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Weird West Review

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In this alternate universe, the West was won by trying a bunch of ideas so crazy they just might work… and if they don’t, hitting the quick-load button to revert to an earlier save and trying something even crazier until you pull it off. Thanks to that freedom to experiment with its world as you explore, Weird West is one of those games that feels like a stealth and combat playground even as it tells five mostly serious, well-written stories with interesting decisions throughout and a thoughtful conclusion. And with so much ground to cover and replayability to investigate, it’s well worth putting up with some quirks and underwhelming loot. What ties Weird West’s plot together is a group of shadowy figures using a magical brand to force your character’s consciousness into the bodies of various unsuspecting people. It’s a clever play on the way so many games have us take control of a character who already exists in that world but still need to bring us up to speed on their identity: h...
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Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader – How Did it Take This Long to Get a Warhammer CRPG?

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It’s truly bizarre that across the nearly 30 years of Warhammer video games, we haven’t had a single one that attempted to channel the tabletop Warhammer experience by utilizing the genre that feels best suited to do so: CRPGs. But that’s all about to change, as Pathfinder developer Owlcats has been cooking up something to fill this void. During an extensive hands-off demo of Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, I checked out its extremely chunky turn-based combat system, drowned in its plethora of dialogue options and social skill checks, and nodded approvingly at its lovingly faithful depiction of Warhammer’s morbid universe. While it’s still very early, so far this CRPG is shaping up to be everything I’ve wanted from a Warhammer video game. If you’ve ever played (or even glanced at) a game of Warhammer 40K, then you probably know it’s designed for a hyper-specific kind of nerd who loves calculations, large-scale drama, and an incredibly detailed world one could easily get lost in. Warham...
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Links Between Loot Boxes and Problem Gambling 'Verified' in New Report

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A new report from researchers at the universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton have discovered that loot boxes "are structurally and psychologically akin to gambling." As reported by BBC, this new research was commissioned by the GambleAware charity, and some of the results discovered include the following;
  • Of the 93% of children who play video games, up to 40% opened loot boxes
  • About 5% of gamers generate half the entire revenue from the boxes
  • Twelve out of 13 studies on the topic have established "unambiguous" connections to problem gambling behaviour
  • Young men are the most likely to use loot boxes - with young age and lower education correlating with increased uses
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/20/ea-defends-loot-boxes-calls-them-surprise-mechanics"] The study also found that many games use a "psychological nudge" which encourages those to purchase loot boxes in an attempt to instill the fear of missing out on limited-time items or deals. "Many gamers do ascribe discrete financial values to loot box contents - based on purchase or resale price - suggesting that many loot boxes meet existing criteria for gambling regulation," the authors wrote. As for the 5% of those who generate half the entire revenue for the boxes - who are sometimes called whales - they can spend more than £70 or $100 per month on these loot boxes. What makes this a problem is these aren't necessarily wealthy people, but those who may have problems with gambling. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/13/esrb-announces-new-ratings-label-for-loot-boxes-ign-news"] "Our research therefore demonstrates that games developers, unwittingly or not, appear to be generating outsized loot box profits from at-risk individuals (these are likely to include both people with gambling problems or problematic patterns of video gaming) - but not from wealthy gamers," it concluded. These "at-risk individuals" make disproportionate contributions to loot box revenues and are these practices are said to feed into the dangers of gambling. As for possible solutions, the report recommends that loot boxes be included in game labeling and age ratings, that the odds of winning specific items are clearly shown, that spending limits are established, and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/07/nintendo-sony-microsoft-working-on-loot-box-odds-policy"] For more on loot boxes, check out our look at how these microtransactions can cause addiction that can destroy lives, ESRB's announcement on its new ratings labels for loot boxes, and how Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are working on a new policy for loot box probability. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

source https://www.ign.com/articles/links-between-loot-boxes-and-problem-gambling-robustly-verified-in-new-report

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