Monthly Archives: May 2019

The 2019 version of Call of Duty that players are getting this year is set to be titled: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare”, bringing players back a decade when “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” launched.

The game is set in the same universe as the previous title, and is being developed by Infinity Ward, who also put out “Call of Duty: Ghosts” and “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare”. The game will have its own storyline, but it's not known whether or not it will feature characters from the Modern Warfare branch of games.

The game has been leaked to key streamers and the likes of NFL stars for the past few weeks, but the rest of us may have to wait until next week to get some details. There’s speculation that the game will be revealed on May 30th, but there’s no hard information to back up that claim. If we don’t hear anything on the rumored date, we’ll almost certainly get some details at E3, which takes place in Los Angeles next month.

The leak of

This past week gaming giants Microsoft and Sony announced that they’re coming together to work on “new innovations to enhance customer experiences.” The agreement is leading to speculation that the two groups will be developing some form of cross-play solution for the next generation of game consoles.

The two groups released a joint press release where they announced that the two standoffish companies will indeed be coming together, at least in a limited capacity. The press release reads: “Under the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties, the two companies will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services.

“In addition, the two companies will explore the use of current Microsoft Azure datacenter-based solutions for Sony’s game and content-streaming services. By working together, the companies aim to deliver more enhanced entertainment experiences for their worldwide customers.

Facebook’s VR arm Oculus is gearing up to release their new VR headset, and it appears that the Oculus Quest is the real deal… at least according to reviewers.

The Quest will begin shipping in late May and will bring Rift-quality experiences to a self-contained VR headset. That means no wires and no stupid base stations that you have to place around your room. So far, it appears that reviewers are on board with most facets of the device, praising the build quality, resolution, gameplay, and new Touch controllers.

Coming in at $399 for the 64 GB version or $499 for a 128 GB version, the Quest is looking to break into the mainstream market. It's slated to have about 50 games available at launch, including bonafide hits like Beat Saber and VR Chat. Making things better is that there’s reported to be cross-device purchases being ported over. This means if you bought a game for the Rift, you can download it to your Quest for no extra charge (if it is available on that platform).

Game developer Square Enix has finally shown another snippet of their most hotly anticipated game. That’s right, the Final Fantasy VII Remake Trailer was finally shown off again for the first time in three years.

Square Enix showed a teaser trailer for the game at the PlayStation State of Play event, which shows off new game announcements for the platform. The teaser is brief at just over a minute long, but it does show some gameplay as well as bits of the iconic story. Cloud, Aerith (Aeris), Barret, Jessie, and Sephiroth all make appearances.

The game was first shown at E3 2015, but has reportedly been in development hell as Square Enix brought development in-house after CyberConnect2 botched it. The result has been a delayed game that’s had to be re-designed from scratch.

For their part, Square Enix isn’t giving away too much here. They’re promising more information next month at E3, but it's unknown whether or not they’re going to be giving us a release date. FF7

Overwatch creators Blizzard held an investor call recently where president J. Allen Brack stated that there would be more content coming to the hit shooter for the foreseeable future.

The call revealed that Overwatch support from Blizzard will continue through at least the 2020 fiscal year, and likely well beyond it. There were multiple hints from Brack that Blizzard sees the franchise as being able to sustain multiple projects, including different genres or media iterations.

In his call to investors, Brack stated: "Overwatch is a huge tentpole franchise for Blizzard and we’re continuing to dedicate the resources and the attention so that we can continue to grow the community and the franchise over time.”

Blizzard is certainly living up to their end of supporting Overwatch. The game is now three years old and the company is regularly adding new levels, characters, gameplay features and more.

Furthermore, they’ve also gone so far as to launch an eSports

Last week a Nintendo executive shared that a new Nintendo Switch won’t be shown at this year’s E3, while also suggesting that the company is actively working on new hardware.

The hundred-year-old former Japanese card maker has had an unexpected hit with the Switch, which is nearing 35 million units sold in just about two years. The device’s success has generated rumors that Big N is working to develop a less expensive version to maximize sales, while also working on a “pro” version that will have increased graphics capabilities.

Nintendo has so far not tipped their hat officially to either device, but they did say that they won’t be showing off new hardware at E3 this year, which takes place in June in Los Angeles. Speaking to financial news agency Bloomberg, Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa said, “As a general rule, we’re always working on new hardware and we will announce it when we are able to sell it, but we have no plans to announce that at this year’s E3 in June.”

California-based video game developer Visual Concepts is reporting that more NBA 2K19 players are using the Portland Trailblazers after the team’s stunning series win against the Oklahoma Thunder last week.

Damian Lillard sank the Thunder on a last second 3-pointer in Overtime during Game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. The shot was seen live on national television and has done wonders for the popularity of the Oregon-based team.

According to 2K19’s official Twitter page, there’s been a 62% increase in players electing to play as the Trailblazers following the win. Lillard and teammate C.J. McCollum are rising stars in the NBA, and gaining national exposure with big playoff performances is helping. It’s unknown whether or not the selection increase only applies to online games, but we reckon that there’s a surge in offline modes as well.

NBA 2K9 is the long-standing champ when it comes to video game basketball, easily

Activision executives confirmed yesterday that the new Call of Duty will be announced soon, setting the internet ablaze with anticipation and rumors.

The revelation was made during a phone call with investors, where executives generally give boring information about revenues, debts, and such. Once in a while though, we’re treated to good nuggets of information, and this proved to be one such time. According to the company, Activision will be announcing the next title sometime before the end of June.

There are rumors that the newest entry into the series will be Modern Warfare 4, but that is so far unsubstantiated. The game is being developed by Infinity Ward, with their most recent game being Black Ops 4, which launched in October of last year. The game was reviewed well and introduced a Battle Royale mode.

Activision seems keen on keeping player numbers up post-launch for the newest entry, with COO Collister Johnson noting: “We

For the money, you’d assume that the Astro C40 TR controller would be among the best in the business. The much-heralded controller was hyped extensively as being one of the best upcoming options for 2019. After the big launch though, things don’t seem to be stacking up too well for the C40 TR.

Reviewers have complained that the C40 TR has several missing features and questionable build quality. Interestingly, the C40 TR cannot power on the PS4, which is shocking to see from a $200 controller. Others have noted that there are issues with drift in the sticks, and others have complained about buttons going out after just a few weeks worth of play.

By far, the biggest issue seems to be the lack of tension in the thumbsticks. This is a real concern when you’re playing racing games or shooters, as you lose out on accuracy or control when your sticks are too loose. The issue has gotten bad enough that we’ve begun adding Pro-Tension to Astro C40 TR thumbsticks,

Since he first came onto the scene ten months ago, Air Bear has become popular for delivering honest custom game controller reviews. Going in-depth, Air Bear explains the ins and outs of different hardware, from actuators to skins to wraps, and more.

Recently, Air Bear did an Evil Controllers review where he went hands-on with our modded controllers, letting us know where we got things right as well as what we got wrong (we ended up adding the tactile triggers!). He walked viewers step by step, showing off all of the different options, which include: faceplates, mapping, grips, mods, thumbsticks, color and trim, personalization, and warranty.

Air Bear also went on to give what he would do if he was building an Evil Controller without breaking the bank. What is his build for this situation? Well, it looks something like this:

+ No faceplate
+ Add shift buttons
+ Add re-mapping
+ No sensitive buttons
+ No tactile D-pad
+ Standard left stick