The Summer Games Done Quick 2021 schedule is now out, and I’m so excited. Taking place from July 4-11, the online speedrunner charity event will feature over 100 full-tilt sprints through games famous and obscure, with the proceeds raised going to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières.
It's the time of the year, folks, it's time to celebrate yet another Overwatch anniversary! The latest Overwatch Anniversary event allows players to dive back into fan-favorite events from the past, including Halloween Terror, Winter Wonderland, and more. The limited-time festivities also bring a few new Legendary and Epic skins for our heroes to don. Here's what you need to know!
The latest Overwatch Anniversary event kicks off on May 18, today, and will run until May 28. Five years of heroes, five years of piecing together a deeper lore than what meets the eye, and five years of Zarya getting shafted out of cool skins. Kidding on that last part. Mostly.
Click here to watch embedded mediaMissed out on some seasonal events in the past? No fear, here's what you can check out with the ongoing celebration going on now:
And nothing would be worth that competitive edge without some new digs on the line:
Do you like Mass Effect?... If you answered, “I, SPACEMAN,” then you probably already own the Legendary Edition and may find the conversation that happens in this week's Weekspot redundant. If you checked the box that said, “the only renegade I know of is one-time WCW Television Champion, The Renegade, but I'd love to hear some chat on a remaster of a celebrated RPG trilogy," then I've got just the podcast for you.
Earlier this month, Square Enix confirmed that Fort Condor, a popular minigame from Final Fantasy VII, was making a comeback with the remaster's INTERmission episode for Intergrade. Now, we've got a few more details about what Fort Condor will have to offer players, including a few new screenshots.
Fort Condor is a strategic minigame that is a highly beloved facet of the Final Fantasy universe, so to see it back is a neat little nod as to how the Remake continues to bring back what we love the most. In a recent PlayStation Blog Japan post, a closer look at Fort Condor was revealed, as well as we few details about the enhancements made to this game within a game.
Microsoft's official Xbox Wireless Headset is one of the best value wireless headsets for PCs and Xbox consoles alike, and it's finally back in stock at Currys PC World after months of unavailability. If you use code GAMINGFND3, you can also get it for £5 off with free next-day delivery, dropping it to an attractive £85. If you're playing on Xbox and PC, or on PC with an Xbox controller, it's a very solid pickup for the money.
Square Enix shared FF7R INTERmission screenshots showing how Nero, Ramuh, Scarlet and the Fort Condor minigame look in the FFVII Remake DLC.
The post New FF7R INTERmission Screenshots Show Fort Condor, Nero, Ramuh and Scarlet appeared first on Siliconera.
The Game Band, the indie outfit behind the fantasy sports sim/metafictional narrative experiment Blaseball, has secured funding to keep making more. Today, the studio announced a "significant investment" from Makers Fund, with additional investments from 1Up Ventures and Matthew Ball.
The investment will be used "first and foremost" to pay the Blaseball team for all of the hard work that's been put into the development of the ever-growing community sports sim, and then to grow the team, according to founder and creative director Sam Rosenthal.
"We’ve read all of your feedback and have so many ideas of our own," wrote Rosenthal in the statement today. "Now we’ll have the resources to be able to start to put some of them into action. And finally, the investment enables us to look to the future and plan out new projects without the fear of going under."
Blaseball will also remain free-to-play, and The Game Band will stay an independent studio. A subsequent tweet from the studio's account also confirmed that a mobile app is in development.
If you're unfamiliar with Blaseball, it's maybe best described as fantasy sports with an emphasis on fantasy, and with a heaping help of community participation. Players can bet (fake, not real, money) on simulated matches playing throughout the week, and spend that currency to vote for decrees and decisions that will alter the future of the league.
If you subscribe to Game Informer's digital edition, you can now read our deep dives on Psychonauts 2, Double Fine, and Tim Schafer. Following today's cover reveal, our digital issue is now live to subscribers on web browsers, iPad/iPhone, and Android devices. Individual issues will be available for purchase later today. You can download the apps to view the issue by following this link. All of these digital options are included in a standard subscription.
The issue launches later this week on our third-party subscription apps including Kindle and Nook.
Not a digital subscriber yet? Convert your existing print subscription or start a new subscription here.
The midseason update also includes new guns, multiplayer maps, and game modes
As part of this week's Season Three Reloaded update, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is getting a raft of new content.
As well as Rambo and John McClane as brand new operators, and the baseball bat melee weapon and AMP63 pistol, Treyarch's shooter gets two new Multiplayer maps, the new main quest for Zombies' Outbreak mode, and Rambo and Die Hard twists on classic game modes.
The headline here is the arrival of Standoff, a 6v6 map first introduced in Black Ops 2. This is a medium-sized map with a three-lane feel - and an exploding van.
It may be a while before more Hollow Knight Silksong news appears, as Team Cherry confirmed it hasn't scheduled any E3 2021 announcements.
The post Hollow Knight Developer Team Cherry Hasn’t Scheduled Any E3 Announcements appeared first on Siliconera.
The Game Band, makers of quirky browser sports game Blaseball, have raised $3 million in a recent seed round, the studio announced today. This investment, made possible by a venture capital firm known as Makers Fund, will be put towards expanding the development team, building a mobile Blaseball app, and other…
[Update: The Nintendo Switch release of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has been rescheduled for May 20, 2021. Black Isle called the delay "an unfortunate set of circumstances out of our control."]
There's a new Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance on the way, and today, Black Isle and Interplay have released a re-release of the classic Baldur's Gate variation of Dark Alliance. It's out now on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, but the Nintendo Switch version has hit a snag.
On Twitter, Black Isle Studios posted a statement saying that "due to unforeseen issues," it would be delaying Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance's Switch launch for a few days. "We're incredibly sorry about this and we're working hard to remedy this as quickly as possible."
Hey all,
Due to an unforeseen issue on the Nintendo Switch store, weâre going to have to delay the launch for a few days to fix it.
Weâre incredibly sorry about this and weâre working hard to remedy this as quickly as possible.
Thanks for your patience! pic.twitter.com/qw3h8hey1L
The original Mass Effect trilogy, let's be honest, had a ton of bugs, some pacing issues, and a few other odds and ends that could have used a little tweaking. Luckily, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition does said tweaking, including fixing an assumed mistake with a particular NPC that was quite literally the wrong race. Hear me out.
For those that played the first game, you may remember an NPC named Elanos Haliat. In the original trilogy, this character was a human, which made no sense given the context surrounding his character. According to the vanilla first game, Haliat is a pirate and a renowned leader within the Terminus system, an area outside of the law. When players met him, it was revealed that he spearheaded the invasion on Elysium against humans (those that opted into the War Hero profile for Shepard will be familiar with this).
Activision has confirmed some new points of interest coming to Call of Duty: Warzone's map this week as part of the Season Three Reloaded update and the '80s action movie hero event.
From 20th May, Nakatomi Plaza from Die Hard will appear in Downtown for a limited time. This is the tallest single structure seen in Warzone, and includes five floors of space Die Hard fans will find familiar.
Nakatomi Plaza replaces the Broadcast Tower and surrounding blocks in Downtown's southern district. It houses multiple optional missions, including exploring the tower for supply boxes, defusing C4 on the roof, and even interrupting an arms deal. There's also an objective to crack the Nakatomi Plaza vault and escape with its riches. Expect loads of players to be looking for the keys to the vault, though.
The 80’s Action Heroes event in Call of Duty begins soon on May 20. Yes, this means you can get skins for Die Hard’s John McClane and Rambo. These are completely new operators and not just skins for existing ones. Yes, this also means you can do battle at Nakatomi Plaza in Warzone. Maybe if you set it up just right, you can replicate some of those epic Die Hard moments. Verdansk and Warzone are in for some big shake ups!
Click here to watch embedded mediaNakatomi Plaza features five floors of playable space and is the tallest building in Warzone, and is expected to appear in Verdansk for a limited time only. Like the major motion picture, Nakatomi Plaza features an elaborate and difficult to crack vault - perhaps you might be able to get in and collect the loot!
The situation in Gaza is dire. Israeli raids have killed over 200 Palestinians in the past week, at least 42 of them on Sunday alone. They’ve also destroyed more than 500 homes, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians homeless—a stunningly bleak continuation of decades of apartheid and aggression. During tragedies…
Mobster strategy game Empire Of Sin will add mod support later this year as part of an update named 'The Precinct', publishers Paradox Interactive announced today. That will also introduce new ways to streamline running your criminal empire. This future news comes alongside the launch of a more bug-focused patch today.
Square Enix opened pre-orders for the FFXIV x Citizen watches for the Warrior of Light and Warrior of Darkness, and they cost $350-400.
The post FFXIV Citizen Watches Cost $350-400 appeared first on Siliconera.
Damn, it feels good to be back on the Normandy.
Booting up the Mass Effect Legendary Edition for the first time last week, I was hit with waves of emotions. Dueling swathes of nostalgia and newfound wonder at seeing this, all this, in a single package slammed me over the head. I've played through the whole trilogy a couple times, and through the first game the most; yet booting it up here, in 2021, in the Legendary Edition, I couldn't help but feel a little warm about jetting off in the Normandy once again.
I'm currently playing my way through the trilogy, and we'll be looking to do a more holistic review once I've seen the whole thing start-to-finish, as it's clear there are some changes littered throughout the saga. It's worth checking in now though, after I've seen credits roll in roughly 25 hours of the first Mass Effect, to see what the Legendary Edition is up to thus far. It's important to note that this is a remaster—so while the gameplay has been tuned and even some content adjusted, this is not a remake on the scale of Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy VII.
EA Sports PGA Tour arrives next Spring, EA announced yesterday. The release window seems to coincide with the 2022 Master Tournament, one of golf’s four major championships that will appear exclusively in the upcoming sim along with the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and The Open Championship.
The announcement comes before the start of the 2021 PGA Championship, which begins this week on May 20 and takes place at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Next year’s event is scheduled to take place at the Southern Hills Country Club from April 4-10. EA has confirmed that both of these PGA Championships will be included in EA Sports PGA Tour.
EA also revealed the game’s event leaderboards will include the “Team of 20”, which are the PGA Golf Professionals that qualify for the PGA Championship each year. Additionally, the title will feature an extensive tutorial system and coaching challenges designed with input by the PGA Education and Player Development Departments. EA touts that the lessons will help players improve their golf game both on the virtual and real-life courses.
Sony promised us more PC conversions of their stellar first party development output and while Horizon Zero Dawn illustrated that this is far from a simple process, Days Gone is on another level. The upgrades are strategically chosen but effective - and performance is solid on both Nvidia and AMD hardware. In fact, there are one or two touches here and there included in this game that really hope to see other developers bring to their own titles, especially when it comes to configurability. While we're not getting the ultimate package here - there's no ray tracing and disappointingly, no DLSS - there's no doubt that this is a solid, impressive port.
At the all-digital GDC 2021 Sucker Punch†s Jason Connell will discuss how an American team worked to ship a game about Feudal Japan that felt real and authentic. ...
Evercade Atari, Data East, Gaelco, and Technos cartridges are on the way and will debut at the same time as the Evercade VS.
The post Evercade Atari, Data East, Gaelco and Technos Carts Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.
Activision has released a new trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone that shows off Rambo in action.
The video, below, reveals how Rambo looks in Activision's mega-shooter. We see the '80s action hero leap out of a chopper at the start of a Warzone game, parachute into the action, and use his iconic bow and arrow. There's a lot of shouting while firing guns, as you'd expect.
There's a lot relating to Die Hard here, too. There's a brief shot of what looks like Nakatomi Plaza in Warzone:
Movie heroes John McClane and John Rambo are the stars of the midseason patch
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is getting some improvements on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series next week, with a free upgrade that will bring these console versions to the same standard as the "PC edition at high settings".
Arriving on 25th May, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrade will allow the game's engine to "run at a much higher performance, bringing improvements to lighting, texture resolution, and other visual effects thanks to the powerful hardware." The press release from Deep Silver explains this will bring framerates up to 60fps with dynamic 4k resolution.
Xbox Series S users will be able to choose between two modes depending on how they want the game to run. There's Performance Mode, in which gameplay is locked at 60fps with 1080p resolution, or Beauty Mode, which provides an upscaled 4k resolution but a framerate of 30fps. PlayStation 5 users, meanwhile, get Activities support and a "subtle signature Saints purple glow on the DualSense controller". I guess you'd have to get the new black DualSense controller if you wanted the full Saints Row colour scheme.
The former free-to-play browser game is now available as a single purchase title on Steam.
The post Japanese Strategy Game Seiken Manifestia Now Available on Steam appeared first on Siliconera.
It was pouring down rain on Akihabara. The girls dressed as maids had an extra layer of transparent raincoat on, and I was happy to find that basically every shop carries cheap, plastic umbrellas for 500 yen. I was exhausted after a two-week trip around the country by rail, carrying a backpack roughly the size of a refrigerator. My back had a knot in it, I wasn’t sleeping well, and my constant nausea meant the only thing I could put in my stomach that night was a donut and a cup of tea from Mister Donut.
It was 2014, and most people near me couldn’t believe that I’d be traveling Japan alone. The idea seemed to come out of nowhere. I’d never traveled by myself before, it was a rare day that I wasn’t grappling with anxiety, and I’d spent most of my life as an extremely picky eater. I was a homebody, an introvert; hardly the worldly traveler. So what suddenly changed? Why did I make such an effort to see another country?
It was a video game. One that never saw release in North America.
In 2005, Double Fine released the original Psychonauts. It was the studio’s first game, and it put the developer on the map as a creative force that wasn’t afraid to take chances. It also ended with one hell of a cliffhanger that has left fans guessing for almost 16 years. In a matter of months, Double Fine will finally answer some of those questions with the release of Psychonauts 2. But this psychonautical platformer is more than just a standard sequel – it could easily be the studio’s biggest, most ambitious project to date.
For this month’s cover story, we take a deep dive into the creation of Psychonauts 2. We spent several hours with the designers and artists working on the game and walked away with a better understanding of psychic Razputin Aquato’s continuing journey. Double Fine gave us a sneak peek at one of Raz’s new abilities, detailed the variety of gameplay fans can expect in each level, and explained its approach to boss battles.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 has been released on iPad and iPad Pro.
This is apparently a proper, full fat port. There are no surprise new microtransactions or anything like that. It's the full game, Gift Bag DLCs included, as you remember it on PC or consoles. And it costs £23.99 (check regional pricing).
It's been developed over two years by Larian and Russian partner Elveris. DOS2 iPad has touch controls, obviously, but also supports mouse and keyboard as well as game pads, such as the PS5 pad.
