“Everyone is here” in Nintendo’s new edition to the Super Smash Bros. series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate! With a massive roster of 68 characters, longtime fans of the series will be excited to see the return of every character ever included in a Super Smash Bros. title. Along with the returning characters, Ultimate will feature three newcomers, Inkling from Splatoon, Daisy from the Mario franchise, and the long-anticipated Ridley from the Metroid series.
While some thought this game was going to be a port of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U with an increased roster, they will be happy to hear that this is not the case. During an interview with USGamer, localization manager Nate Bihldorff confirmed that the game was built from an entirely new engine, and was not an enhanced port of the previous title. While there are similarities between the two games, no assets from the previous title were used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which was built entirely from scratch. This can be seen in some of the character changes, as well as mechanical differences between the titles.
During a separate interview with Famitsu, Nate Bihldorff and Bill Trinen revealed that, unlike the characters, not all stages will be returning in the new Super Smash Bros. game. It’s still unconfirmed which stages will not be coming back, but it’s most likely this information will get revealed as the release date gets closer
Nintendo is also releasing a new Super Smash Bros. Edition Gamecube controller. Along with this controller, Nintendo will be releasing an adapter for the Nintendo Switch. Unlike the adapter for Super Smash Bros. Wii U, the adapter will be compatible with more games than just Super Smash Bros. Thankfully, if you owned an adapter for the Wii U, it’s already compatible with the Switch.
Whether you’re a lifelong fan of the Super Smash Bros. series, or you’ve only just begun playing, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be an exciting new experience for everyone. Pre-orders are already available, with the release date set for December 7 of this year.
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Dungeons & Dragons defined the role-playing game as we know it today. The fantasy setting, character progression, and story-driven quests have delighted millions of players around the world, inspiring a host of movies, novels, and video games.
One of those games is Neverwinter: a story-driven, action MMORPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Unlike most MMORPGs, Neverwinter is entirely free to play, with no forced micro-transactions or subscription fees to complete the game’s many quests. With over 15 millions players already, it’s the perfect choice for novice and seasoned adventurers alike.
Neverwinter expands upon the rules laid out in the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, picking up after the fall of the titular city as described in the first book in the Neverwinter Saga, Gauntlgrym. The evil Lich Queen Valindra wants to destroy Neverwinter forever, fomenting discord between the survivors that’s threatening to become all-out war. It’s up to you and your chosen companions to defeat Valindra and save Neverwinter from annihilation.
Neverwinter thrusts you into a massive world of over 35 questing zones, filled with bloodthirsty monsters, powerful bosses, and hordes of the undead. You’ll need the best team you can assemble from Neverwinter’s thirteen races and eight character classes. Should you be an Elven Wizard or a Dragonborn Rogue? Neverwinter lets you become the hero you’ve always wanted to be – just make sure you recruit a healer so your quest doesn’t end too soon.
Neverwinter’s gameplay engine is what you’d expect from a AAA MMORPG. The graphics are immersive, gameplay is fluid, and the action-RPG combat will get your palms sweaty. Every fight generates action points which you can use to perform special abilities, but you’ll need to be quick and accurate to take down your enemies – and don’t forget to bring lots of health potions.
Once you’ve thwarted Valindra’s plans for good, your journey certainly isn’t over. Neverwinter has an ever-growing number of free quests, campaigns, and dungeons. Campaigns are particularly fun, taking you to far-flung places where you’ll meet new characters and fight new enemies. Each campaign has a tree-like structure and to ascend you must complete each section in a specific order, whether that’s defeating a monster, recovering a special item, or clearing a dungeon.
Though unlikely, if questing every gets boring, you can create your own in Neverwinter’s Foundry. Community quests can be fun to do, though sometimes a tad frustrating – us gamers have a rather twisted sense of humour.
Neverwinter is available on PC, XBOX One, and PS4, making it one of the most accessible MMORPGs around. We’re awed by how much there is to do, and the developers seem committed to releasing new content in the future. While you can speed up your progress by buying gear, companions, or loot, you don’t have to, which is a pretty amazing boast for such a premium title.
If you’re a fan of Dungeons & Dragons, want a classic RPG with modern gameplay mechanics, or are simply bored with shooting games like Fortnite, give Neverwinter a try. You never know – you could be just the right kind of hero Neverwinter needs.
Who would have thought that four years after its release, Warface would be living its moment of glory? The free video game from Crytek hasn’t stopped gaining faithful followers, thanks to its seamless production and especially because you can download it for free. If you’re starting the adventure of playing this game, pay attention to these four tricks to survive on Warface.
This is key: this video game is designed for teamwork. If you don’t have a group of friends to play with, try to go along with the rest of the players. The more you’re part of the pack, the better. The concept of all online games is to have good communication among users. If you go alone on the map, you run the risk of not surviving.
Look up
This trick is for Warface… and any first-person shooter. In general, players usually shoot at middle or low height. But you should try to position the cursor at middle or high height. Why? A headshot will always be more lethal than the torso, or, you know, the foot.
Customize your weapon
All first-person action games have dozens of weapons to choose from. Each one works in a specific way, so our third trick is simply trying them all until you find the one that suits you. For example, rifles are best for closed spaces, while sniper rifles work great for long distances. Likewise, don’t forget about assault rifles, which are best for mid-range combat.
Learn the map
Our last trick is key: learn the map well. In this type of game, the same scenery is usually repeated over and over again. So, find those dead spots where you know you can ambush and kill your enemies.
On that note, there’s something else important to keep in mind: know how to play using the radar. Don’t stay somewhere if your allies are on the other side of the mini-map. It’s pretty likely that an enemy will come up behind you and strike.
For this year’s E3 bingo I went against all of my best instincts and filled in one of my squares with a PS5 teaser. Sony had been on record as saying they’d be having a relatively quiet E3, but I just couldn’t help myself. Predictably, the teaser never came, and a promising line that included Big Super Smash Bros. expo, Fortnite on the Switch, and Fallout 76 being a prequel was blocked off.
We never got an explicit teaser of Sony’s next-generation console, but maybe, just maybe, we were teased by games that we will see on the next versions of PlayStations and Xboxes. We’ve had some breathtaking gameplay action to drool over for games that still don’t have potential release dates. Are these games going to come out on the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony?
Let’s have a look at some of the games we’ve seen at this year’s E3 that might find a home on as yet unconfirmed hardware:
Next-gen console games at this year’s E3?
1. The Last of Us Part 2
The follow up to Naughty Dog’s impressive post-apocalyptic outing will be back, but we don’t know when. The sequel got an 11-minute showcase in a temporary cinema to show off its impressive chops. The demo included a cutscene filled with teenage hormones and some fiercely brutal gameplay action. We’ve been told that the screenshots came from a PS4 Pro, but it seems strange that Sony isn’t shouting from the rooftops about how good the game looks on their current top of the line console. This could well end up being a launch title for the PS5.
The Halo Infinite showcase that Microsoft used to kick-start its expo that this year’s E3 was more of a technology demonstration than a trailer for a particular game. In an accompanying blog post, entitled “Our Journey Begins,” 343 Industries makes it quite clear that the 6th Halo game chronicling Master Chief’s adventures is still only in early production. Furthermore, the new tech 343 is showcasing with the trailer is the new Slipspace Engine. The Slipspace Engine is allowing 343 to show a huge step up on anything the Halo series has offered before so there is a good chance that it could be a much more powerful Xbox that is running when Master Chief finally pulls his helmet on again.
3. Death Stranding
Death Stranding, from Kojima Productions, is one of those games that keeps showing us more as teaser after teaser comes out, but always offers more questions than it does answers. Hideo Kojima himself wrote a lengthy blog post about the development of Death Stranding, but didn’t mention a release date. This has led a lot of fans speculating about whether Death Stranding will end up being a launch title for the PS5. We wouldn’t be surprised as it looks very very good indeed.
Oh yeah, if you can figure out what the hell is going on it all of the Death Stranding teasers, we’d love to hear your take. Hit us up in the comments.
4. Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt RED, the developers behind the amazing Witcher 3, has been promising a futuristic follow-up RPG game for some time now. At E3 we got a whole host of info about Cyberpunk 2077, but no release date. We know that the main protagonist will be V, players will be able to completely customize V to their own tastes, and that the game will be a First Person RPG. We don’t know when it’ll come out but with CD Projekt RED saying stuff like “Our technology is ready to interface with future generations.” It could be a safe bet that we’ll be seeing V take to the mean streets of 2077 on the PS5.
This one is a given, but we’re excited about it here so we’re adding it anyway. In essence, Bethesda simply announced that they were making a game that they were definitely going to make anyway and added nothing more. The teaser gave away next to nothing and will have fanboys combing over it for years until we get another morsel of information about the latest game in one of the best RPG franchises ever. What Bethesda did say, however, is that they’ll be launching a brand new franchise, Starfield, before they bring us Elder Scrolls VI. The teaser for Starfield had even less to offer than the Elder Scrolls teaser though so we probably won’t be seeing that for a while either.
E3 is underway and Xbox got the chance to throw the first punches. The biggest news is probably that a new Xbox is in development.Actually, make that Xboxes, plural. Microsoft says they’re working on multiple consoles. You have our attention, Microsoft.
As to the games announced at E3, we’ve rounded up the trailers for the most anticipated upcoming adventures, so take a look and let us know what you’re most excited for in the comments below!
Want to watch the whole Xbox presentation? Check it out here:
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After a hard day’s work, there’s nothing quite like relaxing in your favorite gaming chair and blowing off some steam.
We love all sorts of games here at Softonic, but you can’t deny the pretty ones are often the most popular. Although gameplay is important, there’s nothing more satisfying than escaping to a world that looks so real you can almost touch it.
So, let’s explore some of the best CPU-taxing, motherboard-melting, graphic card-smoking games that’ll make your eyes pop.
Far Cry 5
The newest entry in the long-running FPS franchise, Far Cry 5 is already a hit with fans and critics alike. And the graphics? Well, they’re incredible.
The environments are huge, open, and lovingly detailed. The foliage and weather effects are immersive, and explosions are crisp and satisfying. The game reaches a level of photorealism many premium titles can’t match, and even better, it runs well on most systems.
Although gamers were furious with EA’s pay-to-win progression (and their obsession with loot crates), you can’t deny that Battlefront II is absolutely gorgeous. The latest Star Wars films have jaw-dropping design, and this has clearly inspired the graphics team at EA DICE.
The models are detailed, animation is fluid, and the sound design is awesome (as expected from DICE). Videos with no HUD (heads-up display) show just how slick this game looks, on the wonderfully contrasting salt and red soil of the rebel base at Crait.
The third entry in the RPG adventure series, players once again take on the mantle of monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia. The series has always been renowned for the depth of its storytelling (and uh, romance), but the latest in the franchise also has a stunning world packed with vistas to explore.
It’s the sheer breadth of different environments that also makes the game notable. From densely-packed, dirty cobbled streets, packed with people going about their day, through to vineyards and dark, deserted forests with tall pines creaking in the wind – there’s a lot to explore. The lighting effects are beautiful, too, so if the monsters ever get a bit much, you can take Roach (your horse) for a sunset stroll along the beach – just watch out for the Drowners!
In an age where “best graphics” generally means having the most photorealistic design and animation, Cuphead appears to take a step backwards. A 2D side-scroller where you do battle with boxing frogs, angry bees, and giant paranormal carrots, the game also has a completely unique art style.
Every frame is hand-sketched, inked, and painted like a living 1930’s Max Fleischer cartoon. Although it might seem like a lot of work in an age where everything can be animated so easily, the extra effort elevates the graphics way beyond a quirky gimmick to something truly awesome.
It’s also tough-as-nails, so if you’re looking for a challenge, and hanker for something a bit more retro, you’ll love this game.
It’s currently retailing on the Microsoft Store for around $16.99. Considering the amount of hours put into animating it all, that’s a steal.
That concludes our round-up of our favorite games with the best graphics. Whether you like fleeing from deadly turkeys, shooting Darth Vader, chopping up monsters with a silver sword, or running around with a cup for a head, hopefully, there’s something on the list that will tickle your fancy.
In the latest Marvel Avengers movie, Infinity War, the whole gang of comic book superheroes face up against one opponent, Thanos. Needless to say, if you’re going to fight a ton of superheroes, all with their own movies, you’re going to be a pretty powerful character. I don’t want to spoil the movie for you, but this excellent GTA V mod offers an amazing, and fun, demonstration of just how powerful Thanos is.
In the mod, Thanos comes complete with the Infinity Gauntlet and is rocking all of the Infinity Stones. You can use the GTA V weapon toggle menu to select which stone you want to use to attack those around you. All the stones are there; Reality, Space, Power, Time, Mind, and Soul and each of them offers some powerful attack that you may or may not see in Infinity War.
If you’re into that sort of thing, it can be real fun throwing meteors at blaring cop cars, unleashing freakishly powerful attack beams, using the Space stone to create teleportation portals, and even black holes. Thanos’ famous ground smash, also seen in Fortnite: Battle Royale is here.
A lot of great work has gone into this mod, by a talented modder called JulioNIB. If you head over to his Patreon, you’ll be able to get your hands on the Thanos mod, but also see that he goes way beyond Thanos. The JulioNIB Team have created GTA V mods for a lot of great characters, fun themes, and concept weapons. We salute the team’s work!
If you’re a gamer, you’ll know Battle Royale games have taken the world by storm.
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), a game based on battle royale mods and developed by South Korean studio Bluehole, has taken the gaming world by storm. It has racked up huge sales numbers, an Xbox One port, and now a well-received mobile version.
With such success, the game was never going to be alone for long. Enter Fortnite, a rival battle royale produced by American studio Epic Games.
Both games offer the high-stakes, white-knuckle survival fix gamers know and love, but each has a slightly different approach. So, which is better? We’ll compare the major features to help you decide which is the one for you.
Both games offer a unique graphical style. PUBG is all about gritty, environmental realism, so the color palate is subdued and washed out. Fortnite is the complete opposite, embracing a bubblegum-bright, cartoonish style, with outlandish outfits and weapons.
PUBG environments look like they come straight out of The Walking Dead.
While Fortnite‘s visual style is more Disney than Day Z.
PUBG has gained notoriety among PC users for bad frame-rates and stuttering, even on high-end machines. There are plenty of guides to getting the most FPS from your rig, but until Bluehole fixes the bugs, you might need to play on lower settings. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, if you’re a pro player.
Fortnite seems better optimized graphically, and the minimum specs are much lower than PUBG’s, so a wider variety of rigs will be able to run the game.
Gameplay
Generally speaking, the goals of each game are the same: drop in, loot, kill your enemies, and stay within boundaries that shrink as time passes. Gunplay, though, is significantly different.
PUBG boasts realistic gun handling, and you have to account for things like bullet drop. This makes fights difficult and combat tense, but also more rewarding when you win an engagement. You have to plan your moves carefully, and the game rewards patience.
In Fortnite, the style is much looser. Hit points will fly out of player’s heads as you pummel them with a mini-gun, for example. It’s a lot simpler, and easier to grasp. In general, the weapons are a lot more forgiving than those in PUBG, so Fortnite is kinder to beginners.
Tension
We play games to relax, right? Not in Battle Royale.
Clutching your mouse in a death grip while scanning for the bullet that could end it all… Both games have a very different approach to creating this atmosphere.
Broadly speaking, Fortnite is faster, tighter, and the action takes place in a smaller area. When you hear gunshots, it usually means it’s too late to defend yourself.
PUBG is the opposite. Games are about the silence between engagements, the tension drawing out until you finally have someone in your sights. Then all hell breaks loose.
The Ultimate Fortnite: Battle Royale Starter Guide
The key part of any Battle Royale is the late game, and this is where PUBG and Fortnite differ the most.
Fortnite introduced a building system, so you can quickly scoot up difficult terrain using stairs and ramps. Late game encourages players to build towers that overlook rapidly shrinking maps. Then you simply pick off your opponents who didn’t plan ahead by collecting building materials as well as weapons.
PUBG’s late game can be a little frustrating. It usually ends with eight players slowly crawling through fields or holing themselves up in one location, waiting for someone else to slip up and reveal themselves. While it’s nail-biting, it can deflate some of the early game excitement.
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Another key part is the actual battleground. Currently, Fortnite has only one map, but the developers are continually adding and polishing up locations.
PUBG has two maps, selected randomly when you join a match. The original map has a bleak, Soviet bloc feel, while the second is a desert. The change of scenery definitely helps keeps things fresh.
Epic chose to make Fortnite completely free. You can purchase outfits and weapon skins from their store, but there’s no pay-to-win advantages to buying an item.
Both PUBG and Fortnite are the leading lights in the newly revitalised Battle Royale genre. However, both will appeal to a slightly different kind of player.
If you’re looking for something casual that’s easy to learn but hard to master, then Fortnite is for you.
If you’re a fan of heart-pounding tension, steep learning curves, and big rewards, then PUBG is the way to go.
Well done, everyone. The internet is often portrayed as a hive of negativity, but last week, the global community came together to protect kids from falling victim to an online scam. The scam in question concerned a fake Android version of the hit game Fortnite: Battle Royale.
Fortnite is more than just a hit game; it is the biggest game ever. It has recently launched on iOS, but Epic Games, the developers behind Fortnite, haven’t yet to launched an Android version. There is no Android version of Fortnite: Battle Royale. This leaves fans of the game at risk as scammers seek to capitalize on the millions of young people around the world who are searching for Fortnite on Android.
One such scam was a video posted on YouTube, which ended up reaching YouTube’s front page. The video said that to unlock Fortnite on Android users needed to “install a few other apps.” Whereas this type of action is clearly a scam, it might not be spotted so easily by a child. To find out what was going on Reddit user u/UndersizedAlpaca took to Reddit, to call out YouTube, asking, “Why is a video designed to scam children allowed to be advertised, YouTube?”
The post in r/videos quickly became one of the most popular posts ever and racked up almost 3,000 comments. The video in question was reported, as was the account that posted it, and many users began highlighting other accounts and websites that had been posting malicious content and pushing scams. The online community was on to what one user called a YouTube plague.
Many of the videos that were highlighted have since been removed by YouTube and, accordingly, the internet is a safer place for kids who are waiting on the Android version of Fortnite: Battle Royale. There are still scams out there, however, with many of them offering APK downloads for fake versions and all needing to be avoided. Epic Games has said, that it is aiming for a summer release of an Android version of Fortnite, so until then avoid anything that offers an Android version of Fortnite.
Once summer comes around, however, do not download anything until you’ve heard an official announcement and you can be sure it is coming from an official source. Even with an army of internet users out there trying to protect Fortnite fans, scams still exist, and if you’re not careful, you could still end up a victim.
DICE has officially announced that the Second World War will be taking over the r/gaming subreddit on October 11, 2018. That is when Battlefield V, the latest in DICE’s insanely popular First Person shooter series, will see early release with a global launch coming the following week on October 19. As well as the release date and various notes on Battlefield V, which will be set during World War 2, Dice released a heart-pumping trailer. The game looks amazing.
On taking Battlefield back to the Second World War Oskar Gabrielson, General Manager of DICE said:
“Battlefield V is a homecoming for DICE as a studio—a return to the era that came to define the Battlefield franchise. But as nostalgic as we are about World War 2, we wanted to challenge the preconception of the era with an unexpected portrayal of this familiar setting. Our vision with Battlefield V is to let players explore new and untold sides of the conflict that shaped the modern world. The scale of each battle and level of immersion is unlike anything we’ve done before in Battlefield and players are in for an epic journey.”
Battlefield 1’s current outing, Battlefield 1, took the series back to First World War with great success. Incredible visuals, fast-paced action, and a compelling physics engine made Battlefield 1 the darling of the online community. Battlefield V’s trailer seems to indicate that Dice will be able to build upon that success.
The Frostbite engine has been upgraded to make objects much more reactive to your actions. There’ll be much more scope for destroying walls and taking out cover than there was in Battlefield 1. To counter that, the Gas Mask has been replaced by a toolkit, which will give players the ability to build cover to hide behind. In another possible nod to Fortnite, although it could be a response to the social media backlash EA received over paid DLC content for Star Wars Battlefront 2, the developers have made it clear that Battlefield V will not be a pay-to-win experience. All players will be on an even footing.
As with Battlefield 1, the latest Battlefield title will come complete with an engaging single-player campaign. The trailer makes a lot of one of a female character who will be taking a lead role when the game drops in October. Multiplayer has been expanded with Grand Operations taking players through key events during the war. When the game launches the first multiplayer campaign will focus on the fall of Europe at the beginning of World War II, but DICE wants to take players through the whole of the war Other series stalwarts including mixed vehicle combat remain, but Battlefield V will add vehicle customization to the mix.
Above all else, however, the trailer simply looks fantastic. Seamlessly flipping between cinematic cut scene and gameplay action the engrossing visuals simply do not let up. I had to catch my breath again once the promo had come to an end. You will, too.
Are you excited about Battlefield V? What do you think about the trailer?
