DARK SOULS REMASTERED WILL BE PLAYABLE ON MAY 11th AND 12th WITH THE NETWORK TEST

DARK SOULS REMASTERED WILL BE PLAYABLE ON MAY 11th AND 12th WITH THE NETWORK TEST

DARK SOULSÔ: REMASTERED WILL BE PLAYABLE

ON MAY 11^th AND 12^th WITH THE NETWORK TEST

Dark Souls fans will need to mark these dates on the calendar as BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe today announced the Network Test client schedule for the upcoming DARK SOULSÔ: REMASTERED. In May and during 2 days, Xbox One and PlayStation®4 players will be able to discover the treacherous land of Lordran!  Network Test on Nintendo Switch™ will arrive later.

Specific schedule is below as players need to register and download the game in advance:

           

·        May 2^nd 00:01 CEST: Network Test client will be deployed and downloadable for players.

from PlayStation Network and Microsoft Store

·        May 8^th 11:59 CEST: Network Test client is not available for download anymore.

·        May 11^th-12^th: First players will be able to access the network test and tread on Lordran's lands, meet their inhabitants and fight their treacherous ennemies. Network test schedule is below:

o   18:00 to 23:59 CEST for European territories           

o   19:00 to 23:59 AEST for Oceania.

DARK SOULS: REMASTERED will be available on May 25^th, 2018 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and STEAM® for PC. The Nintendo Switch version will be available this summer. For more information regarding DARK SOULS: REMASTERED and other titles from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe please visit: https://www.bandainamcoent.com, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/darksouls,  orhttps://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoEU.   Join the conversation on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BandaiNamcoEU .

Overwatch: Rialto Map – Now Live

Overwatch: Rialto Map – Now Live

Overwatch: Rialto Map – Now Live

The new Overwatch PvP map, Rialto, is now live on PC, Xbox One and PS4!

In this new escort map, players will team up to either guide or stop a payload travelling along the canals and cobblestone streets of Venice, Italy.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES COMPLETE EDITION COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH

LITTLE NIGHTMARES COMPLETE EDITION COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH

LITTLE NIGHTMARES COMPLETE EDITION COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH

Owners of a Nintendo Switch™ are about to discover the mysterious universe of Six with the upcoming release of LITTLE NIGHTMARES™ Complete Edition on May 18^th, 2018 for Nintendo Swicth™.The game is hand-tailored for the Nintendo Switch with a 720p (upscale) resolution and 30FPS for the Handheld mode and a 720p (native) 30 FPS for the TV mode. Get ready to jump with fright with the addition of the HD Rumble possibilities.

The LITTLE NIGHTMARES™ Complete Edition will also contain the console pre-order bonus such as the Upside-Down Teapot and Scarecrow Mask. All the additional stories from The Secret of the Maw Expansion Pass are included to expand the gloomy experience. These separated stories will be playable with different save data for Six and the Kid.Players will be able to play the two protagonists wearing an exclusive Pakku mask, which becomes available in the Extras menu once the Pac-Man amiibo™ is scanned.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES Complete Edition is available in digital and physical form on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, STEAM® and GOG.com for PC and will be released on May 18^th on Nintendo Switch.

For Honor Free Weekend Begins, Season Six Arrives May 17

 For Honor Free Weekend Begins, Season Six Arrives May 17

FREE WEEKEND BEGINS, SEASON SIX ARRIVES MAY 17

SYDNEY, Australia — May 4, 2018 — Today, Ubisoft announced that For Honor^® Season Six, Hero’s March, will launch simultaneously on current-gen consoles and Windows PC on May 17. Launching as a free update, Hero’s March will bring a brand new map, major Hero reworks, a new Visual Collection feature, and more. Newcomers to For Honor interested in getting a taste of the game ahead of Season Six can take advantage of the Free Weekend featuring recently launched dedicated Australian servers, starting today May 4 until May 7 on all platforms. Players who want to continue their journey after the weekend can keep their progress and purchase the game for up to 67% off. For all details on the For Honor Free Weekend, please visit forhonorgame.com/freeweekend.

Click image below to view free weekend trailer.

New content coming includes:

New Map: One new map, the Beachhead, will expand the battlefield. The Beachhead will be available to all players for free and playable in all multiplayer modes except Tribute. Once a grand fortress of solitude and respite, it remains a picturesque view from afar and is a desirable stronghold for any army hoping to sway the odds of battle in their favor.

Major Hero Reworks: In the wake of Season Five’s Hero updates and positive feedback from players, For Honor will continue to improve and harmonize the current roster as two Heroes – the Orochi and Peacekeeper – will receive major gameplay updates with Season Six. More Heroes will receive similar updates in the future as the development team continues to prioritize game balancing.

The Visual Collection: This new feature will allow players to track all visuals they have obtained and then apply them on any gear they have in a separate in-game menu. This will help reduce the need to hoard gear for the reason of simply keeping visuals in one’s inventory, and also directly address player feedback about the lack of inventory space.

“We’re happy to see players react positively to our recent For Honor updates, which included the launch of dedicated servers and extensive Hero balancing changes, as well as new onboarding features,” said Roman Campos-Oriola, creative director of For Honor. “In addition to improving the core experience, we are also working on new content, including all-new Heroes; tune in during E3 2018 to learn more!”  Following the introduction of the all-new training mode, the implementation of dedicated servers, and other updates, which have brought significant improvements to the player experience, the For Honor team has been dedicated to making the game more stable, accessible, and engaging for all players. To learn more about the development team’s vision for Season Six and beyond, please visit: http://forhonorgame.com/season6.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with other Ubisoft studios,* For Honor offers an engaging campaign and thrilling multiplayer modes. Players embody warriors of the three Great Factions – the bold Knights, the brutal Vikings and the deadly Samurai – fighting to the death on intense and believable melee battlefields. The Art of Battle, the game’s innovative combat system that puts players in total control of their warriors, allows them to utilize the unique skills and combat style of each hero to vanquish all enemies who stand in their way. For more information about For Honor, please visit forhonorgame.com and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ForHonorGame and on Twitter attwitter.com/ForHonorGame. For the latest about For Honor and other Ubisoft games, please visit news.ubisoft.com.

Destiny 2 Warmind Reveal

Destiny 2 Warmind Reveal

Launching on May 8, Destiny 2 Expansion II: Warmind continues your Guardian’s journey with new activities, new weapons and gear, more endgame content, and an all-new story.

Warmind features an all new Raid lair offering players great rewards, a new Hive faction and brand-new endgame ritual, Escalation Protocol where players will fight escalating waves of enemies and slay challenging bosses right alongside their friends. There will also be new weapons, armour and gear to earn.  

If you missed Bungie’s Warmind Twitch Reveal Stream, you can watch it here and read the recap below.

Warmind- Reveal Stream Recap

Summary: Players learn about Destiny 2’s Warmind expansion, including new activities, a new campaign, and a new story to tell

Cast:

• Deej

·         Brent Gibson, Game Director, Vicarious Visions

·         Evan Nikolich, Partner Design Lead, Bungie

·         Ben Wommack, Design Lead

·         Jacob Benton, Design Lead

·         Cozmo, Community

·         Kevin Yanes, Designer

·         Josh Hamrick, Sandbox Design Lead

·         Jon Weisnewski, Senior Sandbox Designer

Content:

• Destination: In Warmind, players will journey to Mars, where Rasputin has awoken, setting off a system-wide chain of events. The polar ice caps are melting, uncovering a time capsule in Rasputin’s birthplace. Warmind will introduce Ana Bray, a new hero that players will encounter. She will serve as the vendor and will allow players to learn more about Clovis Bray

• Escalation Protocol: Warmind introduces a new endgame activity that players will want to return to again and again. Escalation Protocol features many characteristics of traditional public events, however it can be started at any time rather than running to a schedule and anyone can join.
  • The event starts by activating a pillar that rises up out of the ground which draws the Hive in
  • The event plays out in seven waves, each with a boss fight, culminating in one final unique boss fight
  • There are five unique final bosses that will rotate each week in five-week rotations
  • New items/tokens will be available which can be spun to get special weapons. These will be needed to complete the activity
  • One notable new item is the Valkyrie, a magical rocket launcher that destroys all. It is both a melee and a ranged weapon
  • Players can earn rewards that are specific to this activity
  • Escalation Protocol is very challenging, so be prepared to be put to the test!
  • Players must complete Warmind’s campaign before they can activate Escalation Protocol

• Crucible: Two important features are coming to Destiny 2 in Season 3; Crucible ranks and Private Matches
  • Crucible ranks will provide a choice of two ranks which will dictate how you play:
  • Valor rank involves progression over time with no penalty for dropout
  • Glory rank is much more difficult and is attached only to competitive playlists. Progression is tied to results, so it improves if you win and decreases if you lose.
  • Each rank includes streak bonuses
  • Crucible rewards change in Season 3, with two amazing new emblems and an entire slew of new rewards
  • There will be one specific weapon to chase each season
  • Season 3’s notable weapon will be Redrix’s Claymore, which includes the new Desperado perk. This increases the rate of fire without lowering impact
  • Private Matches are back! They are similar to those players will remember from Destiny 1 but with some awesome improvements

o    There are two new maps – Solitude and Survival- which require Warmind ownership in order to use in private matches

• Sandbox: Exotic weapons are being tweaked to improve the experience with each weapon – everything will be stronger, faster, and better!
  • Most exotics have been levelled-up in areas such as damage, time-to-kill and rate of fire

The Shape of Water: Blu Ray Review

The Shape of Water: Blu Ray Review

How you feel about whimsy will largely dictate your feelings on the beautifully sumptuous but occasionally wanting Golden Globe nominated The Shape of Water.

In Guillermo del Toro's Cold War fairytale, Hawkins plays mute janitor Elisa, who lives with a struggling artist (Jenkin, in a warm and empathetic performance) above a cinema.

One day at work, Elisa encounters a strange event, when an apparent iron lung is shifted into the research facility where she works, complete with mysterious G-man (played with vitriol by Michael Shannon).

Despite being ordered not to do so, Elisa discovers a common bond with the Merman type creature in the tank (played by creature wizard Doug Jones). However, with the Russians trying to get their hands on it, and the Americans threatening to vivisect, Elisa decides to take matters into her own hands.

The Shape Of Water has some truly astounding visuals and is awash in a Jeunet-esque green glow that bathes everything in marine. Many sly references are made to green being the colour of the future, and the opening sequence, with its startling aqua-world is covered in green, and reflective of both the film's mystery and its 30s monster movie machinations.

Yet, even for a fantasy, there are moments in the Cold War showdown that don't hold together - lapses of logic and behaviour mar parts of the film and slightly take you out from the fantasy within.

Thankfully, even though the film's drowning in fantasy, it's grounded by some very human presences.

Jenkins is the everyman with heart, whose desire to fit in and return is rendered all the more tragic because of societal attitudes to his open lifestyle; Jones is as impressive as ever as a creature, with plenty of years in Hellboy to know that the simplest move of his Creature from the Black Lagoon can mean so much and Shannon's driven Government agent is as necessary a villain as you'd need in a film like this.

But it's Hawkins whose mute turn speaks the loudest in del Toro's movie about the love of movies. Her empathetic Elisa gives the fantasy its heart, and in her silent turn, Hawkins pays tribute to Del Toro's aim to salute the golden era of Hollywood's finest. But there's depth to Hawkins, even if the connection initially with the creature feels a little forced; this is a film that follows the conventions of Hollywood's monster movie era where a kindred is born.

Ultimately, The Shape of Water may go on a little too long, but if you're content to rest in its fantasy world and revel in Del Toro's unique vision, it's the perfect luxuriating piece of cinema. 

I, Tonya: DVD Review

I, Tonya: DVD Review

It's hard to know where the truth lies in the cinematic and literal punchbag and punchline that is director Craig Gillespie and actor Margot Robbie's I, Tonya.

A non-conventional biopic that mingles fourth-wall breaking, Fargo-esque shenanigans, Goodfellas-style extreme domestic violence, comedy and unreliable narrators, the truth is as difficult to trace as the film is keen to promote Margot Robbie's Tonya Harding as a victim, not a villain.

As Verbal in The Usual Suspects intoned at the end, "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist", much of a similar ethos has been thrown at I, Tonya and you're likely to emerge still not quite believing who is right, what the truth of the incident that hobbled Harding's contender Nancy Kerrigan in January 1994 actually is and assured that Alison Janney deserves all the plaudits she's being showered in for the role of Tonya's harridan mother.

Beginning with a relatively quiet start and a series of others piece-to-cameras explaining their role in the Tonya tale, Gillespie sets about building an image of Tonya before Robbie's presence is fully revealed.

Sitting in her kitchen, looking non-descript and complete with lank hair and limp bangs, Robbie portrays Harding as the victim in all of this, who never wanted anything more than to skate.

Taking in her childhood in 1970, where her mother LaVona (a nothing short of sinister and compelling turn from Janney under a pudding bowl cut and pair of unflattering glasses) daily verbally and physically abuses Harding, the film follows Tonya's rise to adulthood, her abusive relationship with Jeff Gillooly and her desire to simply skate and do nothing else.

Robbie's impressive as Harding for the most part - even if the back third of the film feels directionless and sprawling as it takes in a crime ripped straight from the annals of the Fargo anthology series in its ineptness and woeful stupidity.

But Robbie's game is seriously raised - and the film is indeed never better than when Janney is on screen and we dwell in their interactions. Simmering with an horrific tension and redolent of systemic abuse, these scenes are frank in their approach and as eye-opening an insight into character as could be expected.

However, Gillespie's desire to make the audience complicit (and Harding's on-screen end insistence that the audience is to blame for what happened to her) makes the film particularly conflicting viewing at times.

Punctuating moments of strong violence from Gillooly with Robbie's fourth-wall breaking leaves an occasionally uncertain taste in the mouth as the film goes on. Granted the material is pulled from a He Said, She Said style narrative, but the oddly jokey tone sits uncomfortably throughout.

That said, there are moments of directorial bravura in I, Tonya.

Gillespie's eye for dazzling sweeping shots of skating on the ice give the film a sequinned thrill and Tonya's tale an arc of tragedy, where the beauty she displayed in the rink is so fused with the ugliness of what lies off it in her domestic hillbilly life. (Though occasionally, it feels like some of the CGI fails its subject.)

Ultimately, and unfortunately, I, Tonya makes a literal punchline of its subject, and leaves you none the wiser to the reliability and relatability of what transpires on screen.

It does feel overlong hitting nearly 2 hours, and the farcical elements sit with unease next to the violence, but perhaps, in some ways, this is the point of I, Tonya.

Harding has always been a conflicting and divisive figure.

It certainly feels in its denouement as she protests her innocence that she believes she's misunderstood (and the film allows this agenda throughout).

Even with Janney's superlative turn and Robbie's occasional shining strength and resolute performance, I, Tonya spins a polarising story, a bastardisation of the American dream that's hard to get to the core of - and definitely one whose black humour and approach will leave you feeling deeply conflicted afterwards.