September 2021

What's the Best 3D Sonic Game? - NVC 576

2 years 6 months ago

Welcoooome to Nintendo Voice Chat! Sonic takes center stage this week, as the panel discusses IGN's Sonic Colors Ultimate review, as well as the best 3D Sonic games in the series. Join host Casey DeFreitas, reviewer Mitchell Saltzman, Sonic superfan Logan Plant, and the wonderful Brian Altano, as they take a look at some of the Blue Blur's most divisive outings. And, it's the start of a new recurring segment on NVC! The Nintendo 64 turns 25 this month, so we're putting together a lineup of the games we'd want to see on a theoretical N64 Classic Edition. Plus, stick around to hear about the first new GBA game in 13 years, more impressions of No More Heroes 3, and more.

Timecodes!

  • 00:00:00 Sonic Colors Ultimate discussion
  • 00:22:22 Big Brain Academy is back
  • 00:29:00 Picking the N64 Classic lineup
  • 00:40:40 More news
  • 00:58:45 What we're playing

NVC is available on your preferred platforms!

You can also Download NVC 576 Directly Here

Author
Logan Plant

Tags

Sony's Horizon Forbidden West PS5 Upgrade Strategy Straight Up Sucks

2 years 6 months ago

As is often the case with bad news, amidst all the exciting Tremortusk statues and Aloy outfits included in Horizon Forbidden West’s many special editions was a buried, frustrating detail about the sequel’s upcoming release. Buying the PS4 version of the next Horizon won’t guarantee players a PS5 version if they buy either the standard and special editions, nor is there a way to pay a nominal fee to upgrade to the PS5 edition. You either have to shell out $80 to buy the “Deluxe Edition”, which bundles the PS4 and PS5 editions together or buy the PS5 version at full price despite already owning the game on PS4.

It’s a frustrating decision that puts the onus on PS5-less players to have the foresight on how they’ll be playing Forbidden West in, say, a year’s time, or to pay double the price to own it on both generations of consoles down the line. It’s doubly frustrating - and ultimately, feels greedy - if you glance to the side at PlayStation’s console competition, Xbox. The concept of “Dual Entitlement” is in stark contrast to the current Xbox’s philosophy of “Smart Delivery”, which essentially means you only need to buy one version of a first-party game in order to play it on any of your consoles that support it.

And it’s triply frustrating when even third-party companies have offered free, if clunky, upgrade paths on PS5. It’s an unforced error, and a decision PlayStation should absolutely reverse - as a console maker, it has a responsibility to make its console as welcoming to players as possible, rather than leaving them feeling like they’re unnecessarily shelling out money to share in PlayStation’s ecosystem.

Author
Jonathon Dornbush

Tags

PlayStation Showcase 2021: Everything Announced Including God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2

2 years 6 months ago

After months of anticipation, the next major PlayStation Showcase has arrived. There are so many possibilities for what may be shown at the show, and many fans will be hoping for our first look at the sequel to 2018's God of War, Final Fantasy 16, more Horizon Forbidden West, and much more.

To make sure you don't miss a single announcement, we are gathering all the biggest news and trailers below, and we'll be updating this article throughout the show!

God of War: Ragnarok Officially Revealed With A New Gameplay Trailer

The sequel to 2018's God of War is officially called God of War: Ragnarok, and Sony revealed a brand-new gameplay trailer to show much more of Kratos and Atreus' new adventure. Unfortunately, there was no release date mentioned.

God of War Ragnarok takes place a few years after 2018's God of War and the trailer shows that there is still some strife between Kratos and Atreus. Atreus wants to explore what it means to actually be Loki and have "Giant heritage."

However, Kratos knows how dangerous that path Atreus wants to walk down is and wants to protect him from harm, which will include antagonists like Freya and Thor.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Announced With a Tease of Venom

Insomniac Games revealed that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be arriving on PS5 in 2023, and its first gameplay trailer revealed that both Peter Parker and Miles Morales will be facing off against Venom.

Author
Felicia Miranda

Tags

Far Cry 6 PC Specs Are Reasonable Unless You Want to Go Max Settings

2 years 6 months ago

Far Cry 6 is roughly a month away, and ahead of the game's official October 7 release date, the system requirements needed to run the PC version have been officially revealed.

The game’s minimum specs are not too heavy, with an AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or an Intel Core i5-4460 processor and either an AMD Radeon RX 460 or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 graphics card inside your rig. Those minimum specs on the CPU and GPU front, along with 8GB of RAM will run the game on a low preset with a resolution of 1080 and 30 frames per second and no ray tracing.

Now, if you are looking to run the game at 1440p or 4K resolutions, you will need to have more powerful hardware upgrades for your machines. For example, if you want to run the game at 1440p with 60FPS and no ray tracing, you would need an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel i7-9700 processor with either an AMD RX 5700 XT or Nvidia RTX 2070 Super as your GPU with 16GB of RAM.

Author
Taylor Lyles

Tags

Pokemon Go Announces New Safari Live Event Dates

2 years 6 months ago

Pokemon Go's Safari Zone events originally scheduled for 2020 will now take place later this year.

As announced on the Pokemon Go update page, Niantic revealed the new dates for the in-person events. Players who take part can expect to find special, featured Pokemon, event-exclusive tasks, and more.

The dates and locations are as follows:

  • Sefton Park, Liverpool - Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17
  • Fairmount Park, Philadelphia - Friday, October 29 to Sunday, October 31
  • Tower Grove Park, St. Louis - Friday, November 12 to Sunday, November 14

These are the original locations the events were set to happen at before they were postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19. And Niantic says ticket holders can participate in the events, no matter where they are in the world. The Pokemon Go team says they are working to keep the events safe, with line management, social-distancing protocols, and mask requirements for all staff members.

In-person Pokemon Go events started to come back earlier this year, with Pokemon Go Fest 2021 taking place in over 20 cities back in July.

Author
Logan Plant

Tags

The Halo 2 Condom

2 years 6 months ago

In 2021, video game marketing tends to be pretty slick. But it wasn’t that long ago that the medium, in the process of trying to drag itself out of the advertising dark ages of the 1980s and ‘90s, was still prone to some decisions that have aged a lot worse than the games they were selling.

Read more...

Author
Luke Plunkett

Tags

Mecha Strategy JRPG Relayer for PS5 & PS4 Introduces Chief Engineer

2 years 6 months ago

Kadokawa Games revealed another image, a video, and details about its upcoming strategy simulation JRPG Relayer.

This time around we meet the Chief Engineer, who is described as a key figure in the United Earth Government’s countermeasures against the Relayer threat.

He has a “mad scientist” side and conducts inhumane experiments in order to pursue Secretary Greson‘s idea of “defending Earth exclusively with the power of humanity.” He is voiced by Yoshihisa Hosokawa, whom you can see in the video as he introduces himself.

You can check out all the assets below.

Author
Giuseppe Nelva

Tags

Microsoft Is Giving Away A Custom Far Cry 6 Xbox Series X

2 years 6 months ago

Do you sit within the ven diagram of Xbox fans who love Far Cry, are excited for Far Cry 6, and have yet to purchase a Series X? Or maybe you already have a console and just want a decorative version to put on a shelf. Whatever your reason, Microsoft is giving away a custom box themed after Ubisoft’s upcoming open-world epic.

The coolest thing about the console is that it doesn’t even look like an Xbox. Modeled after an electrical box outfitted with a gas canister to form what appears to be a makeshift jetpack or bomb, the only elements that gives away its true form are the glowing power button and matching themed controller. Of course, the console comes with a digital copy of the game as well as some unspecified Far Cry 6 swag. If all of that sounds up your alley but you’re thinking “Too bad I don’t own a television to enjoy it all” Microsoft is tossing in a Samsung NEO OLED TV into the mix. The only thing missing is charmingly menacing (or menacingly charming?) Giancarlo Esposito hand-delivering the entire package. 

Author
Marcus Stewart

King's Bounty 2 Review

2 years 6 months ago

King's Bounty 2 is a tired sigh of a Euro-style tactical RPG. Not the kind you make when you're frustrated or relieved, though; it's more like when you sit down after walking up a long flight of stairs and feel sort of distantly content. For the most part, it's fine. The tactical combat is actually pretty enjoyable, the music is great, and the world looks nice. But it feels janky and unpolished in a lot of technical aspects, and the mediocre storytelling rarely got me motivated to see how the next step of the adventure might unfold.

In a lot of ways, this long-overdue sequel is comparable to RPGs like ELEX or The Technomancer: a mid-budget contender that really wants to be something like a blockbuster BioWare game but doesn't really have the resources or the expertise to get there. King’s Bounty 2 is a bit less ambitious than either of those other two, and probably the better for it – it doesn’t try to do anything wild and sticks to the fundamentals. But from the general glitchiness of the camera to the phoned-in story cutscenes, I still got the sense that the developers at 1C bit off more than they could chew.

Author
Dan Stapleton

Tags

Riot Hires ex-Netflix Exec to Develop Original Films, TV, and Animated Shows

2 years 6 months ago

Riot Games is joining forces with an ex-Netflix executive to continue developing its new entertainment division.

Brian Wright has been hired as Riot's Chief Content Officer. Wright will help develop original film, TV, and animation projects for Riot Entertainment. In addition, Riot Games says Wright will work to bridge the relationship between the gaming and entertainment industries.

At Netflix, Wright worked on bringing more original content to the platform, including Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, and more. Wright says he's "beyond thrilled" to join Riot Games, adding, "I can't wait to bring more vibrant stories to players and fans around the world.”

Riot Games is known for developing and publishing League of Legends and Valorant, and the company is developing Arcane, an upcoming animated series in the League of Legends universe. The show is coming to Netflix this fall.

Last month, we learned the creators of American Vandal are working on a mockumentary about a fictional League of Legends esports team. The show, titled PLAYERS, will debut on Paramount+. Riot Games is one of the producers on the project.

Author
Logan Plant

Tags

WRC 10 Review

2 years 6 months ago

2021 officially marks the 49th season of the World Rally Championship, making WRC 10’s 50th anniversary content… a fraction premature. Of course, after nearly two years of total turmoil it’s hard to blame anyone for wanting to celebrate their birthday early – the World Rally Championship included.

To mark the moment, WRC 10 arrives armed with the most retro content to grace developer KT Racing’s series so far, with a new mode featuring cars and stages representing five decades of rally racing history. Combined with a deep career mode, the result is the spiciest and arguably the strongest official WRC game to date – though that’s a narrow victory, since it still hasn’t changed dramatically since the already very good WRC 8 and WRC 9, and it’s still making some of the same minor mistakes.

That big 50th Anniversary mode is an important part of this year’s game, and it’s by far the biggest injection of historical content to the series since KT Racing started adding classic cars in WRC 8. With its own separate menu and period photography it does feel quite special at first, although there’s ultimately not really a great deal to it. They’re just a small collection of time trials with a little bit of text to explain the historical context of what you’re about to do.

Author
Luke Reilly

Tags

Game Director Trying to Regain the Rights to Lost PlayStation Exclusive

2 years 6 months ago

The Tomorrow Children was shut down not long after its release in 2016 but, five years later, director Dylan Cuthbert is trying to regain the rights to the lost PlayStation exclusive in the hopes of a re-release.

The Tomorrow Children is a Soviet-inflected multiplayer experience that Cuthbert has compared to the likes of Animal Crossing and Death Stranding – it received a mixed reception upon launch but built up a cult following. Sadly for developer Q-Games, it was shut down entirely just a year after release because of server running costs – and due to its online-only nature, it's been totally unplayable since.

In an IGN Japan video to celebrate the game's 5th anniversary, Cuthbert played through a developer build of the game, and responded to requests from fans for the game to be re-released – something he likes the idea of, in theory:

"Unfortunately, right now the IP is Sony's, really. So I'll keep trying to get the IP back, and if I do get the IP back, then I'll definitely think about ways to kind of relaunch it but without a server, I think. Because it was the running costs of the server that brought it down, if it didn't have that we probably just could have left it running and people could have kept playing it, right?"

Cuthbert also addressed the oddity, and sadness, of having made a whole game that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists outside of developer builds:

Author
Joe Skrebels

Tags

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Who Is Shang-Chi?

2 years 6 months ago

Marvel's Shang-Chi movie has arrived! Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience) stars as the title character of the film, which is called Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Destin Daniel Cretton directs Shang-Chi, while Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina also stars.

But who is Shang-Chi, and why is he regarded as one of the greatest warriors in the Marvel Universe? Here's why they call him the Master of Kung Fu!

Shang-Chi: The Basics

Shang-Chi may be the son of one of the worst villains in the Marvel Universe, but he himself ranks among its greatest heroes. Shang-Chi has devoted his life to perfecting his martial arts abilities. Rather than using those talents for fame and fortune, he travels the world and rights wrongs. Sometimes he works alone. Other times he fights alongside heroes like Spider-Man, Daredevil or the Avengers. But wherever he goes, Shang-Chi inspires hope in the hearts of the innocent and dread in anyone foolish enough to challenge him in battle.

Shang-Chi's Powers and Abilities

Traditionally, Shang-Chi is depicted as being an ordinary fighter with no true superhuman abilities. But despite lacking Daredevil's heightened senses, Captain America's super-strength or Iron Fist's unbreakable hands, Shang-Chi has developed a reputation for being quite possibly the best hand-to-hand fighter in the Marvel Universe. He's skilled in a number of different forms of armed and unarmed combat. And because of his total mastery of his body's chi, Shang-Chi is strong enough to shatter metal and quick enough to dodge and even deflect bullets.

Author
Jesse Schedeen

Tags

Babylon’s Fall Developer PlatinumGames Promises Changes Due to Beta Feedback; PS4 Beta Dated

2 years 6 months ago

Today PlatinumGames and Square Enix published new information about the upcoming game Babylon’s Fall, including further beta phases and responses to feedback from the first beta test.

First of all, we learn that phase 2 of the beta will include the PS4 version (the first phase was exclusively on PC) and will happen at the following times.

JP ServerNA ServerEU Server
Friday, September 10, 2021
19:30 ~ 22:00 (JST)
Saturday, September 11, 2021
19:30~22:00 (PDT)
Monday, September 13, 2021
19:30~22:00 (BST)

Those who have been selected have already been notified and those who participated to the first phase will have automatic access.

We also learn that a third phase will happen around November 2021 and that’s when the PS5 version will make its debut. That being said, the PS4 version can be played on PS5 as well via backward compatibility.

November is also when new information about the game will be released. The game will not be showcased at Tokyo Game Show.

Speaking of the direct response to feedback from the first phase of the beta, the developers promised several changes. It’s worth mentioning that most won’t apply to the second phase of the beta, which will be mostly a stress test. They will be implemented during the third phase.

Author
Giuseppe Nelva

Tags

Battlefield Mobile has popped up on the Google Play Store

2 years 6 months ago

A listing for Battlefield Mobile has appeared on the Google Play Store, as EA has announced a series of Android-only play tests.

The listing has a full description of the game as well as a few screenshots.

Players will be able to play in squads and build loadouts using weapons and gadgets veteran players should recognise, like the F2000 bullpup rifle.

Read more

Author
Ishraq Subhan

Tags

What we've been playing

2 years 6 months ago

Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: numbers, a retro oddity, and a lovely island retreat.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

I have a funny relationship with Zach Gage's revisionist approach to classic games, like Sage Solitaire and Really Bad Chess. They're slick, tasteful, gorgeously playable, and kind of intellectually brave in the way they try to fix - or break - some of the most brilliant and ornery designs ever created by the human brain. But somewhere along the line they seem to lose something, too - some of the friction, the capriciousness that makes these games so indelible. My favourite of his by far is also the most chill, Flipflop Solitaire, but even that game is a little lacking in flavour.

Read more

Author
Eurogamer staff

Tags

Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles headed to Nintendo Switch Online

2 years 6 months ago

Nintendo is set to add Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles to Nintendo Switch Online, Eurogamer sources have confirmed.

Word that Nintendo will bulk up its Switch Online back catalogue first broke earlier this week via the Nate the Hate podcast, which discussed various possible handheld games Nintendo could bring to the Switch subscription offering. Nintendo Life sources then offered their own confirmation.

Now, Eurogamer has been able to separately corroborate these reports - and we have heard that other retro platforms are also on the cards.

Read more

Author
Tom Phillips

Tags

If you have patience, Spelunker HD Deluxe is a weird treat

2 years 6 months ago

As I get older, my favourite kind of game is probably the inscrutable platformer you used to get on home computers back when I was a kid in the 1980s. Jet Set Willy. Gumshoe. Booty. The settings were often reduced to a spectral gantry propped against a plain black backdrop, the themes were obscure and presumably highly personal, and death was frequently cheap. But these games transported me further beyond the screen than any have since. Their mystery is palpable. They are magic.

And now I'm playing Spelunker HD Deluxe on the Switch. It's a game with DNA from that era, updated in certain aspects, wonderfully, maddeningly antique in others. And to me, at least, it's magic, too. It's fussy and weird and you can die by walking off a ladder the wrong way; it is emphatically not the game you would recommend to just anybody. But I think I love it.

I've wanted to play Spelunker for years, because I love Spelunky so much. Both are games about descending into the darkness of caves. Both are games that involve ropes and bombs and pursuing ghosts. But Spelunky, as you probably know, is a perfect clockwork thing in which every consequence to every action can be learned and understood and - theoretically - foreseen in future runs. It's a glitchless wonder, in which you do not die from walking off a ladder the wrong way. Spelunker is much older and much odder. But you can see the bright flicker of brilliance within it. I believe that.

Read more

Author
Christian Donlan

Tags

Where Is Xur Today? (Sept. 3-7) - Destiny 2 Xur Location And Exotics Guide

2 years 6 months ago

The fun of Radiant Dance Machines might be over for now in Destiny 2 (at least in the Crucible and Gambit), but that doesn't mean there aren't more great Exotics for you to mess around with in the Season of the Lost. Xur is back with a new inventory of Exotics for you to fill out your collection and give yourself an edge throughout the solar system.

We'll update this post as soon as Xur lands in the solar system, identifying exactly where you can find him and what Exotics--and other weapons and armor--he's carrying this week.

Xur returns to the solar system every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET each Friday. The thing is, where he'll land isn't known until he actually arrives. Xur can hang out at one of several locations, including in the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher's Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ. Xur's inventory also changes each week, so it's worth revisiting him on the weekends for new weapons and rolls on Exotic and Legendary armor. You can visit him any time between his arrival Friday and the weekly reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET the following Tuesday when Xur departs the solar system.

Author
Phil Hornshaw

Tags

Psychonauts 2 Strike City Collectibles Guide

2 years 6 months ago

A big part of the story of Psychonauts 2 has you working to repair the shattered mind of famed Psychonaut agent Ford Cruller, which takes you into three distinct versions of his psyche. When you finally make your way into the Astral Lanes bowling alley, after completing Compton's Cookoff, you can jump into Cruller's mind to experience a bowling-themed apocalypse scenario: Strike City.

Here's how to find everything hidden in Strike City. Stay tuned for more Psychonauts 2 coverage and guides, including our rundown of all the collectibles in Loboto's Labyrinth, Hollis's Classroom, and Hollis' Hot Streak, and Ford's Follicles. And don't forget to check out our Psychonauts 2 review.

Author
Phil Hornshaw

Tags

World Of Warcraft's Game Director Talks Challenges Of Enabling Cross-Faction Play

2 years 6 months ago

World of Warcraft has always been defined by one question: Horde or Alliance? That faction divide has shaped the game since it first launched, with Horde and Alliance players unable to team up with one another for dungeons, raids, or other endgame content.

But that might not always be the case. In a Twitter thread discussing WoW's upcoming 9.1.5 patch, game director Ion Hazzikostas discussed the importance of how the game's narrative factors into gameplay, but clarified that "story considerations alone" shouldn't dictate "frustrating mechanics." Patch 9.1.5 will finally allow players to change Covenants without penalty, something Blizzard previously seemed reluctant to allow sooner due to story purposes.

In the current Shadowlands story as of patch 9.1, the various Covenants of the Shadowlands have largely converged to join forces and battle against the Jailer. Hazzikostas says that provides a narrative justification for more flexibility in allowing players to soon be able to freely swap between the different Covenants.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the divide between Horde and Alliance, the answer isn't as simple, as Hazzikostas explains. He goes on to call the faction barrier a "major issue" that the WoW team knows it needs to address.

Author
Cameron Koch

Tags

Call Of Duty: Vanguard Patch Notes Reveal Beta Details And Positive Changes

2 years 6 months ago

Players recently got hands-on with Call of Duty: Vanguard in a PlayStation-exclusive alpha, which featured the new Champion Hill mode, and the developers have already detailed patch notes for significant changes coming ahead of the standard multiplayer beta.

Champion Hill played like a sweaty Gunfight tournament that mixed small-scale Gunfight with battle royale themes, as duos and trios competed in a series of rounds to be the last team standing. And overall, the alpha test ran really smooth, and the mode was really interesting. However, players definitely had a few concerns, especially with some issues of low visibility and lighting. Thankfully, those are among the issues developer Sledgehammer Games will be addressing in the beta based on feedback from the alpha.

VISUAL UPDATES

Sledgehammer notes it did receive a considerable amount of feedback regarding Vanguard's visibility. A big part of this was the poor visibility and darkness of the player's screen when taking damage from an enemy, and lighting issues that made players almost blend into the background.

Players will hopefully see a notable difference in visuals now, as Sledgehammer reveals that changes have been made to reduce the density of sun fog, adjust the overall exposure, and increase the rim light around players to help separate them from the background. The damage overlay effect when a player is injured was also refined to help maintain visibility.

Author
S.E. Doster

Tags

Twitch Viewership Declines Following #ADayOffTwitch Campaign

2 years 6 months ago

Twitch saw its viewership drop significantly after livestreamers both big and small refused to go live on September 1 to protest the ongoing hate raids.

According to The Verge, Twitch had nearly one million fewer hours watched and more than 14,000 less channels live on September 1, the day of the #ADayOffTwitch campaign. When compared to data compiled by gaming analytics company Gamesight from the eight days prior, the dip is obvious.

For example, August 25, a week before the scheduled protest, saw some 4,083,518 hours watched and 189,472 channels live. September 1's numbers looked starkly different: 3,456,576 hours watched and 171,682 channels live. It's worth noting that all figures were culled at noon each day, long before the campaign ended, and thus they con't reflect the full day's reduction in viewership.

However, there have been some recent events that might have affected the platform's viewership. Two huge streamers, DrLupo and TimTheTatman, both jumped ship, departing from using Twitch to stream exclusively with YouTube Gaming. And while Gamescom could have bolstered the numbers a bit with its myriad developer and publisher presentations from the gaming convention, US students are also returning to campuses, meaning fewer people are using the platform in general.

Author
jeremy winslow

Tags

Pokemon Go Safari Events Are Returning Both In-Person And Digitally

2 years 6 months ago

Pokemon Go Safari Zone events are returning in October both in-person or virtually. Announced in a blog post, Niantic has rescheduled three Safari Zone events that were originally set for 2020 but postponed due to COVID.

Niantic does not intend on selling more tickets to these events, instead allowing anyone who purchased tickets for the original event to participate how they want to. It has also canceled the City Explorer Pass experience and will refund anyone who purchased the add-on by October 2.

Safari Zone ticket holders can partake in a number of benefits, both digitally and physically:

Author
James Carr

Tags

Tony Hawk Covers The Best Song From His Own Game

2 years 6 months ago

When you think of Tony Hawk, who you may have almost recognized at the airport, his many games' incredible soundtracks probably come to mind. The Birdman is a big fan of the punk rock included in those early games, and he covered the original's best song with some help from his famous friends. And no, that song is not "Superman."

The song is "No Cigar" by Millencolin, featured in the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater as well as the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake released in 2020. Hawk himself takes lead vocal duties as he skates down the street, with Millencolin lead singer and bassist Nikola Sarcevic taking on background vocal duties. Darrin Pfeiffer, formerly of Goldfinger and currently touring with Punk Rock Karoake, is behind the kit, and pro skater Steve Caballero and Mikey Hawdon both share guitar duty.

The video itself is edited to resemble a video game, with scores and ranks going up over the course of the song. If only it could have been filmed in the Warehouse, which is a real place, it would have been perfect.

Author
Gabe Gurwin

Tags

You Can Win This Ridiculous Far Cry 6 Xbox Series X Custom Console

2 years 6 months ago

Microsoft just announced a Shang-Chi Xbox Series X custom console and now the company has partnered with Ubisoft for another special edition system themed around Far Cry 6.

Like the franchise it's based on, the Far Cry 6-themed Xbox Series X is very over the top and ornate, as you can see in the image below. It's seemingly modeled after the type of makeshift weapons you can create in Far Cry 6, and if nothing else, it's very striking-looking. The controller sports a similar style and design.

Behold, the Far Cry-themed Xbox Series X

Microsoft is giving the console away, along with the controller, a digital copy of the game, a Samsung Neo QLED TV, and Far Cry 6 merch, as part of a sweepstakes through Microsoft Rewards. The contest is open to anyone in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, or Franchise. The sweepstakes ends on September 30--here are the full contest rules.

Author
Eddie Makuch

Tags

Call Of Duty: Warzone And Black Ops Cold War Season 5 Reloaded Revealed With New Maps, Modes, Weapons, And More

2 years 6 months ago

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone's Season 5 Reloaded update will go live on September 9, and now Activision has divulged what players can expect in the big refresh. All of the information was announced in a blog post, and we're rounding up the key points.

Season 5 Reloaded approaches

Black Ops Cold War

Black Ops Cold War is getting one new map in the Season 5 Reloaded update, and it is a remake of Zoo from the original Black Ops. The objective-based Demolition mode comes to Black Ops Cold War in the update as well.

Zombies

For the Zombies mode, a new Armada location has been added to the Outbreak map, while a world event called Black Chest is coming as well. There is also a new feature, the Rampage Inducer, and a new Outbreak mode called Survival (coming after launch).

"Appearing as an orange Essence canister in the starting area, the Rampage Inducer will temporarily ramp up the difficulty to Cranked-level proportions if all members of a squad agree to take on the challenge," Activision said. "Once activated, this canister will speed up zombie spawn rates and cause all zombies to sprint endlessly until Round 20, turning up the action until the second major round milestone is reached… or a total squad wipe long before then."

Author
Eddie Makuch

Tags

Minecraft Live will let you vote on a new mob this October

2 years 6 months ago

Minecraft Live is coming back for another online announceathon and celebration both mining and crafting next month. Mojang have revealed that the digital event kicks off on October 16th, promising interviews, reveals and a vote on the next mob to be added to Minecraft. There are no specifics about what we'll see beyond that, but I'm at least hoping we'll hear a little more about the long-awaited Caves And Cliffs update too.

Read more

Author
Imogen Beckhelling

Delightful pinball platformer Yoku's Island Express is free on Epic

2 years 6 months ago

If you've not yet experienced the joys of launching yourself around tethered to your own filth (in a game, anyway), please do check out the latest game being given away free on the Epic Games Store: Yoku's Island Express. It's a charming metroidvania-ish pinball platformer where you take control of a wee dung beetle postman who propels himself around the pretty island by batting his ball of filth with flippers conveniently stuck around. Delightful.

Read more

Author
Alice O'Connor

Cosmonious High Is the Next Goofy VR Game from Job Sim Dev, Owlchemy Labs

2 years 6 months ago

Owlchemy Labs has revealed its upcoming VR game, Cosmonious High, set to release on Oculust Quest and PC VR headsets in 2022.

The game will put players in the shoes of a student at Cosmonious High, a high school for an eccentric cast of alien kids. Of course, in typical Owlchemy Labs fashion, things aren’t exactly as you’d expect them to be at this high school, with frequent malfunctions occurring that you’ll be tasked with fixing.

You can check out the reveal trailer for the game in the tweet below:

Author
Chris Jecks

Tags

Splitgate review - Halo gets the Aperture treatment, and makes for a breakout hit

2 years 6 months ago

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting where someone stood up, took a deep breath, and pitched a first-person shooter with portals.

How would you go about convincing someone that the one thing missing from the recent crop of first-person shooters is the star of GLADoS' malevolent funhouse, the portal gun? Me, I don't think I'd even try - and I'm not sure anyone could have convinced me, either. Well. Until I actually sat down and played Splitgate, that is.

For what it's worth, there's a part of me that instinctively (read: stupidly) pushes back against fads and "viral" games. Despite developing the gaming tastes of a 12-year-old in my latter years (all I want to do these days is shoot stuff and watch things explode), Splitgate's marriage of FPS and portals seemed gimmicky - maybe even a touch gauche. After several merry hours with it, however, I can confidently confirm that the hyperbole is not hyperbole at all: Splitgate is astonishingly good fun.

Read more

Author
Vikki Blake

Tags