Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment released a Dark Souls III trailer giving fans an early look at the upcoming Ashes of Ariandel expansion prior to its multiplatform launch in October.
Wednesday’s trailer gives an overview of the harsh arctic environments featured in Ashes of Ariandel and also offers a glimpse at the new enemies, creatures, and bosses players will encounter throughout the game.
Released for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PCs earlier this year, Dark Souls III is the final chapter in developer From Software’s acclaimed action-RPG series. Dark Souls III dials up its difficulty significantly compared to previous series entries, which themselves are regarded as extremely difficult and uncompromising experiences.
From Software previously revealed that two downloadable content expansions will premiere for Dark Souls III in the year after its launch, with an initial offering arriving in October. Titled Ashes of Ariandel, the first Dark Souls III expansion introduces an all-new gameplay area defined by its snow-covered environments and blizzard-like weather conditions that reduce player visibility.
The newly issued trailer also reveals a handful of enemies exclusive to the forthcoming expansion, including heavily armored knights, hooded assassins, and insect-like demonic creatures. The expansion will also introduce new boss characters, including a gigantic wolf and a towering beast that wields what appears to be a gigantic cauldron filled with lava.
From Software will follow up on next month’s launch of Ashes of Ariandel with a second expansion in 2017, though further details regarding the developer’s future DLC plans are not yet known.
Ashes of Ariandel launches as a $15 add-on for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC versions of Dark Souls III on October 25. The expansion will be available as a free download for players who previously purchased Dark Souls III‘s digital Season Pass.
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.