Various Video Game Stories and More from the Week of August 23, 2021

[Guest_Jim_*]

Most of the video game news from the week I already covered a couple days ago in the Various Video Game Stories for Half the Week of August 23, 2021, but gamescom 2021 is not over yet, and there is some non-game news to share too. First up though is the continuation of a gamescom announcement with a new trailer for Saints Row, the franchise's reboot.

The announcement included a cinematic trailer to introduce players and franchise fans to the new crew and setting for the game, Santo Ileso, but this new trailer shares some gameplay while also talking about the reboot's design. That includes the game being a reboot as opposed to a sequel, to escape any limitations that can come from the Saints Row legacy. It is an interesting watch if you are interested in this next step for the series.

 

 

Source: YouTube (Saints Row channel)

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Square Enix has announced Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend is coming to Steam on October 21 but mobile devices will have it sooner, on September 21. This collection that includes The Final Fantasy Legend, II, and III was originally released on Nintendo Switch last year, to celebrate the series' 30^th anniversary. It will feature several improvements such as character speed boost and adjustable screen magnification. For those who play on Steam it will also have a 4K-compatible mode.

Source: Square Enix (Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend)

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Next we have Techland as it shared its third episode of Dying 2 Know at gamescom, showcasing the parkour and combat of Dying Light 2, which also had a new gameplay trailer release. The trailer is embedded below and here is a link to Dying 2 Know: Episode 3 Gamescom Edition. Among what it shows is the different traversal options players will have to explore the city, such as parkour but also zip lines and a grappling hook. We also get a look at how parkour is used in combat as well as the weapons that will be available to dispatch enemies, whether they are infected or human.

Dying Light 2 is to release December 7 for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. For those interested in the original Dying Light, the Platinum Edition is actually coming to the Nintendo Switch and the physical version will include a survival guide, two-sided map, and unique stickers. We can expect more details and the release date in the future.

 

 

Source: Press Release (Techland – Dying Light 2)

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Comanche from THQ Nordic exited Early Access this week, and with the release update came seven new Conflicts missions, and you can pilot new variants of the Comanche in some of them as well. Keeping things interesting, two new enemies were added tool; the sniper railguns and ICBM carriers. Missions, both old and new, saw their graphics upgraded and localizations were added so you can play in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Russian, or Chinese. The game is currently priced at $19.99 on Steam.

 

 

Source: THQ Nordic (Comanche)

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Lastly we have some non-gaming news, though it is still relevant as UL Benchmarks as released a feature test showcasing Sampler Feedback. This is one of the features highlighted under DirectX 12 Ultimate, alongside ray tracing, variable rate shading, and mesh shaders, which are all present in 3DMark already. The purpose of sampler feedback is to make texture streaming more efficient by tracking where textures are being sampled. Instead of needing to load an entire, massive texture onto VRAM, just the portions needed could be loaded, freeing up memory and bandwidth for other uses. It can also be leveraged to do more work in texture space, where special performance optimizations can be applied as compared to screen space, by skipping areas that will not be seen.

This and the other DirectX 12 Ultimate feature tests are included in 3DMark Advanced Edition for free, for those that want to give it a try. It will require running Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, and with a DirectX 12 Ultimate supporting GPU and drivers.

Source: UL Benchmarks

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