Category: News

Hitman: First Impression- DRM Anyone? Update

UPDATE: Alright, so after playing through the Paris episode it does appear that cinematics are included along with each DLC addition. I can't say for sure they're not also sold separately since the frame is available for purchasing a cinematic. You can see for yourself in the fourth screenshot in this article.

And in the spirit of fairness, replayability has also taken another step higher by the "Contracts" mode. This is a game play option that allows players to create and post their own contracts in any of the playable missions and locations for others to play. Just enter the Contracts tab and create one for folks to check out or play one someone else has made. This screenshot explains the creation. For the original article, proceed below.contract

 

So recently I bought a new CPU and motherboard for my computer and with that came an activation code for the -Hitman, full experience-. The game went live this morning at 9am pacific time and I jumped in to see what's up with the newest iteration of Code Name 47's escapades. Here are my thoughts so far.

Upon startup I noticed that settings include quite a few options, one of which is the activation of DirectX 12. Hitman and Rise of the Tomb Raider, are two of the first games in the industry to receive the use of DX12 and I was pretty happy with the effects it's had on both. I'll say that I noticed no real visible difference in the look of either game, just that performance was far and away better.

I've been reading about people having issues with Hitman's performance. Crashing often, poor frame rates, stuck load screens etc. I can't speak to that since I have experienced none of those things personally. In fact the game loaded quite quickly for me once I had my options configured the way I wanted them and it runs on the highest settings I'm allowed at a consistent 60fps.

Now let's talk about that for a second, "...the highest settings I'm allowed". I can turn everything up as high as it will go except textures. They are stuck at medium, high is greyed out. This seems to be linked to graphics hardware. I myself have a 3GB card so I'm allowed to choose up to medium settings, cards with 2GB are limited to low. I'm not sure what it takes to run high because there's no explanation (none that I found as of yet anyway), could be 4GB could be 6GB. Hell, the aforementioned Rise of the Tomb Raider, wants more than 4GB of VRAM to run the highest texture resolutions, but it doesn't lock you out of trying it. Hopefully IO-Interactive will pay attention to people complaining about this and go ahead and unlock the settings. I won't hold my breath though. Worth noting here is the important fact that medium textures don't look too bad, but that doesn't mean I appreciate not having the choice to see for myself what the high setting would be like.47Game play itself is... well it's Hitman. Everything feels like traditional Code Name 47. Now, my last experience with a Hitman title was with Blood Money back on the PS2, and I liked it quite a bit. So after that everything added to the IP is new to me. That said, this latest installment has added some "features" I use the term lightly, like: talking with NPCs, being able to throw found objects at targets to knock them out, instinct mode and the ability to blend in to an environment to avoid suspicion. 47 has had occasions where he's had a voice before but not really (at least to my memory) in a way that could effect game play. That's not to say he has dialogue options or anything but it does seem that talking to, and listening to conversing NPCs can lead to intel on opportunities to help complete your mission. On the one hand that's pretty cool, on the other, 47 having a conversation with someone seems to be a bit out of character.

Instinct mode (hold CTRL on PC) will activate a kind of "Witcher senses" type deal and allow you to see and track targets through walls. You can turn this off in the settings if you wish. Aside from that it's still the good old -stalk your target, change your clothes, hide in plain sight- stealth assassination game we all like. And I have to admit that I do like it based on that at least. Instinct modeWhat I don't like is the play model. Hitman gives you the option to buy the Inroduction Pack for $15.00 which will give you access to basic content in the first episode. After that you can buy the Upgrade Pack for $49.99 and this will allow you to receive the rest of the game as it's released. Or you can spring for the $59.99 Full Experience and again I use the term loosely "have it all". What you actually get is the first episode just like everyone else, but you no longer have to upgrade to get the rest of the game as it's released. Essentially it's the game plus a season pass... blegh.purchase screenSo here's what you'll get when you start: The Prologue consists of three small, replayable training missions and a few cinematics. Yes, it appears they're even selling cinematics. You'll also get the Paris Episode, which I've yet to play since Steam hadn't yet installed it. That's being taken care of now as I'm writing. So for $15.00 you're probably getting an appropriate amount of content, selling cinematics (probably) as DLC though is pretty damn idiotic.

The Upgrade Pack is your season pass, and as mentioned above will allow content to be installed automatically as it's released. That's going to include six more episodes and five more locations to be released throughout 2016 starting in April. Presumably, you'll also be able to purchase episodes singly as DLC as they release.

One other thing to take into account is that you're locked into online play. Meaning if you lose your interwebs, you're booted from the game. At least there are auto saves so when you regain your connection you can probably just pick back up where you left off. There is an offline mode but it's separate and save games will not be compatible. Unfortunately for online play, down the line this could have the implication of service being stopped by Square Enix, and no longer being able to play at all.online onlySo based on my first impression would I recommend Hitman? Well, that depends. If you don't mind the DRM, the somewhat limited graphical options, or the possible pay walls then it might be worth it to you. It's still got a great feel, it's still 47 being a badass, untouchable assassin, it's pretty good as far as gameplay, it runs great (in my experience anyway) and for $15.00 you're getting content with quite a bit of replayability. On the other hand, if you're not alright with all that stuff, don't even look twice because you don't have a choice anyway. Let me say this. I wouldn't have bought this title if it hadn't accompanied a piece of hardware for my PC in the form of a redeemable code. training

System Requirements for Hitman are as follows

MINIMUM:
OS: OS 64-bit Windows 7
Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 / Radeon HD 7870
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 50 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:
OS: OS 64-bit Windows 7 / 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or Windows 10
Processor: Intel CPU Core i7 3770 3,4 GHz / AMD CPU AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 770 / AMD GPU Radeon R9 290
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 50 GB available space

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider gets DirectX 12 today: First in the industry, Kind of

As of today, March 11th, 2016, Rise of the Tomb Raider will implement one of the industry's first integrations of DirectX 12. This is great news.... really.

Steam users will automatically download the small 129mb patch and will expect to see some pretty big improvements in performance across the board. This doesn't mean that folks without Windows 10 can't play any more as DirectX 11 is still an option.

Grab the newest video drivers for your graphics cards to get the best performance as of yet. AMD users, make sure you choose the 16.3 hotfix driver suite.

Nvidia drivers here

AMD drivers here

I myself finally cracked and jumped on the Windows 10 bandwagon so I look forward to seeing the changes first hand.

You can read the patch notes here

And you can check out the dev blog post on the subject here

Do You Sometimes Feel LIke You Could Take Over The World?!

If so, then GOG has the perfect game for you: Day of the Tentacle. Better still, it's Day of the Tentacle remastered, so you get a modern looking game and modern sounds alongside the original charm of the DOS version - which you can flip to at [almost] any time.

And time is of the essence, because you'll be cast into three time periods while you play - the past, the present and the far future. Use twisty time-travel logic to solve puzzles spanning all three ages and witness the hilarity as LucasArts works it's curious brand of comedy magic.

It's a magical time, because if you pre-order between now and March 22, GMT you will also get exclusive Day of the Tentacle wallpapers, courtesy of GOG.

You can pre-order here.

Overwatch Closed Beta Starts Again- Februray 9th

Well the title says it all, the Overwatch closed beta is coming back on the 9th. Balance changes have been made to characters and AI bots, there are a couple of new maps and even a new game mode.

I have to say that as guy who's not really a fan of games like this any more, this one looks fun. And if you also think it it looks fun you can click this link that will take you to a Battle.net post containing more information and a sign up link at the bottom.

 

[feature image and info sourced from Blizzard]

Forced Windows 10 Installations Have Begun

Well, it's happening. Microsoft has added Windows 10 to the list of recommended updates for Windows 7 and 8.1 users. That means if you've got a Windows PC and you're perfectly happy with the operating system you chose, bought and payed for a few years back then you may wake up to an unwelcome surprise soon. That is if you've got Windows Update set up to automatically install updates.

Thankfully you can get around this by entering your control panel, choosing System and Security, then clicking on Windows Update. From there you can change settings to let you decide what's installed on your PC. I'd personally recommend "let me choose when to download and install updates" as the automatic download isn't exactly small and will suck up your bandwidth if set to anything else besides "never check for updates".

For the record here, it's still advised to install security updates and the like to keep things flowing normally, but if you don't want to walk in to a room after refilling your coffee cup and see that you have a new OS installing, I'd recommend unchecking the one that says Windows 10 before confirming any installations. If you -do- get caught in the auto upgrade, you'll have 31 days to choose to reverse the action.

Also here's how to stop that annoying little nagware popup telling you your free copy of Windows 10 awaits.

  1. Open the Registry Editor (search for regedit in the Start Menu and run it).
  2. Set DisableOSUpgrade to 1 in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
  3. Set ReservationsAllowed to 0 in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade

Furthermore, if your reason for not updating to Windows 10 is the fact that it spies on basically everything you do... Well Windows 7 and 8.1 have been doing that for quite a while now, so they're just as bad. Bigger reasons to avoid the upgrade are things like these:

  • Your PC is optimized to run it's current OS, not Windows 10. Things could bog down, you may see tons of errors etc.
  • Your PC is old/unsupported by Windows 10. Microsoft doesn't care about that, they'll still install Windows 10 for you and it could brick your machine potentially costing you money to have it reverted to your previous OS.
  • Your PC is running software that cost you loads of money and will not be supported by Windows 10. Again, Microsoft doesn't care and you may not be able to use that software any more.
[source info here] [and here]

 

SaleWrup

Well, we keep going from one sale to another. If it isn't the GOG winter sale or the Steam Christmas sale, then it's the Humble store sale. And I'm trying to avoid that particular sale because it's singing the siren song of Dark Souls.

And while I want to play Dark Souls, it'll open up the floodgates to terrible DRM. And we wouldn't want that :P

So, if you're participating in any of the sales going on [there's also a PSN store sale, I'm told] - why don't you tell us what you're playing or planning to play once you've done shopping?

This is what the Twinstiq crew are up to: Read more

Witcher 2 Free on Xbox for a time

Guys, seriously.... Microsoft has begun the backwards compatibility list for Xbox, I'll link the list at the end. More importantly, as of now they have given access to Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for free on Xbox One and 360 from January 21st until February 5th. Even better, it's not like one of those deals where: [My best speed talker impression] This offer only applies to people born outside on a Wednesday under a 200 year old oak tree with no more than three witnesses during a thunderstorm and along side a stampede of Zebra running East.

If you're one of those who didn't play Witcher 2, then I would I advise that you resolve that issue and get yourself a copy. It's an excellent title and it will help some things in Witcher 3 make a little more sense. It's FREE, people!

You can see the titles added to the Backward Compatibility List here. And keep an eye out there for more to come.

 

Microsoft Now Dictating CPU Support

In its ever persistent push toward trying to force its consumers in to a Windows 10 "upgrade" Microsoft has now decided that they will not add updates for previous versions of Windows to allow support for next-generation CPUs. Their reason for that decision is that it's just too much work.

This means that PC users that run Windows 7 or 8.1 will need to upgrade to be able to use the newest processors from AMD or Intel. Next-gen CPUs like Intel's Kaby Lake, and AMD's Bristol Ridge or others like Qualcomm's newest mobile processor will be shut out of anything south of Windows 10. No other operating system will be supported.

Even some of the current generation CPUs will lose their support. Intel's Skylake for instance. Microsoft will guarantee support for its business consumers until July of 2017. Then it's Windows 10 or you're out of luck. Thankfully though, loss of CPU support doesn't mean that the latest security and OS updates won't continue. But after that 18 month period that Microsoft is allowing, those updates will only be the most critical ones needed.

[feature image credit here]