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‘Final Fantasy XV’ gets ‘Royal Edition’ complete with first-person mode

FINAL FANTASY XV ROYAL EDITION- Announcement Trailer
Square Enix’ Final Fantasy XV is a remarkably different game than it was when it originally launched in 2016. With the ability to control party members other than Prince Noctis, and an update adding an alternate version of the dreaded Chapter 13, it’s worth checking out even if you passed on it initially. And with the release of the new Royal Edition, now is the perfect time to jump in.

Coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One — the same content will be included in the Windows Edition as well — Final Fantasy XV‘s Royal Edition featuers all content originally found in the season pass, including Episode GladiolusEpisode Ignis Episode Prompto, and the multiplayer expansion. The Insomnia City Ruins have also been added to the Crown City of Insomnia area, with new side quests and enemies, and you’ll be able to control the Royal Vessel boat to explore new areas and fish — an upgrade will also be available for the off-road Regalia Type-D.

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New gameplay features will affect the moment-to-moment action in Final Fantasy XV, as well. You’ll be able to play the game in first-person perspective if you’re a crazy person, and the new “Armiger Unleashed” action will give you a boost in combat after you’ve found all “royal arms.” The new version of the game even comes with new weapons, items, and car skins, as well as additional trophies. If you already own the original version of Final Fantasy XV, you’ll be able to upgrade to the Royal Edition for an as-of-yet-undetermined price, while both the console and PC versions will sell for $50 with the base game included.

PC players interested in picking the game up should make sure their rigs are powerful enough to run it. Square Enix recommends having an Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz CPU, as well as a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU — that processor, if you can find it, will likely set you back over $1,000. In addition to 16GB of recommended RAM, the game will take up more than 155GB of storage space, so you’re going to want to make some room in advance.

Final Fantasy XV – Royal Edition and Final Fantasy XV – Windows Edition arrive on March 6.

Update: The original press release from Square Enix stated that upgrading would cost $20. However, a final price hasn’t been set.

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Popular city-builder Cities: Skylines is getting a sequel this year
A screenshot from Cities: Skylines 2's cinematic reveal trailer.

Developer Paradox Interactive hosted an Announcement Show today that featured the reveal of Cities: Skylines II, a sequel to Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive's popular city builder. 
Cities: Skylines II - Announcement Trailer
Cities: Skylines is already a very fleshed-out city-building experience thanks to eight years of updates and expansions. Now, Colossal Order is trying to up the ante by calling Cities: Skylines II a "next-generation city builder" and "the most realistic city simulation ever created" in the press release revealing the game. While specific details on this enhanced simulation are light, the developers are promising that there will be more construction and customization options, as well as deeper transport and economy systems, in the sequel. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too much longer to get those questions answered.
Although its reveal trailer is purely cinematic, it also confirms that Cities: Skylines II will launch in 2023.
While Cities: Skylines II was the most exciting announcement to come from Paradox's livestream, it wasn't the only one. Alongside expansions for games like Crusader Kings III, Across the Obelisk, Stellaris, and Europa Universalis IV, Paradox also revealed The Lamplighters League, an occult turn-based strategy game with a 1930s pulp aesthetic, sci-fi auto-battler Mechabellum, RPG Knights of Pen & Paper 3, and The Sims competitor Life by You. In fact, Life By You is getting a dedicated livestream of its own on March 20. Cities: Skylines II will be released later this year for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The Xbox channel's version of the trailer also confirms it will be a day one Xbox Game Pass title. 

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The Finals is the shake-up the competitive first-person shooter scene needs
A player stands up against a wall in a The Finals screenshot.

While I enjoy playing first-person shooters occasionally, it's a genre I've struggled to become a hardcore fan of. To me, it has stagnated, with recent Call of Duty and Battlefield games feeling like little more than rehashes of the same quick-kill-focused gameplay on maps that all blend together after a while. That's why The Finals' longer time-to-kill, unique match objectives, and focus on level destruction all feel like a breath of fresh air.
THE FINALS Closed Beta Trailer
Developed by Embark Studios, the new multiplayer shooter is a notable change of pace for a stagnating genre. Because it takes a lot of effort to defeat an opponent, and the map is continuously changing as you do so, no two matches feel quite the same. I can attest to that, as I recently went hands-on with it and had that exact experience. Lots of thrilling, emergent moments organically happened during each match, leading to some of the most memorable matches I've had playing a first-person shooter in years.
If you've always enjoyed destructible environments in your FPS games and enjoy inventive competitive shooters that aren't just trying to chase what is popular, then you'll want to check out The Finals.
Map mayhem
The Finals' primary mode, Extraction, is framed as a game show where four teams compete to earn the most money during a match. Players do this by locating vaults on a map, obtaining cash boxes, and delivering them to a cash-out station. Extra money is rewarded for kills and a team's total is halved if they are completely wiped. The basics of the FPS gameplay are approachable enough for anyone who has played a game in this genre before. That said, its longer time-to-kill also helps that mission and gives players time to appreciate just how reactive its world is.
In the Closed Beta preview build, I played on two maps based on Monaco and Seoul. Each contains points of interest connected by some indoor arenas and long outdoor corridors that you'd come to expect from an FPS map. But it only stays that way for a short time. As soon as explosives get involved, the map transforms as buildings crumble and the environment reacts to the players. It stays that way too, as developer Embark Studios' server-side technology tracks and accommodates any changes to the map.
Last year, the developers at Embark Studios told Digital Trends that they hope this technology would make other developers panic. While we don't think The Finals will go that far, it certainly handles destruction better than other games that have tried to boast similar strengths, like Crackdown 3 or Battlefield 2042. It's not only a neat technical feat, but it also opens up many organic situations you don't get in other FPS games.

For example, a building was crumbling as I retrieved a cash box and headed to a cash-out station. I was under fire, and an opponent's rocket completely destroyed the pathway to get me to the building my teammates were in. I knew I didn't want the team chasing me to get ahold of the cash box, so I sacrificed myself by throwing the vault across that gap to my teammate before proceeding to hold enemies off as they delivered it to a station.
Even the greenery reacts to the player, especially when they have a flamethrower or flame grenade. At one moment, the station my team was delivering to was out in the open in a park. Other teams were coming at us from all angles, so I threw several fire grenades, and my teammate used a flamethrower. Doing this, we set most of the park aflame, forcing our opponents into pathways where we could pick them off more easily. Floors can crumble beneath you, staircases that get you to objectives can be destroyed, and a lot of map mayhem helps define each match of The Finals.
Leaving your mark
The Finals' destruction creates some compelling dynamics, making the player feel like they are shaping the world that each match takes place in. Players can customize their characters with outfits and special loadouts ahead of matches, and some of these options allow them to set down jump pads and ziplines or use a grappling hook to improve mobility. Turrets, barriers, and mines are also equippable, which can be used to direct the flow of battle and herd opponents into certain sections of the map. One particularly memorable moment saw my team calling two elevators in Seoul, only to find that another team had put a turret in one and all of themselves in another.

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PlayStation VR2 is my first headset. Here’s what I think after one week in VR
A side view of the PlayStation VR2, which sits on a wood table.

Before my PlayStation VR2 arrived at my doorstep last week, my experience playing in VR was minimal. I'd reported on the industry and its games for years, but my actual playtime in a headset was limited to an Eve: Valkyrie demo at a GameStop ahead of PlayStation VR's launch, a couple of demos at trade shows, and one 15-minute session of Phantom: Covert Ops on Meta Quest 2 while hanging out with a friend. 
Despite claims by companies like Meta that VR would serve as the future of communication and entertainment, the technology seemed too scattershot and underdeveloped for my liking, with many competitors putting out underpowered headsets, many of which need a wire or two. That said, part of me still wondered if it would take the right headset with the right features and game library to transform the gaming medium forever. Although the Meta Quest 2 has tempted me for some time, it was the PlayStation VR2 that finally got me to bite the bullet and embrace VR.

PSVR2 is expensive at $550, but it appealed to me with its impressive specs and the fact that it only requires one wired connection to the PS5. That was all I needed to bite the bullet. Since it arrived, I've gone all-in on the tech to make up for lost time, trying out games like Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded. Although I'm impressed by the headset's power and how comfortable it is, don't consider me a convert just yet. I can't imagine it replacing traditional gaming on my PS5 or becoming my preferred social setting anytime soon, and that leaves me to wonder how high VR's ceiling can actually go.
Strapping in
My first thought when I got my PSVR2 was that the package was much smaller and lighter than I expected. VR always seemed large and clunky from an outside perspective, so I was impressed by the sleek and easy-to-unbox packaging and the headset's manageable size. Next, I had to set up the headset, which was something I was dreading as a first-time user. Surprisingly, the setup process was pretty quick after I plugged in the headset.
Within about 15 minutes, I had completed the initial setup and was already familiar with the passthrough tool. It didn't dig into my head and nose like I thought it would, mercifully. The few times I've strapped on other VR headsets, they've always felt like they're squeezing my face. That was not the case here, as I easily adjusted the headset to my liking. Even the feeling of the wire quickly became a non-factor for me as I played more and more.

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