As we get closer to the release date of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, EA is increasing its marketing efforts to make sure that the sequel to the fondly remembered 2008 original surpasses its predecessor in sales. Today saw the release of Warning Call, a song written for the game by Scottish synth pop outfit Chvrches.
The band is quoted as linking the track to the “minimalist sci-fi dystopia” of the game, according to a report from Polygon. Chvrches’ signature sound does conjure up something in the same vein as the stripped-back aesthetic that helped make Mirror’s Edge stand out of the crowd upon its release.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Chvrches brush shoulders with the video game industry. The Glaswegian group performed at the 2015 edition of The Game Awards, and their music has been featured on the soundtrack of numerous games including Gran Turismo 6, Forza Horizon 2, and Grand Theft Auto V.
Even the most optimistic Mirror’s Edge fans were surprised when a sequel was announced at E3 2013. We saw bits and pieces from the development process in the years the followed, but it was only at last year’s E3 conference that the game was given a full reveal.
However, Catalyst has faced a few obstacles during its time under active development. Some feathers were ruffled when the original game’s writer Rhianna Pratchett announced that she wouldn’t be involved with the sequel, and there have been several delays to its scheduled release date of February 2016.
That said, the fact that EA is promoting the game with the release of a single by a popular band suggests that the publisher has faith in its product. We’ll soon see whether Mirror’s Edge Catalyst can meet expectations, as the game is set to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on June 7, 2016.
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.