Microsoft Flight Simulator Is Coming To Steam, VR Support Coming Later This Year
Microsoft Flight Simulator will launch on Steam, and VR support is coming later this year as part of a free update.
"Microsoft Flight Simulator for PC will support VR via the HP Reverb G2. This will be available later this fall," head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann revealed during a press briefing. In an accompanying post on the Xbox blog, it was announced that the game will be coming to Steam on launch day as well as Windows 10 and Xbox Game Pass for PC, which is currently in beta.
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Neumann has told Eurogamer that VR support will come to other headsets beyond the Reverb G2 later down the line. "We're going to bring it to all the devices - all the common ones," Neumann told Eurogamer. "It's just going to take a few more months after that."
During the same briefing, Neumann described Microsoft Flight Simulator as "an ever-changing, ever-evolving platform" with more features and more planes arriving in the years to come.
Following the game's launch, the team at Asobo is "aiming to release something meaningful every month."
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Free world updates will arrive every two to three months and focus on a specific area of the globe, with custom airports and missions. Free sim updates will address community wishlist features in between. Asobo is also planning paid DLC for Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Neumann mentioned helicopters and heliports as a potential focus.
Our preview of Microsoft Flight Simulator arrived earlier today - check out why we're calling it "the perfect quarantine game" here. If you're still not sated, check out 6 epic landing challenges from the game that will make any seasoned pilot quake with fear.
Microsoft Flight Simulator launches on August 18th for PC.
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Panzer Paladin Review – Mech It So
Retro throwbacks that take inspiration from classics of a bygone gaming era can be found all over the various download storefronts that exist in today's console landscape. Taking inspiration from past masterpieces is one thing, but doing it well--and making a game that feels fresh and fun in the process--is another. Panzer Paladin borrows ideas and aesthetics from a variety of NES classics ranging from Blaster Master to Zelda II, but it mixes them all (with a dash of mech anime styling for flavor) into a curious new concoction. The result is a fun and engaging adventure that 2D action fans old and new would do well to check out.
Panzer Paladin's premise and visual style feel lifted straight out of a cult-classic retro game from the early '90s. As spunky, jump-suited android lady Flame, you are tasked with piloting your giant sentient mech exosuit buddy Grit in an effort to fight off a massive race of bloodthirsty, war-hungry interstellar monstrosities called the Ravenous. You trek through seventeen stages, some on Earth and some in the Ravenous's stronghold, filled to bursting with enemies, hazards, hidden treasures, and lots of weapons from the aliens' corrupted forge.
And by lots of weapons, I really do mean lots of weapons. Hammers, knives, lances, daggers, swords, staves, hockey sticks, giant bones, ultra-hard frozen ice pops--every level in Panzer Paladin is rich with a variety of implements to cut, poke, and smash with. While Grit's fists pack a mighty punch, weapons are the way to go for any serious combat, adding range and power to the mech's strikes. However, the intensity of battle wears weapons down, and all of them will eventually break--but that's okay, because there are always plenty of new and unique armaments to be found from defeated enemies and hidden away in walls and crevices that you can stockpile.
Continue Reading at GameSpotPanzer Paladin Review – Mech It So
Retro throwbacks that take inspiration from classics of a bygone gaming era can be found all over the various download storefronts that exist in today's console landscape. Taking inspiration from past masterpieces is one thing, but doing it well--and making a game that feels fresh and fun in the process--is another. Panzer Paladin borrows ideas and aesthetics from a variety of NES classics ranging from Blaster Master to Zelda II, but it mixes them all (with a dash of mech anime styling for flavor) into a curious new concoction. The result is a fun and engaging adventure that 2D action fans old and new would do well to check out.
Panzer Paladin's premise and visual style feel lifted straight out of a cult-classic retro game from the early '90s. As spunky, jump-suited android lady Flame, you are tasked with piloting your giant sentient mech exosuit buddy Grit in an effort to fight off a massive race of bloodthirsty, war-hungry interstellar monstrosities called the Ravenous. You trek through seventeen stages, some on Earth and some in the Ravenous's stronghold, filled to bursting with enemies, hazards, hidden treasures, and lots of weapons from the aliens' corrupted forge.
And by lots of weapons, I really do mean lots of weapons. Hammers, knives, lances, daggers, swords, staves, hockey sticks, giant bones, ultra-hard frozen ice pops--every level in Panzer Paladin is rich with a variety of implements to cut, poke, and smash with. While Grit's fists pack a mighty punch, weapons are the way to go for any serious combat, adding range and power to the mech's strikes. However, the intensity of battle wears weapons down, and all of them will eventually break--but that's okay, because there are always plenty of new and unique armaments to be found from defeated enemies and hidden away in walls and crevices that you can stockpile.
Continue Reading at GameSpotRiot Games Ends LEC Partnership With Saudi City After Backlash
Update:
Riot has announced in a statement that it will end its partnership with the Saudi city of NEOM "effective immediately" following community outcry.
You can read Riot's full statement below:
“As a company and as a league, we know that it’s important to recognize when we make mistakes and quickly work to correct them. After further reflection, while we remain steadfastly committed to all of our players and fans worldwide including those living in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, the LEC has ended its partnership with NEOM, effective immediately. In an effort to expand our esports ecosystem, we moved too quickly to cement this partnership and caused rifts in the very community we seek to grow. While we missed our own expectations in this instance, we’re committed to reexamining our internal structures to ensure this doesn't happen again.”[poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Riot Games is facing criticism after announcing that the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) will partner with Neom, a $500 billion, smart-city founded by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Muhammad bin Salman. Although touted as a city of the future in a press release announcing news of the partnership, Neom has been reportedly built atop forced evictions. This is on top of existing criticism against the Saudi Arabian government in regards to its treatment of LGBT peoples, as well as bin Salman’s links to the assassination of a Washington Post journalist. All of this has led to the swift condemnation of the sponsorship from high-profile voices in the League of Legends community, as well as from Riot employees.
“Incredibly disappointed in Riot today and am baffled at how we could possibly support this,” tweeted Alex Shahmiri, brand lead for Arcane, Riot’s upcoming animated series. “[The partnership] does not reflect the company that I started at six years ago and goes against so much of the progress we’ve been trying to make in the last few years.”This is disappointing because this is the LEC. It's my team, my product, my managers, my office.
My family. My home. This isn't someone far away in HQ that I don't know. This is devastating because I know who made these choices and I feel silenced. — Froskurinn (@Froskurinn) July 29, 2020
The Rioters Against Forced Arbitration group, which was started following the allegations that Riot fostered a toxic and sexist workplace, also tweeted out against the partnership.Incredibly disappointed in Riot today and am baffled at how we could support this, does not reflect the company that I started at six years ago and goes against so much of the progress that we’ve been trying to make in the last few years. https://t.co/R9N7d09NnS
— alex shahmiri (@RiotAstryx) July 29, 2020
IGN has reached out to Riot for a comment. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.Riot’s decision to partner with NEOM flies in the face of all the progress that Rioters have worked hard to make over the past few years. Please join us in voicing your support for ending this partnership at #NoToNEOM #RiotGames
— Rioters Against Forced Arbitration (@RiotersAFA) July 29, 2020
Scientists Resurrect 100 Million Year-Old Underwater Lifeforms
Scientists have revived microbes that were found in 100-million-year-old sediment, giving us another glimpse at what life was like in the far past.
As reported by Gizmodo, an international team of scientists led by geomicrobiologist Yuki Morono from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology revived these microbes that are actually from 101.5 million years ago.
Once the microbes, which are a type of bacteria, were put in laboratory conditions, they came back to life and began eating and multiplying, as living things tend to do.
Even though these microbes are over 100 million years old, they were living in low-energy conditions that allowed them to "retain their metabolic potential," according to a new research study published by Nature Communications.
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“Once again, this new study extends our view of the habitable biosphere on Earth and the ability of microbes to survive under suboptimal conditions,” Virginia Edgcomb, a geologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who wasn’t involved in the new study, said in an email. “It also extends our view of where viable microbial life contributes to carbon and other nutrient turnover in the deep biosphere.”
There was a previous study of bacterial spores that were supposedly from 250-million-year-old salt crystal in the Permian Salado Formation in New Mexico, but not all experts agreed these were really from back then. One of the issues brought up was that the samples were contaminated.
Using DNA and RNA gene profiling, these 101.5-million-year-old microbes were identified as aeorbic, or oxygen-loving, bacteria and the "lack of permeability between the thick seafloor layers" ruled out contamination.
Jennifer Biddle, who is an associate professor from the School of Marine Science and Policy at the University of Delaware agreed with these findings and praised Morono.
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“In fact, were I given a precious sample of Martian material with which I could conclusively prove evidence of life on another planet, I would give it to Yuki Morono,” said Biddle, who wasn’t involved with the new research.
Luckily, Morono says the health risk of reviving ancient bacteria is very low as “subseafloor sediment is regarded as at low risk for health, since no infecting host, like a human, exists in this environment.” Phew.
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Star Wars: What Happens When Darth Vader Returns to Naboo?
Marvel's ongoing Darth Vader series continues to show us a very different side of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 chronicles a journey we never expected to see, as Vader returns to Naboo and relives the most tragic moments of his life as Anakin Skywalker.
What happens when Darth Vader travels to the last place in the galaxy he wants to revisit? Read on to find out, but beware of full spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #3!
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Vader would like everyone to believe the man known as Anakin Skywalker is dead and buried, but we know that's not the case. This new series seems to be devoted to exploring how Vader went from the ruthless tyrant he is in The Empire Strikes Back to the redeemed father of Return of the Jedi. A key part of that process has involved reuniting Vader with a woman who looks just like his late wife Padmé.
Of course, Vader quickly learned this Padmé lookalike is actually her former handmaiden Sabé, but this unexpected reunion has dredged up all sorts of emotions and memories Vader would just as soon keep buried. And now that their shared quest has taken them to Naboo, Vader is really feeling that Prequel nostalgia:
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Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption]
Why has Vader agreed to travel to the planet his dead wife and his current master both called home? Vader is currently hunting down anyone and everyone responsible for hiding the existence of his son Luke, while Sabé and her allies are in possession of an encrypted recording they think will reveal the identity of Padmé's killer. Those twin paths have now converged on Naboo, as Sabé, Captain Typho and Captain Tonra lead Vader to an underwater Gungan temple.
Given that Vader himself is the man Sabé has been hunting, it was only ever going to be a matter of time before their alliance fell apart. And as Vader discovers in issue #3, that alliance was simply a ruse to lure him into a trap. Sabé and her allies believe Vader killed both Padmé and Anakin on Mustafar, which is essentially true (from a certain point of view). Now they hope to kill him, even if it means sacrificing their own lives in the process.
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Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption]
This issue ends with Sabé summoning one of the massive sea monsters Naboo is so famous for, hoping the beast will destroy the temple and Vader along with it. Obviously, she's not going to succeed, but simply reuniting with the former Anakin Skywalker may have been enough to reawaken the spark of light within.
However Vader gets himself out of this mess, he's in store for more surprises in the near future. At Comic-Con@Home's Lucasfilm Publishing panel, writer Greg Pak revealed the series' second story arc will connect to the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
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"It’s going to be a huge, hopefully deeply disturbing and entertaining and satisfying epic by the time it’s all done,” Pak told IGN. “We got permission and the green light to do some stuff I never thought we’d be able to do.”
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption]
Why has Vader agreed to travel to the planet his dead wife and his current master both called home? Vader is currently hunting down anyone and everyone responsible for hiding the existence of his son Luke, while Sabé and her allies are in possession of an encrypted recording they think will reveal the identity of Padmé's killer. Those twin paths have now converged on Naboo, as Sabé, Captain Typho and Captain Tonra lead Vader to an underwater Gungan temple.
Given that Vader himself is the man Sabé has been hunting, it was only ever going to be a matter of time before their alliance fell apart. And as Vader discovers in issue #3, that alliance was simply a ruse to lure him into a trap. Sabé and her allies believe Vader killed both Padmé and Anakin on Mustafar, which is essentially true (from a certain point of view). Now they hope to kill him, even if it means sacrificing their own lives in the process.
[caption id="attachment_2386241" align="aligncenter" width="930"] Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption]
This issue ends with Sabé summoning one of the massive sea monsters Naboo is so famous for, hoping the beast will destroy the temple and Vader along with it. Obviously, she's not going to succeed, but simply reuniting with the former Anakin Skywalker may have been enough to reawaken the spark of light within.
However Vader gets himself out of this mess, he's in store for more surprises in the near future. At Comic-Con@Home's Lucasfilm Publishing panel, writer Greg Pak revealed the series' second story arc will connect to the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/24/darth-vader-comic-will-crossover-with-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker"]
"It’s going to be a huge, hopefully deeply disturbing and entertaining and satisfying epic by the time it’s all done,” Pak told IGN. “We got permission and the green light to do some stuff I never thought we’d be able to do.”
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.Marvel’s Avengers Getting a Fortnite Crossover
Marvel's Avengers is getting a Fortnite crossover to go with its upcoming beta.
Announced in today's War Table stream, those who finish the beta will earn a Hulk Smashers pickaxe, as well as an added style that reskins the Hulk's hands as gloves from Iron Man's Hulkbuster armour. The offer is available only on PS4 and Xbox One.
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If you want to earn the rewards, here's when you can access the Marvel's Avengers beta throughout August:
- August 7 - PlayStation preorder beta access begins
- August 14 - Xbox and PC Preorder beta access begins, PlayStation open beta also begins
- August 21 - Open beta across all platforms begins
Marvel’s Avengers: Hawkeye Revealed as Post-Launch Hero
Hawkeye will come to Marvel's Avengers as a free post-launch playable character, complete with a unique set of story missions. Alongside Hawkeye, there appear to be three other heroes currently planned to be added.
Revealed in the second Marvel's Avengers War Table stream, the character will bring along a string of story missions which will, unlike the game's solo-only campaign, be playable in solo or co-op formats. It should please fans who were upset that Hawkeye had seemingly been left out of the Avengers again.
Marvel's Avengers' take on Clint Barton is drawing primarily on the much loved Matt Fraction-David Aja collaboration on the 'My Life as a Weapon' run of the Hawkeye comic. Specifically, the design seems to be based on the Hawkeye #1 variant cover by Adi Granov. There are some barks at the end of the trailer that have left me very excited by the idea of an in-game Lucky the Pizza Dog, too.
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It looks as though Hawkeye could be the second post-launch character for the game. While describing how the game will evolve, Crystal Dynamics explained that the launch campaign, Reassembled will tell the story of Kamala Khan reuniting the Avengers, and showed character logos that re-confirmed Captain America, Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow and Thor will be the playable heroes at launch.
After finishing Reassembled, you enter the "ever-present" Avengers Initiative, which appears to be post-campaign content in which "you extend the experience as the Avengers, protecting Earth from all threats and incursions."
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During that Avengers Initiative description, four more spaces for character logos were shown. The second featured Hawkeye's logo, with the other three bearing question marks. Previously, we had suspected that Hank "Ant-Man" Pym would fill one of those slots, although he's so far been shown only as a mission giver character.
Whoever the added Avengers turn out to be, we know that they'll be coming to the game for free as they're released. As for the upcoming beta period, we now know we'll be playing primarily as Kamala Khan, Hulk, Iron Man, and Black Widow.
If you want more Avengers details, we've been running an IGN First on Marvel's Avengers all this month, revealing new costumes, gameplay guides, character breakdowns and much more.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Marvel’s Avengers Beta Details Revealed: Heroes, Mission Types and More
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have revealed new details about the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers beta, including what mission types and characters will be available to play and how progress will be offered.
The beta, which takes place throughout August, will contain four heroes: Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel. These can all be played in the co-op segments of the beta, but you’ll actually be able to get a taste of Thor and Captain America too as the beta opens on the Golden Gate Bridge prologue mission, as seen at E3 and Gamescom in 2019.
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Each of the characters has three skill tree pages, but only one will be available to use in the beta. This will give you the opportunity to tailor the character to your preferred playstyle by tweaking abilities and skills.
After the 25 minute prologue, you’ll have access to the War Table and will be able to play through two single-player missions. Featuring Hulk and Ms. Marvel, the first sees them travel to the Pacific Northwest in search of the Olympia Archive and JARVIS, while the second relocates them to Russia to “uncover SHIELD secrets hidden deep underground.” One of these missions also includes a boss fight with Abomination.
After completing the single-player content, the beta opens up and allows players to tackle a variety of other activities in co-op (or solo with AI if preferred). These are split into three mission types: HARM Rooms, Warzones, and Dropzones. Depending on the activity, these can take between 10 minutes and two hours.
HARM Rooms are holographic training arenas similar to X-Men's danger rooms, and are wave-based challenges. The beta features three HARM Rooms, each with escalating difficulty. Complete all three, and you’ll be awarded a special Nameplate that you can use in the full game.
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Warzones are the dungeon-like missions of Marvel’s Avengers, and there are five available to play in the beta. The individual locations and objectives were not revealed as part of the War Table stream, but we do know that you’ll face both robotic and human foes. Warzones also include bunkers that contain loot and collectable comics, and players must solve puzzles to get inside.
Finally, the beta will also feature an unspecified amount of Dropzones, which are among the game’s shorter, more focused mission types.
Today's stream also revealed that Hawkeye will be a post-launch character, and that the beta will earn you some Fortnite rewards.
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For more on Marvel's Avengers, check out our hands-on with a Thor and Ms. Marvel mission, the game's unique approaches to character design, and why the team chose M.O.D.O.K as its main villain.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
PlayStation Documentary Featuring Hideo Kojima, Mark Cerny and More Announced for September
A PlayStation documentary featuring interviews with Hideo Kojima, Mark Cerny, Shinji Mikami and more has been announced and will debut on September 7.
From Bedrooms To Billions: The PlayStation Revolution covers the story of Sony's console career, from the PlayStation's launch in 1995 to the current generation. It will be available from the 7th of September to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original console later in the month.
The documentary will see a physical release on DVD and Bluray and will be available on demand from iTunes, Amazon, Vimeo, and more.
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A trailer has been released alongside the announcement which offers a glimpse at some of the talking heads attached to the project, including Hideo Kojima, Phil Harrison, Shinji Mikami, Fumito Ueda and more.
The documentary was created by filmmakers Anthony and Nicola Caulfield, responsible for the 2014 documentary From Bedrooms to Billions, which told the story of the British video game industry from 1979 onwards.
In other PlayStation news, here's every game confirmed for Sony's next-generation console, the PlayStation 5. If you're keen on the PS5 already, check out this page detailing everything we know about PS5 preorders so far.
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.