April 2019 Games With Gold For Xbox One, Xbox 360 Are Now Available

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Last week, Microsoft revealed the April lineup for Games With Gold, which are free to download for Xbox Live Gold members, and the first of those games are available starting today. In addition to Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (Xbox One), which has been available since March 16 and will be free for another two weeks, two new games are up for grabs: The Technomancer (Xbox One) and Star Wars Battlefront II (Xbox 360, Xbox One). Star Wars Battlefront II will disappear after April 15, while The Technomancer will be available for download all month long.

The Technomancer is an action RPG released in 2016 that’s set 200 years after humans have colonized Mars. The Xbox One game has an in-depth crafting system, multiple fighting styles, skill trees, and a huge world to explore. Plus, don’t miss this chance to get Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2–the light-hearted shooter expands upon the first Garden Warfare with new modes, characters, and more solo content. Then, on Xbox 360, you’ve got Star Wars Battlefront II, which released in 2005 on the original Xbox. The team-based shooter introduced new space combat maps, new classes, and Jedi as playable characters, but otherwise sticks to the Battlefront series’ tried-and-true formula.

Starting halfway through the month on April 16, two more games will become available: Outcast: Second Contact (Xbox One) and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (Xbox 360, Xbox One). Ghost Recon will be free through the end of the month, while Outcast will stick around until May 15.

Free Xbox Games With Gold For April 2019

Xbox One

Xbox 360 (also available on Xbox One)

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from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/april-2019-games-with-gold-for-xbox-one-xbox-360-a/1100-6465943/

PlayStation Store Revises PS4 Refund Policy

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Sony has revised the refund and cancellation policies for pre-orders and purchases through the PlayStation Store. Under the new policies, you can refund pre-orders and purchases, under certain criteria.

According to the store cancellation policy, you can cancel a digital purchase within 14 days of purchasing it and receive a refund, as long as you haven’t begun to download it or stream it already. If you have started to use it, the content must be “faulty” to obtain a refund. Pre-orders can be cancelled and refunded anytime before release, or within 14 days after payment was taken for your pre-order even if the release date has passed, with the same restrictions. Finally, the same policy will apply to season passes and promotional bundles.

The site notes that this only applies to consumables ordered directly through the PlayStation Store, since purchasing through a game itself delivers the content immediately and therefore isn’t eligible for refund. It also suggests turning off automatic downloads if you think you may need a refund on a pre-order, since automatically downloading it when it’s available will make you ineligible as well.

Subscription services like PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Now, and Spotify Premium can be refunded within 14 days, even if the subscription has started, but the refund amount could be pro-rata for the time you’ve already had it.

We recently heard reports that Sony was giving refunds to some players who had purchased Anthem on PS4, following a crashing bug. That would be permissible under the defective part of this clearer policy. Those refunds were given through contacting support, which is the method advised in the cancellation policy page.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-store-revises-ps4-refund-policy/1100-6465944/

Top 10 UK Games Chart: Yoshi’s Crafted World Beats Division 2 And Sekiro To No.1

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It’s a somewhat busy time for new game releases, and one of those new titles claims top spot in the UK physical sales chart this week. Nintendo’s new Switch platformer Yoshi’s Crafted World was the best-selling game in the UK for the week ending March 30, according to sales monitor Chart-Track.

Crafted World becomes the first Yoshi game ever to get to No.1 in the UK, though it was a close battle this week–the Switch exclusive beat The Division 2 by just 63 copies, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Below those two games is last week’s No.1, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which falls two places to No.3.

The other new entries are Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered, which debuts at No.9, Generation Zero at No.19, Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season at No.23, and Outward at No.24.

Yoshi’s new game has enjoyed a positive critical reception, including an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Yoshi’s Crafted World review. “Yoshi’s Crafted World is at its best when it’s relaxing and pleasant,” wrote Kallie Plagge. “The 2D-to-3D level design keeps you curious while the go-at-your-own-pace approach keeps the pressure off and leaves you to appreciate the small, imaginative details. Its most interesting ideas never evolve past their first introductions and are frequently confined to one or two levels, but individually, those levels both reward your curiosity and your willingness to slow down and look at what’s around you–and it’s those simple pleasures that provide the most joy.”

You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

  1. Yoshi’s Crafted World
  2. The Division 2
  3. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  4. FIFA 19
  5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  6. Far Cry: New Dawn
  7. Red Dead Redemption 2
  8. The Lego Movie 2 Video Game
  9. Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered
  10. Forza Horizon 4

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-10-uk-games-chart-yoshis-crafted-world-beats-d/1100-6465939/

Watch 20 Minutes Of Outer Worlds Gameplay Footage From PAX East

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The Outer Worlds is one of 2019’s most anticipated games, and developer Obsidian Entertainment showed off a lot more of it at the gaming convention PAX East over the weekend.

During a panel, developers from Obsidian gave a 20-minute walkthrough demo of the game. It’s a fantastic, deep-dive look at the game, and hearing directly from the developers provides an even better understanding of what you’re seeing and the thinking behind various elements. The video showcases a number of unique and beautiful environments, as well as a series of weapons and numerous characters. Take a look for yourself in the video below from YouTube channel MrRedRivers.

The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi RPG made by Obsidian, the developers of Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas, and South Park: The Stick of Truth. The game is being published by Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive’s indie label, Private Division, and that’s still true even after Microsoft acquired Obsidian.

The Outer Worlds is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Even though Microsoft owns Obsidian, the title will still be released on competing systems such as PlayStation 4. One noteworthy detail about the PC edition is it’ll be released on the Epic Store and Windows Store first, before coming to Steam a year later.

Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, who worked on the original Fallout, are heading up the team making The Outer Worlds. The game is showing a lot of promise, and as mentioned, it’s set for release sometime in 2019.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-20-minutes-of-outer-worlds-gameplay-footage-/1100-6465938/

For Honor Limited-Time Event Brings Rabbids Into The Mix

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Ubisoft has announced a wild and wacky limited-time event for its swordfighting game For Honor.

Now until April 1 at 9 PM PT / midnight ET, players can face off against a new type of enemy: Rabbids. The cute and loveable creatures are in the game now as part of a 24-hour limited-time event. Everyone who participates gets a melee pack, on top of the reward of taking part in such a weird activity. This is no April Fool’s joke, either, as you can see plenty of people fighting against Rabbids in YouTube videos. And here is a screenshot that Ubisoft provided:

No Caption Provided

The new Rabbids-themed event is part of For Honor’s Year 3 content updates; Year 3 is known as the Year of the Harbinger. One of its most notable additions was a new fighter, The Black Prior. Looking ahead, Ubisoft said it will release even more Year 3 content, which includes seasonal events.

While this is a real thing that is happening, there are sure to be numerous fake-outs and more from the world of video games as part of April Fool’s Day, so try to be careful out there.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-honor-limited-time-event-brings-rabbids-into-t/1100-6465937/

r/Games Is Closing For April Fool’s Day, And Here’s Why

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r/Games, one of the biggest gaming communities on the internet, is closing on April Fool’s Day. In a message posted on the popular subreddit today, mods explained that they’re taking things “a little more seriously” this year, and that means closing down /r/Games for the day.

“In recent times, it’s come to our attention that what has been intended to be a forum for the potential spread of knowledge and involvement in video games has instead become a battleground of conflicting ideas,” the mods explained. “Ordinarily, this isn’t an issue; discussion by its very nature is certain to bring argument, but when that argument descends into vitriolic attacks between individuals on a regular basis with no chance at deescalation, that’s when, put simply, something’s got to give.”

The mods went on to say that r/Games is becoming “increasingly responsible” for perpetuating the “combative and derogatory schools of thought” surrounding misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, and racism, among other things. “Now is the time to stymie the flow of regressive ideas and prevent them from ever becoming the norm,” the mods said.

“Though certain memes (such as ‘gamers rise up’) surrounding gaming are largely viewed as a humorous interpretation of a mindset, at the core of the humor is a set of very serious issues that affect all gaming enthusiasts,” they explained. “By showing disdain or outright rejecting minority and marginalized communities, we become more insular. In this, we lose out on the chance to not only show compassion to these people, but also the chance to grow our own community and diversify the demographics of those involved in it.”

While the mods do take action against perpetrators by removing comments and banning bad actors, a underlying fundamental issue persists: “the notion that it’s okay or acceptable to ridicule and demonize traditionally disenfranchised and marginalized members in the gaming community,” the mods said. “This is not just an issue in r/Games or on Reddit alone; this is an issue deeply embedded in the ranging depths of the internet, frequently in communities that center around the discussion of games.”

The mods went on to say that they continually see “condescending, dismissive, vindictive, and pessimistic attitudes” on r/Games, and they posted examples of some of the problematic comments and threads they witness regular. “We must closely examine our own communities, in an effort to encourage acceptance and inclusion, to foster a healthy community in which we value empathy and respect.”

While there are many deep issues, the mods said, there are also reasons to be optimistic.

“Though the industry as a whole has suffered a great deal of trials and tribulations, we also are fortunate enough to be at a point in time in which there seem to be a glut of fantastic games, from major AAA titles down to near-anonymous indie projects that come out of nowhere.

“So let’s revel in what’s available to us, and also appreciate the myriad of backgrounds that we as gamers come from. Our differences in experiences comprise the diversity in the content that we consume, and by allowing ourselves to appreciate those differences, we change our perspectives and interpretations; this applies not only in games, but life as a whole.”

This April Fool’s Day, the r/Games mods are asking people to consider contributing to charitable organisations that support LGBT+, women’s health, POC, and other groups. You can see a full list of the charities and find out how to support them in this Reddit post.

r/Games is expected to re-open on April 2, and on that day, the mods will hold a discussion regarding the decision to close the subreddit.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rgames-is-closing-for-april-fools-day-and-heres-wh/1100-6465934/

Sony Is Closing PS4 Racing Game Driveclub’s Servers Next Year

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All online servers for Sony’s PlayStation 4 racing game Driveclub will be turned off next year, the company has announced. The shutdown will take place on March 31, 2020, and it applies to Driveclub, Driveclub VR, and Driveclub Bikes, Sony said in a statement.

The games will continue to be playable in its offline modes, and players can still earn Trophies, but Driveclub is a heavily multiplayer experience, so the game will lose a significant amount of functionality in March 2020.

Sony will stop selling all the Driveclub games and related DLC and season passes for each title on August 31, 2019.

It’s not just Driveclub that’s losing online functionality. Sony’s PlayStation 4/PlayStation VR title StarBlood Arena will have its online servers terminated on July 25, 2019. This game requires an online connection for everything, so it will be completely unplayable after that date.

Driveclub launched in October 2014, and it faced serious server issues at release. Despite that, the game reached 2 million copies sold as of October 2015, and the Sony-owned developer Evolution Studios continued to support it with numerous and significant updates over time, improving the experience.

In March 2016, Sony closed evolution Studios, though the game saw continued support by other teams within Sony.

Driveclub and StarBlood Arena will become the 19th and 20th PlayStation 4 games to have their servers switched off. Some of the other closed-down titles include Gran Turismo 6, MLB The Show 15, and Drawn to Death, among others–here’s the full list.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-is-closing-ps4-racing-game-driveclubs-servers/1100-6465933/

PAX East 2019: Exclusive Trailer For Stylish 2.5D Stealth Game, Liberated

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Atomic Wolf, the indie developer behind the Bomberman-like Mad Age & This Guy, has given us a first look at a new title called Liberated during PAX East 2019. In stark contrast to the studio’s previous effort, Liberated is a stylish, narrative-driven 2.5D stealth game inspired by noir films and graphic novels.

Set in a bleak, dystopian future where the government is using technology to surveil and manipulate the public, Liberated tells the story of a group of characters who cross paths with the authoritarian police force and a violent opposition group fighting against it. The narrative is framed like a graphic novel; the game is divided up into four chapters, which are presented as four comic book issues, with story and gameplay sequences unfolding across different panels.

Throughout the course of the game, players will be faced with choices that will affect how the story is shaped and lead to entirely different endings. Among other things, players must choose whether to cooperate with the government or the opposition group. As the story unfolds, however, you’ll realize the decision isn’t as black-and-white as it may initially appear, and every choice you make will carry a consequence.

You can watch an exclusive trailer for Liberated at the top of this story. We’ve also captured more than 10 minutes of gameplay footage at PAX East; in the video above, you can watch Atomic Wolf play through a portion of the game’s first chapter, which follows a hacker who was discovered by the police.

Liberated is slated to launch on Steam later this year. Following its PC release, Atomic Wolf is also planning to bring the game to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pax-east-2019-exclusive-trailer-for-stylish-25d-st/1100-6465928/

PAX East 2019: Why Monster Hunter-Like Dauntless Is Coming To Epic Games Store Instead Of Steam

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Earlier this year, Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs announced it is moving the free-to-play Monster Hunter-like RPG from its own launcher to the Epic Games Store, joining a string of other high-profile games that are skipping Steam for Epic’s new storefront. According to the studio, one of the primary reasons behind the move was Epic’s player-focused philosophy and its experience in offering cross-play and cross-progression between different platforms.

“One of the things that we’re passionate about at Phoenix Labs–and was a part of our vision even before we had chosen to build Dauntless–was finding a way to allow players to play together,” Phoenix Labs co-founder and VP Robin Mayne told GameSpot at PAX East 2019. “And so a part of our strategy for Dauntless has been worldwide servers so you can play with anyone wherever they are.

“And then as we thought about our platform expansion, it was really important for us to fulfill our vision of one Dauntless, which is the ability to play with your friends no matter what platform they are on and no matter where they are. So working with Epic on the Unreal Engine and getting to chat with them about their vision for players as well, we realized it was a really big alignment with our vision for one Dauntless and being able to have people play together, and the ability to come to the Epic Games Store, plus Xbox and PlayStation, and be able to do cross-play so that everyone can play together.”

Mayne also reiterated that Phoenix Labs plans to allow players to play with those on other platforms right from the game’s console launch. “Our plan is full cross-play, full cross-progression, so you have your account that you play on, and you can play with anyone regardless of what platforms they are on. The launch this summer focuses on Epic Games Store, Xbox, and PlayStation. We have Switch in the works as well, and plans for mobile along the way.”

While Phoenix Labs has ambitious cross-play plans for Dauntless, it will ultimately depend on Sony, which has only recently begun taking its first steps into cross-play. For years, the company was reluctant to allow PS4 players to play with those other platforms until it finally made the exception for Epic’s phenomenally popular battle royale game, Fortnite. Since then, however, Sony has only allowed cross-play in one other PS4 game: Rocket League. Microsoft, meanwhile, has been much more welcoming of cross-play and has long pushed for Sony to reconsider its stance.

Dauntless is available now in open beta on PC, with a PS4 and Xbox One launch slated for this summer. We got a chance to play the game with Phoenix Labs at PAX East; in the video above, you can watch us team up with the developers to take down a new ice-themed Behemoth called Boreus. Unlike other monsters thus far, Boreus is able to summon minions, making for a chaotic fight.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pax-east-2019-why-monster-hunter-like-dauntless-is/1100-6465927/

Sega Genesis Mini Revealed, Has 40 Classic Games

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Sega has announced the Genesis Mini–or Mega Drive Mini, if you’re in Europe. The compact version of its classic 16-bit console will allow fans to indulge their nostalgia and play a range of old school games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Gunstar Heroes on modern displays.

The Genesis Mini was revealed as part of Sega’s Fes event, which is taking place in Tokyo, Japan, and is scheduled to launch worldwide on September 19. It will cost $79.99 US/£69.99/€79.99/AUD$139.95 and have 40 games.

The company has confirmed that this list of titles includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Space Harrier 2, Shining Force, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, ToeJam & Earl, Comix Zone, Altered Beast, and Gunstar Heroes. Sega has said the remaining games will be “announced intermittently over the coming months.”

The Sega Genesis Mini is based on the Model 1 Genesis, except is approximately 55 percent smaller than its original incarnation, according to Sega. In the box will be the Genesis Mini, two replica three-button USB controllers, one USB to Micro-B power cable, and one HDMI cable. In North America a power adapter will also be included.

The game ports that are on the Genesis Mini were handled by M2, a team that is well known for its work on emulation and re-releases. M2 previously worked on Sega Ages and Sega 3D Classics Collection.

Releasing Mini versions of classic consoles has become something of a trend recently. Nintendo led the way with the NES Classic and the SNES Classic, both of which were received well by critics and went on to be hot commercial items. Sony followed suite with the PlayStation Classic, which wasn’t received as warmly.

For those looking for a more immediate option, and one that offers a few more options, there’s Analogue’s Mega Sg. “While roughly $200 is a lot to spend on a console to play Genesis games, right now, the Mega Sg is the easiest way to get them up and running on a modern TV without sacrificing audio or video quality–the support for Master System and Sega CD games is the icing on the cake,” said Peter Brown in his Mega Sg review.

“Some people will always prefer to go the route of using emulators, and others may only want to play with original hardware and stick to aftermarket mods. But if you are open to the idea of a third-party Genesis console, and you want the peace of mind knowing that it looks and sounds better than the best original console from Sega, there’s no better option on the market than the Mega Sg.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-genesis-mini-revealed-has-40-classic-games/1100-6465925/