Where Next For First-Person Shooters?
Dum-dum-dum, another one bites the dust! That's the anthem that echoes around IGN's UK offices while Krupa, Rory and Alex play the Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta, shaking down suckers. Or, more accurately, getting their asses handed to them. Either way, Black Ops' futuristic setting is one that is now well trodden, and while the beta is undoubtedly fun and mechanically tight, where do shooters go next? A few years ago the World War II arena had been done to death, but is it now time for a return to the 1940s, or is there another untapped era we'd like to see explored? The IGN UK Podcast crew discusses.
We also put forward our wishlist for other hero characters we'd like to see in Star Wars Battlefront, and get stumped - stumped! - when trying to list 20 types of tree off the top of your heads. Trust us, it's harder than you think.
IGN’s UK Daily Deals: Batman Arkham Knight under £28
Batman Arkham Knight, given an "Amazing" 9.2 rating by IGN, is £27.99 at Simply Games.
12 Month Xbox Live Gold Membership is only £20.89 at CDKeys when you Facebook Like for 5% off.
PC Release Date Confirmed For Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted
Secret Ponchos: Most Wanted is coming to PC on September 29.
The multiplayer shooter, which was initially released on the PlayStation 4, will feature new content, "including (but not limited to) new game modes, updated gameplay, and a motley crew of never-before-seen playable characters". There's also a practice mode and five new characters, three of which are "available exclusively" on PC.
The game will be available through Steam on September 29 for $15. But if you can't wait, you can jump into the action now via Early Access.
In IGN's Secret Ponchos video review, we said that the game was "abnormally complex and pretty for a twin-stick arena shooter", throwing you "into the deep end and demand
Everquest 2 Cheaters Sent to Prison… Servers
Daybreak Game Company has announced that it is introducing a new server for Everquest II called "Drunder", which will act as a sort of prison server for rule breakers.
According to the Everquest II forums, "players who are caught breaking our rules and disrupting EQ2 live server gameplay will be flagged for this server, and no others -- ever."
Once on the Drunder server, players can never leave or transfer to another server. The prison server won't have any customer support, and requires a fully maintained membership to play.
On the server, players will be able to do whatever they like. This might actually sound appealing to some people, so there is an option to ask to join the server. Just be aware that it's a one way trip for your entire account. Daybreak also requests that you use the petition system rather than breaking the rules on an actual server to get the transfer.
Arkham Knight’s PC Interim Patch Coming in a ‘Few Weeks’
Batman: Arkham Knight's woes on PC are set to continue for some time yet, with the game's first "interim patch" not likely to see release within the next two weeks.
An update on Steam reveals the patch is going into testing and should be released "in the next few weeks." It was originally meant to be available in August.
"The teams have been working hard to address the issues with the PC version of the game," it reads. "We are happy to confirm that we are now putting the first interim patch into testing. If all goes well, we expect to issue the patch in the next few weeks. We’ll be sure to report back in the next two weeks on how the testing is coming along."
Duck Hunt Easter Egg Spotted in Heroes of the Storm
The Heroes of the Storm main title screen has yet another hidden Easter egg.
After installing the latest patch, players who decide to click on the big trees next to the Monk will initiate a Duck Hunt-style mini-game. You’ve got limited shots, though, so use them wisely.
Elsewhere in the world of Heroes, at this year’s Gamescom IGN caught up with game director Dustin Browder to ask if he'd considered reverse-engineering Blizzard's MOBA to create a story-driven RTS similar to Warcraft III.
Red Dead Redemption Has Shipped 14 Million Copies
Red Dead Redemption has officially shipped over 14 million copies, according to Take-Two.
The figure was revealed in a shareholder outreach presentation and marks a small leap from the 13 million figure we last heard. This appears to refer to the base game, as Undead Nightmare seems to be included in a follow-up bullet point that reads "commercially successful expansion content".
Flounder Heights Is Splatoon’s New Map
Last night, Nintendo added a new map to Splatoon's rotation.
Called Flounder Heights, it has a distinct urban feel, and it's a bit more vertical in places than some of the other maps.
The news came via Nintendo's Twitter account. The most recent map to be added to Splatoon was the Kelp Dome.
If you own a Wii U and haven't tried Splatoon yet, you have the opportunity to participate in a free demo starting tomorrow.
New Crowdfunding Platform Fig Attracts $500K in Two Days
New crowdfunding website Fig has already attracted $500,000 for its debut project, Outer Wilds, in just two days.
"The investment interest we're seeing is far exceeding our expectations," Fig founder Justin Bailey told GamesIndustry.biz. "Right now we have over half a million dollars of expressed interest to invest into Outer Wilds. We're currently vetting that amount, going through it with the investors. We're actually having discussions with Mobius Digital about taking on investment; right now they've capped investment at $50,000 which we already have. Obviously we have ten times more than that lined up."
How Blizzard is Building on Diablo’s Legacy to Secure its Future
Blizzard has suggested Diablo III's highly-praised Seasons feature could soon make the leap from PC to consoles - and that's just one of several improvements the developer has to continue improving the game across the board.
For those not in the know, Seasons are essentially Diablo III's version of the Ladders found in the previous installment in the franchise. They enable you to create a new Seasonal Hero and take them through the game from a fresh starting point, in a bid to accrue as much loot and gold as possible within a set time period, before everything is rolled back into your main non-Seasonal character once the Season concludes.
Up until now, Seasons have only been available on the PC version of the game, meaning PS4 and Xbox One players have had to make do with Adventure Mode and other offerings. Ostensibly this was because the consoles don't have to be online all the time and their communities are more fragmented, meaning the design pillars on which Seasons are built wouldn't translate well. Now, however, as we approach the start of Season 4 on PC, it seems Blizzard may be having a rethink.