News Game Tech Review : Rise Of The Tomb Raider

When we last saw Lara Croft, she was growing out of being a victim. A victim of fate, of other people’s aggression, of her own uninspired previous playable incarnations. She’s still growing, but she’s different now.

For most of Rise of the Tomb Raider, the second installment of a rebooted Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft doesn’t go around being scared. She still faces down overwhelming odds, grapples with doubt, and absorbs a ton of trauma. The newest iteration of the iconic video game heroine displays less fumbly panic than she did in 2013’s Tomb Raider. There are more moments of steely determination and fewer moments where she pauses to psych herself up. She knows what she’s capable of—she hasn’t forgotten that one time she wiped out a supernatural army, climbed a mountain, and took down a sun god. It feels like she’s grown.

That feeling of growth is a key factor in this sequel. For Rise of the Tomb Raider to succeed, it needs to convince players that Lara has matured, but that she still has more growing to do. Yet the changes in a new installment can’t be too radical, lest this Lara become unrecognizable to old and new fans.

Rise of the Tomb Raider tells the story of young Lara Croft, alone in a dangerous place, exploring ruins, solving puzzles, and shooting lots of guys with flaming arrows. It combines hunter/gatherer elements—where you need to scavenge for the stuff you need to survive or make weapons—with a mix of melee and ranged combat with pickaxes, guns or a bow and arrow.

Rise opens yet again with Lara searching for proof of a time-lost civilization. This time, however, her motivations come from a deeply personal place. Before he died, Lara’s father was on a quest to find the Divine Source—an artifact said to grant eternal life—and the apocryphal Prophet who performed miracles with its power. Lara’s continuation of his work is directly linked to her desire to restore respectability to the Croft name—her father’s name. Her travels take her to a snow-swept mountain range in Siberia where she comes into conflict with a mysterious organization named Trinity, whose paramilitary goons are also looking for the Divine Source. Hello, cannon fodder.

Crystal Dynamics’ latest effort at a Tomb Raider game benefits from smartly imagining the psychological underpinnings of both its heroes and villains. Just as Lara is trying to contend with her father’s legacy, the main bad guy’s thirst for power is likewise driven by very personal reasons. There are moments that you feel like you’re fighting against a screwed-up worldview and not just a bunch of artificially-intelligent mannequins.

Rise of the Tomb Raider tweaks the gameplay formula established in its 2013 predecessor. There’s a new crafting system that has Lara constantly foraging for resources that she can use to make ammo, equipment or bandages. Once she has enough resources, she can craft what she needs on the go. The player holds down the left bumper and can craft, mid-action. So, collecting deathcap mushrooms lets her make poison arrows that release a fatal gas. Similarly, other new craftable items increase the ability to silently skulk through encounters if you want. If loud, messy combat engagement is your thing, then you can quickly turn bottles and cans into molotovs and hand grenades.

Lara’s newly improved abilities are a direct reflection of how much effort you put into exploring the gameworld. As her skills increase, her ability to spot resources and read the world gets more powerful. Lara buffs her mastery of ancient languages by finding murals and improves her arsenal and equipment by amassing exotic animal hides. Other combat upgrades let you pull off feats like multiple headshots at once with the bow. The way that ROTTR’s mechanics are structured feeds into the overall sense of growing or maturing.

Aside from its opening chapters, Rise of the Tomb Raider is set around the geothermal valley in Siberia where Lara and Trinity have tracked the Divine Source. It’s a gorgeously layered landscape that feels more like an open world than the terrain of the 2013 game. Whether snowy or lushly green, the terrain feels alive, teeming with plant-based resources or animals to stalk (or flee). Aside from scads of posthumous testimonials about the history of its events and fiction, the game also teases players with optional tombs. The entrances to these tombs are secreted away and you’ll need to apply some extra effort to even find them. Once you find these tombs, you’ll be faced with a single physics-based environmental puzzle—familiar to longtime Tomb Raider fans. But you’ll need to navigate through various section of the tombs to trigger various elements necessary to their solution. As a result, they wind up feeling bigger and more significant.

The game’s also got side missions—given to you by actual in-world quest-givers—that grant you new tools/weapons, like a lock pick and crafting tool. You can also use in-game currency to obtain some of these weapons and equipment from the supply shack that opens up in the first third of the game.

This is an enjoyable sequel and the reason it’s very fun is because it feels upgraded in nearly every way. When I tried for stealthier approaches in the 2013 Tomb Raider, the results felt haphazard. In this game, I was able to plan and execute better, thanks to a plethora of options that let you blind or poison enemies from afar. The feeling of being a cunning predator was a welcome change for me, especially after enduring the emotional rawness of the last Tomb Raider. Another thing I liked about Rise of the Tomb Raider is how it constantly rewards your curiosity. If you head to a seemingly innocuous cliff or stop and take in your surroundings with Lara’s survival instinct, you’ll almost always find a resource or collectible waiting for you. I leaned hard on Lara’s survival instinct because Rise of the Tomb Raider is the kind of game where I didn’t want to miss a thing.

I played Rise of the Tomb Raider much like I did its predecessor: almost exclusively with the bow and arrow and as stealthily as my patience would allow. This time around, however, I didn’t feel like a trembly twentysomething, scared of every shadow. I felt more like a hunter and explorer, systematically taking down enemies and challenges. That said, I didn’t like having to unlock the same suite of weapons as in the last game. Lara knew how to counter enemies and perform quick stealth kills in the last game—why should she have to re-learn it now?

Unlike the Tomb Raider game from two years ago, Rise doesn’t have any competitive multiplayer. Instead, it offers another gambit geared to entice players to keep returning to the game. The Expeditions feature lets you play remixed chunks of the story campaign in one of four modes—Chapter Replay, Chapter Replay Elite, Score Attack or Remnant Resistance.

In Remnant Resistance, you can create custom five-part missions by picking specific objectives, loadouts and time of day. Once you finish one of these missions, your friends will be challenged to do the same.

Completing Expeditions missions earns credits and winnings can be increased by using collectible cards as modifiers to increase difficulty, grant buffs and add challenge objectives.

So, a Lobotomy challenge tasks players to notch five headshots with the bow and arrow and using a Big Head card on enemies swells their craniums makes their torsos and limbs more resistant to damage. The credits you earn in Expeditions can be used to buy more card packs for increased variability in the missions you create. I enjoyed the handful of Expeditions missions I took on and the feature feels like a clever way of re-jiggering the work that’s already in the game.

Rise of the Tomb Raider’s greatest success is in how it encourages exploration, which in turn makes you feel more connected to its fictional world. Every hapless corpse in the frozen Russian wastes is a reminder that Lara’s moving through a place that’s killed many others. As I played, she came across as increasingly gifted, with enough spirit and ingenuity to find ways to see herself through to the other side. This Lara isn’t a wide-eyed newcomer, nor is she a flinty veteran. She’s somewhere in between. Rise of the Tomb Raider makes me want to follow her where she goes next.

Additional Thoughts on PC Version :

Sometimes you just want to play a really pretty PC game, and in walks the PC port of Rise of the Tomb Raider. I already played through the enjoyably acronymed “ROTTR” on Xbox One last fall, and at the time was struck by how gorgeous the game could be.

It stands to reason that it’d look even better at a higher resolution and frame-rate, with some extra PC bells and whistles dropped in. Then again, a few messy recent PC ports have demonstrated some of the many ways PC versions can go awry. How does Rise of the Tomb Raider’s stack up?

I’ve played five or six hours, and my verdict: solid port. The porting job was handled by the Dutch studio Nixxes, who usually handle PC porting for most Square Enix-published games (2013’s Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Sleeping Dogs all come to mind). They do fine work, and from what I’ve played ROTTR is no exception.

I recently upgraded my PC, which is worth keeping in mind as I recount my experience: I’m running an i7-4770k with an overclocked 6GB GTX 980Ti, along with that 144Hz G-Sync monitor that I love so much. With that setup, I’m able to run the game at 2560x1440 (1440p) resolution at high or very high settings and, for the most part, it stays north of 60fps, occasionally dipping down to the still-playable mid-40s or 50s. I haven’t had much time with the new optimized Nvidia driver that hit today, but I haven’t seen a big difference between the game before and after I installed the driver.

ROTTR pushes my PC, but I’m actually happy to have a game that pushes my system for the right reasons. Unlike the frustrating PC ports of Just Cause 3, Fallout 4 and Batman: Arkham Knight, I have a good sense of the tradeoffs I’m making and so far haven’t felt like the game is running poorly for no discernible reason.

And it really is incredible looking, particularly in 1440p. Look at this screenshot:

Enhance:

Enhance:

In-engine cutscenes are gorgeous, and I’m regularly impressed by how much this latest version of Lara Croft looks like an actual human being.

I mean, like... enhance:

Jeez.

ROTTR’s PC version offers a variety of graphics settings; you can see mine here:

 

I’ve dropped the Level of Detail setting down from Very High to High and dropped Shadows to Medium, which keeps the game running well aside from some frame-rate drops as I enter some of the bigger open areas and some hitches in the midst of transition animations from one area to another.

Then there’s the hair. Rise of the Tomb Raider is actually the first PC game in which I’ve left the hair tech—called “PureHair” this time around—turned on, rather than turning it off to improve my frame-rate. PureHair does impact performance somewhat, but Lara’s hair looks good enough that I’m fine taking the hit.

Aside from its graphics, Rise of the Tomb Raider is another third-person action/adventure game that plays better with a controller than with a mouse and keyboard. Running, sneaking and shooting all work fine with a mouse and keyboard, and as usual I’m much more accurate when using a mouse. But platforming and puzzle-solving feel odd with a keyboard input. The game has some mechanical interactions—winding winches and breaking down brick walls, etc.—and they feel much more natural on a controller. Similarly, jumping puzzles feel awkward when navigated with a keyboard. Some of that is due to my own comfort level playing this type of game on consoles, so your mileage may vary.

Posted by Unknown Monday, February 01, 2016

News Update On PC Gaming : Call of Duty: Black Ops III Beta Now Open To All On Xbox One And PC

The multiplayer beta test for the next entry to the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is now open to everyone on Xbox One and PC, following an update last night. Previously, the beta has been exclusively accessible via a code, with a majority being handed out alongside pre-orders. Playstation 4 owners were given a week's early access, on August 19, however after three days, the beta was opened to all using the console. The beta release on Xbox One and PC soon followed, and as of today, a code is no longer required to play.

From the onset, the beta offered three maps, hosting seven gamemodes, all within the multiplayer sandbox. Since its initial release, further content has been implemented, including new Specialists and maps. Last night’s update included a new map, Stronghold, alongside the new Reaper Specialist Class, which allows you to play as an experimental war robot, created in a now-abandoned military project. The level cap has also been raised to Level 34.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta can be accessed on Xbox One here, and on PC via Steam, here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III will release November 6, 2015 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, Playstation 3 and PC.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, August 30, 2015

News Gaming Review Update : Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review – 6 Reasons It’s Awesome (And 4 Reasons It’s Not)

The day is finally here: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is officially now out in the wild, though if you remembered to pre-order the Day Zero edition, you’ve probably been playing for the better part of a day already.

The latest entry into the CoD franchise comes hot on the heels of what’s popularly regarded as the worst entry in the core series, Ghosts, which was pretty much just an uninspired Greatest Hits of the franchise without any invention of its own, and boy, it really, really didn’t feel next-gen at all, did it? 

It’s a pleasure to report, then, that Advanced Warfare is a significant improvement over its competent yet unoriginal predecessor, introducing a number of new elements to breathe fresh life into the franchise, all while course-correcting a number of the complaints people have with the series.

Sure, it’s still at its core the same CoD that sells tens of millions of copies per year, and some will inevitably have their gripes with that, but this latest entry throws down the gauntlet for Treyarch, who will presumably be developing next year’s edition.

It’s a surprisingly great game but far from perfect, so here are 6 reasons why CoD: Advanced Warfare is awesome, and 4 reasons why it’s not.

6 Reasons It’s Awesome…

 

1. Kevin Spacey :
And of course, who can forget the inclusion of one of Hollywood’s greats, Kevin Spacey, as the villainous President of Atlas, Jonathan Irons? Though the CoD series is no stranger to Holllywood talent (Gary Oldman, Kiefer Sutherland and Sam Worthington have all had significant parts in previous games), this is the first game to really harness an actor’s star power and make the most of it.

The photo-realistic visuals are a major plus for Spacey’s appearance, impressively recreating the actor’s facial expressions and, with a spirited vocal performance from the actor himself, help create a thoroughly believable villain. Though Spacey does have the odd ropey line of dialogue to chew through, he does so with admirable enthusiasm, and unlike so many celebrity voice actors in video games, clearly isn’t just phoning it in to pay off a yacht.

Plus, for anyone who watches House of Cards, seeing the video game-addicted Frank Underwood in a game (considering that he and Irons are rather alike) is just too deliciously fun to pass up.

So, that’s why you absolutely should be picking up Advanced Warfare this weekend, but what about the areas where it doesn’t quite measure up? Here are 4 reasons why AW isn’t quite so awesome all the time…

2. Firing Range :

A small but hugely welcome addition to the CoD series comes in the form of the firing range. Say you’re in the lobby waiting for the next match to start and want to try out a new weapon? Just select it, then hit the firing range button, and you’ll be quickly transported (without a single loading screen, impressively) to said range, where you can shoot the weapon to your heart’s content.

This is a huge improvement over having to simply pick a weapon and hope for the best, having to wait to try it out on the battlefield, which can be frustrating if it turns out to be a dud and you’ve made no other custom classes. It may seem like a tiny little fix, yet it says to gamers that Sledgehammer aren’t just interested in the big picture, but also the small things which, when added up, can be either supremely detrimental or complimentary to a game depending on their inclusion or exclusion.

3. Insane Customisation :

Customisation has always been a huge part of the Call of Duty franchise, with Infinity Ward and Treyarch trying to give players as much choice as possible about their load-out and how they head into combat. Sledgehammer have followed ably in their shoes, then, giving players more freedom of choice than the series has ever seen.

It’s fair to say that the game seems inherently more “open” because of the Exosuit and the numerous upgrades (invisibility, health augmentations and so on) that this invites, but even so, the developer has improved upon numerous aspects introduced in earlier games. The Pick 10 system introduced in Black Ops 2, for instance, has now been expanded to Pick 13, ensuring players don’t get frustrated with arbitrary restrictions and can build the set-up they desire.

Though the load-out screen might seem dizzyingly complex to a newcomer (and even for veterans, changing your load-out in between matches requires fast reflexes and a little good luck), it is, like the Exosuit, something you’ll likely adjust to after dealing with it a few times.

4. Vastly Improved Single Player :

Ghosts received a lot of flak for its, to be polite, unoriginal single-player offering. It was nothing more than a collection of the coolest set-pieces from the series re-skinned with a slightly different plot (albeit one you probably won’t remember). Advanced Warfare’s single-player, though still subject to many of the flaws that affect every game in the series, is a significant improvement, and absolutely worth playing through, even if you tend to skip this portion of the game.

For starters, the game is a massive step-up from Ghosts visually (though sadly this doesn’t carry over to the multiplayer), with a great deal of attention paid to particle and lighting details, while facial expressions (particularly Kevin Spacey’s) look more realistic and believable than ever. After so many people complained that Ghosts just didn’t look next-gen, at least the single-player portion of this game measures up to the standard set by last year’s similarly futuristic Killzone: Shadow Fall.

Another frequent issue with the campaign modes in this series is that they’re all woefully short. AW doesn’t break the mold hugely in this area, but it’s nowhere near the embarrassingly short 4-hour blast-a-thon that was Ghosts’ campaign. AW’s story mode will take most players 6-ish hours on regular difficulty, while on harder modes, it can easily take up to 7-8 hours.

Though the plot is still politically immature, there’s plenty of creaky dialogue and a number of familiar missions, it’s nevertheless a massive improvement over Ghosts’ rather pathetic attempt at a campaign.

5. Excellent Multiplayer Maps :

If Ghosts featured a relatively disappointing and forgettable array of maps, this year’s selection more than makes up for it. Sledgehammer have given us some ludicrously entertaining maps that are impeccably well-designed to fit the free-wheeling gameplay style that the Exosuit promotes. Terrace, a night-time, neon-lit hotel, is an instant classic, as is Greenband, a hedge maze-type map that will have you accidentally falling to your death numerous times if you’re not careful about where you boost to.

In fact, it’s hard to pick a bad one out from the bunch: Riot is an intense prison scenario, and Detroit is, well, Detroit (except even more of a mess). Though some are less memorable than others (Ascend, set in an airport, is totally forgettable no matter how many times you play it), but none of the current map selection elicit groans or sneaky lobby exits when they come into rotation.

Though the Exosuit itself inevitably takes a lot of the credit for making these maps work so well, that Sledgehammer had the ingenuity to design them so studiously in the first place shouldn’t be ignored.

6. The Exosuit :

Easily the biggest shake-up this year is the introduction of the Exosuit, a special mechanical exoskeleton which allows players to jump, boost and dodge during combat, adding an entirely new level of verticality and intensity to the typical CoD shooting mechanics. Yes, it’s clearly ripping off Titanfall’s much-praised gameplay (minus the wall-running), but you know what? It’s great.

The exosuit isn’t just a nifty new way to navigate the maps: it completely changes the way you play the game. Playing Kill Confirmed is now more treacherous than ever, because dog tags can be floating around 20 or 30 feet in the air, and Domination can see enemies flying at you from a dozen different directions, all desperate to capture your base.

The increased movement speed that the suit allows makes the already-frantic pace even more breathless, yet it somehow never becomes too overwhelming, and after a few games, most players should have adjusted to this insane new mechanic. Also, though it is only used intermittently throughout the single-player campaign, it certainly helps reinvigorate gunning down hundreds of nameless foes from time to time.

Needless to say, if next year’s game doesn’t feature the Exosuit, it will need to come up with something mightily interesting and innovative to fill the void, because after just a day of play, this feels like something that should remain a vital mainstay of the series from now on. It’s a genius addition by Sledgehammer.

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And 4 Reasons It’s Not

1. Technical & Design Issues :

As previously mentioned, from a technical perspective, the multiplayer aspect of AW just doesn’t seem particularly advanced from Ghosts. While the single-player is a fine-tuned operation and the Exosuit is brilliantly implemented, running smooth as silk, the multi-player still feels stuck in the past from a technical perspective.

On the San Francisco-set Defender map, there’s a huge body of water which will occasionally transform into a tidal wave and spill onto the land. This gives players a chance to get their feet wet in the water, but if you decide to go prone, the game will stutter between its above-water and below-water visuals, which for a brand new game running on the PS4 and Xbox One, is laughable.

From a design perspective, there’s also the frankly bizarre choice to have the names of players talking over comms appear in the middle of the screen in an obnoxiously large font. Who needs to know that kanyewest_fan412 is the guy playing loud, distorted music over his microphone? The idents should be kept to the bottom right-hand corner of the screen where they belong, in a much, much smaller font size.

Have you been playing Advanced Warfare? What do you think so far? Shout it out in the comments!

2. Lack Of Small, Gimmicky Maps :

Though the map selection is on the whole fantastic and the Exosuit doesn’t really invite restrictive maps, the series continues to lack a single tiny, arena-esque map like the classic Shipment (Modern Warfare) or Rust (Modern Warfare 2). These maps (Shipment especially) were so small that you couldn’t go two seconds without seeing an enemy, and though chaotic, were hugely popular with fans (probably because they’re an easy way to level up),

Sadly, recent games haven’t included any similar, gimmicky maps (perhaps because Activision don’t want players leveling too quickly), and though the selection for AW is itself pretty great, the inclusion of just one small, intense map (even if it were an HD remake of Shipment) would make the rotation even better.

This one’s unlikely to come to fruition, sadly, but if it came along in a map pack DLC, it might actually be one worth paying for…

3. “Out Of Bounds” :

One of the more disappointing if not unexpected aspects of the maps is that they’re still as restrictive as ever. This is particularly problematic given the freedom that the Exosuit purports to give players. You likely won’t go a single multiplayer game without seeing that annoying, orange “Out of Bounds” warning sign appear, indicating that you’re flying too high.

But given that the Exosuit mechanic promotes this type of play, doesn’t it seem like a contradiction in terms? Plus, if there’s room in the sky to boost around, why give players the warning in the first place? It should only be used for the edges of the map, which are so poorly disguised you’ll know exactly where they are anyway.

Hopefully Sledgehammer will realise the problematic nature of constantly pointing out the limitations of the maps, and understand that gamers don’t need their hands being held. Above all else, make maps that cater even better to the high-wire thrills of the Exosuit, or at the very least, only warn players that they’re going out of bounds when it really matters (which is basically never).

4. It Still Doesn’t Look Next-Gen :

Though the single-player campaign looks sleek, sexy and shiny, the same can’t really be said for the multiplayer offering, which doesn’t look much better than Ghosts, suffering from the same muddy textures, jagged geometry and glitchy visuals. Is the above image, of a cracked bus windshield taken by us on the map Riot, really acceptable in a 2014 video game?

The excuse that the graphics needed to be toned down for 18-player multiplayer mayhem just doesn’t really wash, because EA have managed two visually stunning Battlefield games with significantly more players than that on the same hardware, so what is it about the CoD games that makes them feel perpetually a few years behind graphically?

Does it ruin the experience? Absolutely not, but it’s a shame the beautifully-designed maps aren’t accompanied by prettier textures, and it does result in the occasional wince-inducing moment when you come up close to an object (anything with writing on it is particularly bad), at which point the illusion of immersion is irreparably broken.

Posted by Unknown Monday, August 10, 2015

News Gaming Update : 10 Things We've Learned About Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is gathering momentum, with just over three months to go until it emerges from the bunker like a drowsy, post-apocalyptic Godzilla.

Bethesda recently used Gamescom 2015 to give journalists a sneak preview of Lexington, one of the game's many desolate towns, in a video that was narrated by Fallout 4 game director Todd Howard. 

Overrun by hordes of raiders and other wastelanders, it demonstrated some of the game's mechanics while introducing new enemies and locations. 

Though tempting, we didn't just sit there gawping like a ghoul: click on to discover what we learned during the brief but action-packed preview.

The preview's opening sequence made a big deal about the role strength will play in Fallout 4. "Keep doing chin-ups and push-ups because there's more that strength can do for you," advised a voice with Fallout's familiar '50s American accent. "Swing for the fences like a pro, wear specialised protective gear and craft weapons to wield." 

We know that some pretty beefy vault suits lie in wait with gatling guns and other weapons attached, and on the basis of this hint, there might be a baseball bat for bashing things in the head too. 

Fallout 4 awards you with perks, skills and abilities as you progress through the game. They're chosen via a perk chart that's organised through seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L abilities: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.

There are 70 base perks, each with multiple ranks that do new things, providing a total of 275 abilities to pick. According to Howard, it gives you "a ton of choices and many different ways to develop your character over the game". 

There was heavy reliance on V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) in Fallout 3, which doesn't appear to be the case in its sequel. In the demo, Fallout's 4's protagonist dismembered feral ghouls by blasting off their kneecaps, Dead Space-style, after which they continued to crawl around.

You can still use V.A.T.S, but instead of making the came come to a dead stop it merely slows it down the action. This will invariable speed up the gameplay and force you to swiftly pick a limb for picking off and think on your toes more creatively.

Fallout 4's protagonist (the Sole Survivor) has a canine pal called Dogmeat. You're probably already aware of his canine companion, as a) he attracted more attention than anything else when the initial Fallout 4 trailer due to his slightly blocky appearance and b) Dogmeat has been a fixture of previous games in the series.

It turns out he's more than just a guide dog in Fallout 4 and can be commanded to explore rooms, attack enemies and even growl to alert you when they're nearby. Like Frodo's Sting, only furrier and less blue.

The demo gave a glimpse of the Fat Man in action. One of the most ridiculous(ly satisfying) shoulder-mounted rocket launchers ever. The chunky projectile flinger gets quite some distance on it too, as was demonstrated when our Sole Survivor used the nuke launcher to take out a troublesome enemy on a high up ledge.

Fat Man is a meaty weapon, no doubt about it, but it's not powerful enough to take out all of the game's bigger nasties in a single hit. In an encounter with a troll-like Behemoth, the Sole Survivor used V.AT.S to direct a swift Fat Boy rocket to its face, only for the beast to emerge enraged from the other side of a mini mushroom cloud. 

If you're low on firepower, some of Lexington's locations contain oil barrels that will explode when shot, providing another tactical avenue to take out some of Fallout 4's meaner enemies. 

If you don't the firepower to take out enemies yourself, it's possible to manipulate enemies or other NPCs to do your bidding. While explaining perks, Howard noted: "There's a perk for each special, and each rank of that special goes from one to ten. If you were to come out of the value with a 10 charisma, you can pick the intimidation perk that lets you manipulate and control other people." 

As in Fallout 3, enemies sometimes begin to fight each other if they come too into close contact, and throwing manipulation into the mix should let you start some interesting brawls. 

The vast array of weaponry on offer seemed to equip the Sole Survior with enough power to deal with all enemies on the ground in the video - except one.

Nestled high up in a mountain side, a turret was the only enemy that proved Fallout 4's protagonist real problems in Bethesda's preview video, raining down bullets in a hail of pain. The attack caused enough damage to make the injured Vault Boy icon appear in the top-right hand corner, which indicates that you've been injured. Mark these words: turrets are going to cause you pain. 

About halfway through the demo, we started to notice a running theme: Fallout 4's weapons - from the Fat Man to miniguns and flamethrowers - all sounded meaty and convincing while giving off some great-looking particle effects. A red energy gun called the Laser Musket was top of the pile, spitting out red laser beams that ripped through enemies and ricocheted off walls when indoors, lighting them up like a firecracker.

If it's half as fun to use as it looks, we'll be running around the wastelands doing our best X-Men Cyclops impression, which wouldn't be too difficult in that blue and yellow suit.

Bethesda recently tweeted that there'll be no level cap and you'll be able to keep playing the game once the main story is complete. If you're the kind of player that likes to carry on exploring the open world once you're done, you'll be able to continue growing your character's strengths to theoretically take on increasingly powerful enemies. Whether Bethesda will introduce new ones via DLC remains to be seen.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, August 09, 2015

News Gaming Update : Street Fighter V Will Come With 16 Characters Out Of The Box And Additional DLC Characters

Since the EVO fighting championship is currently on, the hype for the latest Street Fighter is at a record high. Even though fans are going to have to be patient for a little while longer before they get a chance to play Street Fighter V, the developers of the game Capcom released certain details about their latest instalment in the franchise at EVO.

This game is going to launch with sixteen playable characters that is only three characters less than the previous Street Fight IV which came with nineteen characters. You shouldn’t worry too much about this though since Capcom has worked very hard on getting rid of the “clone” characters and have tried to give every character a unique feel which is quite evident from the overhaul Ken has received.

Capcom is going to continue adding characters to the game through the DLC (downloadable content) which can be purchased in-game or even earned while you play. This is wonderful since players who do not want to spend days on the game can still purchase characters and make them usable right away while people who do not want to spend the extra money can rough it out and earn the characters.

Capcom is also going to be getting rid of those stupid re-releases like Ultra & Super which were released by the previous instalment. With Street Fighter V, players are only going to need the original release with every other update coming for free.

Street Fighter V is going to release next year during spring on the PS 4 and the PC. There is also an exclusive PS 4 Beta which is in the making and should be online by the 23rd of July.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, July 19, 2015