Ubisoft is kicking off Season Four of For Honor a little later this month. Before then, players who have yet to pick up the swordfighting game will have another chance to try it for free.
Beginning November 9, Ubisoft will hold a free weekend for the game across all platforms. PS4, Xbox One, and PC players will be able to play all of the game’s modes, including its campaign (which supports solo and co-op), five multiplayer modes, and full roster of heroes through Season Three.
The free weekend concludes on November 12, but players who decide to purchase the game afterward will be able to carry their progress over to the retail version. For Honor will also be on sale that weekend for up to 60% off. Additionally, players who already own For Honor can take part in the Warrior Training Program; if you group with at least one other player who doesn’t already own the game during the free weekend and complete five games together, each player will earn 5,000 Steel.
For Honor’s Season Four, Order & Havoc, kicks off on November 14 and adds a number of new features to the game. In addition to new maps, Order & Havoc introduces two new heroes: the Aramusha and the Shaman. It also adds Tribute mode, a 4v4 objective-based team mode that has players competing to control three Offerings on a map and bring them back to a Shrine. Season Pass owners will get the Aramusha and Shaman on November 14, while all others will be able to purchase them beginning November 21 for 15,000 Steel each.
The second season of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things may have debuted less than a week ago, but if the data coming out of Nielsen is any indication, the show has hit the ground running.
According to Variety, Nielsen data shows that over the first three days of Season 2’s release (October 27-29), Stranger Things averaged 8.8 million viewers per episode, with 6.2 million of those viewers falling in the key demographic of adults aged 18-49.
The season’s opening episode averaged 15.8 million viewers, with 11 million of those falling in the 18-49 demographic. For context, the highest-rated cable show on October 27 was the World Series Game 3 showdown between the Houston Dodgers and the LA Astros, which averaged at 13.8 million viewers.
New to Super Mario Odyssey is the introduction of Cappy, a living hat that Mario can throw at certain objects or enemies to temporarily possess them and use their unique abilities. There is a plethora of enemies and inanimate objects that Mario can possess. With so many to discover, we’ve gathered them all here for your viewing pleasure. Be wary; there are spoilers ahead. If you’d rather find out what you can posses yourself, then we recommend going elsewhere.
Super Mario Odyssey is out now for Nintendo Switch, and it’s the latest installment of Nintendo’s tenured franchise. You once again control Mario as he works to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. As a 3D-style Mario game, the emphasis is on exploration. The game sports a multitude of open sandbox environments to navigate, which are each packed with enemies and platforming challenges.
Call of Duty: WWII is just one day away from release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and GameSpot has got a full tour of the game’s 48-player social space, complete with impressive-looking supply drops.
In the video above, you watch as we fully explore the social space Headquarters, which is set on Normandy Beach. There you’ll find the quartermaster, where you’ll pick up Contracts to complete and earn XP; a 1v1 pit for you and another player to test out your skills; a firing range; leaderboards, and more.
The video also shows off how you’ll receive loot you’ve earned in the game, allowing you to call the drops just like you call care packages in multiplayer and falls from the sky. Others players get to watch the whole thing play out as your supply drop falls from the sky, and can scope out the loot you get.
Additionally, you’ll see that there is a “Scorestreak Training” section of Headquarters. This is where you can try out all the killstreak perks before you hop into a multiplayer match.
While Call of Duty: WWII isn’t out yet, its first DLC has already been announced. At its event at Paris Gaming Week, Sony announced the first map pack, called The Resistance. The DLC will release on PS4 on January 30, 30 days before it debuts on Xbox One and PC.
There’s less than a day to go until Call of Duty: WWII launches in the U.S. for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and GameSpot got an early look at some of its multiplayer action. In the video above, you can check out a Domination game in Hardcore mode, which turns off the HUD (no ammo counter or minimap) and drastically reduces your health.
The multiplayer mode Domination plays much like in previous Call of Duty games, tasking you with capturing unclaimed control points around the map in key strategic locations. You capture a control point by standing near it, and the goal is to hold more than your opponent in order to score points.
Well over a year ago, Nvidia broke out its GTX 10-series graphics cards, and while the GTX 1080 was the top dog at the time, the more affordable GTX 1070 offered arguably the most attractive performance-per-dollar for PC gamers. A few things have changed since then. The GTX 1080 Ti launched in March 2017 and smashed on everything that preceded it. AMD got back into the high-end market with the RX Vega series, with the RX Vega 56 trading blows with the GTX 1070 across multiple benchmarks.
That leaves us wondering where the new GTX 1070 Ti fits in. Clearly, it’s situated between the 1080 and 1070 in price; and as expected, it falls in line between the two in terms of performance. But above all else, it’s the definitive graphics card in the sub-$500 price tier.
Like all the other GPUs in Nvidia’s 10-series, it uses the same Pascal architecture as the rest of the line that debuted in May 2016, although it’s no slouch when it comes to high-end performance. The GTX 1070 Ti packs 2432 CUDA cores and 152 texture units, aligning itself closer to the GTX 1080, especially with the same base clock speed. The Ti does have the same boost clock as the original GTX 1070, but simple manual overclocking solves clock speed disparity.
All these GTX cards share the same GP104 graphics processor, 8GB of video RAM, and 256-bit memory bus width, but both the 1070 and Ti version have the same 8Gbps GDDR5 memory clock. When it comes to power draw, the 1070 Ti is the same as the 1080 with its 180-watt thermal design power (the maximum heat generation that the cooling system can handle). Note that the card limits itself to generating 94 degree celsius before downclocking to keep temperatures from reaching unsafe levels. Nvidia recommends that a system is equipped with at least a 500-watt power supply. One 8-pin connector powers the GTX 1070 Ti. For ports, you get three DisplayPort connectors, one HDMI, and one dual-link DVI.
The particular model used for this review is the standard Founder’s Edition, which is Nvidia’s reference design. It features a single 30mm fan in a blower-style cooling solution with the same aluminum chassis and backplate seen in other Founder’s Edition cards. Board partners (Gigabyte, ASUS, EVGA, MSI, PNY, Zotac) will offer various cooling solutions, physical styles, clock speeds, and prices. However, the suggested retail price for a GTX 1070 Ti is $450 USD.
Nvidia GTX 1080
Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti
Nvidia GTX 1070
AMD RX Vega 64
AMD RX Vega 56
CUDA Cores/Stream Processors
2560
2432
1920
4096
3584
Texture Units
160
152
120
256
224
ROPs
64
64
64
64
64
Core Clock
1607MHz
1607MHz
1506MHz
1274MHz
1156MHz
Boost Clock
1733MHz
1683MHz
1683MHz
1546MHz
1471MHz
Memory Clock
10Gbps GDDR5X
8Gbps GDDR5
8Gbps GDDR5
945MHz
800MHz
Memory Bus Width
256-bit
256-bit
256-bit
2048-bit
2048-bit
VRAM
8GB
8GB
8GB
8GB HBM2
8GB HBM2
Transistor Count
7.2B
7.2B
7.2B
12.5B
12.5B
TDP
180W
180W
150W
295W
215W
Manufacturing Process
16nm FinFET
16nm FinFET
16nm FinFET
14nm FinFET
14nm FinFET
GPU
GP104
GP104
GP104
Vega 10
Vega 10
Launch Date
5/27/2016
11/2/2017
6/10/2016
8/14/2017
8/14/2017
Current MSRP*
$550
$450
$400
$500
$400
*Current MSRP does not reflect exact prices you would see on marketplaces and stores. Various board partners and retailers offer different prices.
Methodology
For our test bench, we used a system equipped with an Intel Core i7-5930X six-core CPU at 3.9GHz and 16GB of RAM in quad-channel. Although it’s the same PC used in our previous tests in past reviews, we benchmarked some newer releases to get an idea of how these high-end graphics cards handle more graphically demanding games. We also used a few synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark 11, Unigine Valley, and SteamVR to provide a more rounded look at performance.
So, for the purposes of this review, we pitted the GTX 1080, GTX 1070, AMD RX Vega 64, and RX Vega 56 against the GTX 1070 Ti to get the best idea of how these similarly priced cards stack with one another.
Benchmarks
Rise of the Tomb Raider
With Rise of the Tomb Raider, we used Very High graphics settings with SMAA in DirectX 12. Here we see the GTX 1070 Ti assert itself by outpacing both the GTX 1070 and RX Vega 56 in all resolutions. And it’s no surprise that the GTX 1080 and RX Vega 64 pull ahead of everything else.
Metro: Last Light
Metro: Last Light is one of the older games in our series of benchmarks, but it’ll still tax your machine at max settings and SSAA on top. Sure, you can do without SSAA in 4K, but we wanted see how far we can push these cards. Not only was the GTX 1070 Ti able to beat out the 1070 and Vega 56, but it was neck-and-neck with the upper-tier RX Vega 64 and not straying too far behind the GTX 1080.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
There’s more parity between Nvidia and AMD cards in Middle-earth: Shadow of War when using the Ultra graphics preset. The GTX 1070 Ti offers a noticeable performance jump from its non-Ti counterpart, and its equidistant from the higher-tier GTX 1080. However, AMD’s cards are able to keep up; the RX Vega 56 pretty much matches the 1070 Ti in all resolutions.
Grand Theft Auto V
Performance in Grand Theft Auto V tells a trickier story. We cranked all the settings to the highest option including 4x TXAA, Nvidia PCSS soft shadows or AMD CHS shadowing (depending on the card), and extended distance scaling and shadowing to their fullest extent. AMD’s cards performed admirably; the GTX 1070 Ti couldn’t overtake the RX Vega 56, although the differences are quite miniscule. All cards have trouble distancing themselves from one another in our case.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
In another DirectX 12 test, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided offered favorable performance to AMD’s video cards; the GTX 1070 Ti was edged out by the RX Vega 56 ever so slightly at each resolution. However, the Ti version is a substantial improvement over its non-Ti counterpart. These benchmarks were conducted with the Very High graphics preset in the options menu.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
The GTX 1070 Ti shines in Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands by staying well ahead of the non-Ti version and the RX Vega 56. It even keeps up with the RX Vega 64 at higher resolutions. For this game, we used the Very High graphics preset.
Unigine Valley
The Unigine Valley benchmark seems to favor Nvidia hardware substantially, given how wide the gap is between their AMD equivalents. At 1080p, the GTX 1070 Ti is hardly an upgrade over the non-Ti version but creates separation at 1440p.
3D Mark 11
In 3D Mark 11’s Extreme test, the GTX 1070 Ti stays ahead of both of AMD’s RX Vega cards, but trails the GTX 1080 by a wider margin. It’s a synthetic benchmark that tests several scenarios rendering 3D graphics and calculating CPU physics.
SteamVR
It’s no surprise that the GTX 1070 Ti is more than capable to handle virtual reality applications of today. By scoring in the 10,000+ range, SteamVR deemed our system well-suited for VR gaming, just like the other Nvidia and AMD cards we have.
Temperatures
The GTX 1070 Ti sits at a mild 35 degrees C while idling. During peak load (running Ghost Recon: Wildlands at 4K), the card hit 82 degrees C, which isn’t surprising for Founder’s Edition of GP104 cards; the GTX 1080 would hit 83 degrees C and GTX 1070 would peak around 78 degrees C.
Verdict
The GTX 1070 Ti is as you would expect; the middle ground between the GTX 1070 and 1080 when it comes to gaming performance. In areas where AMD’s RX Vega 56 overtakes the GTX 1070, the newly minted Ti version swoops in to at least match the AMD card, giving PC gamers another reason to consider an Nvidia card at this mid-to-high-end tier. It’s not exactly intended for 4K gaming at high graphics settings, but it’d pair nicely with a high refresh rate 1080p or 1440p monitor since it puts out great numbers for those resolutions. And although we didn’t test ultrawide 21:9 resolutions, the GTX 1070 Ti would go well for those using 3440×1440; it’s a slightly higher performance demand than traditional 16:9 1440p (in which this card performed admirably), but isn’t as grueling as 4K.
It’s priced aptly at $450 USD, considering how close it performs to the GTX 1080, which is currently at $550 USD MSRP. This doesn’t render AMD’s RX Vega 56 obsolete since it’s available at $400 USD MSRP, and there are number of FreeSync monitors that need to be paired with AMD hardware. Also note that actual market prices for these cards and their various versions are always changing. But as the GTX 1070 and Vega 56 trade blows in benchmarks, the slightly more expensive GTX 1070 Ti puts that matchup to rest. It’s the best video card you can get under $500.
Call of Duty: WWII is almost here, and it marks a return for the series in a number of ways. Most notably, the game takes players back to familiar territory, with WWII serving as the backdrop of its multiplayer and campaign modes. Activision revealed a slew of details about the story mode leading up to the game’s release, and now we another important bit of information about it: its length.
GameSpot’s Miguel Concepcion played through Call of Duty: WWII’s single-player campaign for our review, which will go up on the site soon. On the game’s Normal setting, it took him about six hours, 23 minutes to clear the campaign, not including the time it took to watch the credits sequence. That’s generally about the length of a typical Call of Duty campaign, so veterans of the series won’t be too surprised by this news. You can check out the opening portion of the story mode above.
Call of Duty: WWII’s story revolves around Private Ronald “Red” Daniels, a young recruit in the U.S. First Infantry Division who gets his first taste of combat on D-Day during the Allied invasion of Normandy. He’s joined throughout the campaign by his three squadmates: Turner, Red’s commanding officer; Zussman, Red’s best friend; and Pierson, a stern, by-the-books soldier. Activision shared a series of trailers that introduces each of the squad members.
Call of Duty: WWII launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow, November 3. The game’s first DLC map pack, called The Resistance, was revealed earlier this week during Sony’s Paris Games Week press conference. Like other Call of Duty DLC, it will have a timed exclusivity period on PS4. The Resistance releases for Sony’s console on January 30 and will arrive on Xbox One and PC 30 days later.
This is a non-spoiler review for all six episodes of Netflix’s Alias Grace – adapted from Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, premiering Friday, November 3rd.
Written with melancholy flair by Sarah Polley (Go, Dawn of the Dead) and directed with a tragic ghost story panache by Mary Harron (American Psycho), Alias Grace takes us into the enchanting, incarcerated mind of a 19th century celebrity “murderess” to experience her many indignities, sufferings, and endured cruelties in a deeply rich and layered murder mystery based on true events.
Margaret Atwood, of The Handmaid’s Tale’s fame, crafted a story — a devilish narrative designed to unravel and mesmerize — around the real-life case of Grace Marks. The teenage Irish immigrant maid was convicted in 1843, in Canada, of killing her employer (while suspected of also having a hand in the death of a fellow housekeeper during the same manic spree). Alias Grace is, all at once, a coming of age story, an immigrant tale, a “whodunnit?,” and a chilling tragedy. It doesn’t involve ghosts, but it is haunted in its own way. There’s definitely a “presence” involved, a phantom feeling that permeates through the story – which is mostly, at its core, a collection of recollections.
There’s a new Green Arrow in town. After deciding to spend more time with his son on Arrow, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) handed over his green hood to trusted ally John Diggle (David Ramsey), who has been by his side since the very beginning.
While everyone, including Ramsey himself, assures fans that Diggle going green is temporary, it has changed the structure of Team Arrow dramatically. It’s also changed Diggle himself, who was revealed to be using drugs in an effort to keep the nerve damaged he received in the Season 5 finale under control. For the man that was always the moral backbone of Arrow, resorting to narcotics to keep up with his vigilante work feels like a very dark turn.
Green Lantern’s Mark Strong is reportedly in talks to play the villain in Shazam!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Strong, who portrayed the classic DC villain Thaal Sinestro in Green Lantern, is in early talks to star as Thaddeus Sivana a.k.a. Doctor Sivana, Shazam’s longtime arch-nemesis.
