Game Informer

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Half-Life: Alyx is less than a month from release, and developer Valve just hit the gas on the hype machine, releasing three videos that show this highly anticipated VR game in action. The official release date is March 23, and you'll be able to play it on your Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, and more.

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After stemming the tides of evil in the nation's capital, Ubisoft is transporting players back to New York a day early in The Division 2's newest DLC expansion.

Originally scheduled to come out March 3, Warlords of New York is available now for fans who pre-purchased the expansion. The DLC allows agents to traverse new districts in New York City, expand their character's skills, obtain new loot, and climb to a new level cap of 40.

In celebration of the surprise launch, Leo Vader, Andrew Reiner, and I will be taking in the sights and blasting baddies in the boroughs of the Big Apple. 

We went live earlier, but you can catch up on the whole show by watching the archive above. Enjoying our streams? You can subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, or Facebook to get notified when we go live in the future! Thanks for watching!

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Square Enix has released a free PS4 demo for Final Fantasy VII Remake in advance of the April 10 release of the long-awaited game's first installment.

The demo – available now – covers the game's beginning, through the Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission.

If you're unsure if you want to purchase the game when it comes out on April 10, the demo will be available after the remake's launch, although you must download it before May 11 if you want to get an exclusive PS4 theme when the title comes out.

Square Enix is putting out the game in installments, although it has not announced how many will constitute the full title nor the timing of the releases other than this first one.

For more from Final Fantasy VII Remake, check out the opening movie, as well as our hands-on from Tokyo Game Show 2019 in this episode of New Gameplay Today.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne's third free update arrives on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 23. The PC update will hit just a month later in April, yet no exact date was given. The free content includes two new monsters: the Raging Brachydios and the Furious Rajang.

Iceborne is the massive expansion for Monster Hunter World that released last September. Capcom has continued to support Monster Hunter World like a living game, and it'll be interesting to see how much more content we get over the span of 2020.

You can see both of the upcoing variant beasts in action in the video below:

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And if you have two hours to kill, you can check out the replay of the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne USA Championship livestream, which is looking for the fastest hunters across the globe:

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Last October, when Riot Games announced a slate of new titles, one of the outliers was Project A, a first-person shooter that combines the popular hero-based shooter genre with tactical gameplay. We now know Project A is officially called Valorant, and will launch on PC this summer as a free-to-play title. I traveled to Santa Monica, Calif., to spend a day in the offices of Riot Games to not only learn about the upcoming shooter from all angles, but also play it for several hours.

In October 2019, Riot Games, the iconic studio behind League of Legends, announced a full slate of new games coming over the next several years. While nearly every game is set in the League of Legends universe, one title, codenamed "Project A" was said to exist in a new universe, as a completely new IP. Today, Riot Games announced both a name and release window for its shooter: Project A is officially called Valorant, and it will launch on PC this summer.

When this free-to-play title launches, Riot Games is targeting 12 heroes (called Agents in-game), as well as 4 maps. The game will operate as a live-service title, meaning players can expect new heroes and maps on a regular basis.

Not only that, but I spent a day on the campus of Riot Games in Santa Monica, Calif., learning the ins and outs of the title by not only speaking to the team, but going hands on with it. For more on Riot Games' promising title, be sure to check out my hands-on impressions.

The Game Developers Conference, which was set to take place March 16 to 20 in San Francisco, Calif. has been postponed by its organizers Informa due to concerns surrounding the global spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. The conference, which started in 1988, draws attendance from an international pool of developers, publishers, press, and more.

You can read the statement from the organizers of GDC in its entirety below.

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Since its arrival on the scene in 1999, Super Smash Bros. has always been able to bring friends and communities together... or completely rip them asunder. We're hoping for the former result as GI hosts you, the community, for an evening of virtual fun as we duke it out in Smash Bros. Ultimate!

We went live earlier, but you can still catch the full archive of the stream above. Enjoying the shows? You can subscribe over on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, or Facebook to get notified when we go live in the future! Thanks for watching!

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For a younger generation, Half-Life exists only as a meme. While questions of the ever-elusive sequel have plagued the game's legacy for over a decade, there was a time not long ago where people recognized the Valve first-person shooter as one of the kings of the genre. Today on Replay, Andrew Reiner, Leo Vader, and I transport you back to that time and take a look at why Half-Life 2 set the bar so high for so long.

We went live earlier, but you can catch the full archive above. If you can't get enough Replay and our other shows, remember to subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, or Facebook to get notified when we go live each week! Thanks and enjoy the show!

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Happy Pokémon day! And a happy day it is indeed, as the nearly shot-for-shot remake of Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back drops on Netflix today. Brian Shea, Jeff Cork and I attempted to record a commentary track, and ended up with something pretty insulting and kind of crude for a kids movie. So I hope you enjoy!

You can watch and listen to our commentary above, or just do the listen part below. Let us know if you want more commentaries, this one was really fun to do!

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On this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, I am joined by Dan "The Jacket" Tack, Ben Reeves, and Leo Vader to discuss Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Baldur's Gate III, and the latest next gen news on Xbox and PlayStation. After we handle some hot topics, we jump into the always entertaining and enlightening community emails.

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @therealandymc to let me know what you think. 

You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Play, listen on SoundCloud, stream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to the talented Super Marcato Bros. for The Game Informer Show's intro song. You can hear more of their original tunes and awesome video game music podcast at their website.

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In case you haven't noticed, we're excited for Baldur's Gate III. If you missed it, go read our impressions from a recent two-hour demo or watch our New Gameplay Today video preview. But before you go, check out this gorgeous CG video that helps set up the story. 

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The Baldur's Gate series gave players a chance to explore worlds based on the D&D license while engaging in combat that adhered to the pen-and-paper ruleset. Larian Studios is bringing the franchise back with Baldur's Gate III, and Ben Reeves recently got a chance to see it in action. Now it's your turn!

Ben answers Leo's most pressing questions, including "What's going on?" and "Is this game fun?" Take a look at the video to hear the hard-hitting answers and see some of the choices players will be able to make, both in dialogue and in combat. 

Baldur's Gate III is coming to early access on PC this year, with console versions TBD.

Plague Inc. is a game that pushes players to try to annihilate all life with an evolving pathogen. The game was released on mobile devices in 2012 and has been played by more than 130 million people, but has recently been pulled from China's digital stores during the coronavirus outbreak.

Ndemic Creations, the studio behind Plague Inc., issued a statement that details the reasoning for the removal. The game "includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China."

Ndemic says Plague Inc. has been one of China's most popular paid games, and the team is working hard to try to get the game back up in the stores. "It's not clear to us if the removal is linked to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that China is facing," the statement reads. "Plague Inc.'s educational importance has been repeatedly recognized by organizations like the CDC and we are currently working with major global health organizations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's Gunfight matches are meant to be fast, but not this fast. Reddit user IPyro58 posted a clip that achieves a feat most of us will never duplicate – three headshots with one bullet. The opposing team was well coordinated, but the formation was too tight. The only way this match could go faster is if IPyro58 didn't have to run to get into position. What a shot!

My fastest 3v3 round ever from r/gaming

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To celebrate Pokémon Day, a new Mythical Pokémon is being introduced into Pokémon Sword and Shield – Zarude. This Dark- and Grass-type Pokémon is known as the Rogue Monkey, and it uses vines grown from its body to get around, attack, and even heal itself.

The new trailer for Zarude gives players just a glimpse of the creature's vine abilities, and developer Game Freak says more info on the Pokémon is coming in the future.

In other news, the company has announced limited-time Max Raid battles. Starting today at 4 p.m. Pacific until Sunday, March 1 at 3:59 p.m. Pacific, Dynamax Mewtwo may appear in Max Raid Battles. It can't be caught, but if you beat it you'll get rare items like Ability Capsules. 

You can also encounter Dynamax Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and others in Max Raid Battles, but unlike Mewtwo, these can be caught.

All of these limited-time Pokémon will put up a challenging fight, so it's suggested you bring along some friends. 

Star Wars Battlefront II has quietly transformed into a success story, moving from the microtransaction-heavy bowels of the sarlaac pit to the comfy seat of a soaring X-Wing carrying a payload of free content. The game's latest update, dubbed The Age of Rebellion, is impressive in size. With the focus on the original trilogy, players can now play cooperatively on the classic locations of Mos Eisley, Yavin IV, Hoth, Jabba's Palace, Endor, the Kessel mines, and the Death Star II. As an added bonus, DICE is making co-op play available on the prequel-era capital ships, the Venator and Dreadnaught.

This update also introduces the Ewok hunter, an infiltrator unit with a bow and arrow, and the ISB agent, a dual-wielding infiltrator. The ISB Agent's final ability regenerates nearby allies' base health, and the Ewok hunter can single out weakened foes.

Players can also bring new weapons into the fray, such as a new blasters like the E-11D and DL-18, as well as the T-21 heavy blaster, and the Cycler Rifle. Heroes vs. Villains skirts the classic trilogy to add playable maps set on the MC85 Star Cruiser and the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer.

The update brings a number of tweaks and fixes, such as modifications to Leia's E11 blaster and Chewbacca's bowcaster. You can find out more at DICE's official Battlefront II forum.

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Before we started recording this episode, neither Leo or I had heard of Paper Cult's new game, Bloodroots. Reiner's pitch sounded interesting, though. He said it had the combo-focused structure of a Tony Hawk game, but with swords and barrels and fish instead of skateboards. Sold! Leo took the sticks, and was immediately won over. Check it out!

Bloodroots' Mr. Wolf is an efficient killing machine, but he's far from unstoppable. One hit will send him back to his maker. Thankfully, thanks to a quick restarting mechanic and solid controls, Leo managed to rise to the challenge. At least, until we had to kick him off. Seriously, he probably would have kept playing for the rest of the day.

Bloodroots is out February 28 on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC.

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People Can Fly's upcoming RPG/shooter lets players pick between four different character classes, each with its own unique skillset and general combat role. Today, we're looking at the Pyromancer, which is an archetype based on (you guessed it) setting things ablaze. 

In today's NGT, Leo and I walk through some of our experiences playing with a Pyromancer character during our visit to People Can Fly's studio in Warsaw, and share some info about what the class brings to the combat arena. It's not just fire, you know? They can also turn people into weird, ashy statue things. Look, just watch the video, OK?

Outriders is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox One Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2020. For more video features on the game, including our rapid-fire interview, visit our hub page by clicking the banner below.

At the heart of Bloodroots rests a classic Western story of revenge: Work your way through an army of henchmen to reach the person who left you for dead. Your bloodlust has no bounds, allowing you to kill with anything you can grab, be it an axe or even a carrot.

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PlatinumGames, the studio that developed titles like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata, has revealed a trailer for a brand new IP going by the working title Project G.G. for now.  The video (which you can watch above) teases an action-focused experienced with a transforming hero and a giant monster.

In an official message from director Hideki Kamiya, he explains that Project G.G. is different from previous PlatinumGames efforts because it is a new IP owned by the studio. "For everything from its setting and characters, to its game design and story, to how it’s promoted – PlatinumGames is in full control," Kamiya says.  

The announcement contains no release window, but don't expect to see the game soon. Kamiya's message notes, "The finish line is still a long way away."

The reveal of Project G.G. is part of a recent push from PlatinumGames that began with the Wonderful 101 Kickstarter campaign. Both are part of what the company has called the "Platinum Four," so we still have two more announcements to look forward to.

If you subscribe to PlayStation Plus, you can download Shadow of the Colossus and Sonic Forces for free starting on March 3. You'll have until April 6 to get both of these games. You also have until March 2 to download February's free games, which are BioShock: The Collection, Firewall Zero Hour, and The Sims 4.

Shadow of the Colossus is a must-play game that scored a 9 out of 10 rating from Game Informer's review. If you haven't played the game since it originally released on PlayStation 2, this enhanced PlayStation 4 version features all-new visuals, 4k display options, and the ability to play it at 60 frames per second on PlayStation 4 Pro.

Sonic Forces didn't fare as well, scoring just a 6.5 out of 10 in our review. People are high on Sonic right now after the surprisingly fun movie, so this game may be worth a look if you want to see what he's been up to in games.

Lastly, on March 27, PlayStation Plus subscribers can check out Predator: Hunting Grounds for one week. This asymmetrical multiplayer game pits four humans against the predator. The game officially releases on April 24.

Yacht Club Games has announced Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, an all-new puzzle game created in collaboration with developer Vine. Following the upcoming releases of Cyber Shadow and Shovel Knight Dig, Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon will be the third title Yacht Club Games has made in collaboration with an external game development team.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon combines rogue-lite, dungeon-crawling elements with the traditional dropping-tile puzzle game formula. You move around as your selected character, trading damage with enemies and collecting potions. You encounter all kinds of recognizable characters from the various Shovel Knight campaigns to this point, but you'll also meet Puzzle Knight, a brilliant puzzle master who leads Shovel Knight on the quest.

You can check out the first trailer below.

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No further details regarding platforms, release window, or price are currently available. Yacht Club Games says its still "in the thick of development," but the teams will have more to share soon. Those who attend PAX East this weekend will be the first to play Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon.

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The trailer above gives you a little taste of the vibe developer Harmonix and publisher NCSoft are trying to achieve in Harmonix's new music-mixing game, Fuser. The video below shows you a small sliver of gameplay. As you can see, you suit up as a DJ and are tasked to blend songs in realtime into something unique. Fuser offers more than 100 songs from 50 Cent's "In Da Club" to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

Harmonix bills Fuser as a "nonstop virtual music festival where you control the music." You'll do this through a campaign in which you must win over the crowd to unlock new content, or simply freestyle to make mixes you can share with friends. You can also play with them in an online multiplayer mode. Unlike most of Harmonix's music games, you won't need a specific peripheral to mix music – you can use a controller. Fuser is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC in 2020.

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The first 16 announced songs are:

You want Overwatch 2. We want Overwatch 2. No one knows when that day will be just yet, but for now, Blizzard is making sure we have reasons to keep playing the original game. Today delivers one good reason to boot up the original once again. If you can rack up nine wins, you'll unlock a festive Mardi Gras skin for Ashe (and B.O.B.). If you immediately thought Ashe looks a little bit like Harley Quinn, you are not alone – we had the same takeaway.

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Microsoft has announced March's Games With Gold titles free for a limited time for Xbox Live Gold members, featuring a range of genres.

Batman: The Enemy Within – The Complete Season kicks things off on Xbox One, and is available March 1 to the end of the month.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, via backward compatibility, runs from March 1 to 15 on Xbox One and the 360.

Sonic Generations, also via backward compatibility, starts on March 16 and goes to the end of the month on Xbox One and the 360.

Finally, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero on Xbox One starts mid-month (March 16), but doesn't end until the following month on April 15.

[Source: Microsoft]

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Capcom earned the praise of players and critics last year with the release of its Resident Evil 2 remake. How do you follow up something like that? If you were thinking "Resident Evil 3 remake," congrats. In today's episode, Leo and I grill Ben Reeves about what he saw – and played – during a recent event for the upcoming game.

There's a lot to absorb here, including a nice (?) glimpse of Nemesis, a quick walk around Raccoon City and its various shops, and Carlos' weird-looking hair. Seriously. There's a lot more to check out, but that hair is really something that stuck with us.

You can watch the episode above, or in 4K over on our YouTube channel! Resident Evil 3 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 3.

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After being exposed to a mysterious force called The Anomaly, humans face a variety of different fates. They might be torn apart, atom by atom. On the other extreme, they might turn into gods. Today, we're focusing on one of the luckier ones, those who become Tricksters. These character archetypes can teleport around the world in People Can Fly's shooter/RPG, turning what might otherwise be a mundane gunfight in an exhilarating game of hide and seek. And then headshot.

Leo and I visited People Can Fly's studio in Warsaw, and you can hear details about our hands-on experiences in today's episode. Leo played almost exclusively with this class, and he had a lot of thoughts. In addition to learning more about the Trickster, you can get a sense of how missions are structured in Outriders' hub-and-spoke-based world.

Outriders is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox One Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2020. For more video features on the game, including our rapid-fire interview, visit our hub page by clicking the banner below.

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Sometimes, you just have an appetite for nonsensical mayhem. Totally Reliable Delivery Service fills that void and then some, as you and up to three friends can become the world's worst deliverers. You traverse an open world, drive strange vehicles, and haul packages in the most ridiculous ways.

We're Five Games level designer Brent Boehner joins the show to guide Jeff Cork, Ben Reeves, and Joe Juba through the lunacy while also demonstrating some of the secrets the islands have to offer.

If you and your friends want to cause some chaos together, Totally Reliable Delivery Service comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on April 1, no fooling!

All too often players can find themselves picking up a game for current gen only to have to repurchase the game on new hardware when it becomes available. Today, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 players on Xbox One will get the upgrade to the Series X when it arrives absolutely free.

This should inspire some purchase confidence for those looking to play the game at its best - you'll get to play it on launch on the Xbox One and then get the more powerful version for free on the Series X when it arrives at no additional cost.

Gamers should never be forced to purchase the same game twice or pay for upgrades. Owners of #Cyberpunk2077 for Xbox One will receive the Xbox Series X upgrade for free when available. https://t.co/nfkfFLj85w

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) February 24, 2020

I mean, we're all going to play through the game at least twice anyway, right? 

During a livestream, Canadian singer and songwriter Grimes shared a wild story about her Cyberpunk 2077 character. The archive of the stream has since been removed, but the rough details of what she shared are on Reddit. During the stream, Grimes answered fan questions, and was asked about her role in Cyberpunk 2077. She enthusiastically shared the following (which should be viewed as SPOILERS):

"I did my voice acting for Lizzy Wizzy. That game is going to be f---ing good. I mean I haven’t played it, but I saw someone play an hour of the game. The game was fantastic, and I play a pop star who committed suicide on stage, and they had to quickly come and perform emergency surgery and replace her whole body with cybernetics while she was dead for an hour. Then she finished the show as a cyborg. One of the greatest pieces of performance art ever made."

There's a chance Lizzy Wizzy's story will unfold through a mission, or it could just be backstory. We won't know until the game hits on September 17 for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Stadia.

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If you are a Competitive mode player and you want to suit up as a DPS hero, you know you have some time to kill, as a match likely won't be found for five to ten minutes. While it's nice that Blizzard added the ability to practice or play deathmatch as you wait, the real solution we all want to see is faster matchmaking times.

Blizzard has an idea that may lead to a solution, and it completely changes to the hero balancing. Rather than having a team consist of two tanks, two DPS, and two support, Blizzard is removing one tank and filling that spot with a third DPS. This isn't a permanent change, and you'll have a hand in saying whether or not it should be. The test will unfold through Overwatch's new Experimental card, which arrives tomorrow. The test is called "Triple Damage," but it could also be called "No Shield" for teams that have off tanks like Roadhog, D.Va, and Zarya. To counteract the lack of a tank, Blizzard has made huge changes to the hero balancing. We'll find out exactly what they are tomorrow.

Experimental matches still give you progress in leveling up and events, so it may not be a bad idea to jump into the test and contribute to the future of the game. You can learn more about Triple Damage watching the developer video above.

Microsoft has pulled back the curtain more on the specs and capabilities of the Xbox Series X, which is coming out at the end of the year, including games backwards compatibility and the continuation of the Game Pass subscription service.

In a blog post, Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, quantified the Xbox Series X's graphical power, stating that system's AMD custom processor with an AMD RDNA 2 GPU contains 12 TFLOPS of performance – eight times that of the Xbox One and double the Xbox One X. Spencer says this enables benefits such as higher framerates and "larger, more sophisticated" game worlds.

Other aspects touched on in the blog post, include: Variable Rate Shading (VRS), DirectX Raytracing, and Dynamic Latency Input (DLI). These enable the console to deliver more stable framerates and higher resolution, high-quality lighting and acoustics, and precise controls, respectively.

Spencer also introduced a new feature: Quick Resume. This feature lets you continue multiple games from a suspended state.

On the topic of backwards compatibility, Spencer stated that all existing Xbox One games – including backwards compatible Xbox One titles from Xbox 360 and the original Xbox – will work on the Xbox Series X. These titles on the upcoming console will also "benefit from steadier framerates, faster load times, and improved resolution and visual fidelity," Spencer says. Xbox One accessories can also be used with the Series X.

Toy Fair is ramping up in New York, where tons of new figures and collectibles are being showcased for the first time. Among the exciting additions for game fans, Funko has highlighted an array of fun figures from the upcoming Crystal Dynamics Avengers video game.

Whether you’re looking to help Hulk smash your bookcase, or Thor to call lightning and thunder down on your office desk, the set should offer plenty of superheroic fun.

The new figures are expected to begin hitting shelves in early March.

 

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Ready to party up with your friends across the great console servers? It's almost time! PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds patch 6.2 is expected to allow for players to group up across Xbox and PS4 to play matches together.

Console Players: Update 6.2 is now available on the PTS!

Drop in to test Cross Party Play, which allows Xbox and PS4 players to party up together!

Team Deathmatch, grenade balance, Karakin loot changes, and more are also available for testing. https://t.co/uSxzFfDESD

— PUBG Support (@PUBG_Support) February 20, 2020

Finally, Xbox Jim can team up with PlayStation Pete, take a car across Erangel, and have an epic shootout on a hill. Or just drop into a hotspot and go for the instant action. Whatever you're into, that option is coming to console "live" on March 3, but you can test it out right now on the test server if you're into that!

Console Players: Update 6.2 live server patch has been delayed until March 3rd due to technical issues found during testing.

— PUBG Support (@PUBG_Support) February 21, 2020

 

Ask anyone who plays a lot of cooperative board games (or designs them), and they’ll reveal one big problem that always seems to crop up. In a game where everyone is working together toward a common goal, it’s often far too easy for a single player to become the “alpha,” directing the action and extending his or her control over the game by dictating what everyone should do in each round. It’s not always malicious and selfish – after all, everybody wants to win, and maybe that one player really does know best – but it has the unfortunate side effect that everyone else starts to feel left out and without agency, and that’s no fun.

Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Amazons is a game I like for a lot of reasons. At its core, it’s all about taking on the role of Wonder Woman and her friends, and then ranging out across the island of Themyscira to cooperatively confront one of the familiar foes from the comic book fiction – Ares, Circe, or Cheetah. The board game features some beautiful components, a smart sense of pacing, and the multiple supervillains lend replayability. But without a doubt, the thing that most impresses me is the game’s approach to the alpha player problem.

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