Publisher Square Enix outlines the final Season Pass content it has in store for Rise of the Tomb Raider in a new trailer released today, revealing that Xbox One and Windows 10 players can expect a new storyline chapter in October.
Other planned DLC for Rise of the Tomb Raider includes new difficulty modes, alternate character outfits, and a “Lara’s Nightmare” mode that pits longtime series star Lara Croft against an invading army of zombies.
Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s upcoming “Blood Ties” DLC boasts an additional hour of storyline content that takes place in Lara’s childhood home, Croft Manor. Left in a state of disrepair, Croft Manor promises players a mixture of cramped-quarters exploration and tricky traversal challenges as they search for secrets hidden throughout.
Croft Manor also serves as the setting for “Lara’s Nightmare,” a bonus gameplay mode included as part of the “Blood Ties” DLC package. Finding herself alone in Croft Manor, Lara battles her inner demons in a subconscious scenario featuring bloodthirsty zombies. Lara is heavily armed even in her dreams, however, and players can expect to wield a high-caliber arsenal in their wave-based battles against the undead.
October’s DLC launch for Rise of the Tomb Raider also marks the debut of an expanded Endurance Mode. Originally released as a survival-oriented challenge for solo players, Endurance Mode now supports online co-op, allowing players to team up to tackle Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s deadly catacombs and harsh wilderness settings.
The upcoming DLC rollout will also add an “Extreme Survivor” difficulty setting that eliminates many of the checkpoints featured in Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s single-player story mode, making for a much more challenging experience. Players can also expect to see a collection of five new character skins inspired by Lara Croft’s previous adventures.
Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass buyers will receive all of October’s slated content for free on October 11, and individual content packs will be available for purchase separately. All previously issued DLC will be bundled with the upcoming PlayStation 4 port Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, which also launches on October 11.
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.