Far Cry 6 Pagan: Control DLC Gets January 11 Release Date

Pagan: Control, the second major DLC headed to Far Cry 6, now has a release date–and its much sooner than you might have expected. Starting on January 11, Far Cry 6 players will be able to take control of Pagan Min, the soft-spoken yet always-extravagant antagonist of Far Cry 4. The update follows last year’s Vaas: Insanity DLC, and is part two of the game’s three-part, villain-inspired season pass.

Set within the confines of Min’s mind, the upcoming DLC blends “intense action and storytelling” as players explore Min’s psyche and attempt to help break the self-proclaimed King of Kyrat’s cycle of guilt and violence. In order to perfectly convey the trial-and-error process of growth and self-reflection, Pagan: Control pays tribute to the rougelite genre, meaning each death as Min sends the player back to the start of the DLC with only their accumulated knowledge and skills to help guide them through their second (and third, and fourth…) time around. Last but not least, Far Cry 4 fans will be thrilled to know Min’s original voice actor, Troy Baker, will be returning to the Far Cry series for this performance.

Following Pagan: Control, only one infamous Far Cry villain remains to be added into Far Cry 6: Far Cry 5‘s Joseph Seed. While Ubisoft has not specified exactly when “The Father” will make his Far Cry 6 debut, the company has confirmed it will release sometime later this year.

For those interested in playing Pagan: Control, the expansion is not available to purchase by itself, so you’ll need to pick up the Season Pass ($40) to gain access to it. However, with the season pass comes not only Min’s DLC, but Vaas: Insanity, Joseph Seed’s upcoming story, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, a ’80s action-movie inspired spin-off game. Far Cry 6 is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Stadia, as well as on PC through both the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. Players can also gain access to the content by subscribing to Ubisoft+ on PC, Stadia, Amazon Luna, or Xbox.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

CES 2022: The ASUS ROG Flow Z13, A Gaming Tablet That’s So Much More

During its CES 2022 ROG Launch Event, ASUS unveiled its latest gaming device, the ROG Flow Z13. Upon first look, it may resemble a gaming-themed version of Microsoft’s Surface Pro, but with a mighty kicker. The ROG Flow Z13 features Intel’s latest Alder Lake mobile processor, with up to and including NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 3050 Ti mobile graphics, as well as up to 32 GB of DDR5-5200 memory. It’s also compatible with the ASUS ROG XG Mobile external graphics dock with high-level mobile graphics performance.

Perhaps one of the more exciting announcements from ASUS during CES 2022 is the ROG Flow Z13. It is essentially a powerful 13.4-inch gaming tablet with plenty of functionality and power underneath its hood. The 13.4-inch screen is available either with 1920 x 1080 (FHD) at 120 Hz or 3840 x 2160 (UHD) at 60 Hz with an aspect ratio of 16:10 across both. Some of the ASUS ROG Flow Z13’s key specifications include support for up to an Intel Core i9-12900H processor, with a choice of either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti mobile graphics card.

Other specifications of the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 include support for up to 32 GB of LPDDR5-5200 memory, although these are soldered in and cannot be upgraded. Storage options consist of a single PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD, with up to 1 TB of capacities supported. The ROG Flow Z13 has a 56 Wh battery installed with Type-C sharing, a bigger battery than Microsoft’s Surface Pro X offers. It also weighs in at just 1.1 KG and is 12 mm thick, and features a complete CNC aluminum chassis. 

Acting as both a tablet and a laptop, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 comes with an inclusive kickstand and comes with a detachable keyboard for users looking to use it as a regular laptop. It includes plenty of connectivity, including a Wi-Fi 6E CNVI for wireless and BT 5.2 support, as well as a Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, a USB 2.0 port, one HDMI 2.1 video output, a single 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a microSD card reader.


The ASUS ROG XG Mobile eGPU from CES 2021

Much like the ASUS ROG Flow X13 convertible gaming notebook that we covered during CES 2021, the ROG Flow Z13 is also compatible with the ROG XG Mobile external graphics dock. Updated for 2022, the latest ASUS ROG XG Mobile can now support either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT over a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface which users more choice. Providing power to the graphics and charging functionality to the Flow Z13 is a built-in 330 W power supply. It also offers an additional four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 video output pairing, as well as one 2.5 GbE port.

At the time of writing, ASUS hasn’t informed us when the ROG Flow Z13 will be available to purchase or how much it might cost.

Source: ASUS

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Ubisoft Subscription Service, Ubisoft+, Is Coming To Xbox

Ubisoft+, the publisher’s subscription service to the entire library of its games, will launch on Xbox in the near future.

Ubisoft+ has previously been exclusive to PC players through Ubisoft’s own launcher, giving subscribers day-one access to new releases and DLC for the publisher’s games. These include games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and more, including all the DLC present in all of those game’s premium editions.

The service will be coming to Xbox, but Ubisoft hasn’t yet announced when. It also hasn’t revealed if pricing will remain the same, with the current subscription going for $15 per month on PC. Unlike EA Play, the announcement makes no mention of this service being included as part of Xbox Games Pass on either Xbox or PC.

The announcement was made in conjunction with that of Rainbow Six Extraction launching on Xbox Games Pass later this month. The game will launch day-one for all subscribers on Xbox and PC, with Rainbow Six Siege also being added to the service at the same time.

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CES 2022: ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, 17 Inch Foldable With Thunderbolt 4

At CES 2020, Intel showcased its Tiger Lake hardware with an interesting ‘Horseshoe Bend’ 17-inch foldable laptop. Fast forward two years and ASUS has taken the concept and run with it to create what it says is the “World’s first 17.3″ foldable OLED laptop. The ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED has a variety of features, including Intel’s ‘latest’ processor, up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and a 17.3” foldable OLED touchscreen display capable of supporting resolutions of up to 2560 x 1920 across two panels.

Although the ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED isn’t the first foldable laptop on the market, it’s undoubtedly the largest of the bunch. This includes either as a laptop, a tablet, or book and extend, with a seamless foldable 180° hinge in the middle that splits the large 17.3″ 4:3 2.5k pixel touchscreen panel into two 12.5″ 3:2 1080p screens. The bottom panel also includes an on-screen keyboard meaning it can be used without the ErgoSense Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad. It offers a variety of different and usable modes.


The ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED in ‘Book’ mode

Powering the 17 Fold OLED is a 75 Wh lithium-polymer battery. Focusing more on the screen, the 17.3″ OLED panel has a full touchscreen display, a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut with Pantone verification, and an HD IR 5 Megapixel webcam built-in. IO is on the light side, with just one Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port that supports external displays and one 3.5 audio combo jack.


The rear panel of the ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

When folded, it has a footprint of 287.6 x 189.3 x 17.4 mm (HxWxD), while unfolded, it is even more slimline, with dimensions of 378.5 x 287.6 x 8.7 mm (HxWxD). The ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED weighs just 3.75 lb without the ErgoSense keyboard and 4.39 lb when using it.

Looking at the specifications, ASUS hasn’t stated which Intel Alder Lake mobile chip it will use, but it indicated that it’d be a Core i7 U-Series processor. The ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED will include Wi-FI 6E and BT 5.2 connectivity, with four Harman Kardon certified speakers supported by Dolby Atmos for a more immersive audio experience. For storage, there’s 1TB of PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2, while there’s support for up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory.

ASUS has said that the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED will be available sometime in Q2 2022, although it didn’t provide any pricing information.

Source: ASUS

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Uncharted, Last Of Us Dev Teases “Multiple Game Projects” In The Works

Naughty Dog, the creator of the Uncharted and Last of Us franchises, is working on multiple unannounced upcoming games that the studio is eager to discuss–but it’s not time for that just yet.

Speaking during Sony’s CES 2022 briefing this week (via VGC), Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann teased the company’s upcoming games. “We’re dying to share with you the multiple game projects we have in the works at Naughty Dog,” Druckmann teased.

He didn’t have anything more to share, but one of the games is likely the Last of Us multiplayer project that has been in the works for some time. Naughty Dog confirmed in 2019 that The Last of Us: Part II would not ship with a new version of the Factions multiplayer mode. Instead, Naughty Dog said at the time that it was creating a standalone multiplayer game in the Last of Us universe.

Beyond the new Last of Us multiplayer game and the Uncharted PS5 compilation coming this month, Naughty Dog has no announced projects. However, Druckmann has teased that the studio might make The Last of Us 3 or a new IP. “The next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP,” he said in an interview.

Naughty Dog has already said it will not make more Uncharted games, but the studio is open to having a different developer come in to make Uncharted 5.

Also during the event, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said he’s excited to see the games that come out of Sony’s 17 internal game studios. “We’re looking forward to seeing these teams shine as they unleash their creative talents and bring their own sense of innovation to our first-party content portfolio,” Ryan said.

During the event, Sony officially announced PlayStation VR 2 and its capabilities, while the company also revealed a new Horizon VR title. Additionally, an exciting new clip from the Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland was revealed, alongside the news that Ghost of Tsushima passed 8 million copies sold.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

CES 2022: Corsair Launches One i300 Gaming PC with Intel Core i9-12900K and DDR5

During CES 2022, Corsair has unveiled its latest compact gaming PC, the Corsair One i300. Equipped with the latest components available, it includes an Intel Core i9-12900K processor, Corsair Vengeance DDR5 memory, Wi-Fi 6 and 2.5 GbE networking, as well as up to and including a liquid-cooled NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti for a premium gaming experience.

Weighing in at just over 7 KG, the Corsair One i300 gaming PC is designed around the premise that not all high-performance gaming PCs need to be super-sized. The chassis itself measures at 15 x 6.8 x 7.9 inches (HxWxD), with a volume of just 12 liters making it the ideal small form factor-sized gaming PC for any user struggling with space. Each Corsair One i300 system comes equipped with an unspecified mini-ITX motherboard, while the system is powered by a Corsair 750 W 80-Plus Platinum SFX power supply.

The Corsair One i300 gaming PC is customizable and is the first system in its range to feature the latest DDR5 memory. It also includes Intel’s flagship Core i9-12900K processor and gives users the option to have either 64 GB (2×32) of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-4400 or 32 GB (2×16) of Vengeance DDR5-4800 memory. Other customizable options with this model include a choice between two graphics cards, either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or RTX 3080 Ti, both of which come water-cooled with this system. There’s a 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSD for storage, while the latest Windows 11 Pro operating system comes preinstalled on it, although Corsair doesn’t provide information on what cooler it is using for the CPU.

In terms of input and output, the Corsair One i300 has two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports on the rear, with an additional USB Type-C and two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports on the front panel. For networking, there’s a single 2.5 GbE port and Wi-Fi 6E, while audio options consist of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output. There’s also one HDMI and three DisplayPort video outputs for the graphics card.

Corsair states that the One i300 Gaming PC comes with a two-year warranty and is available to purchase as of now from authorized retailers and distributors.

Source: Corsair

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Dying Light 2’s Final Dying 2 Know Video Will Have “Huge Info Drop,” Coming Next Week

Dying Light 2: Stay Human is set for release in February, but ahead of that, developer Techland will host the final episode of its “Dying 2 Know” series next week. The final broadcast is set for Thursday, January 13, beginning at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET.

This video will “dive deep” into Dying Light 2’s world and give fans a new look at gameplay footage. Techland is promising a “huge info drop.” GameSpot will report back with any news when it’s announced.

Jonah Scott, who voices main character Aiden Caldwell, will host the Dying 2 Know video alongside co-host Leah. This will be the sixth and final installment in the series that began back in May 2021. Previous episodes included announcements about the game’s music, gameplay systems, and characters.

You can re-watch all Dying 2 Know videos here on YouTube.

Dying Light 2 launches on February 4 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and it will also be available via the cloud for Nintendo Switch. The game is also coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Everyone who preorders the game gets the Reload and the Reach for the Sky packs, which come with special outfits, weapons, and skins. The Reach for the Sky pack specifically was designed in partnership with Rosario Dawson (The Mandalorian) who voices a character in Dying Light 2.

February 2022 is shaping up to be a massive month for new releases. Other games releasing in February include Horizon: Forbidden West, The King of Fighters XV, and Sifu. Also coming that month is Destiny 2‘s Witch Queen expansion and the Saints Row reboot.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

CES 2022: ASUS Announce ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ & PG42UQ Gaming Monitors

One of the companies that comes to CES with no shortage of new product announcements is ASUS, who has fingers in many pies across a large spectrum of the different kinds of PC hardware and peripherals. To that end, ASUS has unveiled two new ROG gaming monitors for those looking for large screens, the 48″ ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ and the 42″ ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ. Both models feature impressive specifications, including 3840 x 2160 (4K) resolutions, 120 Hz refresh rates, and ultra-fast 0.1 ms GTG response times.

There are many different monitors on the market ranging from budget to the most expensive and feature-rich. There isn’t that much choice in terms of OLED gaming monitors. Although the OLED varieties have advantages over their conventional counterparts, including better contrast ratios, they typically come with hefty price tags. ASUS has two new options for users looking for a sizeable OLED gaming monitor, the 48″ ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ, and the smaller 42″ ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ, which ASUS claims is the world’s first 42-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor.


The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ 4K Gaming Monitor

Both the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ and PG42UQ feature identical specifications other than the overall size of the screen. These include an OLED panel with an anti-glare and micro-texture coating and a 16:9 aspect ratio with supported resolutions of up to 3840 x 2160. Looking at the finer specifications, ASUS lists a response time of 0.1 ms GTG (gray to gray), with a fast 120 Hz refresh rate. Other specifications include true 10-bit color depth with 98% DCI-P3 calibrated from the factory. ASUS also advertises a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 and has both VRR technology and ALLM modes for console gamers.

Focusing on the I/O, both monitors include two HDMI 2.1, two HDMI 2.0, and one DisplayPort 1.4 video input, as well as a USB hub and two 3.5 mm audio jacks consisting of a line out and earphone jack. Regarding the USB hub, ASUS hasn’t specified what port type, the generations how many USB ports there are at this time.

At the time of writing, ASUS hasn’t specified when the ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ or PG42UQ will hit retail or how much they might cost.

Source: ASUS

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Skull & Bones Co-Director, A 15-Year Ubisoft Veteran, Leaves The Company

Ubisoft veteran Antoine Henry, who worked at the French gaming giant for 15 years and most recently was the associate game director of Skull & Bones, has left the company. Henry announced on LinkedIn (via VGC) that he has left Ubisoft and is preparing for “new exciting adventures very soon.”

“I’m thankful for the people I’ve met and what they brought me professionally and personally. Hopefully I was able to give back a little bit,” Henry said. The developer did not reveal his next professional move.

According to his LinkedIn page, Henry got his start at Ubisoft in 2007 when he worked on Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 for the Wii. Henry worked on a handful of other Rabbids games before shifting to the Just Dance series. His resume also reveals that he worked on multiple canceled games.

Henry relocated to Singapore to work on Skull & Bones in 2014, first as a lead game designer. At Ubisoft Singapore, Henry also contributed to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as part of Ubisoft’s multi-studio development approach. In 2021, Henry became an associate game director on Skull & Bones and helped with the multiplayer and social elements of the game, while he also contributed to the “live strategy” and core gameplay loop.

Skull & Bones has been in development for many years, and it has undergone some changes. In 2020, Ubisoft confirmed it was shifting the game to a “new vision” after a report claimed the project had been rebooted. In May 2021, Ubisoft formally delayed Skull & Bones to its fiscal year 2022-2023, which runs April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023.

Skull & Bones is progressing well, Ubisoft management said in a news briefing, adding that it has faith in the creative direction of the title. The additional development time will allow the studio the time it needs to realize its vision, management said.

“Many of you have been wondering why we’ve had to postpone our launch. The answer is that we simply needed more time,” creative director Elisabeth Pellen said previously about the earlier delay. “We dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges.”

There is also a Skull & Bones TV show on the way. On whether the game’s new delay will affect the TV show, Ubisoft told GameSpot, “The Skull & Bones TV series has no impact on the development of the game–and vice versa.”

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

CES 2022: Plugable Introduces UD-6950PDZ Triple 4K HDMI / DisplayPort Docking Station

Plugable is introducing two new products at the 2022 CES – the UD-6950PDZ docking station, and the USB4-HUB3A USB4 hub. The docking station is technically the more interesting one, enabling three different 4K display outputs with a choice of either a HDMI connection or DisplayPort one on each.

The docking station has a Type-C port for uplink, providing up to 60W for host charging. It is bundled with a 110W power brick. On the downstream side, the UD-6950PDZ has 6 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (four in the rear, and two in front), a combo audio jack in front, and a gigabit Ethernet port. The key differentiating aspect of the product is that the docking station supports multiple display outputs even if the host system supports only one on the uplink Type-C port (The Apple M1-based systems are examples). The product uses a DisplayLink chipset (likely to the be the DL6950) internally along with the Alternate Mode stream to enable a total of three simultaneous display outputs. The docking station is priced at $249 and will be available for purchase later this quarter.

The USB4-HUB3A is a Goshen Ridge product following up on the footsteps of the TBT4-HUB3C introduced last year. It translates a single USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 port on the host system into three additional USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 10 Gbps Type-A port.

The new USB4-HUB3A carries over all the features and add-ons of the TBT4-HUB3C including the USBC-HDMI adapter cable and the 60W host charging feature. The sole difference is the addition of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port in the front. The hub is priced at $189 and is available for purchase today.

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