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An HD version of L.A. Noire has recently made its way to the modern consoles, bringing with it things such as 4K support for PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. More interestingly than that, however, Rockstar has now also created a VR version for the HTC Vive - L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files!
The VR version features only seven of the original self-contained cases from L.A. Noire, but on the positive side they have all been rebuilt specifically with virtual reality in mind. As such, you'll be able to personally search for clues, get behind the wheel and drive to your next crime scene, engage in fistfights and shootouts, write down your own notes and observations, and naturally, interrogate witnesses up close and personal.
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If you ever wanted to give the new Hitman a try, but you were a bit cautious due to the whole episodic format controversy, you'll be glad to hear that the developers are currently giving away the prologue and first episode (Paris) for free! If you're on PC simply head on over to Steam, download the free Hitman Holiday Pack, and you'll be throwing chandeliers on people in no time.
There is one very important thing you should keep in mind, however, and that is the fact that the Hitman Holiday Pack will only be available until January 5th. That said, once you've downloaded your copy it will be yours to keep forever, as will all of the progress and mission mastery you've acquired. The same applies if you ever decide to buy the full version or any of the following episodes.
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Code Vein is Bandai Namco's upcoming action-RPG that seems to be heavily influenced by the Dark Souls series, both in terms of gameplay mechanics and storytelling. As you might expect from that alone, the combat is all about precise strikes and dodges, while the world and its inhabitants are all dark and twisted, barely able to hold themselves together.
If you're wondering how all of this translates into gameplay, allow me to share with you the latest trailer. It's primarily focused on the story and characters, but it also features plenty of combat so it should give you a pretty damn good overview of what Code Vein is all about. Have a look, it's quite an interesting video:
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If you've managed to miss any of Ubisoft's previous giveaways, you're in luck as they have just brought all three back! If you're interested in a free copy of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag you should head over here, while you should go over there for World in Conflict, and over yonder for Watch Dogs.
It is important to mention, however, that this promotion will only last until 10am UTC on December 23rd! On the positive side, you don't actually need to install the games themselves in order to unlock them for your account. Simply add the CD keys to your Uplay account and you'll be good to go.
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Okami is an action-adventure quite similar to The Legend of Zelda series, though with couple of unique twists that really set it apart from the rest of the genre. For example, instead of being a young warrior that beats up enemies with a combination of sword and shield, in Okami you play as an adorable wolf god that has to quite literally paint her enemies out of existence. It's a bit of a silly concept, but when combined with some great music and artwork it's one that creates a truly memorable adventure.
If any of that sounds like something you would love to check out, you'll be glad to hear that the HD version of Okami has now made its way to PC and consoles. The list of new features isn't very long, but the combination of spruced-up visuals and support for widescreen resolutions should make it quite pleasing on the eyes. Speaking of which, here's the recently posted trailer, just so you get a brief idea of what Okami is all about:
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Gwent's Midwinter Update will be coming in the very near future, bringing with it ~100 new cards and a brand new leader for each faction. All of the cards have just recently been revealed, so if you're wondering what sort of new tools you'll be able to play around with, you should head on over to the official website.
On a somewhat different note, it's also important to mention that the Midwinter Update will arrive alongside major improvements to the interface, as well as some much needed quality-of-life changes. You can expect to see an additional daily quest system, an easier and faster deck-builder, the removal of the annoying carousel interface in favor of a more straightforward one, the ability to stop yourself from playing cards, and the list goes on for a while.
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In December of last year Blizzard released a short Overwatch comic highlighting what some of the characters are doing during the holiday season. Only a single frame of that entire comic was dedicated to a very casual-looking Hanzo buying a piece of cake, but his appearance managed to draw so much attention that it quickly became one of the most fan-requested skins.
After a year-long wait Blizzard finally obliged and released "Casual" Hanzo as a part of the Winter Wonderland 2017 update. In most cases this would be the end of the story, but unfortunately the new skin had a variety of problems and bizarre design choices that quickly turned the community against it. There are far too many complaints to list out, but here's a couple of the major ones: the hero icon looks like it was made out of playdough, there is a random stripe of baldness going around Hanzo's head, the beard is perfectly gray while the hair is perfectly black, the combination of saggy pants and yellow dragon straight across his backside makes Hanzo look like he had a bit of a toilet accident, and the list goes on for a while.
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Even though Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is set to arrive in early 2018, the developer Fatshark has now unleashed a sizable piece of DLC for the original Vermintide! On first glance it might not look spectacular since Death on the Reik 'only' brings with it two maps and a melee weapon, but much like the previous DLCs these maps are fairly large and have a lot of content packed within. Its not something you're going to blaze through within ten minutes, though obviously the replay value will depend on your eagerness to serve as the planet's pest control.
If you're wondering what these new maps and weapon might look like in-game, wonder no more as the developers have released a brief trailer highlighting just that. Have a look, its well worth a minute:
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While Norsca and its accompanying 30 new Regiments of Renown will not be making their way to Total War: Warhammer 2 until May due to technical problems, I am very glad to say that most of the final Total War: Warhammer 1 balance changes have now made their way to the sequel as well. In other words, the Warriros of Chaos have received a bit of a redesign, the Wood Elves now have new followers, most oldschool Legendary Lords have new skill trees and campaign effects, Helman Ghorst is no longer completely useless, and the list goes on for a while. If you're interested in all of the details, of which there are a ton, you should head on over to the official website.
Besides a whole bunch of balance changes and tweaks, this update has also brought with it a very, very interesting new game mode - the Laboratory. As you would expect given the name, the Laboratory allows you to mess around with 16 different sliders in order to drastically affect the course of battle. You can ramp up the number of models per each unit in order to create a true Vermintide, lower gravity so that each charge sends units flying, amplify the power and range of spells to unleash true carnage, increase the size and strength of units, and the list goes on for a while.
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Dragon Ball FighterZ is an upcoming 2.5D fighting game developed by Arc System Works, a studio you might know from their work on the Blaz Blue and Guilty Gear series of fighting games. The goal behind Dragon Ball FighterZ, as you'll probably aware from just looking at it, is to bring the gameplay and visuals as close as possible to the show itself.
If you're wondering just how accurate they have managed to get, allow me to share with you the recently posted gameplay preview. It features a combination of in-game battles and story cinematics, so it'll give you a pretty damn good idea of what you can expect from Dragon Ball FighterZ. Have a look: