June’s Xbox Live Games with Gold aren’t too exciting, but hey, they’re games. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Just when you thought you were done hunting monsters, bam! Capcom drops a free title update adding two new ferocious beasts to conquer and “a new ending to advance the story,” which is not how endings work but that’s what Capcom says, so we’ll run with it.
The new version of Miitopia is pretty much the same as the old one, and both of them support amiibo functionality.
But of course the new hotness always benefits from advancements, and in this case, the Switch edition just got patched to support the Power-Up Bands from Universal's Super Nintendo World theme park. This is on top of all of the prior amiibo figure functionality.
As a refresher, these bands are sold at the park (and can be imported on the secondhand market), and are basically amiibo equivalents. Right now Nintendo is only producing them for some of the more popular characters in their stable, but if they catch on, they'll likely expand the line. You can read all about them here in our hands-on impressions.
To use them in Miitopia, you'll encounter an NPC called the "Nintendo Fan" (which you can customize) very early in the game: just a few steps from the starting town. Head to them and just tap an amiibo to your controller/Switch and you're good to go. Figures range from outfit to minor item bonuses.
Miitopia [Nintendo]
This Friday, we'll get a glimpse at the gameplay of the next entry in the Far Cry series. Ubisoft has announced that a new live stream featuring gameplay of Far Cry 6 will air on May 28.
The stream, which will go live at 9:30 a.m. PT, will be the first glimpse we've had of the next Far Cry in a good while. On top of seeing gameplay, I'm also hoping we see more of Giancarlo Esposito's villain too, as he stars in the teaser for this week's stream:
Since Far Cry 6 was delayed from its previous launch, it'll be interesting to see how much we learn about the new game this Friday. With Ubisoft's E3 Forward looming, this could be getting some news out a little early, or at least teasing more to come once June 12 rolls around.
Monster Hunter Rise is getting another update to end the month, and alongside some new creatures to take down, this also includes a new ending for the story.
Announced during today's Monster Hunter Rise stream, the Ver.3.0 update will go live at 1 a.m. BST on May 27, which means U.S. players can get a hold of it later tonight. The update is free for all players, and alongside a new ending, also adds the Crimson Glow Valstrax and Apex Zinogre.
Capcom also laid out the road ahead for Monster Hunter Rise, which includes several more free updates for players. Three Capcom collaborations are due from mid-June through August, as well as more DLC and event quests.
It's nice to Monster Hunter Rise not only get a full ending, but so much post-launch support. It's definitely a good reason to boot back into your village and hunt some more monsters.
Nintendoooooo!
While I have no doubt that Zelda will get some sort of anniversary shindig, the jury is out on some of the other series (poor Metroid). Some rogue agent on some Twitter account might put out an unauthorized "remember this series I grew up with?!" tweet, but that's all about I'd expect for say; Kid Icarus. At least it's getting an in-game Smash Ultimate event?
Nintendo announced via the official Smash Bros. Twitter account that the next Ultimate event this weekend will commemorate the Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Castlevania, and Dragon Quest anniversaries. Well, they're off the hook for the latter two, but uh, what about everything else?
Look, I get that Nintendo didn't want other anniversaries bumping up against the big Mario bash (or funeral, depending on your point of view). But at least recognize the day it actually turned 35? As one of our readers pointed out, Phil Spencer did more to honor Zelda on its anniversary than Nintendo did.
Smash Bros. JP [Twitter]
Rideon's isometric, turn-based strategy series Mercenaries Saga is heading to the PC with a Mercenaries Blaze Steam debut next month.
The post Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons Steam Release Set for June appeared first on Siliconera.
Sonic the Hedgehog Voice Actor Roger Craig Smith took to Twitter to confirm that he will once again voice the character in games.
The post Sonic the Hedgehog Voice Actor Roger Craig Smith Returns for Games appeared first on Siliconera.
The PS4-exclusive Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown will be among the PlayStation Plus June 2021 games when it debuts next month.
The post PlayStation Plus June 2021 Lineup Includes Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown appeared first on Siliconera.
The game will allow players to customize their Monsters by transferring gene abilities between different Monsties.
The post Monster Hunter Stories 2 Genes and Transferable Abilities Introduced appeared first on Siliconera.
The new Monster Hunter Stories 2 trailer is here and shows off returning characters and monsters like Avinia and Nergigante.
The post Monster Hunter Stories 2 Shows Off Nergigante and Avinia appeared first on Siliconera.
Pokemon Legends Arceus' official website for the upcoming Pokemon title is now open.
The post Pokemon Legends Arceus Will Release Worldwide in January 2022 appeared first on Siliconera.
With little fanfare and less than a month until its release, Sega has confirmed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game will arrive on 22nd June 2021.
An officially-licensed compilation of 18 Olympic sport mini-games, it will launch for PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Stadia and Xbox.
Of course, it's unsurprising Sega has left this news until so late. While the real-world Olympics are (currently) set to go ahead in July, a year later than originally planned, the debate continues on whether it is right to hold the games at all while many countries - not least its host, Japan - continue to struggle with the impacts of coronavirus.
Sony has announced a strong lineup of PlayStation Plus games for June 2021.
The recently-announced Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown launches into PlayStation Plus on release day, Tuesday, 1st June. The PlayStation 4 fighting game from Sega is of course playable on PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility.
Also of note: Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown launches on PS Plus and PlayStation Now. It is available to download on PS Plus for two months - June and July - and leaves Plus on 2nd August. The trailer is below:
It's hard to keep up with the amount of upcoming sequels and spin-offs for the PUBG universe - there's that futuristic new mobile title called PUBG: New State, and space horror game The Callisto Protocol, which looks like a spiritual successor to Dead Space. And now there seems to be a western-themed PUBG game codenamed Project Cowboy on the way.
South Korean media outlet Bloter spotted job adverts on Krafton's website for an "open-world shooting game" that will release on console and PC as an independent title (via Google Translate). Krafton apparently told Bloter that "Project Cowboy is a new IP game for Battleground developed by Krafton". PUBG dataminer PlayerIGN described it as "PUBG's western custom mode" with "old west guns only".
Eurogamer contacted Krafton for comment, and was told the company has "nothing to share on Project Cowboy as of now".
Microsoft has announced June's Xbox Games with Gold titles.
On Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S, The King's Bird is available to download from 1st June to 30th June.
Also on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S is Shadows: Awakening, available to download from 16th June to 15th July.
Monster Hunter Rise's latest free Title Update arrives tomorrow, 27th May, on Switch, bringing a new story ending, two formidable new opponents in the shape the Crimson Glow Valstrax and Apex Zinogre, new DLC, and more.
Crimson Glow Valstrax, if the name sounds familiar, is a new variant of the Elder Dragon first introduced in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, making its Rise debut with a new form and attacks. The beast is able to change the shape of it wings, notes Capcom, enabling it to fly freely through the sky and survive at unusually high altitudes.
As for the Apex Zinogre, it's a tougher version of the familiar Monster Hunter staple already in Rise, and features a striking new look with its golden fur and lightning. Capcom says it'll make an appearance in Rampage quests but can be tackled as part of a standard quest too.
Right now, the sweet spot for gaming monitors is clear: 27 inches, 1440p resolution and 165Hz refresh rate. That's where you get the most for your money, an upgrade over the default 1080p 60Hz monitors in two key areas. Unsurprisingly, there are a ton of monitors that hit these two specs, but the very best use LG's modern Fast IPS panels, combining the extremely good motion handling you'd normally find on a TN panel with the wide viewing angles and excellent colour reproduction of IPS.
The LG 27GL850 is one such monitor that we featured recently, but there is a better option available - the Dell S2721DGF, which today is reduced to $380 when you buy it from Dell direct - a $230 reduction from its MSRP.
The S2721DGF is better than the 27GL850 for two main reasons: refresh rate and ergonomics. Dell are able to push the panel to 165Hz, providing a small boost to image clarity in fast-moving scenes, and they've also equipped the monitor with a much better stand than LG do. This makes it easy to adjust the height of the monitor, rotate it into portrait orientation and generally get it dialled in just the way you like it.
There's not a whole lot we know about Far Cry 6 other than that we shouldn't be a far cry from a launch date. Ubisoft's next first-person, open-world action campaign is expected to launch sometime this year. We may find out exactly when before the week is out. Ubi have announced that they'll be showing off some proper Far Cry 6 play this Friday.
The Crucial P2 is one of the best value NVMe SSDs on the market, and today you can pick up a 1TB model for a new low price - just $94 on Newegg with code 93XRD38.
That's way down from its usual price of $125, and is some $30 cheaper than the current best Amazon price. In fact, the Crucial P2 is now actually cheaper than 1TB SATA SSDs, which start on Amazon at $100 - a pretty rare turn of events!
So why is the Crucial P2 worth considering? Well, as the Crucial P2 uses the NVMe interface to connect to your computer, it's able to tap into much faster speeds than a traditional SATA drive. It's rated up to 2400MB/s for sequential reads and up to 1150MB/s for sequential writes, giving it roughly 5x faster reads and 2x faster writes than the fastest SATA models. That's because the SATA interface was designed for hard drives, and is therefore restricted to just 550MB/s, no matter how fast the underlying flash memory is. Random read and write times are less constrained by this interface, but you'll still see a good advantage from switching to an NVMe drive, which manifests in faster game load times and Windows 10 start times, for example.
Over the last few years, early access games have evolved. Games are launching into early access more polished than ever before, and the line between unfinished early access games and "live service" games is increasingly blurred.
To find out more about how things have changed since Steam Early Access first started in 2013, I spoke to the developers of Darkest Dungeon, Baldur's Gate 3, Hades, Grounded and GTFO. They told me about the concerns and difficulties of launching a game after the first early access trailblazers, what they've learned about making games in public, and why they'd be happy to do it all again.
What is better than battles between giant bears? Obviously it's battles between giant bears that I have bred specifically to shoot giant plasma beams out of their giant mouths. Also the bear is my bestie because this is Monster Hunter series spinoff Monster Hunter Stories 2 where mega deadly creatures are also my best pals. Ahead of its launch in July, MonStories 2 has shown off some of its monstie gene splicing and (obviously) I am psyched for bears.
Western Digital have announced they've got a new gaming-focused NVMe SSD on the way, the WD Black SN750 SE. Rather confusingly, it's a PCIe 4.0 version of their flagship PCIe 3.0 drive, the WD Black SN750, which isn't going to cause any problems figuring out which one is which in the slightest, no sir.
Today†s the last day to get the best price on your pass for the all-digital GDC 2021. Early registration will end at 11:59PM PST ...
Like a host of shows and in-person gatherings and events this year, BlizzCon won’t be having a big event. While most shows have taken the digital approach this year, including the upcoming E3 and assortment of big summer game announcements, Blizzard is not having an event in 2021. However, there will be a show early next year.
In a blog post, executive producer of BlizzCon Saralyn Smith said that a global event is being planned for the early part of next year. “But we don’t want to let too long go by before we connect with everyone again,” said Smith. “So in the meantime, we’re planning a global event for the early part of next year, combining an online show along the lines of our recent BlizzConline with smaller in-person gatherings, and we’ll share more as our plans come together.” Check out the entire announcement post here.
Click to watch embedded media For those interested in learning more about the next step for the Ubisoft staple, new Far Cry 6 gameplay is being revealed later this week. Kicking on Friday, the studio promises an exciting first look at actual in-game gameplay versus the cinematic trailer that was part of the title's initial announcement.
Ubisoft took to the game's Twitter account to deliver the good news, with a small video teasing what's ahead. Take a look at the latest video in the post below:
RSVP for your first look at Far Cry 6 gameplay premiering May 28th at 9:30 AM PDT.
Despite the yearlong delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Olympic Games are pushing forward in 2021, and as such, the previously announced official video game from Sega is also finally coming out next month. We've already received two Olympics 2020 video games from Sega: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Nintendo Switch and a separate game called Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 for mobile devices. Now, players will be able to strap in, lace up, and jump in to the Olympic Games free of those pesky company mascots.
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – The Official Video Game features 18 Olympic events, with local and online play for up to eight players. While online, competitors can take part in ranked modes and try to claim their spot on the global leaderboard for each event. Players can also customize their avatars with more than 50 different wardrobe options, ranging from traditional kits to outfits like pirates and astronauts. You can see just how outlandish the customization can get in the screenshot gallery below.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
Until the real-life games go on, we’ll always have astronauts in the 110-meter hurdles
No in-person BlizzCon this year, 2022 global event planned
Tournament of Champions will probably be the year’s best Saw sequel
The writer reflects on his half-decade run in the Marvel universe and the choices he made along the way
Roger Craig Smith announced this morning that he will return as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in future games.
Citing the complicated nature of coordinating a live event for thousands of people, evolving California in-person event guidelines, and the fluctuating status of the global covid-19 pandemic, Blizzard has announced BlizzCon will be skipping another year.
June has arrived and with it comes a full summer of gaming. Huge games like Street Fighter 6 and Diablo 4 will make their way to PlayStation consoles early in the month followed by Final Fantasy 16 in the second half. In the meantime, there are still a ton of amazing games for PS5 you can play right now.
Some games make excellent use of the DualSense controller’s innovative haptic feedback, others will make your gaming TV shine with 4K gameplay, and some are just plain great games. Without further ado, here are our updated picks for the 25 best PS5 games.
Most recent game updates were made on January 27, 2023.
More on the best of PlayStation:
The Xbox One has entered its tenth year on the market alongside the PS4, and it may not be long before Microsoft phases out the old console completely in favor of releasing games only on Xbox Series X/S. The one thing it has in common with its successor, though, is that it has become the first console to be carbon aware thanks to a new firmware update, which defaults it to an energy-saving mode when downloading games and updates, among other functions. Now you can save energy while playing your favorite Xbox games, especially our selection of 25 Xbox One games.
These games were selected by the entire IGN content team (after plenty of internal debate) and represent what we believe to be the very best Xbox One has to offer.
The most recent updates were made in May 2021.
More on the best of Xbox:
As many of you are jumping back into TLOU2 on PS5, you may notice the haptics feel better. This is actually thanks to a firmware update to the DualSense controller back in April. THREAD: pic.twitter.com/zle0XQwDw6
