February 2021

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Hisense 32" HD Smart TV | $110 | Best Buy
Hisense 75" 4K Smart TV | $630 | Best Buy

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Turn the page on love for Murasaki Shikibu.

The post The Fate/Grand Order Valentine’s Event Is a Literary Love Letter appeared first on Siliconera.

Get ready to romance aliens and fight other aliens again in May 2021.

The post Mass Effect Legendary Edition Release Date Falls in May 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

“Under the Control of…” is the official anthem for KOF XV Team Hero. Hear Shun'ei, Meitenkun, and Benimaru's song.

The post Hear the KOF XV Team Hero Theme Song appeared first on Siliconera.

A Street Fighter V update is on the way. People who tune in can learn more about Dan and the rest of the season 5 updates on the way.

The post Street Fighter V Winter Update Will Discuss Dan appeared first on Siliconera.

We've been learning a lot about Super Nintendo World, the newest addition to Universal Japan, lately! The opening might be delayed even further past February 4, but we still basically know everything about it.

So basically no one, outside of a select few industry insiders and theme park journalists, have gone in. Well, you can fix that, digitally! Over on Planet Minecraft, intrepid designer Dippy22 is hard at work crafting up a 1:1 replica of the park.

Here's a quick rundown of the project: "If you may recall, I created a fan adaption of the land last year based on some early concept art. Now, as more footage and promotions begin to release, I am finally able to recreate the entire land faithfully on a 1:1 scale. I've just started this new undertaking and any experienced help would be welcomed."

They need help people! You can check out the call for action on the aforementioned Planet Minecraft page, where they link the appropriate Discord.

Super Nintendo World Japan | 1:1 Recreation [Planet Minecraft] Thanks Tom!

Modus Games has announced an approximate release window for its delayed but charming looking adventure Cris Tales. The time-hopping RPG, which did not meet its initial November 2020 release date, will now arrive in July on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia.

A new overview trailer gives us a fresh look at Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK's magical world of spirit and adventure, as young time mage Crisbell and her newly met companions journey through the kingdom of Crystallis. This party is on a seemingly insurmountable quest to stop the nefarious Empress of the Ages, who is using her mastery of time itself to wreak chrono-based havoc on the kingdom.

Described by Modus as a "gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs," Cris Tales features vibrant hand-drawn art and a plethora of characters and locations inspired by Colombian architecture and culture. When last year's demo received a fairly lukewarm reception, Modus' candidly stated that a delay would be put in place to allow for further polishing. I'm looking forward to exploring Cris Tales' world and meeting its characters, so here's hoping that said delay will allow this intriguing new adventure to shine in all its splendor.

BlizzCon's chance for a physical meetup (safely) came and went, but now it's time for the publisher to shine...digitally, in February. As previously announced, it's going to be free to watch.

But before that happens, you can get in on the festivities with goodies for World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, StarCraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo. It's the usual smorgasbord and smattering of stuff: pets/mounts, player icons, and loot boxes: that sort of stuff.

What about that Heroes bonus, though? On the most recent episode of the podcast Into the Nexus, the duo speculated that we might not get anything from the Heroes of the Storm team at BlizzConline: but now you're saying there's a chance?

With the addition of the OSV-03 Rogue mount as well as the Tracer hero bonus, it seems like Heroes is still sticking around for the BlizzConline festivities in some form. We know, the game is alive and well, and is still getting updates and new heroes. I think it is telling, however, that the premium packs only contain items for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Diablo III.

You can find the full list and breakdown of all the packs below!

Celebration Collection [Battle.net]

Electronic Arts and developer BioWare have announced that remaster trilogy Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, (via Steam and Origin), on May 14. A brand new trailer has been released to help get fans' warp engines in overdrive.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will remaster BioWare's fantastic space opera, which took players on a wild and emotional ride on PS3, PC, and Xbox 360 between 2007-2012. These three sci-fi epics tell the story of Commander Shepard and their party of beloved, rogueish, and memorable allies, thrown together in a battle for the very fate of the galaxy, held at the mercy of a generational doomsday race known as "The Reapers."

Capcom has announced that it will be hosting a live stream next week for its flagship fighting title Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. The winter update stream will go live on Thursday, February 11 at 09:00 PT / 12:00 ET / 18:00 BST on Capcom's official Twitch and YouTube channels.

The stream is expected to delve further into upcoming events and DLC as it pertains to Street Fighter V's fifth and final season. The stream will feature a showcase for its next DLC fighter Dan Hibiki, and will also unveil a brand new mechanic. Additionally, the team will address SFV's esports plans for 2021, and with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't particularly good news.

Street Fighter V season five will see one last batch of World Warriors added to the fighter's meaty roster. Joining Dan will be Street Fighter Alpha's Rose, Street Fighter III's Oro, Rival Schools guest star Akira, and a mystery fifth character. This new season will see SFV enter its twilight period, with plans for the next entry in the enduring fighting franchise already well underway.

The Nevers follows a group of supernaturally powered women in Victorian England

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EA Sports College Football won’t have real players

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Hopefully Baby Yoda isn’t hunting you too

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Complete tasks to get a special Pokémon encounter

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Wonderful news, everyone

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The Relationship Between Quantic Dream Montreal and Paris

The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer is the hidden gem of the community. Being able to experience combat as an Asari, a Drell, a Turian, and more was thrilling and the mode quickly developed a very dedicated player base despite initial concerns. So why didn't BioWare bring it back for the Mass Effect Legendary Edition? We sat down with the team to find out why this addition was deemed "too complicated" during the remaster's development period. 

When speaking with Kevin Meek, environment and character director, and project director Mac Walters, the topic of multiplayer came up and why the studio decided to nix its inclusion. When speaking with Walters, he compared multiplayer to restoring a Porsche, and the analogy actually worked. 

The Mass Effect trilogy is an iconic action/RPG franchise that still has fans in love even years after release. Now the already-impressive community is about to get a lot bigger because the remaster is opening up Commander's Shepard story to gamers of this generation. To celebrate, we've got our first look at the Mass Effect Legendary Edition gameplay in a new trailer alongside a Game Informer-exclusive release date reveal. 

The beauty of the Legendary Edition is it's got something to offer for newcomers and longtime fans alike, especially those N7 fans that may have missed out on the DLC. With updated graphics, smoother UI for the first game, and over 40 included DLC to enjoy, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a space experience that shouldn't be slept on. 

"As Commander Shepard, rise to become the galaxy’s most elite soldier and lead an epic war to stop an ancient and ruthless enemy: the Reapers," reads the official description of the upcoming remaster. "Heart-pounding cinematic action intersects with gripping interactive storytelling in a heroic battle against the unknown where you will decide how the story unfolds. You will assemble a crew of intriguing characters, learning their own unique stories as they traverse the galaxy in the state-of-the-art ship, SSV Normandy. The fate of the galaxy lies in your hands."

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition just dropped an explosive new trailer, showing off the remaster's strengths and that it includes over 40 DLC to enjoy. For those that want to become Commander Shepard in real life, we've got just the thing with the recently revealed collector's edition!

The collector's edition comes with not only a replica of Commander Shepard's helmet, but an N7 acceptance letter, art prints, and more. 

So what's included? 

• Includes:
  • 1 Mass Effect Legendary Edition Metal Game Case (Game not included)
  • 1 Morality Spinner Pin
  • 1 N7 Acceptance Letter
  • 2 Canvas Art Prints (Including one you can only find here at the BioWare Gear Store)
  • Comes in a full color custom box featuring the game’s key art

 Let’s go through these collectibles one by one.

N7 Helmet

It’s wearable, beautifully-detailed, faithful to the games… and yes, it lights up, too.

UPDATE 10pm UK: Klarna has shared its full response to the Woolard Review, agreeing that "regulation has not kept pace with new products and changes in consumer behaviour" and that it "fully support[s] modernising regulation and supervision" in the buy-now, pay-later sector. Klarna clarified that Xbox All Access includes an affordability check.

ORIGINAL STORY 5pm UK: Klarna, the Swedish financial company that handles the credit payment process for Xbox All Access packages in the UK, is facing government regulation of its buy-now, pay-later services following a report by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Woolard Review - which was commissioned by the FCA to investigate BNPL credit agreements such as those offered by Klarna, Clearpay and PayPal - found that while BNPL products promise split payments with no interest, it would be "relatively easy" for a consumer to amass £1000 of debt by using multiple BNPL lenders.

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Mass Effect's back. The Legendary Edition of BioWare's beloved trilogy launches on 14th May and Shepard's aging space adventures have never looked better. We have plenty of detail on all the upgrades this remaster brings to Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 below.

But, of course, there's more to this impending revival than all that. Sitting down with BioWare to discuss the changes and look to the future, the fact Mass Effect is back on the schedule at all seems like something worth celebrating, considering where the franchise seemed to have been left a few years ago. For fans, there's been an anxious wait for news on whether Mass Effect would continue, until the twin announcements late last year - of the remastered trilogy and a brand new (still very far-off) continuation of the series - let fans once again breathe easy. We talk to BioWare about all that below as well.

First, some specifics. The Mass Effect trilogy's Legendary Edition includes 4K support and HDR compatibility, plus 60 FPS on PC and consoles from PS4 Pro/Xbox One Series X forwards. On PC, it adds support for controllers and 21:9 widescreen displays. As expected, all three games and all single-player DLCs are included. There's no multiplayer mode, no additional story elements, and no version (yet) for Nintendo Switch.

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Fortnite's ongoing collaboration with Star Wars continues today with a new mode and location added as part of the game's 15.30 update.

Mando's Bounty is a points-based affair where you have three lives to take down as many opponents as possible - and preferably, the target identified by your very own bounty puck. This item sits in your inventory and projects a holographic image of your victim, just like in popular space parenting TV show The Mandalorian.

Play takes place across the Fortnite map, though the action right now seems centred around its new cantina location, located near Butter Barn in Fortnite's desert area (which is more Tatooine-like than Nevarro, but still). Drop in here and you'll be greeted to Star Wars' familiar cantina band music, and probably a blaster in the face.

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EA Sports' new line of College Football games won't feature the names or likenesses of any real-world players, a likely result of past legal troubles with the NCAA. ...

Take a look back at this 2012 interview with Casey Hudson on the creative challenges his team faced while closing out the original Mass Effect trilogy. ...

Today EA Sports announced that they are creating a new college football game. Very little else is currently known. A new Twitter account was created today, @easportscollege, and they published the following tweet:

That’s more or less where this story ends, at least for now. Nothing else at the moment is publicly known.

College sports video games have been on hiatus for quite some time as the NCAA, game companies like EA, and players have all struggled to figure out a way to create college sport video games that do not take advantage of players and their likenesses, and not only follow the rules of the NCCA but also U.S. law.

It’s a complex problem with lots of pitfalls and for years EA has more or less just decided to not bother. It’s clear that this position from EA is changing, but no word on yet on how they managed to juggle all of those issues

Apex Legends Season 8 is live today, and there are a few changes coming that you should know about before hopping into matches. There are map changes, a new Legend, a new gun, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about Apex Legends Season 8, Mayhem.

New Legend: Fuse

Walter “Fuse” Fitzroy is an explosives expert who grew up on Salvo — a dangerous planet ruled by warlords. His childhood friend, Maggie, aimed to be one of said warlords, while Fuse set his sights on the Apex Games.

Today Square Enix revealed the opening cutscene and new gameplay of the upcoming NieR mobile game NieR: Re[in]carnation.

All the assets were showcased during a livestream from Japan, showing off a glimpse of what we can expect.

The opening cutscene is especially charming thanks to the inevitably beautiful music by Keeichi Okabe.

You can check it out below alongside with the gameplay and see if they get you excited for this new chapter of the NieR series.

Earlier today, Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human) announced that after 23 years in the business, they plan to expand their studio beyond their current headquarters in Paris, France.

This brand-new studio will be opening up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It’s currently unclear when this new studio will be opened because of a number of factors. But the co-CEO and Chairman of Quantic Dream, Guillaume de Fondaumière, makes it clear that they’re full steam ahead on 2021.

“The implementation of several new projects leads us to engage a major recruitment program for 2021 in all disciplines. Quantic Dream is opening a new office in Montreal to quickly build a ‘human-sized’ team, made up of experts from the region. We plan to recruit most of the team this year with the creation of approximately 50 positions by the end of 2021.”

And Quantic Dream’s General Manager, Stéphane D’Astous, made it clear that they’re going to be aggressively looking for talent throughout North America.

“Our goal is to attract experienced talent at Quantic Dream Montreal, from Canada and the United States, and in particular designers, programmers and animators, who will work closely with our teams in Paris to develop AAA titles on PC and next-generation consoles.”

D’Astous also detailed how the Montreal studio will be supplementing the work of the Paris studio, “Our approach is definitely “hand in hand”; we all work on the same projects.”

He continues, “Here in Montreal, we’re responsible for developing the game mechanics and all the gameplay. We can only succeed if we work as a team.”

Today Electronic Arts announced the release date of the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.

The game will bring back the original Mass Effect trilogy on May 14 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (via Origin and Steam) with further enhancements for PS5 and Xbox Series X.

The remaster supporting 4K resolution and more will include over 40 DLC, so it’s basically your full pre-Andromeda package.

You can watch the trailer below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Mass Effect, here’s an official description for your perusal.

“One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors and packs — remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD. 

Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome.” 

Earlier today, the Fortnite YouTube channel released a trailer for a brand-new limited-time mode coming to the game, Mando’s Bounty. And as the name suggests, it features none other than one of the most famous Star Wars Bounty hunters, the Mandalorian.

This new mode tasks players with tracking down specific targets and taking them out to earn credits. Taking out others also earns you credits, but just not as much as your target. On top of that, the targets will also drop high-tier loot.

But just be careful, because after some time the Mandalorian will make his way into the battle. And like a good bounty hunter, he’ll track down and try to take out the player with the highest number of credits.

If you manage to emerge victorious in Mando’s Bounty, then you’ll unlock the Beskar Umbrella. Beskar is the type of medal that many of Mando’s weapons and plates of armor are made out of. However, this Beskar Umbrella is merely cosmetic.

Just make sure you jump on this mode quickly, because it won’t last very long. Mando’s Bounty is live right now and will end on Feb. 9 at 9 AM ET.

If you want to check out the latest Fortnite news about some of the new weapons, you can find that right here. The Mando’s Bounty trailer from the Fortnite YouTube channel can be found below.

Subnautica: Below Zero is the sequel to 2018’s successful exploration-survival game, Subnautica. You play as Robin, a xenobiologist in search of information regarding her dead sister and the mysterious circumstances under which her death occurred, Sam.

While the sequel is set in the same oceanic world as its predecessor, Planet 4546B, the biomes present are completely different. Players will find familiar creatures and gameplay elements as well as unfamiliar ones, making for a comfortable yet new experience.

As a kid, I used to rush home from school so I could catch the latest episode of the Disney cartoon DuckTales. I loved following Scrooge McDuck and his nephews across the world as they charted a path towards gold and glory, and it was always a blast seeing what new caper they’d stumble into. When I learned a video…

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We’re less than 24 hours from this year’s Steam Game Festival, a week-long event showcasing new and upcoming PC games available on the Steam store. There will be Q&A events with developers, live streams to watch, and hundreds of free demos to play.

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