Express yourself with this new set of Pokemon Sword and Shield LINE stickers!

The post New Pokemon Takashi Mifune LINE Stickers Feature Characters From Sword and Shield appeared first on Siliconera.

Anyone who enjoyed console gaming in the '90s will be more than familiar with the publisher Acclaim. First founded in 1987 by friends Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki, the New York-based outfit would go on to publish a huge range of successful home releases such as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and various WWE titles.

Well, it appears that one of the original founders, Greg Fischbach, is returning to video game publishing with a brand new company. Accelerate Games is, much like Acclaim, hoping to build long-term relationships with budding developers, helping to get their wares out onto the market and into the hands of video game fans worldwide. As the former president of Activision International during the company's fledgling years, Fischbach no doubt hopes to bring his decades of marketing experience to the new endeavor.

The first studio to sign with Accelerate Games is Signal Studios, whose upcoming remake Toy Soldiers HD will be the first title published under the Accelerate label. Signal Studios' partner John Gow is also credited as an Accelerate co-founder, so this important first release is very much an "in-house" affair.

"What we love about Toy Soldiers is it combines historical accuracies, hardcore action and strategy, and humor with infectious fun gameplay," Fischbach said in a press release. "The game's off-the-charts replayability and multiplayer features are sure to recapture the attention of previous enlisted fans and recruit an army of new ones...We look forward to helping the small, but talented team at Signal Studios reach their goal of introducing Toy Soldiers to new audiences worldwide across console and PC platforms."

Baby Yoda Design-a-Planter | $9 | Amazon

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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 listening to the soundtrack from Alundra, a 1998 PlayStation game in which you invade people’s nightmares and solve Zelda-like dungeons to help them wake up.

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It is Election Day and perhaps, if things go as well as expected, the beginning of Election Month. On both sides of the political chasm, the rhetoric is fierce and anxiety is spiking. The mess has people reevaluating their plans to stayed connected as the results roll in (or don’t). Some aim to unplug social media, go…

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It's not too often that I get to write about true next-gen exclusives, but it completely slipped my mind that Resident Evil Village is only slated for PC, PS5 and Series X/S. Given how much Resident Evil 7 pushed the formula I'm really anxious to see what 8 can bring to the table; but before then, Capcom is starting to share some of those shiny next-gen features with us.

Detailed on the official PlayStation site for the game, naturally, Village will take advantage of next-gen SSDs for "almost no load times." It'll also use adaptive triggers for the DualSense, as well as haptic feedback to "simulate the feeling of firing a real gun." Although 3D audio has been around for some time, it'll be supported in Village as well (this is one of Sony's big selling points, especially with the new headset). Visually, Village is re-confirmed to support 4K settings as well as ray tracing.

As a true next-gen game (seven more days and it'll be current-gen!), these are the sorts of things you're going to be seeing a lot of going forward. Actual SSD support and 4K are basically the standard now outside of cross-generational games that might not fully support it.

Resident Evil Village [PlayStation]

Ah, N7 Day. A time for Mass Effect fans to come together and be sad because there hasn’t been a new game in the series since 2017 (even then, we don’t particularly like talking about that one). This year could be different, though. On Saturday the 7th November, a couple of BioWare developers and a bunch of voice actors from the Mass Effect trilogy are holding a “very special” panel.

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Ziggurat Interactive has announced that 2002 PC release BloodRayne, along with its 2004 sequel BloodRayne 2, are to receive all-new enhanced editions later this month. Best of all, players who already own the original versions of both titles will receive the upgraded editions free of charge.

BloodRayne: Terminal Cut and BloodRayne 2: Terminal Cut  - titled after the studio that handled the remasters, Terminal Reality - will support resolutions up to 4K, with improved rendering and upscaled cinematics to match. The BloodRayne engine has been overhauled to offer better textures, lighting, water, fog and reflection effects. Additionally, support has been added for a wider range of controllers.

For the BloodRayne faithful, this under-the-hood boost should provide a more versatile and immersive experience with the third-person adventure classics. "The response was tremendous when we announced that we had taken over stewardship of the BloodRayne series," said Ziggurat's Wade Rosen in a press release. "Fans have been asking what’s next for the series, and now we’re excited to show off the great work that’s been done by Terminal Reality on the first two titles."

BloodRayne 1 & 2: Terminal Cut launches November 20 on PC via Steam and GOG.

BloodRayne enhanced versions coming to PC on November 20 [Gematsu]

A Mass Effect N7 Day panel is set for this weekend - and fans are crossing their fingers for a reveal of the heavily-rumoured Mass Effect Trilogy remaster.

Rumours of a remaster were stoked when an Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition book popped up for pre-order in July. Sporting a 23rd February 2021 release date, this new book includes hundreds of never-before-seen works of art, according to its description on the likes of Amazon and elsewhere.

Now, Jennifer Hale, aka FemShep, tweeted to announce a panel to celebrate N7 Day set for 7pm UK time this Saturday, 7th November. What's interesting is the panel has many of the actors who played the characters of the Mass Effect crew, including Mark Meer (Male Shep), Steve Blum (Grunt), Kimberly Brooks (Ashley Williams), Raphael Sbarge (Kaidan Alenko), Courtenay Taylor (Jack), Alix Wilton Regan (Samantha Traynor), William Salyers (Mordin Solus), D.C. Douglas (Legion), and Ali Hillis (Liara T'Soni), as well as BioWare developers Karin Weekes and Patrick Weekes.

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Now that physical rewards are returning to My Nintendo, there's an actual reason to use the service again regularly.

The thing is, if you've been neglecting it for a while, you might be logging into zero Platinum Points, which doesn't really help you pick up 600+-cost rewards. We've shown you a few easy ways to earn points over the past few years, but there's one fairly innocuous mission that a lot of people are probably ignoring right now: the legacy system mission.

While we have no idea when Nintendo will actually realize that this mission exists and turn it off, for now, it's ready to claim every week. All you need to do is log into the Nintendo eShop on a Wii U or 3DS with the same My Nintendo-linked account, and you'll earn 30 Platinum Points per week. 

That's literally all you need to do. Just sign in for a few seconds and you can earn 120 easy Platinum Points per month in addition to whatever else you're bringing in. My Wii U is still hooked up and I keep my 3DS fully charged on a dock near my bed (with a docked Vita!): so this is super easy for me to remember.

It's not every day I get to write about the Wii U and the 3DS. If there isn't a reason to, I'll invent one!

Missions [My Nintendo]

These features will add a greater sense of immersion, creating an entirely unique survival horror experience.

The post Resident Evil Village Will Make Use of the DualSense’s Haptic Feedback appeared first on Siliconera.

FIFA 21's latest title update is out now, and it makes some welcome changes to the game.

The focus here is on fixing bugs, rather than making sweeping balance or gameplay changes. However, some tweaks have been made to the way FIFA 21 plays. For example, the patch has adjusted the referee logic in potential yellow card scenarios so that the likelihood of a yellow card being given is reduced. Given how often the FIFA 21 ref would dish out yellows, this is very much a good thing.

Elsewhere, EA has nerfed the Ball Roll to Scoop Turn skill move combination, so that it now requires a five star skill move rating to perform.

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This all feels so familiar. I've been here before but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe if I look around a bit --really focus and think hard and try to shake the cobwebs off my brain -- it'll all come rushing back.

Oh yeah, I've seen this before just by a different name. First it was Max. Then Chloe. Then the Diaz brothers. I'm playing a Life is Strange game, but with a pulpier feel and less import given to teenage relationships. There's no mistaking the Dontnod DNA though.

With VR prices beginning to drop over the last few years even, as the technology gets more advanced, it's always nice to see those two things meet in the middle. That's why those in the UK should be able to get £20 off the bigger 256GB version of the new Oculus Quest 2, a VR headset designed to be used independently of a PC or console.

To get the deal, head to the Argos eBay page linked below, add the Quest to your basket and enter the code 'PRODUCT5' at checkout to take £20 off. Be quick though - the deal is for today only!

For the few who are unaware, most VR headsets need to be plugged into a larger device (such as a PS4 or your desktop). But the Quest is an exception. No more being tangled in wires or limited to whatever room you keep your computer in, the Quest doesn't even require sensors placed around the room. That doesn't mean you can't plug it into a computer for a more high-end experience, but it works perfectly well without one. The only time you'll need wires is to charge it up like any other portable device.

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Koji Igarashi's spooky platform adventure Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is set to get some new content this month. Joining the beautiful Creatures of the Night that make up the game's roster of playable characters will be the parasol-spinning vampire, Bloodless.

Encountered by protagonist Miriam in the Dian Cecht Cathedral, the beautiful but terrifying Bloodless is found soaking in a bathtub of claret-colored liquid - which I'm willing to bet ain't Cran-Apple. Bloodless' offense mostly consists of streams of the red stuff, with which she has deft control over. Also to hand is Bloodless trusty parasol, which itself is a deadly weapon in the dark one's hands.

While Team IGA did not offer any specific information as to when Bloodless will grace us with her presence, the developer noted that she would arrive in November, with more details arriving in the coming days. It's great to see Bloodstained still receiving fun new content well over a year after launch, giving fans another reason to take a fresh wander through the halls of The Hellhold once again.

Square Enix is at it again with their Asia-exclusive physical Switch carts!

This time the beloved Final Fantasy IX is being immortalized in physical form once again; which is just as well since this game should never be subject to legacy systems and digital storefronts that will eventually die out. Instead, it will live on with Switch beyond the confines of the eShop, but only in certain regions.

Square Enix Asia's Facebook account has confirmed that the physical edition of IX will arrive on November 27, which will allow for English language support (on top of French, Italian, German, and Spanish). Note that this release is region-free, so if you're keen on importing it for $49.99 (plus fees), you can play it on your western Switch. This version will retain the booster system as well as the "high speed" and "no encounters" toggles that were born out of the Final Fantasy VII PC release and beyond.

So yeah, as long as you can read one of those languages, you're good on importing this one and enjoying it forever. Just remember to charge your Switch battery regularly in the decades to come!

Square Enix Asia [Facebook via Nintendo Soup]

Bloober Team's mysterious psychological horror title The Medium has seemingly fallen foul of Australia's notoriously stringent ratings system. A listing on the Australian government's classification database shows that The Medium received a "Refused Classification" rating when submitted to the board back in July.

According to a report by Kotaku, Neither Bloober Team nor the Classification Board has come forward with a reason as to why The Medium did not make the grade. While it could be that a simple admin error was made in the title's submission, Australia is notoriously strict on video game ratings, often censoring or outright banning adult video games for minor infractions, particularly the use of drugs. Over the years, many titles have been troubled by Australian censors, including South Park: The Stick of Truth, Hotline Miami 2, Silent Hill: Homecoming, The Witcher 2, and DayZ.

The Medium is definitely one of the most interesting early releases on the new Xbox platform. So here's hoping that this is merely a small submission error, and that Australian horror fans will have the opportunity to enjoy The Medium in all of its mind-warping glory when it launches, December 10, on PC and Xbox Series X.

An Xbox Series X console exclusive has been refused classification [Kotaku]

Happy Godzilla Day, Destructoid! And what better way to celebrate the King of the Monsters than by stomping all over your fellow competitiors in Mediatonic's battle royale phenomenon Fall Guys...

...Well, you could always replay Destroy All Monsters, but just humor me.

A costume representing building-bashing lizard is now available to purchase in the Fall Guys in-game store, costing a pretty meaty 10 crowns. It looks great. He's even carrying a little car, which is a nice touch. Sadly, you can't blast opposing beans out of the way with radioactive breath, so you'll just have to keep pushing them off The Whirlygig instead.

Devolver Digital released a new trailer showcasing the Shinjuku Cultural Ambassador (no, really) in full effect. According to the publisher, the video also contains a few sneak peeks at other content coming to Fall Guys in the future, so be sure to keep those eagle eyes peeled.

For this review, I went a little above and beyond. I did some training. Training with Bakugan toys: to really get into the vibe of this new Switch game.

Seriously! Ahead of the review period, the publisher sent me a box of Bakugan balls and an arena. How could I not try it?! My wife and I spent round after round battling it out together, chucking these things into a ring and comparing stats. I can see the appeal.

Unfortunately, the Switch iteration doesn't quite capture most of the fun of the physical game.

Before we get going, I need to acknowledge something: the numerous misconduct allegations levelled at high profile Ubisoft employees. We know things have been tough and the company is certainly making all the right noises, but I feel strongly that reviews should, where possible, reflect on the culture in which games are created. Though I worry that art can't be divorced from the artist, at the same time, I appreciate that many hundreds of people contribute to Ubisoft's vast portfolio, and that their work shouldn't be overshadowed by the disgraceful conduct of a handful of people. It's a balance I'm still struggling with, to be honest, but it's hard to immerse yourself in a game that has seemingly come at such a cost to some. Here's hoping this is the last time a Ubisoft game comes with this caveat, eh?

The old adage says it's grim up North, but I'm not sure anything north of the M25 is as grim as Ubisoft's devastating vision of a broken, near-future London.

I’m convinced everyone at Supergiant Games were watching old episodes of Gladiators on the ITV Hub when they were making Pyre. I get the basketball comparisons, obvs, but it reminded me so much of powerball that I couldn’t help but wonder why referee John Anderson wasn’t asking me if I was ready at the beginning of every match.

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If you were looking for a new rhythm game to play on your mobile device, you’ll be glad to know that Atari has just released Beat Legend: AVICII on both the Google Play and Apple app store, and players can now download the app for $2.99.

The game features some of the most popular songs from the DJ/songwriter, and the app description is as follows:

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: A Hellsing Ultimate Tribute • TAY Retro: PC Engine - CD Rom System [TV Commercial (JP)] • TAY Retro: NEC - TurboGrafx-16 [Promotional Video (NA)]

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Demon's Souls on the PlayStation 5 is more than better graphics.

The post Creative Director for the Demon’s Souls PS5 Remake Describes Game’s Use of Hardware appeared first on Siliconera.

The release date, like many details about the game, isn't officially known, but we can state with relative certainty that the game will have cars in it.

The post Window for Gran Turismo 7 Release Date Reportedly Spotted in Official YouTube Ad appeared first on Siliconera.

Hi, yes, the 2013 version of Old School Runescape (which is actually from 2007), which you may not have played or even thought about for a decade, is now as popular as ever thanks to some recent changes made by the development team.

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Half-Life 2: Episode 2's Little Rocket Man achievement - still one of the finest achievements ever created, if you ask me - is poised to become reality, as Valve's Gabe Newell prepares to launch a garden gnome into space for charity.

Little Rocket Man was a notoriously tricksy achievement to secure, forcing players to carry an entirely innocuous garden gnome - dubbed Gnome Chompski - from the start of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 to a rocket ship toward the end of the game.

It's the stuff of legend, in large part thanks to Chompski's casual disregard for the laws of physics - which would often, infuriatingly, result in the gnome's impromptu high-velocity launch from the back of your open-top vehicle whenever it reached speeds higher than single digits - and Newell will be commemorating it as part of a drive to raise money for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of children's hospital Starship, in Auckland, New Zealand.

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Club Penguin was an idyllic place to waste your time. It was always either a gorgeous sunny day or a brisk cloudless night. Snowcap mountains towered over the distant horizon, bright yuletide storefronts lined the streets, and players found a nation of cheerful, polychrome penguins greeting them at every corner. They logged on to chill in gaudy igloo manors before scampering off with friends to play a variety of simple, Flash-based mini-games. Club Penguin was free-to-play and available on even the most primitive PC specs. You could do a lot worse on a Tuesday afternoon.

The biggest selling point of Watch Dogs: Legion is the vast array of randomized characters you can recruit to your underground army of revolutionary activists. But sometimes NPC professions and backgrounds line up in unfortunate ways.

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Look, I deeply admire the craft and ingenuity that goes into serious, elaborate cosplay, but I have a very special place in my heart for stuff like this.

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Back in October, we shared a really awesome recreation in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 that brought the Super Smash Bros. Hyrule stage to life in a unique, new way. Now the community has done it again, though this time with a bit more magic with this faithful Hogwarts homage from Harry Potter. 

While there is an official Harry Potter game coming out on the horizon, one player decided that they just really wanted to shred in the magical world of Hogwarts. Kickflip off of He Who Shall Not Be Named's face for extra cred (not really, but that would be cool). 

This is one of the many ways skate fans have shared how incredible the level creator truly is with the right motivation. While not limitless freedom, the tools provided allow for a surprising amount of creative freedom for those that want to blend the best of two worlds with one epic park. 

The same person that created this Hogwards nod also created the previous Hyrule Stage. The creator is 'Skyramblez' on YouTube and he's no stranger to creative twists. It is important to note that this creation is for the PC version of the game, just mosey on over to the Create a Park browser and search 'Hogwarts'. 

Watch Dogs Legion

may be set in future London but it’s not short on contemporary celebrity cameos. Ubisoft themselves announced before launch that you can find Stormzy in Watch Dogs Legion, but players have now spotted another cameo collection. Political podcast “Oh God, What Now?” have provided their writing and voices to some political analysis over the radio in Legion.

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Wait, no, it’s just to take a look at how the new DualSense controller works, and how it all came together. Sorry, these teardown videos always get me feeling a little carnivorous.

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Epic Games previously teased the Ghost Rider Fortnite skin but now it has been fully revealed alongside the news of the Ghost Rider Cup. For those that want this Marvel beauty, you're going to need to get in touch with your competitive side as the Knockout series continues. 

Ghost Rider is the latest Marvel character to make his way into the world of battle royale but to get this skin, you're going to want to get familiar with the Ghost Rider Cup. In order to compete, you're going to want to recruit two other friends to squad up with on November 4.

The event will take place within the Marvel Knockout Limited Time Mode (LTM) found in the Compete Tab within the in-game lobby. Here's what you need to do to make sure you're in the competition for the latest skin: 

1. Game Lobby
2. Compete Tab
3. Ghost Rider Cup
   1. Find the local time for your region
4. Must be a level 30 
5. Must have 2-Factor Authentication already set up

The Ghost Rider Cup isn't the end of the road for the Marvel competition either. Epic Games revealed that there are three more events coming up for this month: 

Over the last decade, escape rooms have become a very popular form of entertainment. Groups gather to be locked into a specifically designed room and must complete various puzzles to emerge victorious before time runs out.

But with the challenges facing the world in 2020, gatherings of this kind have become nearly impossible for most people looking to crack codes and have fun with their friends.

For those wanting to recapture the fun of solving puzzles with other people, The Escape Game has a solution. Virtual escape rooms are similar to that of the more familiar in-person versions. The difference in these experiences is that players are hosted over Zoom or Skype calls and control a "field agent" in real-time to complete the challenges instead of doing it themselves. 

While not a traditional video game by any means, we at GI were curious how the process of this live game actually worked. Join Jeff Cork, Joe Juba, Ben Reeves, and me as we take on a nefarious art dealer and try to steal back a priceless painting before he returns in our first attempt at a virtual escape room!

If you're interested in gathering your friends and trying out this digital experience for yourself, be sure to check out The Escape Game's website where you can find all the information on the different digital games they have to offer!