So, James' Steam Deck review suggests the new handheld PC is pretty good. Good news for Valve, bad news for my wallet. I've apparently got a month before I need to commit to buying one, however, according to details laid out by Valve of when emails will go out to those who were first in-line with pre-orders.
Valve have no plans for a Game Pass-style subscription service, according to Gabe Newell. They're not against helping Microsoft launch Game Pass on Steam, though.
In between the Steam Deck reviews and Gabe Newell interviews yesterday came a surprise announcement of a new, short game from Valve. Aperture Desk Job takes place in the Portal universe and stars Grady, a new personality core, setting you product testing challenges while you sit in front of controls that look suspicously like a Steam Deck.
You won't need a Steam Deck to play it, though, when it launches on March 1st.
Today third-party developers released new screenshots about add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, on top of new information
We start with the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender/DC-10 by Aero Dynamics. The aircraft, which is going to be freeware, received a sizable development update and several screenshots.
Model:
Since the last info drop, our exterior has gone through a COMPLETE overhaul. Many parts of the aircraft were completely tossed out and completely redone with more accurate representation. Big changes include redone forward sections, wing roots, and added detail. With the new model, we also added the ability to open maintenance sections of the aircraft. Some of these areas include engine cowlings, and lowering of the tail to access the #2 engine for maintenance / replacement. We plan on continuing to add interesting areas of the jet for all types of enthusiasts to enjoy!Interior Model:
Sorry, nothing super big on this drop for the interior. We have made progress increasing detail and increasing performance for the cockpit itself, but as for the model and textures, they are currently on hold. We are currently in the process of getting a fully accurate 3d scan of one of our KC-10s on the flight-line. This will ensure cockpit accuracy of .4mm to the real jet! Due to certain world events, coordinating this process is on the back-burner. In this downtime however, continued work on other parts of the aircraft are still in progress.We have also come to the decision of making a full interior of the jet. This will include the ability to walk all through all 3 of our interior types of the aircraft will high-detail to get the full experience of operation a DC-10 type aircraft!
Game Pass is currently one of the best deals in gaming. For $15 a month you get access to a rotating list of 100s of games, from small indies like Unpacking to big blockbusters like Halo: Infinite. You can play them on Xbox or PC, or stream them just about anywhere else. Valve CEO Gabe Newell now says he wouldn’t be…
Super Smash Bros. won’t be featured at Evo 2022, the biggest fighting game event of the year. The Sony-owned esports organization announced the loss of the platform fighter in a statement on Twitter today, and appeared to blame the decision on Nintendo, which has historically tried to tightly control how its games are…
The Elden Ring Flasks are among the most important items in the game, ones you should upgrade at every chance possible and balance to suit each challenge. Unless you know what you’re doing, though, you can go a long time without figuring out how to enhance these restorative items. There’s even a hidden Flask that buffs your stats and can make a world of difference in some of the game’s tougher battles.
You’ll obtain both the Flask of Crimson Tears and the Flask of Cerulean Tears as soon as you reach the tutorial dungeon, Stranded Graveyard, and they come with a built-in feature you can use to help augment your playstyle. The Flask of Crimson Tears restores a set amount of health upon use, and the Flask of Cerulean Tears does the same for your Focus Points (FP).
You start the game with three charges for the Crimson Tears and one for the Cerulean Tears. At any Site of Grace, you can swap how many charges each has--and you should before most major encounters. Melee-focused builds, for example, would benefit from more Crimson Tears charges and perhaps just one charge for the Cerulean Tears. That’s especially true before boss fights, when you’ll likely need to augment your strategies more than usual.
You can increase the number of charges for your Flasks and how much health or FP they restore, though both upgrades require special, hard-to-find items.
The Margit boss battle in Elden Ring is your first major test. The staff-wielding guardian of Stormveil Castle might not be a demigod, but he poses a substantial threat--much more so than during the closed network test, when FromSoftware blessed the Tarnished with high health and abilities. It’s a challenging fight, but patience and some careful preparation go a long way in making it more manageable.
Elden Ring leads you to Margit almost as soon as you step foot in The Lands Between, but you’re not meant to fight him right away. You’ll want to level up your primary stats--the ones corresponding with your weapon or magic of choice--and work on enhancing your weapon several times. Ideally, your dominant weapon should be +3 or higher before challenging Margit, so plan on plundering some Smithing Stones from the Limgrave Tunnels and visiting the blacksmith.
Spirit Summons, while not essential, are a helpful tool if only to keep Margit distracted while you close in for an attack. Jellyfish, which you obtain by speaking to Roderika at Stormhill Shack several times, and Wolf Pack, the default summon, are the best choices for this fight. Make sure to summon Sorcerer Rogier outside the fog barrier as well. He doesn’t do much, but he occupies Margit’s attention.
I first encountered the Taiko no Tatsujin series in an arcade in Tokyo, but now it's even less accessible: it's out on PC but only via the Microsoft store. If you're willing to make that journey, you'll also be greeted by two new DLCs which adds Studio Ghibli tracks and music from classic Bandai Namco games.
Evo took to Twitter announced that Super Smash Bros. will not be at the event this year. The tweet does not go into details as to why, outside of that Nintendo did not choose to work with them for 2022. However, in 2021 Nintendo announced it would work with Panda Global for licensed eSports tournaments. That circuit is expected to start in 2022. The Evo 2022 announcement show will stream on March 8 from 5pm PT/8pm ET through Evo’s Twitch channel.
https://twitter.com/EVO/status/1497662793897721860
Since 2007, Super Smash Bros. has appeared 9 times as a featured game. There's no explanation for why it won't appear in the announcement.
Back in 2020, several companies pulled their titles due to a sexual misconduct scandal involving the Evo President. Super Smash Bros. did not appear in Evo 2021, marking 2019 the last year that it would appear at the event.
Evo (Evolution Championship Series) is an esports competition that focuses on fighting games. Until 2001, it was a competition exclusively for Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2, and its name was Battle by the Bay.
Nintendo has made the decision to not have any Super Smash Bros. game be part of EVO 2022, the world's largest fighting game tournament that is now owned by Sony, for the first time since 2007.
EVO shared a letter announcing the news on Twitter ahead of the EVO 2022 announcement show on March 8 at 5pm PTT/8pm ET.
— EVO (@EVO) February 26, 2022
"Please join us March 8 at 5pm PST on twitch.tv/evo for the EVO 2022 announcement show," EVO wrote. "While we're thankful for all the amazing games joining us later this year in Las Vegas, we want to let you know in advance that Super Smash Bros. will not be making a return appearance.
"Since 2007, we've seen historic Super Smash Bros. moments created at EVO's events. We are saddened that Nintendo has chosen not to continue that legacy with us this year. In the future, we hope to once again celebrate the Super Smash Bros. community alongside them."
Nintendo's choice to not be part of EVO follows Sony's purchase of the fighting game tournament in 2021. At the time of the acquisition announcement, Nintendo said that it wishes the show's organizers the best and that it will continue to assess EVO in the future. That decision, at least for now, appears to have been made.
2K Games and Visual Concepts released a new trailer about the upcoming wrestling game WWE 2K22.
The trailer introduces four wrestlers from the RAW brand, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Damian Priest, and The Miz.
You can check the video out below.
WWE 2K22 will release on March 11, 2022, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
If you want to learn more, you can check out the previous trailer, another alongside release details, the first extended look at gameplay, and read an official description below.
REDESIGNED GAMEPLAY ENGINE. NEW CONTROLS. ALL THE FEATURES YOU CAN HANDLE.
Get ripped out of the stands and hit with complete control of the WWE Universe.
People worldwide outside Japan can now access and read the Digimon Encyclopedia website, as Bandai Namco translated it into English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. It was already available in Japanese. This ended up being the first announcement at Digimon Con 2022.
The Digimon Encyclopedia website is exactly what it sounds like. People who visit can find data on Digimon who appeared in different games and shows. There is a search function, to look for specific characters. You can also look by alphabetical order, check by level, set an attribute, or go by type. The site also has a featured character set as the “highlight” at the top of the page. For example, on February 25, 2022, Sistermon Ciel (Awake.) was the featured character.
Going to a Digimon’s page offers additional details. People can see their level, type, attribute, special moves, and other characters related to it. There is also a profile section going over the specific character’s details and notable traits.
The Digimon Encyclopedia English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese translations are one of multiple announcements that came up during the presentation. For example, Digimon Survive Producer Kazumasa Habu went over the reason for the game's delay and noted it will be a bit still before its release date will be announced.
The Digimon Survive release date came up during Digimon Con 2022 Q&A. However, it will still be some time before we see it. Producer Kazumasa Habu noted it will “take a little longer,” as they are “adjusting internally” and figuring out a date. Bandai Namco’s last delay pushed the title into 2022.
Habu apologized for the delays and wait during the session. He noted a change in its development team led to “rework on the game” and “uncertainty.”
Bandai Namco first revealed Digimon Survive back in 2018. It is a strategy game with visual novel elements. The goal will be to follow characters after a major incident as they suddenly encounter Digimon and are striving to survive. 113 total Digimon will appear. The actions players take will determine how the story will go. For example, it will be possible for characters to die. During the Digimon Con 2022 Q&A, Habu said the story will be 12 chapters long. There will be 3 routes to potentially follow.
The Digimon Survive is in development and its release date is expected to fall in 2022. Back when Bandai Namco first announced the game, it said that it would come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is still a few weeks away from its release, but Square Enix already announced a dedicated action figure.
The figure portrays the imposing Garland and its part of Square Enix’s popular Play Arts Kai brand of action figures.
It’s available for pre-order on the Square Enix store for $239.99, currently discounts at $216.00.
The figure is 12.99 inches tall, and will be shipped in March 2023.
Below you can find an official description and a gallery of screenshots.
Today Sekai Project released a trailer of its upcoming visual novel Neko-Mimi Sweet Housemates Vol.1.
The game is a cute comedy kinetic novel with a single route inspired by the doujinshi series of the same name, developed by Animal Herb.
It’ll release on Steam in Q2 2022.
You can check the trailer below and an official description.
One day on your way home from work, you see a girl in front of your apartment building. That wasn’t the only surprise as she also appeared to have cat ears and a tail as well. Bathed in a gentle glow, you also notice the small wings on her back. Your life drastically changes upon the appearance of Mint, who claims to be an angel and became stranded on Earth with nowhere to go. This is the start of your exciting life with the energetic Mint as she learns more about life on Earth as well as you, her new master.
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES is a new visual novel series focusing on the mascot characters created by illustrator, Yano Mitsuki!
FEATURES
Digimon Con 2022 kicked off with a talk about video games based on the series. This involved a Q&A session in which Digimon series Chief Producer Kazumasa Habu went over questions submitted ahead of the event. One submitted asked if Bandai Namco planned to release a Digimon World remaster or remake. Habu called a remaster “highly feasible,” but noted that with a remake adding new content could make it more like an entirely new game.
Here is Habu’s full statement regarding a possible remake or remaster of the original Digimon World.
We have received many requests for a port or remake of the original Digimon World. I’m positively considering it. But at the same time, I’m also thinking about which choice — port remaster or remake — is better.
If I choose port remaster, then I think it will be highly feasible. If you want a remake, we need to think about how many additional elements you need to incorporate into the game.
Digimon World has a very good balance between File Island, the stage, and the Digimon that appear. If we add a new field, for example like the Folder Continent or Digimon, I think we should treat it as a new product, rather than a remake.
Digimon Con 2022 kicked off with a Q&A session about the games, with Chief Producer Kazumasa Habu talking about a new Digimon Story. There wasn't a full reveal about the title. However, Habu did offer a few details about what people can expect. Namely, it will feature the 12 Olympians, or Olympos XII, as its "central characters." It will also take place in the Digital World.
As the name suggests the 12 Olympians are Digimon inspired by Greek gods. They consist of Apollomon, Bacchusmon, Ceresmon, Dianamon, Junomon, Jupitermon, Marsmon, Merukimon, Minervamon, Neptunemon, Venusmon, and Volcanusmon. Some of these characters have appeared in Digimon Story entries before. For example, Dianamon and Merukimon both showed up in the two Cyber Sleuth games ahead of this new Digimon Story.
Bandai Namco hasn't announced any platforms for this title yet. There's also no official reveal for it. The first time it came up was when Habu mentioned it back in 2018. At that time, he noted the team was using the PS4 as a base for it.
During the Digimon Con 2022 stream on February 26, 2022, Digimon Survive Producer Kazumasa Habu revealed more details about the Digimon Survive story. To be more precise, he talked about how the series' lore will tie into the themes and story of it. He also offered a warning about the game's subject matter.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth focused on Digimon appearing in the human world. However, according to Habu, there remained a discrepancy between the concept of the digital world and the nature of Digimon. To correct this, the Survive story will depict Digimon as ethereal life forms from another world. They are "fragments of souls that have been transformed into digital monsters" because modern technology can recognize their existence. Hiroyuki Kakudo, who worked on the original Digimon Adventure, is the person who told Habu this piece of lore.
Because the target audience of Digimon Survive will be adults, Habu noted the story can have darker twists. For example, your friends in the game can actually die. Habu will also use the "Digimon are the other half of a human's soul" concept to explore darker themes. An example Habu gave during the stream is that hurting your Digimon is a form of self-harm. He advised that players who are sensitive about these topics will need to be careful when playing.
"It's something that, personally as a gamer, I've wanted for a long time, right? As soon as you start playing PC games, you're like, okay, I want something that gives me the full fidelity of experience with really great inputs that I can use in the mobile space. The first time, I think I wanted something like this was back in the 1990s, you know, when I was first playing PC games."
Gabe Newell is, I think it's fair to say, very excited about the Steam Deck. After a short delay and much, much excitement, the portable PC is finally here and it's quite possibly Valve's most exciting piece of hardware to date. Or more exciting than one of the last notable ones, at least - the much-heralded Steam Machines which caused much excitement upon their announcement in 2013 but never really gained a foothold with Valve moved to assure people the platform wasn't entirely dead just three years after the machines came out in 2015.
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General location name spoilers below, as spoiler-free as humanly possible If you’re wondering how to respec in Elden Ring, you’ve...
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Horizon Forbidden West gets swimming right
Sundays are for reheating that leftover pizza. Before you see it sizzle, let's read this week's best writing about games (and game related things).
Toei Animation has announced that it will release an English dub of the Digimon Adventure 2020 anime series. The English dub appeared during the Digimon Con live stream event. Alongside a short clip, Toei also revealed the voice actors for Tai and Agumon. There is no confirmed release date for the English dub.
Voicing Tai Yagami is veteran voice actor Zeno Robinson. Robinson has appeared in other anime English dubs and played Hawks from My Hero Academia as well as Genya in Demon Slayer. Additionally, Ben Diskin will voice Agumon. Diskin previously voiced Shoutmon from Digimon Fusion, and has also appeared in various other video games and anime. Both voice actors appeared in a video message to fans. Robinson commented that he had grown up watching the original Digimon anime series, and was honored to play the series' main character.
Digimon Adventure is a reboot of the Digimon anime series which originally began in April 2020. The series depicts the 1999 anime's original cast in modern times and is an entirely new story. Currently, the series is only available in the original Japanese voice with English subtitles. Furthermore, Digimon anime series producer Hiromi Seki revealed that further information about future anime and movies, including new footage, will likely release sometime later this year.
Gran Turismo 7 isn't formally released until next week, 4th March, but some fans have already got their hands on the racer thanks to early shipping from Amazon US.
Though the game's "always-on" connection requirement means much of the game remains locked off until servers go live next week, some players have nevertheless been able to mooch around a bit, with one citing the cafe area as "the stand out feature of GT7 so far".
Lost Ark has tons of unique classes and it wants you to try all of them
The broadcast begins at 9 a.m. ET
Headsets up, VR fans! Master modder Luke Ross is back with another brilliant update for his R.E.A.L. VR mod and this time it allows you to experience the thrills of Cyberpunk 2077's Night City in virtual reality.
Just like Luke's other R.E.A.L. VR mods there are no motion controls here, only head tracking. This means you will need a controller to play the game but after trying out the mod for myself, I can safely say that this doesn't detract from the magnificence of the experience at all. Driving through the middle of the busy, neon lit Night City at night time is a sight to behold and the huge amount of world detail means that the immersion stays high, even without the option to physically reach out and touch things.
House of the Dead Remake is seemingly on its way to Stadia.
While we've yet to have the news formally confirmed, information about the remake was spotted on the ESRB website (thanks, Stadia Source), although it stopped short of revealing a release date, of course (and the listing on the Nintendo eShop still only gives a vague "2022" release window).
Elden Ring's Hidetaka Miyazaki has said that the challenge of From Software's game is "not something [the studio is] willing to abandon", even though he himself "dies a lot" in games.
"We are always looking to improve, but, in our games specifically, hardship is what gives meaning to the experience," Miyazaki told the New Yorker. "So it's not something we're willing to abandon at the moment. It's our identity."
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the next two games in the mainline Pokémon series, are coming to Nintendo Switch later this year, The Pokémon Company announced during today’s Pokémon Presents.
