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Elder Scrolls Online: Legacy of the Bretons Revealed Along With a New Card Game

2 years 3 months ago

Elder Scrolls Online's next expansion will be heading to a brand new region. Earlier today, Zenimax Online announced The Elder Scrolls Online: Legacy of the Bretons, a new DLC set that will take the popular MMO to the never-before-explored Systres Archipelago.

The expansion was introduced via a new trailer that you can watch below. It serves to set the mood for a more traditional medieval fantasy this time around, spotlighting the Bretons in a story that will focus more on the politics between the world's various factions.

"The Bretons are the one race that has never really had an opportunity to shine in the sun," Elder Scrolls Online creative director Rich Lambert said in a recent interview with PC Gamer. "They've never had a spotlight in any Elder Scrolls game. Even when we did bits and pieces of them in both Glenumbra and Stormhaven, we never really focused on their culture. So that was something we wanted to rectify."

In addition to cloak-and-dagger politics, Legacy of the Bretons will introduce a new card game in the vein of Gwent, Triple Triad, and other in-game CCGs. Called Tales of Tribute, it will allow players to take on both NPCs and ranked opponents. Players will be provided with four starter packs that can be earned by completing a tutorial.

The new expansion will begin in March with the Ascending Tide DLC, which will add two new dungeons and provide backstory for the new content. It will be followed by the High Isle chapter, which will begin the expansion proper.

Author
Kat Bailey

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UFL Gameplay Revealed, and the New Football Game Signs Up Cristiano Ronaldo

2 years 3 months ago

UFL, the football game looking to take on the genre dominance of FIFA, has revealed its first gameplay exclusively with IGN. The game will arrive "when it's ready" in 2022 after 6 years of development, and has made a major statement of intent by signing on superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as its cover star.

The new gameplay trailer (below) shows off its Unreal Engine looks, player likenesses, in-game menus, customisation options, and a confirmation that UFL will arrive this year for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4. The game is in it "final stage of development", so it hopefully won't be too far away.

During a reveal event, Strikerz revealed that UFL will include ranked and unranked modes, and allow for offline play, with 2v2 and 3v3 matches supported, as well as unspecified "special events". However, the game will be built primarily around a flagship mode, UFL's global online football league. Here, players will create their own team and play within "a fair, division-based matchmaking system." Divisions will be linked by promotions and seasons will take place over a full year – at the end of that year, a single player will be crowned UFL Champion.

Strikerz promises that matchmaking will be built entirely around putting players and teams together that are a match on skill, with no handicaps involved. Progressing high enough up the divisions will get you to UFL's Premier Division, which offers spots in pro tournaments among other rewards. There will be a separate team ranking too, allowing you to play competitively with friends.

Author
Joe Skrebels

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The Getaway Fans Haven't Given Up Hope on the Beloved PlayStation Franchise

2 years 3 months ago

Sony’s London Studio revealed a teaser for The Getaway 3 at E3 2006, offering an intriguing glimpse into the next entry in PlayStation’s gritty crime series. The trailer opened with a panning shot of a quiet street in Amsterdam, with cars, pedestrians, and canal boats passing by, as the camera slowly pulls into the hallway of a grubby apartment building where our protagonist stands, gun in hand, over a body slumped up against the wall.

It’s a brief, cinematic trailer, but press reacted positively to the reveal, with many praising the level of detail in the trailer’s environments, hoping to see that translated to an actual gameplay reveal in the near future. But unfortunately, the teaser marked the last the public ever saw of The Getaway 3. London Studio went quiet shortly after, and in 2008, Sony confirmed to GamesIndustry.Biz the developer had stopped work on the PlayStation 3 game in order to reallocate its resources towards more family-oriented exclusives, like Singstar and EyeToy, which would become the studio’s dominant focus for years.

Author
Jonathon Dornbush

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Hitman 3: Steam Owners Will Get Free Upgrades to Make Up for Shaky Launch

2 years 3 months ago

Hitman 3 Steam owners will get a free upgrade starting today to make up for the game's shaky launch.

As revealed by developer IO Interactive in a community support post, fans who purchased the game on Steam following its launch on January 20 will be entitled to a free upgrade of the game. The developer admitted in its post that Hitman 3's Steam launch didn't exactly go as planned following a flurry of fan backlash over the topic.

"We were excited to bring HITMAN 3 to Steam with new content and we knew that anticipation and excitement levels amongst our Steam players was high, especially as the game had been an Epic exclusive for a year," read a statement from the company. "Ultimately, we didn’t meet our own expectations of a launch experience and we don’t like that our Steam community is beginning their HITMAN 3 journey in this way."

"So, here’s what we’re going to do: Everyone on Steam who has already bought HITMAN 3, or anyone that buys the game through to February 19th 2022, will be granted a free upgrade. Starting on January 27th 2022, this process will begin to automatically roll out via Steam entitlements. Simply launch your Steam copy of HITMAN 3 and the new content from your free upgrade will be waiting for you to enjoy."

The specific upgrade you'll be entitled to will depend upon which version of the game you have purchased. Fans who have paid for the standard edition of Hitman 3 will automatically be upgraded to the Deluxe Edition, while those who already own the Deluxe Edition or a copy of Hitman Trilogy will gain access to the Seven Deadly Sins Collection.

Author
Jared Moore

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Mortal Kombat's Ed Boon to Be Inducted Into the AIAS Hall Of Fame

2 years 3 months ago

Ed Boon, the co-creator of Mortal Kombat and Injustice, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame this year.

As part of the 25th annual D.I.C.E. awards, Boon will join Bethesda's Todd Howard, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, Valve's Gabe Newell, Xbox's Bonnie Ross and other industry legends in the Hall of Fame. The award is given to "game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward."

Ed Boon began his career programming pinball machines, before moving into video game development and co-creating Mortal Kombat with John Tobias. The game stirred up controversy for its depiction of ludicrous ultraviolence, but has become part of the fighting game firmament over eleven mainline installments. Boon went onto create Netherrealm Studios, which added much-loved DC superhero series Injustice to its fighting game line-up.

"We are thrilled to have Ed be inducted into our Hall of Fame," says Meggan Scavio, AIAS president. "From his early work on pinball machines to his monumental achievements co-creating the Mortal Kombat franchise, Ed's dedication and perseverance to the craft and art of games has left an incredible legacy for fans and game developers alike."

The 2022 D.I.C.E. awards take place on February 24, and IGN will be the official media partner, meaning you'll be able to stream the entire event live right here with us.

Author
Joe Skrebels

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Sony's London Studio Is Making an Online PS5 Exclusive

2 years 3 months ago

Sony's London Studio is recruiting new talent in order to develop its next game, which it says will be an online PlayStation 5 exclusive.

According to a number of recent job posts advertised by Sony's London Studio – which most recently released VR exclusive Blood & Truth – the company is looking to put together a fresh new team in order to create an online PlayStation 5 game.

"We're building a team from the ground up for an upcoming PlayStation 5 online game," reads a statement from the studio's Twitter account. "New starters will join at the perfect time to get involved in shaping our plans for a project we are exceptionally excited about!"

Author
Jared Moore

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Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is Out Now, and $10 Off

2 years 3 months ago

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is out now for Nintendo Switch. It's an open-world take on the franchise that's set long ago in the Sinnoh region. You can pick up the game now (it's even $10 off at Walmart, or $5 off at Amazon. Also available at Amazon UK).

Developed by Game Freak, Pokemon Legends: Arceus brings players back in time before the Sinnoh region was built out into what it is in the Diamond and Pearl games. Your job is to explore a vast open world while researching wild Pokemon in order to complete the first Pokedex of the area.

Preorder Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Unlike oh so many games these days, there's only one edition of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and this is it.

Author
Chris Reed

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Here's What Horizon Forbidden West Looks Like on PS4 Pro

2 years 3 months ago

As Horizon Forbidden West goes gold, developer Guerrilla Games has revealed short clips of the game running on PS4 Pro. While it's hard to judge performance from such a small sample size, the signs are encouraging.

On the PS Blog, Guerrilla's Angie Smets acknowledged that all previous footage had been from the PS5 version of the game, and revealed 3 clips of the game running on last-gen hardware. You can one of those clips in the tweet below:

The clips show three separate parts of the game: Aloy walking through the Utaru tribe's Plainsong settlement, a fight against Clamberjaws in a woodland, and a separate fight against Bristlebacks featuring Aloy using multiple pieces of equipment.

Even amid Twitter and gif compression, the game appears to scale down impressively for PS4 Pro. However, Sony hasn't gone into detail on what the missing or downgraded graphical elements will be, and hasn't shown the game on a base model PS, so it remains to be seen exactly how impressive the cross-generation efforts have been.

Author
Joe Skrebels

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Uncharted Devs Seem to Want to Make Another Sequel: 'It's a World We Want to See More Of'

2 years 3 months ago

Uncharted creative director Shaun Escayg has hinted that developers at Naughty Dog would like to make another sequel in the blockbuster series, saying that it's a "world we want to see more of."

As part of an interview with GamesRadar, Escayg offered fans a slight hope that perhaps there could be more to come from the Uncharted franchise when speaking about his thoughts on the topic.

"I think we can say for certain that we can never say never. Yeah. Uncharted is a franchise we love – that the studio loves. I love, and [Uncharted: The Lost Legacy director Kurt Margenau] loves. It's a world we want to see more of. So I can certainly say that," explained Escayg.

While the creative director didn't share any studio secrets, and certainly didn't confirm that a new Uncharted game is on its way, his comments will have left Uncharted fans hoping that there's a chance the series could make a return beyond remasters.

Recent reports indicated that Days Gone studio Sony Bend had at one point been working on a new Uncharted project, and rumours had circulated for some time before that about a new entry in the series. Whether those rumoured projects have continued remains unknown.

Author
Jared Moore

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Xbox Changing How It Handles Renewals for Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold in the UK

2 years 3 months ago

Xbox is changing how it handles automatic renewals for both Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold subscriptions in the UK, after the government got involved. It's not clear if those changes will be made in other regions.

The changes by Microsoft were revealed as part of a report (spotted by Eurogamer) following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the video game sector that highlighted a number of concerns about Microsoft's online gaming services.

According to the CMA, the concerns related to Microsoft were particularly focused on the company's auto-renewal processes and revolved around several key factors - whether or not the company was clear upfront that its subscription contracts would renew, how easy it was to cancel or turn off automatic renewal, and whether people may not have realised that they were still paying for the service long after they'd stopped using it.

As per the report, the CMA has stated that Microsoft has undertaken a number of voluntary arrangements to improve its Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold auto-renewal services, which include the following changes:

Author
Jared Moore

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Star Wars 1313: New Footage of the Canceled Game Shows Boba Fett in Action

2 years 3 months ago

New footage has been released from the canceled Star Wars: 1313 project that shows off Boba Fett in action. It's another tantalising glimpse at a much-anticipated game that never came to be.

The gameplay, which was uploaded to YouTube by Battlefront 3 archive channel The Vault in celebration of the game history project's sixth anniversary, shows off two clips depicting Boba Fett in action.

The first, and shorter of the two segments, shows off Fett walking through the crowded alleyways and bars of Coruscant before the action quickly cuts away to the second sequence, which instead depicts the bounty hunter as he attempts to track down a target across an array of rooftops.

The gameplay detailed in the second clip shows off a far more action-packed sequence than the first and gives fans a further glimpse at what could have been for the promising 1313. While the clip contains a number of missing textures and a lack of polish, the action sequence depicted in the clip delivers similar vibes to the likes of Uncharted, as Boba can be seen swinging, sliding, and climbing across various obstacles in a bid to catch his target.

Author
Jared Moore

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Uncharted's PS5 Debut Is Beautiful and Still a Blast - Beyond 733

2 years 3 months ago

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Mark Medina and Jada Griffin to discuss Uncharted's PS5 debut with the Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection, and a host of news in the world of PlayStation.

First, we break down the PlayStation Plus lineup for February, which brings three games to players who subscribe to PS Plus: UFC 4, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, and Planet Coaster: Console Edition. We dig into our thoughts on PS Plus, how Sony's alleged upcoming Game Pass-like subscription service might affect it, and more. Then, we follow up on the discussion around Call of Duty's future on PlayStation, with a new report from Bloomberg about how PlayStation fans can expect COD for a couple years more, and then things start to get murky. Then, we dig into the excitement over a PSN glitch that many assumed to be a leak for PlayStation backward compatibility, how likely it means something is on the way, and more. We also discuss the news that Respawn is working on three new Star Wars games, why Mark should play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and more.

Author
Jonathon Dornbush

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The Book of Boba Fett's Darksaber Explained: The History of the Mandalorian Lightsaber

2 years 3 months ago

Warning: this article contains major spoilers for The Mandalorian: Season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett: Episode 5!

The Mandalorian Season 1 introduced a weapon with a major legacy in the Star Wars universe. The Darksaber returned in the hands of Moff Gideon in the Season 1 finale, with Season 2 subsequently introducing one of the Darksaber's previous owners in the form of Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze. And with the Darksaber now in the hands of Mando himself following the Mandalorian Season 2 finale, it's safe to say this blade will continue to play a big part in the series and spinoffs like The Book of Boba Fett.

If you're confused as to why everyone seems so fixated on a black lightsaber, fear not. Here's everything you need to know about the Darksaber and how it ties the series back to the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

What is the Darksaber in The Mandalorian?

The Darksaber is unique among all the lightsabers in the Star Wars universe. It has a flat, katana-like blade rather than the traditional saber shape. It emits a peculiar, low hum. Even its color is unlike any other - deep black with a bright white halo.

Author
Jesse Schedeen

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Minecraft Tournament Cyberattack Cripples a Small Country's Internet

2 years 3 months ago

More than a decade after its original release, Minecraft continues to be massive — so massive that it apparently has the power to take down an entire country's internet.

Last weekend, a major Minecraft tournament endured a cyberattack significant enough to disrupt the internet in Andorra, a small country in Europe bordered by France and Spain. The population only numbers around 77,000, roughly the capacity of an NFL football stadium.

NetBlocks, an internet outage tracker, says the disruption was caused by a cyberattack targeting the Minecraft competition, which led directly to the elimination of Team Andorra. The competition featured 150 contestants competing in events from Squid Game, including well-known streamers.

Author
Logan Plant

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Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection Performance Review

2 years 3 months ago

Nathan Drake is back once again with his first PlayStation 5 adventure, bringing Chloe and friends along for an updated and upgraded dual package of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and the spinoff Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Offering enhancements and some huge performance leaps over the globetrotting thief’s PS4 & PS4 Pro release. But is a treasure worth fighting for?

This new remaster offers a few paths to play, with existing disc or digital owners of the PS4 version of either included game being able to upgrade for $10s, euros, or great British pounds to this new pack. Or you can make a full purchase if you’re new to the Uncharted fold, and even PC players will get a release later this year. As we have seen in previous remasters from Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima, you can easily import your PS4 save using the main menu’s in-built conversation tool. Allowing you to pick up where you left off – just sharper and faster than before. Simply download or USB copy your save over to your ps5 drive, then fire it up and convert it to a PS5 format. Note that you can copy multiple saves; you simply need to do them one at a time from the main menu.

Indiana Modes

Author
Dan Stapleton

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The Best TV for PS5 and Gaming is On Sale Right Now

2 years 3 months ago

Those who've managed to get hold of a PS5 or Xbox Series X over the past year will be very pleased to hear this next piece of news. LG's C1 OLED 4K TVs are on sale right now (see here), and you can get an extra 10% off with promo code LG10.

These TVs are absolutely perfect for PS5 and Xbox users, and they come packed with HDMI 2.1 ports, a requirement for using your console at 4K 120Hz. If you want to play games like Call of Duty at the highest frame-rate possible, and get the most out of your console, this is the TV for you.

The Perfect PS5 Ready LG 4K TV is On Sale

We ranked the LG C1 OLED TV as our best TV for gaming, and that still holds up right now. This is absolutely the best time to invest in a new TV for your gaming setup, especially with these prices dropping below the recent Black Friday discounts.

The 48" has dropped to just £900, an incredible new low price for the top of the line TV. But, if you're looking to go a little bigger both the 55" and 65" have also seen significant discounts. Just enter LG10 at checkout, and you'll bring the TVs down to the lowest price they've ever been online.

This is the deal of a lifetime for avid gamers in the UK. This kind of TV can elevate your gaming experience to another level, with HDR10, Dolby Atmos, and the OLED panel working to provide the perfect screen for your new PS5 or Xbox Series X.

Author
Robert Anderson

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Horizon Forbidden West: 32 Amazing New Details

2 years 3 months ago

After four hours of hands-on with Horizon Forbidden West, we feel like we’ve only scratched the surface, but still found an incredible amount of detail in Guerrilla Games’ sequel. Aloy’s world is brought to life in much more vivid detail, with improved animation, new machines, an evolved combat system, and so much more. While we await its full release on Feb. 18 for PS4 and PS5, let’s dig into all the amazing details we discovered about Horizon Forbidden West, and why they should have you just as excited as we are.

Some of these are confirmation of things the developers have said before now that we've actually gotten to play, some are more specific explanations of new ideas for the sequel, and others are brand new details that have us quite excited by Guerrilla's refinement of its open world.

Author
Jonathon Dornbush

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PlayStation Reveals February PS Plus Games

2 years 3 months ago

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep leads the way for February's PlayStation Plus lineup. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, February's free games for PS Plus subscribers include Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep and EA Sports UFC 4 for PS4 players, and Planet Coaster Console Edition for PS5 owners.

Fans looking forward to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands in March will want to check out Assault on Dragon Keep. While the upcoming game is a full-fledged adventure taking place in Borderlands' Dungeons & Dragons-inspired counterpart, players first got their taste of the Wonderlands back in 2013, with a Borderlands 2 DLC starring Tiny Tina. Now, that DLC has been rereleased as a standalone package so players can get a taste of battling skeletons, dragons, and more ahead of the new game this spring.

Planet Coaster is a modern-day Roller Coaster Tycoon, letting players build and manage amusement parks. The game includes over 700 objects, including track parts, facilities, and more. And, you can download coasters made by other players in the community.

Author
Logan Plant

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No Man's Sky Studio's Lost Early Games Return

2 years 3 months ago

No Man's Sky studio Hello Games has announced that it's surprise-released remasters of its debut Joe Danger games on Apple devices.

Before it gained notoriety for making No Man's Sky, Hello Games cut its teeth with Joe Danger - a sidescrolling mobile series. Now, ahead of the character's tenth birthday, Hello Games has revealed that both Joe Danger and Joe Danger Infinity have been remastered for iOS15 and are available as of today from the App Store.

The remasters see a number of enhancements over their predecessors. Improved graphics, a new engine, and upped framerates are present in both titles, while Joe Danger Infinity will also gain the added benefit of gamepad and ProMotion support for those who are interested. To cap off the good news, Hello Games has also revealed that any fans who already own either game will receive an update today for free.

Studio head Sean Murray added that, at a later date, both games will be "fully playable for free online".

Having originally sold over a million copies, Joe Danger unfortunately became a casualty of the Apple App store, as iOS looked to cull older games that were no longer supported by the latest Apple devices. While Hello Games founder Sean Murray admits that the success of No Man's Sky left Joe Danger slightly unloved, he says that the team has been working for the past two years to bring the character back to life, piece by piece through eight years of Unity updates.

Author
Jared Moore

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eBay Will Now Authenticate Trading Cards to Combat Costly Fakes

2 years 3 months ago

eBay has announced that it will be expanding its Authenticity Guarantee service to include trading cards in a bid to combat the number of costly fakes that have grown in circulation.

As detailed in a press release, the company has stated that it will be expanding its Authenticity Guarantee starting with single ungraded cards.

While free, the service at launch will include any collectible card games, sports and non-sports that are sold as single ungraded cards for a fee of $750+ in the U.S. Looking ahead, however, the company says that it also has plans to include graded, auto and patch cards sold for $25+ - though this won't be available until mid-2022 at the earliest.

The move represents eBay's latest bid to reassure customers when purchasing higher-value items through the online marketplace and follows in the authentication footsteps of other products such as handbags ($500+), sneakers ($100+), and watches ($2000+) that are already covered by the guarantee.

Author
Jared Moore

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Kao the Kangaroo (2022) Announced

2 years 3 months ago

Kao the Kangaroo, the mascot platformer first seen two decades ago on the Sega Dreamcast and Game Boy Advance, is returning for a reboot on all major platforms (PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X) this summer. Watch the announcement trailer above and click through a half-dozen new screenshots in the gallery below.

Punchy kangaroo Kao will again navigate colorful worlds clad in boxing gloves that can be imbued with various abilities. Coin-collecting is a must, of course, and the developers at Tate Multimedia also promise challenging combat along with "unique boss battles." Naturally, it's a family-friendly game that Tate says will have an engaging story.

Check out IGN's review of the Sega Dreamcast version of Kao the Kangaroo from 2001, and our review of the GBA version from 2002.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Author
Ryan McCaffrey

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PS5 Will Finally Let You Auto-Upload Captures to Mobile

2 years 3 months ago

The PlayStation 5 will finally allow players to have their latest screenshots and video automatically uploaded straight to mobile.

As spotted by the Twitter account Gaming Interactive Photos (and reported by VGC), fans will now be able to have their captures automatically uploaded straight to their PlasyStation mobile app. As can be seen in the tweet below, video clips sent to devices will be limited to three minutes or less while captures more generally will have an expiration period of fourteen days.

Author
Jared Moore

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Crysis 4 Is Coming

2 years 3 months ago

Crysis 4 is on its way, with developer Crytek putting out a teaser trailer following a leak on Chinese social media. The game is still early in development and "will be a while yet".

Announced under the simple headline of 'A Crytek Announcement', the teaser shows a number of images, from an unstable sun to a collapsing building, before ending with a large number 4 and the tagline "Join the journey. become the hero."

No official title, release date, platforms, or game details have been announced at time of writing.

Update: Crytek CEO Avni Yerli has confirmed that the fourth Crysis game is "in the early stages of development so it will be a while yet." Yerli added: "We wanted to bring you the news at this time as we are so hyped for the future, and to let you know that we will be listening to our community."

As you might expect from this series, Yerli says the team is aiming to release "a truly next-gen shooter," and will release more details "when we can."

A leak from earlier today broke the news a little earlier than planned. As reported by Eurogamer, Crytek's BiliBili account posted a message that translates to "The 'Crysis 4' project is confirmed, opening a new nano battlefield!"

Author
Joe Skrebels

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New Knights of the Old Republic Switch Patch Fixes Its Giant Text

2 years 3 months ago

A new Knights of the Old Republic patch for Nintendo Switch has fixed the game's giant and rather obnoxious text boxes.

Per a press release, the game's latest Nintendo Switch update will fix a number of issues - including its oversized combat message boxes that have frustrated fans since the game's launch last year.

For those unaware of the issue, it would present problems for fans during turn-based combat sequences in the classic action-RPG. When in fights, players would see almost a quarter of their screen filled with a massive text box, which was mostly blank space.

KOTOR developer Aspyr noted on Twitter last month that it was set to fix the issue during an upcoming patch.

While that might be the most notable change from the game's most recent patch, Aspyr has also made a number of other tweaks to the game, including fixing issues with absent NPC voice lines, an error causing incorrect button icons to appear during tutorial prompts, and a bug causing the colours for the game's full alignment icons to be swapped.

In addition to fixing a number of problems with KOTOR, fans playing on the Nintendo Switch should also note that a number of cheats have now been added to the game. In order to access the cheats you'll need to click the left stick three times, at which point, you'll have access to a range of power-ups such as turbo speed, the ability to create items, and give your character additional experience.

Author
Jared Moore

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Daily Deals: Up to £1000 Off the Perfect PS5 4K OLED TV Right Now

2 years 3 months ago

This is one of the best deals of the year so far. LG C1 OLED TVs are on sale right now (see here), and you can get an extra 10% off with code LG10 during the sale. This is the perfect TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, working at 4K 120Hz, with an HDMI 2.1 port available to use. I recommend the C1 55", now down to just £1079.98, a massive reduction from the £1299 list price, and an even better discount compared to the Black Friday sales.

Just enter LG10 at checkout, and you'll bring the TVs down to the lowest price they've ever been online. The sale at LG is on for just one week, and will expire after February 1, 2022. This is a very limited time frame, so make sure you get your order in as soon as possible.

TL;DR - Our Favourite Deals Right Now

AD: The Perfect PS5 Ready LG 4K TV is On Sale

We ranked the LG C1 OLED TV as our best TV for gaming, and that still holds up right now. The 48" has dropped to just £900, an incredible new low price for the top of the line TV. But, if you're looking to go a little bigger both the 55" and 65" have also seen significant discounts.

Get £20 Off Horizon Forbidden West PS5 Preorders

Preorder Horizon Forbidden West for PS4 at Currys using code ALOY15, and get it for just £51. You will be able to upgrade the game to PS5 for free on release day.

Author
Robert Anderson

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Black Myth: Wukong - Comedy Trailer Shows Off Purposely Glitchy Gameplay and Lots of Cats

2 years 3 months ago

Much anticipated action-RPG Black Myth: Wukong has released a 13-minute new trailer – but don't expect much in the way of new information, as it's a short comedy film featuring some silly gameplay and a lot of cats in a motion capture studio.

Released to celebrate Chinese New Year, and the start of the Year of the Tiger, developer Game Science has released 'An Alternate Reality of Game Science', in which we see developers discussing the difficulties of using cats for motion capture, and then revealing an extremely broken boss battle based on that work. Eventually, we see the Game Science office shut down and then reopened as a restaurant.

The joke seems to be that Game Science actually did try using motion capture for cats at one point. In real-life, they moved onto other ideas but in this alternate reality, this is what would have happened if they'd stuck with the idea to the bitter end.

Given that last year's Chinese New Year video showed off legitimate new footage, some may be disappointed by this more lighthearted approach, but the video ends with a short poem to appease fans:

"You came in hoping to see the game. We are working hard on the same.

Alas, a bit more patience, if you will. Well worth the wait, is the thrill."

Author
Joe Skrebels

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Our Dream Xbox-Activision Collabs + Who Should Xbox Buy Next? – Unlocked 528

2 years 3 months ago

We can't stop thinking about last week's landmark Xbox acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, so on this week's podcast, we're talking about A) Who Microsoft might strategically target for acquisition next, and B) our dream Xbox-Bethesda-Activision-Blizzard project collaborations and IP revivals. Plus: Respawn announces THREE new Star Wars games, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our latest IGN Unfiltered interview, where Joseph Staten – one of Halo's original creators and now the head of creative on Halo Infinite – discusses his fascinating career:

Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan!

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Author
Ryan McCaffrey

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Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker 6.08 Patch Adds New Oceania Data Center, Class Buffs

2 years 3 months ago

Final Fantasy 14’s Patch 6.08 is now live. Along with a bevy of balance updates for a lot of classes, the Oceania data servers are finally up-and-running.

The 6.08 patch tackles two big points among the community, class balances and server congestion. The latter is tackled by the opening of a brand new Data Center in Oceania that will first help players of the region, and redistribute the players to servers closer to home.

Oceania Data Center - Materia

Initially, Final Fantasy 14 had three Data Centers, one in Japan, North America, and Europe. This meant that players in Australia, New Zealand, and other regions across the Pacific, were forced to play on a far-off data center which can impact latency.

For a long time, players in this region played on the closer Japanese servers, but with the launch of a new Oceania Data Center, they can now play on local servers which should eliminate lag.

Players who transfer to the Oceania Data Center will be rewarded with exp boosts and currency bonuses, though players in Oceania looking for a better playing experience are no doubt making plans to move as we speak.

This should also redistribute players from other servers and have some improvement on server traffic, which has been hit by waiting queues since the launch of Endwalker.

Class Buffs Across the Board

With the congestion issue handled by the launch of a new server, Patch 6.08 also tackles in-game content, primarily class balances.

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Matt Kim

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Call of Duty: Activision Reportedly Wants To Release Next Three Games On PlayStation Despite Xbox Acquisition

2 years 3 months ago

Although Activision Blizzard is soon set to become an Xbox company, the future of Call of Duty isn’t exclusive just yet. According to a new report, the next few annual Call of Duty releases are still set to be released on PlayStation.

Bloomberg says that before Xbox announced its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the Call of Duty company had already committed to making the next few Call of Duty games available across all platforms, including PlayStation.

According to Jason Schreier, this includes Call of Duty 2022, Call of Duty 2023, and Warzone 2 also planned for 2023.

After these, however, the future of Call of Duty outside of Xbox and Windows platforms is less clear. Xbox boss Phil Spencer tweeted last week that in a call with Sony executives he intends to “honor all existing agreements” between Activision and Sony.

When Xbox acquired ZeniMax Media, the company also reaffirmed its commitments to existing agreements and released Arkane’s Deathloop and Tango Gameworks’ upcoming Ghostwire: Tokyo as PlayStation 5 exclusives. But Bethesda’s Starfield will be an Xbox console exclusive.

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Matt Kim

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Xbox Enjoys Record 2021 Holiday Season As Halo Infinite Records Strongest Launch In Series History

2 years 3 months ago

With the Xbox Series X and S now a year and change into their lifespans, Microsoft just pulled off a record holiday sales quarter thanks not just to game sales, but also, helpfully, having more Xbox consoles in stock than last year.

Microsoft's quarterly earnings for October through December of 202 1saw the company's gaming revenue reach $5.44 billion — a new record not just for the holiday season, but for the company's quarterly gaming sales in general. It's a $411 million (or 8%) increase in gaming revenue from that same period last year, when the Xbox Series X and S had just launched and everyone was still largely locked down, staying home, and playing more games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft says that growth was driven by growth almost across the board: Xbox content and services revenue was up 10% thanks to first-party sales and Game Pass subscriptions (thanks, Halo Infinite!), and Xbox hardware revenue was up 4% due to continued demand for brand new consoles. The only element of the segment that dropped was third-party game sales.

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Rebekah Valentine

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Resident Evil 4 HD Fan Project Eight Years In the Making Finally Has a Release Date

2 years 3 months ago

A Resident Evil 4 HD remaster eight years in the making finally has a release date.

The fan project, which is being developed by just two people, will rebuild Resident Evil 4 from the ground up. Based on the 2014 Ultimate HD version, each texture has essentially been scaled up 8-16 times the original resolution and redrawn from there.

A brand new trailer detailing the features of the 1.0 version has been released. According to it, this project has improved lighting effects and contains thousands of 3D model revisions with restored visuals. In some cases, the creators have been able to find the original source materials used, allowing the team to faithfully recreate the original texture at a much higher resolution.

The project's main campaign is playable along with Mercenaries mode, Assignment Ada, and the Separate Ways minigames. The project is compatible with Steam's Resident Evil 4 versions 1.0.6 and 1.1.0.

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George Yang

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Rune Factory 5: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

2 years 3 months ago

Rune Factory 5 is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on March 22. The latest entry in a series of RPG/farming sims, Rune Factory 5 puts you in the shoes of a ranger in the peacekeeping organization SEED. Your job is split between protecting the small town of Rigbarth from monsters, and helping the citizens farm, plan festivals, and more.

The game is available to preorder now from a handful out retailers (see it at Amazon). It comes in two editions, so if you’re wondering which one to pick up, keep on reading to see what comes in each one.

Rune Factory 5: Earthmate Edition

The Earthmate edition of Rune Factory 5 comes with the game itself, plus the following extras, per the publisher:

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Chris Reed

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Blizzard Is Hiring For an Unannounced Survival Game Set in a Brand New Universe

2 years 3 months ago

Blizzard has announced it is working on a new, AAA survival game for PC and console set in a brand new universe. And Blizzard is hiring to help make it happen.

In a new blog post announcing the job openings, Blizzard says its new survival game will be “A place full of heroes we have yet to meet, stories yet to be told, and adventures yet to be lived. A vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored.”

Credit%3A%20Blizzard%20Entertainment

Blizzard is hiring across multiple departments including art, design, and engineering. Among the open positions are jobs for Environment Artist, Senior Character Artist, Senior Concept Artist, Level Designer, and Software Engineers for Engine, Audio, Server, and Tools.

Alongside the job listings are two pieces of artwork, one of two people from what looks like the modern-day crossing over from modern civilization into a fantasy world, and the other of some kind of hunter dressed in a fur cap and armor. It’s unclear if these artworks are meant to illustrate the tone of the project, or are meant to portray potential themes.

Blizzard manager Mike Ybarra tweeted that he’s “played many hours of this project with the team” already, meaning the game could be further along in development.

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Matt Kim

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Ex-StarCraft and Warcraft Devs Raise $25 Million to Make an Unreal Engine 5 RTS

2 years 3 months ago

Frost Giant Studios, a debut developer formed by ex-Blizzard staff, has raised $25 million to help create a brand new real-time strategy game in Unreal Engine 5.

Frost Giant – which was founded by Tim Morten (production director on StarCraft 2) and Tim Campbell (lead campaign designer on WarCraft 3: The Frozen Throne) – was founded in 2020 with the goal of creating an "epic" real-time strategy game. It's latest round of funding brought in $25 million from the likes of Korean publisher Kakao Games (PUBG), Riot Games (League of Legends), and more.

In total, Frost Giant has raised $34.7 million for its debut project, and the game is now set to be formally announced later this year.

Frost%20Giant%20co-founders%20Tim%20Morten%20(left)%20and%20Tim%20Campbell%20(right).%20(Image%20Credit%3A%20Frost%20Giant)

Speaking to IGN, CEO Tim Morten explained the several ways that influx of money will be put to good use. First and foremost, it will help Frost Giant make the RTS it has always been aiming to create.

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Joe Skrebels

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Pokémon Legends: Arceus Will Feature New Evolutions for Classic Starters

2 years 3 months ago

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set to feature new evolutionary forms of its classic starter Pokémon when it launches for Nintendo Switch on Friday, January 28.

As per the YouTube description for the game's latest trailer (which can also be seen below), Pokémon Legends: Arceus will seemingly treat Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlet to their very own Hisuian final form evolutions.

"You may have met Dartrix, Quilava, and Dewott in your other adventures," reads a statement beneath the YouTube video. "But you’ve never encountered their Hisui region Evolutions."

Dartrix usually evolves into Decidueye, Quilava into Typhlosion, and Dewott into Samurott.

While the trailer itself doesn't show off any of the three final form evolutions, it does treat fans to a further look at the Hisui region and what it has to offer. Across the clip, fans can take another look at the different ways they'll be able to utilise Pokémon to travel around the region as well as further chances to check out noble Pokémon and the game's wider landscape.

In addition to the trailer, the official website for Pokémon Legends: Arceus did show off silhouettes for the starters' Hisuian final forms, which can be seen below.

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Jared Moore

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Gord, a New Dark-Fantasy Strategy Game from a Former Witcher 3 Producer, Gets New CG Trailer

2 years 3 months ago

Publisher Team17 and developer Covenant, a group of two dozen veteran developers headed by former producer on The Witcher 3 Stan Just, have just released a new cinematic story trailer for Gord, their upcoming dark-fantasy strategy game for PC.

See the new trailer above and the original announcement trailer – which got over a million views on IGN's YouTube channel – below.

Gord is inspired by Slavic folklore and will incorporate city-building elements similar to Frostpunk, and with a sanity system for NPCs that may make you think of Eternal Darkness back on the Nintendo Gamecube. "Players will have to complete quests to grow the tribe’s settlements (known as ‘gords’) and fortify these from invaders while managing a populace whose personal stories, familial ties and mental well-being can have devastating impact on the survival of their communities," Covenant says.

Gord does not yet have a release date, but stay tuned to IGN later this week for more on this game.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

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Ryan McCaffrey

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Bug Briefly Shows All PS4 Trophies as PS3 Games, Sparking More Backwards Compatibility Rumours

2 years 3 months ago

A recent bug on the PlayStation Network briefly displayed all PlayStation 4 trophies as if they had come from PlayStation 3 games, causing further rumours around unannounced backwards compatibility plans.

As spotted by VGC, an issue on PSN recently meant that trophy lists on both console and the mobile app were showing incorrect data for PlayStation 4 trophies. Instead of displaying trophies as standard, many players reported that their PS4 titles were instead showing up as PlayStation 3 games.

While the issue was quickly resolved and trophies across the network should now be displaying correctly, some fans have questioned whether or not the accidental bug could provide further evidence to a future where Sony releases its PlayStation 3 catalog of games via some form of backwards compatibility system.

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Jared Moore

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German Physicist Makes GTA 5 Playable on Game Boy Using Streaming

2 years 3 months ago

A German physicist has found a way to make Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 playable on a 1989 Nintendo Game Boy through the use of a custom-built streaming cartridge.

As spotted by GamesRadar, Sebastian Staacks, a physicist and drummer from Germany, has managed to play GTA V on a Game Boy by using a WiFi cartridge to stream the game. As explained by Staacks on YouTube, the game itself doesn't run on the Game Boy itself, that would be practically impossible:

"I am playing GTA 5 on the Game Boy," says Staacks in the video. "But it's not running on the Game Boy. The game is rendered on my PlayStation and then streamed to the Game Boy via WiFi. Conversely, if I press a button on the Game Boy, the input is sent back to the PlayStation so I can control the game."

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Jared Moore

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Respawn Working On Three New Star Wars Games, Including Jedi: Fallen Order Sequel

2 years 3 months ago

EA is far from finished with the Star Wars universe. The publisher is working on three new Star Wars games, all of which are being overseen in one form or another by developer Respawn Entertainment. The games comprise a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, an FPS, and a strategy game. No release dates have been offered for any of the new games.

The new game in the Star Wars: Jedi series – which was confirmed to be the start of a franchise shortly after its 2019 release – will once again be directed by Stig Asmussen, who led development of the first game as well as God of War 3.

The Jedi: Fallen Order sequel will be joined by two additional games set in the Star Wars universe, both of them as yet untitled. One will be a first-person shooter led by Peter Hirschmann, who previously served as VP of development at LucasArts, has a long history of working with Lucasfilm, and co-created Medal of Honor.

The other will be a strategy game developed by Bit Reactor, a recently-formed studio composed of Firaxis Games veterans best-known for their work on the XCOM franchise. Bit Reactor will work closely with Respawn on the new project.

Respawn founder and Group GM Vince Zampella will oversee this new three-game initiative, which EA characterizes as "a new phase of EA's relationship with Lucasfilm."

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Joe Skrebels

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Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Is Up for Preorder

2 years 3 months ago

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on March 18, 2022. Developed by Team Ninja and some of the creative minds behind Final Fantasy VII Remake, this is an action-oriented take on the RPG franchise. It incorporates ideas from the soulslike games as you guide the protagonist Jack to defeat Chaos.

The game is available for preorder now (see it at Amazon). It comes in a couple of different editions and some versions include preorder bonuses. Below, you'll find the full rundown of where you can buy it and what extras to expect. Read on for the goods.

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Chris Reed

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