Ajay25

A classic adventure built in the early days of the multimedia gaming era, Riven is a beautiful first-person puzzle game that asks players to slowly unravel the mysteries of its unusual world. A sequel to the similarly celebrated Myst, Riven boasted arguably the most detailed pre-rendered backgrounds to date when it was released in 1997. And now it's back, stunningly realised in full real-time 3D via Unreal Engine 5, playable both as a standard game and a VR experience - and there's even a Meta Quest port. However you choose to play it, this release feels like the ultimate expression of developer Cyan's original vision. Even at launch, Riven was a stunner. In terms of pre-rendered background quality, the improvement over Myst was gigantic. Myst has that early 90s CGI look to it, but Riven's backgrounds continue to impress even now. The world features more life as well: despite ultimately remaining a series of still shots that you flick through, Cyan was able to add animation such as rippling water, plumes of smoke and small insects buzzing around to help bring the scenes to life. Furthermore, larger videos could be utilised enabling full-screen animation that was impossible with the original Myst. However, delivering this level of fidelity in real-time 3D is something I would say couldn't really be achieved until recently, which is why this Unreal Engine 5 remake is so interesting. Curiously though, it isn't actually using UE5's most cutting-edge features. Nanite, Lumen and Virtual Shadow maps are all absent. The primary reason ties into scalability - Cyan needed to ensure the game could run on a Meta Quest 2 headset. However, don't let that fool you, Riven demonstrates more than most titles that artistry trumps all and Riven is truly gorgeous. High density polygon models fill every scene, the lighting is perfectly tweaked to simulate that late 90s CGI look while the use of colour is jaw-dropping. Furthermore, Riven 2024 fully supports HDR which is perfect for a game like this - the sun piercing through the clouds creates intense highlights that serve to accentuate its realism.

Open Beta for the MMORPG is coming this month - so excited! Throne and Liberty is getting its Western release this September, and there’s an open beta set for later this month. Amazon Games is now in promo mode, with a new video delving into character customization and the powerful shapeshifting into animals and huge golems. Your character will be known as a Starborn. The new preview starts off by setting the tone for the Starborn’s journey in the world of Solisium, before taking us through some of the character customization options for human characters, from different hairstyles, skin tones, accessories, facial features, and more. Then it gets to some of the other fun stuff we'll get to enjoy in the game: shapeshifting.

I agree with @Lens this is just a money grab for a throwback re-release

Never heard of this game, but impressive reach!

This makes sense, but it also means games will be a lot more expensive (look for $100+ games, or games with high-priced expansion packs)

I read this article too, but in the story I believe he walked up to the police which he didn't need to do.

This has totally happened to me! I've bought over a dozen games on impulse because they were at an amazing discounted price, so I figured I would go ahead and buy it for my Steam Library in case I ever wanted to play it in the future but still haven't.

Oh wow, I haven't heard MUDs in a long long time. Even though it was never something I played, one of my best friends used to LOVE playing her MUD, in fact, I think she became the admin or dungeonmaster or whatever you call the person who runs the MUD. She's someone who really jumped into things

I used to have a lot of Super Mario Bros. shirts when I was younger!

One of the comfort foods that I've been enjoying on a hot summer day is a tomato grilled cheese sandwich

Who used to have those cd towers?? I used to have a few hundred CD's that I burned of music and movies

It depends on hte food! Sushi - I'm okay with raw (like salmon or tuna toro) Hamburgers - I'm okay with slightly undercooked But for most foods, thoroughly cooked 🙂

E3 might be dead and buried but there's still a ton of gaming news to look forward to in the coming days as Summer Game Fest 2024 is standing in the old expo's stead. SGF has gradually taken on more importance over the last few years as an umbrella for all the various game showcases that take place each June. From June 7 until June 10, a string of SGF events will highlight dozens of games. Will anyone be tuning in to SGF?

I agree with Shagger that trying to invent a 'new' origin story when there is already a well established origin story for James Bond is going to conflict. I'm open to new characters (maybe like a 006 or a 005), but to take the iconic 007 in a new twist is just a superficial remake.

I agree with Heatman, I actually think more people discovered and had plenty of hours to play games, and there's a rise of a whole new segment of casual games