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Six arrested in Australia over CS:GO match fixing allegations

Australian authorities from multiple agencies executed warrants resulting in the arrest and release of six individuals last week following suspicions of match fixing in competitive Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. 

The investigation dates back to March of this year when police were originally made aware of the allegations, though it doesn't appear that any arrests had been made until this past week.

The individuals arrested, whose ages range from 19 to 22, are alleged to have coordinated to fix at least five matches and placed over twenty bets. 

All six men arrested were released following questioning by the authorities. It remains to be seen whether the arrests will result in criminal charges for any of the individuals or if further illegal activity took place. An additional warrant was executed in Perth, Western Australia, but no arrests resulted. 

Esports are still emerging in the mainstream and likely present themselves as a foreign concept to many in law enforcement. That being said, as with any competitive sport, bets and bet fixing are likely to pop up from time to time, and police will have to keep an eye out for it. 

This story first appeared on the Victoria Police official website. 

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Borderlands 2 coming to PSVR later this year

It’s been six years since Borderlands 2 launched on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Since then, the game has seen ports to Sony’s handheld, the PlayStation Vita, as well as current gen systems thanks to the Handsome Collection on PS4 and Xbox One. While fan’s eagerly await the next game in the series, Gearbox isn’t quite done milking the most successful game in the series to date. The game’s latest port may be the most exciting one of all, as it lets you step foot on the surface of Pandora...virtually, of course.

2K and Gearbox announced earlier today that Borderlands 2 VR would be making its way to Sony’s PlayStation VR before the end of the year. The popular sci-fi shoot & loot game has been tweaked and tailored to work specifically for virtual reality in a number of ways.

First off, as sort of a bummer, Borderlands 2 VR will be a solo experience. No more co-op on Pandora this time around, you’ll be a lone vault hunter making their way across the planet in search of treasures. Borderlands 2 VR introduces what Gearbox is calling BAMF-Time, or Bad Ass Mega Fun Time, which slows down the world around you allowing you to land that perfect no scope shot smack dab in the middle of a bandits forehead. 

You'll still have the 4 playable classes you know and love from Borderlands 2: Siren, Commando, Gunzerker and Assassin. Their skill trees have been rebalanced to avoid any need to team up (again, this is a single player experience) like you did before.

According to the press release, you’ll be able to choose how you get around. From the trailer, it looks like you’ll be able to dual wield with two Move controllers, but it remains to see exactly what control options will be available. Presumably Move & DualShock 4, but many PSVR fans are already clamoring for Aim support. Hopefully they can take some pointers from Skyrim on PSVR which has had some control changes since its initial release. 

While it’s disappointing that the game won’t allow even 2-player co-op, at least for now, Borderlands 2 is a beloved AAA title that could help bring more gamers to the table for PSVR. Sony has made a good push for the virtual reality peripheral as of late with the launch of games like Firewall: Zero Hour and Astro Bot Rescue Missions. PSVR turns 2 years old this weekend on October 13th.

Borderlands 2 VR is scheduled to launch on December 14, 2018. I for one can’t wait to play through the story again as all the different characters. Borderlands 2 has been the best of the series so far, so if it’s to be Gearbox’s Skyrim, ported to every console known to man, I’m perfectly fine with it.

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Microsoft introduces xCloud: Xbox without the box

For the last few years, many gamers have wondered whether we’ve reached the end of the road in regards to traditional game consoles. With integrated technologies like smart TVs, streaming services like PlayStation Now and more; dedicated gaming hardware is seeming less and less necessary. Enter Project xCloud, Microsoft’s take on cloud gaming based on their Azure cloud computing technology. They say that Xbox consoles will always have a place as the “flagship” experience for gaming, but how many will really want to shell out hundreds of dollars on additional hardware when they can stream games to their smart devices?

“... a world where you are empowered to play the games you want, with the people you want, whenever you want, wherever you are, and on any device of your choosing. “

That’s the elevator pitch in a nutshell for Microsoft’s proposed service. While you won’t be able to sign up for xCloud anytime soon it seems, the video above shows that Microsoft already has a functioning prototype in place, although we’re almost certainly seeing that tech work under best case scenario conditions.

xCloud allows you to play games on your phone, tablet, and other devices without game developers having to do any additional work. They've already enabled compatibility with existing and future Xbox games by building out custom hardware for their datacenters leveraging the company's years of gaming experience. It sounds like all publishers will have to do is sign off on any of the more than 3,000 Xbox One games to get them on the xCloud service.  You’ll be able to play games with an Xbox One controller connected via Bluetooth or with dynamic on screen controls that adjust to suit any game.

The team at Microsoft has found a way to reduce latency while delivering a polished and playable experience thanks to their in house cloud technology. They’ve taken existing Xbox hardware and packed it into servers with plans to eventually deploy more across the 54 Azure Regions currently in place around the world. The plan is to begin public trials as soon as 2019, but expect development to be a multi-year journey. From there they'll be able to learn and scale the platform to best serve the different regions in which it's deployed.

It’s a novel idea, and potentially the future of gaming. While most of the world is only on the verge on 5G internet access, Microsoft is planning ahead for it. Imagine being able to play Halo on your massive 60-inch flat screen before taking the game on the go for your morning commute. This could be a move that brings players from different ecosystems together since it won’t matter if you’re on an Android, iOS or other platform. With xCloud, it sounds like everyone will be able to play together. We’ll have to wait and see how these ambitious plans pan out, but the implications are rather exciting!

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Black Ops 4 will offer 14 playable maps at launch

Just last month, Call of Duty fans were in a bit of an uproar regarding the number of multiplayer maps available at launch for the upcoming Black Ops 4. A Game Informer interview with Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar seemed to indicate there would be only 11 maps at launch; seven new and four remakes. Well, following some tweets by Treyarch over the last few days detailing several maps unseen until now, it’s clear that number will be a bit higher.

Thanks to some legwork by Call of Duty fansite, CharlieIntel.com, we have more details on which maps players will be able to enjoy at launch. It looks like we'll be getting four remakes of older Black Ops maps at launch including Jungle, Slums, Firing Squad and Summit. You'll also be getting ten brand new maps: Frequency, Contraband, Seaside, Payload, Hacienda, Gridlock, Arsenal, Icebreaker, Morocco and Militia. Between all 14 maps, players will find themselves trekking all around the world in a wide range of unique settings.

Additionally, next month you can expect the Black Ops 4 version of series staple Nuketown to make its debut. While this map will be free, don’t expect any more maps without dropping a nice chunk of change. Treyarch recently revealed the Season Pass plans for Black Ops 4, and it ain’t cheap. The Black Ops Pass will be going for $49.99, nearly the cost of the full retail game. While there is certainly plenty of content expected in the season pass, you may find yourself making a difficult financial decision with it. Unlike previous Call of Duty games, for Black Ops 4, the season pass will be your only way to receive additional maps. Gone are the days of incremental map packs, it's all or nothing this time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches next week on October 12 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. While the game lacks a traditional single play campaign, you’ll be getting a robust Zombies campaign, well rounded multiplayer and the brand new battle royale mode, Blackout. Between all of that, it doesn’t seem like gamers will be running out of things to do in Black Ops 4 anytime soon, with or without the Black Ops Pass.

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Oops, Sony just revealed November’s PS Plus games early

If you take a quick peek at your calendar, you may notice that it’s still the first week of October. That means PS Plus members just got their hands on this month’s free games in the form of Friday the 13th: The Game and Laser League. Early this morning however, it seems like someone over at PlayStation headquarters jumped the gun, posting a banner featuring next month’s game on the PS Plus page for the official PlayStation website.

As pointed out early this morning by notable deal seeker Wario64, November will see both Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami headlining PlayStation 4′s free games for the month. Both games happen to be remakes/remasters of earlier games; Bulletstorm from the PS3 and Xbox 360 era while Yakuza originally released on the PS2 back in 2005

Yakuza Kiwami originally launched in Japan back in 2016 for both the PS4 and the PS3 and just last year here in the states. The open world action-adventure puts players in the shoes of Kazuma Kiryu as he explores a fictional district of Tokyo. The Yakuza series is well regarded for its dense world, diverse and strange gameplay, and excellent combat.

Originally released in 2011, Bulletstorm is a first person shooter with a tone and style all its own. You earn more points the more creative your kills are. Using kicks, slides or your energy leash to launch opponents into the air slows time allowing you to perform skillshots and rack up a high score. While the game was well received at launch by critics, it failed to sell well and was considered a flop. The 2017 remaster for Xbox One, PS4 and PC leaned even further into the game's raunchy humor by including none other than Duke Nukem as a playable pre-order bonus.

Since this morning, the PS Plus landing page has been switched back to this month’s current games, but although it seems the cat is out of the bag for next month, don’t hold your breath hoping for Sony to pull out any surprises. Both of these games are AAA experiences and well worth the cost of your PS Plus membership.

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Battlefield V’s Attrition System makes for a more unique FPS

As a series, Battlefield has always focused on teamwork. The emphasis on squads and working together has seemed to become more and more integral to your success in the game with every entry. Now, DICE is looking to take that teamwork mentality and push it to the next level. Battlefield V will feature an all new system to the series called Attrition. Attrition aims to introduce deeper gameplay than run, shoot, die, spawn, repeat. Let’s take a look at how they plan to do that.

If you played the open beta last month, you probably noticed a lack of ammo as your hit the battlefield. While that's something that DICE has said they've already begun working to balance, the idea of low ammo itself is still important to the game. In a stark contrast to previous entries in the series, and other shooters as a whole, each time you spawn, you may find yourself with a different amount of health and ammo. That means instead of launching yourself right back into the meat grinder, you may want to scavenge around for a downed enemy, teammate or resupply station to top yourself off before heading back into combat.

It isn't the developers intention to make Battlefield V a harder game by throwing you a curveball, rather, they simply want you to think on your feet and work with your team. They've also implemented a deeper communication system they call the CommoRose, an improved version of the communication wheel that lets you shout info to other soldiers.

The folks at DICE hope that by introducing the Attrition System, they can keep the momentum of a match going and curve the habit of camping. By limiting the ammo a player or vehicle can hold, they hope to avoid snipers camping in the hills or tanks shelling you from a distance for prolonged periods. At some point, they’ll both need to move and find more ammunition to continue their offensive, putting them in harm’s way and giving players a chance at retribution.

While the Attrition System certainly helps set Battlefield V apart from its predecessors, as well as other games in the fps genre more than ever before, it’s hard to say if the changes will make the game any more fun. In my short time with the open beta, I didn’t find the lack of ammo to be a significant hindrance, just more of a mild annoyance. I also didn’t find it made my team work together as a unit any better. It could be the system works better when you’re playing with a squad of friends rather than online randos. Only time will tell. 

Battlefield V will hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 20th after being pushed back from its original October release.

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Hitman 2′s latest trailer shows off Agent 47′s tools of the trade

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, they say. Agent 47 might add the same applies to taking out a target. Sure, he’s an expert marksman and master of disguise, but sometimes you’ll have to get even more creative. While you’ll find plenty of environmental items to use in the pursuit of collecting on your contracts, 47′s got a few tricks up his sleeve to help along the way.

It takes more than sheer firepower to take out your targets in Hitman 2. Sure, you may say “well I can just shoot the guy and be done with it!” but what about the getaway? Certain scenarios call for a little more finesse, that’s where your tools come in handy. In Hitman 2 you’ll find a number of handy things in your armory. Remote explosives, proximity tasers, concussion grenades, audio distractions and more. It’ll be up to you to find creative ways of implementing these items into your strategy to take out your target and escape without a trace.

Another handy tool in Hitman 2 is actually all around you: mirrors. Mirrors in Hitman 2 will function just like they do in the real world meaning you can use them to keep an eye on people, but if you can see them, they can potentially see you as well, so play it cool.

How will you use the tools of the trade? Find out November 13, when Hitman 2 hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam. You can pre-order the game now in Standard, Silver, Gold and Collector's Editions. Happy hunting!

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Latest RDR 2 trailer shows off Dead Eye, first person & more

The release of Red Dead Redemption 2 is just weeks away now, but Rockstar still has more to show. In the second gameplay trailer we get a look at the updated Dead Eye system, in-game activities and the recently announced first-person mode. Rockstar is known for building densely packed worlds, and Red Dead Redemption 2 seems like no exception. Let’s take a closer look.

More than any Rockstar game before it, Red Dead Redemption 2 looks to offer up the most densely filled living world to date. You’ll find plenty of gang activity to get up to like robbing banks, trains, homes, shops and carriages or hunting down delinquents as a loan shark. You can also take in a game of cards, dominoes, dance with your best girl under the light of the moon or grab a bite and get wasted on the barkeeps best offerings.

Of course, you’ll be doing plenty of gunslinging while you complete those activities, aided by the game’s improved Dead Eye system. Dead Eye will progress in stages in RDR2 and let you slow time, paint targets and discover critical, fatal points on your enemies. All this should come in handy when you find yourself on the wrong side of a bounty when a hunter comes to call.

The trailer also gives us our first real look at the game’s first person perspective. Like GTAV before it, this should offer players a more immersive take on the world. Dead Eye should assuage some issues with gunplay that many experienced in Rockstar’s last first person open world game. 

There’s plenty more to see in the trailer above like the ability to choose how to handle your own hygiene, additional camera perspectives and the affect your actions have on others in the world. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 hits Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 26. You can pre-order the game now digitally or on physical media. Collectors can get their hands on a Special, Ultimate or Collector's Box edition each containing various additional perks both physical and in-game.  

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Mario Kart VR is finally making its way stateside

Have you ever found yourself playing a round of Mario Kart with friends and wished you could wind up and toss a turtle shell right at them? Well, Japanese gamers have been able to do just that since July of 2017 when Bandai Namco unveiled Mario Kart Arcade GP VR. The virtual reality take on the company's Mario Kart arcade license has since become a major destination for gamers around that world visiting the island nation. The VR experience made its way to the U.K. just last month and now we’ve got word that it’ll be coming to the U.S. very soon.

The news actually broke earlier this month through Bandai Namco's VR Zone Portal US account on Twitter, but the new account still has fewer than 50 followers, so it took a little while for the news to catch on. Beginning on October 1st, gamers can visit the nation's capital, Washington D.C., to enjoy Mario Kart Arcade GP VR along with Argyle Shift and Ski Rodeo at the district's Union Station. Argyle Shift lets you pilot a massive mech while Ski Rodeo lets you...ski...virtually.

Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, besides being a very long and silly name, is similar to Namco’s previous Mario Kart efforts in that it places you behind a steering wheel with gas and break pedals. Of course, you’ll be outfitted here with an HTC Vive headset to immerse yourself in the VR world of the Mushroom Kingdom. The game currently features one course and four playable characters. 

You’ll be able to choose between Mario, Luigi, Peach or Yoshi and go head to head with three other players. You'll also be given an HTC Vive wrist tracker that will sense your movements like when you pick up and throw a shell or other items. Tickets to Washington D.C. tend to be a bit cheaper than tickets to Japan, so this might just serve as a more cost effective destination for American fans of the game. What do you think of VR? Could Mario finally get you to give it a shot? Or do you think you might lose your lunch making those tight corners in VR?

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Fallout 76′s B.E.T.A. is coming next month to Xbox first

Fallout 76′s release is less than two months away and players are eagerly awaiting their first chance to play it. While we’ve known a beta, or B.E.T.A (Break-It Early Test Application) as Bethesda likes to call it, would becoming, now we finally know the exact dates. Xbox players that pre-ordered the game will be able try out out in less than a month with PS4 and PC players getting their shot a week later.

October 23 marks the start of the Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. for Xbox players, if you're on PS4 or PC you'll be able to join in the fun on the 30th. Now that's only a few short weeks before the game launches on November 14, so presumably this will primarily be a chance to stress test the servers for the online only game. Bethesda says that servers won't be running 24/7 during the test period, rather they'll be online during targeted timeframes aimed at getting as many people as possible playing at once. This is perhaps the best way to simulate the server conditions on launch day so they can work out any bugs well in advance of Reclamation Day. The devs say to expect servers to be live anywhere from four to eight hours a day to get that concentrated group of players online.

One thing we won't be getting in this preview, nor at launch according to Bethesda, is cross-play between systems. Yesterday Sony broke with tradition and announced they would begin allowing cross-play for select third-party titles, but don't expect every company to jump right on the bandwagon.While companies like Bethesda and Activision would certainly relish the chance to merge their player base, it could take time. Games coming out in the next six months have likely been built around the notion that Sony would continue to block cross-play and therefore left the function out. It’s something we could potentially see patched into some games in the future, but don’t hold your breath over playing Black Ops 4 or Fallout 76 with friends on Xbox if you’ve got a PS4.

To recap, Fallout 76 launches November 14 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. You’ll be able dive into the Xbox One B.E.T.A. on October 23 and on October 30 on PS4 and PC, under the condition that you pre-ordered the game. You can do that now over on Fallout’s official site if you want to be prepared ahead of time. In the meantime, enjoy the official in-game intro we’ve embedded above to get you in the Wasteland mood.

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Sony finally allows cross-console play starting today

In a move that many believed would simply never come, Sony today made the announcement that they would be allowing cross-play for certain third party games. It begins today with a Fortnite cross-play beta and could potentially become the norm moving forward. So what took so long? How does this affect gamers? Let’s take a look.

Cross-play has been years in the making. The topic hit fever pitch following E3 this year when Fortnite players trying to log in on their Nintendo Switch discovered their Epic accounts to be locked to PlayStation. Also, while players could compete against each other in Fortnite between Xbox One, Switch, PC, and mobile devices, Sony’s PlayStation was the final hold out. Microsoft and Nintendo even lampooned Sony in a commercial for Minecraft which showed the two companies’ systems playing together.

While Sony claimed that their decision to maintain a closed ecosystem for the PlayStation 4 was for the benefit of gamers as Sony’s console was simply the best place to play any game, many pointed to greed. By locking accounts to Sony’s system, they could ensure that a percentage of any money you spend in game on loot and gear would kick back to them. If you were to log into the PlayStation Network with an Epic account you’d previously used to purchase emotes or skins elsewhere, Sony would be somehow cheated, the logic goes.

Now however, according to an official PlayStation blog, the company has decided to allow cross-play following a comprehensive evaluation process. Beginning today, players on PS4, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Windows and Mac can play together in a Fortnite Cross-Play Beta. It appears Android is left off the list for now, likely because the game is still in beta on that platform. The decision comes just in time as Fortnite Season 6 will be launching tomorrow. 

In the interest of helping players out, Epic is even working on the ability to merge accounts for players that were forced to create multiple accounts thanks to Sony's previous restrictions. According to a tweet from the official Fortnite account, the account-merging feature will be coming in November and you'll be able to unlink a console from your account and relink it to another on in the next few days. 

This is all great news for players, and the decision is one Sony likely made with its back against a wall. Players have been very vocal about Sony’s previous take on cross-play with big names in gaming like Ninja going so far as to call them out. Bethesda's Todd Howard even called the company out back in July saying that Fallout 76 would lack cross-console play because Sony wasn't "as helpful as everyone would like." Hopefully this decision leads to a change for that title as well.

This is a very exciting move for gamers, and could send huge waves through the community. While exclusives will still play a huge part in what console gamers decide to invest in, knowing that they can play with friends regardless of what brand the prefer is a huge step. 

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Rico’s rival has been revealed in the latest Just Cause 4 trailer

Just Cause 4 is still several months away, but that hasn't stopped publisher Square Enix from going full steam ahead on the hype train. There's been no shortage of information for the game with the developers at Avalanche showing up the new map, new mechanics, and today, a new rival for Rico Rodriguez. Thanks to a new trailer, we’ve now seen the face of the leader behind the Black Hand. Meet Gabriela Morales. 

According to Gabriela, her and Rico are just like one another. They laugh in the face of fear. She leads the Black Hand, Rico’s got his Army of Chaos. They're two sides of the same coin, it seems. Expect heavy casualties on both sides of this war with Rico Rodriguez soaring to safety from a massive explosion in the end.

The Just Cause series has done a great job of creating massive open worlds where players can create chaos...just ‘cause. While the games have typically been rather light on story, it looks like we could see that change with Just Cause 4. Gabriela seems like the kind of memorable nemesis that fans can get behind. From the trailer, we understand that she grew up in fear, presumably in Solis, and decided to change her life and take control. It’s unclear if she created the Black Hand or rose through its ranks, but she’s obviously one bad ass lady. 

In the trailer, we also see the return of Tom Sheldon, Rico's former commanding officer and on again, off again friend. Hardly a man with a heart of gold, Sheldon has been known to look out for himself first and foremost, so don’t be surprised if this grizzled vet turns his back on you at some point only to redeem himself later.

Just Cause 4 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on December 4. The game remains a single player affair, but if the previous installments in the series are any indicator, it should provide more than enough enjoyment and bang for your buck. You can pre-order the game now in a variety of editions to unlock extra content like early access, exclusive gear and other perks. 

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New Death Stranding trailer explains everything!(not really)

The Tokyo Game Show was this past weekend, during which Hideo Kojima took to the stage to show off some new Death Stranding footage. While it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the trailer does little to shed light on what to expect in terms of gameplay, it does introduce video game veteran Troy Baker’s character to the fold, and what looks like our first look at a Death Stranding boss.

The trailer introduces us to Baker’s character, The Man in the Golden Mask. A mask that he removes and plunges into the oily muck below to form a massive beast that also sports a golden mask of sorts. All Sam (Norman Reedus’s character) has to do, apparently, is not get eaten. I imagine that to be easier said than done.

The Man in the Golden Mask disappears and the trailer cuts before we see any actual gameplay, but not before the golden beast releases a blood curdling roar. We’re left not knowing much more than we did before the trailer, other than a growing cast of characters and what seems like confirmation that the game will feature boss battles.

Death Stranding will be Kojima’s first project since parting ways with Konami in 2015. Developed by the reformed Kojima Productions and to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment on the PlayStation 4, the game still doesn't have an official release date despite having been announced over two years ago at E3 2016. As is common with Kojima, the game is shrouded in mystery and little is still known beyond the fact that you seem to be some sort of courier delivering humans big and small. The rain will age your and shadow demons also seem to play a part. Whatever the game turns out to be, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that it will be a massive success thanks to the pedigree of Hideo Kojima. 

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DICE is making major changes to Battlefield V after Beta feedback

Battlefield V’s beta wrapped up about a week and a half ago, and since then DICE has been pouring over the data they collected along with player feedback to see what needs to change. In short, a lot. I’ve personally been a big fan of the series for over a decade dating back to the first Bad Company on Xbox 360. After eagerly booting up the open beta for Battlefield V a few weeks ago I was...underwhelmed. There was something about the feel, the pace, and more. Well, it looks like DICE will be implementing a number of changes to improve the gameplay in the final release. 

Along with a nearly thirty minute dev talks video posted on the Battlefield YouTube channel, a blog was posted to the official website outlining what changes players can expect in the finished product. Much of it seems to revolve around satisfying gameplay and an improved pace. 

As far as improving core gameplay, the developers have a few plans in mind. They'll be tweaking how much ammo you'll spawn with in certain weapons as well as the maximum ammo you can hold for some weapons. It sounds like some supply stations are being removed in favor of sending you off into the battlefield better prepared to start with. You'll also have to build some of those supply stations, which will both help you earn XP and help your team. 

Player visibility is also being improved as it was easy to have other players get washed out in the background during the beta making it difficult to see them. One major change to this entry is the lack of 3d spotting, making it much more difficult to quickly identify threats. Gone are the orange triangles over enemy heads, so they’ll be adding a distance haze to help players pop out more from the warzone.

You’ll also be finding a greater selection of vehicles when Battlefield V launches in November. While the beta was limited to medium and heavy tanks, the devs promise more exciting World War 2 vehicles at launch. Along with those new vehicles, changes will also be made to how some of them operate. Speed, durability, and power all sound like they'll be seeing some tweaks. Specifically the mention reworking systematic vehicle damage so that if someone takes out the treads on your tank, you won't be left completely stranded, instead limping along at a reduced speed.

In terms of improving the pace of the game, the blog mentions tightening the death experience and altering both the time to kill and time to death. If you decide to fight for life when you've been killed, it sounds like that time will now be considered when you enter the respawn screen. You should also spend less time in the squad follow camera and they'll be making the revive icon and audio cues easier to hear and see, hopefully improving the rate of revives in game.

Time to kill and time to death are both tied to the game's weapons, so they've been working on getting weapons balanced just right. They're also going to look at the beta's netcode telemetry and latency to see what improvements can be made to tighten things up.

Hopefully these changes lead to a polished enjoyable game. From my personal beta experience, this is likely going to be the first Battlefield game that I don’t pick up at launch in years. If these changes can lead to a tighter, more fun gameplay experience, I’ll be happy to dump hundreds of hours into it like I have the previous titles. Battlefield V comes out November 20th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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Ada Wong returns in a new Resident Evil 2 Remake trailer

Capcom has done a masterful job of trickling out information about the upcoming Resident Evil 2 Remake over the last few months. First we got a look at Leon S. Kennedy and his gameplay at E3 followed by Claire Redfield at Gamescom last month. Now the final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place with a new story trailer that unveils a revamped version of another popular character in the series, Ada Wong.

Gone is the short, red dress from 1996, 2019′s Ada Wong is rocking a pair of big sunglasses and a tan trench coat. It’s a classic look for a secret agent and, considering the setting, brings to mind the Watergate informant, Deepthroat. While it looks like Leon will still cross paths with her for the first time in a parking structure, this time we see her save him from a wild zombie dog attack rather than by sending a warning shot in his direction. Nevertheless, she warns off Leon as she’ll presumably still be trying to acquire a sample of the G-Virus from Umbrella, but the two will cross paths again.

We also see more of Claire and Leon. Leon spends most of his time in this trailer following Ada while Claire tries to protect a young Sherry Birkin. Her mutated father can be seen wreaking havoc while her mother seems hell bent on keeping the G-Virus away from the likes of Ada and Leon. 

While it looks like Resident Evil 2 (2019) will follow the same basic outline it did back in 1996, expect some twists and turns to keep things fresh. One major difference this time around will be the absence of the “zapping” system seen in the original and follow ups like Resident Evil 0. Wherein the original what you did in Leon’s story could affect your playthrough for Claire’s, in the remake, each character will have their own separate campaign. The two will still crossover, but don’t expect what you do in one to affect the other. 

Resident Evil 2 is coming January 25, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam. You can pre-order now for your platform of choice and choose from a number of special editions including a $900 Japanese Premium Edition which includes a bluetooth keyboard in the style of one of the game's typewriters.

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Sony introduces the PlayStation Classic

In a move that likely surprised nobody, last night Sony unveiled their take on the mini console craze. The “PlayStation Classic”, which even cribs the moniker used by Nintendo for their miniature systems, is pretty much exactly what you would expect. It’s smaller, connects via HDMI cable and comes with a number of titles preloaded for you to enjoy. What else do you need to know? Let’s take a look.

The system comes in at about half the size of an original PlayStation and takes a much more streamlined approach to connectivity. All you'll find are two controller ports(now sporting USB connections), an HDMI port, and a single micro usb port for charging. Now, while the package includes two standard, non-analog controllers, an HDMI cable as well as a micro usb cable, what you won't find in the box is an AC adapter to power it. While at this point, folks are likely to have more than a few extra USB adapters laying around, it does seem like a strange item to cheap out on for Sony.

Speaking of cheap, if Nintendo’s mini consoles are your barometer, this one is not. While the NES Classic and SNES Classic will set you back $59.99 and $79.99 respectively, Sony’s package is going to set you back $99.99. For that you get the previously mentioned controllers and cables(sans power adapter) along with 20 games loaded on the system. 

So far, only five titles have been unveiled, but they cover a nice range of genres. You've got Final Fantasy VII and Wild Arms for RPG fans, Jumping Flash for platformers, Ridge Racer Type 4 if you're a fan of racing, and Tekken 3 for fighting game fans. While we’ll have to wait to see what games fill out the roster, it may best to expect games from earlier in the console’s lifespan. Towards the end, many games leveraged the power of the Dual Shock or analog controller, which the PlayStation Classic won’t include at launch. You’ll be using the standard six button controller, so you can probably rule out anything that used the dual sticks for camera control.

What do you think about the PlayStation Classic? Is $99.99 too much to ask for a 24 year old console? Which games do you want to see loaded on the mini system? You can pre-order the PlayStation Classic now from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop and Walmart. The system launches on December 3, later this year; 24 years to the day since it released in Japan.

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Capcom closes studio behind popular Dead Rising franchise

Earlier today, Capcom announced their intentions to close Capcom Game Studio Vancouver, Inc., commonly known as Capcom Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing the Dead Rising series from its first sequel on as well as the mobile game Puzzle Fighter for iOS and Android devices. An estimated 158 employees are unemployed as of today with only a small handful left behind to finalize the studio’s closure and handle logistics.

The company made the announcement today via press release regarding financial losses for the current fiscal year. According to the statement, those losses come as Capcom reviews "the allocation of its development resources that support the production of world-class content." Through that process, the company decided to close the studio and terminate development of projects which they expect to result in the loss of 4.5 billion yen for the six months of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. Lucky for them, those losses look to be offset by the better than expected performance of Monster Hunter: World released earlier this year. Thanks to that game's impressive sales, Capcom is not adjusting the full-year business forecast. 

It’s unclear what this means for the Dead Rising series. 2016's Dead Rising 4 received mixed reviews and reportedly sold less than a million copies in its first five months of sales, well below Capcom's expected two million. If a new game in the series was being developed at the time of the studio’s closing, it’s likely we may never see it come to light.

Capcom Vancouver began its life as Blue Castle Games in 2005 developing baseball games like The Bigs and MLB Front Office Manager. After being acquired by Capcom, they continues primarily developing Dead Rising games aside from the aforementioned Puzzle Fighter. All works in progress at the time of closure have either been cancelled or transitioned to Capcom's Japan Studios.