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GOG’s DRM-Free Steam Competitor Now Open to Public

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CD Projekt RED‘s GOG Galaxy platform has been in an early alpha stage for a few months now, being tested by a few thousand players. Today, GOG Galaxy has reached an open beta and is now available to any and all Windows and Mac (Linux soon) gamers to test.

“With GOG Galaxy, we can start bringing new, big games to GOG.com,” says Piotr Karwowski, VP of online technologies. “The first major release will be The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which will offer automatic updates, achievements and stats. We’re getting ready to release and fully support even more AAA titles in the future.”

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Like Valve’s Steam, GOG Galaxy is an online gaming platform and marketplace. Unlike Steam, however, everything on GOG Galaxy is DRM-free, just as it is on GOG.com. Players will be able to auto-update and one-click install their GOG library games, but everything is optional. You can choose whether or not you would like auto-updates on and if a patch breaks something, GOG Galaxy has a rollback feature to restore your game to a previous state. You will never have a single-player game that requires you to be online just to play your game. Plus, you can download a DRM-free backup copy of your game.

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GOG Galaxy will also have friends lists, chat, game time tracking, and achievements, but where it really shines is the multiplayer options. Not only will there be online multiplayer and matchmaking, but certain titles will include cross-play. Cross-play will allow for cross-platform multiplayer with your friends on Steam.

“For us, quality trumps quantity. We meticulously think about every feature and how can we make it better.” says Karwowski. “We also know that people want to have freedom of choice, so GOG Galaxy and its features are not forced on you. Making it optional is the best motivation for us to make it better; we want it to be so good that you’ll actually want to use it.”

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When GOG Galaxy was announced last year, I remember feeling cautiously excited about the whole thing. But as someone who would rather shop at GOG, but enjoys Steam’s platform, I think CD Projekt and GOG are doing something spectacular by establishing cross-play between Steam and Galaxy for some titles. This will definitely help more AAA publishers to put their big games on the platform. For example, if Ubisoft puts Rainbow Six Siege on both Steam and GOG, removes their ridiculous uPlay DRM, and allows for cross-play, I would be hard-pressed to not get the game on GOG over Steam. I’ve also been debating on which platform to get The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and I may very well take the leap to Galaxy with that game.

You can signup for the GOG Galaxy beta now for Windows and Mac at GOG.com/galaxy. A Linux version will be coming soon.

To see CD Projekt RED’s announcement from last year, check out the video below:

Far Cry 4 Complete Edition to Combine Far Cry 4 and Season Pass

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Ubisoft announced that Far Cry 4 Complete Edition will land on shelves on June 19, 2015 for PlayStation 4 and PC in the UK. The edition bundles the base game and all five DLCs from the season pass. No world on pricing or if other regions will be getting Far Cry 4 Complete Edition at this time.

Far Cry 4 is set in the fictional nation of Kyrat, loosely based on Nepal. The country is torn asunder by the corrupt government led by the despotic dictator Pagan Min and the Golden Path rebel group, which itself is struggling with internal power divisions. Players take on the role of Ajay Ghale, a young Kyrati who grew up in America, as he fulfills his mother’s dying wish to have her ashes returned to Kyrat. His plans go awry, after he is caught in between the battle between Pagan Min and the Golden Path.

Jason Voorhees Available Tomorrow for Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack Owners

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“Ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma…” NetherRealm has hosted another Kombat Kast, this time showcasing Mortal Kombat X‘s first DLC “guest” character, horror icon Jason Voorhees. Along with our first look at his actual gameplay variations, it was also confirmed that the Jason Voorhees Bundle, containing the famous slasher and the Horror Pack – comprised of three skins (Vampiress Mileena, Pharaoh Ermac and Kraken Reptile) – will be available for separate purchase on May 13 (may not be a Friday, but close enough).

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Of course, if you have already purchased the Kombat Pack season pass equivalent, these first DLC offerings will be downloadable starting tomorrow! The Kombat Pack itself can still also be purchased for AU$44.95. If you’re not a fan of committing to the Kombat Pack, the Jason Voorhees Bundle will set you back $11.95, or you can get Jason separately for $7.55, and the Horror Pack for $5.95. That goes for you PC gamers on Steam as well. Speaking of, Ed Boon himself revealed during the aforementioned Kombat Kast that the PC version will be receiving a patch tomorrow that should bring it up to complete parity with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 editions.

Additionally, it was announced that Android users will finally get their hands on Mortal Kombat X for Mobile tomorrow, and that a big PlayStation 4 patch, that shall effectively cut down loading times for online stats, Faction War and Living Towers retrieval, is being rolled out as we speak. If you’re unconvinced about Jason Voorhees’ inclusion in Mortal Kombat X, check out his release trailer above, and the Kombat Kast below for an in-depth exploration of his fighting style. Oh, and uh…a little tease for a certain predatory bad-ass.

Boba Fett is Getting a Movie in 2018

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Last Friday, it was announced that Josh Trank, director of the upcoming Fantastic Four, would be leaving Disney‘s second anthology Star Wars film. Today, The Wrap confirmed what many have been speculating since the standalone films were announced: Boba Fett is getting his very own film.

Let’s backtrack a bit. Trank was announced as the director of one of three anthology films in the Star Wars universe in June 2014. We had not heard much about any of the films until Star Wars: Rogue One was announced at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim last month. However, Trank was not in attendance at the convention, claiming he had the flu. Disney confirmed this at the show, but it was rumored that Disney had asked Trank not to attend.

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Then, this past Friday, May 1, it was announced on StarWars.com that Trank was leaving the project of his own volition, saying:

“After a year of having the incredible honor of developing with the wonderful and talented people at Lucasfilm, I’m making a personal decision to move forward on a different path. I’ve put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some original creative opportunities. That said, the Star Wars universe has always been one of my biggest influences, and I couldn’t be more excited to witness its future alongside my millions of fellow Star Wars fans. I want to thank my friends Kathleen Kennedy, Kiri Hart, Simon Kinberg, and everyone at Lucasfilm and Disney for the amazing opportunity to have been a part of this. May the Force be with you all.”

Of course, if there is any bad blood between the two parties, it would never come out this close after the partnership fallout.

But today, it has been confirmed that the project which Trank left was a Boba Fett anthology film. It is said that this film will be another that is outside Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its sequels, like Star Wars: Rogue One.

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Since some of his time after the death of his father, Jango Fett, has been covered by The Clone Wars animated series and could also be told within Disney’s current Star Wars animated series, Star Wars Rebels, maybe this film will chronicle his time after falling into the sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi. Since it was a downright silly way for anyone to die — let alone the most ruthless bounty hunter in the galaxy — the new film can be good redeemer.

There are still no story details or a title for this film, but Disney/Lucasfilm is looking for a new director and it should arrive in theatres sometime in 2018.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character Reveals

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2015 is a big year for Star Wars. Not only are we getting a revamp of Star Wars Battlefront on PC and consoles along with the recently released digital editions of all six Star Wars films, but December brings a new film in the series: Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. So much is still unknown about the upcoming Disney-produced film, but Vanity Fair sent famed photographer Annie Leibovitz to Pinewood Studios in London to capture some beautiful moments from the upcoming film’s production.

Click each image for a full-size viewing.

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Adam Driver as Kylo Ren [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

As we all assumed, the Sith baddie with that odd-looking three-pronged lightsaber from the first teaser was Adam Driver playing the film’s villain, Kylo Ren. Just in case you weren’t 100 per cent certain that he is definitely the villain, he is pictured above leading snowtroopers. You can’t be a good guy and lead those guys around.

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Smugglers, bandits, and other morally questionable folk gathering at Maz Kanata’s castle. [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

A rogues’ gallery (get it?) filling up the main hall of pirate Maz Kanata’s castle.

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Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

The second character reveal comes from Oscar Isaac. Climbing out of his X-wing, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron will be one of the heroes in The Force Awakens. Yes, you read that right. The Rebel Alliance is now known as the Resistance.

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Lupita Nyong’o playing Maz Kanata [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

Above, tracking dots are affixed to Lupita Nyong’o’s face for her to play the CGI pirate character, Maz Kanata. We do not know on which side of the Resistance Kanata lies, but considering her castle full of rogues in the image above, I’d say she may be this trilogy’s Jabba the Hutt.

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J.J. Abrams directs Daisy Ridley as Rey [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

Daisy Ridley’s Rey sits atop her speeder, taking direction from J.J. Abrams on the planet surface of Jakku. We do not know Rey’s last name yet, but everyone has a feeling it begins with an ‘S’ and ends with a ‘kywalker’. I’m sure we’ll find out more soon enough.

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Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

The final character reveal is Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones) as Captain Phasma, one of the leaders of the First Order, this film’s new version of the Empire. Many remember Captain Phasma from the recent teaser, even going so far as to refer to her as the “Chrometrooper”. With one stormtrooper that we know to be a hero in this film, maybe Captain Phasma could be another. But considering how bad-ass she looks, my guess is that she is pure evil.

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From left: John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

Here, we see a bit of the old and the new that is mixed in The Force Awakens. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and co-writer/director J.J. Abrams sitting with composer John Williams — who also composed the music of the previous six films in the saga — and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan — who co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — all sitting together and working on this new entry to the beloved franchise.

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Vanity Fair June 2015 Cover [Photo by Annie Leibovitz]

Last, but certainly not least, the cover for Vanity Fair‘s June 2015 issue. From the left, we see John Boyega as Finn, the droid BB-8, Daisy Ridley’s Rey, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, and Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite scruffy-looking nerf-herder, Han Solo.

There will be one more Annie Leibovitz photo released tomorrow afternoon and we will be sure to update this post when it goes live.

Until then, feel free to pick up the June 2015 issue of Vanity Fair on Tuesday, May 12, at newsstands or get the digital edition a few days early on Thursday, May 7.

Also, check out a video from Annie Leibovitz’s Vanity Fair photoshoot, featuring Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, and more at Pinewood Studios:

Free Dragon Ball Xenoverse Revival of ‘F’ Pack DLC Out Now

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We speculated that the formerly exclusive costumes from Revival of ‘F’ would be in DLC pack 3 for Dragon Ball Xenoverse but we’re quite shocked to see they weren’t included. However Bandai Namco have done their fans a solid and just now released the movie pack as a free download to all users. Keep in mind these are just the costumes and you will need to purchase DLC pack 3 and download it once it is released to play as the characters from the movie.

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The pack contains Goku and Vegeta’s new training outfits from the recently released Revivial of ‘F’ film as well as a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan wig for your created characters to wear. The stats are + 5 Basic Attack, + 5 Strike Supers, + 5 Stamina and – 5 Ki Blast Supers. If you can’t see the pack up on Steam, the PSN Store or Xbox Live Marketplace in your area be patient and it should be up soon. I can assure it is up on the PlayStation European store however I received an unable to download message upon trying to download it myself.

Razer Announces Seiren Pro Microphone and Forge TV Pre-orders

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Believe it or not, Razer has been making microphones for a very long time. For most of the company’s history, the microphones have all been attached to headsets. Razer changed that last December when they announced the Razer Seiren USB microphone designed for professional quality audio recording. Today, Razer revealed a new Seiren model, the top of the line Razer Seiren Pro.

The Razer Seiren Pro shares a lot of features with the lower tier model. Both can connect to a computer via USB, have headphone outputs, and have four different recording patterns. The Pro version also features the ability to output via XLR connection, making it compatible with professional grade mixing boards. The Razer Seiren Pro also also comes with a high pass filter that cuts off low frequency noise, requiring less editing later to remove electrical hums and fans.

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The Razer Seiren Pro is priced at $249.99 USD / €299.99 for the microphone itself. These will be available in stores around the world sometime in May, with pre-orders being accepted at the RazerStore. The RazerStore has some exclusive offerings: a shock mount for $49.99 USD / €49.99, a pop filter for $49.99 USD / €49.99, and a bundle that has all three items for $299.99 USD / €349.99. Learn more at the official mini-site.

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Razer’s new microphone isn’t the only big announcement the company has up its sleeve. The pre-orders for Razer’s first Android TV box has opened at the RazerStore. Buyers can either pre-order a Razer Forge TV for $99.99 USD, the Razer Serval controller for $79.99, or the Razer Forge TV bundle that contains both a Forge and a Serval for $149.99.

The  Razer Forge TV comes armed with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, a dedicated Adreno 420 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of on-board storage. It hooks up to the TV via HDMI 1.4 and can connect with Bluetooth 4.1, Wireless 802.11AC 2X2, or Gigabit Ethernet. The box comes with Modern Combat 5: Blackout, BombSquad, and Age of Zombies pre-loaded.

Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #58 Now Available

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If you aren’t a Star Wars fan or you need a break of marathoning every Star Wars movie, book, and video game, then Indie Gala and Capsule Computer’s Every Monday Bundle #58 is the solution to your woes. This week’s bundle packs six great indie titles for one low price.

Night Mysteries: The Amphora Prisoner – A hidden object game set on a cargo ship bearing mysterious artifacts.

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Stay Alight – A colourful action arcade title that will have players throwing colourful microbes to defeat the green meanies.

Tales of the Orient: The Rising Sun – A match 3 puzzler set in Edo period Japan.

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The Falling Sun – A FPS survival-horror set during WW2 in Burma (now known as Myanmar), a young Lieutenant is sent to discover what happened to an entire armoured division that has fallen off the radar. The truth is more horrifying than anyone could imagine.

TownCraft – A city building game perfect for casual players.

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Hospital Manager – Build and manage your own hospital as patients with strange and wacky illnesses keep pouring in.

For the first 24 hours of the sale, the entire bundle only costs $1.89. Grab your bundle at Indie Gala before the price goes up.

 

 

 

Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass Details

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About a week ago the now standard Season Pass was announced for Batman: Arkham Knight however details were slim. Those lack of details combined with a very high price point for a Season Pass ($40 U.S.) sparked outrage across the Internet. Now, Rocksteady have chosen to deliver a few more details on what exactly will be included in the Season Pass to help keep everyone happy and that seems to have worked with many fans excited at the upcoming contents planned for the Arkham trilogies final entry.

Taken straight from the Arkham Knight official forums, here is what you can expect from the Season Pass.

Batgirl: A Matter of Family

An all new prequel story expansion in an entirely new location where you play as Batgirl for the very first time in the Arkham series – check out the first render of Batgirl.

The Season of Infamy

Play as Batman in all new story missions featuring legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features.

Gotham City Stories

Play as Batman’s key allies in narrative missions extending their storylines, from both before and after the events in Batman: Arkham Knight/

Legendary Batmobiles with Themed Tracks

Drive the most iconic Batmobiles from Batman’s 75-year history, on custom-built race tracks, each themed to that Batmobile’s specific era. Every Batmobile will be drivable across every race track.

Crimefighter Challenge Maps

Engage in a series of new challenge maps utilizing the unique play styles of Batman and his allies.

Character Skins

A variety of skins from across the eras for Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman.

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Looks like a great mix of story content, challenge maps and alternate costumes and missions although it is still hard to justify a price point that is two thirds of the main game. Let us know if you will be grabbing the Season Pass for Batman: Arkham Knight which launches on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on June 23rd. Check out the games most recent trailer which includes glimpses of all new combat features here.

Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Hits Stores in Australia

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The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog gaming headset works with existing computer sound cards and features the Kave XTD’s proven comfortable design mixed with two 40mm drivers and a 30mm vibration unit in each ear cup. The three separate drivers allows for true 5.1 surround sound, unlike the more common virtual surround sound used by most headsets advertising surround sound support. A first for analog gaming headsets, the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog uses an interference isolator to stop the effects of electromagnetic interference on audio, providing a cleaner sound. The microphone lights up, letting gamers know if their microphone is muted or not.

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With launches in Europe and US last month, Roccat is moving towards a full global launch of their Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog gaming headset this month. Australians will be able to get their hands on the headset starting today at retailers like MWave, Capitol Computer, Computer Alliance, Austin Computers, JW.com, PCLAN, and Gamedude for $239.95 AUD.