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47 CommentsA brief tour of a tiny corner of No Man's Sky
At this point, anyone who's been following No Man's Sky has an idea of what developer Hello Games is trying to deliver: a massive, open-ended space exploration game that thousands upon thousands of people will play without (likely) ever coming into contact with each other. But how does it all work in practice? What do you actually do in the game, anyway?
These were the kinds of questions we set out to answer when we sat down with Hello Games managing director Sean Murray for a demo of No Man's Sky yesterday, after which the studio set us loose — for maybe 20 minutes in a PlayStation 4 build — to explore the cosmos ourselves.
If you're wondering about how No Man's Sky actually handles the procedural generation of its 18 quintillion planets, Murray briefly walked us through a solar...
News
1 CommentTickets for Dota 2's The International 2016 go on sale next week
Tickets for The International 2016, the world championship of Dota 2, will go on sale Thursday, April 7, Valve has announced. Tickets will range from $75 to $100.
The event returns to KeyArena in Seattle for a third consecutive year and will be held Monday, Aug. 8 to Saturday, Aug. 13. Tickets are being offered in two groupings, a midweek package at $75 that allows access to events held Aug. 8 to Aug. 11, which includes the opening ceremony and an all-star event. The Finals ticket, at $100, grants a seat for the last two days of the event.
Attendees will also collect unique in-game items for Dota 2 by attending. To be eligible, the attendance badge must be linked to a Steam account, and the bearer must be in the arena at the time of First Blood in each Dota 2 match, when the loot will...
Cover Story
Issue
16
March 9, 2016
The making of PlayStation VR
Go behind the scenes with some of the key people behind Sony’s upcoming headset.
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54 CommentsPlayers in Eve Online are at war, here's what we know
Earlier this week players in Eve Online were involved in one of that game's famously large and expensive battles. But sources tell Polygon that this was just the opening round of what could be the largest military mobilization in that game's history. Digging deeper into the subject, we've been able to chart the rise of a new in-game faction, called the Moneybadger Coalition, a group of thousands of players being bankrolled by an online casino.
Eve Online is a famously complex — and famously tedious — massively multiplayer online game set in a science fiction universe. Some call it the most thrilling boring game in the universe. But it's more than just a spreadsheet in space. It's also one of the most fascinating space operas ever made, an experience so rich that it's been made into a...
Virtual Reality
26 CommentsHTC Vive, Oculus Rift run into trouble getting orders out on time [Update]
Pre-order customers for both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are complaining of widespread problems either in receiving their units on time or having their orders canceled.
This morning, Rift pre-order customers received emails apologizing for "an unexpected component shortage," that has held up their orders, with no estimated shipping date given. By April 12 they can expect to see their "updated order status," the email said.
Oculus Rift's CEO, Brendan Iribe, also took to to Twitter to acknowledge orders "are going out slower than we orig[inally] estimated," and that Oculus was covering shipping costs for any order placed through today, including pre-orders and international orders.
First set of Rifts are going out slower than we orig estimated, so we're giving free shipping...
Cutscene
0 CommentsThis week on Cutscene: Archer is back and better than ever
On this week's episode of Cutscene, Susana and Julia talk about the Backstreet Boys, and no, this isn't an April Fools' Day prank.
Links to subscribe to Polygon Cutscene in iTunes, your podcast player of choice or to download an MP3 are all a click away, just beneath this episode.
To prepare for the television event of the century, Julia breaks down Dead 7 — the zombie-Western movie starring members of the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, O-Town and 98 Degrees — and tries to explain why it even exists.
As a palette cleanser, however, our hosts get into the new season of Archer and Julia gives her take on why this change in direction is exactly what the show needed.
Some of the episode's highlights include:
Julia and Susana having a very serious conversation over the...
News
12 CommentsMass Effect: Andromeda development footage leaks, shows off jetpack
Old — and therefore, potentially obsolete — footage of Mass Effect: Andromeda in development surfaced online overnight, showing off a jetpack feature that may not still be a part of the game.
The 30-second clip is from 2014, according to one NeoGAF user. The other who discovered the video said it came from the personal website of a developer currently working on Andromeda. It's a showcase reel of gameplay visuals and effects the developer apparently created for the game.
In addition to the jetpack, a scene showing a Krogan, held at gunpoint by a human, escaping by opening some sort of spore bomb. The rest are examples of visual effects. Another user said the build came from 2014 so, not only is this not representative of the current work in progress, any features shown may have not...
News
10 CommentsKoei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series returning to US after eight-year hiatus
Koei Tecmo's Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 is coming to North America this July. It's the first stateside release in the series, which dates back to 1985, since 2008.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 will, like other games in the series, offer deeply complex historical battle simulations against the backdrop of the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The 13th entry in the franchise promises a wide variety of military units to train and recruit; nonviolent conflict resolution through diplomacy and personal relationships; and a selection of some 700 historical characters to choose from.
The last game in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms franchise, which is based on the book of the same name, to be released in North America was Romance of the Three Kingdoms 11 for PlayStation 2 and...
TV
3 CommentsFirst Preacher teaser promises violent, gory interpretation of comic
AMC's adaptation of Preacher, the popular Vertigo comic written by Garth Ennis, is set to premiere at the end of next month, and the network has finally released the first teaser clip for the series.
The 20-second teaser (which can be seen below) starts with Reverend Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) smoking in a church pew before cutting to a quick cut of the show's other main characters, including Tulip O'Hare (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun). The teaser also gives a pretty good look at Arseface, a man who attempted suicide and survived, only to become a disfigured rockstar.
Based on the quick glimpses alone, it's hard to tell how closely they plan to stick to the comic book story written by Garth Ennis, but it looks like it will be just as violent and gory. If AMC knows how to...
Latest Reviews
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7 CommentsAce Attorney anime heads to streaming tomorrow
Ace Attorney, an anime based on Capcom's series of legal investigation games, will begin airing on Crunchyroll tomorrow. The streaming platform will premiere new episodes of the series every Saturday at 4 a.m. PT.
Subscribers worldwide will have access to the Ace Attorney anime, which Capcom announced in September at Tokyo Game Show. The TV series, which will air in Japanese with subtitles, stars Phoenix Wright. He'll be joined by fan favorites like Miles Edgeworth and Maya Fey.
Ace Attorney 6 launches in Japan this June, with a Western release set for later this year. The Nintendo 3DS game will star both Phoenix Wright and fellow lawyer Apollo Justice; its dual storylines will take place across both Japan and Los Angeles, California.
TV
3 CommentsIron Fist nabs another Game of Thrones actor for leading role
Marvel and Netflix have tapped another Game of Thrones actor for a leading role in Iron Fist, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Jessica Henwick, best known for her role as one of the Sand Snakes in HBO's flagship series, will join the series as Colleen Wing. In the comics, Wing is Danny Rand — aka Iron Fist's — right-hand woman and an expert in martial arts. In the show, she'll play an instrumental role in helping Rand acclimatize to living in New York City.
Henwick joins Finn Jones, who played Ser Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones, and will star as Rand in Iron Fist. There's currently no word on who else will be joining the series in supporting roles. Iron Fist is the fourth of five TV series that Marvel and Netflix are set to release as part of their deal. The show follows Rand, a...
Watch as Dark Souls 3 is beaten in under two hours
Dark Souls 3 launched in Japan last week — and one player has already breezed through the game, beating it in less than two hours.
Jung Ho Min, who uploaded the video above, has been recording his speedruns through Dark Souls 3 since its release; two days ago he posted a runtime of one hour, 56 minutes. His latest playthrough took one hour and 42 minutes, which he calls the new world record — although, as an "any percent" run, he was able to skip bosses and enemies in order to make it to the end that fast.
Still, the attempt is impressive, considering Dark Souls 3 is the latest entry in FromSoftware's intensely difficult series of dungeon crawlers. Fans have taken to doing speedruns and other unconventional, record-setting playthroughs of the franchise. These include a successful n...
News
23 CommentsVideo game releases for April 2016
Here are some of the big video games releases for the month of April 2016. Be sure to check out the list we put together of our most anticipated games of 2016.
What are you looking forward to playing? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
Note: Only games with specific dates are listed below. Some games are announced for April but have no firm release date.
April 5:
Quantum Break, (Windows PC and Xbox One) — The long awaited action-drama from Remedy Entertainment will be full of Alan Wake easter eggs for observant fans. Quantum Break will not be available on Steam but you will get a free Windows 10 copy if you purchase the Xbox One release.
April 12:
Dark Souls 3, (PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One) — The easily-accessible, family-friendly...
News
12 CommentsEverybody's Gone to the Rapture is heading to PC
The Chinese Room will launch Everybody's Gone to the Rapture on Windows PC, the studio confirmed. The company announced the release on Twitter today — while also assuaging fears that the news was an April Fools' joke.
It's been the worst-kept secret, but it's now official... Rapture will be coming to PC! No release date yet, but we'll keep you posted!
— The Chinese Room (@ChineseRoom) April 1, 2016
Since Everybody's Gone to the Rapture hit PlayStation 4 last August, fans have found suggestions that a PC port was in the works. An entry for the slow-burning post-apocalyptic game appeared on Steam's database, including banner art. Most recently, an AMD driver update suggested that a PC release was imminent.
The Chinese Room, known for narrative-driven games like Dear Esther,...
TV
2 CommentsMystery Science Theater 3000 creators reuniting for RiffTrax live show
For the first time, the full cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) is reuniting later this year. On June 28, creator and original host Joel Hodgson will join his successor Mike Nelson, along with other major cast members like Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, for a special on-stage appearance hosted by RiffTrax. the company announced in a press release.
RiffTrax, which stars Nelson, Corbett and Murphy, is hosting the live show in honor of its 10th anniversary. Hodgson's participation marks his first appearance on the program, which its hosts formed years after MST3K's cancelation. Nelson and Hodgson, who left the show due to creative differences with its producer, have rarely worked together since the creator's departure from the show. June's live special will be one of the rare...
Guitar Hero Live developer hit with layoffs ahead of 'restructuring'
Activision Blizzard has reduced staff at UK-based FreeStyleGames, which developed last year's Guitar Hero Live. A representative for Activision, which bought the independent studio in 2008, told Polygon that it will "restructure" the developer following company layoffs.
"Activision and FreeStyleGames leadership have been considering a range of future options for the studio, and have been consulting with staff to explore all alternatives," Activision said in a statement. "The collective team have now reached the end of a consultation exercise and the decision has been made to restructure FreeStyleGames to better align the studio resources with future business needs. We are working with the studio teams to explore options to rebalance staff within Activision Blizzard and its related...
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