PlayStation Stars Is A New Loyalty Program, And There Are “Definitely” No NFTs

PlayStation has announced a new loyalty program called PlayStation Stars. The program, which launches this year, is free to join and allows players to earn special rewards for their efforts.

Players can complete “a variety of campaigns and activities” to earn loyalty points like unlocking specific trophies, winning tournaments, and being the first player to platinum a game in a local time zone. Beyond completing specific tasks and objectives, everyone who simply logs in and plays any game will receive an award for a given month.

Introducing PlayStation Stars

Loyalty points can be redeemed for things like PSN wallet funds and some PlayStation Store products. While PlayStation Stars is free, members who subscribe to PS Plus automatically earn points for what they buy on the PlayStation Store.

PlayStation Stars also includes “digital collectibles” as a reward. These are digital versions of things like famous PlayStation characters and “cherished devices” from Sony’s history. “There will always be a new collectible to earn, an ultra rare collectible to strive for, or something surprising to collect just for fun,” Sony said.

The wording makes it sound like these collectibles might be NFTs, but they are not. “It’s definitely not NFTs. Definitely not,” PlayStation’s Grace Chen told The Washington Post. “You can’t trade them or sell them. It is not leveraging any blockchain technologies and definitely not NFTs.”

Sony is now conducting “early tests” for PlayStation Stars before it launches for everyone later this year through a phased rollout program.

Microsoft has a loyalty program as well, called Microsoft Rewards, which allows players to unlock rewards by playing Xbox games.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Intel Atlas Canyon (NUC11ATKPE) and GEEKOM MiniAir 11 UCFF PCs Review: Desktop Jasper Lake Impresses

Intel’s low-power Tremont microarchitecture has powered a range of products – from the short-lived Lakefield, to Elkhart Lake in the embedded space, and finally, Jasper Lake in the client computing area. A steady stream of notebooks and motherboards / mini-PCs based on Jasper Lake have become available since the introduction of the series in early 2021. Given their pricing, ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) machines based on Jasper Lake offer attractive entry-level options in the NUC domain. With a range of SKUs specified for power consumption numbers ranging from 4.8W up to 25W, the product series lends itself to designs that can be either actively or passively cooled. Last week, we had taken a look at two fanless Jasper Lake PCs. Today’s review takes a look at two actively cooled Jasper Lake UCFF systems – the Intel’s flagship Atlas Canyon NUC (NUC11ATKPE), and GEEKOM’s MiniAir 11.

Read MoreAnandTech

Cyberpunk Delivery Game Cloudpunk Is Coming To PS5 In August

Cloudpunk, a 2020 indie game that puts players in the driver’s seat of a cyberpunk delivery van, is coming to next-gen consoles for the first time. An overhauled version of the game is coming to the PS5 on August 19, with a physical edition also available starting August 26.

Players who already own Cloudpunk on the PS4 will be able to upgrade for free, giving access to a number of graphical and performance improvements, with Cockpit Mode also available for the very first time on consoles.

The other improvements bundled in the PS5 version include 4K, 60fps gameplay, increased draw distance and render distance, improvements to bloom and lighting, and full integration for the PS5’s DualSense controller.

GameSpot’s review of Cloudpunk on the PC rated it 7/10, with reviewer David Wildgoose calling the game “a neon-doused celebration of cyberpunk style that occasionally obscures the story it wants to tell.” Wildgoose praised the game’s gorgeous visuals and archetypal cyberpunk atmosphere, but said the game’s writing was uneven, with some of its attempts at humor falling flat.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Orlando Bloom Is The Newest Summonable Character In This Mobile Game

After making a name for himself in the high fantasy epic Lord of the Rings, Orlando Bloom looks at home in his latest gig–playing an archer named Orlando the Nightshard in an ad for mobile game Kings of Avalon. Orlando will also stick around as an in-game character who will be available for free to new players.

The ad shows Orlando the Nightshard on the battlefield, trying his best to call for help from the player controlling the game–revealed to be Orlando Bloom himself, in the modern world.

King of Avalon is a medieval strategy game for mobile that’s loosely based on Arthurian lore, seeing the player control a dragon lord with the potential to claim Excalibur and become the titular King of Avalon. The introduction of Orlando Bloom’s character will also kick start a new storyline for the mobile game, with a new icy enemy called the Unmelted attacking the continent of Avalon.

The game sees players controlling battles, upgrading defences, and summoning heroes through a gacha-like system, however King of Avalon is just one of many free-to-play mobile games that’s been called out for running ads that don’t accurately reflect the gameplay.

In the past, developer FunPlus has been accused of stealing footage from other games to market King of Avalon, while many reviews also criticize the game for its aggressive monetization and lack of competitiveness for players who don’t spend.

Bloom isn’t the first Lord of the Rings alumni to turn his celebrity to promoting big-budget mobile games–Elijah Wood recently starred in a campaign for AFK Arena that saw the actor in a love triangle with a needy orc.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

RimWorld Releases New Console Edition Trailer

After five years in early access and another four in full release on PC, space colony simulator RimWorld is finally coming to console on July 29 with RimWorld Console Edition. Developer Ludeon Studios has released a new trailer for the release, condensing some of the game’s complex AI-driven scenarios into a simple explainer for new players.

RimWorld sees players managing a colony an inhospitable rimworld, with colonists working hard to build shelters, gather resources, and research new technologies. Colonies will face threats from the natural world, as well as bands of raiders who will lay siege to players’ carefully constructed settlements.

RimWorld’s in-depth system gives players plenty of options to handle each scenario–for example, injured raiders can be captured, converted to the player’s colony, or even harvested for their organs. Each option will have its own repurcussions, drastically changing the course of each game.

While the gameplay will be unchanged from the PC version, the console editions required a dramatic rework of RimWorld’s UI, originally designed for a mouse and keyboard setup. The control scheme has been rebuilt from the ground up, with the console edition making use of input modifiers and context sensitive menus to make the most of controllers’ limited inputs.

RimWorld Console Edition will be releasing for the PS4 and Xbox One on July 29, and will also be playable on new-generation consoles through backwards compatibility. The console edition will cost $40, and all players who pre-order the game will get a three-day headstart on the game, as well as the Royalty expansion.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Apex Legends Gets New Seer Lore, And Now The Community Is Out For Blood

After teasing it within Apex Legends for weeks, Respawn has finally deemed fit to deliver us some more lore for Seer with a new animated short. Though the lore is delicious, it’s come at the cost of mental and emotional damage being dealt to one of Apex Legends’ most beloved characters, and now the community is up in arms, asking for the blood of a reporter.

The reporter in question is Lisa Stone, the resident journalist in the world of Apex Legends and one of the game’s few main characters who isn’t also a playable legend. Lisa was the reporter that stood opposite Forge as Revenant murdered him, as well as the one to rally support for Duardo Silva (Octane‘s grandfather) in his bid to take control of The Syndicate, the governing body of the Outlands and overseer of the Apex Games.

You can never quite see it all. pic.twitter.com/r3L7syUiSJ

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) July 13, 2022

As seen in the new animated short, Lisa uses a planned interview with the media-shy Seer to ambush him, asking him pointed questions that clearly are meant for some agenda. Seer is unable to challenge the story she constructs about him, and this makes the soft-spoken legend with a troubled past out to be somehow selfish for not bothering to provide aid for the people who condemned him all his life after his birth happened to coincide with the destruction of their planet’s moon.

Lisa has never been a popular character, but this interview has seemingly sealed the deal for her as far as the community is concerned. Plenty of folks on Twitter are calling out Lisa for bullying Seer on-air, asking if anyone has found a way to beat up a fictional character.

I’m one of those people, so if you do find a way to enter video games in order to throw hands with fictional beings, please let me know.

In the final weeks of Season 13’s Quest, Respawn teased this Seer interview in-game, with Octane, Rampart, and Fuse having unique dialogue quips with Seer. This close to the end of Season 13, these in-game teasers and lore-focused animated shorts are likely hinting at whatever story is planned for Season 14.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Evil Dead: The Game Adds Army Of Darkness Update Update With New Map, Exploration Mode, And More

Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games have released a new update today for their co-op PvP/PvE multiplayer game Evil Dead: The Game. The new Army of Darkness-themed update introduces that movie’s Castle Kandar location as a map, as well as weapons, cosmetics, and a new single-player Exploration mode. Army of Darkness is the third installment in the Evil Dead franchise, and is about Ash Williams fighting an army of Deadites in the past while trying to get back home.

The Army of Darkness map is free and features many iconic locations from the film, such as Castle Kandar, Windmill, the Arthurian Outpost, Fort Gort, and the Castle Kandar Keep. In addition to the new map, you can also use two new weapons: the Mace, which is a slow but powerful close-range weapon, and the Explosive Crossbow, which has a slow reload time but packs a punch.

In the single-player Exploration mode, you can freely roam Castle Kandar and all the other maps. However, you’ll still be dealing with Deadites as you explore, making it a potentially great way to improve your skills as a survivor.

You can now purchase the Ash Williams S-Mart Employee Outfit and the Ash Williams Gallant Knight Outfit from Army of Darkness for $2.99 each. Players can also buy The Medieval Bundle for $7.99 that features Henry The Red’s Scottish Vibe Outfit, Lord Arthur’s Battle Prep Outfit, a new gold outfit for Evil Ash and his minions, as well as a new Screamer jump scare image for the Necromancer Demon. The Medieval Bundle is also included in the Evil Dead: The Game’s Season Pass 1.

Be sure to check out our review on Evil Dead: The Game, where Mark Delaney states, “Evil Dead: The Game is faithful, but sometimes to a fault. If there were more game modes or even more varied objectives in its one attractive game mode, it would feel more like a game for horror fans to play for a long time, maybe even moving competitors like Dead By Daylight or Hunt Showdown off their vaunted pedestals.”

Evil Dead: The Game is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

The Razer Ripsaw HD Capture Card is Down To $104.49 For Prime Day

One of the most important parts of any streamer’s setup is the capture card, but these crucial devices aren’t cheap. Luckily, the Razer Ripsaw HD external capture card is discounted to $104.49 (normally $160) during Amazon’s Prime Day sale.

There are plenty of other great Prime Day deals that can save you some cash on upgrades to your gaming and streaming setups, including a bunch of discounted PC accessories, gaming chairs, and desks. Be sure to check our Amazon Prime Day 2022 deals hub for more.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Resident Evil-Inspired Horror Game You Will Die Here Tonight Announced

Indie studio Spiral Bound Interactive has announced its first game, You Will Die Here Tonight, a survival-horror game heavily inspired by the original Resident Evil. In You Will Die Here Tonight, players are tasked with guiding six members of the Aries Division through a mansion filled with danger in a top-down view.

In You Will Die Here Tonight, death is a crucial element in-game. When players eventually die, you’ll continue the game as another Aries member, picking where they left off and dealing with the choices you made before dying. In true survival-horror fashion, ammo is a sacred item and danger is waiting around every corner–with several twists and turns along the way.

You Will Die Here Tonight will feature a retro-Inspired look alongside a ’90s-inspired 3D battle system. You will also be able to explore an abandoned mansion while discovering the truth of what’s unraveling around them. At a moment’s notice, the game could change from a top-down angle to a first-person arcade shooter where you’ll be forced to fight for your life.

There’ll be six playable characters in-game, and all of them will have a unique set of skills and personalities that’ll determine how they handle certain situations.

You Will Die Here Tonight doesn’t have a release date but is projected to come later this year on PC, and you can wishlist now on Steam.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Amazon Details Lost Ark’s New Card-Slinging Arcanist Class Ahead Of July 20 Release

The latest addition to Lost Ark’s ever-expanding class roster is coming July 20, this time in the form of a new advanced class of the mage variety, the card-slinging Arcanist.

A new blog post from Lost Ark’s Western publisher Amazon breaks down how the new class is played ahead of the game’s July update. The Arcanist revolves around imbuing a deck of cards with powerful magic to deal damage to enemies, Gambit-style. Arcanist skills come in three different varieties–Normal skills, Stacking skills, and Ruin skills.

Shuffle through some great insight into what the Arcanist class is all about! Learn how to play the class, deal with enemies, and draw out a build!
Read below!
🎴 https://t.co/nnc8jllM9D pic.twitter.com/EmlwgzY8it

— Lost Ark ✈️🔜 Twitch Con Amsterdam (@playlostark) July 12, 2022

Normal skills are nothing fancy, but deal damage and build up a special Card Deck meter. Stacking and Ruin skills, however, are what make the Arcanist stand out. Stacking skills will buildup four stacks on an enemy target. When a Ruin skill hits that same target, the stacks are consumed, creating the potential for massive damage.

The Arcanist’s specialty skill, Card Deck, allows her to draw random cards from a deck, which can be used for a variety of effects, ranging from granting an increased attack speed buff to making all attacks have a higher chance of being a critical strike. Players can store two drawn cards at a time to be used when they see fit, making for some potentially devastating combos.

Two key class engravings are available for players to choose from. Order of the Emperor puts an emphasis on Normal skills and the Card Deck mechanic by granting Normal attacks additional damage and Card Deck meter buildup. It also adds a powerful card, the Emperor, to the Arcanist’s deck. The class’s other engraving, Empress’s Grace, is focused on using the Arcanist’s Stack and Ruin mechanics to deal even greater amounts of damage.

For those eager to take the Arcanist for a spin and have reached Punika in the game’s storyline, a Punika Powerpass that will boost a power’s item level to 1,302 is coming on July 20, as well as an Express Event for item level 1,302 characters to further progress to 1,370 item level.

The Arcanist is just the latest class to be added to the Western release of Lost Ark, with the Destroyer and Glaivier also having joined the free-to-play MMORPGs rosters in recent months. There are still a number of classes available in the Korean version of Lost Ark that Amazon and developer Smilegate RPG are in the process of bringing to the West, including the Scouter, Reaper, and Artist.

Lost Ark’s latest update added new raid content and a new solo dungeon for high-item-level players, while at the same time removing the planned implementation of the new Yoz’s Jar cosmetic system following player complaints about the system being pay-to-win.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News