Bethesda had a strong showing at its E3 2016 press conference, which included a few new games and some surprises. Among these were announcements for new Fallout 4 DLC and updates for the mobile hit Fallout Shelter. The video game publisher was did not neglect to give some attention to its recently released reboot of the classic first person shooter franchise, DOOM. The gory first person shooter is getting a bevy of free and premium updates this summer.
A host of new multiplayer modes, including capture the flag, a king-of-the-hill-style mode called Sector, and fan-favorite classic deathmatch will be available to all players for free in the coming months. Developer id Software will also release the first piece of premium multiplayer DLC, titled Unto The Evil, which adds a trio of new maps, new customization options like armor and taunts, a new demon power up called the Harvest, and a new weapon to all multiplayer modes.
Next, SnapMap will get new free features, such as new settings to build levels, more props to decorate maps, and expanded logic for enemies and puzzles. SnapMap levels also gain single player features like the weapon wheel so creators can make fully-featured single player experiences.
Finally, if you haven’t gotten a chance to play the highly acclaimed reboot, id is making good on their legacy of shareware, and is releasing a free demo for DOOM where players can get a taste of the game’s brutally fast, frantic, and gory gameplay in the game’s opening single player campaign level. The demo is only available for a short time, however. Players on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One can all get their hands on the DOOM demo through June 18, 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 One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it.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.