A Dyson sale, a $10 Aukey power strip, digital storage Gold Box, and a Flint and Tinder trucker kacket lead off Tuesday’s best deals from around the web.
The coronavirus outbreak is currently dominating the headlines - but among the doom and gloom is something a little more hopeful, as researchers are hoping a video game could help find a solution to the spread of COVID-19.
Developed by the University of Washington and first released in 2008, Foldit is a free puzzle game where players try to fold the structures of proteins as perfectly as possible. It's similar in aim to other protein folding programmes you may have heard of, such as Folding@home by Stanford University that was available on PS3 - although that one asked for raw computing power. Overall, a pretty smart way to share the research workload with over 200,000 people, and a paper by Foldit's creators found the player base is equal to (or often better than) a computer in finding solutions.
Destiny 2's Season of the Worthy kicks off next week at 6pm UK time on 10th March.
Season of the Worthy brings back popular hardcore Destiny 1 PVP mode Trials of Osiris, as well as some Destiny 1 maps, new exotic weapons and armour, a new season pass and a bit more story.
Speaking of story, the Cabal send colossal Cabal space weapon The Almighty on a collision course with the Last City, so you have to power up and then fight alongside Rasputin, the big Destiny Warmind, to take it out. Here's the official blurb:
Microsoft has announced two new special edition Xbox Controllers due for release later this year.
First up is the rather threatening-sounding Phantom Magenta Special Edition Wireless Controller. This is (apparently) the third controller to be released in the 'Phantom' series after the White and Black versions.
Like those previous two, it features a strong colour that fades towards the top of the controller to a more translucent design so you can catch a sneaky glimpse of the inner workings. Very sci-fi. It'll be available from 17th March.
A professional FIFA player lost a crucial penalty shootout to a bizarre bug that caused the game to fail to detect a perfectly valid goal.
On Sunday 1st March, Giuseppe Guastella, a five-time FIFA world finalist who plays the game for LA Galaxy, was knocked out of the North American online qualifiers for the FUT Champions Cup after FIFA 20 determined he missed a penalty that was, clearly, a goal.
In a video posted to Twitter, we see Guastella hit the ball against the post and into the net, but for some reason FIFA 20 called it a miss. The commentary, which runs as if he's missed (Lee Dixon says: "Oh no! I feel for him! All that rehearsal in training, he's gone and fluffed his lines!"), just makes the whole thing worse.
Image: various retailers via the Strategist
A look at hot toy trends from the Strategist
Graphic: James Bareham/Polygon
It’s probably just going to be called the PS5, right?
Image: Alissa Eckert, MS/CDC
Folding@home will allow you to donate your ‘unused computational resources’
Photo: Searchlight Pictures
And the infinite complications of making the film Peter Pan would make
Tokyo-based developer Cygames announced with a press release that it’s ending the sponsorship of its eSport team Cygames Beast following the release of Granblue Fantasy Versus.
Cygames Beast is well-known among fighting game fans for including world-famous professional players like Daigo Umehara, PR Balrog, GamerBee, Fuudo, and more.
With the release of Granblue Fantasy Versus, Cygames has joined the club of fighting game developers, and they decided that “continuing to sponsor a professional fighting game team may generate conflicts of interest, which would adversely affect the players.”
The developer also mentions that it “largely achieved” what it set out to do when it started sponsoring the team.
Cygames thanked the players for their hard work and dedication, and the fans for their support.
Granblue Fantasy Versus launched on February 6 in Japan and Asia for PS4, and today in North America. The European release on Sony’s console will come on March 27, while the PC version will launch worldwide on March 13.
Anime games run the gamut in quality, but most tend to fall into a comfortable niche of being passable enough for fans to enjoy. One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is one such game, presenting interesting ideas for an adaptation of the iconic anime series but never fleshing them out enough to achieve anything worthwhile for those not interested in the One Punch Man universe.
Set during the events of One Punch Man’s first season, the game sees players take the role of their own created character. As said character, they’re tasked with completing jobs for the hero association, which run the gamut from fetch quests for characters in a small over-world to battling created characters who play the role of villains, monsters, and thugs.
After completing enough tasks for the Association, players are allowed to assist in missions tied to the series’ plot, encountering villains from the show and teaming up with iconic heroes like Saitama, Genos and Mumen Rider to take them out.
It’s a pretty standard set-up for an anime tie-in game, and as far as story modes for fighting titles go, it gets the job done well enough.
In execution though, this approach leaves something to be desired. For every one mission tied to the game’s plot, or fight which really gives players the chance to flex their skills they’ve gained with the game, there are a slew of side missions the player needs to complete first.
Every once in a while you come across a situation where an out-of-context Mario series character would fit perfectly. Comedian Spettacomedy found over 50 of those occasions, and put them on fake movie posters.
Although many of them are romantic comedies, dramas, or dramedies involving Mario and Peach, there's plenty of room for Star Fox and his crew to shine, as well as Yoshi, Link, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Pauline and Zelda. A few of my favorites include Baby [Mario] Driver, and Face/Off, starring Luigi and Waluigi.
Several even have subtle little details: like the Balloon Challenge DLC balloons in the Luigi/Patch Adams mashup. I think I've seen every film on the list. It's been a while since I caught Scream 3 on TV while doing something else!
Nintendo Movie Posters [Imgur]
[Update: Following the declaration of a State of Emergency in Los Angeles yesterday, the ESA has issued a new statement regarding E3, which reads as follows:
"The health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, partners, and staff is our top priority. While the ESA continues to plan for a safe and successful E3 show June 9-11, 2020 - we are monitoring and evaluating the situation daily."
"Our E3 team and partners continue to monitor COVID-19 via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We are actively assessing the latest information and will continue to develop measures to further reduce health risks at the show."
"Again, please know that we will continue to evaluate new developments and provide updates, as needed."]
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has stated that its summer extravaganza, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), is still on track to take place in June, despite growing global concerns over COVID-19, more commonly known as the "coronavirus."
"We will continue to be vigilant, as our first priority is the health, wellness and safety of all of our exhibitors and attendees," an ESA spokesperson told Vice. "Given what we know at this time, we are moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning. Exhibit and registration sales are on track for an exciting show in June." Of note, around 69,000 attendees were present at E3 2019.
The next season of Destiny 2 starts next week, and Bungie today revealed more of what we’ll be doing in the Season Of The Worthy and why. Turns out, the dregs of the Cabal who survived our latest drubbing have a spiteful last-ditch plan to straight-up crash a miles-long superweapon spaceship into Earth. That’ll be a problem. So off we’ll go, powering up the defences of the cranky ancient AI, Rasputin and looting all sorts of new shinies along the way. This season will not benefit from Bungie’s recently-announced intent to cut down on FOMO but hey, I’ll take any newness for now.
A side-scrolling roguelike with a pixel art style and an adorable little skull person protagonist, Skul: The Hero Slayer could easily be mistaken for about seven thousand other early access games. After all, we’ve long since hit peak pixel, reaching the stage in society where lovely chunky squares are the mainstream rather than the exception, and aliased edges and bezier curves have to cower and beg in the street for hovering roast chicken sprites.
Does that make any sense? I’ve got a touch of fever this evening and I’m writing this introductory paragraph in a state of delirious hypochondria, so my usually astute and cutting edge observations have reverted back to PC gaming circa 2007.
Levi-Strauss and Nintendo will produce the Levis Super Mario clothing line, which will include shirts, hoodies, jeans, and accessories.
The post Mario Meets Fashion in Levi-Strauss’ New Clothing Line appeared first on Siliconera.
It took a while, but people can finally use a Street Fighter V Benchmark tool to see if their PC can handle the fighter.
The post Street Fighter V Benchmark Tool Appears Four Years After Launch appeared first on Siliconera.
Celebrated arcade game designer and programmer Tim Skelly has passed away. ...
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will no longer be getting a new rougelike mode, despite being a reward for a stretch goal that was met during the project's initial Kickstarter funding run.
In an update on the Kickstarter page Jason Ryan, senior community manager at publisher 505 Games, explained explained that the mode was simply not possible anymore due to due to incompatibility with some of Bloodstained's coding. "Unfortunately, the code that was created early in the game’s development is not currently compatible with this type of gameplay (especially a procedurally generated castle)," writes Ryan. "Due to this, we regret to announce that we will not be developing Roguelike as part of the project's planned stretch goals."
Instead of a roguelike mode, Bloodstained will be getting a Randomizer that attempts to bridge the gap by introducing some elements that would've been included. This mode will change up the locations of items, randomize where save points and warp rooms are, and change which boss ultimately ends the game. Up to eight parameters can be edited before starting a new campaign to create a unique run, which can then be shared with other players via a generated seed that can be used to spin up custom games.
Continue Reading at GameSpotTom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege has been out for more than four years, but if you still haven't played the shooter, you can try it for free this weekend before the new Operation Void Edge content arrives. If you like what you play, you can then get a huge discount on the full game for PS4, Xbox One, or PC, and keep playing permanently.
Beginning March 5 and running through March 8, the Rainbow Six Siege free weekend will give you access to all of the game's maps and modes as well as 20 of its playable operators. The game is available at up to 70 percent off through March 18 on PS4 and Xbox One, with discounts on the Deluxe, Gold, and Ultimate editions.
Any progress you make during the free weekend will carry over to the full version of the game, if you choose to purchase it. Rainbow Six Siege is coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles as well, and it will feature cross-generational support to the community can continue playing together.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Image: Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
Actor Norman Reedus also received a nomination for his role as Sam
Image: Riot Games
How two of the game’s maps set themselves apart from other tactical shooters
Google's Stadia has been slowly bolstering its catalogue in recent weeks - adding the likes of Image & Form's Steamworld series and, as of today, Croteam's Serious Sam - but it's been quite some time since the streaming service received anything close to a recent blockbuster. That will change on 17th March, however, with the arrival of The Division 2.
Ubisoft's The Division 2, which released on other platforms just shy of a year ago now, is arguably the highest profile title to hit Stadia since Borderlands 3's launch in December. And the good news for users of the streaming service is that The Division 2's recently unveiled Warlords of New York premium expansion will join Stadia alongside the base game, meaning purchasers will have access to the most up-to-date edition.
Better still, and perhaps crucially given Stadia's comparatively limited player base while it remains a premium-only service, The Division 2 will support full cross-play with the PC version of the game, ensuring a more substantial player pool on launch day. To take advantage of this cross-play functionality, purchasers will need to link their Stadia account to their Uplay account, which also grants cross-progression between both versions.
The Nintendo Switch was released worldwide on March 3, 2017. Feel old yet?
Let's do a quick recap. While Japan was ready to buy in immediately given its penchant for mobile gaming, the rest of the world was in wait and see mode. The Wii U had done extremely poorly for Nintendo, but when the Switch actually arrived and Breath of the Wild broke the internet, the floodgates were opened. Studios everywhere started rushing to bring their games to the Switch, and after roughly a year, the eShop had a regular release cadence of 20-30 games per week.
Nintendo would bolster their system first-hand with several heavy-hitting games, like the 22 million-selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as the 16.5 million seller Mario Odyssey and the 9.8 million Splatoon 2, all of which came in the year of the hardware's release in 2017. The Switch got a huge push in 2018 thanks to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which is now the best-selling fighter of all-time), as well as the 11 million plus selling pair of Pokemon: Let's Go games.
Against the odds, Sony continues to make positive strides toward the production of its Uncharted movie, a cinematic adaptation of the Naughty Dog adventure series. The latest news (broken by Variety) is the casting of legendary actor Antonio Banderas, along with confirmation of the movie's director, the seventh person to pick up the mantle to date.
Banderas, star of such movies as Desperado, Evita, Philadelphia, and The 13th Warrior, joins a cast which includes Tom Holland as a young Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as his mentor Victor "Sully" Sullivan. While Banderas' role is unconfirmed, it seems a snug fit that El Mariachi might be playing the villain of the piece.
Venom director Ruben Fleischer has agreed to take over behind the lens, following on from previous directors such as Dan Trachtenberg, Travis Knight, Shawn Levy, and Seth Gordon among others. Conflicting schedules have been the most regularly stated issue in getting Uncharted off of the ground, although Sony seems confident that the adaptation will hit the big screen early next year, having been pushed back from its initial Holiday 2020 release date.
Uncharted is scheduled to release in theatres on March 5, 2021.
DuckTales Remastered will once again allow people to solve mysteries and rewrite history, as the remake has returned.
The post DuckTales Remastered Returns to Digital Storefronts appeared first on Siliconera.
Fans of classic Fire Emblem should check out Langrisser I & II, a remaster of classic 16-bit strategy games with a similar feel, but enough original ideas.
The post Langrisser I & II Is For Fans of Classic Fire Emblem Games appeared first on Siliconera.
Joey Cuellar confirmed via Twitter that Evo 2020 will continue as planned this year, despite coronavirus concerns.
The post Evo 2020 Organizer Confirms ‘No Plans to Cancel or Postpone’ the Event appeared first on Siliconera.
Guardians don't have much longer to wait until new content drops for Destiny 2. Bungie has revealed that the latest season of its looter shooter, titled Season of the Worthy, is launching on March 10 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The headline new feature is something Bungie has already announced following the completion of the Empyrean Foundation community event last week, as Trials of Osiris returns for Season of the Worthy. The Power-enabled 3v3 Crucible playlist will run every weekend for Guardians hoping to earn some fancy-looking loot. Those able to win multiple Trials of Osiris matches in a row will net some valuable Pinnacle gear, while anyone good enough to win seven in a row will earn additional rewards and special access to The Lighthouse. All Guardians at power level 960 or greater are free to compete in Destiny 2's most challenging PvP activity so far.
Pokemon Go players have a ton of events to look forward to this month, from the debut of the Gen 5 Legendary Thundurus to a Team Rocket takeover, which is slated to kick off this Friday, March 6. Ahead of the event, developer Niantic has made a few tweaks to Shadow Pokemon.
As detailed on the official Pokemon Go website, Shadow Pokemon now dish out more damage when they remain in their Shadow form. To offset this, however, their defense has been reduced, so they'll take more damage in return. It also now costs less Candy to power up a Shadow Pokemon and teach it a new move, and the Shadow Legendary Pokemon that you can rescue from Team Rocket leader Giovanni are more powerful.
We’ve received reports of developments regarding Shadow Pokémon. Whatever Team GO Rocket is doing seems to be making these poor Pokémon stronger as long as they remain Shadow Pokémon. https://t.co/bWlNnSs61t pic.twitter.com/Z8QWpP2FEd
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) March 3, 2020
You can get a closer look at some Resident Evil 3 Remake gameplay today, March 4, as Capcom is set to stream the game at 7 PM GMT / 8 PM CET / 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. There's no indication of how long the stream will be or what parts of the game will be shown off as of yet, but we're expecting it to showcase some of the new things Capcom is doing to modernize the experience.
Capcom recently announced that Resident Evil Remake 3 will be receiving a demo, but has yet to confirm a release date for this. It could be that the stream provides information for when the demo will launch.
We recently got to see Resident Evil 3 Remake for ourselves and came away very impressed with the improvements Capcom has made to the classic survival horror. "It's intriguing to see how much Capcom is redefining what it means to revisit classic games, so much so that it makes me wonder how much these reimagined remakes will impact the series' legacy and identity moving forward," wrote Matt Espineli in a recent preview. "To re-experience a game I love in a new, but familiar way is truly special--it's not an everyday thing."
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Image: Zach Gage
Image: Disney
Image: Bungie
Image: Riot Games
Photo: Michael McWhertor/Polygon