NeoGAF’s member ‘Vuze’ has shared three Watch_Dogs screenshots – captured by NeoGAF’s Vortex – from what seems to be a ‘hidden’ render configuration. According to Vuze, these settings were the ones that Ubisoft was aiming for the PS4 and Xbox One versions, before it being downgraded to its final build. Continue reading →

During Maidan: how Ukraine's developers and gamers risked their lives in a revolution

In the first part of this series developers and members of the eSports scene explained how the Ukrainian games industry’s growth was stunted by heavy taxes and a corrupt government. Now: the revolution, and how it changed the perspective of the country’s developers.

On the evening of 22 November, Cradle lead developer Ilya Tolmachev sat in his office, a small room in a converted Soviet Union munitions factory. That night his president, Viktor Yanukovych, had rejected a trade deal with the European Union that might have brought his country back from the brink of bankruptcy. Ilya was furious.

“I was in a bad mood thinking about the consequences. Then I spotted a post from Mustafa Nayem, an outspoken Ukrainian journalist and critic of the regime. His post said ‘Enough complaining. If there is at least 1,000 of us ready to go out on the street let’s do that’.” 

“The number of people responding saying ‘I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready’ was increasing dramatically and fast.”

Ilya Tolmachev was joined at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the main square in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital city, by 2,000 protesters. 

Over the next four months, a million Ukrainians would join the protests. Yanukovych’s government would fall, at the cost of over 100 lives. 

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Tangiers trailer puts the argh into avant-garde stealth

The deafening ambient gale at the opening of this trailer is a good starting point for understanding Tangiers - a stealth game that builds on the ancient but rarely bettered mechanics and sound design of classic Thief.

Beyond that, though, there’s no hope of understanding a thing that’s going on in this fraught, fractured Tangierian dream.

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ZeniMax's legal battle won't stop Bethesda from considering games for the Oculus Rift

ZeniMax Media’s legal dispute with Oculus Rift developer, Oculus VR, won’t affect its subsidiary’s decision on whether or not to make VR games for the device, Bethesda told CVG.

Bethesda’s parent company claims that John Carmack took ZeniMax’s property and used it to assist in the development of the Oculus Rift, which the id co-founder has denied. 

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Rome could be built in a day: The Sims 4 build mode revealed

Occasionally I’m reminded that the goal of The Sims is not the eternal torment of little virtual people, and that sometimes you’ve got to build houses. The Sims 4 boasts a shiny new build mode that looks significantly more convenient and flexible that previous incarnations. 

Take a gander at the creation tool in action below.

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You can now pick up the CryEngine when you're shopping for games on Steam

Crytek’s CryEngine is now available on a subscription basis exclusively on Steam, offering subscribers full access to the engine and development suite for £6.99/$9.90 per month, or at a 17 percent discount for six months. 

It’s the first complete engine to be offered on Steam, costing half of the Unreal Engine subscription. And Crytek won’t be demanding any royalties. 

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Renewed: Guild Wars 2's second season begins on July 1st

With season one of Guild Wars 2’s living world concluded, the heroes of Tyria have no doubt been an aimless lot, getting fat and lazy without an end of the world crisis needing their attention. Even now they’re relaxing while enjoying the Festival of the Four Winds and reliving Guild Wars' greatest moments. But the serenity is not going to last. 

Once the festival ends, “the fight begins,” says ArenaNet. 

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Battlefield Free: EA knocks Battlefield 3's price down to zero

With Battlefield 4’s slew of technical problems and introduction of microtransactions, Battlefield 3 looks pretty great in comparison. Of course, it’s pretty great regardless. And If you’ve never dipped your toes into the series, it might be an excellent place to start, especially considering that it is currently free on Origin until June 3rd. 

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Top dog: Watch Dogs breaks Ubisoft record for first day sales

A lot of people bought Watch Dogs yesterday. It’s no surprise given the long wait and heavy marketing. It didn’t just sell well, though, it outsold all other Ubisoft games at launch. 

“I once said that the buzz around Watch Dogs was driven by the incredible passion of our early fans,” said creative director Jonathan Morin. “Today we broke the record for the biggest first day sales in Ubisoft history.

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1001 Spikes will kill you 1001 times when it launches next month

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of utter failure and anguish that only a hard-as-nails platformer can elicit. The latest in this star-studded canon comes in the form of 1001 Spikes, which is actually a revamp of a game dating back to 2011. This new edition offers a bunch of new levels and playable characters, but most importantly it offers a stunning array of new ways to die. And die you will: over and over again.