June 2019 – GamingMonk

June 14, 2019

NVIDIA and CDPR Partner Up To Bring Ray Tracing To Cyberpunk 2077

NVIDIA and CD PROJEKT RED today announced that NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ is an official technology partner for Cyberpunk 2077 and that the companies are working together to bring real-time ray tracing to the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 won over 100 awards at E3 2018 and Gamespot calls it “one of the most anticipated games of the decade.” The game is the next project from CD PROJEKT RED, makers of the highly acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which has won numerous “Game of the Year” awards. NVIDIA and CD PROJEKT RED have a long history of technology collaboration that spans more than a decade.

“Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredibly ambitious game, mixing first-person perspective and deep role-playing, while also creating an intricate and immersive world in which to tell its story,” said Matt Wuebbling, head of GeForce marketing at NVIDIA. “We think the world of Cyberpunk will greatly benefit from the realistic lighting that ray tracing delivers.”

Ray tracing is the advanced graphics technique used to give movies their ultra-realistic visual effects. NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs contain specialized processor cores designed specifically to accelerate ray tracing so the visual effects in games can be rendered in real time.

“Ray tracing allows us to realistically portray how light behaves in a crowded urban environment,” says Adam Badowski, head of Studio at CD PROJEKT RED. “Thanks to this technology, we can add another layer of depth and verticality to the already impressive megacity the game takes place in.”

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. You play as V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character’s cyberware, skillset and playstyle, and explore a vast city where the choices you make shape the story and the world around you.

E3 attendees will get a firsthand look at Cyberpunk 2077 at booth 1023 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. More details, as well as exclusive 4K screenshots featuring real-time ray tracing on PC, are available at www.nvidia.com.

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June 14, 2019

Review: BenQ Zowie Celeritas II Gaming Keyboard

Zowie has made quite a name for itself in the recent years, especially in the esports arena. The brand is regularly coming up with peripherals catering to the esports players, from keyboards and headsets to high refresh rate displays. The Celeritas II is the latest gaming keyboard in the Zowie lineup, priced at INR 10,900. But is it worth the price? Let’s find out.

The philosophy behind the Celeritas II seems to be straightforward: elegance in simplicity. The keyboard has a pretty standard design; in fact, from a distance, it doesn’t look much different from a normal office keyboard. But don’t let that fool you, because on the inside the Celeritas screams gaming. It uses custom optical switches instead of the Cherry MX Brown like its predecessor. Optical switches are a new form of mechanical switches, which use light for actuation instead of a mechanical connection. As such, they have an advantage over conventional mechanical switches as optical switches can be faster and more durable.

It follows the popular ‘red and black’ colour scheme that we’ve seen with almost every brand by now. The keyboard has a matte black finish, keeping it simple without any frill. At 1.89kg, the Celeritas II is a bit on the heavier side of the spectrum. It measures about 44.2 x 17 cm, which means it doesn’t take up too much space on your table. There are four rubber grips on the base which prevent the keyboard from sliding on the surface.

While the gaming community is moving towards a more colorful RGB lit world, the Celeritas II keeps things rather uncomplicated with a simple Red LED backlight. You can adjust the brightness and toggle it on/off using the Fn keys, which also double up as media control buttons. The choice to go for flashy RGB is rather subjective; on one hand, you can argue that the red backlight results in a less distracting experience. But on the other hand, not having the option to customize the backlight colour, especially at the INR 10000 price point seems a bit lacking.

One of the more interesting features the Celeritas II offers is PS/2 compatibility, and the keyboard comes with a USB to PS/2 adapter in the box. Even though most of the people have switched to USB by now, it’s nice to have that option to use PS/2 should you feel like using it. And Zowie has also brought the Real Time Response (RTR) function to the keyboard, which is useful in games where the player needs to activate multiple commands simultaneously. RTR can only be used via PS/2.

Talking about performance, here’s when the Celeritas II begins to set itself apart. Unlike a lot of its gaming counterparts, the Celeritas is completely plug and play, and doesn’t require you to use any software to set it up. It supports N-key rollover, meaning each keypress is detected individually, regardless of how many keys are being pressed at the same time. The wrist support can be a little small for some users, but it’s not hard to get used to. Furthermore, the optical switch driven keys are responsive and swift, making games like PUBG and Apex Legends a joy to play. You can quickly move between different keys without much resistance and take action, meaning esports players can really use it to their advantage. Single player games are equally fun, whether you’re trying to survive in Metro: Exodus or wrecking the city in GTA V. Typing, on the other hand, doesn’t feel as good, as I prefer a bit of more tactile feedback than the Celeritas II offers.

Overall, the Celeritas II is a great keyboard, with a clear emphasis on functionality over aesthetics. It’s well built, sturdy, and gets the job done without any nonsense. The optical switches are ideal for both casual and professional gamers, and it doesn’t require you to jump through any hoops to set up. The only downside, is that at a price of INR 10,900, it feels a little costly, especially when you consider other options that offer much more in terms of customization options.

June 14, 2019

16 Core AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Beats 18 Core Intel i9-9980XE in Leaked Geekbench Scores

AMD recently announced the Ryzen 9 3950 X, the first mainstream gaming processor with 16 cores and 32 threads. And it seems like the CPU is on road to breaking more records, as leaked Geekbench benchmarks show it annihilating Intel’s flagship 18 core i9-9980XE in both single and multi-threaded workloads.

The leak comes from the reliable TUM_APISAK, where in the Geekbench 4 tests, the 3950X scored 5868 points in the single threaded benchmark and 61072 points in the multi-threaded tests. Compared to that, the 18 core Intel Core i9-9980XE scores around 5300 and 42000 in single and multi-threaded tests respectively, AND it comes with a price tag of $2000. To put things in perspective, the price of the Ryzen 9 3950X as announced by AMD is expected to be around $749.

The Ryzen 9 3950X comes with 16 cores and 32 threads, with base clock speed of 3.5 GHz and boosts up to 4.7 GHz. The TDP for the CPU is 105W.

June 14, 2019

NVIDIA RTX Super Graphics Cards Coming Soon

NVIDIA teased a ‘super’ announcement recently, via a short video. Following that, rumours starting surfacing that NVIDIA is planning to announce faster versions of their RTX graphics cards. Maybe the two are related?

Tom’s Hardware’s Igor Wallossek reports that NVIDIA will indeed be announcing better variants of RTX cards, branded as RTX Super, providing some details about the different models. The RTX Super line-up will see an increase in core counts, According to Igor, the RTX 2080 Super will make use of the TU104 GPU with 3072 CUDA Cores, with the memory boosted up to 16 Gbps, from the original 2080’s 14 Gbps. The RTX 2070 Super, on the other hand, is supposed to have 2560 CUDA Cores compared to the 2070’s 2304.

This announcement comes soon after AMD revealed its 7nm Navi based RX 5000 graphics cards at E3 earlier this week. The RTX Super will be competing directly with AMD’s Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT. Considering that DXR ray tracing is mostly supported on NVIDIA’s RTX hardware, and the increasing number of ray tracing compatible titles being announced (check out Watch Dogs Legion, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and more), NVIDIA may be in a good place to compete with the red team, especially if they price the cards right.

June 14, 2019

Space Invaders: Invincible Collection announced for Switch

Taito has announced Space Invaders: Invincible Collection (title tentative) for Switch, the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu reveals. It will launch in 2020 in Japan.

Weekly Famitsu has a four-page feature on the collection, which introduces at six titles included in the standard and special editions, including Space Cyclone, which is being ported to console for the first time. The magazine also has an interview with original Space Invaders developer Tomohiro Nishikado and Space Invaiders: Invincible Collection producer Yuuichi Toyama.

Visit the teaser website here.

June 14, 2019

Darksiders: Genesis – 24 minutes of E3 2019 gameplay

From the dawn of creation, THE COUNCIL has maintained the Balance across existence. Carrying out their orders are THE HORSEMEN, Nephilim (powerful beings spawned from the unnatural union of angels and demons) who have pledged themselves to the Council and been granted immense power. However, this power came at a tragic cost: the Horsemen were ordered to use their newfound strength to wipe out the rest of their kind. What followed was a bloody battle on Eden where the Horsemen, obeying the will of the Council, annihilated the Nephilim.

Still reeling from the events on Eden, WAR and STRIFE have been given a new assignment — LUCIFER, the enigmatic and deceptive demon king, has been plotting to upset the Balance by granting power to master demons throughout Hell. War and Strife must hunt down these masters, gather information, and ultimately fight their way through a tangled, demonic conspiracy that threatens to forever upset the Balance and unravel all of creation.

DARKSIDERS: GENESIS is an action/adventure that tears its way through hordes of demons, angels, and everything in-between on its way to Hell and back with guns blazing and swords swinging. Genesis gives players their first look at the world of DARKSIDERS before the events of the original game, as well as introduces the horseman STRIFE.

Features:

Blast angels and demons as the gunslinging Horseman Strife, playable for the first time
Swap between the powerful swordsman War and Strife instantly in frenetic, single-player gameplay
Explore the epic world of Darksiders and wreak havoc with a friend in two-player cooperative mode
Experience a brand new story campaign that takes place before the original Darksiders, exploring the origin of the Seven Seals
Grow in strength and power as you collect items, abilities, weapon enhancements, creature cores and more

June 14, 2019

Commandos 2 HD Remaster announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, and tablets

Publisher Kalypso Media and developer Yippee Entertainment have announced Commandos 2 HD Remaster for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC (Steam), Mac, Linux, iPad, and Android tablets. It will launch in Q4 2019.

The game will feature updated graphics and enhanced controls “for the best possible performance on modern gaming platforms,” according to Kalypso Media.

Here is an overview of the game, via Kalypso Media:

In Commandos 2 HD Remaster, take control of an elite group of commandos who must venture deep into enemy territory and utilize their combined expertise to complete a series of notoriously demanding missions set in World War II. In this genre-defining classic, explore interactive environments and use your commandos’ unique skillsets to complete your mission against seemingly impossible odds.

June 14, 2019

Praetorians HD Remaster announced for PS4, Xbox One, and PC

Publisher Kalypso Media and developer Torus Games have announced Praetorians HD Remasterfor PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam). It will launch in Q4 2019.

The game will feature updated graphics and enhanced controls “for the best possible performance on modern gaming platforms,” according to Kalypso Media.

Here is an overview of the game, via Kalypso Media:

In Praetorians HD Remaster, take your place in an emerging Roman Empire by proving your worth on the battlefields of Egypt, the combat theatres of Gaul and the heart of the Empire itself in Italy, in a crusade to become Emperor. Combine your units, master their varied skillsets and exploit the weaknesses of your enemies to emerge victorious. But beware – the closer you get to the Emperor, the closer you get to facing the infamous Praetorian Guard.

June 14, 2019

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered announced for PS4, PC alongside original version for Switch

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Level-5 have announced Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered for PlayStation 4 and PC (Steam), and Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witchfor Switch. Both titles will launch worldwide on September 20. The PlayStation 4 and Switch versions will be released both physically and digitally.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered is an enhanced version of the 2013-released RPG featuring upgraded graphics, while the non-remastered Switch version is a port of the original release. Here are the details, via Bandai Namco:

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered on PlayStation 4 and PC features brilliant new visual enhancements, letting PlayStation 4 players enjoy the game at 1080p resolution and with a super-smooth frame rate of 60 frames per second. PlayStation 4 Pro users can also opt for true 4K resolution at 30 frames per second, or 1440p at 60 frames per second.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch on Nintendo Switch is the first handheld iteration of the acclaimed title, letting Switch players experience the game in 720p resolution at 30 frames per second in TV mode at home, or in handheld mode on-the-go. The game retains its original dynamic fight system, combining real-time action and turn-based tactical elements, as well as the dozens of locations and hundreds of creatures that comprise the vast universe of Ni no Kuni.

Originally developed by Level-5, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch’s story unfolds through animation storyboarded and created by the legendary Studio Ghibli, with music composed by award-winning musician Joe Hisaishi. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch tells the charming yet tragic story of Oliver, a young boy who embarks on a journey to another world in the hope of bringing back his mother following a tragic incident. With a copy of the Wizard’s Companion in hand and his pal Drippy by his side, Oliver must traverse exotic lands to tame familiars, take on malevolent foes, and overcome the countless challenges that stand between him and his mother’s salvation.

Pre-orders are available now at the Bandai Namco Store (PlayStation 4, Switch).

June 14, 2019

Closers for PS4 now available in Japan

The PlayStation 4 version of Closers is now available for download via the Japanese PlayStation Store.

At the time of writing, the server is currently undergoing maintenance, so the game itself is not yet playable. Update 06/12/19 at 1:35 a.m.: Service is now in operation.

Closers is a free-to-play side-scroller action MMORPG developed by Naddic Games. The PlayStation 4 version is published by Laplace in Japan. An English version of the game is available now on Steam.