Denon Home 200 lover premium lyd i et stilrent og brukervennlig format, med smarte funksjoner og bred støtte for strømming. Men i en prisklasse med tøff konkurranse holder det ikke bare å være god på papiret, spørsmålet er om den faktisk leverer der det betyr mest, nemlig i lyden.
To ikoniske høyttalere, to ulike opplevelser. Harman Kardon Aura Studio 5 og Soundsticks 5 kombinerer slående design med overraskende kraftig lyd, og når de først spiller sammen, forvandler de hele rommet til én sammenhengende lytteopplevelse.
Marathon fra Bungie leverer godt gunplay og lyddesign, men svak progresjon og monotonitet hemmende opplevelsen for spillere, hvilke de fleste vil oppleve som utilfredsstillende.
Under Gamescom 2025 fikk vi muligheten å teste litt av det kommende Lego-spillet Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Kan det leve opp til forventningene? Lenke i kommentarfeltet!
Under Gamescom ble tre unike simulatorer presentert, med Emergency Room Simulator som det mest engasjerende, og fokus på medisinsk presisjon og stress.
WTF, Waifu Tactical Force, blandet skyteaction med livssim-elementer og anime-estetikk, viser potensial, men trenger forbedringer i skytemekanikken før lansering i 2026.
En brutal og stemningsfull vikingsaga der hevn, lederskap og vanskelige valg står i sentrum. Norse Oath of Blood kombinerer sterk historiefortelling med gjennomtenkt, turbasert strategi og imponerende visuell presentasjon, og leverer en norsk spillopplevelse som både utfordrer og berører.
Life Below er et unikt bybyggerspill der spilleren gjenoppretter korallrev, med fokus på økosystembalanse og miljøansvar.
Sjekk ut førsteinntrykket i kommentarfeltet
Under Gamescom 2025 fikk vi muligheten å teste litt av det kommende Lego-spillet Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Kan det leve opp til forventningene? Lenke i kommentarfeltet!
Denon Home 200 lover premium lyd i et stilrent og brukervennlig format, med smarte funksjoner og bred støtte for strømming. Men i en prisklasse med tøff konkurranse holder det ikke bare å være god på papiret, spørsmålet er om den faktisk leverer der det betyr mest, nemlig i lyden.
To ikoniske høyttalere, to ulike opplevelser. Harman Kardon Aura Studio 5 og Soundsticks 5 kombinerer slående design med overraskende kraftig lyd, og når de først spiller sammen, forvandler de hele rommet til én sammenhengende lytteopplevelse.
Norsk filminstitutt kartlegger e-sporten for første gang, med Rambøll som ansvarlig, for å gi innsikt i miljøet og støtte politikkutvikling.
Vi har tatt kontakt med de ulike aktørene for å finne mer ut av dette
Denon Home 200 lover premium lyd i et stilrent og brukervennlig format, med smarte funksjoner og bred støtte for strømming. Men i en prisklasse med tøff konkurranse holder det ikke bare å være god på papiret, spørsmålet er om den faktisk leverer der det betyr mest, nemlig i lyden.
To ikoniske høyttalere, to ulike opplevelser. Harman Kardon Aura Studio 5 og Soundsticks 5 kombinerer slående design med overraskende kraftig lyd, og når de først spiller sammen, forvandler de hele rommet til én sammenhengende lytteopplevelse.
Marathon fra Bungie leverer godt gunplay og lyddesign, men svak progresjon og monotonitet hemmende opplevelsen for spillere, hvilke de fleste vil oppleve som utilfredsstillende.
Under Gamescom 2025 fikk vi muligheten å teste litt av det kommende Lego-spillet Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Kan det leve opp til forventningene? Lenke i kommentarfeltet!
Under Gamescom ble tre unike simulatorer presentert, med Emergency Room Simulator som det mest engasjerende, og fokus på medisinsk presisjon og stress.
WTF, Waifu Tactical Force, blandet skyteaction med livssim-elementer og anime-estetikk, viser potensial, men trenger forbedringer i skytemekanikken før lansering i 2026.
En brutal og stemningsfull vikingsaga der hevn, lederskap og vanskelige valg står i sentrum. Norse Oath of Blood kombinerer sterk historiefortelling med gjennomtenkt, turbasert strategi og imponerende visuell presentasjon, og leverer en norsk spillopplevelse som både utfordrer og berører.
Life Below er et unikt bybyggerspill der spilleren gjenoppretter korallrev, med fokus på økosystembalanse og miljøansvar.
Sjekk ut førsteinntrykket i kommentarfeltet
Under Gamescom 2025 fikk vi muligheten å teste litt av det kommende Lego-spillet Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Kan det leve opp til forventningene? Lenke i kommentarfeltet!
Denon Home 200 lover premium lyd i et stilrent og brukervennlig format, med smarte funksjoner og bred støtte for strømming. Men i en prisklasse med tøff konkurranse holder det ikke bare å være god på papiret, spørsmålet er om den faktisk leverer der det betyr mest, nemlig i lyden.
To ikoniske høyttalere, to ulike opplevelser. Harman Kardon Aura Studio 5 og Soundsticks 5 kombinerer slående design med overraskende kraftig lyd, og når de først spiller sammen, forvandler de hele rommet til én sammenhengende lytteopplevelse.
Norsk filminstitutt kartlegger e-sporten for første gang, med Rambøll som ansvarlig, for å gi innsikt i miljøet og støtte politikkutvikling.
Vi har tatt kontakt med de ulike aktørene for å finne mer ut av dette
Name:Grandpa and the Zombies Developer: TWP/Tivola Publisher: Tivola Released: 12.09.2018 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch Acquired: A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose
Grandpa and the Zombies is a mobile game, now ported to the Nintendo Switch. The game follows the standard “get three candies for a perfect level” mechanic that you all know from other games in the same genre. Is the port a good one? Or is this a walking dead release?
Graphics
The game is, unfortunately, far from good looking. By all means, the drawings are nice enough, but it feels completely without a soul. It doesn’t help that the game didn’t run very smoothly either. In my opinion, the zombies looked too similar as well, which made it difficult knowing what would happen before you got within their action radius. All in all, I am quite disappointed with the looks of Grandpa and the Zombies. 4/10
Gameplay
Okay, so the graphics didn’t strike me, but how about the gameplay? After all, as long as the gameplay’s good the game is good, at least in my mind. Regrettably, Grandpa and the Zombies’’ gameplay is horrible. It’s boring, repetitive and most of all unoriginal. I’ve played countless games like this before, and all the enjoyable ones have had something special about them. Grandpa and the Zombies have nothing, absolutely nothing to offer. It was more fun to witness the game install than playing it if I am allowed to be brutally honest. 2/10
Controls
Now, I have no idea how to review the controls of Grandpa and the Zombies. Technically they work, just as the developers have intended, so that’s a 10. But the controls offers nothing, it’s merely left, down, up, right – and Grandpa will roll his wheelchair in that direction until he hits an object. On a mobile device, sure, swiping left/right/up/down makes perfect sense. But on a console, it falls short. I have no other choice than to give the controls an 8/10, but don’t be fooled, it’s bad, pure and simply bad. 8/10
Replay Value
Okay, until now I’ve yet to enjoy anything about this game… Yeah, you’re right, I don’t think it has any real replay value either. By all means, the game allows you to play each level again, to possibly get more candies to unlock new content, but not once I found it necessary as all the levels I played was remarkably easy to get three candies on. And it’s not even skill based, it’s just a matter of wheeling Grandpa to the candy to pick it up. There’s absolutely no reason to try a level once more. 2/10
During Gamescom 2018 I got the chance to visit Focus Interactive, to hear Deck13 talk more about their upcoming sequel to The Surge. They were quite excited to show us and talk about The Surge 2. If you don’t know what The Surge is, picture yourself a Dark Souls inspired game with robots. Where you decapitate specific parts of your enemies, to use them for upgrades on yourself. The first game took place in a huge and dangerous industrial facility named Crio. where you took control of a dude named Warren. He had to fight his way out to survive and relied heavily on stealing the limbs of the enemy so he could upgrade his gear.
They started to work on The Surge 2, just a few months after the first game. We are no longer in Crio, but in Jericho City. That has a more mixed urban environment, the city is under quarantine. From here they started to show us some gameplay, giving us a chance to see how the environments have changed. They focused on showing the freedom to the player, giving more options to how you want to play. They later said that they have doubled the number of weapons available, giving more types of weapons that have different characteristics.
The game looked pretty good when watching the gameplay, more variation in the environments. What we got to see was thick forest, with enemies lurking in trees and bushes. It even showed up a boss, that showcased how tactical you will have to be when fighting larger enemies. It really looks interesting and seems like they have been listening to the fans. We just have to wait, until it’s release next year.
The Surge 2 keeps what fans and critics loved about the original – hardcore combat utilizing a unique, dynamic limb targeting system and deep character progression – while also expanding greatly upon the formula. The Surge 2 takes place in a brand new environment: a sprawling, devastated city with larger and more ambitious level design, made possible by Deck13’s upgraded and improved engine. Combat is more brutal and tactical than ever, with even more options thanks to an expanded limb targeting system. In addition, more abilities, weapons, implants, and drones give players a vast arsenal to build their character with, in their fight against the array of diverse new enemies and bosses. – Deck13 Interactive
The Surge 2 will release on consoles and PC in 2019
I was on a small visit to Anuman Microids booth, to check out their line up of games. unfortunately, there was a lack of time on my part, so I could only check out two of their games. What I got to see was really interesting, and one of the games really hit my nostalgia button. The two games I got the chance to try was Gear Club 2 Unlimited and Asterix and Obelix XXL 2 Remastered.
Gear Club 2 Unlimited
Gear Club is Nintendo’s exclusive racing game franchise, giving players semi-simulator racing on the go. It got praised for giving players, something there isn’t a lot of on Switch. Now a sequel is in the making, promising more refined gameplay and a lot more content.
I got the chance to drive some laps on different tracks, with diverse conditions. I asked for them to turn off all assists, to let me try what this game had to offer. They asked me twice if I was sure and as stubborn as I am I said yes. If I only had listened to what he said…… Gear Club 2 isn’t super realistic with it’s handling physics, so trying to figure out how the car handles and its behavior mid-race meant I had to sacrifice a podium. This was obviously really funny, for the guy watching over me. He smirked while I was crashing in every turn, and I was embarrassed with how I drove. But I got my redemption when I tried out one of the more snowy tracks, full of hairpin turns. Here I got the chance to show myself in my A-game, drifting with throttle control and small steering corrections. When finished I was met with two thumbs of approval, and I felt extremely satisfied.
Gear Club 2 Unlimited will offer you a racing game on the go, with many options in cars and customization. There will also be a livery editor to give your cars, a more personal expression. This will be one of the more realistic racing games, available for Nintendo Switch owners.
Release date set for Q4 2018 on Nintendo Switch
Asterix and Obelix XXL 2 Remastered
Did you ever play that Asterix and Obelix game on PlayStation 2, with that weird looking Mario, or that guy that kinda reminds you of Sonic? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, now is your chance to soon try it out. Since it will be getting a remastered version on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. The game I’m talking about is, of course, Asterix and Obelix XXL 2. Well known for its spoofs of well-known characters from gaming history and historical persons with a twist. Set for release 29th, November 2018.
I got the chance to try it out and playing it again brought back memories. It felt and looked like it did 12 years ago, but with obvious improvements in resolution and textures. It is the same action-adventure game that we played before, only sharper. Only this time it was easier, recognizing all the easter eggs and parodies this game contains. You switch between using Asterix and Obelix to perform different tasks but also using their fighting styles to take out enemies.
Original PlayStation 2 Cover
This will be a chance for those playing this when we were younger to revisit this classic and for those never having the chance of playing this to check out a piece of gaming history and parodies of gaming history ironically. Many might not even know of this game before since it was originally only released in Europe, but will now have a worldwide release.
That was unfortunately what I had time to try out, but it was at least fun.
Today there is only one month exactly for the release of Soul Calibur VI on 19th, October 2018. But still, they are confirming even more characters to be in the game, now two more classic characters have been confirmed. First, it is Raphael, who has been a part of the series since Soul Calibur II, returning once again with his fencing skills.
Raphael’s fighting style is that of a fencer, delivering deadly blows to opponents through powerful thrusts and slashes. Processing great speed and agility, Raphael is at once difficult to hit and defend against when wielding his signature weapon, Flambert.
Born to France’s aristocratic Sorel family, Raphael was taught the ways of the upper classes from a young age. When he was older he learned medical practices and was rigorously trained in the art of swordsmanship. He used his knowledge and talent with the rapier to keep his family on top during the political wars that were common in those times. His cold nature, though, gained him many enemies. When the political balance shifted during the Evil Seed event, his family handed him over to the enemy to save themselves. Raphael eventually escaped to the slums where he was saved by a young girl by the name of Amy.
Also, Cervantes is returning, the dead pirate king and the first wielder of Soul Edge.
When Cervantes first gripped Soul Edge, the power of the cursed sword transformed him into a monster. He used the sword to bring a reign of carnage around him as it manipulated his mind. But soon the cursed sword’s plans were thwarted by a ninja and a warrior. Cervantes was defeated, consumed by the fires of hell, and his body turned to ash. One day the new owner of the sword, Nightmare, came to investigate Cervantes’s remains, but left without noticing the small glimmer of light emitting from his body. Soul Edge once again set the terrible wheels of fate moving and brought back Cervantes from the dead.
After his resurrection, Cervantes walks grinning through a sea of corpses, claiming countless souls wherever in his wake. His final aim is clear: to once again seize Soul Edge as his own.
Cervantes fights with two weapons, Acheron and Nirvana. His main sword, Acheron, has been his sword since he plundered it from its hapless former owner, sometime during his reign of dread across the Atlantic Ocean. His secondary weapon, Nirvana, is a dagger with a pistol in the hilt. While pistols of the time were still relatively unimpressive, shooting an opponent could open up a gap in their defense, allowing for a fierce follow-up blow. The gun dagger was a gift from the Italian weapons dealer Vercci and symbolizes the twisted connection between the feared pirate and the Merchant of Death.
For months it has been rumored that we would get a mini PlayStation, just like the Nes and Snes Classic. And today it got confirmed, PlayStation Classic is in the making.
Today, we are excited to announce that we are bringing back the original PlayStation experience in a new miniaturized version – PlayStation Classic! The console will come pre-loaded with 20 classic titles, including fan-favorites such as Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms. – Eric Lempel Senior Vice President, PlayStation Worldwide Marketing, SIE
The mini console is approximately 45% smaller than the original PlayStation, and it emulates the original’s look and feels by featuring similar controllers and packaging. It will include two controllers, HDMI cable and a USB for charging.
The timing of the release date isn’t a coincidence either, being released 3rd, December 2018 on the day of the 25th anniversary of PlayStation. It will be available for $99.99 USD and set for 1590 kr NOK.
We have had the opportunity to interview a few members of the developing team at Final Fantasy XIV. Such as Bethan Walker, the voice of Alisaie, Naoki Yoshida and Masayoshi Soken. This time we got to interview Namae-San, a ‘Character Concept Artist’. How did she design a lot of the armor and costumes you can see in the game? What inspires here? This is a few questions we asked here:
What were your biggest inspirations when you came up with the designs?
I would say I draw most of my inspiration from costumes in movies and TV series, as well as present-day fashion. Although not many are held in Japan, I like to go to fashion shows. With photographs, you can’t view the clothing in three dimensions to get a sense of movement or a feel for the quality of the materials, so being able to see them for myself is very inspirational.
I look at the fan-made glamour sites every day to find out what the players enjoy and what kind of combinations they use, so that I can incorporate these aspects into my work. It’s great to see items put together in ways that I never intended, and then drawing upon these ideas when I’m thinking up my next design.
Could you tell us a little bit about the process when it comes to game design? (Like, the actual texturing /design part)
I’ll explain my role as a Character Concept Designer. First of all, the item team or scenario team will send me an order. The scenario team normally asks for NPC outfits, whereas the item team usually requests the clothing and weapons that will be given as rewards.
For now, I’ll explain the process for designing clothing for NPCs.
1. The first step is to produce a series of rough designs. In most cases, the details surrounding the character have yet to be decided at this point, so I try to come up with as many ideas as possible (anywhere from three up to around twenty).
2. I take the rough ideas to Yoshi-P and the scenario team, and we discuss which ones are closest to what they had in mind, and determine the overall direction.
3. With that in mind, I move on to the finer details. I’m in constant communication with the 3D artists as I update the initial design. Then, I will come up with images of the front, back, and sides, so they have everything they need to start working on the models. Of course, this all has to appear within the game itself, so there are lots of ways we adapt things to look good on screen. The accessories might be made a bit on the big side to make them easier to see, and the patterns and decorative elements might be adjusted to make them more visible. We also think about how the various contours of the clothing will look in three dimensions.
4. Once the design is complete, I run it past Yoshi-P and the scenario team for a final check. With NPCs, we try to avoid giving them the same color scheme as other members of the cast, so I’m sometimes asked to change the eyes, hair, and clothing accordingly. It’s a similar situation with the artifact gear, so to differentiate a set from the other jobs, I come up with several color schemes once the outfit itself has been completed, and we chose the one most suitable.
5. If everyone involved is satisfied with it, I pass the images on to the 3D artists, which is the final step of my involvement in the process.
Something one of our employees has noted is that when it comes to armour, FFXIV has almost done the opposite of TERA and many other Asian MMOs, and has moreconservatively dressed women – has that (being opposite of TERA) been intentional? Or is that just a coincidence?
We have never intentionally set out to dress the female characters conservatively, but I tend to subconsciously design them that way. I think about the needs of a particular occupation or the purpose of the clothing─a warrior needs armor to protect them, for example─so the outfits naturally end up being less revealing. A large percentage of the equipment is worn by the players when adventuring or fighting, so it needs to be practical in that sense. Perhaps that’s why they come across as dressing modestly. Of course, if I am asked to design something relatively provocative, it may end up being more revealing as a result, but I don’t think that it’s necessary to show lots of skin to achieve that effect. Perhaps people feel that not being excessively revealing is the same as dressing conservatively. I can’t say it’s something that I give much thought, to be honest.
Also, due to time constraints, we try to limit the amount of gender-specific gear. In many cases, we decide at the beginning of the design process to make certain items the same for male and female characters, so that’s another reason why the clothing for women is generally less revealing. On the other hand, even when the same in-game item is used for the two genders, we are able to create male and female variations, provided we stick to certain limitations.
For example, the third set of artifact gear for astrologian, scholar, and bard feature noticeable differences. With Lyse’s formal attire, I was asked to come up with a dress worn when fighting in the desert. Compared to the other female characters, this design shows quite a lot of skin, so I thought this might make her stand out too much, and it was on my mind right up until the release of Stormblood.
What is your dream project to work on? Say you had all the money/time you needed, what’s the biggest dream you have?
I already work in a field that I genuinely love, so I’ve never really thought about my “dream project.”
But, if I had to say, I’d like to try some of these: ・The fusion of Western and Japanese styles typical of the Meiji era ・A setting based on popular, contemporary circuses ・Designing actual clothing (Everything from choosing the fabrics to dressing the model and going to a location for a photo shoot.)
If you could invite three people to dinner, living, dead or fictional – who would they be?
If by that you mean “Name three creative people you look up to,” I would pick: ・Alexander McQueen ・David Bowie ・Yuko Yamamoto (fashion writer) I wouldn’t invite them to dinner, though, because I’d be too nervous. I’d also need to bring an interpreter, so it would be hard to choose just two of the three.
Lastly, if there’s someone out there who wants to work in the video game industry, do you have any hints for them?
Aim to be an entertainer. Strive to express yourself clearly as a creator, to surprise people and make them smile. We should try to convey emotions, and this is not limited to the games industry. Through experiencing the things that resonate with us, we become inspired to create and pursue our goals. Ideas spring to mind, and we want to know what attracts us to these things in the first place. Then, we feel the desire to share these feelings with other people. Experiencing this kind of connection leads to all sorts of wonderful discoveries. It’s just like a child rushing up to someone and saying “Guess what I saw today!” Start by putting your heart and soul into the things you enjoy. Once you know what these are, it’s important to find out everything you can about them, and immerse yourself in them completely.
We thank PR Nordic and Square Enix for giving us this opportunity.
SEGA Europe announced today a digital and a physical release of SEGA Mega Drive Classics for the Nintendo Switch.
SEGA Mega Drive was a huge success on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. And last week during Tokyo Game Show, they announced that SEGA AGES titles will be released on the Nintendo Switch as well.
Retro fans can now finally play the Mega Drive collection on their way to school or work, in their lunch break or basically anywhere on the go! SEGA Mega Drive Classics has over 50 retro favourites to experience across every genre:; arcade action, shooters, beat’m ups, puzzlers and hidden gems, with a raft of modern features. Exclusively for the Nintendo Switch players can now compete in same-screen local coop mode and use each Joy-Con individually if desired. Familiar features like online multiplayer, achievements, mirror modes, rewind and save states are all part of the collection for everyone to revisit and enjoy. – Koch Media
I believe the new battle royale mode, ‘Blackout’ in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be a huge success for Treyarch. After a very successful beta, the team have gotten a few feedbacks they will work on before launch 5,October.
Here is what they wrote in the press release:
Armor Armor’s role in Blackout is inherently unique compared to its role in MP. You only live once in Blackout, and you’re rewarded for scavenging in areas that often put you in perilous positions, especially as the Collapse gets smaller in the late game. For this and other reasons, we’ve been cautious about making sweeping changes to the way Armor works, though we’ve made some tweaks during the Beta and continue to evaluate how Armor will work at launch. Every Item in the game, from Armor to Weapons to Perks, is constantly re-evaluated to ensure they fit in the correct place in the game’s meta. You can expect Armor to be tuned multiple times as the game, and the gameplay content, evolves over time. Some changes to Armor since the start of the Beta include: Spawn frequency of Level 3 Armor has been reduced by 75% compared to its initial spawn rate in the Beta. Level 3 Armor will now most frequently be found in Stashes and Supply Drops, though it may occasionally spawn in the world. Level 3 Armor now breaks sooner and passes more damage to the player wearing it, and still offers headshot and other types of damage mitigation. We’ve heard your concerns that Level 3 Armor was still perhaps too powerful by the end of the Beta, and will be evaluating the data to see what other tweaks may be required. Level 2 Armor was also minorly adjusted during the Beta and will potentially be tweaked further in time for launch. Players will see an indicator of the condition of their own Armor, and those of their teammates, in the HUD. This provides a more granular indicator of the damage that your Armor has taken beyond the Armor icon and will let you know if it’s time to seek out a replacement. Audio Adjustments We saw several reports of footsteps sounding louder or quieter than expected, and not always being able to tell the direction enemies were coming from. Others reported an uneven balance of footstep volume between teammates and enemies. We’re on it. Improvements to how audio will work at launch include: Sounds will be properly impacted by walls, floors, ceilings, and other objects in the world. This means enemies directly above or below the player should no longer sound louder than expected. The volume of the cargo plane, punching, game countdown timers, and everything else you’ve brought to our attention (and many things you have not) will be reviewed in-depth as part of that process. The game has not yet had its final audio mix. Teammates’ footsteps will be quieter compared to enemy footsteps. The Awareness Perk will further reduce the loudness of the footsteps of your teammates. All audio presets will be available at launch in the Options menu. Audio presets can make a big difference, and we offer many choices for those who play with headphones or surround sound. Inventory & Item Management On the first day of the Beta, the community almost unanimously asked for faster Item pickups. As a result, we made pickup speed as fast as possible while still protecting players from accidentally picking up an Item when attempting to reload. Console players have asked for an option in Settings to allow them to tap a button to instantly pick up an Item. We like this idea a lot, and want to be sure we get it right and test it thoroughly. The Quick Equip menu can be fantastic for making Inventory adjustments quickly, but could also get in the way of picking up Items, opening doors, or entering vehicles. We adjusted the Quick Equip menu so it automatically closes after a few seconds with no interactions. We are also looking into the feasibility of closing the Quick Equip menu if the player performs other actions such as firing a weapon, changing stance, starting a Sprint, etc. We’ve already improved the proximity and height at which you can interact with Items on the ground so you don’t have to look down at that Item so precisely. It’s being tested now and is very likely to be in when the game comes out. Last but not least, we are creating designs for other “quality of life” improvements to these very important game systems including, but not limited to: – Evaluating options to improve the Stash interface when looting enemies and containers on console. – Adding a new method to allow you to quickly remove all Attachments from a weapon. – Incorporating a way to swap Attachments between Weapons, if both Weapons support the same attachment. Xbox One Performance -We saw some reports of screen tearing and choppiness when playing in Quads on Xbox One, and we’re investigating. There are two specific issues that we have pinpointed on Xbox One that will be fixed for launch: – Fix for issue where pressing the Xbox button would sometimes cause the player to lose controller input and have to restart. – Inviting friends to your party will work as expected (not only through the in-game Social menu). Some stats – Players eradicated 7.5 million Zombies. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where those came from. – Squadmates were revived 26 million times. Thanks for being team players. – 3.3 billion Items were picked up. That’s “billion” with a B. – Over 64 million Stashes were spawned. That’s a lot of loot. – The longest Combat Axe kill distance was 213 meters, or about 698 feet. Well done! – Players managed to eliminate 123 people with a basketball. Is ball still life? Most kills by an individual player: Solos: 25 Duos: 29 Quads: 25 Most kills by a team: Duos: 32 Quads: 38
Name:V-Rally 4 Developer: Kylotonn Publisher: Bigben Interactive Released: 06.09.2018 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4) 26.09.2018 (PC) Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Reviewed on: Xbox One Acquired: A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose
V-Rally 4 the newest game in a franchise, that has been known for years. First released on the PlayStation 1 in 1999, developed by Eden Games. The French studio Kylotonn has taken the mantle developing the newest iteration in the series, known previously for making FlatOut 4 and three of the latest WRC games. With that in mind, what did they aim for when making V-Rally 4?
Fun Fact: V-Rally 1-2 was released in North America as Need for Speed: V-Rally. This was because Electronic Arts owned the publishing rights in NA, they thought it would boost the sales since rally games did not sell as well in the USA.
Campaign
V-Rally 4 is really straightforward when it comes to its campaign. You start of with a rally car and a team which is checking if you are something to spend money on. Obviously you get to be a part of the team, both as a driver but also crew chief. From there you will have to compete in five different categories, earning cash to spend on new cars and managing your team.
The five categories are:
RallyTime trial race, with difficult environments and only pace nots as your friend. Drive the fastest lap to win, classic rally as we are used too.
Rallycross Circuit race against five opponents on tracks with mixed surfaces, you will have to drive through the joker lap at least once in a race and be the first to the finish line.
Hill Climb High powered cars trying to survive to the top, but also having the fastest lap.
Extreme-Khana Drift and jump making one hell of a show with track toys, with way too much horsepower.
Buggy You may compare it with Rallycross, if you switch the cars out with buggies and makes the tracks even more extreme.
I quickly felt that something didn’t feel right, there were things that felt a bit wrong. With all the management of your crew and cars, I would expect the gameplay to match. I will come back to that later, but I think it should be mentioned here. V-Rally is previously known for giving us this fun arcade racing game, that gives us opportunities we don’t have in the officially licensed rally games. So spending time managing everything, buying and upgrading cars, feel like an annoyance, when you get nothing special for it. Your only goal is to win races to unlock more, you will have to buy new cars at least one for each class to use in the different disciples. Races vary in difficulty, so you can either buy a new and better car or upgrade your old one. There isn’t a championship per say, but some races have more than one track to take the podium. So my thoughts are that the campaign should be more serious, so it actually made sense to spend time with my crew and have an end goal. There is a lot of interesting disciples to drive in, but too much effort has to be made for nothing. 6/10
Graphics
V-Rally 4 won’t win any awards for its graphics, it isn’t the worst that is out there but a long way from the best. It runs well and smooth, but it’s a bit blurry to watch and lacking details, and there are some lighting effects that make the cars shine too much. But with all that being said, environments packs a lot of backgrounds details. Countries like Japan, China and Kenya have many things in the environments that sets them apart from each other. I was amazed by some of the tracks, especially in China when driving on one of the Rallycross tracks with mountains and waterfalls surrounding us. Russia’s snow and Kenya’s dessert tracks where a bit one dimensional, and were at times a bit difficult to keep track of where the road went. Then there are the cars, which left me with a mixed reception. They look fine enough, but also lack the polished details. V-Rally 4 could have looked so much better if they had done a bit more polish, but score some points with everything that happens around you when driving. 7/10
Gameplay
V-Rally 4 has a lot to offer with its five disciples giving 5 different experiences for us to have fun in. One thing I really liked, was that there weren’t any licensed tracks. Yeah, I said liked it, because that gives them a lot of freedom designing tracks of their own. It helped give us, that plays a lot of racing/rally games, something new and fresh when it comes to the tracks. Looking away from the disappointing campaign, many of the tracks are really interesting to drive on. Rally stages varied in difficulty, with Japan being one of the hardest. It offered small, tight and fast corners in these villages that meant every miscalculation, would be your doom hitting houses, corners, or hay balls stacked to make these mazes. Rally stages are really good with some difficulty, but not so much that you have to be a master to complete them. But you will have to listen to the pace notes, or you will quickly screw up. Rallycross stages where a mixed bag, but overall fun to play.
Talking about Rallycross and Buggy actually, the AI can be brutal. I’m not talking about in a difficult way, but rather how they behave against you. They will crash into you, throwing you off the track that ruins the whole race. So you better have some patience and not take them straight on, or you will have to restart a lot. Hillclimb were fine, driving uphill rally with overpowered cars is fun at times giving you a challenge when you are sick of driving with others. Then there was one of my favorites Extreme-Khana, since this was the mode that sets itself apart from many other games. Action packed time trial driving powerful cars through obstacles, drifting and jumping to set the best time. This is a nice break from all the serious driving since the goal is, of course, to set the best time and also looking awesome while doing it. You will rely heavily on your E-brake to time your drifts into really tight corners and obstacles, and crash through objects. The tracks are genuine fun to drive on, with old hangars and construction sites. It’s actually a pretty good mode, to get to know the cars and how they handle.
But with all these modes, how are the selection of cars. Well meh?
There are not that many cars to select from, at least in each disciple. There are cars from different eras of rally and rallycross, but it was really lacking variation from each era. It looks like they have just gathered cars that were the easiest to get the licenses for. But some of the cars available were great enough. But if you are looking for a huge car catalog to choose from, well then you will be disappointed. So V-Rally 4 offers new and some fun tracks, but lacking in the car selection department. Luckily everything is available in quick race, immediately when starting the game. 6/10
Controls
V-Rally 4 handles well being this mix of simulation and arcade, With options to customize the controls to your fitting. There are the standard options, turning on/off ABS, traction control and brake assist. But also it goes a bit deeper with options to change steering sensitivity and deadzone, as well as throttle, brakes and clutch sensitivity and deadzone. At first, I struggled to understand the handling, the cars were heavy and felt a bit floaty when steering. But after some tightening with the controls, made a whole lot of difference. Being more arcade than simulation makes it easier for people to pick up and play. When first starting the game, you will have to do a practice rally lap. After that is done, the game changes the options to what it seems like you want to be tailored to how you drive. This is a really intuitive thing helping beginners, giving them the assist or rather lack off that you need. How accurate it is I’m not so certain, after I finished it recommended ABS on, TC (Traction Control) off and brake assist off. This is the settings I would have chosen by myself also, so I was a tiny bit impressed. All this in mind, driving the cars was quite enjoyable. The difficulty of how the cars behave varies from each discipline and also the tracks, with some training you should do fine. This is not a game for those that want to pick up a fast car and drive over 200 km/h, but learn how the cars behave and use your knowledge for some precision driving. 8/10
Replay Value
Finishing the campaign won’t take much time, and as said earlier it isn’t very impressive either. Then you have Quick Race, where all cars and tracks are available for your enjoyment. Then there is the online mode, where you compete against others or tries to reach the top on the leaderboard in Rally or Extreme-Khana. If you are sick of crashing with the AI and want to drive with civilized people, then stay away from the online part. It will only result in rage since people don’t give an F#%@ about you. If you are in their way or are close to be winning, they will annihilate you throwing you off the track. This might not be a destruction derby game but felt like it at times. After some hours the game felt really bareboned since there isn’t a whole lot of progression in the game. There is the campaign that doesn’t offer much, and Quick Race is just there giving you everything at the beginning and online matches are the same only with more chaos. So after trying all the disciples with different cars and tracks, I felt pretty done since there wasn’t any new thing to do. 4/10
The whole show started out with the teaser for a “Luigi’s Mansion” for Nintendo Switch, we didn’t get to know much, but more will be revealed later. After that very short teaser, it was time for some 3DS titles, which were as follows:
Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn
A remake from Wii, which will feature more abilities. The game will also feature a “devlish mode”, as well as lots of new minigames. The game is set for release in 2019
Mario and Luigi Bowser Inside Story + Bowser Junior’s Journey
Will be released on 11th of January, 2019.
Luigi’s Mansion Remake for 3DS
The remake will feature a two player mode, which allows you to play the whole game with a friend. In addition, Nintendo could tell us that you can play boss battles together even if only one of you owns the game. The game will release on 12th of October
Yo-Kai Watch Blasters
Comes to 3DS on 27th September 2018. And the game will get more free content after launch.
Watch the entire show below:
Afterwards it was time for more Nintendo Switch titles!
Splatoon 2 version 4
Mega Man 11
Comes on 2nd of October 2018
Mario Tennis Aces
Will feature more characters, including Birdo, Shy Guy, Koopa Paratroopa and Petey Piranha. It all launches on 19th of September 2018
Capcom beat-em-up bundle
Arrives on 18th of September.
Watch the trailer below:
New Super Mario Bro’s U Deluxe
A remake for Switch, which will now include Toadette and Nabbit. The game is set for launch on 11th of January 2019
Katamari Damacy REROLL
An HD Remaster for the Switch. It will now take advantage of the gyro controls for the Switch. In addition the game now features offline multiplayer battles. The game will arrive during Winter 2018
Then it was time for the online part.
The online feature is launching on 18th of September. It will cost 3,99 USD per month, but will also feature a “Family pack”
Part of this online subscription is Play classic NES games anywhere + online
Sava data cloud + auto backup
Smartphone app
Nintendo is also releasing a new NES controllers for Switch, it will be wireless and you can attach them to the console for charging. However, you’ll only be allowed to buy them if you’re an online subscriber.
Finally, it was time for more games:
Pokémon Let’s Go
Secret techniqeues only for Eeevee or Pikachu (like cut, surf, fly)
Launches 16th November 2018
Diablo 3: Eternal Collection for Switch
Play as Ganondorf
All Amiibo’s are compatible
2nd of November 2018
Super Mario Party
4 player co-op
Connect 2 systems together
Launches on 5th of October 2018
Town (working title)
Made by Game Freak
Monsters appears!
All gameplay is within the village
Launches in 2019
Cities: Skylines
Both DLC are included
Available today
Daemon x Machinal
Explore the field on foot
Co-op
Launches 2019
Yoshi’s Crafter World
Launches Spring 2019
Civilization 6
Arrives on 16th of November
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Launches on 16th of October
The World End with you: Final Remix
Launches on 12th of October
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna
Set 500 years earlier
Launches 21st of September
Warframe
Comes on 20th November
Just Dance 2019
Launches 23rd of October
FIFA 19
Launches on 28th of September
Team Sonic Racing
Available this Winter
NBA 2K19
Available now
NBA2K Playgrounds 2
Launches this Fall
Lego DC Super-Villains
Launches on 16th of October
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered for Switch
15 years after its release
Online multiplayer
Arrives 2019
FFXV Pocket Edition
Available today
World of Final Fantasy Maxima
Launches 6th of November
Chocobo’s Dungeon Everybuddy
Befriend all the monsters
Co-op
Launches this winter
FFXII
Remaster
Launches in 2019
FFVII, IX, X, X-II
Comes in 2019
Smash Bros
Isabelle is coming to Smash Ultimate
Animal Crossing
Comes in 2019
Nintendo could also reveal that Asmodee Digital is working on bringing tabletop games to the Switch, they will include:
Carcasone
LOTR – Living Card Game
Pandemic
Catan
A game based on Munchkin
More is on the way
Nintendo also has some hardware that will come in the near future;
Gear Club is Nintendo’s exclusive racing game franchise, giving players semi-simulator racing on the go. It got praised for giving players, something there isn’t a lot of on Switch. Now a sequel is in the making, promising more refined gameplay and a lot more content.
Did you ever play that Asterix and Obelix game on PlayStation 2, with that weird looking Mario, or that guy that kinda reminds you of Sonic? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, now is your chance to soon try it out. Since it will be getting a remastered version on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. The game I’m talking about is, of course, Asterix and Obelix XXL 2. Well known for its spoofs of well-known characters from gaming history and historical persons with a twist. Set for release 29th, November 2018.
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