Publisher Bandai Namco revealed that its upcoming flight sim Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown will launch across multiple platforms in 2017, and is now set to arrive for the Xbox One and PCs in addition to a previously announced PlayStation 4 release.
PlayStation VR owners will still want to keep an eye out for the PS4 edition, however, as the port will offer exclusive missions specifically suited for Sony’s virtual reality headset.
Ace Combat 7 continues Bandai Namco’s long-running flight simulation series for the current console generation. The game offers a lengthy single-player campaign mode penned by Sunao Katabuchi, who previously tackled scriptwriting duties for the PlayStation 2 series entries Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies and Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
The story remains a central part of the experience in the series’ latest sequel, continuing a tradition established in the franchise’s early days for the original PlayStation and PS2. Previous games in the series featured campaigns offering multiple branching storyline paths, and with writer Katabuchi at the helm, Skies Unknown will likely follow suit.
The last time the series attempted a multiplatform release was in 2011 when Ace Combat: Assault Horizon launched for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC platforms. Many longtime fans considered Assault Horizon a disappointment due to its drastically overhauled dogfighting mechanics and outsourced writing staff, who shifted the series away from its traditional fantasy setting in favor of a story that took place in the United States.
A new trailer released this week for Ace Combat 7 makes note of several fictional settings for its campaign missions, potentially marking a return to form. Other returning features include online multiplayer dogfights and a one-on-one local versus mode.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms later this year.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.