Ghost Recon series fans can now apply for closed beta access to Ubisoft’s upcoming shooter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, and selected players will be able to explore its massive open world starting in February.
Beta sessions are available for players on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms, and pre-loading for beta content will be an option starting on February 1.
Ghost Recon Wildlands shifts Ubisoft’s long-running tactical shooter series to an open-world setting, and challenges players to take down drug cartels with help from co-op squadmates. Wildlands takes place in a simulated Bolivia, and players can expect to deal with tactical challenges associated with its rocky terrain and varied environments.
Wildlands‘ online co-op component lets up to four players team up to scour the game’s massive environments for equipment, resources, and new storyline missions. Solo players are teamed up with three AI squadmates who assist in team-based gameplay mechanics throughout.
Ubisoft’s slated beta content for Wildlands focuses on the province of Itacua, where players must take on the Santa Blanca drug cartel during a series of infiltration missions. Beta participants will be given the chance to test drive many of the game’s new vehicles, and four-player co-op is available across all featured gameplay modes.
The upcoming Wildlands beta will follow up on Ubisoft’s previously announced For Honor beta session, which kicks off this week. Starting on January 26, For Honor beta participants can take on combat roles as Vikings, Samurai, and Knights throughout a series of historic battles. Ubisoft will wrap up For Honor‘s public testing phase prior to the launch of its Wildlands beta in February.
An initial round of beta testing for Ghost Recon Wildlands will be held from February 3 through February 6. Wildlands launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms on March 7.
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.