Top Product: TP-Link Archer AX21 Wi-Fi 6 Router | $90 | Amazon

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During a livestream hosted today by Microsoft and Asobo Studio, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann talked about accessibility.

The developers of the simulators are kicking off their own version of Microsoft’s Gaming for Everyone accessibility initiative which Neumann called “No Pilot Left Behind.”

“We want everyone, whatever your needs or special needs are, to have fun simming, and we want your feedback”

Neumann provided the email address msfsim@microsoft.com (which he reads daily) for users to send feedback.

“We want to know what things don’t work. We’re aware obviously of colorblindness and other things, but there are a lot of needs and we want to address them as well as we can, so please give feedback so that we’re aware.

And then we’ll actually get into a dialogue with those who choose to communicate with us about this.”

During the same livestream, we also heard about Microsoft’s plans for World Update 4 focusing on France and Benelux (and saw a rather gorgeous teaser trailer) and learned of an official partnership with Working Title.

Recently, we published our massive interview with Jorg Neumann himself, who provided a lot of new info about the present and future of the sim.

The Mass Effect universe is expansive, but what some may not realize is that the lore doesn’t stop with the games. Comics, novels, and even an animated movie all work in tandem to flesh out an incredibly intricate universe far beyond the rolled credits of the gaming series. With the Legendary Edition remaster on the way, there is much to be excited for with both newcomers to the franchise and loyal N7 fans, an excitement that can be further celebrated with the extended lore of the galaxy.

STALKER developer GSC Game World is currently investigating the possibility of including mod support for the upcoming sequel on Xbox Series X/S.

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Fans of Overwatch have been starving for new information regarding Overwatch 2 ever since its announcement in 2019. While we did receive some new info last month during Blizzard's virtual BlizzCon, fans are still clamoring for more updates to Overwatch 1 while they wait for the sequel to launch. We're currently in the midst of a limited-time event called the Pachimarchi Challenge, but those who play on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S received a nice surprise when they downloaded yesterday's patch: Overwatch is now optimized for the new Xbox platforms.

The new-gen consoles already drastically improved loading times and made characters play smoother, but once you download the new 1.58 patch to your Xbox Series X/S, you'll receive a new "Preferred Mode" graphics option. Here, you can switch between three different presets that dictate what the new, more powerful console hardware will prioritize. You can choose to prioritize resolution or frame rate, or go with a balanced option that boosts the overall visual quality.

PlayStation has brought Denuvo into its PlayStation 5 Tools and Middleware program, allowing devs to use the anti-cheat tech in their games on PS5. ...

Happy Mario Day! While everyone else is listing their favorite games in the series or competing in wacky Mario-related challenges, I decided to go a different route in showing my appreciation for the series. Mario is the very reason I first fell in love with gaming as a child and its long list of characters have given me countless hours of entertainment over the years. So with that in mind, I’d like to just run down a bunch of those names and give a quick, sometimes stupid reason for why I’m thankful for each and every one. 

Mario - For literally existing and introducing me to video games in the first place. 

Luigi - For giving my little brother a reason to not be Mario. 

Peach - For pushing me to overcome any obstacle. Also for that underrated DS game.

Bowser - For tricking me into thinking he was a dragon instead of a big turtle longer than I care to admit.

Senior Designers at Insomniac Games are responsible for overseeing and executing on many aspects of the game including, features, mechanics, and systems design, and more. ...

In a series of TikToks that have recently gone viral, a woman takes us through a tour of a video rental store… that is now located in their house.

Her husband, using newly found free time afforded to them by the pandemic, created an absolutely wicked video rental store in the basement of their house to replace the one that had recently gone out of business in their town.

If you’re under the age of 15, or… maybe even 20, you may not fully appreciate the majesty that was a well-stocked video rental store.

Last year Blizzard held a poll to determine what sort of ride World of Warcraft players wanted as a special community mount. We chose the Wandering Ancient, and now that choice has borne fruit, or in this case, a whole damn tree, free now for everyone who owns the Shadowlands expansion.

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The Mortal Kombat movie drops next month and to celebrate, we've got a brand new poster that offers up our first look at Kabal. Kitana, Cole Young, Sonya Blade, and more are front and center, but let's be real: you're looking at Kabal. 

The official Mortal Kombat movie Twitter account shared the new poster with the telltale tagline "Get over here!" Sub-Zero and Scorpion are in the spotlight, but seeing Shang Tsung, Jax Briggs, Sony Blade, Mileena, and Cole Young is pretty nifty as well. 

Choose your fighter: Cole Young. Sonya Blade. Jax Briggs. Scorpion. Sub-Zero. Shang Tsung. Mileena. Kabal. Mortal Kombat – in theaters and streaming on @HBOMax April 16. #MortalKombatMovie pic.twitter.com/jQ4a7pXVML

— Mortal Kombat Movie (@MKMovie) March 10, 2021

While some fans are disappointed that a few favorite kharacters are missing, many shared their excitement over the latest reveal following the trailer that dropped last month. 

What if a 4x PC game and Pandemic Legacy had a baby?

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Everyone has their favorite Mario game and remembers their first experience fondly--stomping goombas and koopa troopas, collecting stars, and making tight jumps in whichever whimsical world sticks with you, especially at a young age. With games like Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 often cited as the quintessential series entries, and seeing that evolution with the likes of Galaxy and Odyssey, it's easy to see why these action-platformers are highly regarded and often cited as formative gaming experiences..

I've enjoyed those games and understand the fervor of people's love for them, but they're not necessarily what made Mario important in my eyes. The lens through which I've always understood the franchise has been Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the 1996 SNES game from Squaresoft (now Square Enix). It's a game that took the things we loved about Mario and subverted expectations. It made Mario, Bowser, and Peach allies, and it gave the series' characters a vibrant world to live in.

Twitter is flush with hilarious videos of characters lip-synching

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The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap was the only fully original Zelda game released on the Game Boy Advance. It is also one of the better Zeldas, even among a crowded field of games that range from great to amazing. Unfortunately, in the year 2021 there’s no easy way to play it.

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Hello, We hope you’re very well. We’re sending this message as we’ve been made aware that there are currently emails circulating that pretend to contain “Early Access invitations” to Resident Evil Village. The sender address is being displayed as “no-reply(at)capcom(dot)com”. We want to inform you that these messages are NOT from Capcom and appear to be phishing attempts by an unauthorized third party. If you have received such a message, please DO NOT download any files or reply, and delete the message immediately. If you are unsure of the authenticity of correspondence from Capcom, please contact us directly to verify.

A PSA for Tall Vampire Lady enthusiasts: Beware of a phishing scam going around in email inboxes claiming to offer early access to Resident Evil Village.

Capcom issued a statement to GameSpot warning players of the scam: "We're sending this message as we've been made aware that there are currently emails circulating that pretend to contain 'Early Access invitations' to Resident Evil Village. The sender address is being displayed as 'no-reply(at)capcom(dot)com'."

"We want to inform you that these messages are NOT from Capcom and appear to be phishing attempts by an unauthorized third party. If you have received such a message, please DO NOT download any files or reply, and delete the message immediately," Capcom concludes.

Capcom has had its fair share of data breaches recently. In November 2020, a hacking group called Ragnar Locker accessed Capcom's internal networks and possibly compromised personal information of employees and customers. Snippets of alleged RE Village spoilers have also been floating on the web, though it is unknown if the leaked info came from the November breach.

In case you’ve been hiding under your shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in a new, retro-inspired adventure called Shredder’s Revenge. The game comes courtesy of Tribute Games and Dotemu, who know a thing or two about creating arcade-style experiences having worked on Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game and Streets of Rage 4. Shredder’s Revenge takes heavy inspiration from the classic beat ‘em ups like Turtles in Time and pits you (and up to three friends) against Shredder and his goons. You can read all about what the game entails and watch its debut trailer in this extended preview article here. I recommend doing that first, because we’re going to react to the trailer and talk all over it! 

The world of Valheim is vast and rife with danger right from the off, which means you need to be quick in learning its mysterious world in order to survive.

Like, seriously quick; I had a Greyling literally spawn beside my first character build and start hitting me before Hugin even had a chance to issue his first tutorial, for Pete’s sake!

From there it was charging boars, trembling forests, hungry trolls, and angry drakes thwarting me at every step of my adventure. But Valheim’s punishing difficulty is all part of its charm, right?

It’s certainly been a character-building experience, anyway. The dozens of hours spent exploring, crafting, building, and dying over and over again have been filled with ups and downs. It’s made me a veritable master of lands.

But what about you, dear reader? How well do you truly know Valheim? Well, here’s a trivia quiz to put your knowledge to the test. And like traversing the harsh wilderness of Valheim, it’s no walk in the park. Let’s get going, shall we?

Weaker visuals, disadvantage in cross-platform play, leave some asking why bother?

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In a collaboration that makes so much sense, Build-A-Bear Workshop is teaming up with Animal Crossing: New Horizons to bring a special collection of toys to their stores.

Though we don’t have the details just yet, it’s fun to speculate which animals might be part of this collection to buy. The special characters like Isabelle and Tom Nook are probably guaranteed, but maybe some villagers will be included as well.

Here are 10 Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers that would make absolutely perfect Build-A-Bear plush toys.

These vampires will knock your socks off (and then some).

The post Get a Peek at Characters in Akiba’s Trip Hellbound & Debriefed Trailers appeared first on Siliconera.

Wednesday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals

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Former Overwatch League MVP and current Valorant pro Jay “Sinatraa” Won was suspended from his team Sentinels today after being accused of sexual assault by a former girlfriend. In a Google Doc posted late last night to Twitter, Cleo Hernandez detailed emotional and sexual abuse allegations, including instances of…

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It’s happening, y’all—the Democrats in Congress, with no Republican support whatsoever, have passed the $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief package, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it on Friday. I am literally crying right now, thinking of all of the people this ambitious legislation will help.

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Ditching Donkey Kong

Most people know this by now, but Mario didn’t begin with the release of Super Mario Bros. in 1985. Mario, the character, appeared in other games such as the original Donkey Kong and the original Mario Bros. arcade game.

However, the series as we know it today starting taking form once Mario ditched Donkey Kong, gave up his life of micromanaging pipes, and starting exploring the larger Mushroom Kingdom.

Bowser would also begin his life of crime here, with Mario consistently rushing to thwart his attempts to kidnap Princess Peach and cause trouble.

Fans of Marvel’s Avengers want just one thing, and it’s about to become a reality. No, it’s not a meaningful loot grind, nor a newfound surplus of engaging activities. Look, fine, maybe Avengers fans want more than one thing, but a big one is landing next week: You’ll finally be able to replay the campaign.

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Update: Sinatra has published a brief statement responding to the allegations against him. In a TwitLonger post, Sintra noted that the two recalled the relationship differently and apologized for how things ended. However, while he noted the relationship was "unhealthy," he said he "never assaulted [Cleo Hernandez] in any way." Sintra is "fully cooperating" with current investigations, saying he will provide the audio and clips Cleo referenced in her lengthy post.

Original Story: Valorant pro Jay "Sinatra" Won has been suspended from the competitive game and his team, the Sentinels, following an investigation into sexual assault allegations.

Cleo Hernandez posted a 10-page document about her and Won's nine-month relationship. In the lengthy statement, Hernandez detailed a relationship filled with "months of up and down fighting," instances of Won gaslighting and laughing at her, and other forms of physical and emotional abuse. Hernandez went in-depth about specifics and explicits in her statement, sharing text exchanges between her and Won, screenshots of DMs, and harrowing memories.

PlayStation 5 pack-in Astro’s Playroom is full of amazing tracks, but the standout is most definitely its ode to the console’s powerful graphics processing unit (“GPU” to friends). In celebration of the game’s official soundtrack coming out on March 12, composer Kenneth C. M. Young recently shared behind-the-scenes…

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The Magnificent Trufflepigs, a romantic first-person metal-detecting adventure from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture lead designer Andrew Crawshaw, has just received a first trailer ahead of its arrival on PC and Switch later this year.

Developed by Crawshaw's Leeds-based studio Thunkd (which aims to focus on short-form, "evening-sized" experiences), The Magnificent Trufflepigs tells the story of Adam - played by Doctor Who and Legends of Tomorrow's Arthur Darvill - as he returns to his childhood home.

Here, he reunites with Beth (Safe House and Another Eden's Luci Fish) who, with a CEO job looming, is on a mission to rekindle her sense of adventure by seeking out a local treasure connected to her past. "But all is not as it seems," teases publisher AMC, "and players will have to choose how Adam responds as cracks begin to appear in Beth's fairy tale plans."

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Today Microsoft and Asobo Studio hosted a livestrem showcasing upcoming plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

We hear from head of Microsoft Flight Sim Jorg Neumann, Asobo CEO Sebastian Wlock, and executive producer Martial Bossard.

First of all, we get to see a teaser trailer of the upcoming World Update 4 dedicated to France and Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg).

You can watch it below.

We also get additional details about the World Update, which will include new aerials and a new digital elevation map with a 1-meter resolution for France.

The bespoke airports that will be added are Altiport Megève (LFHM), Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (LFMN) and Rotterdam The Hague Airport (EHRD). They’re all modeled by Gaya Simulations.

Orbx is also working on adjusting over 100 more airports. An announcement about an “airplane” has also been teased.

About once every week or two, someone tags me in a Discord channel or on Twitter because someone, somewhere has asked the question: "What is Blaseball?"

There are many answers to this question, ranging from the very simple to the Charlie-from-Always-Sunny-explaining-Pepe-Silvia complex. I imagine I'm getting tagged in these things because multiple times a week, I yell something on Twitter about how cool my favorite Blaseball team (the Kansas City Breath Mints, who are having a...difficult season) is.

One way to answer is to try and tell the story of what's happened in Blaseball so far is through an "official, league-sanctioned recap of the major events of The Discipline Era in the first ever Blaseball Roundup, Presented by the Internet League Blaseball Broadcasting Committee, a subsidiary of Internet League Blaseball." Thankfully, we have one of those for you:

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/10/blaseball-seasons-1-11-official-league-sanctioned-recap"]

But perhaps a better explanation for the total Blaseball novice is this succinct outline from one of the members of developer The Game Band, Sam Rosenthal:

"Blaseball is an absurdist hard take on fantasy baseball," he says in an interview with IGN. "It's kind of like fantasy baseball, [but] with more fantasy [and] tabletop role playing game dynamics. You are placing fake bets on fake teams that play 24 hours a day. And you're earning coins by placing these bets. And you're using that currency to buy a bunch of different things.

Are you a Nep enough player to save the Content?

The post Neptunia Virtual Stars Banks on Crowds of Characters to Outweigh Dull Gameplay appeared first on Siliconera.

Shamrock Day seasonal items have arrived in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. From now until March 17, you'll be able to grab clothing and other items celebrating St. Patrick's Day. As usual, most of these items will be sold through Nook Shopping, but they'll rotate each day, so you'll need to check the catalog daily to grab them all.

In addition to the new Shamrock items, the Able Sisters' shop is selling Shamrock-themed clothing and accessories. You'll be able to purchase a Shamrock suit, Shamrock hat, Shamrock sunglasses, and Shamrock shoes from the tailors until March 17. Unlike the Nook Shopping items, these don't rotate out daily, so you can grab the entire ensemble in one go.

Finally, you can also get a recipe for a Shamrock wand from balloons. You can see the full list of Shamrock items, along with their price and how to obtain them, below.

We check out King Of Crabs' Steam download, user & wishlist data, in a rare look behind the scenes of a free-to-play game on Steam. ...

Originally introduced during Pokémon: Gold and Silver, shiny Pokémon are only found during extraordinarily rare encounters and are immediately recognizable thanks to their unique color scheme and signature sparkle. Shiny Pokémon also used to guarantee special hidden ability stats, but these bonuses were removed with the release of Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire.

To say finding a Shiny Pokémon is difficult is an understatement. According to Serebii.net, a hub site for anything and everything related to Pokémon, every time a player discovers a Pokémon – whether in the wild or through breeding – there’s only a 1 in 4,096 chance of that creature having a variant color. The original odds (starting in 1999’s Pokémon Gold and Silver versions) were 1 in 8,192 but were improved with the release of Pokémon: X & Y in 2013. Despite the egregious amount of luck needed to even see a Shiny Pokémon, certain players make it their mission to fill their Pokédex with as many of these uniquely colored monsters as possible.

The span of time between shiny encounters can last days – if not weeks – meaning that players who embark on this journey have a level of patience that is unrivaled within the Pokémon community. We spoke with several hunters - ranging from casual collectors to professional Shiny hunt streamers - who discussed why they willingly put themselves through this immense endurance test.