Author - Jerry Paxton

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Gets Fourth Free Content Update

The fourth free title update for the acclaimed Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion arrives today for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One X, and Steam. This update features the New World debut of the Blazing Black Dragon Alatreon, the monster variant Frostfang Barioth, a new seasonal in-game event, and more. The Iceborne team’s sixth developer update video also teased what’s in store for future updates, including Master Rank layered armor and the arrival of a fan-favorite monster in the New World.

Pack for the Elements, All of Them

Every A-list hunter knows that proper preparation prevents poor performance while on a hunt. When facing Alatreon’s unstable elemental nature, even the best equipped A-listers will have their plans and provisions put to the test. Depending upon whether Alatreon has entered the Dragon, Fire, or Ice elemental state, any would-be assailants must change their tactics to anticipate a devastating number of possible attacks from both the land and air. Be warned, once Alatreon readies its mighty Escaton Judgement attack, only those dealing damage with the correct element can help minimize the incoming shockwave. Hunters getting fired up to tackle this draconic menace now that it has arrived should prepare to weather all of the elements, or risk their squad being put on ice.

Biting at Alatreon’s heels, the chilling new monster variant Tempered Frostfang Barioth will be available to all Iceborne players as part of a limited-time event quest arriving on August 7. This new Barioth variant exhales a freezing gust of wind that freezes the ground to make every encounter a battle for positional advantage. Even hunters who think they have the upper hand after forcing Frostfang Barioth to flinch must beware its retaliatory breath of ice while it recovers. Those hoping to best this frigid fighter should prepare to fight tooth and claw for their chance at victory.

All hunters brave and skilled enough to overcome these encounters will be rewarded with materials to forge brand new top-tier Palico gear, weapons, armors featuring new set bonus skills, and decorative pendants.

New Seasonal Event

Starting July 22 through August 6, Seliana’s Lunar Terrace will celebrate the summer with the new seasonal Sizzling Spice Fest. The whole Gathering Hub is also looking to turn up the heat, with meaty new meals at the canteen, carnival-inspired decorations, a new Poogie costume, seasonal Palico gear, paid seasonal Handler costume, and a new snowman design. Hunters looking to spice up their wardrobe can redeem tickets from log-in bonuses, seasonal bounties and event quests to obtain the new Passion α+ armor, new layered armor such as the monstrous new Kelbi and Aptonoth armor, rabbit ears, and more.

Gameplay Adjustments, and New Downloadable Content

Title Update 4 also includes a number of new system features and paid DLC for hunters to enjoy. Hunters searching for elusive monsters can now make use of Guiding Alchemy at the Elder Melder to create Special Tracks. These Special Tracks draw out a specific monster of their choice while out in the Guiding Lands, making it easier than ever for players to control which monsters they encounter. Fashion hunters looking to glitz up their new weapons and armor can now choose from even more exciting pendant designs. Once they return from the field, hunters can choose from a new swath of Paid DLC options for Your Room, including new monster figures, music options, and Lynian inspired décor. Finally, those interested in showcasing their progress throughout Iceborne can choose from number of new Squad Card and Guild Card designs to help display their hunter’s achievements.

Future Updates

More challenges and surprises await the intrepid hunters of the Fifth Fleet, with the debut of Master Rank layered armor, and the New World arrival of an unannounced monster in the next title update. More info on this fan-favorite is coming soon.

For more details on all of the title updates for Iceborne, please visit the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne website.

WRC 9 Safari Rally Gameplay Trailer Released

NACON and KT Racing are pleased to unveil the preorder bonus and Digital Deluxe edition content for WRC 9, the official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship. The game is planned for release on September 3, 2020 on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC from the Epic Games Store, then on PlayStation®5, Xbox One Series X and Nintendo Switch™ at a later date.

Rediscover the Safari Rally Kenya gameplay trailer unveiled during NACON Connect:

WRC 9: Digital Deluxe edition – loaded with official content

The Digital Deluxe edition of WRC 9 includes everything fans can dream of for total immersion in the WRC experience. As well as the base game, players who can’t wait will get advance access to the game 48 hours before it officially releases on 1 September. The exclusive Digital Deluxe edition also includes a 3-month subscription to WRC +, the official video platform for the championship. It airs all stages of the season live and includes expert analysis, driver profiles and much more.

In addition, the WRC 9 Digital Deluxe edition includes 3 DLCs with even more official content:

  • A bonus car – the legendary Toyota Corolla WRC, the championship winning car in 1999, which has an impressive record of sealing a podium finish in 95% of the races it was involved in – a true icon in the hands of the most prestigious drivers!
  • A super special stage – the Barcelona Super Special Stage, one of the most technical of the season right in the heart of the city of Barcelona. With narrow roads and full of bends, it requires extreme concentration.
  • A head start – start WRC 9’s Career mode with more experienced staff to give the start to your professional driving career a boost.

Preorder bonus – The Audi Quattro A2 in the starting blocks!

Creative SXFI Gamer Headset Unveiled

Creative Technology has launched its flagship gaming headset, the Creative SXFI GAMER. Powered by the exceptional BATTLE Mode audio profile, a brand-new CommanderMic with professional-grade clarity, wired through a Kevlar-reinforced USB cable and topped off with a stunning RGB light design, SXFI GAMER is simply the ultimate weapon for complete gaming immersion and domination.

Gaming Sounds Real Like Never Before

Having snagged 23 best-of-show awards over the last two editions of CES 2019-2020, users and critics have been blown away by the next-generation realism of Super X-Fi headphone holography.

Since the start of this year, Super X-Fi products have been upgraded to Gen2, an improved and expanded version of Super X-Fi which incorporates key enhancements like higher accuracy in personalizing a user’s audio profile, extending more details in the surround sound configuration, better audio positioning and fidelity.

The SXFI GAMER incorporates all of these and goes one step further with BATTLE Mode, a specially-designed audio profile which optimizes Super X-Fi to a perfect fit for FPS games – environmental imaging, audio cues, distance projection and directionality are all enhanced with unprecedented levels of accuracy for the competitive gamer’s benefit, while preserving the essence of the award-winning holographic audio experience.

Look, Feel and Talk like a Pro Gamer

Besides its sharpshooter audio quality, the SXFI GAMER performs in various ways befitting bona fide pro gamers.

The CommanderMic makes its debut in a completely new acoustic design which includes an integrated pop filter. It sports Creative’s latest SXFI inPerson microphone technology, which uses a special algorithm to enhance speech pick-up while suppressing ambient noise effectively.

The SXFI GAMER also ups the cool factor with its custom-designed, Kevlar-reinforced USB cable, which is meticulously engineered for strength and durability as it drives high-speed data transfer to deliver its maximum potential for gaming. The new RGB lighting design on the earcups, which allows users to customize their combat get-up with 16.7 million colors to choose from, provides the finishing move for the SXFI GAMER’s assault on gaming headsets.

Creative’s CEO Sim Wong Hoo said, “Gaming has always been entrenched in our DNA, since the earliest days of Sound Blaster more than 30 years ago.

“After we successfully created Super X-Fi, which critics have hailed as the holy grail of headphone technology, we did not rest on our laurels. We went ahead and spent a great deal of effort and resources to further improve Super X-Fi, especially targeting the gaming sector. The BATTLE Mode is here, and together with the CommanderMic and other features, the SXFI GAMER truly embodies the culmination of our very best technologies in a gaming headset.

“At the same time, the SXFI GAMER allows you to communicate with others as if they were in front of you, and also they would be able to hear you clearly. Hence it would be a great tool to Work-Learn-Play from home with.”

Pricing and Availability

SXFI GAMER is priced at US$129.99 and is available at Creative.com.

For more information, visit us.creative.com/sxfigamer.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales iOS Launch Trailer

Thronebreaker is a single player RPG set in the world of The Witcher, combining narrative-driven exploration with unique puzzles and turn-based battles. Players take on the role of Queen Meve of Lyria and Rivia, who is forced to enter the warpath in the face of an impending Nilfgaardian invasion. To stand a chance against her enemies, Meve must amass a powerful army, which means setting out on a dark journey of destruction and revenge.

This latest release brings the complete Thronebreaker experience to iOS, with dedicated touch-screen controls designed for mobile play, as well as cloud-save support so players can pick up from where they left off on PC — and vice versa. By playing Thronebreaker on iOS, players can also unlock various bonuses in GWENT: The Witcher Card Game for iOS, PC, and Android, including unique ornaments and 20 cards to be used in multiplayer battles. Additionally, players can claim a set of digital Thronebreaker goodies for free, including the official soundtrack, concept art from the game, and an annotated map of Lyria.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is currently available on iOS, PC (GOG.COM & Steam), as well as Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. An Android version is planned for release later this year. For more information regarding the game, visit the official website.

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X3 Review

Creative Labs released the Sound Blaster X3 at the end of 2019. What is the Sound Blaster X3? According to its product sheet, the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X3 is a “Hi-Res 7.1 External USB DAC and Amp Sound Card with Super X-Fi for PC and Mac”. What does this mean, though and why do you need one? Well, the short answer is that you might not.

The Sound Blaster X3 is a small dark gray/black plastic box with a really cool blue halo light around the large control knob on the top of the unit. It’s not the most eye-catching product Sound Blaster has ever released but its aim is to be a bit more classy than just a product blinking with more RGB LEDs than a Las Vegas casino. What the X3 does is plug into your PC via a USB cable and act as an external Sound Blaster sound card for your gaming rig. Along the top of the Sound Blaster X3, you’ll find the big control knob, audio balance mode button, direct mode button, and SXFI button. On one side of the X3, you’ll find a microphone input and headphone output while on the opposite side of the unit, you’ll find the many speaker output ports, fiber optic output, a line-in port, and its USB input port (for power and connection from your computer). The reason for so many buttons and button combinations to access various audio modes, is that the X3 was designed to be portable.

So, if you already have an internal Sound Blaster sound card like the Sound BlasterX AE-5 or AE-5 Plus, you don’t need an X3. However, if your computer doesn’t already have a sound card or is due for a sound card upgrade, you might consider the X3 for its portability and feature set. Not only does it act as a 7.1 multi-channel USB DAC with up to 32-bit / 192 kHz playback, but it can also drive studio-grade headphones thanks to its headphone amplifier capability. And that’s not just virtual 7.1 surround sound or anything like that. You can actually plug in a discrete 7.1 speaker system into this small box!

Also of note is that the Sound Blaster X3 is built with Super X-Fi Gen 2 audio holography technology. I can’t even begin to understand how they accomplish the audio clarity and realism heard with this technology. I have been lucky to experience it several times in both its Gen 1 and 2 configurations and am consistently blown away by its effects. This little box can put out some very realistic audio whether its playing your favorite movie or video game. Most recently, I put on Independence Day to celebrate the holiday weekend (gotta love Goldblum, Smith, and Pullman) and, again, just couldn’t get enough of the audio quality provided by the X3. Of course, it is worth mentioning that if you plug in a very cheap pair of headphones or speakers into the unit, you’re not going to magically get amazing sound. I guarantee you, though, it will sound better than just plugging them into a generic onboard motherboard audio port.

The Sound Blaster X3 allows you to take full advantage of your headphones and speakers, so your amazing headphones will sound all the better once plugged in and setup with a Super X-Fi audio profile. To setup your sound profiles, you will need to use the desktop Creative Labs program or the Super X-Fi mobile app. For my purposes, I used the Sound Blaster X3 for a few weeks in both work and play environments – I listened to music while working on papers and other documents. I also plugged in my favorite headphones to the unit while doing some late night gaming sessions. Whether its your favorite music app or first-person shooter, you’ll be glad you have the X3. You can even use Dolby Digital Live encoding on the PC platform. I mention that platform specifically as, while you can use the X3 on the PS4 and Nintendo Switch as an external USB headset, you won’t get the Dolby Digital Live on it (although you can still get Super X-Fi modes to work for better console audio).

Overall, I have found the Sound Blaster X3 to be as discernibly good as any internal sound card I have had the chance to test out. It’s portable, it’s capable, and it’s a very economical purchase given its features. Creative Labs is even running a 15% off special on the unit if you already own a Sound Blaster card (see the website for details). The Sound Blaster X3 retails for $119.99 and is available now.

King’s Bounty II Battle System Dev Diary

Prague, Czech Republic – July 2, 2020 – 1C Entertainment presents the third episode of the King’s Bounty II dev diaries series. In this new episode, you will learn about the game’s combat system, the battle balance and innovations introduced to familiar mechanics.

Also in the new video:

  • How the combat system has evolved from series to series
  • What are the special features of the new King’s Bounty II combat mechanics
  • New unique units: who are they?
  • How the spellbook works in King’s Bounty II

The King’s Bounty turn-based tactics series returns with King’s Bounty II. In addition to the tactical depth fans expect from its combat, immerse yourself in the fantasy world of Antara with a whole new, non-linear narrative and deep RPG mechanics that give weight to your every decision. This world is full of bright events, memorable characters and moral dilemmas!

Upcoming dev diary episodes will provide more details on the story, game modes, and playable characters in King’s Bounty II. Watch the previous dev diaries here. For more information about King’s Bounty II, visit the official website, or follow the game’s official Facebook and/or Twitter page.

Lovecraft Country Announced for HBO Max

July 1, 2020 – From showrunner and executive producer Misha Green, HBO’s new drama series LOVECRAFT COUNTRY debuts SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, the ten-episode series follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he journeys with his childhood friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) on a road trip from Chicago across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams). Their search-and-rescue turns into a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and monstrous creatures that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback.

The series stars Jurnee Smollett (“Birds of Prey,” “Underground”), Jonathan Majors (“Da 5 Bloods,” “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”), Aunjanue Ellis (“When They See Us”); Abbey Lee (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Jada Harris (“The Resident”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”), and Michael Kenneth Williams (HBO’s “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire”). Recurring guests include Courtney B. Vance (HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” “American Crime Story”), Jamie Chung (“Once Upon a Time”), Jamie Neumann (HBO’s “The Deuce”), Jordan Patrick Smith (“Vikings”), and Tony Goldwyn (“Scandal”).

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY is executive produced by Misha Green, J.J. Abrams, Jordan Peele, Bill Carraro, Yann Demange (who also directed Episode 1), Daniel Sackheim (who also directed Episodes 2 and 3) and David Knoller (executive producer on Episode 1); based on the novel by Matt Ruff.

Produced by afemme, Inc., Bad Robot Productions and Monkeypaw Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Stellaris: Galaxy Command Out Now

STOCKHOLM – June 29, 2020 – Paradox Interactive has today announced that Stellaris: Galaxy Command, the sci-fi strategy mobile game based on the worlds of Stellaris, is available worldwide on iOS and Android. Players around the planet can now take control of their own orbital space station in a persistent, player-driven world to aid in the reconstruction of their space empire.

Begin your galactic conquest and join fellow spacefarers at the below links:

iOS: https://pdxint.at/2V8T9I5
Google Play: https://pdxint.at/37MXPIK

Check out the trailer here:

Enter the galaxy of Stellaris: Galaxy Command, where the inter-dimensional invasion which has laid waste to our universe is finally over and a time of rebuilding is upon us. Join the Galactic Redevelopment Initiative to take charge of your own orbital space station, forge new alliances, and re-establish control over vast, lost sectors of space. Hardcore strategy on a galactic scale is now at your fingertips in Stellaris: Galaxy Command!

Stellaris: Galaxy Command features include:

  • An Authentic Stellaris Experience on Mobile: The definitive space strategy comes to mobile with visuals, characters, and an original storyline that fans of Stellaris will find intimately familiar and immersive.

  • Alliances in a persistent, player-controlled universe: Take part in a massive, persistent world controlled entirely by players. Forging alliances is key, and the galactic map changes based on the actions of you, your allies, and your rivals. How you build and expand your empire, tax or trade with others, and construct defensive structures will have real consequences for other players.

  • Space Station Management: Take charge of your own orbital space station as one of many enterprising individuals committed to making their mark in a rebuilding galaxy. Expand your station, research new technologies, and extend your influence throughout the stars.

  • Ethics: Lead your empire with ethics that define your civilization and its guiding principles. Your decisions in-game can influence your ethics, and the consequences of your actions will have ramifications not only for your station, but also for the entire alliance.

  • Powerful Fleets: Flex your intergalactic military might as you build up your fleet, arm it with the latest technology, and work together with allies to take control of entire galaxies.

  • Mysteries of the Universe: Rebuild a galactic civilization after a near-catastrophic interdimensional alien invasion, making new discoveries and writing your own story along the way.

  • Galactic Strategy in Bite-Sized Bursts: Designed for short play sessions, you can check on your station, fleet, and alliance throughout the day to ensure your station is constantly researching and expanding and that your fleet is strategically rearming to deal with new threats.

For more Stellaris: Galaxy Command news follow us on Twitter here and check out the website here.

Dying Light – Hellraid Announcement Trailer

June 28, 2020 – Dying Light, Techland’s open-world action adventure game is getting a new DLC this Summer. Dying Light – Hellraid is based on Techland’s currently-on-hold first-person dark fantasy slasher. The gameplay released today shows the descent into Hell where the players will be able to find all new weapons and slay new enemies.

Dying Light – Hellraid DLC adds another game mode with a progression system, and can be played in both single and co-op. It will be released on July 23 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at $9.99. Those who preorder the DLC on Steam today will receive beta access for the weekend (June 26 – June 29).

Phantom: Covert Ops Launch Trailer

June 25, 2020 – We are proud to announce that Phantom: Covert Ops, for the Oculus Quest and Rift platforms, is now available for purchase on the Oculus Store for £22.99/$29.99/€29.99.

Seated in a military-grade tactical kayak, Phantom: Covert Ops immerses players in the role of an elite and deadly covert operative dispatched into remote, hostile wetlands with the sole aim of defeating disgraced former Soviet General, Nikolai Zhurov (played by David Hayter). Every action in the game, from silently hiding while enemies search, to reloading weapons, to strategically planting explosives, is recreated in stunning 1:1, bringing levels of tension, immersion and excitement never before experienced in the stealth-action genre.

Developed by nDreams and created in partnership with Oculus Studios, Phantom: Covert Ops has been described as “one of the most immersive VR games you’ll play this year” and has received numerous awards, including the E3 2019 Game Critics Award for Best VR Game, since its first showing last year.

“Phantom: Covert Ops has had so much passion, hard work and creativity poured into it by the team here at nDreams. They have delivered a truly immersive VR game and words can’t express how proud I am of them”, said Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO. “I’ve been blown away by what they, along with the support of Oculus Studios, have achieved throughout development, especially on the Oculus Quest. This really is stealth action redefined for VR and we can’t wait for people to be able to play it.”

Phantom: Covert Ops is out now for Oculus Quest and Rift platforms on the Oculus Store.