Blizzard’s response — specifically, the statements the company made regarding the legality of third-party servers and the challenges of creating a framework that allowed such servers to exist while simultaneously protecting Blizzard’s IP.

“I also helped draft Blizzard’s TOS and EULA, so I know quite a bit about this stuff,” Kern told the Escapist. “[Beck’s] just…wrong. I don’t know where he’s getting his advice from, but from a legal perspective he’s dead wrong. Let’s say ‘He thinks he knows license agreements, but he doesn’t.”


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One of the most difficult aspects of VR is how hard it is to actually convey the experience of using the device. It’s not the first time we’ve had this problem — both 3-D and multi-monitor configurations don’t translate well to still photos or even most video — but VR takes the problem and turns it up to 11. It is therefore good news that Oculus will be teaming up with Best Buy and offering VR headsets consumers can walk in and test-drive before plunking down $600 in cash.

What’s not good news is the way Oculus has shafted its pre-order customers in order to get hardware into retail channels. Oculus has announced that beginning May 7, Best Buy will begin selling the Oculus Rift at retail, while the Microsoft Store, Amazon, and Best Buy online are already offering customers the chance to buy Rift bundles, which ship immediately. Customers have even been allowed to order a Rift + PC bundle, then cancel the PC portion of the order and buy just the Rift.

Pre-order customers who plunked down a reservation for the device are understandably furious. Oculus has struggled to ship hardware due to an unspecified “component shortage.” The company announced last month that its preorder fulfillment schedule had slipped by a month or more. Worse, if you currently order a Rift, you won’t receive it until August. Reports on /r/Oculus also point to an unusual red tint issue showing up in some headsets. It’s not clear yet how widespread the problem is, but Oculus has apparently distributed a reporting tool to some customers so it can gather information on the problem.



Image by reddit user Mugendon

Oculus’ response to this problem has been to offer its customers a bone of sorts. If you show up to your local Best Buy and manage to score a retail Rift, they’ll cancel your pre-order, but still give you all of the benefits of having placed it, including a free copy of Eve: Valkyrie and priority placement for Oculus Touch orders when the company eventually ships its motion controllers. Keep in mind, however, that benefit depends on you showing up to a participating Best Buy (with just 48 participating BBs across the US, they aren’t exactly on every street corner) and on being able to secure a place in line to actually a device. A pre-order is supposed to guarantee that you don’t have to wait in line for hours for a chance at buying something.


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Mirror’s Edge Catalyst returns us to a brightly-lit world filled with primary colors, parkour, and messenger bags. It’s been almost eight years since the first Mirror’s Edge was released, and this follow-up is trying to expand on the original concept by giving players an open world to run around in. Unfortunately, the performance issues seen in early builds is cause for concern.

After suffering numerous delays, Catalyst is set to release on June 7th here in North America. A closed beta for the game ran last month, and it seems to have received something of a mixed reaction. Much of what made the original game unique is still there, but the move to the open world seems to be divisive among fans. Worse yet, it doesn’t run particularly well on the PS4 and Xbox One.

Over at the Digital Foundry, the beta has been examined from soup to nuts. The PS4 version is being rendered at 900p, but the Xbox One is stuck at just 720p. 60fps is the target frame rate, but it definitely falls short on both consoles. Seeing the frame rate fluctuate between 40fps and 60fps is common, but it dips down even lower from time to time.

It’s worth mentioning the original game was capped at 30fps, and the responsiveness suffered because of that. For game that’s all about quick action and flow, that’s definitely suboptimal. It’s nice to see the developers at DICE strive for 60fps, but this beta just doesn’t deliver the goods. The wonky frame rate and frame pacing cause visual hitches, and that results in a rather choppy appearance at times.

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The PS4 hasn’t seen many exclusive titles over the last two and a half years. Sure, there have been a few notable releases, but Sony’s been surprisingly slow to deliver games that make the PS4 stand out from the crowd. But on May 10th, the big guns are finally coming out as Naughty Dog unleashes the fourth (and supposedly final) entry in the beloved Uncharted franchise. The reviews have started hitting already, so let’s take a look at how the finished product holds up.
Based on the 69 reviews aggregated on Metacritic, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End currently has a rating of 94/100. Our sister site IGN has a review-in-progress up right now with a tentative score of 8.8/10. While this isn’t quite as exciting as a completely new franchise from Naughty Dog, it’s clear that a lot of love and hard work went into this finale. This is much more than a cash grab. By all accounts, it’s a meaningful end to an outstanding franchise.

Numerous reviewers have called this the best-looking game they’ve ever played, and it’s hard to argue with that when you look at the game in motion. Sure, some titles on the PC have undeniably better effects, higher-res textures, and a faster frame rate — nobody is seriously claiming otherwise. But taken as a whole, Uncharted 4 is a second-to-none dopamine delivery device. The detailed performance capture, the rich environments, and remarkable art direction come together to make something much more impressive than a mere tech demo.

It’s pushing the PS4 harder than any previous release, and that’s par for the course with Naughty Dog. The Last of Us and the first three Uncharted games were the cream of the crop on the PS3, Jak and Daxter dropped jaws in the PS2-era, and Crash Bandicoot ran circles around other polygonal games on the first PlayStation. At this point, it’s no surprise to see this studio putting on a clinic.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS — It’s been nearly 18 months since Nvidia unveiled its last-generation Maxwell architecture, and the PC enthusiast community has been chomping at the bit to see what benefits 14/16nm technology would deliver. Both Nvidia and AMD are planning new launches for the 14nm node, but Nvidia is launching first with both a new GPU and new technologies wrapped around it — some of which have been backported to previous cards.

Meet the GTX 10xx

Nvidia isn’t revealing exact performance details yet, but the GTX 1080 and 1070 are billed as being far more power efficient and capable than the 28nm Maxwell GPUs that predated them. The GTX 1080 is built on Micron’s GDDR5X with a 256-bit memory bus with a 10Gbps transfer rate (GDDR5 tops out at roughly 7.0Gbps, though some 8.0Gbps memory did ship in 2015). Nvidia is promising significant performance improvements due to a combination of improved power efficiency, overclocking headroom, and architectural enhancements. The GTX 1080 packs 2560 cores, but its performance gains are significantly higher than that increase implies.



Most performance data is still under wraps, but there are two slides worth paying attention to. The first, shown above, is Nvidia’s own estimate for how much the 1080 will improve in general game performance over and above the GTX 9xx family. The GTX 1080 appears to be roughly 1.65 to 1.75x faster than the GTX 980, depending on how you eyeball the graph.




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