Gaming has evolved enormously over the past 30 some odd years, but massive open worlds, sprawling, epic stories, and photorealistic graphics don’t mean jack if you can’t produce something that’s fun to play.
While soccer with cars may not sound like a recipe for a runaway hit, Psyonix’s endlessly entertaining, borderline-addictive Rocket League has it where it counts. PlayStation 4 and PC gamers have already spent endless hours bashing goals off their bumpers, but Xbox One devotees have been forced to watch all the vehicular fútbol from the sidelines — until now.
According to Polygon, Rocket League is on it’s way to Xbox One and is set to kick-off sometime in February of 2016. The news was first revealed at last night’s Game Awards and the Xbox One version includes exclusive, Gears of War and Halo-themed cars as a nod to Microsoft’s flagship franchises. Rocket League also took home Best Independent Game and Best Sports/Racing Game honors at the event, rounding out what proved to be quite the night for the title.
You can check out the one-minute trailer above, which features images of the muscled up Gears of War “Armadillo” and the warthog-inspired Halo “Hogsticker” in action. If you’re one of the many Xbox One owners who have lamented the fact that this title isn’t available on the console, Psyonix wants you to know that “the wait is over.”
No word yet on what this title will cost, but it typically retails for around $20 on both PlayStation 4 and PC, so it’s a pretty safe bet that the price tag will be somewhere in that neighborhood. The exact release date is also up in the air, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted as the details filter in.
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 One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it.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.