Lexar's NM790 is one of the best NVMe SSDs we've tested, offering excellent performance whilst keeping prices down lower than rivals like the Samsung 990 Pro or WD SN850x. Data hoarders are particularly fond of the 4TB model, which is now discounted at Scan in the UK - it's down to £204 and comes with a free NVMe heatsink, making it an awesome fit for a range of gaming PCs as well as Sony's PlayStation 5.

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If you tried to venture to your local Target for some groceries or perhaps a discounted appliance this past Wednesday, January 3, you might have noticed a massive line snaking around its brick edifice. Based on historical reasons why a huge congregation of people would wait outside a retailer in the wee hours of the…

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As part of the Famitsu 2024 New Year Greetings column, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Producer Keiji Inafune said that he will “do [his] best to improve the quality of the game” for its Summer 2024 release. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Famitsu also revealed that Inafune’s 2024 keyword is “explosion,” and his aspirations for the new year involve “endless evolution and growth as a person.” Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was originally revealed on February 2023. The game will appear on the Nintendo Switch, and it was initially scheduled for a 2023 release.

Super-powered MMO City Of Heroes closed down in November 2012, but in recent years it has been revived by industrious fans via privately-hosted servers. While those servers allowed caped crusaders to continue roleplaying, the caveat was that they could be shut down at any moment by the most dastardly supervillains of all: lawyers.

That should be less of an issue in future. One of those community-hosted servers, Homecoming, has been granted an official license to operate by City Of Heroes' IP owners NCSoft.

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Super-powered MMO City Of Heroes closed down in November 2012, but in recent years it has been revived by industrious fans via privately-hosted servers. While those servers allowed caped crusaders to continue roleplaying, the caveat was that they could be shut down at any moment by the most dastardly supervillains of all: lawyers.

That should be less of an issue in future. One of those community-hosted servers, Homecoming, has been granted an official license to operate by City Of Heroes' IP owners NCSoft.

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CD Projekt Red has revealed that Cyberpunk 2077's expansion, Phantom Liberty, exceeded 5 million copies sold in 2023.

CD Projekt Red took to Twitter with the announcement and thanked all of the fans for helping the game reach such a big milestone. While CD Projekt didn't give any more context to this announcement, we know that the studio is continuing to work on other projects now that Phantom Liberty has been released.

Currently, CD Projekt Red is working on several projects, including a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 and a new original IP, codenamed Hadar. The Witcher 4, codenamed Polaris, and a remake of the first Witcher game are in development as well. The studio also reaffirmed that it is not interested in being acquired by a larger entity and that it values its independence.

In October 2021, developer Eidos-Montréal, the team behind the basically-dead live-service title Marvel’s Avengers, launched Guardians of the Galaxy. The single-player, third-person shooter was excellent, offering great combat, likable characters, solid puzzles, and gorgeous environments. It received generally…

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PlayStation has released a promotional video highlighting some of the biggest games coming to its console this year. The video hypes both first and third-party releases, many of which already had release dates/windows, but it also casually confirms 2024 launches for two previously un-dated projects.

Specifically, the video labels Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Silent Hill 2 as 2024 games. Both games, each a remake of their respective titles, had no launch window prior to today. But the video and the accompanying PlayStation Blog post confirm as much, which is a little surprising to see happen with relatively limited fanfare instead of Konami rolling out individual red carpets for each game's launch update. But if you're looking forward to playing either title, this is welcomed news nonetheless.

Silent Hill 2 was announced in 2022 as a remake of the 2001 classic and is being developed by Bloober Team. The studio recently shared that work on the game was “progressing smoothly”, and it is a PlayStation 5 console exclusive (but will also launch on PC). 

Every game is Who Framed Roger Rabbit now - or, less charitably, a metaversal hellscape where canonical integrity matters far less than providing a platform through which to sell cosmetics.

Apex Legends is the latest live service game to take the plunge with its first crossover event. It's with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and it'll bring the Buster Sword, Aerith, and other elements from the JRPG to the battle royale on January 9th.

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Every game is Who Framed Roger Rabbit now - or, less charitably, a metaversal hellscape where canonical integrity matters far less than providing a platform through which to sell cosmetics.

Apex Legends is the latest live service game to take the plunge with its first crossover event. It's with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and it'll bring the Buster Sword, Aerith, and other elements from the JRPG to the battle royale on January 9th.

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Kenny Omega is one of the co-founders of All Elite Wrestling and has held more championships than you can count. He's @KennyOmegaManX on Twitter.

Austin Creed is a member of the 12-time Tag Team Championship-winning crew known as The New Day. He is also the host of the gaming YouTube channel UpUpDownDown. He's @austincreedwins on Twitter.

If there is one major take I have about anime these days, it’s the isekai genre has few fresh and intriguing ideas. Even the more unique ones either offer little enjoyment or don't seem to be worth watching. However, the Solo Leveling anime adaptation proves there is still just a bit left in the genre's tank, if the first two episodes are anything to go off of.

Solo Leveling takes place in an alternate Earth where gates open up and supernatural beasts attack. Hunters enter these gates to defeat the dungeon bosses. They have a short time limit of seven days to close the gate before the beasts will pour out and attack modern society. It feels like an interesting enough premise, if not a bit old given past isekai anime series like Gate.

The focus of the series is the main character Sung, who is an E-rank hunter. Many consider him the worst hunter in existence, but he does the job to get money for his sister and sick mother. Since everyone is stuck with their initial rank and power, it seems as though he has no hope of tackling and surviving higher-rank dungeons.

Massive Entertainment’s upcoming open-world Star Wars game, Outlaws, is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2024. The game doesn’t follow Jedi and deal with The Force, but instead will give us a look into the seedier side of life in the Star Wars universe as it follows the exploits of a…

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MSI Gaming has showed details of a Steam Deck-style handheld, via a brief teaser video on its Instagram account.

The first part of the video shows the front of the device in a dark space, with only the offset sticks encircled by RGB light visible. It continues by showing details of the device's back, a red and black color scheme emblazoned with the MSI logo. The video's final frame shows a logo featuring multicolored claws and the text "#MSIxCES2024." The caption reads "A whole new breed of MSI dragon is coming. Get a grip and stay tuned." Presumably more details will release during CES from Jan 9-12. Price point and specs are currently unknown.

This is far from the first Steam Deck competitor to emerge. The ROG Ally released in June 2023 for $700 and was eventually joined by a cheaper $600 version. The Ally also has native Game Pass support, as it runs Windows. The Lenovo Legion Go uses the same AMD chip set as the Ally and has a similar price point at $700. However, it also has a bigger screen and removable controllers (a la the Switch's Joy-Cons).

The Steam Deck itself got an OLED upgrade last year. While they are still in stock, original LCD versions of the Steam Deck are on discount.

NCSoft and City of Heroes fan server Homecoming have come to an agreement

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It’s nearly three in the morning. I’ve been sitting in front of my TV playing a new Lego game for almost six hours. My wife is in the same room and playing the same game with me. We’ve completely lost track of time. When I finally realize how late it is and that we probably should go to bed, I’m somewhat surprised to…

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To start off 2024, Amazon Prime members can become one of the last foxes on the planet, relax with a beekeeping sim, or explore a bit of Atari history with four free titles in the Prime Gaming January lineup. To claim these experiences, follow the usual steps on the Prime Gaming hub.

In addition, Amazon is offering new Amazon Luna games to check out this month at the same hub. The new catalog of free cloud-based titles for Prime members consists of Control: Ultimate Edition, Kitaria Fables, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, Young Souls, Trackmania, and Fortnite. These are all available now.

Prime Gaming lineup for January 2024

January 4

• Endling - Extinction Is Forever (Amazon Games app)

January 11

• Apico (Amazon Games app)

January 18

• Atari Mania (Epic Games Store)

January 25

• Yars: Recharged (Epic Games Store)

The Prime offerings begin now with Endling - Extinction Is Forever, which won a BAFTA last year for the Game Beyond Entertainment category. It's an environmentally conscious game that sees players becoming the last known mother fox on the planet trying to find a home for her three pups. Endling was added today to Prime Gaming.

Over 14,000 games were released on Steam in 2023, according to according to data tracked by SteamDB. The number is nearly 2000 games more than in 2022, and continues a steady trend of growth on the digital storefront.

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Over 14,000 games were released on Steam in 2023, according to according to data tracked by SteamDB. The number is nearly 2000 games more than in 2022, and continues a steady trend of growth on the digital storefront.

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Where to find all the treasure, puzzles, formidable foes, and Warp Trotters on Jarilo-VI

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Big year for Konami and triangular shapes

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Microsoft is continuing to run with the jokes that its consoles look like appliances by releasing an Xbox Series S toaster. It is being sold via Walmart’s website for $39.99, with an estimated January 12, 2024 delivery date if someone orders on January 4, 2024. 

The toaster is designed to resemble the console exactly, as though the system was placed horizontally. It is over seven inches tall and fifteen inches wide. It contains two slots that are extra wide, so it can handle standard bread slices, waffles, pop tarts, bagels, or larger pieces like Texas toast. When used, it prints the Xbox circular logo on the toast. 

The side of the toaster features special defrost and bagel settings, for waffles or naturally bagels. There are also six settings for browning, to allow someone to determine how long something cooks. There is a handle to eject and it features a removable crumb tray for cleaning. 

Here’s a closer look at it, which also features bread with the logo toasted onto it.

Is it actually better than the New Year’s resolution? 

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First, there was the Xbox Series X mini-fridge, and now the Series S gets its own appliance in the form of a toaster. Bread will never be the same again. 

Feast your eyes on the officially licensed Series S toaster, which is on sale now at Walmart. The novelty appliance boasts a wide slot to toast thick slices of bread, bagels, waffles, English muffins, and probably most PlayStation discs for the truly devoted. In a neat twist, the oven roasts the Xbox logo on the food itself to add a flavorful touch of corporate branding to your carb intake. 

From worst to best, from controversial to conventional, we rated all the remakes and spinoffs of the animated classics

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Metal Gear Solid fans won't have to wait much longer to climb that extremely hazardous ladder again in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake. Although it doesn't have a release date, it's scheduled to come out sometime this year.

The news comes from a video posted by the official PlayStation YouTube channel, where the company shared a two-minute clip of some of the biggest games coming to its platform this year. The video featured games that are already confirmed for 2024, such as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8, Helldivers II, and more. As the video nears its end, it's confirmed that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will come out later this year.

What's especially notable is that Konami, the company behind Metal Gear, hasn't commented on when the upcoming Metal Gear remake will come out. It's also worth pointing out that this wasn't the only Konami game that got a release window. The same video also confirmed that the Silent Hill 2 remake will be coming out later this year.

Although not much is known about the upcoming Metal Gear remake--titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater--we do know that it'll feature some of the original cast to some degree and will be playable on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy was one of 2021's biggest surprises, succeeding where Square Enix's Avengers game failed by finding an identity beyond its movie counterpart thanks to strong writing. Alas, it didn't meet Square Enix's sales expectations.

Now it's free via the Epic Games Store.

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Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy was one of 2021's biggest surprises, succeeding where Square Enix's Avengers game failed by finding an identity beyond its movie counterpart thanks to strong writing. Alas, it didn't meet Square Enix's sales expectations.

Now it's free via the Epic Games Store.

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The cooking show’s biggest mystery just keeps popping up

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As part of the Famitsu 2024 New Year Greetings column talking to important members of the game industry, head of Ys Net Yu Suzuki said that stories like Spy x Family or The Apothecary Diaries could be good for making games. The developer also talked about his goals for the coming year. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Yu Suzuki didn’t specify or give any details on how stories like Spy x Family could help in making new games. He only suggested they could have potential.

The developer’s keyphrase for 2024 is “create the type of games you want to play yourself.” The developer’s aspirations for the new year consist of forming a project with scriptwriters and musicians from different industries.

In 2023, Suzuki and YS Net released the previously Apple Arcade exclusive rail shooter Air Twister on home consoles and PC. Air Twister is one example of Suzuki collaborating with artists from outside the game industry, as renowned Dutch composer and multi-instrumentalist Valensia created the soundtrack of the game.

Former Nintendo employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang have weighed in with their thoughts on the next Nintendo console, including a prediction for when it could be announced and what the system might be.

In a video outlining their predictions for 2024, both Ellis and Yang agreed in their prediction that the Switch successor will be announced in the first half of 2024. Yang believes it will be announced in Q1, which runs January-March this year.

Yang said the timing of the announcement could be tied to Nintendo's next financial year, which begins on April 1, 2024. "Based on hardware patterns from the past, it does seem like you want to get an official announcement out before the end of the fiscal year, so you can remain really strong with your shareholders," Yang said.

Ellis, for his part, said he believes Nintendo management now more meaningfully considers its shareholders, including what they think and how they feel. He said this is a marked change from the past.

When will the next console be released? Yang said she believes it will be revealed in June or July, with marketing ramping up in April-May. She predicted stock for the Switch successor will be constrained at launch, but she expects these problems to be sorted out before the holiday shopping season. Ellis said he generally agreed with Yang's thoughts on when the console might launch, saying he believes it will be out by September 1.

Freezing, starving, and facing survival by cannibalism, Flight 571’s survivors return to the screen in a new retelling

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2024 just started, and Sony is already hyping up people for the upcoming year of PS5 games. A new trailer dropped today, showcasing the slate of 2024 games and snippets of each of them.

There are around 18 different games shown off during the trailer with a few seconds dedicated to each of them. It appears all of these games are set to release in 2024, even though a few of them like Silent Hill 2, don’t have release dates quite yet. The majority of these games are set to come out during the first quarter of 2024 between January to March 2024. This means we won’t have to wait too long to play most of these titles.

Here's the full "Upcoming Games in 2024" PS5 trailer:

I have been bouncing off Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, partly because the new protagonist design leaves me cold, and partly because it being a 2D affair has me yearning for something closer to the 1989 Apple II original, with its finicky platforming and sword-fighting. Katharine says it's decent, however, and the latest trailers are intriguing. One is an overview of the new metroidvania's locations, of which you can read much more in Katharine's last preview. The other is a quick dive into the game's approach to accessibility, which appears to be a lot more holistic than you'll find in many games.

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I have been bouncing off Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, partly because the new protagonist design leaves me cold, and partly because it being a 2D affair has me yearning for something closer to the 1989 Apple II original, with its finicky platforming and sword-fighting. Katharine says it's decent, however, and the latest trailers are intriguing. One is an overview of the new metroidvania's locations, of which you can read much more in Katharine's last preview. The other is a quick dive into the game's approach to accessibility, which appears to be a lot more holistic than you'll find in many games.

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GTA Online will now let you become a wildlife photographer and get so high you transform.

Animals were recently added to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions of GTA Online (they've been in the single player since launch). Now you can take photos of them to earn in-game rewards. In a new Daily Collectable called Wildlife Photography, you can take pictures of up to three different animals. Despite the name, animals included can be either domesticated or wild. Taking one picture for the challenge will unlock the ability to purchase the new Declasse Park Ranger. Taking 10 photo will unlock the vehicle's trade price.

In other animal news, you can find Peyote plants out in the wilds. Ingesting them will cause you to change shape into an animal like a deer or a cow. These will only be available for a limited time, just like prior times Peyote has been added to GTA Online. You can always use the plant in single player.

As for other modes and rewards, you can steal the Lampadati Casco, Enus Deity, and Vapid Ellie for Salvage Yard Robberies. Adjustments have been made to Payphone Hits. The payout for assassinations is lower, but the cooldown between hits has been reduced to 10 minutes. You can also earn 2X GTA$ and RP in Rockstar-created Stunt Races, Junk Energy Time Trials, and HAW Races through January 10.

Grand Theft Auto V will be leaving Game Pass later this month. The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI debuted early after a leak in December 2023.

You can read the full details of the update on Rockstar's official website.

Get three decks of first edition Pokémon cards and some slick accessories for $320

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