December 2022

Love it or hate it, at least it was part of your subscription already

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There are sad dads, bad dads, and rad dads — Geralt is all three

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Liko, Roy, and their Paldea region starters will star in the new series

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You can also smash through buildings as Deku

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The next worldwide Splatfest in Splatoon 3 has been announced. This third official Splatfest will ask the question, “What is your favorite flavor?” and you can play for Team Spicy, Team Sweet, or Team Sour.

You have a few weeks to decide which team you want to join because the voting will begin later this month on Dec. 30. The actual Splatfest will begin a week later, starting on the evening of Jan. 7 and lasting through the weekend until the evening of Jan. 9.

As always, the time between voting and when the event actually begins allows you to earn conch shells at a faster rate. After you vote in the plaza, you will receive one conch shell for every catalog level you achieve during the voting period and the actual Splatfest event.

The number of conch shells acquired will be one of the factors that determine the winner of the Splatfest, so it’s important to earn as many as possible. These shells can also be redeemed in the lobby Shell-Out Machine as a lottery for in-game rewards, like locker decorations or titles.

It’s weird to think of actor Cameron Monaghan, who got his start as Ian Gallagher in the Showtime series Shameless, as anything other than Ian Gallagher. And yet over the last 5-10 years, Monaghan has begun to come into his own. First, as the man who would become the Joker in Fox’s Gotham, which ended its run back in 2020, and later on when he joined a gaming galaxy far, far away. Of course, this is referring to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order game from Respawn Entertainment, and EA. Most pertinent to the topic at hand, Monaghan will reprise that same role in the sequel entitled Star Wars Jedi Survivor when it releases on March 17th, 2023.

In the meantime, though, fans can look forward to getting their hands on the tie-in book, Jedi: Battle Scars, by author Sam Madds, which releases a week earlier than the game and is expected to fill in the 5-year gap between the two titles. Furthermore, Random House – in partnership with Respawn – recently released the cover art, which when paired with the new “reveal” trailer that aired during the Game Awards has led many to speculate about potential plot threads as well as character arcs. It should be noted that a majority of this isn’t based on the cover art, though. Either way, here are the top 8 things that Battle Scars needs to explore before Jedi Survivor.

Japan loves crossovers of all kinds, so collaborations between popular food chains and video games are rather common. Yet, most of them are related to games developed in Japan. The local branch of Burger King opted to go with something a little different with Diablo 4.

Today (it’s already Dec. 16 in Japan) the fast-food chain is launching a brand new Diablo 4 burger, the “Lilith Spicy Tomato Double Whopper Cheese.”

The burger carrying the name of the game’s demonic cover girl comes with two 100% beef patties grilled directly on an open flame, two slices of Cheddar cheese, two slices of Gouda cheese, and an especially developed “Tomato Hot Sauce” featuring the spiciness of chili pepper and garlic. Lettuce, tomato slices, onions, and pickles complete the filling, and all that goodness is sandwiched between two toasted sesame buns.

The price is a whopping (pun entirely intended) 1,420 yen for the burger and 1,720 yen for a set including medium fries and a medium beverage. That’s $10.30 and $12.48 respectively.

If you’re not into spicy burgers, you can opt for the Butcher Double Meat BBQ Cheeseburger or the Diablo Garlic Double Cheeseburger which have already been available since November. These are slightly cheaper at 1,390 yen for the sandwich or 1,690 yen for the set ($10.08 and $12.26 respectively).

Regardless of which burger you choose, you’re also walking home with a special Diablo 4 Lilith sticker until stock runs out.

You can check out the promotional images below, keeping in mind that the actual product likely doesn’t look that good, but Japanese chains often do get rather close.

After many years of Hideo Kojima projects looking like movies, it has finally been revealed that Kojima Productions has partnered with Hammerstone Studios for a Death Stranding film. If that production company sounds familiar to you, it’s because they’re responsible for Bill and Ted Face the Music and this year’s indie horror hit Barbarian.

This news comes by way of Deadline, who spoke with Kojima regarding the partnership and the upcoming movie:

“I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership with Hammerstone Studios,” said Kojima. “This is a pivotal moment for the franchise and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with them in bringing Death Stranding to the big screen.”

Similarly, the following was shared on behalf of Hammerhead Studios founder Alex Lebovici.

“We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to partner with brilliant and iconic Hideo Kojima on his first film adaptation,” added Lebovici. “Unlike other big-budget tentpole video game adaptations, this will be something far more intimate and grounded.

Our goal is to redefine what a video game adaptation could be when you have creative and artistic freedom. This film will be an authentic “Hideo Kojima” production.”

HoYoVerse took to Twitter to offer more details about the Zenless Zone Zero character faction Section 6, which is part of H.A.N.D. Hollow Special Operations. This involved two elements. One is new art of the two known members of the group, Miyabi and Soukaku. The other is a profile of this organization and section.

First, the art shows the Zenless Zone Zero characters Miyabi and Soukaku in the office. Both are dealing with a mountain of paperwork. Soukaku is showing her frustration in the front, working at a desk and crying. As established in past updates, she is considered an employee and “asset.” Miyabi is the head of Section 6. She’s in the background carrying some paper. She’s known for her skill with swords.

As for the profile, it makes the Hollow Special Operations Section 6’s morals sound a bit ambiguous. The motto is, “Eradicate all evil. We decide for ourselves what ‘evil’ is.” They are known for being an elite team trusted with some of the most dangerous missions. The profile reminds people that Miyabi is the department head, but that everyone there is a strong agent.

Here is the official Zenless Zone Zero profile that discusses Section 6 .

People can now catch Scatterbug in Pokemon GO, which means they can also evolve it into Spewpa and Vivillon. However, Niantic announced it isn't exactly easy to catch one. Someone needs to send and pin postcards for a Scatterbug to spawn. In addition, if you want to get every Vivillon wing pattern variation in Pokemon GO, you need to make friends with people worldwide.

How to Find Scatterbug in Pokemon GO.

You can't find a Scatterbug in the wild. They only appear if you are sending and pinning Postcards. Both ones you send and that are sent by others qualify. After you pin three from one region, you trigger one Scatterbug encounter. So if you pin three of your own from your own country/region, or a mix of your own or ones from local friends, you’ll see one appear that you can catch. After that, you need to save nine from the region. A third can happen after fifteen are saved.

A Hololive New Year 2023 collaboration with theme cafe chain Smile Base Cafe is promoting Hololive-themed New Year's eve meal boxes. The meals include special illustrations of various Hololive VTubers dressed in formal kimonos.

The promo features the following twelve Hololive Vtubers in kimonos:

• Gawr Gura
• Hoshimachi Suisei
• Houshou Marine
• Minato Aqua
• Ninomae Ina'nis
• Ookami Mio
• Oozora Subaru
• Shishiro Botan
• Tokino Sora
• Tsunomaki Watame
• Usada Pekora
• Yozora Mel

Core to the Hololive New Year 2023 promo is the art of characters in kimonos. The art was provided by three well-known online artists. Artist Yom drew Marine, Gura, Ina'nis, and Aqua. Artist Mahonanoka drew Mio, Pekora, Watame, and Botan. Artist Mikazuki Mika drew Sora, Mel, Subaru, and Suisei. Check out their individual pieces in the gallery.

[gallery size="medium" ids="943876,943877,943878" link="file"]

Spike Chunsoft shared a special Christmas Eve surprise for Let's Players and streamers. The company announced that starting on December 24, 2022, it is fully lifting the long-standing ban on streaming or recording video of the first Danganronpa game (called Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc in English) past chapter 1. Now the rest of the game, including the Danganronpa ending can be viewed by all and sundry, with no permission needed.

Check out the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/dangan_official/status/1603282445042081795

On a blog post posted to the official Danganronpa website, Spike Chunsoft noted that since its launch in 2010, it has discouraged game streamers and creators making "Let's Play" videos from recording the story of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc past chapter 1. After the ban is lifted, players can distribute play videos as they wish, up to and including the Danganronpa ending. The motivations for this ban were simple: As a linear mystery game, the story of Danganronpa is particularly vulnerable to spoilers.

But thirteen years have passed since its release, with several sequels out in the wild and versions of Danganronpa are available available on contemporary platforms. As such, Spike Chunsoft believes it is time that more people "experience the shock and surprise" that comes from experiencing the story, whether they play it directly or not.

The My Hero Academia Fortnite crossover kicked off, and it involves Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, Ochaco “Uravity” Uraraka, Katsuki “Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight” Bakugo, and All Might outfits. People will also see All Might Supply Drops in-game. People can also take on Battle Royal and Zero Build Quests and visit a Hero Training Gym island at 6917-7775-5190.

First, the Fortnite Item Shop has the My Hero Academia Deku, Uravity, All Might, and Bakugo outfits now. Deku’s makes you look like him, and it also gives people the Full Cowl transofrmation Emote, a Blackwhip Axe Pickaxe and All Might Collectible Back Bling. All Might’s also gets the outfit, the transformation emote to make him look like his Pro Hero self, an All Smite Pickaxe, and a Principal Nezu Back Bling. Bakugo is the third one with an alt style that changes to his Hero look, and he has a Cluster Buster Pickaxe and Grenade Backpack Back Bling. The Uravity outfit has an Uravity Booster Back Bling and Smasher Pickaxe.
[gallery columns="4" size="full" ids="943917,943914,943915,943916" link="file"]

Marvelous released new information on Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It has also provided details on extras you can get if you purchase the digital version of the game. There are lots of screenshots of the game showing off new aesthetic options, animals, crops, and more. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

To start with, if you get the digital version of the game, you can get a Mukumuku outfit. The Mukumuku is kind of like a little white sasquatch in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Judging by the trailer, this DLC only changes your appearance and will not affect the story or your stats.

https://twitter.com/bokumono_PR/status/1603193120325246977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1603193120325246977%7Ctwgr%5Eee389df0564c6e110f65a2fd5298d4547a8b59b8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.famitsu.com%2Fnews%2F202212%2F15286500.html

Some new changes in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life compared to Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life include more options to personalize your avatar. Not only are there tons of new clothing styles, but you can also change the hair color and hairstyle. Your goats and sheep will also be able to give birth to babies, and there will be some unusual crops to grow. From Chapter 2, befriending Tartan will allow you to essentially engage in GMOs to create different or better crops.

The first Splatoon 3 Splatfest of 2023 is set. Nintendo announced it in North America, Japan, and Europe. This time the question is, “What’s your favorite taste sensation?” It will run January 6-8, 2023 in North America. (In Japan and Europe, it will appear January 7-9, 2023.)

Here’s the official announcement. While the characters tied to each option aren’t shown, each time the order corresponds to different members of Deep Cut. “Spicy” will be Shiver’s team. Those who choose “sweet” will side with Frye. Finally, Big Man represents “sour.”

The next #Splatoon3 Splatfest is on the way and the big question is:

What’s your favorite taste sensation?
#TeamSpicy
#TeamSweet
#TeamSour

This yummy event runs from 1/6 4pm PT to 1/8 4pm PT. pic.twitter.com/Q1yAJHL8A8

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 16, 2022

Yet another Final Fantasy XIV art contest is about to begin. The FFXIV Furnishing Design Contest 2022 kicked off. Until January 19, 2023, active players can create indoor and outdoor furnishing designs and submit them for a chance of winning an in-game prize. Winners will be announced in April 2023.

There will be quite a number of winning entries for this promotion. Square Enix’s FFXIV Development and Operations teams will choose the Furnishing Design Contest 2022 top submissions. All of the 100 people they choose will get a Great Paraserpent umbrella to use in-game.

To enter, somebody needs to draw a piece of furniture. Square Enix noted that the acceptable categories for it are bed/chair, general furnishing, interior materials like a ceiling light, flooring, or interior wall, outdoor furnishing, rug, table, tabletop, or wall-mounted item. Someone would need to submit them at the official page, along with their character’s name and home world, their Lodestone character profile page, their nickname, and a title for their work. Entrants’ designs will become Square Enix’s property after they are submitted. Also, the company may ask for additional art if they decide to create the furniture for people to use in-game.

Nintendo revealed some new information on Eirika and Ephraim as they will appear in Fire Emblem Engage. The two of them will be in the same Emblem Ring, much like the Three Houses kids. The two were playable units and protagonists in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and are twin siblings.

Unlike the Three Houses kids, you can control when you want Eirika and when you want Ephraim in Fire Emblem Engage. This could make them a flexible and balanced unit. Eirika’s Lunar Brace Synchro Skill deals more damage the higher an enemy’s Defense stat is, whereas Ephraim can heal HP depending on how much damage he deals with Solar Brace. When you Engage with them, you get to use the Rapier, which deals extra damage to Cavalry and Armored units. You will also be able to use both Lunar and Solar Brace at once.

https://twitter.com/fireemblemjp/status/1603574716337631232?s=61&t=cphXMjaHCBaCiMqQWjdjxQ

We can also see a brief conversation between Celine and Eirika. In it, Celine asks if Eirika is upset that she has to fight so much even though she dislikes conflict. Eirika replies that she does what she can, and that she fights so that there are less people in the world who are sad due to war.

People will once again need to make sure they regularly visit their FFXIV estates, as housing auto demolition will return. Square Enix announced that it will be back in patch 6.3. There’s no exact release date yet, so the current window for it is January 2023.

Square Enix also offered some details about what the counter will look like when FFXIV housing auto demolition will look like when it does resume. There are two categories of people. One is players that have been visiting their homes since demolition was suspended in December 2021. The other involves people who haven’t been back since December 5, 2021. Also, Square Enix will send email notifications to anyone with an auto-demolition that will happen within 10 days of the patch 6.3 maintenance and release. The Schedule Estate Demolition Timer in the Timers section will also update and show how many days you have left.

Whether it is a free company or private estate, as long as you visited at least once between the suspension start date and now, people will get more time. The inactivity timer will begin the day patch 6.3 launches. As long as you visit once every 30 days, you can maintain the home.

However, if someone didn’t visit their home between December 5, 2021 and the patch 6.3 maintenance, then they could soon lose their spot. Things will pick up where they left off. So if you had five days before your housing would be automatically demolished before things were suspended, when it resumes you will still have five days left.

Ufotable released a new trailer for the Demon Slayer World Tour, which will air anime episodes in theaters around the world on February 3, 2023. It will also include a world premiere of the first episode of the Swordsmith Village arc. While the YouTube version of the trailer (which supports 4K resolution) is only available for people in Japan, you can watch it via  Twitter as well.

During the world tour, you will be able to watch episodes 10 and 11 of the Entertainment District Arc. You will also get to see the premiere of episode 1 of Swordsmith Village Arc, which will be season 3 of the wildly popular Demon Slayer anime series. The Demon Slayer world tour will appear in movie theaters in 80 countries around the world.

You can watch the trailer for the Demon Slayer World Tour here:

https://twitter.com/kimetsu_off/status/1603573494330970113?s=61&t=cphXMjaHCBaCiMqQWjdjxQ

All four movies from the theatrical release of Persona 3 will be available in a Blu-Ray box. It will come out on February 22, 2023. It will come in an exclusive box featuring the Persona 3 protagonist (Makoto Yuki in the film series), and there will also be a special booklet. In total, the box set will cost 29,000 JPY, which is around $214.90. [Thanks, Inside!]

https://twitter.com/insidejp/status/1603585974940094464?s=61&t=cphXMjaHCBaCiMqQWjdjxQ

The movies that will come in the Persona 3 Blu-Ray box set are:

• Spring of Birth
• Midsummer Knight’s Dream
• Falling Down
• Winter of Rebirth

These movies all follow the main story campaign (as of Persona 3 FES, this is The Journey), with the voice actors from the game reprising their role in the movies. Outside of the exclusive goodies, the Blu-Ray box set will also come with the soundtrack, which will have 4 CDs in it. Spring of Birth originally debuted in 2013 and a new one came out every year until Winter of Rebirth in 2016.

The next installment of Insomniac's take on your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler has a release window. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be out in Fall 2023. As teased in earlier trailers, the game will involve both Spider-Men: Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The PlayStation Blog entry that let the Spider-Man 2 release window slip also highlighted upcoming PS5 titles like Forspoken, the DualSense Edge premium wireless controller, the PSVR 2 virtual reality suite, and Final Fantasy XVI.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was first revealed during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase livestream event. The sequel follows on from Marvel's Spider-Man, which debuted an original take on the famed superhero, unconnected to existing comics or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its storyline followed Peter Parker as he struggled to balance his duties as New York City's resident vigilante with his life as a research assistant to Otto Octavius. It also dealt with the power vacuum left by Spider-Man's defeat of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, at the beginning of the game, and the rise of new villains like Mr. Negative, Dr. Octopus, and the Sinister Six.

Peter would then meet Miles Morales, a young high schooler also possessed of Spider-Powers, training him and equipping him to be a second Spider-Man. Miles would go on to lead Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It debuted alongside the PS5. The game it eventually landed on PS4 as well. A PC version is on the way.

An Atelier Sophie 2 Nendoroid will come out next year and, while she's dealing with a "mysterious dream" in that game, the figure still comes with a small book. It will show up in June 2023 in Japan. After that, it will appear in North America in August 2023. It will cost ¥8,900/$61.99.

As is common for Nendoroids, Sophie comes with multiple accessories and face plates. You can portray her with a smiling face, a winking one, and an excited one with stars in her eyes. She can wield her Starguide Staff from the game. She also comes with an open book.

Here's a gallery of official Good Smile Company images of the Atelier Sophie 2 Nendoroid.
[gallery columns="5" size="full" ids="943829,943830,943831,943832,943833" link="file"]

This is one of two Atelier Sophie figures Good Smile Company has in the works. The other is a 1/7th scale figure. That one is based on her appearance in The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. In it, she's holding a book and about to write in it with a quill.

The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack got more Genesis games. On December 15, 2022, Nintendo revealed four games would be available in every region. If someone subscribes to the higher tier, they can play Alien Storm, Columns, Golden Axe 2, and Virtua Fighter 2 on the Switch. It is also possible to engage in multiplayer with others offline or, if they also subscribe, online.

All four of these Nintendo Switch Online Genesis games feature multiplayer elements. Columns has a Doubles mode, for example. Alien Storm and Golden Axe 2 are cooperative adventures. People can face off in Virtua Fighter 2’s versus mode.

Four SEGA Genesis games have been made available for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members!

Golden Axe II
Alien Storm
Columns
Virtua Fighter 2 pic.twitter.com/m3QZRepsLR

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 16, 2022

During The Game Awards, Behaviour Interactive announced that their new PvP raid game Meet Your Maker will debut next year on April 4th 2023. This is a wholly new IP from the studio, who you might know as the creators behind survival horror slasher, Dead By Daylight. Check out what Behaviour Interactive mean exactly by a "building-and-raiding game" by watching the trailer below.

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Right, here’s where I have to stay objective and professional. I’ve been a card-carrying Transformers fan since Generation 1, so I’m somewhat confused by the trailer shown at The Game Awards tonight for Gears studio Splash Damage’s upcoming co-op action game Transformers: Reactivate. Yes, theoretically any rather large robot that changes shape counts as a Transformer. Possibly a GoBot, I’m not going to judge anyone on their lifestyle. Just watch the trailer below and tell me what you think, go on.

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If you're a magic user in Elden Ring but you still enjoy using a shield, too, you may benefit from Scholar's Shield, which can boost your shield's damage negation. Luckily, it can be purchased extremely early in the game for a relatively low cost, and we'll tell you precisely where to find the NPC that sells it.

Scholar's Shield explained

Scholar's Shield is a sorcery that requires 12 Intelligence to cast. By casting the spell on a shield, it will improve its damage negation.

Scholar's Shield's item description reads:

One of the glintstone sorceries of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. Fires three magic shooting stars that pursue the target. This sorcery can be cast while in motion. Charging enhances potency. A sorcery of the Olivinus Conspectus, which attracts sorcerers from Sellia, Town of Sorcery.

Where to find Scholar's Shield

Scholar's Armament can be purchased from Sorceress Sellen, who resides within Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave. The spell costs 2,500 runes, and she will sell it by default, so you don't have to give her any of the scrolls found throughout the game in order to purchase it.

Waypoint Ruins can be accessed immediately upon exiting the tutorial. Simply head directly east of Agheel Lake to come across them. Due to the middling threat of nearby enemies, you'll be fine there even at low levels.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope was recently named by GameSpot as one of the best Switch games of 2022. Even though it just released in October, it’s already seeing a huge discount at Walmart and Amazon. Right now, you can pick up the popular strategy game for just $40, down from $60. Walmart is also throwing in a free sticker set with the game.

For retro gaming fans who love physical media but are gobsmacked by the price of old carts, the Evercade brand has fulfilled a nostalgic dream over the past two-plus years. With a pick-up-and-play mentality, a growing library of carts filled with officially licensed retro console and arcade games, and multiple hardware iterations, the Evercade has found its niche in an increasingly popular market. The Evercade EXP, an updated version of the original handheld, is the best Evercade yet. If you're interested in 8- and 16-bit console and arcade games, the Evercade EXP offers a fantastic way to play physical cartridge collections in a portable form factor.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Evercade, it first debuted in 2020 as a budget-friendly handheld with cartridge play. Each cartridge, which goes for $20 a pop, has a collection of authentic classic games. There are collections based on old platforms like the Atari Lynx and Commodore 64 as well as publisher-themed carts from studios such as Data East, Interplay, Codemasters, and more. Just like the old days, the carts come in chunky plastic cases filled with cool inserts. You insert the cartridge, pick a game, and dive in almost instantly. Quality-of-life improvements such as save states and various display settings make these retro games more digestible, lending themselves to quick spurts of play.

Marvel Snap, the mobile Marvel digital card game, released on October 18. Ahead of the holidays and new year, more details about what players can expect from Marvel Snap was released in a roadmap.

The roadmap is split into three sections: "coming soon," "in development," and "in concept." Coming soon means features under this category will be launched in the near future. Battle Mode Vs. Friends is one such update, and it's been highly anticipated since November's tease. Currently, there's no way to play against your friends and Battle Mode Vs. Friends rectifies that. But Battle Mode will be different from the standard Ranked matches. Each player will have 10 bars of health and Snaps double damage done to the opponent's health. For example, if you Snap, then the damage is doubled from two to four. If you retreat, damage received is halved from two to one. Players keep playing matches until one of them loses all health.

There's still no confirmed release date, but the dev team plans to release Battle Mode Vs. Friends in the next month or two--implying players should see it in-game at the latest in Feburary.

Name changes are also coming soon. Previously, you weren't able to edit usernames, and now you can. Russian and Vietnamese languages will also be added soon, along with artist credits on cards.

The second category, in development, are ideas that the dev team is working on--but could be subject to changes. One of them is Smart Deck, which basically is where the AI helps you "finish" your decks or give suggestions on what cards should go in a deck. Additionally, unranked and competitive game modes are in development.

The Microsoft Surface and iPad Mini lineups are filled with some of the most popular tablets on the market. They can also be quite expensive, with price tags that can soar over $500.

Marvel Snap’s Pool 3 has the largest number of cards of all current pools, and it can be daunting to figure out what works well in tandem or what win conditions you should be in tune with. These cards are unlocked from Collection Level 486 and onwards. This guide will detail some of the best Marvel Snap decks and tactics you can implement that will have you ascend the ranks and become victorious against your opponents using all Pool 3 decks.

Discardian Dissonance

Discardian Dissonance is similar to our previous Marvel Snap Pool 2 deck Discardian Discord. This time, it has been greatly improved due to Pool 3 adding additional cards with discard effects such as Colleen Wing, Moon Knight, Gambit, Dracula, and Hell Cow to name a few. This deck does not have any 1-Cost cards and is not supposed to with our win conditions.

Colleen Wing will always discard the lowest-cost card in your hand, so make sure she discards Swarm most often. Swarm will create two copies of itself, both being 0-Cost. Turn 3, you will want to play Lockjaw, then place those two Swarm copies you created the last turn on its location. This will swap out those two 0-Cost Swarm copies for something much better such as Moon Knight to discard a card from your opponent, Apocalypse, or even America Chavez.

The Xbox Store's massive Countdown Sale recently kicked off, discounting tons of Xbox games for as much as 60% off as we count down the final days of 2022.

Street Fighter 6's second closed beta test began on December 16 and ends on December 19. Ahead of the second beta, Capcom posted a Twitter thread of tips. If you've participated in the first beta test, then the info should mostly be familiar.

The Battle Tutorial is replayable, and it will pop up when players access the Battle Hub for the first time. For Battle Settings and Control Types, check out the tips Capcom provided below.

If you’re looking for additional privacy and security when working on your computer, there’s no better solution than a VPN. Unfortunately, most services require a monthly subscription or lofty one-time fee. Right now, however, you can purchase a three-year subscription to the Windscribe VPN Pro Plan for just $57, down from $207, when using promo code WINDSCRIBE at checkout.

World of Warcraft players in China may have to take the fate of their characters into their own hands, with Blizzard announcing it will allow Chinese players to download their characters ahead of an imminent shutdown of Blizzard game services in the region.

It was announced in late November that Blizzard could not come to a mutually-satisfactory deal with China's NetEase, which has long served as the distributor of various Blizzard games, including WoW, in the region. Since the two parties couldn't come to an agreement, NetEase will soon lose its license to operate Blizzard's games. That will result in the shutdown of games like WoW, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Starcraft II, and more in China on January 23.

Warcraft general manager John Hight in a recent statement (via Wowhead) announced that Blizzard is still looking for new distribution partners in China and that the process "will continue until we find a suitable solution." In the meantime, Blizzard will move forward with the unusual move of developing a feature that will allow Chinese players to download and save all of their characters, items, and progress in Blizzard's MMO onto their own personal devices, to be used at some future point when WoW becomes available in China once more under a new distribution partner.

"We expect that the transition to the new partner for the World of Warcraft CN service will go smoothly," Hight's statement reads. "Also, with this feature, everyone will be able to keep their game history and memory in their own hands."

Fortnite is kicking off its third major anime crossover today with the introduction of My Hero Academia (MHA) content coming to the game. After having what seemed to be massive success with Naruto and Dragon Ball, Epic's battle royale and creative suite is taking on the My Hero series in a similarly major way. Alongside four in-game skins, an incredibly powerful new Mythic weapon called Deku's Smash, and in-game challenges, one of the best parts of the crossover is the new game mode, Hero Training Gym. The game mode was made in Fortnite Creative by Zen Creative, a sibling-founded studio that specializes in making custom experiences inside Fortnite.

Speaking to GameSpot while we ran around his My Hero Academia PvP mode together, co-founder R-leeo Maoate explained how the team made a name for itself in the Fortnite Creative space and what other dream projects the team at Zen Creative hopes to work on in the future.

"Back in April we did the Soundwave Series for Emicida, a Brazilian rapper," he said. "We also did something back in November 2021, which was Fortnite Lands Down Under," part of Epic's plans to promote the game in Australia and New Zealand, which launched alongside a new Twitter account at the time. These are major projects in the Creative world, but Maoate said that their work in Creative mode began merely as a hobby where he and his brother made their own maps.

The year might be coming to a close, but there's no rest for your resident Agent of the Nine in Destiny 2. Xur has popped back for another visit to the Solar system, and as usual, he has a fresh inventory of rare and Exotic armors and weapons. Here's where you can find Xur and what Exotics he's selling this week.

This week you can find Xur in the Tower, in the Hangar area. For his weapon, Xur is offering Graviton Lance. Hunters can pick up the Khepri's Sting gauntlets, Titans can grab Armamentarium armor, and for Warlocks, Xur has the Verity's Brow helmet.

Xur Location

Spawn in using the Courtyard transmat zone in the Tower to find Xur this week. Head left and down the stairs to enter the Hangar section, then hang another left. Make your way to the north end of the area and look for a staircase that will take you onto a catwalk, where Xur is waiting.

Xur is present every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET each Friday. His exact location is always a mystery when he first arrives, as he is not listed on the map, and for novice players, he can be easy to miss. However, there are a set number of locations where he takes up residence, including the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher's Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ.

After taking a break last week, Destiny 2's Trials of Osiris is back for a fresh run on online competition and fireteams attempting to earn that coveted flawless run. This is the first Trials of Season of the Seraph, and comes after some heavy patching in Destiny 2 that introduced a wide number of weapon changes. Here's where you'll play Trials of Osiris this weekend and what weapons you can earn. You can also check out where Xur is to see if any of his inventory can help you out this weekend.

Map: The Burnout

• Reputation Rank 4: Upgrade Module x 2
• Reputation Rank 7: Enhancement Prism x 3
• Reputation Rank 10: Trials Weapon (Changes for each rank reset)
• Reputation Rank 13: Upgrade Module x 2
• Reputation Rank 16: Trials Weapon (Changes for each rank reset)
• Flawless Reward: Exalted Truth hand cannon (Adept)

Trials weapons now carry the Alacrity Origin Trait. It gives you increased aim assist, reload speed, stability, and range on your Trials guns when you're the last living member of a fireteam or running solo. You can also choose to swap to the Crucible Origin trait, One Quiet Moment, which greatly enhances your gun's reload speed when you reload while out of combat.

The Game Awards announced a record-breaking number viewership number for 2022. An estimated 103 million viewers tuned into the show, a 20% increase from last year's 85 million views.

The Game Awards aired on December 8, and as per the usual program, featured both award-winners and world premieres. Elden Ring took home the Game of The Year award, and we also saw new trailers from anticipated games like Final Fantasy XVI and Street Fighter 6. In new announcements, Armored Core 6, Hades 2, and Death Stranding 2 all made their debut. You can check out our roundup on the biggest The Game Awards announcements for more information.

According to the press release, The Game Awards also set records for views across social media. Twitter had a 28% increase in conversation volume, and the show trended at number one worldwide. Steam had almost 9.5 million viewers tune in. Valve also gave away a Steam Deck every minute of the show, and then gave away even more Steam Decks post-show.

"We are thrilled to report our ninth year of record-setting growth," said Geoff Keighley. "It was electric in the room this year, and felt so amazing to be back with the fans and the industry as we lead into our 10th year in 2023."

Other than taking home the Game of The Year award, Elden Ring also won Best Game Direction, Best RPG, and Best Art Direction. God of War Ragnarok won Best Narrative, Best Music, Best Audio Design, Best Innovation in Accessibility, and more. For a full list of winners, check out our The Game Awards winners list.

Nintendo has been steadily adding retro games to its Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service over the past few months, and four new Sega Genesis games are the latest additions. As usual, you can play them right now if you subscribe to the extra Expansion Pack plan.

The four games in question are the beloved beat-'em-up Golden Axe 2, the sci-fi shoot-'em-up Alien Storm, the Bejeweled-esque puzzler Columns, and the hit fighting game Virtua Fighter 2. While none of these would be generally considered in the first rank of classic Sega Genesis games, all of them are solid names that are definitely worth a look for Expansion Pack subscribers. Golden Axe 1 is also included in the Expansion Pack, so if you enjoy its sequel, you should also check it out.

Currently, the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack encompasses 36 Sega Genesis games, including most of the truly standout games for the system, like Beyond Oasis, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Contra: Hard Corps, Dynamite Headdy, Gunstar Heroes, Phantasy Star IV, Ristar, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and ToeJam & Earl.

The few notable omissions arguably include the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and at least one of the console's iconic sports games, such as NHL '94. The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass bundle costs $50 a year, and also includes bonuses like Splatoon 2 DLC.