February 2023

Before diving into Like a Dragon: Ishin!, it’s worth knowing an important fact about the game’s DLC packs.

As was made apparent in a post made to the Yakuza Subreddit on Feb. 20, certain DLC packs are one-time use items that can be purchased multiple times. What this means for those playing the game is that they can redeem the packs one time and for only one save file before the Pack will be counted as being redeemed. Should they want to use the items included in the DLC Packs again, they’ll then need to make a new purchase through whichever digital retailer is tied to their platform of choice.

The game also ensures you won’t be able to weasel your way out of a purchase once it’s triggered or glitch your way into carrying the DLC over to a new save. Once players decide to redeem the DLC, they’ll need to make a hard save of the game which will record the DLC’s download to a given file. The DLC can only be received after this save is made, and the download will be prevented should you back out of the save.

Tuesday morning, EA Sports gave players a glimpse of what they can expect when they hit the links on EA Sports PGA Tour later this year. In the latest Course Overview Trailer, EA really hammered home the importance of authenticity — no matter if you’re playing through Majors, working your way up the ranks, or simply trying to get a quick round in.

However, visuals are just part of the experience. EA has introduced a Course Dynamics system that aims to accurately reflect how each course plays, feels, and is experienced. How a ball rolls or bounces, for instance, will vary from course to course. EA visited each course to truly deliver on the feel they provide, with the aim of ensuring that no two courses will play the same.

Time of day, weather conditions, and all general course elements were taken into account while scanning and applying these dynamics.

There will be 30 courses available to players at launch, two of which are fantasy courses. Additionally, players can expect even more courses post-launch, including 2023 Major courses (Oak Hill, Los Angeles Country Club, Royal Liverpool), the FedExCup Series (Olympia Fields), and the Ryder Cup (Marco Simone Golf & Country Club).

All Courses Available in EA PGA Tour

The full list of all 30 courses available at launch can be viewed below:

With a newly released DLC pack, Minecraft: Bedrock Edition players can take on the role of Mega Man. The download comes with levels, skins, and music from the classic Capcom game. The DLC pack is available now for 1,340 Minecraft coins, which costs around $8.

Check out the announcement tweet, which includes a trailer, below:

https://twitter.com/Minecraft/status/1628098051482202112

The Mega Man X DLC pack recreates several levels from the original game series, complete with boss fights. Vile (in his Ride Armor), Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Armored Armadillo, and Sting Chameleon are available to fight. After defeating all of them, Sigma will be waiting for a showdown in his four-stage fortress. Nine of Mega Man's weapons are available to use, and gear can also be unlocked and upgraded as players progress through the DLC.

On top of the levels, the Mega Man X DLC for Minecraft also adds 14 new skins to the game. Players can dress themselves up as characters such as Mega Man, Zero, and Dr. Wily. The Mega Man X soundtrack is also available to listen to as part of the pack.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The Mega Man X DLC pack is available to download now at a price of 1,340 Minecraft coins. A spin-off game, Minecraft Legends, releases on April 18, 2023, for the same systems.

I know this isn’t the most pressing issue facing the video game community, but I just think it’s funny: someone at Ubisoft has finally got around to fixing a bug that has impacted one particular version of Assassin’s Creed on one specific platform that has been bugging people (or maybe just one person?) for years.

Read more...

It was announced earlier today that Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s 2022 Game Of The Year For Loads Of People (including most staff at this website), has sold 20 million copies worldwide since its release a year ago. That is a lot.

Read more...

Square Enix announced new FFVII Remake merchandise, a metallic AirPod case cover with the Shinra Electric Power Company logo engraved on it. It is designed to fit the first generation AirPod Pro. The new Final Fantasy VII Remake metallic earphone case cover costs $35 USD, and it will release on August, 2023 in North America. It is now available for pre-order from Square Enix’s North American online store.

This two-piece metallic earphone case cover has a charging LED indicator window and it comes with a carabiner clip, which has a metallic charm attached to it with the Shinra Electric Power Company logo from FFVII Remake. The Japanese version of the new metallic earphone case cover will cost 3,300 JPY (roughly $24 USD,) and it will release on May 27, 2023. It is available from the Japanese Square Enix online eStore.

You can check out the case cover in more detail in the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/SQEX_eSTORE/status/1628213327079038977

Additionally, Square Enix recently revealed another FFVII Remake piece of merchandise. An expensive $400 USD silver ring modeled after beloved character Red XIII.

Cygames announced that the Uma Musume: Pretty Derby anime will be returning for a season 3 later this year. The company released a trailer and visual teasing the upcoming season, and has also updated the official anime website. Exactly when in 2023 the third season will release is not yet known.

You can watch the teaser trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Uig87OgIk

You can also check out the teaser visual below:

Both the trailer and visual for Uma Musume season 3 feature Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond. The two are best friends and rivals, and they will be the stars of the upcoming season. Kitasan Black wants to be as strong of a racer as the horse girl she looks up to, while Satono Diamond hopes to win a G1 race for the sake of her family.

For a very long time, Sega’s big arcades were a mainstay of the Akihabara skyline, and some of the main attractions for anyone making a gaming-related pilgrimage through the streets of Tokyo.

Read more...

Starting back in 1998, Grand Theft Auto has become one of the biggest, most successful, and most controversial video game franchises of all time. These open-world action games mix crime, comedy, combat, and cars into some of the most exciting digital sandboxes ever created. Add in some classic radio stations and…

Read more...

Bandai took to the Tamashii Nations Twitter account to reveal a number of SH Figuarts figures of One Piece characters, as well as a return of the Chogokin Thousand Sunny. Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Sanji will all be back as standard SH Figuarts characters. There will also be a FiguartsZERO of Luffy. No release windows were offered for any of them.

First, here’s a look at the Luffy SH Figuarts figure. As with all three of the standard figures of these three One Piece characters, it features a new sculpt.

Monkey D. Luffy, as seen in The Raid on Onigashima arc of the ONE PIECE animated series, rejoins S.H.Figuarts with an all new sculpt! Superb articulation and flexible parts make for dynamic posability.#MonkeyDLuffy #Luffy #ONEPIECE #shfiguarts#TamashiiNations pic.twitter.com/UaYeJPmZQn

— TamashiiNations (@TamashiiNations) February 22, 2023

Marvel Snap, the immensely popular online card game and winner of Best Mobile Game at The 2022 Game Awards, is going full furry with its latest update.

Read more...

Remember Devil’s Third? Former Dead or Alive weirdo Tomonobu Itagaki’s 2015 Wii U exclusive combined elements of Gears of War and Ninja Gaiden to create something pretty janky but unlike anything else I’d played at the time. Devil’s Third ultimately flopped, but the idea of a character-action game with first-person…

Read more...

FromSoftware and Bandai Namco announced that Elden Ring reached sales of over 20 million units across all platforms. That's up from up from the 13.4 million in sales reported in May 2022. Elden Ring's continued success saw it named the biggest new IP launch in Europe since Ubisoft's The Division in 2016.

Despite some performance issues on launch, Elden Ring released to critical acclaim and won multiple categories at The Game Awards 2022, including Game of the Year, the Grand Prize at the Japanese Game Awards, and Playstation Game of the Year in our own staff awards.

You can view the official announcement tweet below.bin/releases/index.cgi/en/press/11336?entry_id=7974">here.

[embed]https://twitter.com/ELDENRING/status/1628273414354894848?s=20[/embed]

As is common with Sword Art Online games, each one adds new features and abilities. When it comes to Sword Art Online: Last Recollection, it will expand players' repertoire's by adding the scythe as its newest weapon. Bandai Namco offered up a new trailer to showcase how it will work in battle.

Here’s the brief trailer. It features Kirito wielding a scythe in a em>Sword Art Online: Last Recollection boss fight. As it does, it also explains the strengths of using one in a fight. It seems someone who uses it could both inflict debuffs on enemies while attacking and buff allies. The description noted that it’s a swift weapon that can counter attack and use Sword Skills. The video clip ends with a Scythe Finish Arts attack.

Check out the power of SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection's new weapon, the Scythe, in this boss battle scene! Use the Scythe to lower enemy abilities and strengthen allies, or master some Sword Skills to help you win the battle. pic.twitter.com/3qtILIAkiH

— Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia (@BandaiNamcoSEA) February 21, 2023

Tohru Okada, the Japanese musician behind the distinctive sound that has accompanied the PlayStation logo in advertisements for a quarter century, has passed away.

Read more...

There are quite a few difficulty options in Like a Dragon: Ishin, with people able to adjust the setting right away when they start the game. However, this is also something that can be adjusted while you play. Not to mention the highest difficulty level is one that, if you have the Shinsengumi Complete Pack, you can access right away. So as a quick overview, here are the options available to you and what each one does.

What are the Like a Dragon: Ishin Difficulty Options?

So, you have four immediately upon starting a new game, though there is a fifth one if you have the Shinsengumi Complete Pack. If you do, then you can take on Ishin. The game notes it is best for people going through a new game plus experience with Clear Data.

Here’s the full list of five difficulty options:

• Easy
• Normal
• Hard
• Legend
• Ishin

How Do I Change the Like a Dragon: Ishin Difficulty?

This is easy. Head to the Settings from the main menu. Then, choose the Gameplay section. You can change your difficulty from there. This means if you find a boss is too easy or not challenging enough, you can adjust it as needed.

Expansions have a way of making Destiny 2 feel like an entirely new game, and Lightfall appears to be no exception. Now less than a week away, the massive update will add lots of new content as well as overhaul the loot shooter in some pretty big ways. Here’s a roundup of everything to expect from Destiny 2: Lightfall…

Read more...

Capcom announced through the official Resident Evil Japanese Twitter account that development for a VR Mode for the Resident Evil 4 remake started. It will be a free game mode available only for owners of the PlayStation VR 2 headset. The base Resident Evil 4 remake will release on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 24, 2023.

Here's the official announcement:
https://twitter.com/BIO_OFFICIAL/status/1628309614843559937
More information on when Resident Evil 4 VR Mode will release will come at a later date.

This is not to be confused with the existing Resident Evil 4 VR. It is a completely different title and project. It came out on October 21, 2021 for Oculus Quest 2, and is a VR adaptation of the original RE4.

It isn't the only entry in the series with upcoming PSVR 2 compatibility. Capcom recently showcased a new gameplay trailer of its Resident Evil Village free VR Mode DLC. That VR Mode does not support the Winters Expansion, which added the option to play the game in third person.

While RE Village is originally a first-person mode, Resident Evil 4 uses a third person perspective, so we have yet to see how this VR Mode will play.

Rovio Games announced yesterday that it will remove the paid version of the app from the Google Play Store “due to the game’s impact on our wider games portfolio” on Thursday, February 23. The studio’s other games are all free-to-play titles featuring microtransactions while the original Rovio Classics: Angry Birds…

Read more...

Once you get to Like a Dragon: Ishin chapter 4, you automatically unlock the second home as you progress through this story. This also means becoming an “uncle” to the orphaned Haruka. Which, in turn, means doing everything possible to ensure she doesn’t lose her home and continues running her family’s farming business. However, paying Haruka’s debt in Like a Dragon: Ishin might not be completely obvious immediately, as the game doesn’t note how to trigger the letters from the landlord that allow you to start repaying the 100 Ryo debt.

In order to repay Haruka’s debt, you’ll need to do so in 20 Ryo increments. I found I didn’t start getting letters saying the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth payments are due at your second home until I started earning money via Trade Orders at the farm. These are the orders for things like crops, fish, and prepared food. As you engage with this system, you’ll sometimes see a courier appear with letters letting you know you can pay the landlord in Fushimi.

I’m walking the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, accompanied by twinkling classical piano music and random, startling interjections from a raucous moving painting or Peeves the Poltergeist. A student materializes in front of my eyes, shimmering into existence as their Disillusionment Charm fades; the mirrors in the…

Read more...

It ain’t easy traveling across the country with folks who don’t have it all together. With the burden of succumbing to brutal violence himself, witnessing harm against folks who don’t deserve it, and remembering the echoes of normal life, the TV version of Joel is revealing something we all knew about Video Game Joel.…

Read more...

Hololive VTuber Inugami Korone continues to love Sega icon Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sega is leaning into that relationship again this year. The company introduced a new line of Lucky Kuji lottery prizes to its merchandise lineup. The line is called SoniKoro 2023, or Sonic x Korone 2023, and features new art and images of the VTuber and the video game character. It follows up on more of Korone's activities as a brand ambassador for Sonic the Hedgehog. In 2022 Sega revealed sets of LINE stickers and SoniKoro merchandise to promote the launch of Sonic Frontiers.

Fans in Japan can join the Lucky Kuji Sonic x Korone 2023 lottery by clicking on this link. Those with an account can then pay to roll on a virtual lottery for prizes, which range from canvas prints and wall scrolls of Korone in her "Hedge-dog" outfit cuddling a Sonic plush to tote bags, standees, and buttons.

The main prizes in the SoniKoro 2023 prize list are large canvas prints featuring the full illustration. The prints can be hung on walls and measure 27 x 22 cm (about 10.2 x 8.5 inches).

[gallery columns="1" size="medium" ids="952338" link="file"]

Other prizes include B2-sized wall scrolls of the same illustrations. Special totes also feature a design of Korone sitting in a classic Sonic the Hedgehog-style logo.  Standees also feature chibi renditions of the art, as well as Korone wearing Sega hardware-themed cosplay, not unlike the Sega Hard Girls mascots.

The Outbound Ghost is a charming turn-based adventure RPG that’s been garnering hype on social media thanks to its cutesy blend of The Legend of Zelda, Paper Mario, and Undertale mechanics. The paper mache game hit Steam in late 2022, but if you look for it there now, you won’t find anything because of a legal fight…

Read more...

At the end of February 2023, Square Enix announced a Chrono Cross patch. It noted that, once applied, it would do things like fix bugs and adjust Pip’s evolutionary process. However, the game’s performance also came up. Now that the patch is live on February 22, 2023, the company confirmed the Chrono Cross update brings the framerate up to 60FPS.

The official update did note some stipulations for the Chrono Cross framerate, noting it might not always be 60FPS. It noted that depending on the person’s PC, it might not hit that. It also did note that in battle, it will only get up to 30FPS.

Here are the official 1.0.1.0. patch notes for the Chrono Cross update from Steam. It doesn't go into detail regarding the Pip adjustments.
Update Content

• Framerate improvements
• Changes to the growth system for Pip
• Other minor bug fixes

The framerate was a common issue in Chrono Cross, in particular for the PC version, with people doing things like making mods or using the Special K tool to reach 60FPS.

While they are not a hard science, and should be viewed with as much scepticism as (video) gamers would look at a site like Metacritic, it cannot be denied that the user ratings on BoardGameGeek play a huge part in helping people choose which board games to buy, play and/or argue about.

Read more...

As Atelier Ryza 3’s release date draws nearer, that means more details about the game. Koei Tecmo released two new updates on the title. One is designed to offer more insight, while the other is about incentive. So now people can see the Atelier Ryza 3 story trailer and pre-order bonuses.

Here’s the Atelier Ryza 3 story trailer. It begins with an unconscious Ryza, surrounded by concerned friends like Empel, Lila, and Patty. She then struggles to get out that she wants to “go back.” After that, we see Tao and Empel talking about the legendary “code of the universe.” This would be revealed to an alchemist, and we see Ryza creating a key to open a door. Her and her old and new allies gather together to learn the truth and explore this new area. This all plays out while “Travelers,” the ending theme song by Yorushika’s suis, plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1gbedO4_Uk&ab_channel=KOEITECMOAMERICA

Streaming service Crunchyroll officially confirmed that it will offer subscribers streams of the anime adaptation of Mashle: Magic and Muscles. The company announced the license in a press release, and added that it'll be a simulcast, with episodes available in "over 200 territories and countries" day and date with the local Japanese schedule.

Crunchyroll also uploaded a subtitled trailer for the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGesp73vYEg

The Mashle: Magic and Muscles anime is based on Hajime Komoto's manga of the same name, which runs in the pages of Shonen Jump. It was first revealed during Japan's Jump Festa event in December 2022. It follows the adventures of Mash Burnedead, a young man who lives in the deep forest. Unlike most of the other people in the world, Mash can't use magic at all. All he wanted was to live in peace and quiet. However, strange people want him dead, and he finds himself enrolled at the Easton Magic Academy, aiming to become a "Divine Visionary," an elite magician. Without the ability to actually use magic, he'll have to surpass all the challenges and opponents the school places before him with nothing more than his perfect, well-trained muscles.

The Mashle: Magic and Muscles anime main voice cast was also confirmed:

A 16-year-old boy has been detained by Singaporean authorities under the country’s strict new terror laws, after he was found to have been playing on ‘multiple Islamic State-themed servers on Roblox’.

Read more...

Earlier today, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Xbox boss Phil Spencer talked briefly to the media about its ongoing attempt to consume Activision Blizzard King, continuing once again to act like the larger spat is mostly about Call of Duty. At one point, Smith said he was carrying a contract with him that would keep…

Read more...

If you’ve been on Twitter, Steam, Tiktok, or Reddit recently, you may have come across a 3D model of a black-and-white cat. This is Maxwell, and while the cat’s become very popular among modders and gamers over the last few months, its origins date back before 2023. So why is a low-poly model of a cat from years ago…

Read more...

Nearly two years after NBA player Meyers Leonard blew up his whole career after shouting an antisemitic slur during a Call of Duty: Warzone livestream, ESPN reports he has signed a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Read more...

Read more...

Bungie’s two-year legal battle against a Destiny 2 cheat maker finally concluded last week. The judge agreed that cheat maker AimJunkies had violated Bungie’s copyright and ordered it to pay over $3.6 million in damages and $700,000 in legal expenses.

Read more...

Every episode of HBO’s The Last of Us has had something emotionally devastating (some good and bad) to sit with, but episode seven, “Left Behind,” is probably going to be one of the hardest to deal with in the show’s nine-episode run. That’s because, as the title suggests, it looks like we’re going to experience the…

Read more...

Anime and manga enjoyers often come across the odd joke or pun in their favorite series that lands in Japanese but doesn’t translate well into English. While English translators do their damnedest to provide context behind either cultural or phonetic puns in editor’s notes (typically within a manga panel’s margins or…

Read more...

Last week, the world (specifically Japanese citizens) read the latest installment of Hirohiko Araki’s mega-popular manga series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands. While I was uneasy about whether or not Araki should continue the series with yet another saga since its previous part, JoJolion, ended so suddenly,…

Read more...

I’ve been having a blast playing Wild Hearts, a Monster Hunter-style action-RPG from the studio behind Dynasty Warriors, and I’ve learned a ton about how to survive its beautiful but brutal Kemono beats in my time with it so far. I’ve come to impart that wisdom to you, dear reader, so that you can avoid some of my…

Read more...

After a few years of delays and setbacks, Mundfish’s Atomic Heart is finally here, throwing players into an alternate take on history where synthetics take over the USSR, causing mayhem and misery. Players assume the role of Major P-3, a chatty protagonist who must uncover the cause of the issue and fend for himself amidst the impending doom.

As Atomic Heart has been released and reached the public, it seems that Major P-3 is way more vocal than most of the player base could’ve anticipated. Much of the talk track has been downright critical of his lines and even the overall dialogue in Atomic Heart, as it comes off as “cringey,” at least in the English dub. 

Leading up to the release, Mundfish did recommend that players change the English dub to Russian for the best possible experience, which is pretty common in various media adaptations hence the saying “lost in translation.”

How to Change From English to Russian Dialogue in Atomic Hearts

For players interested in changing the language, simply:

As Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania hit theaters for early viewing on Feb. 16, 2023, it was one of the worst-reviewed MCU films of all time. Despite the opinions of critics, fans seemed to have a better time with viewers giving higher marks to the movie on aggregation sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. Still, the trailers indicated what could have been an even better story than what made the final cut.

SPOILER WARNING:
Any of the information below may contain spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantamania.

As Reddit user anhedonis539 astutely points out, the trailers made the movie seem more like it would follow the story of Scott Lang helping Kang escape the Quantum Realm in order to make up for years of missed time with his daughter Cassie. They also break down how it could have been a fresh take as far as stories go in the MCU.

“Can you imagine our main hero knowingly trying to help Kang the freaking Conquerer escape? Ignoring everyone else’s pleas for him to stop, or maybe even getting them captured so they can’t stop him?”