Digital Extemes’ TennoCon 2016 Sold Out and is a Success

July 14, 2016July 14, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Nekros Prime is on his way.

Conventions aren’t anything new. You’ve probably been to a few of them, you’ve even seen the awesome news that comes from them, but what happens when the master minds behind Warframe get their own show? A soldout success. Having taken place in London, Ontario – Tennocon 2016 brought in over 1,100 players from around the world in order to celebrate Warframe on July 9th, 2016.

Remaining as a free and devoted to game by developer Digital Extremes – Warframe is a free-to-play smash hit from the independent developer and sole publisher of the title. With the first-of-its-kind event, Digital Extremes brought forth their players, nicknamed the Tenno; they offered up activities, panels, tournaments, and even the opportunity for the games dedicated community to meet with one another as well as the developers.

Earlier this year, the company pledged to donate 100% of all ticket sales for TennoCon to go to their charitable partner, Outward Bound Canada, which supports the program for at-risk youth, women survivors of violence, and military civilians that are transition from being in service to civilian life. Today, Digital Extemes is proud to announce together that they raised over $74,000 CAD in ticket sells to the charity.

“I’m not often speechless but there are no words I can say that captures the excitement and emotion felt when meeting so many fans today in person,” said Steve Sinclair, creative director at Digital Extremes. “It was an incredible experience for me and the entire Warframe development team to see how games — our game — can bring people together in such a positive way. Our community is second to none and they proved it by making our first TennoCon a huge success not only by attending but also by raising a significant amount of money for a very good cause.”

The event was brought to a close with a special edition of Warframe’s well known TennoLive show, which streamed live on Twitch.tv, which game Tenno an exclusive-first-look at some of the upcoming content, which included a new “The War Within Teaser”, which can be seen below.

As a final installment of the current three-part-update that has bee nunder way sarting with the release of the games already quite enjoyable sports mode, Lunaro, in June, The Specters of the Rail Last Week, and the first-look of War Within, which features Conclave Master and Operator Teshin. Console players can expect to see the content shortly after the PC debut of it.

Additionally, Tenno at the event got to see the debut of the new warframe Titania. Lead by Design Director Scott McGregor – he explained the plans for the upcoming designs as well as ability for the warframe that is currently in-the-works. Among these highlights is the explanation behind the suits ability to shrink down to 1/10th of the suits normal size, which allows players to navigate levels in archwing mode while attacking enemies with swarms of Titania’s powerful and destructive butterfly minions. Just note that not all of this is not final and is subject to change.

While there the 100 Days of Warframe teaser was revealed, which is being done with a partnership with Paul Otaking77077 and the the people at mashed. 100 Days of Warframe will be an action-packed short that pays an homage to the original awakening of the Tenno when Warframe launched. You can expect more about this later this summer when we receive the news. If you missed TennoCon 2016, you can check out the complete archive of TennoLive on the official YouTube Channel for Warframe.

Warframe is free-to-play on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 4, Xbox One through the Xbox Marketplace, and for PC on www.warframe.com. Make sure to check them out on Twitter and Instagram also.

About the Writer:

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.

Warframe Can Change the Way Players Should View Triple-A and Free-to-Play Titles

July 13, 2016July 14, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

It’s been a long journey that has taken my Tenno across the solar system. She has traveled across the vast and sprawling landscapes of Saturn to the harsh and venomous climates of Venus. She has fought unimaginable threats of an old world to an enemy long forgotten in order to attempt keeping peace in the solar system. She has tested her skill against her own fellow Tenno and proven her loyalty to the Lotus. In her free time away from fighting threats to the universe to keep balance, she has now taken on a sport once forgotten in time titled “Lunaro” where she has shown her prowess and agility outside of combat.

Truth is, Warframe is not just a game, but a living and breathing entity.

Warframe – developed and published by Digital Extremes – has proven that the game has more than what it takes to market itself as a triple A title. The title itself has received multiple updates that have pushed story, new exploration, weapons, time-based exclusive items for players, and even new innovations to gameplay performance as well as tweaks to mechanics already in place. Truth is? Warframe is not just a game, but a living and breathing entity. It has changed itself in ways to better perform as well as keep fans interested as the years go on. It has also changed the way I look at playing games such as Call of Duty, which receives constant content drops, but at the cost of personal time, money, and grinding. Something Warframe players are well adapted to thanks to the in-game store that uses real-money currency called “Platinum”.

If you’ve played games like Smite, you are used to the word “Gems,” if you’ve played Grand Theft Auto V it’s the equivalent to the in-game cash cards you’ll purchase for GTA Online. The difference here? Almost everything in Warframe is virtually ready thanks to how developer Digital Extremes has made the game accessible for fans on both ends of the spectrum; paying and non-paying. Thanks to their approach to how the monetary system works, over 98% of Warframes content is free thanks to how Digital Extemes worked their virtual market. With exclusive Renown Packs launching on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; it’s not surprising when players get a chance to dash across their screens to equip their new gear they just purchased. Let alone does this help fuel the in-game economy, Digital Extemes has made the game more widely accessible than any other title to the current date.

Warframe doesn’t just offer up massive content updates that feature new warframes, weapons, attachment, appearance items, mods, etc – the game is virtually a gamers wet-dream thanks to their approach. With a public trade system, Warframe has allowed for a mass market of in-game purchasing to become possible. Here is where the game surely makes most of its money as players will dive into the platinum portion of the store to, buy a few platinum, and purchase the latest frames and mods needed. You might be asking though, what does this have to do with this game being a triple A title even though it’s free?

Th answer lies deep within Warframes very core, which varies itself as game that can be competitive, it can be cooperative, and even the constant bit of content that is released through the games major updates. These updates will only be getting bigger with the upcoming major update titled “The War Within” in the games 19th update, which will continue our current story arch from Second Dream. If anything from the trailers above and below show us anything? Warframe seeks to take the industry by storm as the first big triple a free-to-play title since its launch and even inception.

For players that have been playing on both console and PC – the game has seen itself grow in multitudes of ways to fit players from all walks of gaming preferences whether it’s competitive, cooperative or even sports. As one of the major new additions to the Conclave function of the game Warframe has now sought to attract players with its own take on a mix of sports such as basketball, soccer, and even football with its own custom sport “Lunaro” (review for the Lunaro content coming soon).

In short, Lunaro may remind fans of multiple sports to be exact – but this one sticks unique to its own. With a ball being at its core, a goal, and the need for fans to stop each other from scoring – it’s a huge twist on the earlier mentioned sports. This is only a small example of how the game has been evolving in the past and continues to do so with each passing day.

If Warframe proves anything? It’s that the title will be heading into an entirely new territory when Update 19 launches in the upcoming days. For more information about update and its future, please feel free to visit the Official Warframe Website.

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Harebrained Schemes Launches Necropolis on Steam

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

So you’ve managed to sprawl your way through the Cyberpunk RPG series Shadowrun from the sprawling streets of Seattle to the neon lit districts of Hong Kong. Parting ways from these standings, the critically acclaimed studio Harebrained Schemes has decided to take us into a labyrinth of death in their newest title Necropolis.

The award winning title has officially released on PC’s via Steam. As a permadeath 3D action roguelike title, Necropolis seeks to pop itself to life with off-the-wall humour, beautiful eye-candy art styles, diabolical traps, and even a plae filled with creatures seeking your ultimate demise. Think you can do it alone? If not it’s fun for those who want to seek an adventure together with an easy drop-in and drop-out 4-person cooperative multiplayer campaign. Why? So you don’t have to go to the grave alone.

Much like the famed franchises that punish players with perma-death such as the hardcore modes from Diablo and Torchlight – Necropolis seeks to do the same as players move across a magical and living dungeon. As players fight deeper within it, the dangers grow even more gruesome. Ready to die? If not, prepare to die quite a bit while hunting down loot and moving through the randomly populated and created dungeons.

“We’re really excited that folks can finally get their hands on NECROPOLIS.” said Jordan Weisman, Chief Creative Officer of Harebrained Schemes. “It’s a shining example of why we named this place Harebrained Schemes in the first place – we follow our passion – and the minute the team pitched this game, we knew we had to make it.”

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc. will be publishing the console versions of NECROPOLIS later this summer. Stay tuned for our upcoming review.

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Ubisoft to Challenge Trials Fans with Free Copy of Trials of the Blood Dragon on PC

July 6, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

If you’re one for a challenge, Trials is a series that’s great for that, and Ubisoft isn’t shying away from this knowledge. Today Ubisoft has announced that they want to allow their community to win a copy of Trials of the Blood Dragon on Windows PC. Starting on July 22nd, they want to allow PC players to download the demo of the full game and eventually challenge their way through it with 15 faults or less, which will allow them to be rewarded with a full copy of the game. This means that players will also be competing against one another through the global leaderboards to see who can with with the fewest faults.

In the fullversion of Trials of the Blood Dragon, players will challenge each other across 30 missions that span across different worlds, allow uses of different gravity-defying vehicles, tools, and more as they compete for the title of being the best across each map. Additionally, players will be able to enjoy the game’s soundtrack that was composed by Power Glove.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a follow up to the critically acclaimed series. It is available for download on the worldwide on Xbox One, Windows PC, and PlayStation 4.

Trials of the Blood Dragon, the follow-up to the successful Trials series, is available for download worldwide on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

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Op-Ed: How EA’s Battlefield and Bungie’s Destiny Help Fight My Depression

July 3, 2016November 28, 2018 / Dustin Murphy / 2 Comments

You’ve seen it before. We’ve all seen it. Roughly 5.6 million American’s are diagnosed per year with manic depression. It isn’t just something that pops up as you may see in commercials. It’s a imbalance that causes those suffering from it to go from extreme highs (happy places), to mediums (that meh mood), to the lows (good luck consulting these people, Chuck). To those that suffer from manic depression simple tasks like putting on shoes is like asking us to grab the nearest cinder block and put it on. To others it’s like asking them to try and walk through a blizzard without a winter suit on – it’s not happening.

Depression, as you may have read in my article on Creators, is not fun, it is not beautiful, and it’s not what television shows make you believe it is. It’s lonely, it’s painful, it’s emotionally draining, and at times it makes you feel as if all hope is gone. When I first experienced my extreme high to my extreme low – it was hard, it was damning, and it was the single most painful experience in my life. As a gamer, I’ve always played games, I’ve always loved games. If you asked anyone that knows me – my room is a sanctuary to video games. However, I didn’t always have online activity for gaming, I was one that was mostly offline unless a PC was available and could run my titles of interest; Battlefield Vietname, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2142, Tribes 2, Call of Duty, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six to name a few.

Thanks to the modern era of gaming we’ve seen online focuses become a pivotal role in gaming development. Titles like EA’s Battlefield, Need For Speed, and even Star Wars Battlefront have become titans within the gaming world. Those titles are easily clashed against with competitor titles such as Destiny (Bungie), Call of Duty (Activision), Overwatch (Blizzard), and even upcoming games such as LawBreakers (Boss Key Productions, Nexon America). All these titles have a common theme – they’re all shooters, they’re all filled with competitive components or focus, and they all require team work to enjoy.

As part of suffering depression, there is a trend we tend to follow: social withdrawal, negative thinking, and negative thoughts. All of these as stated in my article I linked above, depression hits all of us differently, but all of us fall into the same routine of isolation, dwelling, and ultimately negativity. As this happens our capabilities of being social begin to decline – this is where video games come in – especially competitive ones requiring team work and communication.

Over the course of the past sixteen years, I’ve fought depression endlessly, sometimes tirelessly – at the middle of this fight has been an interactive media I known much of my life: video games. In the course of going through it I began to explore the involvement of video games, how they help, what medical assistance they could provide (remember those Alzheimer articles?) for those with mental disorders.

So you may be wondering how video games helped me fight depression as well as continue do so – namely with the games listed above, and that’s where we’re going next. As someone who plays a lot of Destiny, Battlefield, and Overwatch when I’m not writing for reviews or even writing to write – I’m playing team based games. The interaction and immersion required has helped me over the years find a way out from my depression, it has allowed me to keep my social interactions with my friends, but it has also kept that big elephant in the room from blowing up like a blimp. The games require team communication, social interaction, high amounts of concentration, and constant mental coordination.

On Battlefield this can include taking objectives while remembering where enemy jets, snipers, helicopters, tanks, or what have you, and being able to make the audible call out. This interaction, while minimally social, can also bring up key points of communication so that the person suffering from a depressive spell – isn’t thinking about it. Games such as Destiny? Require close to the same interaction based upon what a player is doing. If it’s a raid? Players will be communicating with five other fireteam members, making call outs, and even coordinating with their team so that they can have an assured victory. If PvP? Players must coordinate where they are going, what their objective is, where the opposing players are, and how they are going to go about eliminating them to secure their objectives.

When returning to Battlefield, it’s hard to say what portion of the game is going to help others as it does myself. For some, the idea of grabbing a helicopter, piloting around while having team mates shooting, deploying, and ultimately seizing capture points is a rather novel thing – one that offers up a sense of self-worth. It also can provide some ridiculous moments when a team full of combat ready players get their boots on the ground because of the pilot. Let alone does Battlefield offer up many forms of distraction, it offers up a vast beauty of a digital world around the player. One that can’t fully be explored via helicopter or lightening fast jets. Sometimes it requires the player to simply run around, taking in what sights they can in these ever-changing battlefields that they’ll ‘deploy’ onto. As things move on with the next installment; I’m sure I’ll move onto Battlefield 1 when the time comes to continue my coping mechanism.

With ever-changing elements in gaming, Battlefield has served a respective purpose in my life, one that has helped me cope for over 14 years as someone who fights bouts of manic depression. If Battlefield and Destiny can help me, what games have helped you, a loved one, a family member, or a friend of yours? Let us know in the comments.

About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders 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.

CNN’s Courageous and Square Enix to Partner with Square Enic for “Human by Design” Conference

July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Augmentation, it has been a topic up for discussion as the advancements on prosthesis has begun to make headway in the recent years. It has even gotten to the extent that we are seeing people who are blind getting a second chance to see, people who’ve lost legs being able to walk, dance, and move as if they had never lost their limbs. It has even gotten to the extent I ran an editorial on how close we are to bridging the gap between man and machine.

With their series that has broken boundaries in questioning what it means to be human, Square Enix has announced that in correspondence with CNN, they will be partnering with the brand studio Courageous in order to host a first-of-its-kind conference on human augmentation. Human by Design will be held at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on August 3rd, 2016. This conference will explore the gaps between humanity, technology, with the goal of bringing together the top minds for debate, question, and the ability to challenge what it means to be human as we advance technologically.

If this conference has already peaked your interest, you can visit the official website for more information in regards to the human by design conference: www.humanxdesign.com/.

As part of the launch plan for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – a sequel to the smash hit Deus Ex: Human Revolution – both titles developed by Eidos-Montréal, and published by Square Enix – have teamed up with Human by Design in order to promote the game. In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided humanity has become filled with hatred, prejudice, and fear of those who have been augmented compared to those who are still “Natural”. The title will explore the near-future possibilities that could be come truly possible. All of these will be explored in the conference where they will discuss how technology has begun to rapidly shape the human condition as well as ethics of self-regulation that Deus Ex’s Universe has already begun to see as possible and true.

“Since the launch of Courageous, we have been committed to pioneering the evolution of branded content to help brands tell more powerful stories,” said Otto Bell, vice president and group creative director of Courageous. “Human by Design greatly embodies this approach, as we’ve assembled a group of thought-leaders across the fields of science, technology, ethics, and cyborg activism who, for the first time, will come together to discuss the cutting-edge technologies and innovations that are shaping human augmentation.”

“Human by Design goes beyond bringing to life the key themes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This conference is a special opportunity for a video game to take pause from the limitless world we play in, and to drive the conversation around what is really happening in the space of human augmentation,” said Jon Grant, senior product marketing manager at Square Enix. “Our hope is that the gaming world tunes into the conference and is inspired to get involved as well.”

Official Featured panel sessions at Human by Design (The following information from here is as given to us by Square Enix):

Is Augmentation a Human Right?: How can augmentation be accessible to everyone on the planet?
E. Christian Brugger, Cardinal Stafford Professor of Christian Ethics at John Vianney Major Seminary in Colorado and author of hundreds of articles on topics in bioethics, natural law theory and the interdisciplinary field of psychology and Christian anthropology.
Dr. Natasha Vita-More, Designer, researcher, and scientist who explores the intervention of biological limited lifespans, selective enhancement, and related socio-political issues.
Adam Arabian, Ph.D PE, Technical Director of multiple nonprofits and Professor of Engineering at Seattle Pacific University, focused on supporting refugees and underserved communities globally.
Dr. Steve Mann, Chief Scientist at California-based Metavision, Inventor of HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging, Founder of MIT Media Lab Wearable Computing project and widely regarded as “The Father of Wearable Computing.”

Selective vs. Therapeutic Augmentation: Who should have the final say on augmentation procedures — doctors or individuals?
Neil Harbisson, British-born cyborg artist and activist best known for having an antenna implanted in his skull to perceive visible and invisible colors such as infrareds and ultraviolets via sound waves.
Dr. Michael Chorost, Author of Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human, the groundbreaking “cyborg memoir” about getting a cochlear implant.
Samantha Payne, Co-Founder of Open Bionics, an award-winning startup developing low-cost bionic hands for amputees or those born without a hand.
Dr. Homayoon Kazerooni, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as Director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory.

The Future of the Far Far Next: What will medical advances enable 10 years from now?
Will Rosellini, IP Expert and serial entrepreneur with three companies in progress that focus on repairing the nervous system using active electrical devices.
Lucy McRae, Science-Fiction Artist, Director, Body Architect, and TED Fellow probing the frontiers of the body, health and human adaptability.
Zoltan Istvan, Futurist, Author of best-selling philosophical novel The Transhumanist Wager, and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate of the Transhumanist Party.
Tan Le, Founder and CEO of EMOTIV, a bioinformatics company advancing the understanding of the human brain through electroencephalography (EEG).

The conference will culminate with the presentation of The Code of Ethics on Human Augmentation. Drafted by the Human by Design Board, which is comprised of conference speakers, The Code is meant to engage a deeper conversation around the issues of human augmentation, while reflecting the specific views of the authors, in an effort to help shape the future of the industry.

To bring global access to the live event and provocative conversation, Courageous will capture original video of the conference that will be distributed in ad space across CNN’s digital and social footprint, including CNN’s Snapchat Discover channel and Turner’s social distribution platform, Launchpad. The conference will also be streamed live on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/deusex.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is set to launch August 23rd, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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Balrog, Ibuki, and the “A Shadow Falls” Cinematic Story Expansion Release for Street Fighter V

July 1, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

In the left corner we have Balrog, a reigning world champion boxer that is entering the rng to take on our contestant in the right corner, Ibuki. Ibuki has traveled all around the world honing in on her martial arts skills where she can step in the ring and prove her capabilities as a master ninja. As of now? Let the fight begin!

As these two major characters have launched, so has the new and highly-anticipated cinematic story mode titled “A Shadows” fall, which takes place over five acts. These acts finally bridge the gap between Street Fighter III and Street Fighter IV. This story depicts the battle between Shadaloo organization and the heroic World Warriors whom have chosen to take them down for the name of all that is good. This will allow players to enter the battles in the role of the 16 core characters along with the newly released 6 and unreleased characters in 2016 that will come soon. As a free DLC, Shadows Fall will allow consumers to take on the largest expansion to date for the series.

Along with this release, new arenas such as the Las Vegas stage for Balrog and Karin’s Kanzuki Family Private Beach. Both are available for purchase or with in-game fight money. Along with the release of the two characters, two stages, and the new story=mode also brings in premium battle costumes for all 20 released characters that are currently available. The update also comes with Matchmaking improvements to include faster as well as smarter matchmaking along with a better all-around online experience.

For those looking to buy into the real money currency options, here’s a bit of the details to go along with it.

New Characters: 100,000 | $ 5.99 / € 5.99 / £ 4.99
New Stages: 70,000 | $ 3.99 / € 3.99 / £ 3.29
Alternate Stages: 40,000 | $ 1.99 / € 1.99 / £ 1.69
Story Costumes: 40,000 | $ 1.99 / € 1.99 / £ 1.69
Premium Costumes (Battle and Summer) ——— | $ 3.99 / € 3.99 / £ 3.29

This is a good enough deal that even Birdie has even stopped eating his meal.

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BioShock: The Collection Announced, Remasters Free to Existing PC Owners

June 30, 2016June 30, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

There’s something luring about the BioShock series. Whether it’s the idea of being deep underwater in a Speakeasy period nightmare or even to the skies in the 1920’s to 1950’s themed America on a floating city, but what if you could visit all these in one swift go? Today game publisher 2K has announced they are re-releasing BioShock as not individual games, but as an entire collection featuring the games story-based DLC missions. It is confirmed through the official 2K Blog that the collection will only contain the games, all previously released story-based DLC and a removal of BioShock 2’s multiplayer. This collection is set to release for North America on September 16th, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

It has been also noted on the official Blog that BioShock Infinite will not be getting a remaster as it sits at their visual and performance expectations. The others we can imagine will look just as beautiful with these new visual and performance updates. With Steam’s Summer Picnic Sale offering the BioShock franchise for $10.51, this is a hell of a bargain for those looking to own the series and get the remastered for free. It has not been outlined if this will require players to own all DLC before-hand. Now, would you kindly wait for our review this September?

Source: BioShock the Collection Announcement – 2K Blog
Source for PC: 2K – BioShock: The Collection Announced – Steam Community Update

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The Division’s “Undergound” Expansion is Now Available for PC and Xbox One

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

The wait is finally over. You’ve seent he dangers that lurk deep below the streets of New York. You’ve seen the enemy threat that is preparing to take over the subways, the tunnels, and now sewers. Here Agents will find themselves trekking through each randomly generated dungeon together as they explore their way through these tunnels in order to stop the new and powerful enemy threat. With this threat? Comes new loot and the Hell’s Kitchen Incursion named “Dragon’s Nest”. This new incursion seeks to offer up the most threat for players as the new and most difficult one as enemies will show off their largest as well as single-most deadly threat yet.

Additionally, there’s a little surprise in there for those of you without the season pass or having purchased the content separately for $14.99. So lets take a peak at the official notes.

Additional Free Content Also Coming with Update 1.3

Additional Expansion I: Underground Feature
– New Gear Sets
• B.L.I.N.D. – Control the battlefield with an improved Pulse skill and flashbangs with this hybrid gear set.
• DeadEYE – Dictate long-range engagements with powerful critical strikes or accurate headshots.
• FireCrest – Set enemies ablaze with this offensive gear set.
• Reclaimer – Boost the entire group with this ultimate support set.

In addition, starting today Update 1.3 will add new free content for all players on Xbox One and Windows PC, and will be available on July 5 for the PlayStation®4 system.

Update 1.3
• Find and equip 9 new weapon types.
• Experience Hudson Refugee Camp and Queens Tunnel in Challenge mode for better rewards.
• Play the new Heroic difficulty to unlock top-tier rewards in incursions and select missions.
• Get the all new Alpha Bridge gear set.
• Discover the Terminal, a new shared social space inside the Base of Operations.

Is it enough to make you wander the streets of New York a bit more starting now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Ten Games You Should be Buying on Steam’s Summer Sale

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 / Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

So that wonderful time for PC gaming is upon us. The Steam Summer Picnic Sale is here and it’s in full swing. The glorious crackle of wallet fueled bonfires is here and the sound of ISP’s groaning from bandwidth usage is upon us. With games such as DOOM. Bombshell, Arma II, Arma III, Rust, The Forest, Shadow Warrior, and thousands more on sale, it’s hard to sift through all those good-to-play games in order to find ones to play. But fear not! We’re here, we brought our picnic basket, and we’re about to share with you a few of our secret video game hidden snacks you may want to bring to your digital picnic. So lets get straight to business and take a little peak into our basket to see what you may be looking over.

#10 – The Forest – ~~$14.99~~ | $11.99

So you’ve decided for this glorious time of year to take your vacation on a plane. Unfortunately, you’re not heading to the same beach we are at, but instead it’s filled with cannibals prepared to turn you into their picnic snack. Your goal is to survive, to salvage anything usable from a forest, and hope that you can outwit your unfriendly hosts. With man or woman premium steak on their menu, it’s surely time to fight back, and prepare your local fort for the best survival chances you may have. Daylight as you would assume is your best friend. Here you’ll be able to gather supplies, build your tools, and even build a safety nest to hide within.

Soon as sunset begins to roll around? Your not-so-friendly neighbors decide to invade, steal your picnic basket, and drag your body along the sandy beaches to prepare their very own moonlit picnic. What’s on the menu? You are.

#9 – The Secret World: Ultimate Edition – $~~59.99~~ | $20.39

So you may not be one for the awesome beach side views where you’re knocking the heads off of hostile cannibals, gotcha. Instead you’re the one that likes to stay inside, read a book, and head on to take out enemies the world has never seen. Lets say the show Grimm is one of your favourites – not a problem. Welcome to Secret World, a world that exists outside of our own in many ways and special people, namely you, are chosen to help protect it from unforeseen forces. With the Illuminati, the Dragons, and a few other factions truly existing, it’s up to you to stop evil at all costs – also it’s up to you to look badass doing it in this MMO subscription-free title.

As a once monthly-subscription based game, Secret World is the book of MMO’s that decides to step away from the traditional play style of games like World of Warcraft and to create their own unique touch. If that’s something for you? Here’s your book, enjoy the shade this summer.

#8 – Shadow Warrior – ~~$49.99~~ | $4.99

You’ve decided to get a taste of the Asian sights this year. Awesome-sauce. Coming up your alley is your chance to take on the sword-wielding badassery that’s Lo Wang. If you are one for satirical puns, a humorous host, and a demonic side-kick, it’s time to get your trip through Japan underway.

As a remake of the 1997 Classic, Shadow Warrior brings back all the sword and gun wielding fun in a modern touch. With up dated mechanics, gameplay flow, and graphics? There’s nothing to pass-up here as you’ll scale your way through demon infested Japan in order to kick the living Hell out of anyone that gets in your way in order to take out those looking to ruin your vacation.

#7 – The Witcher Franchise – ~~$79.97~~ | $26.52

So your trip so far has been a wild one, so far we’ve gone from beautiful beaches that ended up being cannibalistic, to a book that took you into a beautifully written fantasy world, and now we’ve decided to go back in time. Welcome to a new fantasy Dark Age based on a fictional Europe where dragons, witches, goblins, faeries, demon’s, siren’s, elves, mages, and much-more await to test your skills as you go horse back riding. On your adventure you’ll be following the guidance of a gentleman, one who’s not truly so gentle, by the name of Geralt of Rivia. Geralt is a special hunter known as Witcher, a unique breed of slayers who hunt the impossible for financial gains and to purify the world of trouble.

With their ability to slay these creatures, you’ll get to see fantastical sights never before-seen as players push through this new and ancient world. If that’s something you enjoy, here’s your chance to see something unique as you across the mountains, through castle streets, and even caves galore. Just remember, swimming isn’t always your friend.

#6 – Rocket League Deluxe Edition – ~~$23.99~~ | $14.39

Your trip has brought you here. The taste of futbol with cars has gotten your attention. It sounds impossible, ludicrous, and ultimately beyond enjoyable. Welcome to Rocket League where soccer, racing, and pure insanity have mixed to bring you the next big sport for cars. Here players are pitted against each other to score the most goals while pulling off insane tricks, blowing each other to pieces, and all around being an adrenaline junkie bad ass.

If that’s something you’re up for, the games name explains it all as players are put in multiple arenas around the world, sporting their national flag, and working together to be the best of the best.

#5 – Arma X: Anniversary Edition – $49.99 | $9.99

After a weird night of a few drinks, a few tattoo’s, and somehow crossing over into Europe, you’ve been enlisted into the U.S. Military – or you’ve been enlisted this entire time. Well your duty has been yanked into combat. You, your friends, and your country are now needing you to be the best of the best. In Arma and Arma 2 (this pack contacts both games and all DLC. It does not contain Arma III), you’re goal is to fight in a hyper realistic combat setting where enemies will hunt you, they’ll attempt to kill you, and their combat mechanics are perfect.

With your friends in-tow it’s time to see just how well you can prove yourself to your digital country and survive your trip across Europe.

#5 – Kingdom’s of Amalur: The Reckoning Collection – $~~39.99~~ | $9.99

Your military enlistment didn’t last long. Somehow you’ve been knocked back into a fantasy world by the name of Amalur. Here you’ve been revived and become the chosen one. Of sorts really, but your death has been prevented by the use of magic and science. As you’ve awoken the lab you are being tested on falls under attack in order to take you out. As enemies besiege it, it’s time for you to fight back, and survive. Why? You’re the last of your kind and the only one that has the chance to be the hero Amalur needs in its time of despair.

Here you’ll take your vacation across unique terrains ranging from lush forests, rocky valleys, and sun scorched deserts. Let alone do you get to see these, you even get to see a few beach side camping grounds that just happen to be littered with enemies waiting for you to take them out one by one. Unless you die again, then all is lost.

#4 – DOOM (2016) – ~~$59.99~~ | $39.99

So your ideal vacation was to go to Mars and see the exotic red planet. Unfortunately your trip didn’t go the way you planned and now your DOOM Slayer pal and you are having to take out the minions of Hell just to enjoy your sandwich. Unfortunately these heart-munching, flame-lobbing, cybernetically enhanced a-holes have no want to share the last few bites. So now? It’s your time to bash your way through the blood riddled landscapes of Hell and Mars in order to ruin their day – all for ruining your very own summer vacation spot where you decided to pitch up your umbrella for a few cold drinks.

This latest title from legendary studio id Software goes back to what made DOOM the series it was. It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s bloodier than Hell itself, and its soundtrack is undeniably made to be an adrenaline pumper and get you in the mood. If you were expecting Frank Sinatra or Aretha Franklin – sorry kid, those two are up in Heaven drinking whiskey and champagne watching you kick Hell’s ass.

#3 – Fallout 4 – ~~$59.99~~ | $29.99

Somehow you managed to find your way back from Hell and Mars – only to be back on Earth. Now you find yourself in 2077 after the bombs have fallen and a good chunk of humanity has been wiped out. It’s not a great place to be, but thankfully the Minute Men are there to save the day once you run into these lads. Luckily they are willing to help you settle down, have a few gasses of irradiated tea and find your missing kid. Yea your missing kid here. If you didn’t know you have one? Surprise. Now get in there and fight like there’s nothing else worth fighting for as much as this.

Did we mention you get to shoot off nuclear bombs, kill gigantic enemies, and fly around in airships? Yea that happens.

#2 – BioShock Franchise – $~~69.97~~ | $10.51

Well your picnic hasn’t been exactly the one you want nor has your summer vacation. You’ve gone from a once peaceful plane flight to a forest full of cannibals to Mars, to Hell, and back, and now somehow you’ve managed to sink your Power Armor to the bottom of the ocean into Rapture. If blowing up nuclear bombs, detonating demons into a thousand pieces, and even fighting off Ogres galore hasn’t been your ideal path of survival – here’s your next stop. BioShock is the renowned creative child of developer Irrational Games.

BioShock’s franchise allows fans to travel deep within the waters of coastal America where a world of people have decided to break away from the government, live among themselves, and keep to themselves. Down here they’ve also learned how to harness Adam and Eve to make themselves even more powerful. This isn’t limited to the idea of wielding special abilities such as shooting bees from your finger tips, lighting a candle with the snap of your fingers, or powering a bulb just by holding it. If you like the idea of going from the ocean to a floating city above the clouds, this franchise is right up your alley.

#1 – Bombshell – $~~34.99~~ | $11.39

So your luck has absolutely sucked to this point and it’s about to suck more once you step into the shoes of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison who you’d swear is Duke Nukem’s twin sister. Crafted by the minds behind “The King”, Bombshell takes you on a wild adventure to fight off an alien enemy threat while moving across multiple terrains in your fight to return home. Downside? Your nemesis is not about to let that happen too easily and he’s going to make you fight for that two way ticket.

If you can manage to get out? At least you can say your Summer Vacation was one Hell of a ride, but you somehow lost your food along the way.

What are some titles you’d suggest to your fellow gamers? Let them know in the comments or just let us know what games you snagged up this year before the sales end July 4th.

About the Writer:

Blast Away The Game Review

A little bit of news, a little bit of reviews, and bit of games from around the world for you.

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