Category Archives: News

Tomb Raider, Rainbow Six, and Unravel- IDL NEWS

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Back to what I do, news, games, games, and news. Obviously before I jump back into reviews, a little warming up is warranted. Write the rust off. Flex the hands.

I have a lot to talk about in the near future, reviews needing writing, news needing telling, impressed needing sharing. The holidays are nearing and free time is becoming a hot commodity.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider’s PC Date
S20150601131216Rise_of_the_Tomb_Raiderquare Enix had previously announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be released on the PC in “early 2016” and it appears we have the real date, outed by Amazon. RotTR’s Xbox One timed exclusivity ends January 29, 2016 and will come bundled with the Baba Yaga DLC.

Rainbow Six Siege’s Changes
Rainbow-Six-SiegeMid-to-late December, Ubisoft will be syncing up the HUD for both casual and ranked playlists, making the experience more consistent. This will encourage casual players to try their hands at the ranked areas without feeling overwhelmed, and competitive teams to test and experiment new plays in the casual arena without risking rank droppage. Ubisoft also announced hardcore playlists for next year – including minimal HUD, and mag count instead of bullet count.

Unravel Price and Date
unravelEA and Coldwood have announced that Unravel will release February 29th, 2016 for $19.99 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

 

EA describes Unravel as “a heartfelt story about love and longing, and the ties that bind, with Yarny as the red thread that runs through it all.”

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Looking forward through the looking glass, I have a lot of things to post and talk about, and I’m excited to be back. It’s been a nice break for sure, and I played a lot of games, and drew a lot.

I have quite the queue of reviews to get through over the next few weeks: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, Need For Speed, Star Wars Battlefront, Assassins Creed Chronicles: China, Tales From The Borderlands, Wolf Among Us, Mushroom 11, Valiant Hearts: Total War, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Battlefield Hardline, and Pneuma: Breath of Life, to name a few.

I also plan to do a top 2015 Games I Played List.

ARK Early Access on the Xbox One releases tomorrow, so I’ll be talking about that. I still have Assassins Creed Unity and Batman Arkham Knight queued before Mad Max.

And some website optimization, re-org of categories and menus for the New Year. I honestly don’t know where I’ll find the time. Wish me luck.

_iRogan

Where I’m From, Where I’m Going

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#Drawtober is over and Extra Life is now in the rear-view. What to do? Well, we need to look forward. What’s changing in 2016, what’s staying the same. Where was I even going with this…?

Throughout the month of October, I took part in an annual event called Drawtober, the goal is to try and draw every day. Some call in Inktober. I’ve never been able to complete the full 31 day campaign, but I do try and draw as much as possible. You can see some of the work in the Extra Life page. Needless to say, I didn’t do any blogging, writing, or playing of them video games, as I was a little preoccupied. I did however draw all game-related icons, a little self-imposed rule. I’m still working on a final Borderlands piece involving 12 characters – the ink is done, but it’s not coloured.

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Hitman Agent 47 – Scratchboard

Each update involved me posting a final rendering, as well as a time-lapse video of the work, from start to finish.

Following that campaign, I took part in a North America-wide 24 hour video game marathon called Extra Life. The goal is to play games, and raise money for your local children’s hospital network. this is my 2nd annual event as a participant. I was able to raise $715 this year (last year was $450). To kick off the event I played Prince of Persia on the PS2. When people started showing up, we switched to Halo, then #IDARB. To close off the evening/morning I switched to some GTA V, and then Tales From the Borderlands.

Now that those two events are over and done with, I must look forward to December, and closing out the year, and beyond.

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Jade – Ink

I want to continue the blog, but change it up a bit. Up to this point it’s been primarily video game (Xbox) discussions, news, reviews, achievements, etc. I still enjoy writing about games, and this will continue, but maybe in a more specialized scope.

Currently my weekly routine has included: News, New Games, What I’m Playing, Reviews, and Achievements. Occasionally other features, short stories, conventions, etc, to fill the gaps. It’s a busy schedule to keep on top of. Appearing more of a job, less of a passion hobby.  Maybe I started to encroach my personal limits.

It’s hard to miss a website that doesn’t talk about news, and I like to as well – it helps me stay current, but no one is coming here to read the news, when you can get it sooner, in more detail, anywhere else.

Going forward, I’m going to be putting less stress on myself to get something posted daily, but post better updates. I’ll be combining a weekly news rundown and new games into one article on Tuesday. I’ll be combining What I’m Playing and Reviews into one articles on Thursday. This will be dedicated to Reviews, or Reviews in Progress/ Opinions pieces. And I’ll leave the Achievements alone on Sundays. It’s my favourite thing to discuss.

To add a personal touch, I’ll also be padding this space, livening it up, turning it into an artistic space. Writing coupled with drawing.

Drawtober really sparked my motivation, and now I have new projects to look forward to. I’ll be working with a friend on a small graphic novel, and I’ll be scripting and illustrating my short stories. I’ve decided to make my art a higher priority in my life again, and this will be my platform to share the updates – when there are updates to share.

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Link and Epona – Acrylic on Canvas

So expect some restructuring of the menus going forward, as I align the categories, and expect some more art, I guess ;). I’ll be posting the time-lapse videos, as well as streaming my work on Twitch, as they’ve recently included an artistic portion to their platform.

All that said, over my 2 month break I played Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands, Metal Gear Solid V, Battlefield Hardline, Telltale’s Wolf Among Us, and Shadow of Mordor, so expect some reviews throughout December.

Currently I’m playing Gears of War Ultimate Edition in co-op, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5, and Star Wars Battlefront, so expect some impressions throughout December. And I still have Assassin’s Creed Unity and Call of Duty Advanced Warfare to open, not to mention some of the big games I haven’t picked up yet, like Mad Max,. and of course, the big games coming out over the next few months.

I do like to keep myself busy.

-iRogan

#DRAWTOBER – Day 1

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So October is somewhat of a bittersweet month for me. I take part in a month long endeavor to draw more – appropriately titled #Drawtober. I draw quite a bit throughout the year, whenever motivation and inspiration sparks simultaneously. But with this blog, and my game queue, and other distractions, I find it harder and harder to actually find the time, sit down, and draw.

So, I quite look forward to October. But that also means setting everything else aside, including games, so that I can actually draw something every day. That’s the part that sucks.

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I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine.

I’m not a good artist. Therefore I rely heavily on my ability to critique my own work – unlike some truly talented artists who can produce godly work even without thinking off half their brain. It sometimes works and sometimes it doesn’t. It depends entirely on my condition that day.

Sometimes it takes me a few strokes to achieve the effect I want, and some other times it takes a few hours just to draw some damn random crap. It is entirely up to left side of my brain (the logical side) to figure out if something make sense or not. And THAT even depends on if I had a crappy morning or not.

But while my skill tends to fluctuate, my ability to self-critique is on a steady rise, and that is my only hope.

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This year, because of the blog, and because of the imposing Extra Life gaming marathon in November, I’m doing a full month of video game themed drawings. My hope is to complete enough that I’ll be able to auction some of them off during the event, possibly raise some more money.

Head over to the Extra Life page, I’ll be posting my work, daily.

In the mean time, I still hope to find some time to do some writing.

New Games, Games With Gold, and Oh Yeah, Destiny – IDL NEWS

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Oh, The Taken King is out? OK, I’ll leave you alone forever now . . .

Destiny-The-Taken-King-Releae-Date-Details-and-Controversy

Just kidding. New games, new deals, and news: Uncharted 4, Mortal Kombat X, and Metal Gear Solid V.

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New Releases – Sept 15

NHL 16 (PS4, Xbox One) – EA’s annual NHL game is back for a new season, and thankfully fuller than last years bare bones edition. Online Team Play has returned, and EA has bolstered the Be A Pro mode. A new training mode is also available, as a new feature to catch new fans up to speed. NHL is an annual pick-up for me so expect some more impressions.

Forza Motorsport 6 (Xbox One) – Microsoft’s big simulation is back in a big way. 24 opponent races, rain and water physics and night-time races. The career still feels like a checklist and needs an overhaul, but the game is as gorgeous as ever with 1080p 60fps races.

Grand Theft Auto V Online – Freeworld Events (PC, Xbox One, PS4) – Today marks the new Online update. This has me interested in stepping back into the GTA world, and I already own the game.

Destiny: The Taken King (Xbox One, PS4) – The big 2.0 addition is finally here now, with actual story-telling, new missions, a new raid, new weapons, new playable area, new player sub-classes. All the things that will change Destiny is a big way. I’ll be jumping in tonight to transfer everything over  and check it out. Check out future impressions in the weeks to come.

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Deals With Gold

Xbox One

  • Forza Horizon 2: Storm Island
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
  • Jet Car Stunts
  • Unmechanical Extended (My Review)

Xbox 360

  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Grant Theft Auto IV
  • Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
  • Darksiders
  • Darksiders II (My Review)

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Some newsy type stuff:

Uncharted 4 – Uncharted 4: The Thief’s End will be released on March 18th, 2016. Sept 29th will mark the release of The Nathan Drake Collection on the PS4, remastering 1-3 into one nice package, and to catch everyone up on the series before 4’s release. Uncharted is a great series and one of the real reasons to own a PS3/PS4.

Mortal Kombat X – NetherRealm Studios has confirmed that it is still working on DLC for Mortal Kombat X. This includes new playable characters, skins and a new stage, due out in the first half of 2016.

Metal Gear Solid V – Konami has confirmed it has fixed the bug that plagued the game on all platforms, causing saved games to become corrupt when Quiet was brought along as a buddy on either Mission 29 or 42. The fix is available on the PS4 and PC, and will hopefully be coming to all platforms soon.

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This week I will continue to plug away through Metal Gear Solid V and will be jumping back into Destiny: The Taken King. I’ll be leaving my impressions of both, and possibly even writing another story, this one set in MGS V land. The game just lends itself to so many awesome encounters and creative experiences. I’ll also be picking up NHL and I know I’ll be dumping a ton of time into that, maybe even doing my first NHL review. And lastly, GTA V’s Online is calling.

This week’s Preview will focus on one of those games, and the What i’M playing feature will definitely be more MGS V. This is an exciting week to say the least.

-iRogan

TGS 2015, Nintendo’s New President, Halo 5, and Need For Speed – IDL NEWS

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Monday, Monday, Monday.

The day the new week starts and new news starts coming in. E3 is over, Gamescom is over, PAX Prime is over. Tokyo Game show is coming up this weekend, and then the year’s shows should be done. Luckily I’m almost caught up on the news as those shows take up a lot of time. I’m not sure yet if Tokyo Game Show actually has press briefings or not, or if it’s just a game showroom. Will continue to investigate. <- *Update at the bottom*

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Onward though, to news:

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

Night Dive Studios has announced that it will be restoring and publishing modernized versions of Turok 1 and Turok 2. Both Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil will be getting graphical upgrades and other improvements. Unsure yet if this is only PC, or console release.

Mad Max 1080p and the Map Isn’t Finite

Avalanche Studios has revealed that Mad Max is 1080p which is nice to see, as a lot of the games to date on the Xbox One have not been true 1080p. And the map is also not finite.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Release Date

Square Enix and Eido Montreal have announced the release date for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The sequel to Human Revolution will be released on Feb 23rd, 2016 and is set 2 years after the events of HR, in the year 2029 with augmented people separated from normal residents. I’m super excited for this sequel, and should probably replay the first at some point. Hopefully it’s backwards compatible before February.

Borderlands Backwards Compatibility

Speaking of backwards compatibility, the original Borderlands is among the games that will be backwards compatible day one in the upcoming update in November.

GTA V Online Freemode

GTA V Online is getting a new feature update that will have structured events pop up in the open world for the players to join and play, with entering a lobby first.

Released tomorrow, the goal is to blend the freeform gameplay with structured events that offer rewards. Every 12 minutes in the open world, a new Freemode Event will start, with a countdown alerting players. If you miss the start or opt not to join, you can still spectate. Over 200 variants will be available at launch including cooperative battles, stunt challenges, king of the hill modes, and damage and speed limit tasks. Two new adversarial modes will be made available as well.

Nintendo’s New President

Nintendo has announced that Tatsumi Kimishima, 65, will assume the role of President and Representative Director for the company. The election will be for a 1 year term.

Kimishima’s appointment as the new head of Nintendo comes two months after the sudden death of former president Satoru Iwata from a cancerous bile duct growth. Iwata was 55.

Halo 5’s 60 FPS

SIMG_5039tudio head at 343 Industries has confirmed that Halo 5 will consistently run at 60 frames per second. The goal from the outset was to deliver 60 fps across all game modes. This meant re-engineering the gameplay systems at the core and uses a “progressive resolution system” that scales the games resolution based on what’s on the screen at that time.

“This enables us to deploy resources where they have most impact across a diverse series of experiences throughout the game while delivering the most visually stunning Halo game ever.”

PC Need For Speed Stalls

Ghost Games has announced that the latest PC installment of Need for Speed, titled Need For Speed, has been delayed. Expected to be released alongside its console counterparts in November, the PC version wont be seeing its released until “Spring 2016”.

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Well, that enough news for today I think. Tomorrow we’ll talk about some more news, and new games and deals, and awesome things. Wednesday will be a Metal Gear Solid V wrap up: part 2. More game previews around the corner and then Tokyo Game Show 2015 stuff around the weekend.

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Tokyo Game Show takes place from September 17th-20th, and is getting kicked off with Sony’s keynote tonight at midnight, so I should have a wrap-up later in the week. Sony, Square Enix, and Capcom are some of the main companies in attendance, so there should be some exciting news coming soon.

Stick around!

-iRogan