To kick off Sony’s E3 2018 press conference, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II was shown, with a new cinematic furthering Ellie’s characterisation into the realm of a lesbian relationship, and gameplay footage showing off the brutal combat you’d expect from the series but revealing the protagonist to be, in fact, Ellie this time around. Stealth mechanics, distracting whistles, salvaging for weapons and equipment, world-class voice acting and desperately intense combat is certainly the order of the day. Be sure to check out the trailer below:
Update: We posed a few questions about the game to developer Playground Games – check out their answers in the sidebar below the main story.
The Forza Horizon franchise has always been about an open world, but Forza Horizon 4 is stretching that in new ways for the series. We talked with the developers at Playground Games in more depth about the what players can expect as they explore, engage in co-op with friends, and enjoy the seamless environment.
Driving around the world, you will always have access to 12 real-life drivers. Moreover, this online state can easily be switched off at any time, at which time the game reverts back to the drivatar-filled world you’re used to. As you race along, your friends can follow you across the map, but the game will load in instances of other real-life drivers.
Players experience four distinct seasons, which introduce their own handling challenges and even open up new areas of the map, and the seasons change for everyone at the same time once per week.
If you see someone, their collision will be turned off unless they’re already a friend or you start a race (you can also block people if you just don't want them in your world). Forza Horizon 4’s co-op blends the previously separate co-op silos so there’s no difference between free-roam and event racing, for instance. While you won't be able to create your own events in the world (like putting down a marker where you hit some huge air, for example), you're free to flow between all the game has to offer with or without other people.
Despite the fact that the online scope of the game is widening, features like race rewinding and photography are still available, as is the ability to chat in the world via preset messages.
The Horizon Festival is once again at the center of the title (complete with a drag strip and circuit in the hub), but campaign players are free to rise up the ranks as they see fit, whether that's through racing, painting, photography, tuning, or streaming.
The game also broadens out the Forza Horizon lifestyle with ancillary options like houses, jobs, owning businesses, and customization through clothing. There are approximately 12 houses to own in the game, from a simple cottage to Edinburgh Castle, although developer Playground Games hasn't specified how you purchase them (the studio hasn't announced any new microtransactions). Houses can also be used for fast travel.
Those looking for a PvP competitive scene can find it in new team PvP, leagues, and the ability to recruit and create/share PvP circuits.
Post-launch the team is looking at the in-game season format (one year in the game should roughly equal one month) to push new content, and the ultimate goal is to make each season in the game have different stuff to do from in-game year to in-game year. One of the things on the wishlist currently is the ability to make your own events for co-op play.
From game to game the Forza Horizon series has fulfilled the promise of its open world more and more, and Forza Horizon 4 is taking down one of the last main barriers.
E-Line Media has announced Beyond Blue, a game that invites players to venture far below the surface of our vast and largely uncharted ocean to sense the soul of some of our world’s most magnificent and intelligent creatures. Check Out the Beyond Blue Reveal Trailer: Set in the near future, players will probe the mysteries...
CD Projekt RED has shared first information and screenshots of Cyberpunk 2077, which saw its first trailer debut at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference. Get the details below: The Role-Playing Game of the Dark Future In 2077, America is in pieces. Megacorps control life in all its aspects from the top floors of their sky-high...
Update, June 30: Citing ongoing launch issues, Epic says Playground mode is delayed until next week.
Fortnite players who were looking forward to checking out the new Playground limited-time mode this weekend will have to wait until next week, as Epic is still trying to solve matchmaking problems that have kept it from launching.
In a tweet to the official Fortnite account Friday evening, Epic said there are still problems to resolve before the Playground LTM can go live, and the Fortnite team is working through the weekend to get them fixed.
"We'll update you with any additional information July 2," Epic said in a follow-up tweet.
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Playground mode was originally scheduled to launch Wednesday, but technical difficulties have temporarily spoiled the new mode’s debut.
Matchmaking issues throughout the game caused the closure of Playground earlier today after patch 4.5 went live. The issues appear to be resolved across standard modes of play, but the Playground mode requires further fixes - which have now been in progress for a number of hours, with no clear timeline for the mode’s return.
Epic has provided a new trailer for the mode - check it out below - offering a preview of what to expect when Playground LTM finally goes live. The new limited-time mode lets you and three friends drop on a private island to build and fire at one another for up to an hour before the storm closes in.
We’ll update you with any additional information on Monday, July 2.
Last month, we reported on a talk by Douglas Lanman of Oculus Research (now Facebook’s Reality Labs) from the 2018 SID Display Week event. The fascinating 40-minute session showcased some of the team’s latest work in VR hardware. Now you can watch that talk for yourself. Below is a direct feed video of Lanman’s talk, released this ...]
Following thats Monster Hunter World would be making its presence felt in Final Fantasy XIV later this year, Capcom has announced that an iconic Final Fantasy creature will soon be coming to Monster Hunter World. Specifically, as part of Capcom and Square Enix's crossover collaboration, the formidable Behemoth - which has made an appearance in almost every Final Fantasy game in some form - will be making its way to Monster Hunter World in a free update this summer. You can see the beast make its impressive entrance to in the trailer below. And if you watch to the end, there's a quick glimpse of a Cactuar - which presumably arrives as a Palico costume.
BioWare's ambitious Anthem was the highlight of EA's E3 2018 press conference - although that was hardly a tough bar to clear. We gained full of jetpacking players in mechs, angry monsters and mysterious god energy - but some BioWare fans watching felt like the gameplay shown did not align with their own, personal expectations of what a BioWare game should be. Here at E3 itself, the mission shown during EA's press conference is playable in full - and with better context and setup, including the introduction of some prominent NPCs heard during the demo via voiceover. It's a much better introduction to the game - but sadly one which the audience back home isn't able to experience themselves. After the dust had settled on Anthem's showing, and after , I was able to sit down for a half hour chat with lead producer Mike Gamble, previously producer on the Mass Effect series, to speak more deeply about the game, discuss what was happening with BioWare's other franchises, and find out how this week's showing of Anthem had gone for him. Our full chat lies below.
Destiny 2: Forsaken looks to kill off a fan-favourite character, according to a new story trailer, with spoilers below for those who didn't catch it during Sony's E3 conference. The expansion sees players return to The Reef, which has fallen into lawlessness after a fleet of dangerous Barons escape the Prison of Elders. A mission to put things right goes awry, though, and appears to show the end of Cayde-6 - the chatty Hunter voiced by Nathan Fillion. Eagle-eyed fans have suggested it's actually Prince Uldren, the snide brother of the Queen from Destiny 1 - who does the deed.
