Despite some earlier attempts at the hobby, I've come to accept that I am not a game collector. I don't have it in me to buy a game with the intention of keeping it forever. I'd rather play it and trade it than keep it on a shelf. However, a few games have warranted return visits over the years, such as my annual trek through Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, for instance, or the occasional dip into the post-game of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Thus, I keep a small binder on my shelve to house those old games.

No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle have their own page in that old game binder. Every few years, I find myself gravitating back toward them, usually when I need to let out a lot of anger by cutting some fools in half. But I think now is the time for me to give those old games up for good. Not because I'm over them, but because the Switch ports for both games are so much better than the originals.

What a difference a controller makes

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PS5 is the clear favorite

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The only PS5 FAQ you’ll ever need

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Want to see what your new console can do?

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It's one of the most crucial components of the PlayStation 5 experience - and yet right up until today's review embargo, we knew so little about it. Just how good is the backwards compatibility feature in the new console? Are we getting the same experience on legacy titles, including their performance limitations? Or is the news more positive: does PlayStation 5 mirror Xbox Series X's remarkable ability to dramatically improve existing games? Today, the mystery is finally solved and there's good news: PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility is excellent.

While there's the sense that it is a little rough around the edges in some scenarios and doesn't enjoy the full range of bonus extras Microsoft lavishes on Series X, PlayStation 5 has got it where it counts. If a game runs with an unlocked frame-rate or has the option to disengage a 30fps cap, you get the same transformative experience that you get on Xbox Series X. In fact, for reasons we'll go into later, the performance multiplier is actually higher when stacking up PS5 vs PS4 Pro against Series X vs One X. On top of that, there's the same revelatory increase in CPU performance too, meaning that the often lacklustre 'high frame-rate' modes seen in many PS4 Pro games now all lock to 60 frames per second.

If Astro's Playroom presents a look at some of the more novel appeals of the PlayStation 5, Miles Morales is a decent example of another draw of the new generation - it's about taking a game you know well and making it look better, run smoother and get you into the action as quick as you can load up a blockbuster movie on Netflix. It's about presenting a more seamless brand of entertainment, and if you want a breezy thrill there are few better candidates than Insomniac's take on Spider-Man.

2018's Marvel's Spider-Man was a truly lovely thing, a superhero game that felt refreshingly different. Yes, it cribbed much of the fundamentals from the Arkham series, but just as Rocksteady's devotion to the Dark Knight lent those games a giddy edge, here Insomniac's affection for a different flavour of comic book classic shone through. A lightness of touch and a certain goofiness embodied Spider-Man's charm - here was something earnest and optimistic rather than dark and brooding.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales inherits all that - rather than a full-on sequel this is an expansion that's, well, expansive, with a run-time not too much shorter than the original - and adds a little more besides. Having nailed so many of the fundamentals last time round, Insomniac has been afforded the opportunity to build upon the original in ways that further explore the character of Spider-Man. And it really helps that the person under the mask is Miles Morales.

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I’m sitting at my desk, staring at the PlayStation 5 looming over my media stand—“entertainment center” is a little too grandiose for the small piece of Target furniture that holds all my gaming stuff—and wondering how the hell I’m going to review this thing. How would my boss, whose various PlayStation 4 reviews I’ve…

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Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re looking at a terrible driving game you should never play, only listen to.

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There was backward compatibility here. It’s gone now.

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Released in 2018, Marvel's Spider-Man stands as one of the most impressive games of the PlayStation 4 generation. With a huge, detailed environment, gloriously detailed characters and top-tier post processing effects, in combination with superb, well-balanced gameplay, Insomniac demonstrated once again why it's one of the most talented, ambitious studios around. And somehow, with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the developer not only has to top it, but to provide a next-generation vision for PlayStation 5, while at the same time also delivering a PlayStation 4 rendition of the game. The odds seem insurmountable - but rest assured, Miles Morales delivers.

It begins with the simple act of launching the game. Once you clear menu screen animations, loading times are a mere four seconds - an astonishingly short space of time. In fact, the UI transition adds three seconds further to the count. This is so fast that it rivals any cartridge-based system from the past. We've had optical discs and spinning platter drives limiting the speed of consoles for more than two decades, but with the arrival of a fast SSD in the PS5, we're witnessing the end of waiting - or at least, that's the hope, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales highlights what's possible. By comparison, the original PS4 Spider-Man took over 30 seconds to load.

An important setting that the Xbox Series X doesn’t have

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The PS5 makes the process a lot simpler than Sony’s last console

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The music is nice, but you might not want it on all the time

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If you don’t subscribe to PS Plus, you don’t have a great backup option

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Where do you find the heart of a new piece of hardware? Thankfully, Sony's included it on the hard-drive of every PlayStation 5 it's shipping: Astro's Playroom is a pre-installed 3D platformer that puts the console and its DualSense controller through their paces, and plenty more besides. It's a thing of spark and wit, and quite possibly the best 3D platformer I've played outside of Nintendo's own efforts.

If you've played PlayStation VR's Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, you may well have seen this coming. This is another Sony Japan Studio joint, headed up by French designer Nicolas Doucet, and it inherits an awful lot from the delightful little 2018 game. Captain Astro returns, Aibo's distant cousin serving as an affable lead loaded with a jetpack-enabled double-jump and always ready with a gleeful wave to camera. Like the best platform characters, he's buoyant with his own inner life even before you've pressed a button - leave the controller alone and Astro will whip out a Vita or a PlayStation VR unit and play happily by themselves.

The new generation is upon us, and Sony has come out swinging with an incredibly powerful new console to stake its claim on the gaming landscape. The PlayStation 5 offers up blazing speed and some remarkable audio and visual technology. The new console also brings the most exciting innovation in controllers in many years with the excellent DualSense. While not everything is perfect, our weeks with the PlayStation 5 have revealed a worthwhile successor to the legacy of the brand, and an experience that has the potential to change the game for both developers and players.

Hardware and Form Factor

Most mainstream entertainment tech opts for a low-profile presentation, with subdued lines and shapes meant to blend into the background. That’s even been true for earlier iterations of the PlayStation consoles. The PS5 breaks that mold, with sleek, curved forms, and overpowering presence – less a tech box, and more a billionaire’s yacht.

The PlayStation 5 is a beast in size – the largest home console ever – at over 15 inches in height, more than 10 inches in depth, and 4 inches wide, with the standard edition. The digital edition drops some mass and width without the disc drive. Rather than attempt to diminish the bulk, the designers have added curves and extended wings on both sides that lend yet more flair and size. When active, the operating lights shine outward with enough power to illuminate several feet in an otherwise dark room. Read more...

We're on the cusp of a new console lifecycle, but Game Informer was lucky enough to get its hands on Sony and Microsoft's new machines a little early. For a detailed breakdown on both systems please read our Xbox Series X/S review and PlayStation 5 review, but in this special-edition podcast, we have a more informal discussion about the new hardware, how each system performs, and what we think of their respective controllers. We also talk a bit about exciting next-gen ready games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Yakuza: Like a Dragon. So join Jeff Cork, Matt Miller, Andrew Reiner, Brian Shea, Alex Stadnik, and me for a rousing console discussion. 

If you like this podcast extra and would like to see more of them in the future, drop us a line at Podcast@gameinformer.com. Enjoy the interview.

I know what you're sat there thinking: when is the new Battlefield game coming out? Oh you weren't? Well nevermind, you're here now.

The new Battlefield game is coming out in holiday 2021, also known as the Christmas shopping period, which probably means November.

"DICE is creating our next Battlefield game with never before seen scale," said CEO Andrew Wilson during an earnings call overnight (transcript by Seeking Alpha).

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Out of nowhere, Shenmue III was ensnared by the siren's song of the Epic Games Store. Met to an outcry by tons of backers who felt bamboozled by the near zero hour change (just months before it actually launched), Ys Net and Deep Silver maintained course and kept the exclusivity intact. Until now, that is.

It looks like Epic's exclusive deal is up. We already knew as much, but over on the game's Kickstarter page, it is now fully confirmed that Shenmue III is coming to Steam on November 19. Ys Net says that if you "opted in" to Steam back in late 2019, you're now able to claim your code. A year later. As a reminder, you can check out the full list of PC requirements below.

For Shenmue III, more platforms in any capacity, even within the PC subgroup, is a win. It's still only available on the PlayStation console family, so folks who were holding out for the Steam edition can finally partake. It's also great news for everyone who pulled out of the Kickstarter campaign entirely, as you can casually pick it up on the storefront of your choice going forward.

Steam release announcement [Kickstarter]

Apex Legends

‘ seventh season dropped this week, and with it came a load of fun new things – a map, a character and even a vehicle. But it also brought some big changes to how the battle pass works. Unfortunately, these changes made the battle pass a whole lot more difficult to level up, making players need to do about twice the amount of work to get half the amount of progression. Last night, Respawn tweaked the new system, but players still have a huge grind ahead of them compared to previous seasons.

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Godfall is a six-month timed PS5 console exclusive, Sony has confirmed.

Godfall's PS5 launch trailer was published overnight, and at the end it reveals the particle effect-heavy looter RPG will remain a PS5 console exclusive until 21st May 2021.

Godfall, developed by Counterplay Games and published by Gearbox, launches alongside the PS5 on 12th November and is also out then on PC via the Epic Games store. Godfall costs £70 on PS5, and £50 on PC.

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Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order becomes available as part of the EA Play subscription next week on 10th November, which is not so coincidentally the launch day of Xbox Series S/X.

Microsoft recently announced it would wrap EA Play within its own Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, meaning anyone with a subscription to that will be able to play Jedi Fallen Order on their new console next week. The official date for this all to go live is also 10th November.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs £10.99-a-month, although you can get the first month for £1. This also includes Xbox Live Gold.

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You thought it was over. You believed the year of anguish would be a memory by now. I’m sorry, you were wrong. The carousel of disharmony will never cease, and neither will the bumper car motorcade of video games. This week, the United States of America chooses a President in a logistical process entirely in-keeping with the carnival metaphor I am here constructing. Even in video games – no strangers to ineffectual binary choice – there is a more varied selection of candidates. Here are 7 Presidents other than those offered on this week’s ballot.

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PS5 fans are finally getting some details and extended footage taken from the brand new platform exclusive Destruction AllStars, in development at Lucid Games and WuShu Studios. Publisher Sony Interactive has released an extended trailer for the over-the-top and super-kinetic racing title, along with more details regarding AllStar's concepts and modes.

Destruction AllStars will see a madcap roster of dynamic and charismatic characters battle it out in vehicular warfare - the fender-bending impact of games such as Destruction Derby and Twisted Metal mixed with the personality of Overwatch, so to speak. Some of the modes available at launch will include the free-for-all chaos of Mayhem, the grand theft auto action of Carnado, zone-capturing team game Stockpile, and finally the battle royale action of Gridfall.

Racers will also be able to hone their death-defying driving skills in a deep training mode, and bag themselves in-game rewards in a series of single-player challenges. For artistic types, Destruction AllStars will also boost customization options, allowing players to change up their racer and vehicles looks to nail that crowd-pleasing color schemes - a must-have given AllStars' vivid rainbow aesthetic.

You can check out the trailer below. It has to be said that Destruction AllStars doesn't seem to have captured many eyes out of the gate - not helped by receiving an unfortunate delay before it even got the green light - but I still think it's worth keeping an eye on, especially for those who - like myself - tend to forget that the brake button even exists.

Okay. Let's get this out of the way: the Mortal Kombat 11 Mileena gameplay video is not for the faint of heart. I mean, all the Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay videos are not for the faint of heart. But this one... well...

NetherRealm showcased the return of fan-favourite fighter Mileena for the first time. For the uninitiated, Mileena is the product of Shang Tsung's cloning experiments, a fusion of Tarkatan blood and Edenian physiology, making her a sort of Baraka crossed with Kitana character.

In Mortal Kombat 11, she uses her trademark sai to stab stab stab, her sharpened claws to claw claw claw, and her teeth to tear tear tear her enemies apart.

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Remedy has delayed its upcoming next-gen version of Control: Ultimate Edition to early 2021.

"We want the final quality of the game to be awesome, and so we need a bit more time to work on it," Remedy said via Twitter today. "Thank you for your understanding and patience!"

You'll still be able to play Control: Ultimate Edition on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this year via backwards compatibility (just like the regular version of Control, of course) but Ultimate Edition owners will have to wait a little longer for the next-gen version they've paid for.

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As we get closer to Black Friday 2020, FIFA 21 has started going cheap on Amazon UK - or more specifically, the Ultimate and Champions editions, enhanced versions of the games that come bundled with numerous extras to help you leap into the game quicker than normal. There's also a slightly-discounted bundle, which allows you to buy the regular version packaged with a spare PS4 controller.

FIFA games are something of a timeless classic when it comes to two-controllers-on-a-couch gameplay, letting players battle for championships in person or online. FIFA 21 is no different, though it also includes a more developed system for building and managing your team between matches, aiming to be a full footballing simulation.

PlayStation 4

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What happens when the turn-based tactical violence of Worms becomes a real-time shooter? See for yourself in the free Worms Rumble open beta weekend, which started today. This latest Worms spin-off is a 32-player side-on shooter with all the usual wacky weapons, throwing down in deathmatch and battle royale modes. I like Worms because of the game it is, not the brand, but Rumble could be good in its own right. The beta is also on PlayStation 4 and does have cross-platform multiplayer, so you can batter your PlayPals too.

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Want to know the best Apex Legends characters heading into Season 7? There’s never been a better time to get stuck into this hero-based battle royale now that there are 15 Legends to choose from, each with their own unique skillset, and each one can be used to lead your team to victory. But despite this, we’ve still managed to put together our own tier list of the best Apex Legends characters and abilities in Season 7, with write-ups on the strengths and weaknesses of every Legend.

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ININ Games has announced that retro-infused release Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back is headed west later this month. The multiplayer take on the classic single-screen platformer will arrive on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on November 17.

Additionally, players who own the vanilla edition of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will receive a free download the same day adding the new Baron is Back content free of charge. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends includes over 200 stages of classic arcade action and features four-player co-operative play, online scoreboards, and the return of terrifying villain Baron von Blubba. As a bonus, Taito's original 1986 edition of Bubble Bobble is also included as part of the package.

UPDATE: The game's creative director, Nate Simpson, clarified Kerbal Space Program 2 will be released in 2022.

Simpson shared the target in a letter to the community about the delay on the game's forum.

"Gonna rip the band-aid off fast here: Kerbal Space Program 2 will release in 2022 instead of fall 2021. I know this is frustrating, especially considering that this isn't the first time we've adjusted our schedule," he wrote.

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Sega Sammy will ask 650 staff members to voluntarily leave in February 2021. The group expects an extraordinary loss in the 2020 fiscal year.

The post Sega Sammy Asks 650 Staff Members to Voluntarily Retire appeared first on Siliconera.

We are just six days away from the launch of Gearbox's epic fantasy adventure, Godfall. The publisher has released a final launch trailer emphasizing the third-person adventure's lush locations, amazing effects, and hard-hitting, ground-shaking combat.

As one of the last of an ancient party of warriors known as The Valorian Knights, players must battle through the elemental realms on an almost foolhardy quest, facing impossible odds en route to a showdown with the mad god, Macros, who has violently conquered the realm of Aperion, leaving it on the precipice of total extinction.

Already skilled in hand-to-hand combat, the Valorian Knights are able to enhance their armor, weaponry, and skills with the use of "Valorplates," Zodiac-inspired relics which add buffs and effects when applied to your protagonist. Fine-tune your knight as befits the realm, and then you can start dishing out the vengeance to everyone standing in your way.

Godfall launches on PC via Epic Games Store on November 12. It will launch on PS5 in Japan, Canada, and North America, with most other territories following one week later on November 19. Various special editions are also available to pre-order.

As Sega Sammy announced it’s selling off its arcade business, the Tokyo-based game company also announced that it is asking 650 employees to retire voluntarily. With covid-19 impacting business, Sega is expecting what it calls “an extraordinary loss” during the current financial year.

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An update from the development team: Control Ultimate Edition will arrive on next generation platforms early 2021.