A Strong Partnership between Microsoft and Bethesda

Bethesda is already one of the best gaming companies with franchises such as Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and Doom. Now they are a part of Microsoft, one of the wealthiest companies in the world. Bethesda has access to a pool of new resources to produce games. Microsoft already has Xbox, which is one of the two console monopolies along with PlayStation. Even without Bethesda, they boast impressive franchises such as Forza, Halo, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves.

One of the most significant aspects of the partnership is the sheer amount of resources and experience Microsoft and Bethesda have together. Microsoft’s financial support allows Bethesda to aim even higher with their games. Furthermore, Bethesda’s vast experience developing massively popular RPGs means that Microsoft will know more secrets to improve their games.

A Bright Future for Gamers

The Microsoft-Bethesda coalition has already produced exciting new announcements. One is- some of Bethesda’s most popular franchises will be coming to Xbox Game Pass. This is big news because players can now play games such as Doom, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls without buying them individually. This factor will drive many players to subscribe to the Xbox Game pass.

One disadvantage of the partnership is the potential for cross-platform play. Microsoft’s ownership of the company means they now have more control over the process of deciding cross-platform play. Microsoft usually only releases games for its own consoles, meaning PlayStation players are left out. Bethesda’s games will likely be Microsoft exclusives as well following the deal.

Upcoming games from Microsoft and Bethesda

Starfield- A brand new game announcement from Bethesda, it is an ambitious space RPG. Bethesda promises to make it one of the most immersive and vast gaming adventures gaming has ever seen. Teasers of the game suggest that it will be a story-heavy adventure that takes players to deep space.

Elder Scrolls VI- One of the most highly anticipated games in recent memory, Elder Scrolls VI is the latest announcement for Bethesda’s beloved Elder Scrolls franchise. While details are scarce, fans are already speculating whether Microsoft will intervene with the production or not. Previous Elder Scrolls games ease players’ concerns because it’s such a strong franchise that Microsoft couldn’t mess up.

Conclusion

To conclude, the Microsoft-Bethesda partnership is already developing to be one of the most exciting events in gaming history. With their combined portfolios and expertise (which are impressive alone), the two companies combined can easily take over the Gaming industry together. We are excited to see the new levels they bring to gaming and will discuss their game releases in detail as they announce them.

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The past of Playstation and Xbox

For many years Sony pretty much held the title of the “best” console following the launch of the first Playstation consoles and the subsequent update. However, when Microsoft introduced the first iteration of the Xbox a year after Sony launched the PlayStation 2, the world of console gaming would never be the same again.

Since then, it has been an endless game of one-upmanship between the two contenders. This is the case even though Sony seems to win consistently when looking solely at the market share. That said, the debate is always heated and consumers will always pit the two against each other. Because people are competitive by nature and we always want to be sure that we are getting the best for our money.

So when it comes to comparing consoles or any other competing products for that matter, it invariably leads to a comparison of their inner workings. The same goes for the Sony PS5 and the Xbox Series X.

PS5 v Xbox Series X, the titans go head to head

Looking at the technology that runs the PS5 and Xbox X, both competitors came ready to bruise and are quite evenly matched. Both companies chose to stay with chipmaker AMD on their latest offerings.

The PS5

The PS5 uses a third-generation variant of AMD’s Ryzen CPU, an 8 core chip that has been tailored to Sony’s exact desires.

The story is very much the same when it comes to the GPU. It is a tailored version of the Radeon Navi which supports ray-tracing and 3D audio simulation. When coupled with the PS5’s 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, players have up to 10.28 teraFLOPs at their disposal.

As for storage space, the PS5 ships with an 825 GB SSD (Solid State Drive) that runs at 5.5GB per second, which makes for some ultra-fast loading times.

Xbox Series X

Much like the competition, Microsoft’s work with partnership with AMD was an endeavor to customize components to suit the latest version of Xbox.

The Xbox also features an 8 core CPU, however, this version clocks higher at 3.8GHz – a tad higher than the Sony PS5’s 3.5GHz.

The GPU that Microsoft runs in the latest Xbox also leaves the PS5 wanting. More specifically Xbox Series X buyers have up to 12 teraFLOPs hidden “under the hood” that are paired with an exact match of 16GB GDDR6 RAM.

To top it off, the Xbox SX comes standard with an impressive 1TB SSD That runs at 2.4GB per second. If that is not enough for you, all you need to do is get your hands on an Xbox Series X Storage Expansion Card to get yourself another 1TB of storage.

Tallying up the score of PS5 vs Xbox X

When looking at the figures, the Xbox Series X has a clear hardware advantage over the Playstation 5. However, a closer inspection might reveal a few more important facts.

For one, the Xbox SX’s CPU figures only reach that high when the simultaneous multithreading feature is active, the gap between the two is otherwise a marginal one.

The GPU differences are another point worth paying a little extra attention to. Though Xbox Series X owners can boast about the higher teraFLOP figures, they might not really matter all that much beyond the platform’s exclusive titles like Gears of War.

That said, the asking price for the two competitors is similar – both with an MSRP of $500. So the question of which of the two is “better” is a very personal one, most probably determined by brand loyalty and which exclusive games one cannot go without playing.

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Announcements of termination and release of GTA 5 for Different Consols

This comes after Rockstar Games announced its plans to terminate GTA 5 Online for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles on the 16th of December this year.

Rockstar Games had previously set the 11th of November as the release days for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S remaster. However, on the 9th of September, the company announced that fans who wanted to play the game on either of the consoles would have to wait until March 2022.

Rockstar did not give much in the way of explaining their reasons, only stating that “the game requires a few additional months for polishing and fine-tuning. We look forward to sharing more details about these expanded and enhanced versions soon,”.

However, Rockstar did make mention of a number of interesting new features – namely, a standalone variety of GTA Online that is set to hit the generation of Playstation and Xbox. Moreover, PS5 players will have the opportunity to claim GTA Online for free in the 3 months after launch.

In the meantime, waiting PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players can still enjoy the world of GTA through backward compatibility. Minus all the bells and whistles that would come with a version that is tailored to next-gen consoles of course.

Important points to make note of regarding GTA 5

There are two main effects that the addition of a PS5 and Xbox Series X/S could have. First of all, this move could help give GTA Online unchallenged continuity – even in the face of a GTA 6.

Secondly, it could open up more possibilities for multiplayer playing with a way of a marked reduction in the game’s storage demands. However, it is worth noting that these particular points are highly speculative at this point in time as the company has not yet confirmed this.

Closing thoughts

Grand Theft Auto 5 was a class act in gaming right from the very beginning and games with that much entertainment value are by no means a walk in the park to create. The gap between GTA 5 and its predecessor is proof of that.

Therefore, it would be a little unrealistic to expect a GTA6 any time soon – especially after Rockstar’s most recent big deal launch of Red Dead Redemption 2.

But then again, it’s not like they would be in a hurry. GTA Online boasts a massive following that keeps Rockstar’s war chest well. Stocked through the purchase of in-game currency, while the company still enjoys the seemingly endless buyers’ appetite for GTA5 – simply remastering for the next-gen just made more sense.

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Under the leadership of Jeff Kaplan, a director at Blizzard at the time, the team pulled it off. The gaming world welcomed it. Naturally, fans are eager to get more details about the upcoming sequel and what to expect.

There are some confirmed changes in Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is set to release across a good selection of platforms – Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation, and Xbox (Series X/S included), making it a readily available game for the already massive following. However, there has not been any confirmation as to whether or not Overwatch 2 will feature crossplay.

As far as confirmations go, the biggest known changes to expect in Overwatch 2 are in the gameplay and they have left fans polarized. One of them is the changing of team structure from 2-2-2 to 5v5. Each team will then be made up of 2 damage heroes, 2 support heroes, and a singular Tank hero as opposed to the equal split that fans have gotten used to over the years.

Overwatch 2 will also come with new game modes to keep players entertained, the most notable being the addition of PvE story-based single-player modes. It made up for what many gamers have criticized about the first Overwatch game.

Another hot topic regarding Overwatch 2 is the addition of new heroes, expanding the current and the addition of new maps – Monte Carlo, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, and Toronto are certain additions.

On the downside, the one bit of information that might be the most important hasn’t yet been announced. This is the ever so secretive matter of the actual release date. When it comes to this matter, Blizzard has masterfully sidestepped the question and speculation around this specific aspect of Overwatch 2’s development. The only confirmed information about the release came from J. Allen Brack, Former President at Blizzard, who stated during a February earnings call that “no release is expected anytime soon”.

Closing thoughts

The announcement of Overwatch 2 back in 2019 generated a lot of hype, which has been persistent ever since. Spurred on by Blizzard’s willingness to release tantalizing trailers of the game. However, without a confirmed release date, the waiting game can feel like forever.

But that is just what we’ll have to endure until Blizzard actually drops Overwatch 2, trailers, forum discussions, and the good old original to keep enjoying.

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An interesting, much-needed update

This Resident Evil 2 version is basically a remake of the older game that you could play on the PlayStation but this time around you will notice that they are replacing the fixed or tank controls with the over the shoulder 3^rd person shooter camera to bring in more immersion. The story is pretty much the same, they didn’t change anything and you don’t really have, since it was really good to begin with.

Another interesting change that’s actually more than welcome is the fact that you can save as often as you want with this version. Of course, if you choose to go with the Hardcore difficulty then you will need to collect some ink ribbons if you want to save the progress. That says a lot about the experience and the gameplay really is among some of the best that you can find out there.

You still get to play with either Claire or Leon, and you can access certain areas, enter a variety of sub plots and accessible areas. That being said, you can play with the other character only if you finish the game once. There are side quests and a variety of things that warrant a second look at the very least, and the experience itself is quite exhilarating and exciting especially if you are a fan of Resident Evil 2 in particular.

The second time you play also offers you variations and you can enter through new locations and so on. That really adds to the immersion factor and it warrants a second playthrough, which is what you would expect from a game like this to begin with.

Graphics and sounds

The visuals are staggering in Resident Evil 2. This remake looks nothing short of extraordinary. It’s clearly a labor of love from the developers and they worked really hard to make this as interesting and as visually appealing as possible. Plus, they retained the story and didn’t change anything, instead they just added some functional features as we mentioned earlier. The music is also intact, and the sounds themselves are very immersive.

Overall, Resident Evil 2 is a great example of how you need to do a remake. It looks great, it’s very easy to play and you will like just how detailed it really is. You do want to check it out for yourself and give it a try if you love horror games. Even if you don’t particularly like horror titles, this game gives you the suspense you expect from a good title. It’s certainly worth your time and you do want to check it out as soon as possible.
If you wish to find out how you can beat Resident Evil 2 with tricks, check out this article.

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It’s a puzzle platforming game. You play as Bizmo & Plom at the same time, all the time on the screen. This game especially focuses on co-op gameplay, and it is quite good in what it does in such sense. This means both characters need to do something together in order to solve the puzzle.

Along the way, you are going to learn a different ways of doing things and the game has a really cool way of showing you how to do that by just giving you a small little simple level to learn a new mechanics and then you’ll use them in future ones. Sometimes, it’s not just about using the immediate thing, you have to actually go back and know the previous mechanics that you’ve learned and compile them all together to pass the future levels.

Levels of Fun

Shift Happens offers over 40. levels that get more and more challenging as you go and I did notice even through the first set of levels it definitely got more challenging and I found myself wondering: „How in the world I am going to get through this?!“.  And it was a good challenge, because it challenged my brain so I had to think of all previous puzzles and find a solution that way. This game is special in such way, that you always want to beat the level, you don’t want to give up, because you can almost „feel“ that the solution is barely within my grasp . I knew there was going to be some way I can figure it out.

Final review

I was incredibely suprised by this game. As you can probably tell, I do recommend this game and you can pick it up on Steam store. I was thinking on what could be the downfall, but I couldn’t think of any – 5. star game.

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This game is a blast

I kept thinking that the constant variety couldn’t hold up. But surprisingly, each level of Rayman Legends looks more impressive than the last. Now, Rayman Origins looks great, but this sequel takes the original’s colourful and animated look and feels in new directions. The beautiful transitions and clever bosses look stunning, expressive and vibrant. The distinctly looney tunes quality of music and the grotesque enemies give a character and personality dispair. Even if there is not much story here. I love its subtle and inventive visual tricks that hide dozens of crafty secret areas in plain sight.
Compared to most platformers, the jump physics of Rayman tend to feel a little bit floaty. But I got used to it and grew to love it.

None of it ever feels frustrating thanks to some great atmosphere. And every time I thought I’ve found my personal favourite level, the next one came along and replaced it. The variety of sneaking through puzzle platform stages – playing a standard platformer or a shoot them up inspired gliding stage constantly kept me on my toes and eager to see what comes next. No matter what the challenge, they are all brilliantly designed and there is an incredible feeling of satisfaction when you clear each stage.
It’s easy to get confused about which character is yours since everyone shares the same screen and a lot of the character’s skin looks similar. To be fair though, no platformer has really solved this problem yet. Also, it is disappointing that there is no online coop play which means that other than some online leaderboards, Rayman Legends is stranded as a couch co-op game.

The verdict

Rayman Legends is a delightful platform, and one of the best I’ve ever played. Thanks to clever level design that toys with genre conventions. It gets incredible mileage out of four basic moves, and great local co-op and dozens of unlockables including stages from the original Rayman Origins, special character skins and mini-games – there is a lot to do. The difficulty is so smoothly balanced that it is easy to play with kids and friends and you’ll still have a good time.

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