April 2020

Mega space economy simulator X4: Foundations has released its first major expansion, bringing the alien Split faction back into the series, along with a heap of ships and new areas to explore.

Developers Egosoft have also updated the base game, promising a litany of fixes and improvements, and additions including new ships, weapons, and a fresh storyline, whether you buy the expansion or not.

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Gaming headsets are a great way to improve your PC’s audio and chat with your mates online, so to help you find the best gaming headset for you and your budget, why not pick one of our best gaming headset recommendations below? Every headset on this list has been tried and tested right here at RPS, so you can be absolutely sure these are the cream of the best gaming headset crop. You’ll find everything here from the best budget gaming headsets all the way up to the best wireless gaming headsets, as well as everything in between. No matter what you’re looking for, I’ve got a best gaming headset recommendation for you.

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If you took Death Stranding’s delivery-based gameplay and traded its oppressive post-apocalyptic setting for a tropical toy town with overblown physics you’d have Totally Reliable Delivery Service. In a similar vein to Goat Simulator and Human: Fall Flat, this game is shambolic by design in order to derive maximum humour from the resulting unpredictability, but it takes it to such an extreme that it’s not always easy to identify where the deliberate wonkiness ends and the unintended rough edges begin. As a result, Totally Reliable Delivery Service is just as likely to trigger fits of laughter as it is to spark fits of anger.

Up to four players, either locally in split-screen or online, can cooperatively tackle 100 different deliveries dotted around an island-based sandbox. I say up to four players but what I really mean is a minimum of two, because although Totally Reliable Delivery Service can technically be played solo, it is a vastly inferior experience when you don’t have additional dopey deliverymen bumbling along with you to either help or hinder your progress.

Deliveries can be tackled in any order and your success in completing them awards you a gold, silver, or bronze trophy, some cash, and a cosmetic item to customise your character with. I didn’t really find any of these rewards particularly compelling, though, especially the cash which seemingly can’t be spent anywhere, and my only real motivation for undertaking each delivery was the chaos that would typically unfold en route between each dispatch zone and reception point.

Final Fantasy VII Remake arrives on April 10. Can you believe it? The project was originally announced in 2015 and blew the doors off of E3. Since then it's had a development house change, several delays, and long stretches without any info of any kind. A recent update from Square Enix noted that this is it: it's sticking to that April 10 date, so there's no going back now.

Speaking of launch, a Reddit user on the Final Fantasy VII Remake subreddit noticed a change of plans regarding pre-loading. Originally the game was set for an April 8 pre-load, which is typical of some bigger releases to allow downloading a few days before. But as of this week it's been altered to a new pre-load date of April 3.

It makes perfect sense for a lot of reasons. One, it's a massive game and PSN speeds have been slowed down recently. Second, Square has noted that some copies are shipping early due to coronavirus concerns, so it might already be out in the wild already for some people.

Auto Download Update [Reddit] Thanks John!

Sabotage Studio's Thierry Boulanger opens up about how the success of The Messenger allowed the studio to start in on Sea of Stars, and the impact COVID-19 has had on the game's development. ...

Today is April Fool’s Day. Pranks probably aren’t a good idea this year! Pretending you have covid-19 is definitely not.

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Panzer Dragoon is a strange game. Otherworldly would probably be a more elaborate way of putting it: Sega's 1995 original overcame the more limited technology of the Saturn to transport players to a faraway fantasy touched by Frank Herbert's Dune and Hayao Mayazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It's a wonderfully alien place, where oversized insects scuttle under monumental pastel skies.

No wonder it lodged itself in players' imaginations, gaining a cult status that only seems to have grown in all the years since. There have been follow-ups and spin-offs - the RPG Panzer Dragoon Saga remains an all-time great, while Panzer Dragoon Orta, part of the fantastic wave of Sega games made for Microsoft's first Xbox, provided a muscular modern update and Xbox One launch title Crimson Dragon was a wonky but entertaining spiritual successor from series creator Yukio Futatsugi. This, though, goes back to the source for what is, for better and worse, a faithful retread of the original.

It's a slightly odd proposition, with Sega and the original development team seemingly uninvolved. Instead this is the work of Polish publisher Forever Entertainment and developer MegaPixel Studio, both relative unknowns - which might be why this feels, more often than not, like a fanmade project, with cut corners and slim production values. But it's important to emphasize the fan part of that equation, because this clearly comes from a place of passion, with the source material being treated with utmost respect.

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Rockstar Games and COVID-19 Relief pic.twitter.com/9j6NrtcrFN

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: Japanese Cookbook 101 - part 8. Gohan Teriyaki Burger • WoW, What Am I Still Doing? • TAY Retro: Famicom | ロックマン２ (Mega Man 2) [TV Commercial, JP]

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This is the work of Kreatworks, a studio in Phatumthanee, Thailand that specializes in recycled metal art.

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PlayStation Russia has decided not to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered.

It means there will be no No Russian - or any other Modern Warfare 2 mission - for PlayStation 4 owners in the country.

In a statement released last night via Activision's official Call of Duty Russia Twitter account, the company did not illuminate the reason for PlayStation Russia's disapproval.

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Once again, Microsoft has slashed the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in half by offering a six-month membership for the price of three.

Both Amazon and Game currently have the promotion live, where a six-month subscription will now set you back £32.99. The way the offer works is you'll be sent two separate three-month codes, so you can use both for yourself or choose to share the spare with a friend if you want. Just be sure to activate it before 14th May 2020.

For anyone who's heard all this talk about the great value of Game Pass, now's a great chance to get it for an even better price. Even more so now we're locked up indoors looking for more things to do.

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It's been out for less than a month, yet it seems like Call of Duty: Warzone already has a bit of a cheating problem - particularly on PC. A quick browse through the Modern Warfare subreddit will bring up dozens of examples of wall hacking and aimbots. It's prompted some console players to opt out of cross-play entirely for fear of being lumped in with cheaters on the PC version. Just take a look at the end of one game from the perspective of a hacker, or the person showing off their Warzone hacks on TikTok.

The speed at which these hacks have appeared is likely because Warzone is attached to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - a game that's been out since October last year, giving dubious characters plenty of time to develop hacks. But last night Infinity Ward unveiled further plans to address the problem in Warzone specifically, saying it has a "zero-tolerance" policy towards cheaters, and has been working hard to punish them.

"We have been enforcing account bans since day one of Warzone's release," explained the blog post. "To date, we [have] issued more than 50k permabans worldwide."

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They say seeing the world through the eyes of a child is the purest joy that anyone can experience and in Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, that's absolutely true.

This might look like a mod, but it's not.

After the game launched in Early Access on Monday, players were delighted to discover that pressing 'R' on their keyboards during character creation allowed them, for some reason, to play through this extremely bloody, early medieval RPG as an infant child.

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The Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center will not ring with the detonation of rockets or chugging of Bawls this August, for QuakeCon 2020 has been cancelled. Id Software’s 25th annual fragfest is called off due to the usual concerns and uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic. What began as a big ol’ LAN party has grown into a big marketing event too, particularly after Bethesda bought the Quakelords at Id Software, though I suppose any announcements that Bethesda would’ve made at QuakeCon could be done online instead.

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A remastered version of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is hitting PC on April 30th, bringing improved audio and visuals to what’s pretty widely considered one of COD’s best singleplayer stories. Note that it is just the singleplayer campaign we’re getting a remaster of – if you were expecting to be able to drop on some of your old favourite multiplayer maps like in 2016’s MW Remastered, well, think again, as multiplayer and Spec-Ops missions aren’t included.

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After a pretty quiet start to the year, the new PC games train has finally picked up steam and is now hurtling towards us with lots of tasty treats in tow, which is just as well given we’re all stuck inside at the moment and have lots of spare time on our hands. To help you keep track of all the biggest and best PC games coming out this year, we’ve created this giant new games list for the whole of 2020. Now updated for April, we’ve cleared away the games that came out in March and tidied up a bunch of games that have since been delayed as well.

Ordered by month, we’re rounded up all of this year’s new PC games so you can see exactly what’s coming out and when. Of course, there are still plenty of games whose release dates are TBA at the moment, but we’ll be updating this list regularly as and when they get confirmed. In the mean time, here’s your complete guide to PC gaming in 2020.

Bleeding Edge is a third-person 4v4 brawler with a line-up that includes a woman who turns into a motorcycle, a snake who inhabits a zombie, and – soon to be introduced – a dolphin in a mechsuit. There’s a feathery, mechanical raptor-lady. There’s a fire-breathing goth. There’s a grandma, who is also a witch, leashed to a mini hot air balloon. Most of the combatants are charming, inventive and memorable, but I never want to see any of their stupid faces again.

All the charm in the world couldn’t stop the combat being pants.

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You’ve all sat through your Half-Life: Alyx VR maths lesson, right? Good. Time for a treat.

YouTuber “ChrisQuitsReality” has put together an impressive performance of bottle-tossing, plate-flipping, grenade-groping and chair-chucking, with the occasional use of Alyx’s gravity gloves for added flair. He is a juggling wizard, and you will appreciate him. Unless you really want to avoid mild environment spoilers.

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How Microsoft is placing its bets on a transformative decade

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PlatinumGames' Platinum 4 website updated with a "docking" new collaboration with a certain legendary developer for April Fools'.

The post PlatinumGames Reveals Final Platinum 4 Announcement as an April Fools’ Collaboration with Hamster appeared first on Siliconera.

Every so often my wife and I will look at each other and say, "I miss Flipnote."

For those of you who never owned a 3DS (or DSi), Flipnote Studio was a rocking app that ran from 2008 to 2013 that allowed users to send cute notes to each other. Alas like most things on older Nintendo systems it was discontinued, and the hope of a resurrection died with it. Until this past week, it seems.

As usual, Nintendo rumors were running rampant with little in the way of proof, and some folks believed that Flipnote Studio was coming to Switch because of some leaked images. And as is customary, it turns out that the entire thing was a hoax.

Developer James "rakujira" revealed the whole affair today on Twitter, noting that it was originally intended to "goof on a couple of small Discord guilds," but completely blew up from there. James says it took five days to put together, and was a joint effort with multiple people.

As James notes, the small team managed to get Flipnote trending in Japan, which they say will hopefully remind Nintendo that this series is beloved. It is! But I am far past the point of taking Nintendo rumors at face value.

Rakujira [Twitter]

Razer Panthera Evo Tournament Fight Stick | $170 | Amazon

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These are trying times. One man keeps making the internet a better place with his low-cost cosplay. Thank goodness for that!

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When faced with a game like Mount And Blade 2 Bannerlord, there is always the temptation to cheat your way through it with the cheat mode. The cheats here don’t allow you to do anything you want, but what you can do is game breaking.
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Virtual reality has had a bit of boom since the release of Half-Life: Alyx last month, so we’ve updated our list of best VR games to help reflect that. Indeed, whereas VR games used to be a wasteland of mini-games and glorified scenery wallpapers, there are now more great games than you’ll ever have time to play. To help you sort through the good from the bad, have a read our best VR games list below.

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Red Dead Redemption II developer Rockstar Games has announced that starting today through the end of May, it is donating five percent of in-game transactions in Red Dead Online and GTA Online to help small businesses and communities deal with COVID-19.

The tweet announcing the campaign says it will distribute aid "both directly and by supporting some of the amazing organizations who are on the ground."

Rockstar says that more details regarding the initiative are coming in the future.

[Source: Rockstar Games]

With the news of Trails of Cold Steel IV making its way to North America very soon, we also had the opportunity to do a quick Q&A with Nihon Falcom president and producer Toshihiro Kondo. Kondo was candid about how the team went all-out to close out the Trails of Cold Steel arc, giving hints and confirmations about various aspects of the arc’s end. As we all know by now, anything is possible when it comes to this series. 

[Editor's Note: This interview contains light spoilers for Trails of Cold Steel III]

Cold Steel III had a somber ending; what can we expect from Rean and his cohorts and the challenges they face this time around?

You might be able to imagine due to III’s ending, but IV opens with Rean being separated from his companions. It is similar to II, but the Erebonian Empire is once again making a push towards war and Rean’s companions’ circumstances are even more severe. I think you can tell from the characters’ clothing in the game’s key visual that they are not able to continue their lives as students. Things are escalating quicker than ever before.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is finally hitting our shores, and we got all the first details on what you can expect along with an announcement trailer (above) and screenshots.  

Nihon Falcom’s Trails of Cold Steel series has made a name for itself with its detailed world, colorful characters, and impressive turn-based combat. For three entries, we’ve followed protagonist Rean Schwarzer as he’s gone from a student to a professor amid plenty of political turmoil and shocking revelations. This is the final entry in the Trails of Cold Steel arc, and due to events in the previous entry, will not have its standard student-life setting.

Click image thumbnails to view larger version

Square Enix has published the third episode of its Inside Final Fantasy VII Remake video documentary series, and this time it details the creative processes behind the game’s action-RPG combat.

Specifically, we hear from producer Yoshinori Kitase, battle director Teruki Endo, co-director of game design & programming Naoki Hamaguchi, and leader battle designers Kosuke Sakane and Tomotaka Shiroichi.

The team provides some fascinating insight on how they arrived at the idea to balance traditional ATB battle system mechanics with some more akin to a modern action game.

If you aren’t up to speed already with the options that Final Fantasy VII Remake gives you to adjust the game’s combat to your preference then all of that is explained, too.

You can check out the new episode for yourself below.

To watch a previous episode of the Inside series, here’s one on the origins of the game’s development.

Type Moon and FGO Project released a playable smartphone game for April Fools' day called Fate/Grand Order MyCraft LostBelt.

The post Fate/Grand Order Gets Playable Smartphone Game “MyCraft LostBelt” for April Fools’ appeared first on Siliconera.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV PS4 will be out in Fall 2020. The Switch and PC ports will arrive a year later.

The post The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Switch, PS4, and PC Versions Heading West appeared first on Siliconera.