Month: January 2019

The Year of Legendary Pokemon may have ended, but The Pokemon Company has another free gift in store for fans. For a limited time, anyone with a copy of Pokemon Sun and Moon or Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon can receive a bundle of Berries for free via Mystery Gift.

The bundle consists of five different types of Berries: Enigma, Micle, Custap, Jaboca, and Rowap. You’ll receive 12 of each variety as part of the gift, which you can then equip to a Pokemon for use in battle or plant in Isle Aplenny of the Poke Pelago in order to grow more.

What makes these particular Berries special is that they can’t otherwise be obtained in Sun and Moon or their Ultra counterparts, making this your first opportunity to get your hands on them in the seventh-generation titles. You can read about the effect each one has when it’s equipped to a Pokemon below:

• Enigma Berry: Restores some HP after being hit by a super-effective attack
• Micle Berry: Raises accuracy one time when your Pokemon is in a pinch
• Custap Berry: Allows your Pokemon to move first one time when in a pinch
• Jaboca Berry: Opponent also takes damage when your Pokemon is hit with a physical attack
• Rowap Berry: Opponent also takes damage when your Pokemon is hit with a special attack

To claim the Berries, you’ll first need to select Mystery Gift from your game’s main menu. Choose the option to receive your gift via the internet, and the Berries will be downloaded into your game. You’ll then need to pick them up from the deliveryman waiting inside any Pokemon Center.

A new Pokemon RPG is slated to release for Nintendo Switch this year. Unlike Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, which were designed to be more welcoming to newer and younger players, The Pokemon Company says this year’s title will be a “core” installment, although few details have been announced beyond that. You can read everything we know about Pokemon for Switch here.

In June 2018, From Software announced that its upcoming Souls-like action RPG, titled Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, would not have online multiplayer. The developer has now further clarified that, because Sekiro lacks this feature, it will allow you to pause your game.

With the exception of Dark Souls Remastered on Switch, no From Software Soulsborne game has allowed players to pause wherever they want since Demon Souls. For anyone who might think this will make Sekiro somehow easier in comparison to Dark Souls III or Bloodborne, don’t worry. Sekiro is just as hard, if not much harder, than its predecessors. In an interview with Game Informer, From Software revealed that, without the option for online play, every environment and boss has been specifically catered to providing a challenging experience for a single person.

“When creating these playspaces, we don’t have to take into consideration how players will operate with one another in these maps, or how they may exploit the playspace by cooperating or something like this,” From Software marketing and communications manager Yasuhiro Kitao said. “So it allows us, again, to hone in on the player experience, and really capitalize on that lack of restriction that comes with creating a multiplayer-based game, and let our imagination run wild in these places.”

Just because Sekiro is abandoning the online features of previous Soulsborne games–such as leaving notes, teaming up with other players, and invading–doesn’t mean From Software is done with them entirely. “Of course, we at From, we love those online elements,” Kitao said. “We love to create our own characters just as much as everyone else. We hope players are looking forward to something in the future where we might go back to that, but for now, Sekiro is very much its own thing.” From Software hasn’t yet announced what the future past Sekiro might be, but the company has revealed that it is already working on two unannounced games. There’s a chance that one might be an Armored Core sequel.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on March 22. The standard version of the game releases alongside a Collector’s Edition, both of which are available for pre-order.

At CES 2019, Samsung revealed a new TV that is irresponsibly large. The television comes in at 98 inches and 8K QLED resolution, giving it more than 33 million pixels. Those who want to play Red Dead Redemption 2 with horses that appear actual size, the new model will go on sale this year.

However, it may prove a difficult sell. CNET reports that Samsung’s line of 8K TVs offers upscaling, but for a TV that size you’d probably want native 8K. So far most programming isn’t offered at such a high resolution.

Last year Samsung released the first 85-inch 8K QLED TV, which goes for a cool $15,000. No price has been given for this new 98-inch model. Samsung says sales of TVs with screens above 75 inches have more than doubled in the United States over the past year.

Samsung’s super-sized TV is one type of showpiece for CES, as existing technologies get bigger and better. Meanwhile we’re seeing a big uptick in the development of new technologies, including displays like VR headsets. We’ve also seen new announcements in gaming hardware like the Mad Box console and a slate of new gaming laptops from Nvidia. You can check our full coverage of CES 2019 for more details.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has acquired Audiokinetic, the creators of Wave Works Interactive Sound Engine (Wwise). Wwise is a piece of software specifically tailored for audio design in video games and other interactive media, and it’s been used by dozens of both triple-A and indie developers in hundreds of games.

“A rich and all-encompassing audio experience is increasingly critical to the overall gameplay experience, further enhancing immersion and emotion for the player,” said Sony Interactive president and CEO John Kodera. “Audiokinetic is a preeminent provider of audio solutions for the gaming industry, and we are confident that this acquisition will allow us to further grow the PlayStation platform and contribute to the broader gaming industry.”

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of January, but Audiokinectic will continue to operate on its own. “It’s our goal to support Audiokinetic’s efforts to advance its audio technology while maintaining independence and platform neutrality,” Kodera said.

Wwise has been used by developers for pretty much every system platform for the past two generations, including Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, Switch, PC, and mobile devices. Games that have used Wwise include several mainline Assassin’s Creed games, BioShock Infinite, Rocket League, Destiny, Firewatch, Alien Isolation, Monster Hunter World, Overwatch, PUBG, Nier: Automata, and many more.

Sony’s PS4 had a fairly good year in 2018. The console continues to support some of the best first-party exclusives on the market–some of which are on sale right now. However, Sony made a few missteps with the console as well. The company stubbornly refused to reverse its position on cross-platform play with Xbox One and Switch until finally relenting with the success of Fortnite. PlayStation Now’s potential continues to remain unfulfilled, and PlayStation Classic pales in comparison to what Nintendo delivered with its NES and SNES Classic consoles. Sony’s acquisition of Audiokinectic suggests the company is looking for new avenues to improve its products, which points to a more promising future for whatever comes after PS4.

So a new event is upon us in Overwatch that gives us the opportunity to earn the new skin for Ana that was showcased in the latest short.

Overwatch is launching a new update that packs in a limited-time event, with some special rewards for the taking. The event is based on the new short story Bastet, which Blizzard published recently. Ana’s Bastet Challenge kicks off today, January 8, and will last through January 21.

During the event dates, scoring wins will earn you special new cosmetics on top of your usual rewards. You can earn a player icon (win 3 games), a victory pose (win 6 games), and an epic Bastet Ana skin (win 9 games). On top of that, watching promoted Twitch streamers during the event can net you five Ana’s Bastet Challenge sprays. Check out the official blog for more details.

The update also includes skins for the Overwatch League. You can snag a Hero skin for the Atlanta Reign, Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Paris Eternal, Toronto Defiant, Vancouver Titans, and Washington Justice. You can get each one for 100 OWL tokens, which includes both the home and away outfits. The 2019 season will kick off on February 14.

The Bastet short story also made waves in the fan community for confirming that Soldier 76 identifies as gay, due to a revealing dialogue exchange with Ana about a past relationship. This makes him the second queer character in Overwatch fiction, in addition to Tracer.