Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is set to debut on May 25 on PC, PS4, and Switch.

It's great, because these sorts of things can sometimes only hit one platform: and at that point, a wide variety of people (basically everyone) can experience it. And you should! Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is an absolute classic, and bolstered the RPG genre far more than the "Dante from the Devil May Cry series" memes.

You can get a look at a new primer today too, as Atlus just debuted a new trailer called "The World's Rebirth." It helps ease players into the idea of a hellscape Tokyo, and reminds us that the "easier difficulty level of Merciful" is free DLC for all, and that it has suspended save options (anywhere) and Japanese and English voiceovers.

It's a small miracle that SMT III is returning like this, as the treasured PS2 release is something I talk about a lot with folks, but never really get to show them in earnest. At this point Atlus could basically remaster every SMT game and people would eat it up. Persona is the darling, but SMT deserves its day again.

In 2016, the computer scientist Andrew Ng compared worrying about superintelligent AI to worrying about overpopulation on Mars. We haven't even landed on the planet, he said, so why on Earth should we start freaking out? Modern AI can pull some snazzy tricks, sure, but it's a zillion miles away from presenting an existential threat to humanity.

The problem with that line of reasoning is that it fails to take into account just how long it might take us to solve what AI researchers call "the alignment problem", and what onlookers like me call "some pretty freaky shit". There are a lot of ideas I'm going to have to zoom through to explain why, but the key points are: Superintelligent AI could emerge very quickly if we ever design an AI that's good at designing AI, the product of such a recursive intelligence explosion may well have goals that don't align with our own, and there's little reason to think it would let us flick the off switch.

As people like philosopher Nick Bostrom are fond of saying, the concern isn't malevolence - it's competence. He's the one who came up with that thought experiment about an AI that sets about turning the entire universe into paperclips, a fantasy which you can and should live out through this free online click 'em up. A particularly spicy part of the apocalyptic meatball is that by giving an AI almost literally any goal, we'd likely also be inadvertently giving it certain instrumental goals, like maximising its own computing power or removing any agent that might get in its way.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has new maps this morning, four months after Activision left the game behind to focus on Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

After downloading this morning's mammoth mid-season two update, Modern Warfare fans were surprised to see the Killhouse map added to Multiplayer alongside the new Killhouse 24/7 playlist.

Killhouse originally appeared in Infinity Ward's ground-breaking Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and it was spotted in the files of 2019's Modern Warfare back in February 2020.

Read more

It's a very important day for those who worship at the altar of Isaac. Today sees the long-awaited release of The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, the "final" chapter in the grim, gross, and skin-crawling twin-stick series that has been entertaining freaks 'n' geeks since the franchise' inception back in 2011.

Described by creator Ed McMillen as "the best version" of the unholy roguelike, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance sees the title fine-tuned to as close to perfection as the series can get. Repentance is jam-packed with content, adding new playable characters, paths, and chapters alongside, over 100 new enemies, a new final boss, seven extra challenges, four-player co-op support, and "an impossible number" of gameplay tweaks, mechanic adjustments, and visual improvements.

Earlier this week, Fortnite was running a special "Mystery in Croft Manor" playlist.

The gist is that you'd dive into Lara Croft's crib (who made her Fortnite debut this season) to investigate a mysterious set of artifacts, and end up doing a little puzzle action platformer test in the process. It was short and sweet, but now it's out of the usual playlist rotation as of today.

And that's fine! Because you can still redeem the reward: a Lara Croft spray item. After finishing the questline you're granted access to a code. The code you get is not unique, so you can use now: even after the map is out of the main menu (I just tested it this morning!).

Just head to this page and redeem this code: Z4A33-NLKR2-V9X34-G3682.

Two more veterans from Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan have taken their leave of the company, just one day before the developer/publisher begins its restructure process - which will see the studio shrink its workforce and dial down production, shifting focus to Astro's Playroom developer Team ASOBI.

Shinsuke Saito announced his departure from SIE Japan in a very succinct message on Twitter earlier this morning. Saito is an artist, animator, and character designer, responsible for the creation of popular protagonists such as Kat from the world-bending 2012 Gravity Rush. Saito was also art director for 2017 sequel Gravity Rush 2.

Also leaving SIE Japan is Kentaro Motomura, who has had the prestige and good fortune to be involved with the development of titles such as Bloodborne, Wild Arms, Dark Cloud, and Everybody's Golf. While Motomura did not note any specific plans, he intends on continuing in the field of game development.

If this past February marked TV’s first steps toward its previous densely packed state, then April represents a leap. There are nearly as many promising returns as there are intriguing premieres (in the case of Dick Wolf’s latest spin-off, a combination of the two). Along with new episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, A…

Read more...

Today another veteran developer announced his departure from PlayStation’s beloved Sony Japan Studio.

Announcing his departure is Shunsuke Saito, mostly known for his work on the Gravity Rush series as character designer and art director.

The announced was made on Twitter, alongside a lovely illustration of Gravity Rush protagonist Kat.

You can check it out below.

Saito-san is just the latest of a veritable exodus of talent from Sony’s Japan Studio, including a group led by Gravity Rush and Siren creator Keiichiro Toyama, who formed Bokeh Game Studio and producer Masami Yamamoto.

This is Yekaterina Lisina, a bronze medal-winning Olympian with the Russian basketball team, and now model, with what is surely the most 1:1 cosplay possible of Resident Evil’s Lady Dimitrescu.

Read more...

Fans of mythic RPG series The Witcher were understandably stoked when they heard that the 2015 release The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would be making the jump to next-gen platforms. But it seems that hype should be quelled for the time being, as developer CD Projekt RED isn't expecting the port to hit the market until later in 2021.

As clarified by CDPR's PR manager Radek Grabowski, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is confirmed for "the second half of 2021," when the epic adventure will be released as both a standalone purchase for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and as a free upgrade for those who already own the original release. (So maybe it grab it on the cheap before then, if you haven't purchased it already.)

The next-gen edition of The Witcher 3 will not only include all previously released DLC content, but it will also come enhanced with ray-traced graphics, significantly reduced load times, and various other technical and aesthetic improvements. While Witcher 3 was a best-seller, and has been played by more than its fair share of monster slayers, this new edition will probably make it worth saddling up for another jaunt through The Continent.

YouTube just announced that, “in response to creator feedback around well-being and targeted dislike campaigns,” the site is testing some new designs that “don’t show the public dislike count.”

Read more...

Following a brief tease, high-end Danish audio brand Bang & OIufsen has revealed their first wireless gaming headset made in partnership with Xbox and Microsoft, the suitably expensive Beoplay Portal. Sporting the signature look of Bang & OIufsen products, this new wireless kid on the block brings with it new features than the average headset out there.

With just a push of a button, the Bang & OIufsen Beoplay Portal can instantly pair with the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, or a PC with the Xbox Wireless adapter plugged in.

If you are still not doing saving New York, or just love swinging about the amazingly realized city in Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man: Miles Morales, things just got a little more advanced. A new update for the game brings various bug fixes and tweaks, but more importantly, the new Advanced Tech Suit will be available for players in Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Superheroes on both PS4 and PS5 will benefit from this new update and addition. However, those on the newer consoles will get to experience something unique to the PlayStation 5.

Explore the darkness behind the flashing neon lights in Dead by Daylight's newest chapter "All-Kill."

The post K-Pop-Inspired All-Kill Now Live in Dead by Daylight appeared first on Siliconera.

The Poke-Lid trend in Japan is unstoppable and another relevant city has installed the popular Pokemon manholes on its streets.

This time around it’s the super-famous historical city of Kyoto to get slightly nicer streets, with a whopping five new Poke-Lids.

Here are the Pokemon portrayed.

• Ho-oh
• Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Pichu
• Chikorita and Shiftry
• Cyndaquil and Darmanitan
• Azumarill and Totodile

In the pictures below coming straight from the press release, you can see what they look like.

As usual, the Poke-lids will mark locations for PokeStops compatible with Pokemon GO.

Revisit the Bleach universe in Studio Colorido's Burn the Witch.

The post Crunchyroll and Viz Releasing Burn the Witch and Jujutsu Kaisen Blu-Rays appeared first on Siliconera.

This week was supposed to see the release of a new set of branded skins for Apex Legends, done in collaboration with streetwear label Chinatown Market, but that company’s decision to rebrand in between the skins’ announcement and release means Respawn currently has them on hold.

Read more...

Following a tumultuous launch last year for open world, neon-drenched RPG Cyberpunk 2077, leaders at CD Projekt addressed the path forward in a strategy update today aimed at investors. ...

You can watch a sneak peek of Arcueid, Ciel, Shiki, and Akiha's special moves in this trailer.

The post Melty Blood: Type Lumina Teaser Trailer Shows a Glimpse of the Fights appeared first on Siliconera.

Europa Universalis 4, Paradox Interactive's dizzyingly rich grand strategy game, will be getting its 17th major expansion, titled Leviathan, on 27th April.

Leviathan is focussed on offering new ways to succeed beyond endless expansion and warmongering, introducing a range of new diplomatic and economic options to meet that goal. "Build a force of diplomats," explains Paradox by way of example, "and use your flattery as a weapon against others. Or draw wealth and power from the remote regions of your realm to construct a metropolis to be the engine of your economy."

One of Leviathan's most significant additions is the ability for diplomats to proactively gain Favours with a nation (previously they were accrued over time), which can then be used to perform useful diplomatic functions - such as abandoning an alliance, or having a nation return a core province - without having to declare war.

Read more

How to Tame Raptors in Fortnite

Use The Hunter's Cloak to Tame Raptors

Chinese police have moved against a company billed as the “world’s largest” seller of video game cheats, arresting ten of its members and confiscating over $40 million worth of assets.

Read more...

Nostalgia just seems to me like pandering, but Narita Boy's '80s, neon, CRT aesthetic is delivered with enough verve that its trailers almost win me over. It's a metroidvania about a boy trapped in a videogame world, trying to restore the memories of the game developer with the aid of their weapon, the Technosword. It's out now via Steam.

Read more

Amnesia: Rebirth is so scary that the developers at Frictional Games added a new Adventure Mode to the PC version today, with a similar update planned for PlayStation in a few weeks.

Read more...

Now out on April 23

Continue reading…

The bad news? The Mortal Kombat movie release date has been delayed. The good news? Not by long. The Mortal Kombat movie release date has been pushed back by a week, as confirmed by Warner Bros. 

Originally slated for April 16, Mortal Kombat is now set to arrive with a new April 23 release. This news was confirmed by Variety, though no reason for the pushback has been revealed at this time. 

The upcoming film reboot has a lot of longtime fans excited. While some expected creative liberties veer away from what we're used to, overall, the feeling captures what we love about Mortal Kombat perfectly. From the fantastically-executed combat kombat to the engaging way these fighters engage with each other, the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie reboot seems to be a faithful continuation of the franchise we all know and love. 

Wallpaper Engine is one of the most popular utilities available via Steam. It's a tool that lets you run animated or interactive desktop wallpapers, and download those made by the community from the Steam Workshop. I bought it at the weekend because I was bored.

One of the first community-made wallpapers I found? Shrek, the movie, in its entirety.

Read more

Earlier today, Niantic announced the return of the Tricky Pokemon event in Pokemon GO. This is yet another event in an already busy April. This means creatures like Aipom, Croagunk, and Purrlion will be appearing more often in the wild among other exciting bonuses and ‘mons.

From Apr. 1 at 12 AM to 11:59 PM local time, the Tricky Pokemon Event will bring a bunch of mischievous ‘mons into the wild, including the elusive Ditto. The post hinted that Ditto will be transforming into a certain species more than other during this event, but it wasn’t specified which one.

On top of that, Team GO Rocket Grunts will only have teams of Shadow Aipom during the event. This will presumably make it much easier to obtain Rocket Radars for the Team GO Rocket Timed Research that will run from Apr. 1 at 12 AM until Apr. 8 at 11:59 PM local time.

You’ll also be able to find Grunts at more Pokestops than usual and GO Rocket balloons will appear in the sky more often.

During this Timed Research, you’ll be able to obtain a Super Rocket Radar and have the chance to battle Giovanni for his Shadow Zapdos.

The most intriguing change to PvP for this event is the decrease of the switch timer. During the Tricky Pokemon Event, the switch timer for the GO Battle League will be cut in half.

And just like with many other events, a special Pokemon will be photobombing any pictures that you take of your own ‘mons. There’s no indication who it will be, so give it a shot on April Fool’s Day.

Connor Alexander says his new world is for Native and non-Native audiences alike

Continue reading…

Growing up, my favorite movies were Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings, James Bond—anything with action and adventure. They typically starred daring men, but as a young woman I started admiring more powerful, smart women who could command a room. Fast forward to today, and more women than ever are badasses who…

Read more...

First-person horror adventure game Amnesia: Rebirth received a new mode today that removes all of the horror from the game.

The free update added the new Adventure Mode which removes all of the life-threatening encounters with monsters alongside the sound and visual effects that could negatively affect the main character’s fear levels. Additionally, any location that contained pitch black darkness have been brightened up as shown below.

Hades is the roguelike for even those that don't necessarily like roguelikes. The art style, the characters, the satisfying weapons upgrade system? It all comes together to offer a stellar gaming experience. What's also stellar? This Hades cosplayer bringing his A-game when it comes to bringing this impressive Zagreus cosplay to life. 

Zagreus is the protagonist of Hades and is the Prince of the Underworld. As Hades' son, his relationship to the underworld is anything but easy. The game itself sees players take on the role of Zagreus as he makes numerous attempts to escape the underworld. While that's not the easiest of tasks, he engages with many exciting characters along the way. He can even romance a few of them.

The main character is brought to life with this incredible Hades cosplay from Taryn_Cosplay. You may know of him; he's been a major presence in the cosplay community at large. His attention to detail and expert craftmanship over effects makeup and stylization make him an incredible figure to follow for those that enjoy the craft. He's also an outstanding inspiration for those looking to dive all-in within the waters of this creative pastime. 

I grew up in the late '80s and the '90s and, without access to streaming services, would do nearly anything to be able to watch more cartoons. For example, I suffered through awkward skits between a middle-aged man and a lamp in Glen Michael's Cartoon Cavalcade, begging for the next proper animated bit to, please, just start.

It's in this spirit that the Kingdom Hearts series seems to have been made: lure in children with the promise of Olaf from Frozen and other beloved Disney and Pixar characters, but then make them work for those appearances by having them sit through dozens of hours of spiky-haired JRPG characters with too many belts and zips.

The Kingdom Hearts series is out on PC now via the Epic Games Store - and it costs too much, too.

Read more

Sega just revealed another AC Scratch collection for Phantasy Star Online 2 titled Arks Elite.

As usual, it includes a variety of fashion items and accessories, from full outfits to swimwear and even CAST parts.

It’ll become available tomorrow, March 31, and it’ll disappear on April 28. As usual, you can take a look at the trailer below to see the main items, while the full catalog is published on the official website.

If you’re unfamiliar with AC Scratch, that’s basically the game’s loot box/gacha-like mechanic that you can get through tickets purchased with Arks Cash.

Phantasy Star Online 2 is available in the west for Xbox One and PC. A few months ago, we heard that the western version enjoyed a “strong start” and that it passed one million players.

If you’re a Star Wars fan online, there stands a high chance that you’ve not only heard of Wookieepedia—the Fandom-owned community resource archiving eons of material from the franchise—but spent more time than you’d like to admit looking up everything from Ickabel G’ont to the history of the Grysk Hegemony. But an…

Read more...

CD Projekt is rethinking Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer elements, president and joint CEO Adam Kiciński explained during the company’s recent strategy update.

Read more...