Category Archives: Gaming

Bethesda Announced DOOM Eternal at E3



Bethesda announced DOOM Eternal at the 2018 Bethesda E3 Showcase. It is the sequel to the award-winning and best selling DOOM (2016). DOOM Eternal was developed by id Software.

DOOM Eternal will deliver the ultimate combination of speed and power, along with the next leap in push-forward, first-person combat.

As the DOOM Slayer, you’ll return to take your vengeance against the forces of Hell. Set to an all-new pulse-pounding soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon, you’ll fight across dimensions as you slay new and classic demons with powerful new weapons and abilities.

An official E3 Teaser video has been released. The worldwide unveiling of DOOM Eternal gameplay will happen at QuakeCon 2018 in Dallas, Texas, on August 10. Bethesda says the reveal will be live for attendees and livestreamed for everyone.


Activision is Terminating the GHTV Service



Activision announced that it is in the process of terminating the GHTV mode within Guitar Hero Live. As of December 1, 2018, GHTV will no longer be available to play. On that date, Activision will terminate the service for GHTV and servers will be shut down.

Console versions of the GH Live mode will continue to operate as usual.

Some changes have already been made. As of June 1, 2018, iOS versions of the Guitar Hero Live game for mobile is no longer available for download via the app store. Players who currently own the app and have it installed on their device can continue to play the GH Live mode on their installed device (through November 30, 2018). Activision points out that if you update your iOS software, the app may no longer be supported.

Also as of June 1, 2018, all GHTV in-game purchases will be turned off. Activision says players can continue to use their Hero Cash and items on hand until the GHTV sunset date of December 1, 2018.

Activision states that players can still enjoy GHTV and all content in the game mode, including Premium Shows, through November 30, 2018.


Steam Store will Contain “Something That You Hate”



Valve posted a blog titled “Who Gets To Be On The Steam Store?” The short answer appears to be: everyone. Steam has decided to opt-out of making decisions about whether or not a specific game should be removed from the Steam Store – except for things they “decide are illegal, or straight up trolling.”

In the blog post, Valve says: “The challenge is that this problem is not simply about whether or not the Steam Store should contain games with adult or violent content.” Instead, Valve says it’s about “whether or not the Store contains games with an entire range of controversial topics.” Those topics include: politics, sexuality, racism, gender, violence, identity, and so on.”

So what does this mean? It means that the Steam Store is going to contain something that you hate, and don’t think should exist. Unless you don’t have any opinions, that’s guaranteed to happen. But you’re also going to see something on the Store that you believe should be there, and some other people will hate it and want it not to exist.

Valve has provided reasons why they made this decision. They point out that Valve is not a small company, and that it isn’t homogeneous. The people at Valve don’t all agree on what deserves to be in the Store. Valve says that what is considered acceptable varies around the world, both socially and legally.

In short, Valve has decided that the way to solve this dilemma is to …do almost nothing at all. Valve feels it should not be deciding what belongs on the Steam Store. They feel they shouldn’t be choosing for players what content they can or cannot buy. Valve also doesn’t feel it should be choosing what kind of content a game developer is allowed to create.

Valve has concluded that the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam Store, “except for things we decide are illegal, or straight up trolling.” At the same time, they want players to understand that the games Valve allows on the Steam Store “will not be a reflection of Valve’s values”.

In addition, Valve is going to provide players with tools that will allow them to override Valve’s game recommendation algorithms and hide games containing topics that the player is not interested in. The options will also allow parents to control what kinds of games their kids see.


Rockstar Games Announces 3 Titles Coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility



Rockstar Games announced that three Rockstar Xbox 360 titles are coming to the Xbox One Backward Compatibility catalog on June 7, 2018. Those titles are: Grand Theft Auto: San AndresMidnight Club: Los Angeles, and Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.

On Thursday, digital game owners will have instant access to the games on Xbox One, so they can download them from the “Ready to Install” section of their Xbox One and play at will. Physical game owners can just pop the Xbox 360 game disc (or Xbox game disc as well for San Andreas) into their Xbox One and download the game.

Both the original Xbox release and the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andres will be backward compatible. Save games from the original Xbox version will not transfer, however owners of that version will get the upgraded Xbox 360 version of the game, featuring higher resolution, enhanced draw distances, and Achievements.

Both the original version (Midnight Club: Los Angeles) and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition– which adds the iconic South Central area along with new vehicles, aftermarket parts, music and races – will be compatible on Xbox One.

Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis lets players experience the unmatched intensity of real-world competitive table tennis with an authentic physics engine and intuitive gameplay that mimics the exhilarating experience found in true international completion.

Players can choose from 11 distinct characters, each with their own style of play, and guide them to ultimate victory by mastering all the shots and techniques, including power shots, heavy spin and precision accuracy.


Two New Pokémon Games Unveiled for Nintendo Switch



The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo announced three new ways to play Pokémon for Nintendo Switch – Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee!, and the free to start Pokémon Quest. With the addition of these new titles, Pokémon is broadening the scope of video game offerings from the franchise to appeal to its wide variety of fans at all player levels.

With Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, Pokémon is inviting fans on a new journey by taking them back to a familiar setting. Inspired by Pokémon Yellow, which was originally released in Japan on Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1998, these two titles feature many of the intuitive gameplay functions offered to players in the hugely popular Pokémon GO and are designed for players taking their first steps into the Pokémon video game world.

The new games were unveiled in partnership with GAME FREAK, the games’ developers and original creators of the Pokémon franchise. GAME FREAK and The Pokémon Company teamed up with Niantic to bring next-level innovation by offering players the ability to connect their Pokémon GO to their Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!,or Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! game.

Players can catch Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region in Pokémon GO and then transfer them into their Nintendo Switch adventure. Something special will also be coming to the world of Pokémon GO, making the connection between both games even more appealing for Trainers.

The Poké Ball Plus, a device that can be used to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!,or Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! in place of a Joy-Con or alongside Pokémon GO instead of the Pokémon Go Plus, features motion controls, lights up with a variety of colors, vibrates, and plays sounds. When catching a Pokémon in the Nintendo Switch games, players will be able to feel it moving within the device.

The Poké Ball Plus can be used to allow players to bring one of their Pokémon from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!,or Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! with them as they explore the real world, giving players the opportunity to spend time with favorite Pokémon even when their not playing the game. Players will receive a variety of rewards once Pokémon are returned to the Nintendo Switch games.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!,or Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! will launch on November 16, 2018, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. The Poké Ball Plus will be available at participating retailers on the same day.


Say Farewell to RuneScape Classic



The RuneScape Team has announced that it is time to say Farewell to RuneScape Classic. To be clear, RuneScape and Old School RuneScape will still be playable.

RuneScape Classic was the first version of RuneScape, released in 2001.

For many years, we’ve left all of the content from the original game available to play. Whilst it’s seemingly been happily plodding along since then, it is with great sadness that we have taken the difficult decision to say goodbye to RuneScape Classic, which we will be winding down over the next 3 months.

In the news post on the RuneScape website, the RuneScape Team points out that RuneScape Classic has some technology issues. The advancements in technology tools that support both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape are no longer compatible with RuneScape Classic.

This causes a problem in community safety and macro detection tools. RuneScape Classic is now “easily abused with the use of 3rd party macro tools, and botting has become an increasing issue.”

In addition, the RuneScape team points out that they feel they can no longer offer long term service reliability in RuneScape Classic due to the growing risk of unrecoverable game breaking bugs. These are bugs that they won’t fix – most of them they cannot fix due to the unsupported nature of the game.

The RuneScape Classic servers will be taken offline on August 6, 2018. The RuneScape team wants to give players the opportunity to have their last goodbyes. After that date, it will no longer be possible to log in to RuneScape Classic.


Tencent has Invested in Grinding Gear Games



Grinding Gear Games, creator of Path of Exile, announced in a forum post that Tencent has acquired a majority stake in Grinding Gear Games. The forum post was written by Grinding Gear Games Chief Chris Wilson.

Our Chinese publisher, Tencent, has acquired a majority stake in Grinding Gear Games. We will remain an independent company and there won’t be any big changes to how we operate. We want to reassure the community that this will not affect the development and operations of Path of Exile, so we have prepared some answers to some questions you may have about this investment.

Tencent is a Chinese company that describes itself as “a leading provider of Internet value added services in China.” Tencent Games is the largest online games community in China, and a leading world-class online game developer and operator. Tencent owns Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends.

In the forum post, Grinding Gear Games states that they will not make any changes to the monetization of Path of Exile on their international servers. In other words, they are not planning on making the game “pay to win”.

Grinding Gear Games is still an independently-run company. “All of its developers still work for Grinding Gear Games and have not become Tencent employees.” The forum post says the founders (Chris Wilson, Jonathan Rogers, and Erik Oloffson) are still running the company.

Current players will not need to have a Tencent account in order to log in to Path of Exile. Grinding Gear Games says nothing is changing with the way players access Path of Exile on international servers.