PS5: Celebs Rumors

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‘Helldivers 2’ Steam reviews recover after Sony U-turn

Helldivers 2 was recently the subject of an outpouring of anger after a decision to force Steam players to link the game with a PSN account. That choice has been reversed, and players seem to be forgiving Sony for it.It was announced last week (May 3) that all Helldivers 2 players on PC would have to link a PlayStation Network account in order to continue playing the game.
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All news where PS5 is mentioned

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‘Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’ will “borrow” from ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ choice and consequence system
The Chinese Room‘s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will “borrow” elements from Baldur’s Gate 3 to ensure that players feel like their choices have weighty consequences.In an interview with PC Gamer, narrative designer Arone Le Bray shared that recent successful releases have been an inspiration for the anticipated role-playing game.“Sarah (one of our writers) is a huge fan of Baldur’s Gate 3… we’re looking at how we can borrow aspects [from it], or how we can make sure we’re not taking giant steps backwards in terms of stories,” he said.NME‘s review of Baldur’s Gate 3 paid praise to the “whirlwind” journey that it offers to players and the “real brilliance” in the level of freedom that the adventurers are granted to tread their own path.“I absolutely classify narrative as an aspect of gameplay,” continued Le Bray about how the title will take from Larian Studios’ tour de force.“How can we make the player feel like they’ve owned their outcomes? How can we make the player feel like they have the agency we want them to?”The Chinese Room recently revealed the playable protagonist of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, Phyre.They’re an Elder vampire whose gender, clothing, and clan can be customised by the player, and these choices can affect how characters react to Phyre and what powers they’ll be able to wield.That being said, Phyre’s story is defined to a degree.
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‘The Finals’ developer says AI allows for “new ways to work together” with voice actors
The Finals has responded to the criticism from fans and actors over the use of artificial intelligence to create voices for its characters.After a few voice actors noticed an affectation to the callouts from the commentators, a podcast episode featuring two of The Finals audio designers affirmed that these voices were the result of text-to-speech (TTS) software.“Trying to imagine how an audio professional could possibly think this sounds good,” said an actor of a compilation of the commentators’ callouts.Now, Embark Studios has supplied a statement to IGN justifying the inclusion of artificial intelligence at this point in The Finals‘ development.“We use a combination of recorded voice audio and audio generated via TTS tools in our games, depending on the context,” said a spokesperson.“Sometimes, recording real scenes where actors get together – allowing character chemistry and conflict to shape the outcome – is something that adds depth to our game worlds that technology can’t emulate.“Other times, especially when it relates to contextual in-game action call-outs, TTS allows us to have tailored voice over where we otherwise wouldn’t, for example due to speed of implementation.”In the open beta, those voices are the product of a “mix of professional voice actors and temporary voices from Embark employees” put through TTS software.“Making games without actors isn’t an end goal for Embark and TTS technology has introduced new ways for us to work together.”The Finals is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
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‘Alan Wake 2’ expansion sounds like another crossover with ‘Control’
Remedy Entertainment has shed a little light on the upcoming Alan Wake 2 expansions, and one seems to suggest that the game will cross over with Control once again.The developer confirmed that there are two paid expansions in the works for Alan Wake 2 in an updated frequently asked questions page on the game’s official website.These are Night Springs and The Lake House. Players who purchased the Deluxe edition of Alan Wake 2 will receive both of these additions as part of the game’s expansion pass, however, their individual pricing or launch dates have not been shared at the moment.Night Springs involves “[playing] as several familiar characters from the world of Alan Wake and experience the unexplainable in multiple self-contained episodes of Night Springs“, a fictional television show set inside the game’s world.On the other hand, The Lake House is the name of a facility that is the headquarters of “an independent government organisation to conduct secret research”.Protagonists Alan Wake and Saga Anderson will contend with the crisis emanating from The Lake House on “two separate adventures”.The mention of the “independent government organisation” is very likely to be the Federal Bureau Of Control, introduced in Control, Remedy Entertainment’s paranormal action title released in 2019.Control had an expansion which integrated the events of Alan Wake into its own timeline, thereby cementing the Remedy Connected Universe as a core concept of both games.It isn’t totally surprising that Alan Wake 2 might return to Control, but it is pleasing news for fans who have missed the brutalist setting of The Oldest House and the weirdness of its research and records.Alan Wake 2 is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.In other
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‘Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’ is getting new game plus in a post-launch patch
Insomniac Games has shared that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will add a new game plus mode and mission replay options in a post-launch patch.In a post to X/Twitter, Director of Community and Marketing James Stevenson also advised that those who have opted for the physical version of the game should download the latest update for the game before playing.Update 1.001.002 “features polish to the gold master version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 available on disc, which improves the opening sections of the game and includes other general refinements to your Spidey experience, including some additional Accessibility Options”, explained Insomniac Games.Players who have pre-loaded the digital version onto their PS5s will have already have this update added to their copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.Stevenson did not have a specific date for when players will expect new game plus or mission replay to be introduced to the game. However, to fans who criticised their absence on launch, he replied “game dev isn’t simple, nor easy“.Speaking to NME about the opportunities he’s had over his career, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 creative director Bryan Intihar shared why he has made a habit of revelling in even the smallest of achievements with his team at Insomniac Games.“Sometimes it feels like you’re hitting your head against a wall over and over again, and when you finally break through, you should celebrate those victories,” he said.“Ninety per cent of game development can be really tough, but that 10 per cent makes up for it.
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‘Phasmophobia’ PS5 and Xbox Series launch delayed due to “unforeseen challenges”
Phasmophobia for consoles for the second time as a result of “unforeseen challenges”.Posting to the game’s Steam page, Kinect Games shared how the fire from the summer has changed the way that the team work together on Phasmophobia.“As we still try to adapt to our new remote working life after the fire incident and to establish a new office, we’ve encountered unforeseen challenges in adapting the game for consoles,” it said, ascribing these “combined factors” to the extended development time for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.Additionally, the entirety of the Maple Lodge Campsite map has been reworked in the interest of optimisation for the PlayStation VR2.It now has a “new reception building, more hiding spots, new decorative assets and better performance across the board”, with the developer offering a brief look at the revised layout in screenshots.Last but not least, Phasmophobia‘s Halloween event – scheduled for on or around October 26 – will task players with the crafting of a potion in Maple Lodge Campsite’s new cauldron. Recipe cards will be scattered in the rest of the maps with instructions on how to brew the potion.“While we had hoped to present you with a special launch alongside the Halloween event, the complexity of our current challenges means we need more time,” continued Kinect Games.“We will keep you updated on our progress and provide a revised release date as soon as we have more information to share.
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‘Cities: Skylines 2’ will not use Steam Workshop for mods
Paradox Interactive has revealed that Cities: Skylines 2 will not use Steam Workshop to support its mods.Instead, Paradox Mods will be the one-stop shop for creative side of Cities: Skylines 2. This will create a cohesive experience for both PC and console players, without those playing on the latter feeling left out by the features available on the former.“One of the core reasons for this is its inclusivity; modding capabilities will be extended to players across platforms – both PC and console – aligning with our commitment to provide as many as possible with the opportunity to modify and enjoy the game,” explained the publisher in a post to its forums.The route to the total integration of Asset Mods across all three versions of Cities: Skylines 2 might lead to teething issues with players, acknowledged the publisher.“As with all major updates, we are fully aware of the learning curve it might present, but we’re committed to providing resources to ensure a smooth transition to Paradox Mods,” it affirmed.Moreover, the in-game editor will be “basic” at launch, but will continue to “expand and enhance” to allow players to let their imagination run rampant with their cities.Cities: Skylines 2 launches for PC and PC Game Pass on October 24, however, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions were delayed to spring 2024.“We have come to realise that we need more time to reach the quality targets we have set,” said Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive back in September.
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Blizzard unveils “five-point strategy” to overhauling ‘Diablo 4’
Blizzard Entertainment has shared how it will overhaul Diablo 4 through game changes in Season Of Blood to ensure that fan feedback has been heard.While Diablo 4 was off to a strong start in June, patch 1.1.0 led to significant decreases in player damage output and capabilities in what was already a challenging game to play.The responses from fans were so disastrous that Diablo 4 developers held an emergency Campfire Chat – a livestreamed event where the team run through the latest changes to the game – in July in order to apologise.Though the sentiment towards Diablo 4 from its fans has been gradually getting warmer and warmer, Blizzard Entertainment wanted them to know that the feedback has been actually acted upon in the upcoming Season Of Blood. Season Of Blood, which kicks off on October 17, will involve a “five point strategy” that “[focuses] on addressing player feedback and making systemic improvements”, as said in the most recent Campfire Chat.The five points are “update elemental resistances”, “make uniques more exciting and impactful”, “class improvements to address commonly talked about issues”, “update damage buckets” and ensuring that all of these changes feel like bonuses to players.Community lead Adam Fletcher and designers Adam Jackson and Charles Dunn talked through these points, starting with the fact that resistances will now be additive up to a 70 per cent limit in Season Of Blood. Furthermore, uniques have been subject to a “giant pass” that has altered almost every unique in Diablo 4 with new statistics and larger ranges, for example.The full list of changes in patch 1.2.0 are available on Blizzard Entertainment’s website.In other gaming news, Rocket League players were dismayed to discover that
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New PS5 model will support expandable storage
the new PS5 model will have more storage than the original model, it will still support additional solid state drives (SSDs) to increase its capacity.Revealed on October 10, the new model is a lot slimmer than before, reducing its volume by 30 per cent and its weight by 18 and 24 per cent. It will launch in November in the United States with a digital edition and an edition with a detachable disc drive.Crucially, the specifications of the new PS5 have stayed the same bar a 1TB SSD, an improvement on the original 825GB SSD.In practice, only 667GB of the SSD was useable by the original console for games and applications, meaning that the majority of players shelled out for an SSD to install at the back of their PS5.Titles like NBA 2K23, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Horizon Forbidden West can chew up the available storage on PS5s owing to their volume of content and realistic yet technically complex graphics.Fortunately though, IGN confirmed with a PlayStation spokesperson that “there are no changes with the new model” so that method of attaching an additional SSD to the console is the same.Sony’s intention with the redesign was to offer its customers “greater choice and flexibility” when it comes to the PS5 console.That being said, the detachable disc drive that allows physical games to be played on the digital edition will be sold separately, priced at £99.99 ($79.99)A horizontal stand will be included with the new PS5, but a vertical stand will be sold separately priced at £24.99 (£29.99).
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