Die Hard's John McClane hits Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops Cold War tomorrow, but we can see his in-game model now.

Once you've downloaded Black Ops Cold War's latest update, which prepares the game for the mid-season three refresh, you can see McClane as a "coming soon" operator.

I'm not sure what I was expecting! Call of Duty's McClane looks a lot like McClane from the first Die Hard film, which is what you want, really.

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Heroes of the Storm is back!

After months of slight balance patches, the team has been emerging from the ground to speak to fans again on social channels like Reddit, and now the game just got a big-ish patch on top of a new event. It's none other than the Overwatch Cosplay theme that was teased but not spoken about or announced at BlizzConline; and features outfits for several characters.

Valla is rocking the Reaper digs (Shadow Stalker), Johanna is cosplaying as Reinhardt (Gleaming Peacekeeper), Stitches is fittingly Roadhog (Hogmeat Stitches), and Raynor is Soldier 76 (Raynor 76). This joins a few other Overwatch cosmetics, like the notable Widowmaker skin for Nova: at this point, there's a lotta Overwatch in Heroes!

I have to say, all of them except the Valla skin look pretty rad. It doesn't really feel "Reaper" to me, while all of the others are so obvious at a glance, even with a behind the back overhead view. Given that they cost 525 gems or 600 shards for each tint (Hogmeat Stitches is a little more), I would have liked a little more flair.

If you're not into buying skins, you can check out the full live patch notes here. Coincidentally, all of the above heroes have been reworked this week. And the loot boxes have finally been changed from the winter event to Nexomania II.

Tomorrow sees the launch of Call of Duty's season three mid-season, kicking off a selection of neat in-game content across both Black Ops: Cold War and battle royale title Warzone. Activision has shared details of the incoming "80s Action Heroes" banner, which brings a couple of silver screen legends to the first-person shooter.

Leading the charge are new premium operator bundles for John Rambo and Die Hard's John McClane, which add new operators and weapon skins as well as alternate knives, watches, and other themed accessories. These bundles will only be available for a limited time, and are expected to sell for a meaty 2400 CoD Points each.

In keeping with the movie theme, several new locations are being added to Warzone's Verdansk map, including the P.O.W. camp and CIA Outpost from 1985's Rambo: First Blood Part II, and a replication of Nakatomi Plaza from the fantastic 1989 classic, Die Hard. New modes "Rambo's Gun Game" and "Die HardPoint" will also be temporarily added to mode rotation.

I wish there was a directory to look up developers that did specific things in games that I love. I know LinkedIn will list people's jobs like Storyboard Artist or Narrative Designer, but one thing I've actually learned in this job is that these titles can mean wildly different things at different companies. And they're not specific enough for my needs: I want one that goes "person who did the animation for the opening credits on Episode 4 of Tales From The Borderlands" or "absolute hero who wrote the character barks for Warcraft III".

I have been playing the Mass Effect Legendary Edition recently because I am only human. And for whatever reason it has made me really want to find and congratulate "person who did all the diegetic computer noises in Mass Effect".

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Resident Evil 7 is now Capcom's second best selling title of all time.

The post Resident Evil 7 Has Shipped 9 Million Units Worldwide appeared first on Siliconera.

[Update: The pre-patch is now live, and you can begin the process of transferring your characters between each classic game. This is what your launcher will look like going forward. There's an option for "Burning Crusade Classic" as well as "World of Warcraft Classic."

Upon logging in I was able to make the switch and it was relatively painless. After changing one of my Druids over to Burning Crusade, the game told me I could clone my character into WoW Classic for $15 at a later date, which I'm electing not to do. Simple enough!

I gotta say, fumbling of the clone fee aside, it really takes me back seeing that Dark Portal splash screen again.]

WoW Classic is about to be cleaved in two.

On one side of the Dark Portal: Classic Classic. On the other, Burning Crusade Classic. We knew this day would come, and for months we tried to figure out how this would actually work. But just recently via Blizzard's BlizzConline stream, we know how it'll work. And it involves two completely different servers.

When May 18 hits, the "pre-expansion patch" will go live in Classic. At this point you'll have two choices: you can bring them forward into the new expansion or stay in the old hotness (which will confusingly be brought forward into new "old" servers). Or, you can "clone them" for a fee.

I have played a lot of Mass Effect since the remaster came out on Friday, but I haven't really... done anything. "I know we're busy hunting for Saren," a member of the crew will say, before asking if we can make a personal detour for them. I look back at our flight history: the last six planets we landed on had nothing but space debris and the occasional Thresher Maw. Since picking up Liara, we've essentially been on a joyride through every solar system in the galaxy. Look, Saren could be hiding on any one of these uncharted worlds - it would be irresponsible of me not to check everywhere.

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Nintendo has announced five more retro games for its Switch Online catalogue, bringing the service's overall total of NES and SNES classics to 104.

But while Nintendo noted it had passed the 100 game milestone, Nintendo fans are less impressed with the games on offer.

May's list of additions includes SNES games Caveman Ninja (also known as Joe & Mac), Magical Drop 2, Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 and Spanky's Quest, plus Ninja JaJaMaru-kun for NES. Here's a look at all of those in action:

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It's been a while since Call Of Duty: Warzone was blasted into the 1980s, and there's no letting up with the theme. To mark the game's Season 3 Reloaded update, grizzled 80s action heroes Rambo and John McClane are dropping into Verdansk tonight, along with some new map locations too.

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Senran Kagura series creator Kenichiro Takaki will direct and produce the upcoming title.

The post CyGames Announces A New Development Project Titled Project GAMM appeared first on Siliconera.

If I'm going into space - if I really have to - I'm going alone, and I want to be fairly knocked about by the wonders up there from start to finish. I'm after a certain kind of wonder - something lonely, sparse, long forgotten. The kind of wonder you turn over in your head again and again when you're back on Earth. The kind of thing that stays with you because it refuses to fully resolve and tidy itself away.

MirrorMoon EP, by the Italian micro-studio Santa Ragione, captures what I'm after better than anything I've ever played before or since. If you ask me, it's just about the peak of what video games can do. You spawn into an elaborate and distinctly '70s-tinged cockpit - you basically move around the cosmos my manipulating an eight-track mixed with an old floppy drive - and you then bounce from one planet to another in a roomy but manageable universe, heading down to one surface and then the next and solving a peculiarly wordless kind of puzzle when you get there. I've made it sound like No Man's Sky a bit when I've tried to tell other people about it, but actually it's the complete opposite: everything you find here is hand-made and bespoke. It's curated, but with plenty of room left for the player to make it their own.

Watching speedrunners strut their stuff in Summer Games Done Quick always makes for entertaining viewing, and this year's event looks like another banger. There's GeoGuessr runs, blindfolded Super Mario 64, and even a Destiny 2 Deep Stone Crypt raid. And as usual, it's all for a good cause.

Summer Games Done Quick 2021 is scheduled to take place between 4th-11th July, with a packed-out timetable and a real mix of games. There's Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Nintendogs, Outer Wilds, Dishonored, Dead Space, and a game called "Fight Crab" which has certainly caught my interest. And that's only scratching the surface: make sure to have a peek at the full schedule over here.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this year's event is once again taking place online. You can watch the whole thing over on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel.

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You can now stream the Monster Hunter Rise OST entirely for free through spotify.

The post Monster Hunter Rise OST is now Available to Stream on Spotify appeared first on Siliconera.

While ethereal sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong remains high on the wishlist of many video game fans, developer Team Cherry has warned its followers to temper their expectations going into the E3 season.

Speaking on its official Discord, Team Cherry's marketing head, Matthew Griffin stated, in no uncertain terms, that the team does not have any blogs or announcements scheduled for E3 this year — suggesting that the charming Hornet and her long-anticipated subterranean adventure still remain some way away from seeing the daylight. The statement was then shared to the Hollow Knight Reddit by user Echo_The_Shadow.

Hollow Knight: Silksong was originally drafted as a DLC expansion to the best-selling 2017 release, Hollow Knight. However, as scope increased and the project became more ambitious, it was decided to make Silksong a fully-formed sequel instead. While this update will no doubt come as a disappointment to fans — who have eagerly anticipated a release date for some time now, the Hollow Knight pedigree suggests that Silksong will be more than worth the wait when Hornet and her trusty needle finally venture into the world of Pharloom.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is in development for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Going by the art for top-down cyberpunk shooter The Ascent, I thought I'd be in for a thrill ride. It's bold and red and has these three menacing characters with guns that look ready for violence. All set in a gritty cyberpunk world as well? "Sheesh", I thought. "This is a recipe for a raucous time, and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle just how darn unchained it's going to get."

So when I got hands on with The Ascent, I was surprised to find I felt quite indifferent about it all. I'd expected to coat walls with human bolognese and clog up machinery with cooked frags, but the kitchen wasn't quite as frantic as that. Instead, I'd say everything was at more of a simmer as opposed to a rolling boil.

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The stronger the light, the darker the shadows. Narita Brian's one of the most talented uma musumes, but at what cost?

The post Uma Musume Pretty Derby Introduces Racing Monster Narita Brian appeared first on Siliconera.

So first up I have to really compliment the sculpt of this new amiibo figure. Job well done, folks.

A new Zelda amiibo? Yes. With loftwing? That's a two for one! This figure is super rad and I dig that games like Skyward Sword are getting commemorative figures. For the most part, 2020 and 2021 have been dead on the amiibo front (although this year has already surpassed 2020). Onto the bad news.

My hype dwindled a bit after watching the below trailer, which introduces the duo. So normally the game offers "fast travel" using specific statues in-game to go back to the main hub (Skyloft). But with the amiibo, you can just tap the figure to the NFC point, and instantly travel back to Skyloft. Even better, when you use it again, you'll go right back where you left off.

Am I crazy or is this a basic remaster quality of life feature? I'm typically all for amiibo unlocking cosmetic content (even "early unlocks" are fairly innocuous), but this is something a lot of people probably expected to be in the base game. If this figure is hard to track down too (just like the recent Monster Hunter Stories 2 figures, which aren't even being sold online in the US), it'll be even more of a pain.

As a reminder, we've kept a running tally of every amiibo figure released to date since 2014. You can check it out here.

I'm actually fairly impressed with Pokemon Sword and Shield's in-game support over the past one and a half years.

I know I know, there's plenty to criticize overall. But the team has been rolling out Gigantamax events and distribution methods on a regular basis this entire time, giving hardcore fans something to look forward to when they log in. They're not game-changing to be sure, but I love that at pretty much any point when I feel like getting back into either game there's something there. Nintendo has been doing the same thing for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: it's great.

So anyway, the next event is actually crowdsourced through a fan voting process on this Twitter account, and you can pick the items that will be doled out to plays "later this summer," as part of the Players Cup IV broadcasts. 

Earlier today, soon after singer Gen Hoshino and actor Yui Aragaki announced they had gotten hitched, the phrase “Nintendo-kon” (任天堂婚) or “Nintendo marriage” began trending on Twitter in Japan.

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Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, the new CGI series from Netflix, has today received a new trailer and an 8th July release date.

Our best look yet at the Leon S. Kennedy-starring show, this two-minute montage has vomiting zombies, zombie rats and a hulking big thing which may be the series' big bad.

Let's take a look:

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Treyarch has added sniper flinch to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War as part of the game's latest big update.

Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer fans have called for some form of sniper flinch ever since the game came out last year.

Flinch is the disruption caused to your aim when you're hit by enemy fire. Sniper rifles are seen by some as overpowered in Black Ops Cold War because of their distinct lack of flinch.

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"You know where the root of terror comes from? It starts with fear."

The post Resident Evil Infinite Darkness Release Date Announced With Official Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

As the great graphics card shortage continues, Nvidia have announced new steps to try and get more GPUs into the hands of gamers. Following on from their decision to reduce the hash rate of the RTX 3060 in February, Nvidia will now be doing the same with all newly manufactured RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 cards to make them less desirable for crytpocurrency miners.

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Folks, I've spent over 10 hours power washing, and I feel great.

Ahem. I've spent over 10 hours power washing houses, cars, and even a skate park... inside a simulation PC game. I know what you're thinking — you've got that trademark Simpsons "Yard Work Simulator" image ready to go — and I don't disagree. But for what it is, this game is surprisingly well-thought-out.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it "fun," but I'm enjoying this comfortingly mundane experience.

The Entertainment Software Association, the industry body responsible for making E3 happen, has announced a new partnership with the International Game Developers Association, which it hopes will increase the presence of indies at E3. The partnership will begin with E3 2021, which is due to run entirely online from June 12 to June 15, but the intention is for it to continue and grow with subsequent years' events.

"We are reimagining E3 in a variety of ways, and part of that is engaging with indie developers by offering opportunities to help highlight them and their work on a global stage," said ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis. "Indie developers are a critical part of the video game industry, and we're thrilled to expand our offerings to create opportunities to showcase their work worldwide."

The partnership will help IGDA members to get their work seen on one of the biggest stages in the industry, with membership to the nonprofit open to anyone making games on any scale. IGDA members will be offered "special packages and opportunities to be included in E3 2021," though neither organization has yet specified what these opportunities may involve. In the past, indies have mainly been shown at E3 as part of showcases by larger publishers such as Microsoft or Sony.

It looks like there's only two months to go before we get to see the dynamic duo of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield back in action. Netflix has announced that its upcoming series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness will hit the streaming service July 8.

For the first time ever, a player has completed Grand Theft Auto V without taking any hits or damage. The feat was accomplished by UnNameD, who posted the full run on YouTube with a comment saying it took 48 attempts to finally complete the game with no hits.

To make sure absolutely no damage was taken during the run, UnNameD used a mod that gives the player just 1HP, ensuring any hit would be a one hit KO. Trevor's special "Red Mist" ability was also disabled, and UnNameD additionally didn't use body armor for the full run.

The run is impressive for a game like Grand Theft Auto 5, where shootouts are often chaotic and a single stray bullet has the potential to end a promising run. Besides shootouts, players aiming for a no-hit run on GTA also have to be careful drivers, with even low-impact car crashes having the potential to deal damage. A few players in the speedrunning community have been aiming for a no-hit run on GTA V, but UnNameD is the first to show proof of completion.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I was too young to be playing this game when I did. Still though, when I opened my PS3 and me and my younger brother got Modern Warfare 2 alongside Little Big Planet, guess which one we were all over first?

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Nintendo has announced that it will be adding four new titles to the Nintendo Switch Online Collection app — a compilation of classic NES & SNES releases that are readily accessible to all users who have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Joining the roster on May 26 will be Jaleco's Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, a rarity that first launched for the Famicom back in 1985. From the 16-bit SNES era, the Online Collection will be receiving Natsume's 1991 action title Spanky's Quest, Culture Brain's 1991 sports release Super Baseball Simulator 1.000, Data East's arcade platformer Joe & Mac: Cavemen Ninja and, also from Data East, one of my personal favorite puzzle games, Magical Drop II, which is getting its first ever western release.

Now, admittedly this is hardly the most exciting or world-renown of releases, but it's definitely an interesting batch of oddities. The Nintendo Switch Online Collection seems to be a solid blend of the obvious (Super Metroid, Super Mario World, StarFox) and the sublime (Wild Guns, River City Ransom, Gradius). But I hope that Nintendo will continue to pull both popular and unknown releases from its extensive back catalogue of yesteryear's hits.

We’re so used to video game delays that we now come to expect them, doubly so during a global pandemic, but in 2021 even video game sneakers are throwing their release dates out the window.

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Japan's lineup will include Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, while other regions get Spanky's Quest and Super Baseball Simulator 1.000.

The post Nintendo Switch Online Games Library Update Arrives Next Week appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s about time someone pledged to do something about all the...stuff that keeps happening in this good fair city of ours.

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Nintendo is releasing a new Amiibo figure alongside The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD this July. The figure features Zelda with her Loftwing and allows you to travel between the surface and the sky more quickly in the game.

As Nintendo details in the trailer below, scanning the Zelda & Loftwing Amiibo while you're on the surface will let you return to the sky from anywhere, without having to use a Loftwing statue. If you scan the Zelda & Loftwing Amiibo again while in the sky, you'll return to the same location on the surface as before.

Given how often you'll need to travel between the surface and the sky over the course of the game, this is a handy ability, although it's curious to see it locked behind an Amiibo figure. It's also unclear if the game will be compatible with any existing Zelda Amiibo, or if the Skyward Sword Link figure will receive a reprint.

When The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD launches in July, a Zelda & Loftwing amiibo will appear alongside it.

The post Zelda & Loftwing amiibo Announced for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD appeared first on Siliconera.

Amiibo granting special powers in a Nintendo game is nothing new, it’s half the point of the things existing, but normally those powers are fairly tame, or simply shower the player in gifts. This new Skyward Sword HD one, though, is very disappointing, because it bestows an ability that all players should have, all…

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Netflix's Resident Evil TV Series Infinite Darkness finally has a release date set for this July, giving horror fans another experience from this franchise following the launch of Village. The upcoming animated series will be a new adventure, bringing back Leon Kenney and Claire Redfield once more.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness takes place in the year 2006, two years post-Resident Evil 4. The series starts off with the U.S. President, Ashley's father, having to evacuate the White House after yet another hostile takeover takes place. In the universe that can't seem to catch a break, fans of the iconic horror series from Capcom have a new adventure to partake in, and it's set to go live on July 8.

I will show you fear.
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. July 8. pic.twitter.com/fbpWAJYEym

Here we have GTAV player UnNameD not only finishing the entire single-player storyline in a blistering nine hours, but somehow doing the entire thing without taking a single punch, stab or stray bullet in the process.

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Can you handle her Dark Burning Magic?

The post Pop Up Parade Dark Magician Girl Figure Is Ready to Duel appeared first on Siliconera.