If you like highly anticipated horror sequels and Nvidia products, then here's the giveaway for you. Team Green is offering a chance to win a "one-of-a-kind" RTX 4090 graphics card, themed after Remedy Entertainment's upcoming Alan Wake 2.

If you're interested in winning what is essentially one of the most powerful GPUs on the current market, you can enter by going to the Nvidia Twitter page, liki??ng the competition post, and then commenting w?ith a specific hashtag.

//twitter.com/NVIDIAGeForce/status/1694380813763??453206

The website gives further details; Ts and Cs and all that. According to the rules, entrants must be in by no later than 5PM Pacific Daylight Time on September 23, 2023. Nvidia will post winners here on October 31.

The prize itself

As you'll see in the image posted on Twitter, the RTX 4090 has an Alan Wake 2 custom backplate. Hopefully whoever wins this graphics card will have a perspex case or at least a PC with a view window. You're not winning this thing to not show it off, right?

Nvidia also recently announced DLSS 3.5 will be coming this fall. This is the next iteration of its Deep Learning Super Sampling graphical upscaling technology. Games such as Portal RTX and Cyberpunk 2077's DLC Phantom Liberty will support version 3.5, as will Alan Wake 2, which explains the current giveaway.

The game itself will launch on October 27, so this Nvidia promotion is nicely timed. Current previews show that the follow-up to 2010's Alan Wake is shaping up to be a good-looking horror game so far. Luckily, you shouldn't need the RTX? power hog to run it, but having this monstrous graphics card in your system can't hurt, either.

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It's so easy to modify Half-Life 2 that it's no wonder Valve's 2004 magnum opus is still part of the gaming scene. However, if you just want the game to look prettier, you can soon run it through Nvidia's RTX Rem??ix tech.

Over on the Nvidia GeForce YouTube channel, you can see a teaser for a revamped version of the iconic Half-Life 2. Side-by-side comparisons show what the OG release looks like when compared to the upcoming remaster?ed version.

//youtu.be/aM_gzfAMdNs

The Half-Life 2 RTX Remix project actually comes to us via the modding community itself. The description under the trailer says it's being helmed by "four of Half-Life 2’s top mod teams, now known as Orbifold Studios." Currently, there doesn't appear?? to be a release date f?or it.

Ooh, it's so shiny!

The original Half-Life 2 (now fast approaching its 19th birthday) still holds up today. However, a "remixed" version of the classic FPS could bring a visual boost that cou?ld breathe new life into it.

The fan-made project ?will boast full ray tracing for that added dose of lighting goodness, DLSS 3 for graphical upscaling, and a bunch of other tech things that sou?nd fancy.

Nvidia released its RTX Remix as a way for modders to give that certain je ne sais quoi to games that support such modern visual technologies. However, we've also seen it been used to pretty up even older games, like the original Tomb Raider.

You can check out more details on the upcoming Half-Life 2 RTX Remix project by going to Nvidia's website.

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Responsible for leaving a lasting impression on the gaming world, Tomb Raider is still going strong, even if it's not as paradigm-shifting as it once was. That said, there's still love for Lara Croft and her adventures, and one creator has been tweakin?g the original 1996 release.

YouTube user Dominus Aurate (as spotted by WCCF Tech) recently uploaded video footage from the OG Tomb Raider. Except in this instance, the legendary game has been given a bit of a lighting facelift, specifically when it comes to path traci??n??g, thanks to Nvidia's RTX Remix tech.

//youtu.be/Ms8K13lCfl0

Although it sti??ll pretty much looks the same in terms of its textures and ?polygonal aging, there have been some noteworthy changes to the lighting and shadow effects. It looks very impressive, breathing new life into the 27-year-old release.

Those tombs won't raid themselves

It's nice to see the 1996 entry still getting some attention after all these years. Tomb Raider made waves for its 3D adventure story and gameplay me??chanics (at a time when?? 3D was starting to take off).

It also introduced the world to Lara Croft, who quickly became one of the gaming world's most recognizable characters. She's still gracing modern systems and the series has sold ??millions of copies worldwide.

Croft (or her manor, at least) has also appeared in games like PowerWash Simulator, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (best known for creating the critically acclaimed sitcom Fleabag) is writing Tomb Raider for a TV series.

In short, Croft is by no means done for. The older installme?nts may look dated now, but it's nice t??o see modern technology giving a fresh look to a retro game.

The post Here’s the original Tomb Raider running with Nvidia’s RTX Remix appeared first on Destructoid.

Recently, Nvidia revealed a 16GB version of its RTX 4060 Ti graphics card. It didn't look popular based on early reports, especially as it seemed to be underperforming when compared to its 8GB variant.

Now it looks like you can already grab this card below its Recommended Retail Price (RRP), at least in Germany. According to a report from Hardware.info (as spotted by PCGamesN), the MSI Ventus 3X model of the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti 16GB has already been dropped to â‚?19, which is about $573 US according to XE.com.

The report goes on to say that this is $40 less than th??e asking price, and the damn thing only came out a few days ago.

[caption id="attachment_393471" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Nvidia[/caption]

Nvidia's embarrassment

Given the benchmark test mentioned above, the early discount isn't terribly surprising. Even Nvidia's board partners weren't excited about the 16GB version of the 4060 Ti. This isn't a worldwide price drop, but it suggests that Team Green's newest card could go cheaper elsewher??e.

Honestly, I'd forgive you for not even knowing the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB was even out. Its launch hasn't resu?lt in much fanfare. Critics already felt sour on the $100 price? increase compared to the 8GB model, especially considering the only difference between models is VRAM.

In any case, if you want the 16GB version, you may want to hold off for now. Price drops may be on the horizon for other ??countries too.

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It may not be worth the additional cost

Recently, it was believed that Nvidia would be launching a 16GB version of its RTX 4060 Ti. The consensus was not great; even board partners didn't appear too enthusiastic about Team Green's latest Ada Lovelace offering. Much of that comes down to the price. However, it now looks as though th?ings may be worse than first appeared.

According to a report from TechPowerUp, the 16GB variant of the Nvidia graphics card is worse than its 8GB predece??ssor. This is in spite of the?? fact that the former has double the VRAM (though everything else is identical), but a test performed by MSI shows the newer model underperforms.

//twitter.com/momomo_us/status/168??1700246571880448

Admittedly, it's not by a huge margin. A now-deleted video (that, in itself, is interesting) benchmarked the 16GB version against the 8GB, showing that framerates in games like Cyberpunk 2077, F1 2023, and Rainbow Six: Siege were lagging slightly behind the latter model. Twitter user @monomo_us was able to screengrab one part of the t??est, ?which shows the results.

Why is the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB performing less?

It may not seem like much to see the framerate for Cyberpunk drop from 91.4 on the 4060 Ti 8GB to around 90.56 on average for the 16GB version, but it's worth remembering that this is supposed to be a b??etter graphics card. With twice the memory, it should, in an ideal world, be outperforming its 8GB sibling.

According to PC Gamer, there may be a couple of reasons for this. It could be memory latency in the newer Nvid?ia card. It could be something to do with Windows, but it's not clear what exactly. It could also?? be the additional wattage on the 16GB model. At 165W (compared to 160W), it could be experiencing "power limitations under demanding circumstances."

In any case, it doesn't look great for Nvidia. It's already been established that hardly anyone is using the RTX 4000 series at the moment, most likely because of the price?. In short: this generation of GPU tech doesn't seem to be going well for Jen-Hsun "Jensen" Huang and co.

The post Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti 16GB s?eemingly underperforms against its 8GB var?iant appeared first on Destructoid.

But who would buy it?

The newest generation of graphics cards has not been terribly good for Nvidia. The RTX 4000 series has largely been criticized for being pricey and bulky, giving AMD an opportunity to win favor. However, Team Gr?een is soldiering on, and there's a chance that the 16GB version of the 4060 Ti could be coming very soon.

According to a screenshot uploaded by Twitter user MEGAsizeGPU (as reported by PCGamer), an embargo timeline shows that the latest in the Ada Lovelace range could be hitting the shelf by July 18. Ho??wever, do note that this has not yet been officially confirmed at the time of writing.

//twitter.com/Z??ed__Wang/status/1676803228523184129

Reports indicate that the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti 16GB will set you back $499, making it $100 more expensive than the 8GB model. Given that the upcoming GPU only differs from its predecessor by doubling the VRAM (literally everything else is the same), this could easily be an unpopular release for a lot of PC gamers. On top of that, some board partners do not seem excited about the new graphics card, with on??e telling PCGamer that they were "ambivalent" about it.

The GPU war rages on

AMD and Nvidia are still duking it out for graphics hardware supremacy, but the fact that not many Steam users are using current-gen hardware suggests both tech giants are failing to impress. Much of it comes down to simply not being worth the cost to upgrade a syste?m with new equipment.

It's a bit of a shame that not many people are buying into the Ada Lovelace/RDNA 3 generation of GPU technology. Given that the previous gen suffered from supply issues (brought on largely by the pandemic when demand for PC equipment ??went up), both Team Green and Team Red were probably hoping?? a lot more would be keen on the RTX 4000 or RX 7000 series.

That doesn't seem to be the case, and if what the reports are saying is anything to go by, the 4060 Ti 16GB isn't really going to do well, either. Maybe Nvidia has an ace up its sleeve for future releases. Maybe Intel will just swoop in and clean up instead. Stranger things h??ave happened.

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New ray-traced version coming in November

Whenever someone goes back to refresh the visuals of an iconic video game with a very established and well-remembered look, things can get a bit funky. So while I understand the appeal of something like Portal with RTX, a "reimagined" Portal kitted out with ray tracing, that does??n't mean it's strictly bett??er. It's different! And you may or may not dig it.

Alongside (pricey!) GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs, Nvidia announced Portal with RTX as free DLC coming to Steam in November for Portal owners. 15 years later, if you can believe it.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZHBl5yWqJk

"Every light is?? ray-traced and casts shadows, global illumination indirect lighting naturally illuminates and darkens rooms, volumetric ray-traced lighting scatters through fog and smoke, and shad??ows are pixel perfect," according to Nvidia's announcement.

While the detailed surfaces are immediately noticeable, some comparison screenshots are more flattering than others, so it's best to watch the trailer to get a comprehensive view before you start messing with sliders on Nvidia's lengthy blog post that breaks down Portal with RTX. It's ??not just lighting �there's also "new art evocative of the original."

As the game's Steam page notes, "Portal with RTX is compatible with all ray-tracing capable GPUs." ?It's?? a sparse listing, but there are screenshots (and you can wishlist).

I like that this is DLC, rather than a forced update. We're ?not alw??ays that fortunate.

[caption id="attachment_345318" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{The Companion Cube has a new glow.}[/caption]

Portal is only the beginning (if you're into mods)

This flashy project came to fruition at Nvidia Lightspeed Studios, following earlier RTX upgrades for Quake II and Minecraft. There's more where that came from, too.

Nvidia will be releasing RTX Remix, a free modding platform for supported PC games that "can add ray tracing with just a few clicks." While Portal with RTX is the main showcase, Nvidia also showed off glossed-up scenes from 2002's The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

"RTX Remix Mods work alongside existing gameplay mods downloaded from Nexus Mods or other sites, giving games with rich modded content an instant ray-traced upgrade," the company said. It also noted that "previously unmoddable" games will be compatible with these tools, and "every RTX Mod also comes packaged with the RTX Remix Runtime editor, giving players a multitude of options t?o customize their experience in real-time."

Whether you're a modder or just a player, expect lots of new possibilities for supported DirectX 8 ??and DX9 games. No shade, but I'm curious to see fan creations that take a more nuanced, measured approach to upgrading outdated lighting. Less is more sometimes.

The post Portal with RTX might be overkill, but at least it’s free DLC on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

Circle of Life

With the release of Overwatch in 20??16, the multiplayer shooter market was turned upside down.

Going from a period where everything had a bunch of faceless military drones to a game with a cast of eccentric characters with distinct personalities, nothing has been the same since. Now games need to have in-your-face attitude and libraries full of lore to maintain interest for extended periods of time. While Blizzard was able to maintain a solid balance between character updates, storytelling, and gameplay, a lot of developers have failed to replicate the winning formula of Overwatch.

Seemingly taking inspiration from Blizzard’s monster hit, Vicious Circle is a multiplayer shooter with an eccentric cast of characters all fighting against each other for dominance. While the basic gameplay is pretty far removed from what Overwatch does, it’s not hard to see where Rooster Teeth has taken cues from. This is a game that screams "trend-chasing," what with having character skins, unlockab??le win quotes, a battle pass, and a content roadmap all ready for launch.

Despite featuring a somewhat unique loop, Vicious Circle is just not quite there yet.

Vicious Circle (PC)
Developer: Rooster Teeth Games
Publisher: Rooster Teeth Games
Released: August 13, 2019
MSRP: $19.99

Labeled an "uncooperative shooter," Vicious Circle is all about screwing over your friends to steal victory away at the last second. The pr??emise for each match is that you're out in space somewhere collecting nuggets t?o return home and become rich. A gigantic chicken called "Peggy Sue" and her alien minions are trying to stop you from accomplishing that task. Since only one player per round can be teleported back, it's up to you to either help your comrades fend off Peggy Sue, or stab them in the back to snatch victory away. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.

It's a decent enough premise for a game and something that sounds like it would be a blast with friends. It helps that the characters you select from each have distinct abilities and personalities, making for slightly different playstyles during a round. It's just that after you become acclimated to how Vicious Circle works, you start to realize that there is ?basically no substance here.

I wouldn't call anything about this game cooperative, because it never behooves you to coordinate with your "teammates." Since only a single person can win each round, it's better to set off on your own and collect nuggets for yourself instead of dealing with others. The secondary items you grab even allow you to steal nuggets from other players, further putting emphasis on the fact that cooperative play is pointless. I get that th?ere's supposed to be a greater threat in the form of this giant chicken, but some serious balance issues get in the way of what should be a gam?e where players put aside their self-interest to help each other.

Let me wind back a little, though, and explain how you play Vicious Circle. Each round begins with players selecting their character from a cast of f?our. These characters all have unique weapons, movement speeds, and special abilities. Captain Boom, for example, comes equipped with an automatic rifle and a temporary invulnerability shield. Zella, the mysterious alien, shoots magic orbs and can go invisible for a short peri?od of time. Each character is meant to represent a different dynamic that compares and contrasts against each other.

In addition to your main weapons, you can pick up secondary items scattered around the levels. These take the form of holographic decoys, stun grenades, and a?udio mines. Hitting another player with these will see them dropping ??nuggets while tagging Peggy Sue will slow her down. It's all par for the course but something has gone seriously wrong with balancing everything out.

On launch, Peggy Sue was just wildly overpowered. Having a one-hit kill charge attack with no audile start-up, barely any cooldown, and a tremendous health pool, her original incarnation was infuriating to be on the rec??eiving end of. While I know it was supposed to push players together to topple her, it was rare you'd see rounds that didn't end with Peggy Sue just oblitera?ting everyone within a minute.

After a balance patch, Peggy lost some of her edge, but then robot character Cr45h & Burn became worthless. The only character with a special ability that doesn't grant him invincibility frames,?? his slow speed and limited range make him nearly pointless in any given situation. He d??oesn't fire fast enough to deal enough damage to Peggy, his movement speed is too slow to outrun other players to nuggets, and he's not even well equipped to deal with the "Dippers" that players turn into.

You're not completely out of the round when Peggy Sue kills you. When death comes knocking, you'll transform into a small alien known as a Dipper and be tasked with inhabitin??g the body of a remaining player. With Peggy hunting them down, you basically just need to wait until someone gets distracted and pounce on them. You can even die early, let everyone else collect enough nuggets to extract, and then swoop in and steal the round. The Dippers are assholes, is what I'm saying.

Sadly, what I described is basically what everyone does. Since Dippers have next to no health, there's not a lot of point to seeking out players if multiple opponents are still alive. Your best chance at victory is to be a colossal dick and swipe it at the last second. Once you become a Dipper, all hints of cooperation disappear since you cannot work t??ogether with your "teammates." It's every man for themselves.

So with some of the characters feeling underdeveloped and strategies devolving to the same tactic, is there anything to like about Vicious Circle? For a budget title, this is surprisingly polished. The graphical presentation is compa?rable to Triple-A games and the voice acting is damn good. Each character sounds distinct and the announcer is pretty funny. He often cracks jokes about your friends dying and will comment about how absurd everything in the world is. Those Rooster Teeth person??alities have definitely embedded charm into this game.

I'm also surprised at how much world-building there is here. For something with basically no story, Vicious Circle feels like a lived-in world. Random events will crop up during rounds to give you more nuggets and there are things like "Void Eyes" popping in from other dimensions. It's intriguing to try and parse together where they might be fro?m and what purpose they serve. Even some of your secondary items have jingles that mock established brands, grounding you in this weird sci-fi opera.

It's just that there’s so little content here that it becomes hard to remain invested. With only four characters and four maps, you'll see everything on offer within a few hours of starting. It doesn't help that the progression system for leveling up is straight out of Fortnite, so there's no concrete goal you can work towards. You just have to do random tasks enough times until an XP bar fills up and doles out a random unlock. The main menu even has a??n option for an in-game store, though that still isn't active as of ??this review.

I know extra content is coming for free in the future, but I can't see many players sticking around until?? that releases. The player count is already dwindling a week from launch. On day one, I was able to find?? matches within seconds, but now I can wait upwards of five minutes before lobbies fill up. You thankfully don't need full lobby to start a match, but that does not bode well for longevity.

To some, I might sound a little harsh on what is a budget title, though. For $19.99, I can't claim the content on offer is spare. It’s just that maintaining interest in what is available is a tough prospect. With matches takin?g around 20 minutes to finish, it becomes a slog to play for extended periods at a time. During my review process, I'd play for roughly an hour and then get bored, stopping for a bit and returning later. It only took me as long as it has to write this because I just don't f??eel compelled to keep playing.

That's the sad reality about Vicious Circle. This isn't a? bad idea,? but the game doesn't do much to justify its existence.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Vicious Circle appeared first on Destructoid.

Man was shot and killed by police

A few days ago, YouTube personalities Gavin Free and Meg Turney were targeted in their Austin, Texas home by a disturbed fan. Both Free and Turney hid in a closet and called 911 after the man e??ntered their house. Police arrived within 10 minutes and the man was fatally shot in the couple's driveway.

Christopher Giles was the name of the perpetrator and his intent (as gathered from evidence on his phone) was to kill Free. One of the many messages recovered stated, "I want Gavin Free to die alone, with no children." Giles had become enamored with Turney after watching various vlogs of hers. When police had arrived on the scene, the man was backing out?? of the driveway where he was told to stop. A gunshot was heard from the car a??nd police returned fire.

Both victims recall hearing a gunshot and glass shatte?ring around 3:40 am while they were sleeping. They then took to hiding and waited for the police to arrive. Giles searched th?e home and couldn't find the victims, so he decided to leave. Security footage from the house shows Giles carrying a .45 caliber firearm.

Free and Turney are most famous for their roles at Rooster Teeth productions, where they've worked on various different shows over the last decade. Most of you may know Free for his work on Red Vs. Blue, while Turney is most prominent for The Know (a show about current events in pop culture).

ABQ man targeted YouTube celebrities [Albuquerque Journal]
H??ome invasion suspect shot and killed by APD officer identified [KXAN]

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Shiny, happy Master Chief

We all miss big events. It happens. But if you weren't able to make it to RTX this past weekend but are still jonesing for some Halo: The Master Chief Collection tidbits, the entire panel is now ava??ilable to? watch in its entirety on YouTube.

It's an hour long of Halo-related goodness, including some bits and pieces about brand-new modes in Halo 2 Anniversary and fan-f?avorites such as CTF, Juggernaut, and Assault Territories. Some of the brand new modes include, but are not limited to Ricochet, Race, SWAT, and Infection, with more to come. 

In addition, Halo 2 Anniversary's multiplayer will come packing a new vehicle lovingly referred to as the "Gungoose," or the M274-M Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle. It's essentially a Mongoose with an anti-infantry ??gun strapped on the front.

All of this info and more awaits you within the confines of the panel broadcast. Halo: The Master Chief Collection drops on Xbox One this November 11.

The post Check out the full Halo: Master Chief Collecti?on RTX panel ?here appeared first on Destructoid.

Introducing the Gungoose

When Microsoft revealed Halo: The Master Chief Collection at E3, it mentioned that Halo 2 would get the anniversary treatment to commemorate ten years since its release. One of the ways this will happ??en is through the addition of one of the series' signature vehicles. Oh yeah, and now it has a gun, too.

Announced this past weekend at Rooster Teeth Expo 2014, Halo 2 will include the Mongoose in The Master Chief Collection. How??ever, 343 Industries took it one step further and slapped light anti-infantry weap??onry on it.

As 343 stated during the panel that the vehicle was introduced, it's best used to play Gungoose Capture the Flag -- obviously a new game variant for The Master Chief Collection. The panelists mentioned that their favorite levels t?o play it on is Coagulation, which is one of the six maps that will be re-imagined specifically for the HD bundle.

Halo at RTX 2014! [Halo Waypoint]

The post Halo 2 gets the Mongoose with a gun in Master Chief Collecti?on appeared first on Destructoid.

Evening activities postponed until tomorrow

The streets surrounding the Aust??in Convention Center flooded with people this evening, as Rooster Teeth Expo attendees reported the pulling of a fire alarm, leading to an emergency evacuation of the show.

The event ?organizers apologized for cancelling tonight's rema??ining events, saying they hope to reschedule any tabled activities for tomorrow evening.

RTX is an annual gaming convention run by Rooster Teeth Productions, makers of popular web series Red vs. Blue, and b?ased out of Austin, Texas. The convention has its roots in a 2011 community gathering, oft described as a bunch of fans hanging out in a field, but has expanded considerably since those humble beginnings thanks to support from major publishers, independent ??developers, various panels, and other exhibitors.  

RTX [Twitter, colekulina]

The post Fire alar?m evacuates Rooster Teeth Expo, ??events cancelled appeared first on Destructoid.

What's the deal with this?

Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater studio The Behemoth is bringing this thing to RTX this weekend in A????ustin, Texas. What is it? (Besides a cupcake, obviously.) Dunno.

But if you've been following "Game 4," you'll likely recognize the character -- remember that bizarre spider lady? Convention attendees can take their pic with the c??upcake at booth 131.

Do that, and ask what's? up with this project. Last we heard, it's something?? for Xbox One.

A life-sized treat coming to RTX [The Behemoth]

The post Another cupcake-y tease for The Behemoth’s next game appeared first on Destructoid.

[This weekend D??estructoid is reporting live from RTX in Austin, Texas, the community based gaming expo for Roost?er Teeth fans and? everyone else.]

At a glance onlookers might characterize Loadout as yet another emulous shooter looking to wedge its way into a market that's already bursting at the seams with them. And perhaps it is. But for a developer that's spent the?? last ??decade and a half working on licensed games, ports and sequels, Edge of Reality is finally stretching its wings with a project of its own.

Hanging its hat on an extensive weapon crafting feature, Loadout takes a page out of the Borderlands handbook by offering an absolutely crazy amount of weapon variety. The Austin-based developer promises upwards of a million diffe?rent combinations to help fell yo??ur competition across the third-person shooter's variety of gameplay modes.

Loadout (PC)
Developer: Edge of Reality
Publisher: Edge of Reality
Releases: Autumn 2012

Given Loadout's cartoonish aesthetics, comparisons to Super Monday Night Combat or Team Fortress 2 seem inevitable here. True enough, it's a free-to-play competitive online shooter with a variety of objec??tive-based modes that you've probably come to expect of the genre over the course of the last decade. And if you have yet to yawn and move on with your day, there's a surprising amount of depth on offer here in terms of ??combat.

As mentioned earlier there are millions of different weapon combinations thanks to Loadout's weapon crafting system. Each gun has a multitude of parts which include scopes, ammunition, triggers, stocks and barrel-types. T??rue to its name, players are given an impressive amount of options when choosing exactly what kind of gear they wish to bring with them into battle.

A bit daunting at first, I spent several minut??es playin??g around with the different types of weapons I could create. Whether its a shotgun with incendiary rounds that deal damage over time or a healing weapon that shoots syringes to aid your teammates, I think players will be pretty impressed when they're given the dilemma of what type of gun they want to use.  

After making a less than menacing weapon my first time around, one of the developers ga??ve me a taste of one of their most powerful creations to date, an energy weapon that seemed to absolutely flay anything caught in my cross-hairs but had a nasty habit of overheating. That armament really evened the odds and helped my team claim victory in the capture and hold mo?de that was on display. 

Shifting gears a bit, I'm pretty skeptical of free-to-play as a general rule but Loadout definitely ??looks like something that I could see a lot of people enjoying. When I voiced my concerns, asking about how they planned to monetize the game whilst maintaining a level playing field, a representative said that any content available for purchase could also be earned in-game free of charge.

They seem acutely aware just the mention of FTP raises a red flag in the minds of gamers and desperately want to avoid a pay-to-win scenario. I suppose we'll know more in the coming months when Loadout transitions? from its current state of closed testing to an open beta later this summer.

The post RTX: Hands-on with millions of guns in Loadout appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[This weekend Destructoid is reporting live from RTX in Austin, Texas, the community based gaming expo for Rooster Teeth fans and everyone else.]}

Yes, that's Team Rocket cosplayers hanging out with a stormtrooper. Do y??ou now see what you are missing out on!?!

Though RTX isn't the biggest convention or most populated (thankfully), it brought a good size crowd of game enthusiasts, cosplayers, and weirdos I was afraid to make eye contact with. I walked the show floor along with Destructoid writer Kyle McGregor and Dtoider djnealb, taking ph??otos o?f all the bizarre and neat stuff we saw.

One thing that stood out was the i?mmersion booth th??at sought to immerse players through real-world game design by ... uh, shooting a photo of the Mega 64 guys with Nerf guns and throwing a ball while wearing these weird goggles that presented a video feed of your actions from a distance. Cool game, bro?

The post ??RTX: Photos of Team Rocket, Mega 64 ??hugs, and dumb stuff appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[This weekend Destructoid is reporting live from RTX in Austin, Texas, the community based gaming expo for Rooster Teeth fans and everyone else.]}

From 500 in attendance last year to 4,000 this weekend at RTX, R??ooster Teeth had a lot to celebrate during its panel. However, that didn’t keep the guys from poking fun at themselves, discussing accidentally drinking a strang?er’s spit with Elijah Wood among other things. Yes, Elijah Wood was on the panel … and it was kind of weird.

The panel opened with a trailer for Red vs. Blue season 10. Shortly after, Rooster Teeth founder Burnie Burns and other key members (Gus Sorola, Geoff Ramsey,?? Joel Heyman, Matt Hullum) took their seat. “What’s up fuckers?” Sorola asked to rousing applause.

“There are more people in this room than people who attended RTX last year,” Sorola said. “Probably more people in line trying to get in?? this room right now than there were at RTX las??t year.”

The five guys went on to discuss details on the past, present and future of Rooster Teeth, including what tools they will use in upcoming productions. While the team is hesitant to jump into Halo 4 on launch -- stating their dissatisfaction with their sudden jump into Halo 2 years ago -- but they are loo??king into u??sing the Valve Source Filmmaker which Heyman called “an amazing tool.”

Burns and company went on to wax nostalgic over having their voices in Halo 3, showin??g Red vs. Blue on an IMAX screen, and the early days of Rooster Teeth. Some things have changed, however, and mostly for the better. This was abundantly clear when Elijah Wood joined the panel via Skype.

The panel couldn't get sound from the Skype interview which made for an awkward couple of minutes. This however was part of ?a practical joke on the audience, since Wood was actually present at the show. He came up and joined the panel on stage.

“I heard about the show peripherally because I'm a gamer and I like Halo.” When he was offered the role of Sigma in Red? Vs. Blue? he said,  “That’d be awesome!”

Going forward, Rooster Teeth plan to make Break Room into a series (despite comparisons to Disney's upcoming Wreck-It Ralph) and start a Let's Play series.

Even though Rooster Teeth continues to grow, the guys still have enough self-defacing humor and crude commentary in them to ?stay true to their roots. Whatever those roots may be.

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