Forza 5 with dx12 screenshots

Following on from my earlier dx12 article, here are the first shots of dx12, here being used to power a reworked version of Forza 5.

Review: MGS V: Ground zeroes

Snake?..... Snake?....... SNAKKKEEE!!!!

Calm down Otocon Snakes not dead. Look he's over there with his feet up. You see, he finished his mission in just an hour and now he's kicking back with his bitches and a smoke.

Ground zeroes is short on story. There, that's out there now, yes its a bloody short main mission. But that's not the whole story here.

Lots have criticised Konami's decision to release this installment of metal gear as played for content. Some have even labeled it a glorified demo. In some respects I'm inclined to agree. The main mission in ground zeroes, rescue two hostages, is simple and short, very very short. There's no getting away from that. What ground zeroes does to counter this though, is give the player a number of incentives to, effectively, replay the same content. You see, everything about ground zeroes is wonderful. The gameplay is rich, the story is gripping and the graphics are arguably the best on next gen systems. Trouble is, as good as all those things are, grounds zeroes just doesn't give you much of them. So the trick is to get the player to replay the same wonderful content over and over again. This, Kojima productions has done by introducing side ops and collectibles.
Collectibles come in the form of xof badges, scattered around camp omega ( you need them all to unlock a platform exclusive mission) and audio tapes. Audio tapes are used to flesh out a story that, for a kojima game, is incredibly short on cutscenes.
The side ops mission I felt were satisfyingly varied. Some were set at night. Others during the day. Some required stealth whilst overseas encouraged balls out gunplay. Overall, withe side missions, I've managed to squeeze nearly eight hrs out of the game.

Another bone of contention in the gaming community has been the decision to replace long serving voice actor David Hayter with Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland. I can happily confirm Kiefer does an excellent job voicing the iconic character of big boss. His performance is very understated but the voice still fits Snake really well.

Xbox v PlayStation
I haven't had the opportunity to test old gen versus current gen but I can tell you that, of the new gen systems, it is the Ps4 the edges the contest slightly over the still impressive Xbox one version. Both versions were very close, but texture were occasionally blurred on the Microsoft system and the overall image on ps4 just appeared much sharper.

Sound wise, the audio engineers at konami have done a good job but I think they missed a trick by not having the games many audio logs play via ps4s controller speaker, like shadow fall.

So summing up, great graphics mix well with stellar gameplay here to make a great metal gear solid experience. Whether or not its a game or a demo will come down to how much value you will place on side missions and collectibles. If its purely the story you are after though, then I recommend either renting the game or watching someone else play the main mission on campaign.

Verdict

Graphics 9.5
Gameplay 9
Sound 7
Story 5
Value 3

Overall 7

You will be able to shut off the light bar on dualshock 4

In a recent interview with Sony's head of world wide studios Shuhei Yoshida, game trailers guy Geoff Keighley was able to confirm that, in a future update, the option to shut off the dualshock 4 light bar will be available.
This will come as a relief to many who find the bar distracting during gameplay. The ability to shut the light bar down is one of the most highly requested features for ps4 but up until now Sony has stated the change was not possible.
I guess they found a way?

DX12 announced for Xbox one - big improvements

At GDC today Microsoft have announced the latest API in the direct x line - DX12.
Dx12 is available for all Microsoft platforms including XboxOne. Features include new rendering techniques, more emphasis on gpu, more direct access to hardware ( like mantle) and multi CPU optimisation that provides performance gains of up to 50%.

More news as I get it.

Shadow warrior running at 1080p 60fps on ps4

Currently slated for release this summer, Shadow warrior is still well on course to match developer Flying wild hog's ambitions of 1080p and 60fps.
The developer has also revealed they are on course to release their game digitally in the the summer, but also they are actively seeking partners to produce a physical disc.

Minecraft title update 14 now in testing for ps3 & xbox 360

The latest update for minecraft in finished and currently being testing for certification with Microsoft and Sony. Usually this can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks

Minecraft Title Update 14 Notes

Added new items

· Emerald
· Emerald Ore
· Block of Emerald
· Ender Chest
· Tripwire Hook
· Enchanted Golden Apple
· Anvil
· Flower Pot
· Cobblestone Walls
· Mossy Cobblestone Walls
· Wither Painting
· Potato
· Baked Potato
· Poisonous Potato
· Carrot
· Golden Carrot
· Carrot on a Stick
· Pumpkin Pie
· Night Vision Potion
· Invisibility Potion
· Nether Quartz
· Nether Quartz Ore
· Block of Quartz
· Quartz Slab
· Quartz Stair
· Chiseled Quartz Block
· Pillar Quartz Block
· Enchanted Book
· Carpet

- Added new recipes for Smooth Sandstone and Chiseled Sandstone.
- Added new Mobs – Zombie Villagers.
- Added new terrain generation features – Desert Temples, Desert Villages, and Jungle Temples.
- Added Trading with villagers.
- Added Anvil interface.
- Added sideways log placement.
- Changed placement of half blocks and other blocks on half blocks.
- Changed placement of upside down stairs and slabs.
- Wooden Buttons and Wooden Pressure Plates can be activated with Arrows.
- Can dye leather armor.
- Can dye wolf collars.
- Can control riding a pig with a Carrot on a Stick.
- Added different villager professions.
- Villagers spawned from a spawn egg will have a random profession.
- Furnaces can use wooden tools as a fuel.
- Ice and Glass panes can be collected with silk touch enchanted tools.
- Nether mobs can spawn in the Overworld from Portals.
- Creepers and Spiders are aggressive towards the last player that hit them.
- Mobs in Creative mode become neutral again after a short period.
- Remove knockback when drowning.
- Doors being broken by zombies show damage.
- Ice melts in the Nether.
- Cauldrons fill up when out in the rain.
- Pistons take twice as long to update.
- Pig drops Saddle when killed (if has one).
- Sky color in The End changed.
- String can be placed (for Tripwires).
- Rain drips through leaves.
- Levers can be placed on the bottom of blocks.
- TNT does variable damage depending on difficulty setting.
- Book recipe changed.
- Boats break Lily Pads, instead of Lily Pads breaking Boats.
- Pigs drop more Porkchops.
- Slimes spawn less in Superflat worlds.
- Creeper damage variable based on difficulty setting, more knockback.
- Fixed Endermen not opening their jaws.
- Added new Host Options for flying, invisibility and invulnerability for remote players.
- Added teleporting of players (using the player menu in-game).
- Furnace will return an empty bucket when fuelled by a bucket of lava.
- Updated Bonus Chest content with more items.
- Added new tutorials to the Tutorial World for new items and features.
- Updated the positions of the Music Disc Chests in the Tutorial World.
- Added new languages – Danish, Finnish, Latin American Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish and Turkish
- Various network issue fixes.

Splinter cell movie gets a director.

Ubisoft pictures Montreal have announced that Doug Liman (The Bourne identity) will direct the upcoming Splinter cell movie based on the popular stealth action games.
The project has been on the drawing board ever since 2011 when it was given the green light.
Tom Hardy will play video game icon Sam Fisher in the movie.