Overwatch 2 One Year Later: Why Am I Still Doing This?

7 months 2 weeks ago

The path leading up to the October 4, 2022 release of Overwatch 2 was tough to navigate, like a half-cleared trail in a dense wood. The messaging around the game was winding and discombobulating (it wasn’t clear if it was a standalone sequel, if the original Overwatch would shut down, if/when the promised PvE mode…

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Author
Alyssa Mercante

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Overwatch 2 One Year Later: Why Am I Still Doing This?

7 months 2 weeks ago

The path leading up to the October 4, 2022 release of Overwatch 2 was tough to navigate, like a half-cleared trail in a dense wood. The messaging around the game was winding and discombobulating (it wasn’t clear if it was a standalone sequel, if the original Overwatch would shut down, if/when the promised PvE mode…

Read more...

Author
Alyssa Mercante

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5 Things Baldur’s Gate 3 Gets Right (& 5 Things it Doesn’t)

7 months 2 weeks ago

Let’s face it, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing game. BG3 does so many things right, and many people can feel the passion that went into building such an experience. However, it isn’t perfect, no game is. So, when there are issues in such a product of quality they tend to stick out more. With that said, let’s explore 5 Things Baldur’s Gate 3 Gets Right (and 5 Things it Doesn’t) together!

Author
Ali Taha

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This Mini DDR Cabinet Can be Played With Your Hands

7 months 2 weeks ago

DDR Classic Mini

In September 2023, the classic arcade rhythm game Dance Dance Revolution turned 25 years old. To celebrate the game’s 25th anniversary, Zuiki has started a project to bring the arcade dance machine and the games to people's homes on a much smaller scale. The Dance Dance Revolution Classic Mini, a miniature version of the cabinet, appeared on the company’s website through a new promotional video. Zuiki plans to begin crowdfunding for the project on October 10, 2023. The product has an official website and was announced on the Zuiki social media account.

The Dance Dance Revolution Classic Mini is a replica of the classic DDR dance machines, but it is one fifth of the original size. Players can play either on the five inch long built-in screen or through another screen via HDMI. The resolution is set at 720p. A two player mode is also supported. The first three generations of DDR can be played. So far, 19 songs have been announced, with more to be added in the future.

You can watch the promotional video for the DDR Classic Mini below:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ODbC913LMI[/embed]

Author
Lauren Palmer

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Ex-Ubisoft staff detained by police over sexual misconduct claims - report

7 months 2 weeks ago

Five former Ubisoft staff members have been detained by police and questioned over allegations of sexual misconduct while employees of the company.

These ex-employees included the company's now-disgraced chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, once the right-hand man to Ubisoft's overall boss Yves Guillemot, as well as its former editoral boss Tommy François, French newspaper Libération reported today.

The five ex-Ubisoft employees were reportedly picked up by police over the past 24 hours and questioned at a police station in Paris. The action comes three years after claims of sexual misconduct involving Hascoët, François and others came to light, as part of a wave of allegations that rocked Ubisoft in the summer of 2020. Both Hascoët and François departed the company shortly afterwards.

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Author
Tom Phillips

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Counter-Strike 2 review: a big change to an unparalleled FPS, but it could be something special

7 months 2 weeks ago

After 11 years, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been, somewhat unceremoniously, shut down in favour of the newer, shinier Counter-Strike: 2. Whether you like it or not, Valve wants you playing CS2. For those who don't take their CS all too seriously, CS2 won't seem like much of a change from CS:GO, besides some grenade changes, more detailed maps, and a disappointing lack of fan favourite game modes. And for those who train their aim on the reg and line up their smoke grenades, CS2 might look the part but lacks the precision of CS:GO's movement and gunplay.

Still, CS2 captures what makes Counter-Strike tick and even if the foundation seems a little sparse and a touch shaky right now, I'm confident Valve have an FPS that'll supersede CS:GO in time.

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Author
Ed Thorn

Five former Ubisoft executives arrested after sexual harassment investigation

7 months 2 weeks ago

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Five former executives from Ubisoft have been arrested by French police following a year-long investigation into sexual assault and harassment within the company.

French newspaper Libération reported that three were arrested yesterday, with another two placed in custody today.

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Author
James Batchelor

Nintendo Will Discontinue 3DS and Wii U Online Functions in 2024

7 months 2 weeks ago

nintendo 3ds wii u online

Nintendo will put yet another nail in the coffins of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as it announced online play and other functions that use online communications will end in April 2024. According to the official website, this includes online multiplayer modes, internet rankings, and data distribution. More information on a specific date will come out closer to the shutdown.

The only online service that will be available after April 2024 will be Pokemon Bank. However, Nintendo warned that it may also end Pokemon Bank support sometime in the future. It also stated that there’s a chance it will end online functionality earlier than April 2024 if difficulties crop up between then and now. As a side note, you’ll still be able to use StreetPass (since it’s local communication) and access the Nintendo eShop to download purchased software and DLC.

Author
Stephanie Liu

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Minecraft x The Noble Collection: New Life-Size Collectibles to Debut at New York Comic-Con

7 months 2 weeks ago

The Noble Collection releases collectibles and jewelry based on some of the biggest franchises in the world, including The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Trek and DC. Now they're adding a massive gaming franchise to that lineup - Minecraft.

IGN can exclusively reveal a new collection dubbed Minecraft x The Noble Collection. This new line features a variety of life-size prop replicas and other collectibles inspired by the game and its distinctively blocky aesthetic. Head to the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at all of the debut pieces in this collection:

The Minecraft x The Noble Collection line consists of six items so far, five life-size prop replicas and one chess set featuring characters and creatures from the game. The life-size props feature light-up LED effects and are designed to mimic the textures of the game. The full lineup includes:

  • Diamond Sword Collector Replica (MSRP: $69.99)
  • Chess Set (MSRP: $59.99)
  • Torch Collector Replica (MSRP: $39.99)
  • Redstone Ore (MSRP: $34.99)
  • Diamond Ore (MSRP: $34.99)
  • Illuminating Potion Bottle (MSRP: $39.99)

"We have extensive experience developing Collectibles and Toyllectibles based on characters, creatures and on-screen props that don’t truly exist in the real world," The Noble Collection's SVP Julian Montoya tells IGN. "We pride ourselves for taking the time to understand the properties and intricacies that audiences value to create finely crafted treasures, which offer fans the real-life experiences they crave from the properties they love. It is important to us that our products do justice to those characters, creatures, props and iconic scenes."

Author
Jesse Schedeen

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Starbreeze will rework Payday 3's progression and XP system after player backlash

7 months 2 weeks ago

If Starbreeze themselves were actually a Payday 3 heisting team I suspect they'd be on the verge of putting money back into the vault at this stage - retracing their steps with bulging duffel bags, while apologising to security guards not so much for the whole bank robbery thing as for smashing so many utilities on their way out. Shortly after announcing plans to make the four-player PvE shooter less online-dependent, the developers have revealed that they're also reworking Payday 3's much-reviled progression system.

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Author
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Stardew Valley creator shares new screenshots of Haunted Chocolatier

7 months 2 weeks ago

Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone, the creator of beloved farming sim Stardew Valley, has celebrated one million followers by sharing four new screenshots of forthcoming next game Haunted Chocolatier.

Shared on X, formerly Twitter, the four screenshots show some new areas: an interior home and shop, a vivid forest, a mermaid fountain in (presumably) the town square, and a creepy library with a peering skeleton.

That forest screenshot also shows the character shooting at a leafy creature with a bow and arrow, suggestive of the increased combat focus compared with Stardew.

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Author
Ed Nightingale

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Assassin's Creed Mirage: Release Date, Gameplay, Story, and Latest News

7 months 2 weeks ago

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a stealth-action adventure that draws inspiration from the series' earlier years before it leaped into the open world of massive, hundred-hour action-RPGs with Odyssey and Valhalla.

Ahead of its early October release date, we’ve compiled this comprehensive overview of everything we know about Assassin’s Creed Mirage, including the latest information on platforms, price, gameplay, story, map size, game length, DLC, and more. Read our full review of Assassin's Creed Mirage for more details.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Release Date, Price, Platforms

Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be released on October 5 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Below are the global launch times for Mirage, as listed by Ubisoft:

Los Angeles:

  • PC: Oct. 4, 10 p.m. PDT
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. PDT

Montreal:

  • PC: Oct. 5, 1 a.m. EDT
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. EDT

London:

  • PC: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. BST
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. BST

Stockholm:

  • PC: Oct. 5, 1 a.m. CEST
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. CEST

Kyiv:

  • PC: Oct. 5, 2 a.m. EEST
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. EEST

Mexico City:

  • PC: Oct. 4, 12 a.m. CST
  • Consoles: Oct. 5, 12 a.m. CST

Sao Paulo:

Author
Jordan Sirani

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Stray Gods wins Game of the Year at Australian Game Developer Awards 2023

7 months 2 weeks ago

Summerfall Studios' Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical was the big winner of today's Australian Game Developer Awards, winning Game of the Year as well as Excellence in Accessibility and Excellence in Music.

Other winners included SMG Studio's Moving Out 2, which received the Excellence in Gameplay award, and Studio Folly's Gubbins, winning Excellence in Sound Design.

Meanwhile, the coveted Studio of the Year accolade was awarded to Melbourne-based firm PlaySide Studios.

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Author
Marie Dealessandri

Nintendo 3DS And Wii U Online Functionality Ending Next April

7 months 2 weeks ago

Nintendo 3DS Wii U Online Functionality Ending April 2024

Earlier this year, Nintendo ended eShop functionality for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, marking the beginning of the end for these devices. Now, Nintendo has announced that online play and other device functionality that requires online communication is coming to an end, too. 

More specifically, Nintendo says online services for these devices will end in April 2024. 

"In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software," Nintendo's announcement reads. "This also includes cooperative play, internet rankings, and data distribution."

Author
Wesley LeBlanc

Red Dead Redemption Update 1.03 Quietly Adds 60fps

7 months 2 weeks ago

Red Dead Redemption now has an option to play at 60 frames per second after the surprise drop of an update.

Patch 1.03, which weighs in at just a few hundred MB, adds a 60fps toggle to Red Dead Redemption on PlayStation 5. The port launched on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in August, and is available to play on PS5 via backwards compatibility. At launch, Red Dead Redemption ran at 30fps only across PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch, disappointing many fans of the 2010 epic. Physical copies of the game on PS4 are currently available to preorder for $49.99 (releasing October 13).

Here are the Red Dead Redemption update 1.03 patch notes (PS5):

  • Added an option to enable 60fps when played on PS5 via backward compatibility
  • Added an option to enable subtitles upon first booting the game
  • General bug fixes and improvements

Fans are now welcoming this new update following the backlash the Red Dead Redemption port received upon launch. Fans complained about the barebones improvements to the game’s performance as well as its $50 price point, especially considering the port does not include multiplayer or a PC release. Plus, Red Dead Redemption is already playable on the Xbox Series X in 4K and, thanks to Xbox Series X and S backwards compatibility, has been accessible on Microsoft platforms for years.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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A Starfield Player Has Already Surveyed All the Planets in the Game

7 months 2 weeks ago

Much akin to past titles, Bethesda Game Studios’ galaxy-spanning RPG Starfield offers players plenty of activities to engage with. From swashbuckling space pirate to intergalactic bounty hunter to cosmic smuggler, there’s so much to do in Starfield it’s enough to make your head spin. And that’s without mentioning the five major factions in the game, with each one boasting their own distinct questlines.

Nevertheless, one incredibly patient Starfield player has gone off the beaten path and done the seemingly impossible: they’ve managed to fully survey every possible planet in the game. We’ll let that sink in for a second.

Author
Dylan Chaundy

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Team shooter Gigantic returns for "limited time throwback event" five years after it was shut down

7 months 2 weeks ago

The free-to-play MOBA-meets-hero-shooter game Gigantic is being revived for a "limited time throwback event".

Fans of the game began receiving emails yesterday from Gearbox Publishing, née Perfect World Entertainment, inviting them to play Gigantic from 5th to 7th October.

Gigantic was released in 2017 as an Xbox One and PC exclusive. Almost exactly one year later, developer Motiga closed Gigantic following its struggle to "break through in a crowded market". The game was delisted and its servers were shut down.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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Review: Assassin’s Creed Mirage Returns to Its Roots

7 months 2 weeks ago

Assassins Creed Mirage Review

Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes a massive risk by returning to the series roots in more ways than one. For instance, it returns to the stunning Middle East setting that started it all years ago with Altair’s story. In addition, it forsakes the RPG mechanics and leveling systems of the last three titles in favor of a more streamlined experience. Unfortunately, it loses itself in this major shift back to the roots. I imagine some players will really appreciate the grounded and less fussy approach in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, but it doesn’t work for me after three excellent titles back-to-back. Outside of the gorgeous and surprisingly varied setting of Baghdad and the surrounding areas, the return to the series’ start feels fairly unnecessary.

Author
Cody Perez

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Assassin's Creed Mirage review: the most enjoyable Assassin's Creed game for years

7 months 2 weeks ago

I'm close to being whatever the Assassin's Creed equivalent of a Pokémon genwunner is. It's not like I'm snobby about the newer, more action-oriented Creeds; I welcomed the shift brought in by Assassin's Creed Origins, which shook the series up a bit, and I loved Cassandra kicking her way around Ancient Greece. Valhalla, although it had a relative dearth of things to parkour around, was a fun open-world RPG. Which I suppose is the point.

Assassin's Creed hasn't been a game about a group of assassins following a creed and striking from the shadows for a long time. Here I would say that Basim, protagonist of Assassin's Creed Mirage kicks down the door and kills everyone in the room, except this new entry in the series is smaller, more focused, and once again concerned largely with stealth, and is all the better for it. So it's more appropriate to say Basim snuck in through an open window and is choking everyone out one by one.

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Author
Alice Bell

How Long Is Assassin's Creed Mirage?

7 months 2 weeks ago

It’s well documented that Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a considerably smaller adventure compared to the previous 3 entries in the series, but just how long is it? Here we’ll let you know exactly how many hours it took different members of the IGN team to finish the story, and what they prioritised doing with their time.

How long is Assassin's Creed Mirage?

  • Our fastest player finished it in 10 hours.
  • Our “slowest” player played for almost 17 hours before credits rolled.

Everyone plays games differently, so read on for more details about how everyone played, how long it took to reach the credits, and how much extra time players spent exploring the world. Once you've finished the game yourself, be sure to submit your times on How Long To Beat and see how your time compares!

Dale Driver - Executive Producer of Video

I feel like I took my time with the main story of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, clocking in 15 hours and 49 minutes before the credits rolled. Although I left a large amount of the side content to explore, I did make sure to try out enough of it so I felt like I got the full experience of everything the game had to offer.

Author
Dale Driver

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Nintendo's sad man and wife return in happier Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom advert

7 months 2 weeks ago

Ahead of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's launch, Nintendo released a quietly devastating trailer for its game that showed a real life, 'everyday' man going about his business in a rather subdued manner.

Even his home life seemed to have become mundane, with him and his wife only really seeing each other briefly after a long day in the office, before she popped off to bed. Well, thank goodness for Zelda, as not only did Tears of the Kingdom give a welcome boost to our suffering man's evening, it now seems that it has also improved his marriage.

In a new trailer, we are once again reunited with Nintendo's sad man and his wife, and once again, he is playing Zelda. But, oh! He seems to be having a bit of trouble with one of the game's many shrines. His partner looks over, and gives some sage advice. "Ah, that's how it's done," he seems to think, while throwing her an adoring smile (honestly, it is so pure and lovely, and kind of the way my dog looks at food).

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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Assassin's Creed Mirage Review

7 months 2 weeks ago

During the same year the first iPhone was released and Prince played Purple Rain at a halftime show where it literally rained, another bit of culture was changed forever: the first Assassin’s Creed was released to mixed reviews. Not everyone loved Ubisoft’s approach to stealth and action, but it was widely agreed that this game was on to something. In the 15-plus years since, its many sequels traded stealth for something far bigger and flashier, but lost sight of the very spirit of how it began. Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes a lot of important, imperfect steps to get back to its roots, and though that means as it does no particular thing that hasn’t been done before, the focus and commitment to briskly paced missions and stealth-heavy exploration scratches an itch that the RPG-based entries couldn’t reach. It might not be the most ambitious of games, but it does restore hope that there’s still room for a version of Assassin’s Creed that we haven't seen in almost a decade.

Author
Sophia Rocha

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Assassin's Creed Mirage review - a fascinating new city and the embrace of a classic formula

7 months 2 weeks ago

Reader, I am in love with the House of Wisdom. Who wouldn't be? A vast palace of books with thick walls, beautiful ceramic window inlays and plenty of what the Californian real estate industry would refer to as an enviable indoor/outdoor flow. In the 9th Century, when Assassin's Creed Mirage is set, the House of Wisdom was one of the biggest libraries that had ever existed, mounted like a jewel inside a ringed city, Baghdad, that was on its way to being the largest city in the world. All of the Golden Age is visible here: the love of learning, of curating the lessons of the past but also looking to the future. Criers invite people for what amounts to TED Talks on astronomy, on the use of the astrolabe. Celebrity poets argue in the courtyards. Political intrigue is everywhere you look. Everybody has heard a rumour about something or other. There's a whole hierarchy of learning, both academic and, hmm, more illicit, to be navigated.

I love it. But what I think I love more is the immediate environment the House of Wisdom lies within. Surrounding the House is a lovely scholarly part of town, leafy climbing vines and cool honeyed brick, all lit by a clear morning sun. The shops scattered around the House, all angled lines and blind turns, are filled with stacks of books, shelves of books, books lying splayed on tables next to fruit and bowls of spices. I wandered here, mid-mission, for an hour yesterday, with no aims other than drawing it all in, all this detail and character. And I was rewarded, of course, as Assassin's will always reward the distracted. I found a bookcase with a secret behind it. I found a tall building with astronomical contraptions on the roof.

Author
Christian Donlan

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage: The Kotaku Review

7 months 2 weeks ago

Assassin’s Creed Mirage isn’t like the past few games in the series. It’s not like Odyssey, and it’s not like Origins. Those games both evolved the series into something bigger, adding hundreds of side-quests and newfound RPG elements, like loot drops and enemies with levels. Those games were fun. I enjoyed exploring…

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Author
Zack Zwiezen

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Assassin's Creed Mirage Review – Coming Home

7 months 2 weeks ago

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PC, iOS
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Bordeaux
Release: (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PC), 2024 (iOS)

For years, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has expanded the scope of its entries, offering ever longer adventures across increasingly vast open worlds. For players who first tried the series through those entries, Assassin’s Creed Mirage may be a shock. Set mainly within the single city of ninth-century Baghdad and playable to completion in under 20 hours, Mirage harkens back to the earliest entries starring Altaïr and Ezio. For more longtime fans, many elements will feel like a return to familiar territory, with the commensurate highs and lows that characterized those early installments.

Author
Matt Miller

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Beta Global Release Time Confirmed

7 months 2 weeks ago

Activision has confirmed the global release times for the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta on PC and console.

Modern Warfare 3’s release date is set for November 10, 2023 on PC via Battle.net and Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S. But Activision has a beta planned for the multiplayer portion of the game that will let fans get their hands on Sledgehammer's shooter from October 6.

We now have exact timings for the staggered release of this beta, which includes early access for those who pre-order on PlayStation before being available to all.

Here’s the list of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 release times worldwide:

  • Early Access PlayStation (pre-order): Oct 6 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET until Oct 8 at 6 pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET
  • Open to all PlayStation players: Oct 8 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET until Oct 10 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET
  • Early Access PC / Xbox (pre-order), open for PlayStation players: Oct 12 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET until Oct 14 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET
  • Open to all players: Oct 14 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET until Oct 16 at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET

IGN has a helpful guide on how to access the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 beta, if you fancy getting in on the action.

Author
Wesley Yin-Poole

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Warcraft Rumble Arrives Alongside BlizzCon in November

7 months 2 weeks ago

Warcraft Rumble, previously Warcraft Arclight Rumble, will arrive alongside BlizzCon itself on November 3, developer Blizzard Entertainment has announced.

Revealed in a tweet (below), Blizzard shared what players can look forward to when the fast-paced mobile strategy game launches with a new trailer.

Players can collect more than 65 miniatures, challenge iconic Warcraft characters, and develop an army of their own at launch. Alongside a single-player campaign, players can also go head to head in PvP battles and more.

Warcraft Rumble will likely be a hit at BlizzCon 2023, with the event for all things Blizzard taking place in person for the first time in four years starting launch day on November 3 to November 4.

Author
Ryan Dinsdale

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"Factorio, but you're baking stuff": Firaxis and Civilization veterans share their dream strategy projects

7 months 2 weeks ago

Yesterday I had a lovely chat with the brainy folk of Oxide Games, developers of Ashes of the Singularity and the forthcoming Ara: History Untold, a historical 4X strategy game that puts a baroque spin on the classic Civilization format, with each player's turn unfolding simultaneously once you've queued up a bunch of commands.

There's a lot to sift through there, which we'll get into next week, but we also found time towards the finish for some off-the-cuff chinwaggery about dream 4X or strategy game projects. What would the Oxide team make, if they didn't have to worry about budget, audience expectations or any of the other commercial factors that guide the creation of videogames? The answers may surprise you. They might also make you hungry.

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Author
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

6 Games That Will (Probably) Fly Under Your Radar in October 2023

7 months 2 weeks ago

September 2023 came and went like a whirlwind. Our enormous backlog just can’t seem to catch a break with heavy hitters like Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Lies of P, and Baldur’s Gate 3 dropping one after the other. Well, October isn’t devoid of GOTY contenders either! Heavy hitters from Ubisoft and Nintendo such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Super Mario Bros. Wonder promise to envelop us in their worlds in October. And with the holidays right around the corner, why not save some cash with these sleeper October titles instead? Here are 6 games that will (probably) fly under your radar in October 2023.

Author
Matthew Carmosino

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Harnessing the power of player feedback

7 months 2 weeks ago

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Game developers invest countless hours perfecting a game. From crafting immersive worlds, to creating engaging mechanics and plotting captivating narratives, they put their all into it to make it the best game it can be. However, the true test of a game's success often lies in the hands of its players.

Player feedback is the backbone of a developer's journey, providing crucial insights that can help shape and elevate a gaming experience. It serves as a window into the minds of players, allowing developers to gauge the effectiveness of their design choices, uncover potential flaws and identify opportunities for improvement.

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Author
Sabrina Carmona

Nintendo to shut down online play across 3DS and Wii U as of "early April 2024"

7 months 2 weeks ago

Nintendo has announced it is ending online play services for both the 3DS and Wii U. These services will be terminated "as of early April 2024," the company wrote in an update earlier today.

Nintendo has been steadily winding down its support for these older consoles, having sunsetted the eShop for both platforms last year. Of course, this had no effect on the online play capabilities of the games.

However, as of April next year, games on either the Wii U or 3DS will only be playable offline. This means "online cooperative play, internet rankings and data distribution" will also be affected. It also means no more online town hopping in Animal Crossing: New Leaf (pictured above).

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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Five of the Best: Cars

7 months 2 weeks ago

Five of the Best is a weekly series for supporters of Eurogamer. It's a series that highlights some of the features in games that are often overlooked. It's also about having your say, so don't be shy, use the comments below and join in!

Oh and you can find our entire Five of the Best archive elsewhere on the site.

Hoho - I imagine Martin will be livid with these suggestions. But if he's not here to tell us any better, what does he expect? And anyway: great video game cars aren't limited to racing games. I don't need to know the intricate differences between a Honda Civic and a Toyota Yaris to appreciate a fine ride (do you see how knowledgeable I secretly am?). So let's get into it. Four wheels or many wheels, two doors or many doors - or perhaps no doors at all. Which are the best cars in games?

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Author
Robert Purchese

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Nintendo Shutting Down 3DS and Wii U Online Servers in 2024

7 months 2 weeks ago

Nintendo is shutting down online servers for 3DS and Wii U games in early April 2024, with the exception of Pokémon Bank.

The announcement came in a tweet (below) and in an update on Nintendo's support website, where the publisher thanked players for using its hardware but confirmed the shutdown is just six months away. A specific shutdown date will be announced later.

"In early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software," the post said. "This also includes online co-operative play, internet rankings, and data distribution."

Though Nintendo said plans are subject to change and could potentially arrive sooner than announced, the one exception to the rule is Pokémon Bank, which will remain online but "may also end at some point in the future".

Author
Ryan Dinsdale

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Former BioWare employees sue for better severance after layoffs

7 months 2 weeks ago

A group of former BioWare employees are suing the studio for better severance pay after they were laid off in August.

Two months ago, the Dragon Age and Mass Effect developer dismissed 50 staff members due to "the studio's changing needs."

Now seven of those affected have filed a Statement of Claim with Alberta's Court of King's Bench, claiming BioWare's severance offer was too low.

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Author
James Batchelor

Forza Motorsport Review

7 months 2 weeks ago

Sitting on the grid in my 2017 Holden V8 Supercar, surrounded by Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Audi R8s, I have to concede I’m feeling a little underqualified. Forza Motorsport’s online multiplayer spec racing should technically place all these cars on a level field, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve brought a cricket bat to a swordfight here. Several mediocre laps later and neither myself or my Vegemite-eating VF Commodore have troubled the timesheets much, finishing mid-pack one spot below where I started – but I’m sweating, and I’m smiling. The 2023 version of Forza Motorsport is brimming with new features across the board, from its muscular new multiplayer to its much-improved handling. All except for its upgrades, that is. They’ve been downgraded. Confused? Me too.

Forza Motorsport is, by a significant margin, the best feeling game in the Motorsport franchise to date. It isn’t necessarily a total reinvention of the Forza formula, and it still has that familiar level of forgiveness baked into it when you’re at and just beyond the limits of control. This is a series that has always been about letting us have the confidence to grab a car by the scruff of its neck and step the rear end out with a boot-full of throttle without constantly over-rotating, and that’s absolutely still the case here. The improvements before we break traction, however, are marked.

Author
Luke Reilly

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Forza Motorsport Review – A Reboot Worthy of Its Own Name

7 months 2 weeks ago

Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series S

As far as racing simulation goes, Forza has been a name synonymous with the genre since the first Forza Motorsport in 2005. As time has gone on, those titles have transitioned from only the Motorsport titles and into the Horizon as well, but after a 6 year gap between the previous racing sim with Forza Motorsport 7, 2023’s Forza Motorsport had some pretty big tires to fill and did so with finesse.

I’ve fallen off from playing racing titles in recent years, mainly because they can tend to feel repetitive after a while of playing. Forza Horizon is a different story because there’s a lot more freedom in the environment, so those have been the titles that I’ve focused on despite having started out playing the Motorsport games. However, the new Forza Motorsport is an entirely different story. From the moment I finished the first race, I could tell that I was playing something at the cutting edge of what’s possible, and couldn’t take my mind off of it.

Author
Nick Rivera

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Forza Motorsport review - a weighty and welcoming racer, packed with pleasures

7 months 2 weeks ago

In the view of Forza Motorsport, cars are serious business. This you can tell from the score, by Peter G. Holmström, which is laden with hammer blows and ticking synth. It sounds like the work of Hans Zimmer, and you could lift it out and lay it snugly over a Splinter Cell or a Deus Ex - one of those tech-infested thrillers in which the world is redeemed by hardware, and the solitary souls who guide it. (Such is racing, I guess, in the eyes of its admirers.) This approach differs from that of Gran Turismo 7, the chief rival of Forza Motorsport in the mainstream simulator stakes. That game presents its races in a café, amid the glint of coffee pots and the steam of lightly brewed jazz. Slotted together, both works spin and blur into a similar conviction; when you apply the brakes, you notice that they lie at opposing ends of it. Do cars make life worth living, or does life make cars worth driving?

Spend an afternoon with Forza Motorsport, in its thuddingly epic air, and you may stagger away convinced of the latter. But think of the efforts that it makes to welcome you. We are ushered into a string of races, as though it were no big deal. The difficulty is dampened by default, with brakes that kick in to carry you around each bend. The career mode is approachable - wrapped into parcels of races. The Legacy Tour. The Power Tour. The Enthusiast Tour. Within these you find themed events: Practical Performance, Super Sedans, Built For Sport. Start one of these series, and you get a potted history lesson, albeit with a steely edge: "Modern high-performance hatchbacks have evolved into serious street and track weapons," we are told by a stern narrator. You'll never look at a Renault Megane, loaded and cocked in a Tesco car park, the same way again.

Author
Josh Wise

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Forza Motorsport Review - Keeping Pace

7 months 2 weeks ago

Forza Motorsport

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Turn 10 Studios
Release:
Rating: Everyone

It can be rare for a newer franchise to challenge a well-established genre leader for the throne, but that’s precisely what the Forza Motorsport series has done since its first entry in 2005. Since then, the sim-racing genre has featured dueling front-runners, with Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport taking turns in the lead. The latest entry, simply titled Forza Motorsport, takes a back-to-basics approach to keep pace with its chief rival.

Speeding around the track has never felt better. A palpable sense of speed accompanies excellent physics and visuals to create a superb racing experience. A multitude of factors converge, including track surface, weather, the wear of your tires, and the various tuning elements of your vehicle, to determine how your vehicle handles and feels.

Author
Brian Shea