After the best part of a decade in development, the early access release of co-op sandbox survival game Fortnite is just a matter of days away. Now, Epic Games has unleashed a brand-new cinematic trailer at RTX Austin 2017, in the hope of whetting players’ appetites ahead of its launch later this month.
The clip opens with four characters representing the game’s character classes — ninja, outlander, soldier, and constructor — bantering among themselves as they explore a ruined burger joint. If you’ve been keeping up with Fortnite, this lighthearted presentation will come as no surprise, as it is in keeping with the game’s cheery tone and stylized, toonish visuals.
The group finds a mother and child taking refuge in the restaurant, and pretty soon zombies are flooding through the entrance, calling the quartet into action. Things then really get hectic as an enormous monster referred to as a “smasher” enters the fray. While this is a cinematic clip rather than in-game footage, it gives a good idea of what players can expect from the gameplay in Fortnite.
This is a game that was built from the ground up as a co-op experience, so it’s all about establishing a good dynamic among your group. That means making the most of how different classes complement one another, and making sure that you’re always looking out for the other members of your squad.
Originally announced all the way back in 2011, Fortnite fell off the radar over the past couple of years, leading some to believe that it might have slipped into development hell. However, Epic Games surprised many in June 2017 when it confirmed plans for an early access release in July.
Of course, gamers are often reticent to put down their hard-earned cash on a game that’s explicitly stated to be in an unfinished state. Fortnite is a particularly controversial example of the early access business model, as Epic Games has made the unusual decision to offer a physical version of the as-yet-incomplete title.
Fortnite is scheduled to release as an early access title on July 25, with pre-orders granting players a four-day head start beginning on July 21. You can buy the game right now via the Epic Games online store.
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.