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Warframe Console Update 18.5 “Sands of Inaros” is Now Available

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

For those of you who have been waiting for Sands of Inaros the wait for many of you is finally over as of today. For those who have not looked into the update, the update is massive in brings in some major changes not limited to the Warframe, Inaros, a mummy themed frame.

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The update also includes some major changes to the game itself, not limited to a new quest titled “Sands of Inaros”. The update includes things such as a Randomizer that chooses their frame, their loadout, and even their appearance items. New features such as equipping Sigil’s on operators, is now available, but also things such as acquiring mods now flags them as new so players don’t have to dig for their new mods with frustration. Players will also be able to take note of a new Aiming Sensitivity option. Let alone have their been minor adjustments to the title, Warframe’s Chat Display has also received a visual re-skin that will allow for the game to look even more beautiful. This includes new tab uses, such as icon’s, there is also now emoji’s for those who enjoy emoji’s.

With any update, the game has also seen a few changes to its graphics engine to help bring in a bit more life to the game. This includes new lighting, new reflections, HDR rendering, and even a bit more overall reality to the game. Due to the mere size of this patch, it’s hard for us to list everything. So lets take a minor look at some of the changes through the P.C. versions highlight video:

For a full look at the games update, you can check out the notes here.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

Super Evil Mega Corp and Twitch Team Up

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

super-evil-megacorp-logo

Remember that favored MOBA by the name of Vainglory. It has been a title that has driven me to purchasing a tablet for both it, college, and the simple satisfaction that my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has been just enough to keep me happy. However, with news of Twitch and Super Evil Mega Corp teaming up to make the eSports structure for the game even bigger, they have today inked a three-year partnership in North America and Europe for the official Vainglory Championships and supporting eSports structuring. This means that with this collaboration, it has included a multi-million dollar invesment for each company and brings forth a program that stems across sales, promotions, broadcasts and even live events.

As one of the fastest growing games in the mobile industry as well as mobile titles on Twitch last year, the game has accrued more than 150 million minutes watched. As the first major touchscreen eSport title, Vainglory is renowned for the largest prize pool ever in a 350,000 USD pool that brings professional teams like TSM, SK Gaming, Team Secret, and G2 Esports together in the fray of battle. This also brings forth teams to participate in the Red Bull eSports Studio at Santa Monica, California.

Team_Dignitas

As part of the Twitch partnership Super Evil Mega Corp plans on bringing more fans and players int heir already large group of millions of players and viewers. With eSports Teams and robust exhibits, Twitch looks to bring more into Vainglory as it helps to expand and grow the title.

“The esports industry has been dominated by PC and console titles, but Vainglory is ushering in a new mobile games movement,” said Nick Allen, Director of Esports Operations at Twitch. “The incredible engagement Vainglory has garnered on our platform is testament that our community welcomes the convergence of esports and mobile gaming.”

Starting today, teams of three players hopeful to win the Spring Championship can register at VaingloryLeague.com. The three-month season kicks off with open qualifiers and will have a total prize pool of $80,000 USD.

“We’ve been working closely with Twitch since even before the global launch of Vainglory, and their massive, wildly passionate gaming community has helped our game develop a loyal and growing following,” said Kristian Segerstrale, COO and executive director at Super Evil Megacorp. “By working with Twitch in this new and expanded capacity, we’re going to be able to bring our esports programming to the next level and provide better and more frequent coverage to fans.”

Vainglory_Halcyon_Fold_map

As part of the new seasons, Vainglory has officially kicked off a new season that features a new game mode (in beta) titled Battle Royale as well as the new hero we know as “Alpha” a new map skin, and a massive “Halcyon Days” event that includes new skins for Fortress. As part of the on going evolution of the game, Battle Royale brings in a draft mode where the game selects heroes for each player, and each hero starts out already leveled up. As opposed to starting from level one and building up like in normal matches.

With the matches already having draft mode from the original take and even boosters, Vainglory has become a game that anyone can truly come to enjoy, and participate in as they wish. If you haven’t checked it out, you can see our review here, which will be updated soon to reflect ont he new changes.

As always, stay tuned for our constant coverage over Vainglory and many other titles.

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

DOOM Season Pass and Open Beta Get Outlined

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

DOOM_Release_Date_Banner

If you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on the Alpha or the Closed Beta, today has been a great day for those of you who missed out. Starting on April 15th players can get in on the DOOM beta through Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store. If you didn’t get a chance to experience it yet, we have a DOOM Gameplay With Commentary video available for those interested.

Ahead of its May 13th release, Bethesda Zenimax has announced through a set of video’s things to look forward to at launch including maps, modes and power-ups of DOOM’s multiplayer – all things players have to look forward to at launch. As noted from before, the support doesn’t end once the game launches. Bethesda has taken note of what players want. As a community they know DOOM’s fans are all about user-generated content, and that is something they want to continue as well as encourage through the new SnapMap, which is new on top of innovative. It will allow for fans to create their own maps as well as mods, and share them across all three platforms. This also means there will be new features and tweaks that come out as the game heads into post launch. These features can include new map modules, props, objects, new features, editing tools, and much more.

Not limited to the upcoming content that will be free with support as well as updates, there will also be three premium DLC’s that will launch after the game, and will allow for a new set of maps, hack modules, demons to play as, weapons, and much more. Lets take a peak at what the first DLC that has been offered will be:

In addition to the planned free support and content updates, we will also be releasing three premium multiplayer DLC packs after launch, which will get you a number of new maps, hack modules, playable demons, weapons and more. The first DLC will be available this summer and give you access to:

  • Three new maps
  • One new weapon
  • One new playable demon
  • One new armor set
  • One new piece of equipment
  • New hack modules and taunts
  • New customization colors and patterns

Each DLC pack will cost $14.99, or you can get them all at a discount with the Season Pass for $39.99. Check your preferred retailer to pre-order the DOOM Season Pass. For more information about the game please visit www.DOOM.com. Stay tuned for our upcoming review this May.

 

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix Charity Offering Tomb Raider Incentives

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Lara_Croft_20_Years

Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have announced that with 20 years of Lara Croft, they are Celebrating the franchise with a set of festivities for the major milestone. For those at PAX East 2016, fans will be able to celebrate new achievements to the series as well as the protagonist throughout the year.

“Since its introduction, Tomb Raider has held a significant place in video game history, and further cements that with this milestone,” said Ron Rosenberg, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “We look forward to celebrating with fans, and honoring the iconic Lara Croft with special events, retrospectives, giveaways and other surprises throughout this year of Tomb Raider.”

Originally introduced to the world of gaming in 1996 as Tomb Raider from Core Designs, Lara Croft was introduced as an archeologist that would eventually become one of the most well known names within the gaming industry. As one of the largest names within virtual entertainment, Lara Croft made a name as an ambassador for scientific excellence and even appeared live with famed band U2 while they were on tour. With over 30 titles released to date and has even received numerous awards as a culture icon for over 20 years.

“Tomb Raider has become a cultural phenomenon over the last 20 years, selling millions of copies worldwide, sparking one of the most successful video game film adaptations in history, and inspiring our amazing fans of all ages,” said Scot Amos, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “It’s incredible to be part of this legend and to see how much the series has evolved over time, and think about what’s yet to come. Here’s to 20 more years of adventure together.”

As part of the 20 year celebration, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have teamed up with GameChanger Charity to provide a free digital copy of Tomb Raider from back in 2013 for every donation of at least $1 USD. For those who donate $20 USD will be entered into a drawing to win special Crystal Dynamics swag bags including a collector’s edition of Rise of the Tomb Raider, along with special related items to the series for our favored adventurous lady. GameChanger is a non-profit focused on improving the lives of children suffering from life-threatening diseases. GameChanger delivers video game gifts to hospitals, and provides financial support to deserving families.

To donate to GameChanger, please visit, you can be rest assured that some of us will be donating.: http://gamechangercharity.donordrive.com/event/20yearstombraider/

With this news, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have also announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider’s newest content pack called Cold Darkness Awakened has launched for PC through Steam and the Windows store, but also for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The DLC will tell players about Lara Croft’s adventure through a land where nightmarish predators lurk in an old abandoned Cold War base. The pack is available for  Season Pass owenrs or available for 9.99 USD through the Marketplace.

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Hitman Update 1.03 Now Available for Download

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Hitman_Vampire_Challenge_Pack

If you’ve been playing Hitman, you know there’s a few new things now available if you’ve logged into your game. As of today the Vampire Magician Challenge Pack is now available, improvements to load times have been made, and quite a few more fixes have been released with it. For players on all platforms getting ready to play the game, you’ll see some heavy improvements on the title.

The new update includes the Vampire Magician Challenge Pack, which includes 10 new challenges inspired by how the community has been playing the game. This is a nice little for those who are wanting to see how the game develops in the future. As players undergo these challenges, they’ll find themselves wearing the games new “Vampire Magician” disguise, which will allow players to take down targets using a range of new methods.

As stated, load times have been heavily improved for fans playing the game. Most of these improvements will be notable when loading the mission “The Showstopper”. With that, they’re also heavily working on improving all load times within the game even more. With it menus have been made more responsive while loading images that allows for the games image caching system to improve.

Read below for the rest of the fixes:

Fixed issues with scoring
Primarily, this fixes an issue that resulted in many players earning a “0 second” time bonus and an incorrect score of 210,000. A leaderboard reset will be implemented at a later date.

Continued improvements to connectivity
Server stability improvements.

Missing ‘Requiem Pack’ items have been restored
For those affected, these items will now be available to choose from the planning screen again.

Fixed numerous issues that were causing crashes
General improvements to game stability.
A dedicated thread on the Official HITMAN Forums for Update 1.03 has been created.
Please join the discussion there with your feedback.

Our Take:

With the game being an episodic title, the game has already seen some massive changes for the length of time it has been out. These changes have also seen quite a few fixes, which is nice to see, and highly appreciated by fans wanting things to work.

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

Tripwire and Mod DB Announce Phase 2 Winners of Killing Floor 2’s Grindhouse Mapping Contest

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Killing Floor 2_Powercore - 01

If you aren’t familiar with Killing Floor 2 and the fact the game has quite a few of mods, Mod DB, Tripwire teamed together for Killing Floor 2’s official Grindhouse Mapping Contest. With the contest, it continues on from Phase 1 and offers over 50,000 USD to modding winners. For those who are interested in the blood filled contest from Grindhouse, this contest offers up the chance for fans to show off their map creation skills. For those wondering,  Phase 2 was held from December 7, 2015 through February 21, 2016. Today’s announcement reveals nine lucky and talented winners, each handpicked by the Tripwire Interactive team. So our hats are off to those who entered and those who won.

“We were overwhelmed by the quality and originality of the various map submissions in the Grindhouse Mapping Contest,” said John Gibson, President of Tripwire Interactive. “Now that we’ve recently added full Steam Workshop functionality in Killing Floor 2, we’re excited to see what the community creates next!”

Tripwire Selections Phase 2 (All maps are on Steam Workshop and available to play now!)

Best Survival

1)      Infernal Realm – $10,000

2)      Shopping Spree – $7,500

3)      Spaceport Perdition – $5,000

4)      Power Core – $1,500

5)      Dead Shore – $1,000

Best Non Survival

1)      Husk Factory – $5,000

2)      GrooveYard – $2,500

3)      Insurrection – $1,500

4)      London Escape – $1,000

Will wee see you on the battlefield enjoying these new fan created maps? We hope so. As for them being on PlayStation 4? We certainly hope they will be there when the game launches sometime this year.

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

DOOM Closed Beta Kicks Off Tomorrow – Re-Download the Alpha to Play

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

DOOM_Release_Date_Banner

You may already know from our experiences at QuakeCon 2015 that I got my hands on DOOM’s pre-alpha and played the living Hell out of it. The game was absolutely fantastic and lived up to my multiplayer expectations. I even played in the closed Alpha when it launched earlier this year. I still haven’t talked about it due to the NDA’s, but starting tomorrow night at 10:00pm Eastern, 9:00pm Central or 7PM PST? I’ll be playing the living Hell out of it once more, but guess what? This time we’ll have gameplay footage on YouTube, written articles, and even a Live Stream you’ll be able to tune into starting at 9:00pm tomorrow night.

So what’s the schedule for this beta?

 

Start: Thursday, March 31, 2016 @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC – 5)
End: Sunday, April 3, 2016 @ 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC – 5)

Official info from Bethesda below:

Stream, Upload, and Share

We encourage you to share your gameplay experiences from the DOOM Closed Beta. If you have any questions about sharing video content, please review our video policy.

For updates on the Beta, be sure to follow @DOOM on Twitter.

 

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Rumor: Final Fantasy XV’s Release Date May Have Just Been Leaked

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Final_Fantasy_XV01

If you’ve been waiting like myself for a release date on Final Fantasy XV since it was previously announced as Final Fantasy XIII – Versus, our wait is almost over, and that wait is definitely one we can’t wait to have end. According to Push Square an article that popped up on Gematsu has apparently, the journalism site has received possible word that Final Fantasy XV will be launching on September 30th, 2016.

While we speculate this rumor might be just that, we know that Square Enix has been keeping their lips tight on any information regarding the titles launch, and even any press inquiries regarding this information. We have reached out to Square Enix for some validity to this news. Stay tuned.

 

About the Writers:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

Have Dark Souls III International Version? It’s Not Fully Operational Yet States Bandai Namco

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Dark_SoulsIII_001

So you’ve gotten your hands on the International Version of Dark Souls III and have already begun your endless onslaught of enemies while you die, die again, and die a lot more times. Congratulations, it’s a beautiful game from everything we’ve seen on it from YouTube videos and official press kits. However, in an email from Bandai Namco, we’ve learned a few things about this version of the game that may just make you want to wait a few more weeks before opening your copies. We know we are waiting for our release version for sure.

Bandai Namco has not gone without being thankful for the anticipation of the game with its Japanese launch having already happened, but for those int he west? Well there’s a bit more to your version that’s not there. While the game launches on April 12th of this year, a few fans have gotten their hands on the game already. According to Bandai Namco, the version of the game that’s out now doesn’t exactly have all of it’s Day One capabilities there such as multiplayer or other contents that will help further optimize the game for PlayStation 4. While the international release date for the game is on April 12th, it’s out in the wild already. For those of you that have it? Prepare for a bit of a download for your game to have a fully glorious experience.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

QuakeCon’s Third Round of Pre-Registration Goes Live Today

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

UAC-Badge-Featured

If you’re looking to go to QuakeCon and want in. Bethesda has announced that the “BYOC Select-a-Seat’ package is set to open today, March 23rd at 7pm CT/8pm ET at: registration.quakecon.org.

The ‘BYOC Select-a-Seat’ package ($40 | limit of 2,100 packages available), with guaranteed reserved seating, includes:

  • Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area

  • Official QuakeCon 2016 Lanyard

For those of you looking to go without a BYOC seating, general attendee’s can still get in free while also wishing to participate in the QuakeCon events. For those interested in winning a BYOC spot, stay tuned to their social media giveaways, contests, and their event partners leading up to the show. Be sure to keep an eye on our QuakeCon Twitter account and QuakeCon Facebook page for all the details on how to win!

Stay tuned to our page for QuakeCon coverage this summer.

About the Writer:

David_Murphy_Vault_BoyDavid Murphy is B.A.T.G.R.’s behind the scenes man who helps get things up and going as well as keeping things in order. Don’t  be surprised to know that the old man contributes rather heavily to editing, news, and information he digs up so that editorials as well as articles are done properly. He also likes Fallout… A lot. We’re not sure he’s not secretly the Vault Boy in disguise.