Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice draws on lived experiences rather than cheap tropes for its depiction of psychosis

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice appears to be a mainstream video game that approaches the subject of mental illness thoughtfully and sensitively – which may well be a first.

Senua, the protagonist of Hellblade, suffers from psychosis. This isn’t a new thing for video games, but in general, only smaller indies have managed to pull off depcitions of mental illness without contributing to stigma, perpetuating negative stereotypes, recycling lazy tropes or just being flat out, offensively wrong.

Hellblade developer Ninja Theory is trying to avoid those missteps by consulting both experts in psychiatry and people who have actually experienced psychosis. This doesn’t at all guarantee a good result, but as you’ll see in the video below, those who contributed their knowledge to the project seem really happy with the results, which is a good sign.

So Hellblade: Senua’s sacrifice looks like it might have something interesting to tell us about psychosis as well as being an ass-kicking action game with Ninja theory’s trademark cinematic pizazz. It comes out next week for PC and PS4, but not at retail.

We’ve been waiting on Hellblade for several years now, and it’ll be great to see how Ninja Theory’s daring bid on “AAA indie” and open development pans out.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice draws on lived experiences rather than cheap tropes for its depiction of psychosis posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

分享今天的一对CP，最萌身高差。 今天的表演赛中，Yang 被Ori和Hym抓着锤，赛后还言语调戏[泪] 仗义的林书豪公开表示不喜欢他们欺负Yang，听完后的皮鞋深情望向http://JLinpic.twitter.com/7OXGA0GnLI

分享今天的一对CP，最萌身高差。 今天的表演赛中，Yang 被Ori和Hym抓着锤，赛后还言语调戏[泪] 仗义的林书豪公开表示不喜欢他们欺负Yang，听完后的皮鞋深情望向JLin http://pic.twitter.com/7OXGA0GnLI

分享今天的一对CP，最萌身高差。 今天的表演赛中，Yang 被Ori和Hym抓着锤，赛后还言语调戏[泪] 仗义的林书豪公开表示不喜欢他们欺负Yang，听完后的皮鞋深情望向http://JLinpic.twitter.com/7OXGA0GnLI posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds comes third in a match, makes us worry about the rest of you

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is supposed to be really hard, so why does the equivalent of mashing random keys have better scores than the majority of players?

Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the latest gift of crowd-controlled, livestreamed video game bots, and it’s, uh, better than a lot of actual human players. Many of you are still working on breaking into the top ten, but Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds managed to take third recently.

Watch live video from twitchplaysbattlegrounds on www.twitch.tv

It’s going to be hugely embarrassing if Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds gets a chicken dinner before you do. We’ve published several sets of tips but since you’re probably well aware of the basics right now, my pick of the lot is Sherif’s veteran PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds strategies.

Just as a reminder in case you’ve forgotten this phenomenon, Twitch Plays is when someone hooks Twitch chat up to a bot that feeds the commands into a video game. As soon as the stream gains even a handful of viewers it descends into chaos as everyone screams LEFT LEFT MENU LEFT MENU ATTACK and whatever, and even when everyone works together and really tries, it’s very difficult to get anything to happen.

Nevertheless, in the same way those infinite monkeys with typewriters will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare, somehow or other Twitch Plays bots have finished every Pokemon game and had a good old try at games like Dark Souls and more. So far, Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has “only” managed to come third, both solo and as a group, but it’ll get there eventually, no doubt.

Have you had much success in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds? If good old Twitch Plays can get so close to winning, so can you.

Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds comes third in a match, makes us worry about the rest of you posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Let’s take a look at Albion, a new map from Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar

Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar takes us to the site of a 1917 battle for the frozen reaches of Estonia.

Battlefield 1 players on PC have been lucky enough to check out a third map from the upcoming In The Name of the Tsar expansion over on the CTR server.

Battlefield expert Westie naturally put in some time with the new map, and has all the goss. Called Albion, the map is the first real all-out battle environment Battlefield 1 has seen. It’s a large, expansive map, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Battlefield 4, with some twists on Battlefield 1 gameplay.

Albion is a coastal Conquest map. The German faction can spawn directly onto a ship, or onto small boats nearby. This is the perfect chance to try out the landing boat, which has a ramp allowing disembarkation, and room for multiple players in the hold as well as two machine gunners in addition to the helm. Swimming is not recommended as it takes forever.

There are seven flags, and most are clustered on some islands. The very exposed A point (a lighthouse) and less worrying B point (a fishing village) are both on a large outer island comfortably near to the German spawn – but B borders on Russian territory, so must be defended closely once captured.

C point is in the middle of the map on a small island, and can be accessed by bridges from the A and B points, or by boating, swimming or parachuting in. All of these approaches are very exposed.

D and E points are on another large island close to the Russian spawn – and you’ll find two massive, destroyed Russian artillery there that can be repaired at the start of the match for long distance bombardment. The F point is also on this island but is right at the water’s edge by the Russian spawn, so the Germans won’t hold it for long – especially as it’s only separated from G flag by a few trench lines.

A new bomber is available on the map with four seats – two sidegunners, a cannon gunner and the pilot. It’s a very slow moving plane and so big that it makes a very tempting target. There are two behemoth vehicles, one for each faction – the Germans get a dreadnought, while the Russians get an airship.

Although the huge map really provides a good opportunity to use air and sea vehicles, the infantry play is satisfying because there’s so much danger to ground troops. That means taking and holding points will be much riskier than it has been in Battlefield 1’s Conquest mode to date.

In the Name of the Tsar arrives in Battlefield 1 in September.

Let’s take a look at Albion, a new map from Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Very shiny Injustice 2 tournament shader on sale now, proceeds earmarked for esports and community events

Injustice 2 offers you the chance to make your main even shinier and plump up those prize pools while you’re at it.

Available in Injustice 2 right now, the new tournament shader shown in the video below bring a touch of class to your outfit with shiny gold highlights. We’re assuming the link here is gold medals and victory, which is what you’ll be chasing if you enter any tournaments. It’s available for every character.

Warner Bros. and NetherRealm haven’t given us many details on the premium DLC, but did say that “a portion of the proceeds” of sales of the tournament shader will be put “towards Injustice 2 tournaments and community events”.

“Purchasing the Tournament Shader is a great way to support the Injustice 2 esports scene,” the companies suggested – something like the way Dota 2 fans help fund the International, probably.

The shaders have been added to Injustice 2 with today’s patch, which runs to 1.05 GB and also adds the Bizarro skin.

The update also makes an absolutely whopping number of changes to Injustice 2’s balance and gameplay, which has been mostly stable since release. It looks like NetherRealm waited to iron out the bugs before it started really messing with things. You can check out the full patch notes on Shoryuken.

Injustice 2 is available for PS4 and Xbox One.

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Anthem, Mass Effect and Dragon Age designer Corey Gaspur has died

BioWare has confirmed the death of a friend and colleague.

Corey Gaspur, a veteran designer with credits on some of BioWare’s most beloved games, has died.

The news comes via the BioWare blog and provides no details on Gaspur’s death. Judging by the shocked reactions of BioWare staff on social media (which, no, we’re not going to embed), it was not expected news, and has left current and former colleagues across all of BioWare’s studios reeling.

Previously a member of Turok developer Propaganda Games, Gaspur joined BioWare nine years ago. He contributed to Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 gameplay and level designer, and served as as lead combat designer on Mass Effect 3 and its multiplayer; arguably BioWare’s most successful attempt at action to date.

Most recently, Gaspur was a lead designer on Anthem, the studio’s upcoming science fiction shared-worlds shooter. His contribution to BioWare’s games was significant indeed.

“Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him. We will miss you,” BioWare’s statement said.

Anthem, Gaspur’s final project, is currently slated for release in late 2018. Our thoughts are with Corey’s friends, family and colleagues at this time.

Anthem, Mass Effect and Dragon Age designer Corey Gaspur has died posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW

Stone Cold Classic 'Jet Car Stunts' Updated with 64-Bit Support, Resolution Fixes, and DLC Levels Included for Free

With the iOS platform approaching a decade of existence, there are quite a few titles you could denote as classics when talking about the history of mobile gaming. Jet Car Stunts [$1.99 / Free] is without a doubt one of those titles. Launching in the fall of 2009 with the App Store still in its infancy, Jet Car Stunts married the unique capabilities of iOS devices with some seriously fun stunt track racing. There really was no greater feeling that launching your little digital rocket car into the air, spinning and twirling, and totally nailing the landing on the other side. Or finding some obscure shortcut that gives you a leg up on the highly competitive online leaderboards. Yes for some Jet Car Stunts was an obsession, and for me personally it brings back great memories of the early days of iOS gaming. However, 2009 was a LONG time ago, and the last significant update to Jet Car Stunts was way back in July of 2012 when the game received long-awiated Universal iPad support and some performance improvements. Well, with iOS 11 and its lack of support for 32-bit apps likely coming in just a couple of months, many fans were holding out hope that this oldie but goodie would get some 64-bit update love from developer True Axis. Today that update love has arrived.

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Alongside the 64-bit support is some extra welcome additions. The game now properly supports all the various resolutions of the larger iOS devices that have come out since the last Jet Car Stunts update, and everything is looking nice and sharp on my iPhone 7 Plus. In an even cooler move True Axis has included the game's DLC level pack for free. This pack of 26 additional levels launched back in July of 2010 and originally was a $1.99 IAP. Now the levels are free for all to enjoy. Additionally, the lite version of Jet Car Stunts has also been updated so there's still a free way to try out this game if you haven't before. The lite version levels are different from the ones in the paid game, but some time back they were added into the paid game as an extra level pack so you could literally have everything Jet Car Stunts all packed into a single app. Jet Car Stunts really is one of the best games in the entire history of the App Store, and nothing makes me happier than seeing it updated so it can live on for another day.

Stone Cold Classic 'Jet Car Stunts' Updated with 64-Bit Support, Resolution Fixes, and DLC Levels Included for Free posted first on http://ift.tt/2k0LiGW