November 2023

Throughout the Call of Duty franchise, critical fans have argued that the single-player campaign often feels like a tutorial for the real meat of the game: multiplayer. If that argument rings true for any game, though, it is Modern Warfare 3, as the MW3 campaign is a glorified Warzone tutorial.

Picking up immediately after 2022’s MW2 campaign, this seemingly rushed title from developer Sledgehammer Games is a direct sequel to the previous game. This feels odd in-and-of itself for a series, which usually hops between sub-series each year. But the main issue with the single-player MW3 campaign isn’t its continuity but its length and structure.

Blizzard Entertainment revealed Mauga as the next hero in Overwatch 2. Mauga is a Samoan Tank Hero that wields two chain guns called Gunny and Cha-Cha.

Mauga was revealed during BlizzCon 2023, and he is the first Samoan hero in the game. He will make his debut when Season 8 of Overwatch 2 starts on December 5, 2023. His kit revolves around the use of his two chainguns. Gunny is the left one, and it fires incendiary rounds that ignite enemies. Cha-cha is the volatile right chain gun, and it deals critical hits on burning enemies. Each gun can be shoot separately or in unison.

Three other core abilities that Mauga can use were introduced. One is Overrun, an unstoppable charge designed to break enemy lines. Cardiac Overdrive damages enemies and regains life for all allies in a radius around Mauga. Finally, Cage Fight traps enemies in a set area and grants infinite ammunition to Mauga.

You can watch the Overwatch 2 Mauga reveal trailer here:

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian delivers his review of WarioWare: Move It, the latest game in Nintendo and Intelligent Systems' zany microgame compilation series. After that, Kyle gives his early impressions of Super Mario RPG. The show wraps with some more impressions, this time from Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1.

If you'd like to follow Brian on social media, you can do so on his Instagram/Threads @BrianPShea or Twitter @BrianPShea. You can follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleMHilliard and BlueSky: @KyleHilliard.

The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way, they'll share personal stories, uncover hidden gems in the eShop, and even look back on the classics we all grew up with. A new episode hits every Friday!

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, a 2003 PlayStation 2 superhero game that was in development by 5,000 Ft. Studios for the PlayStation 2 before getting canceled, has resurfaced after 20 years with a new playable build.

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At BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard announced it’s preparing to enter what it’s calling World of Warcraft’s “Worldsoul Saga,” a multi-expansion story arc in the MMORPG that it plans to roll out over the course of the next three expansions.

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The third entry in the Modern Warfare reboot project ships on November 10. A direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III’s campaign follows Task Force 141 as they attempt to prevent a global catastrophe. Its single-player campaign promises more open, freeform levels than usual, while…

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Role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 lets players summon purple lightning and kiss parasitic Cthulhu emperors, but it won’t let them give out hugs. Fans of the Dungeons & Dragons game routinely lament this small injustice, wishing badly to comfort their favorite party members during the game’s sometimes devastating…

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Just over a month after Epic Games cut nearly 900 employees, players have come roaring back to Fortnite to play its new nostalgia trip through the battle royale’s original map. The company announced that the six-year-old game had its biggest day ever on November 4, bringing in a whopping 44.7 million players.

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BlizzCon is back - as an in-person event for the first time in four years - and Blizzard kicked off its opening ceremony with a bit of an Overwatch 2 blowout, including a reveal for the series' 39th hero, chaingun-wielding tank Mauga.

Mauga's announcement wasn't, admittedly, much of a surprise, giving he inadvertently got a pre-show unveiling on Switch's eShop news channel, but he's now been made official thanks to BlizzCon. And, as seen in his reveal trailer, Mauga - which means "mountain" in Samoan - is armed with two chainguns: affectionately known as Gunny and Cha-Cha.

Gunny is an incendiary chaingun, whose bullets will burn enemies that receive sufficient damage; Cha-Cha, meanwhile, is a a "volatile" chaingun that deals critical burn damage. Blizzard notes they can either be fired individually or in unison.

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BlizzCon has brought big news for World of Warcraft fans as the MMO prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year; Blizzard's announced not only its next expansion, The War Within, but the two coming after that, all forming chapters in the newly revealed Worldsoul Saga.

The Worldsoul Saga was enthusiastically unveiled by Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen, who returned to the company late last year after departing in 2016. This new World of Warcraft story arc is set to play out across multiple expansions over the next few years, starting with The War Within - WoW's tenth expansion - in 2024.

The War Within takes players into heart of Azeroth itself, where they'll explore new subterranean kingdoms, engage with ancient cultures like the Earthen Dwarves - a new Allied race - and the terrifying Nerubians of Azj-Kahet. Azj-Kahet is one of several new zones coming in the expansion, alongside the Isle of Dorn, The Ringing Deeps, and Hallowfall.

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Poncle announced that a Vampire Survivors Adventures Mode will be released soon, as the feature was revealed in a trailer on the studio's official YouTube channel. The story campaign will debut in the v1.8.0 Deeplorable Update.

You can check out the trailer for the Adventures Mode below:

At the time of writing, Poncle has not given a release date for the Deeplorable Update. However, on social media the Indie developer stated that the patch would be "coming soon in a few weeks." According to the trailer, the Vampire Survivors Adventures Mode is essentially a mini story campaign and will feature side quests and deep lore to flesh out the game's plot.

Megahouse revealed two new Look Up figures of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Shikinami Langley from the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. The figures are unpainted gray prototypes except for their eyes, and they were originally revealed at the Animate Girls Festival 2023.

There are currently no further details about a possible release date or price. More information will be revealed at a later date through the Megahouse Tori social media account. AGF2023 is currently being held between November 3-4, 2023 at Ikebukuro Sunshine City, in Tokyo.

You can take a look at the Evangelion Look Up prototype figures of Rei and Asuka here:

Update 11/03/2023 6:20 p.m. ET: The Verge reports that Xbox chief Phil Spencer has reversed the decision to end free Game Pass Ultimate access for non-Xbox Microsoft employees. In an internal memo, Spencer wrote:

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Kahotan has announced that Good Smile Company will release Nendoroid Dolls of Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka soon. While the Miku one looks like she’s ready to relax at home, Luka will appear as she usually does.

You can get a closer look at the promotional artwork for the Nendoroids below:

The official Genshin Impact Twitter accounts have teased Skirk, who will appear in the game sometime soon. Cat Protano will voice her in English, and Mamiko Noto will voice her in Japanese.

In Genshin Impact, Skirk is Tartaglia’s master after he fell into the Abyss at a young age. He mentions her in his voice lines, and her name is also in his character story. So far, he is the only character in the game who even brings her up due to their shared past.

According to his voice lines and character story, Skirk is a powerful fighter and a strict teacher. She took on Tartaglia as an apprentice because he had awakened “it,” though at the time of Tartaglia’s debut, it was unclear what “it” was.

NetEase has revealed all of the costumes that will appear in the upcoming xxxHolic crossover in Identity V. In total, there will be four skins.

Here is the list of Hunters and Survivors that will have xxxHolic skins in Identity V:

• Geisha: Yuko Ichihara
• “Little Girl”: Kohane Tsuyuri
• Mercenary: Shizuka Doumeki
• Seer: Kimihiro Watanuki

Of these skins, only the one for Geisha is an S-tier. All of the other ones are A-tiers.

The image that appeared on official Identity V channels shows the characters standing in front of the tram on the Eversleeping Town map. Behind them, closer to the fence and the bus stop in front of the dancing Michiko area of the map, are the Identity V characters that they’re based on.

Super Groupies has announced a re-run of all of its Bayonetta collaboration items. They’re only available while supplies last, so if you want them, you should act fast before they sell out.

For reference, Super Groupies does offer international shipping. So you don’t have to use a proxy service to purchase from them. On another note, though there are eight items in total in the Super Groupies’s Bayonetta crossover, only two of them are available for purchase.

Sanrio has made six major announcements for its new multimedia project, Fragaria Memories. They’re mostly focused on the music scene at the moment. [Thanks, PR Times!]

Here are the six announcements from Sanrio in regards to Fragaria Memories:

1. The first original music video, “Ever Red,” which features characters from Red Bouquet.
2. A voiced drama CD will come out sometime in Winter 2024
3. Goods will start appearing in Animate stores from January 2024.
4. It will have an upcoming collaboration with Joysound, a karaoke company.
5. It is working on an upcoming 3DCG live concert.
6. There will be a stage play.

A knitted plush of Red XIII as he appears in Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for purchase via the official Square Enix store. The adorable hand-knitted dolls cost $37.99.

The collectible is now available for pre-order and will come out sometime in August 2024. According to the description via the Square Enix site, the Red XIII plush can serve as decoration in your house and is also an excellent gift for collectors or fans of Final Fantasy.

Since it’s made of yarn, it’s very soft to hold and hug. For reference, the only material that Square Enix lists on its site for this plush is “polyester,” which should give an idea of how it feels. You can get a closer look at the doll in the image below:

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, the crew explores two extremes: RoboCop: Rogue City — which is somehow the best RoboCop game — and Jusant, the meditative rock-climbing adventure that's developer Don't Nod's best work since the original Life Is Strange. Later in the show, Kyle pantomimes WarioWare: Move It's energetic mechanics before Alex dives into his most recent session of The Finals, which is currently the number one wishlisted game on Steam.

Watch Our Weekly Gaming Podcast:

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard)

Daydreaming. That's how it started. Daydreaming. Cocoon designer and director Jeppe Carlsen, whose previous works include Inside and Limbo, was simply daydreaming one day, and the idea of a game that encapsulated worlds within worlds within worlds came to him.

"I've been making game mechanics and designing personas for so many years that I also just walk around in everyday life and think about mechanics," Carlsen tells me over Zoom. "I don't remember the exact context or what triggered it. It was just a thought of like, what if you could basically have a level, that is to begin with just a maze or a level, but you can jump out of it. And you can carry that around. And you can put these levels into each other.

"There was just that thought."

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Today is bitter-sweet because I need to let you know Emma has decided to move on from writing her monthly column, Emma's Adventures. She's had fun with them, she says, and appreciates all your kind remarks, but she wants to use the significant time they take to write to focus on a new direction in her life. So let's wish her well for the future - we were lucky to have her while we did.

The sweet part of this is I now get to realise something I've been keeping in the dark for far too long: my, um, dark side. Ever since I killed all of my Dragon Age: Origins companions, I've been fascinated by evil playthroughs in games, and now, with Emma moving on, I have some time and space to explore them - with you.

You may remember I experimented with the beginnings of an evil Dragon Age: Inquisition playthrough earlier this year. I always wondered how far the game would let me go and so I decided to try it. That adventure will continue, by the way, especially as we close in on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, but before I go back to it, there's another adventure I want to take you on. A more recent adventure - one everyone's been talking about. I would like to get evil in Baldur's Gate 3.

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What would my life be like now if only I’d done something different as a kid? This question is one that likely runs through people’s head on sleepless nights, and it’s one that the unique narrative puzzle A Perfect Day strives to answer.

The plot of A Perfect Day revolves around elementary schoolboy Chen Liang and his desire to have the perfect day. School unexpectedly lets out early. So Cheng Liang takes the opportunity to hand Ke Yun, a girl in his class, a Christmas card. It’s the last day of 1999, so he’s way late, but he just never got the chance to beforehand. Unfortunately, things don’t go to plan, whether it’s with Ke Yun, Chen Liang’s friends, or Chen Liang’s family. Using information you gather as you experience the December 31, 1999 time loop over and over again, you have to help Chen Liang and the people around him enjoy the perfect day.

Ranked play has become an vital part of online gaming in recent years and we expect it to become core of MW3 pretty soon. Here’s everything you need to know about when ranked play starts in Modern Warfare 3.

MW3 Ranked Play Start Date?

Activision revealed during the COD Next event that Ranked Play will come out Season 1 of MW3.

There are numerous cute and friendly Pokemon in existence, with over a thousand different specimens available to choose from. Among them, certain ‘Mons seem to be the perfect contenders for household pets in the Pokemon world, and we’ve rounded up ten of these adorable critters to show off!

Eevee

I’m sure it’s no surprise that Eevee is among the first contenders for a Pokemon pet. After all, look at the adorable little ball of fluff; It’s like the cute little fox-dog everyone dreams of owning!

With over a thousand Pokemon in existence, some species will naturally be more memorable or favorable than others. Unfortunately for some unlucky ‘Mons, they’ve failed to be memorable at all, with most fans frequently forgetting that they ever existed. To refresh your memory, we’ve caught 10 of these poor unfortunate souls!

Klefki

Ah, yes, a literal set of keys.

When the City Living expansion pack first introduced the wonders of apartment living, Simmers couldn’t help but want more with its unique housing style. And now, things are finally looking up with the latest debut of the Sims 4 For Rent trailer, showcasing a new journey as a property owner or tenant.

With this pack, players can customize the home of their dreams in the city of Tomarang, from duplexes to apartments to townhomes. Thanks to its multi-family complexes, the impactful storytelling that the series is known for continues to thrive, especially with all the various cultures mixed together.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder lives and breathes diverse level design. Each level has unique enemies, environments, and gimmicks that continually delight and surprise. Of them all though, these are our picks for the top 10 Super Mario Bros. Wonder levels, ranked from fine to phenomenal.

10. Fluff-Puff Peaks Special: Climb to the Beat

At number 10 we have a Special World level, the second one to be exact.

With the recent revelation that the upcoming Final Shape DLC for Destiny 2 will be delayed from February 2024 to June 2024, Destiny 2 players brace themselves for an impending seven-month-long Season. Normally I’d be okay with this to ensure the quality of the DLC is better than what we got with the Lightfall DLC, but with no content announcements for February and beyond, Bungie needs to crack open the DCV (Destiny Content Vault) now more than ever to ensure they keep player retention before The Final Shape arrives.

Thirsty Suitors on PC

Thirsty Suitors has been one of my most unexpected gaming joys of 2023, with the title originally catching my eye for the parallels it drew to the Scott Pilgrim franchise. However, as I soon discovered when I was given the opportunity to play a preview of the game, Thirsty Suitors is entirely original and quirky and puts a new spin on the whole ‘battle against angry exes’ thing.

Because I had found this preview to be such a blast, I was more than excited to give the completed game a run; and just as expected, the wacky, chaotic fun continued in full swing. While Thirsty Suitors does share some classic references to Scott Pilgrim, it also puts a refreshing spin on things to make the story feel entirely original.

So many talented people have lost their jobs at Bungie at the hands of corporate greed. Let’s discuss how Sony forcing Bungie layoffs is the exact opposite of what should be happening.

On the 30th of October 2023, the gaming community at large began to hear that Bungie was laying off some of its staff. These kinds of things happen sadly, and often depending on the studio and their success. What rubs me the wrong way here is that it’s Bungie suffering the layoffs. We’re talking about a many multi-million-dollar successful developer suffering layoffs, under the watch and support of Sony—a multi-billion-dollar company.