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Showing posts from October 22, 2023
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Weird West Review
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...
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader – How Did it Take This Long to Get a Warhammer CRPG?
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...
Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk's Secret Spider-Man 2 Cameo Finally Revealed
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Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has only been out for a week, but fans who already beat the game and stuck around for the end credits might have noticed actors Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk listed in unspecified roles. Now, their roles have been confirmed, and they're pretty silly. After some suspicion among fans, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, senior creative director Bryan Intihar has officially confirmed that Fillion and Tudyk's mysterious roles are none other than... the duo of rivals both wearing cat mascot suits and Spider-Man masks while arguing outside a bodega. During Spider-Man 2, players receive a side mission to find photo ops and capture various happenings around New York City. Players can find the duo in the center of the northern side of Little Odessa as part of this mission, and when they do, they'll be drawn into a heated argument over who stole whose outfit. The duo is excited to see Spider-Man, and taking a picture of them to complete the ...
Diablo 4 Patch 1.2.1 Makes Respecs Far Easier
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Respecs are about to get a lot easier for top-level Diablo IV players. According to patch notes released by Blizzard, Diablo IV's 1.2.1 update will deliver a long list of fixes and quality of life improvements, but perhaps none more notable than changes to respec. Anyone who's reached Diablo IV's endgame will be familiar with the complex and satisfying Paragon Boards, which drive much of the late stage buildcrafting that becomes necessary to take down the game's most challenging bosses and dungeons. But the inflexibility of that system — namely that resetting the hundreds of perks on the board requires a ton of time and resources — has become a sticking point for many of Diablo IV's most hardcore players. Thankfully, Blizzard is poised to relieve this particular pain, as the very top of the patch notes reads, "Added a Refund All button to Paragon Boards." In a more detailed developer's note just below, it goes on to say "Players communicate...
2023 Marks the Turning Point for Nintendo as a Full-Blown Entertainment Brand
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Last December, the NVC crew pondered if 2023 could be Nintendo’s biggest year ever . Between the launch of games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Wonder, I think it’s safe to say that 2023 has earned a spot on the short list of the greatest years in Nintendo history. But beyond just games the company is celebrating just as many — if not more — successes in the entertainment space. The Super Mario Bros. Movie , Super Nintendo World’s opening in Hollywood , and the Nintendo Live fan event should all be considered as successful as the enormous launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom . Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said as much himself in my interview with him . While I will always remember Zelda, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Pikmin 4, I will remember 2023 more so as the year Nintendo turned the corner in its long-running mission to transform from a video game publisher into a full-blown entertainment brand. I know what you’re p...
Sony Expects Record-Breaking PS5 Sales This Year, Boosted by Supply and Spider-Man 2
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Sony is confident in its ability to shift PlayStation 5 units during the rest of this year, predicting “record-breaking sales”. In an interview with CNBC , PlayStation business executive Eric Lempel said Sony was on track to meet its ambitious target of 25 million PS5 units shipped during 2023, a figure that would make it the best year for any PlayStation console in history. Lempel put this down to Sony producing plenty of consoles in time for the crucial holiday period, as well as the launch of Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 , which is the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time over a 24-hour period . “We launched back in 2020,” Lempel said. “We suffered from the same supply chain issues that everybody was dealing with. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to deliver PS5 to every consumer that wanted one. This holiday season is the first holiday season we will be fully stocked on PlayStation 5 in every geography.” It was a similar sentiment in an interview with Barron’s . “We...
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Review
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The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria might lovingly depict one of the most recognizable fantasy worlds ever created, but to my surprise, that’s not actually the most recognizable thing about it. This is a survival game first and a Lord of the Rings game second, content to replicate all the familiar mechanics of the genre while leaning heavily on its Tolkien backdrop to compensate for a lack of original ideas. If you’ve played any survival game in the last 15 years, you’ll immediately know what you’re in for as you build bases, cook food, upgrade your pickaxes to mine better ores, craft armor and weapons to fight hordes of enemies, and run back home when it gets dark. The trouble is there’s no part of the tried-and-true survival blueprint that Return to Moria does better than games that came before it, and there are some parts, like the terrible combat and constraining building, that are significantly worse than most. Return to Moria’s story takes place during Middle-earth’s Fourth...
Every Rockstar Game Ever Released: A Full History
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Now revered for creating some of the most detailed, vast and chaotic open-world action games ever made, Rockstar has walked a particularly unique path to becoming a household name. While plenty of players are used to hijacking cars and robbing banks on the streets of their famed Grand Theft Auto games , what many don’t know is that Rockstar has made everything from licensed Austin Power tie-ins to an intricate table tennis simulator. It’s a large publisher that’s explored a lot of different avenues over the years, so let’s take a deep dive into Rockstar’s history and look at all the games its various teams have released so far. How Many Rockstar Games Are There? In total, there are 47 games released by Rockstar , with their first game launching in 1997 and their most recent title hitting shelves in 2018. The list below will run through all of these games. It’s worth noting that the list won’t include any DLCs or remasters, although standalone expansions will make the cut. All R...
Capcom Reveals It's Working on a Next-Gen RE Engine Codenamed REX
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Capcom is working on a next-generation version of RE Engine, the powerful but flexible technology powering games ranging from Monster Hunter: Rise to Resident Evil 4 Remake . The new engine was revealed in a presentation intended for developers that was published on Capcom's R&D channel , which was first uncovered by Okami Games.. In a section titled "RE Engine's future," the presentation delved into some of the challenges facing the tech, including the need for a high degree of customization per game. Capcom's solution is to develop a "new standard of engine" that it's calling REX. REX Engine will include all previous features of RE Engine while adding support for new technologies and handling the growing size of assets more efficiently. The video is mostly intended for developers but this was an interesting little tidbit at the end. pic.twitter.com/2Fb88i2lMA — Okami Games (@Okami13_) October 26, 2023 According to the presentation, ...
EA Sports FC 24 Title Update 4 Patch Notes Revealed — Here’s What It Does
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EA Sports has unveiled the next big update to FC 24, which makes just a handful of gameplay changes but addresses one significant bug. The bug in question, dubbed the ‘Trickster Glitch’ by the community, involved using a player with the Trickster+ PlayStyle to stick the ball to the dribbler’s leg, leaving them free to simply run into the goal to score. The bug swept through Ultimate Team’s competitive multiplayer last week , with high-profile streamers using it to dominate the ultra hardcore Weekend League . Here's how it looked: Look at this guys... No words man... Hopefully EA fixes this ASAP🥴 pic.twitter.com/y1M8irxOX4 — Rxcky (@rxckydusa) October 20, 2023 Eventually EA Sports disabled the Trickster+ PlayStyle, although the developer has yet to address calls for those who used the glitch to be punished. FC 24 Title Update 4 aims to tackle this bug, alongside a number of other issues, but there's no mention of the Trickster+ PlayStyle returning to the game. Game...
Lorcana Reveals Its Strongest Card and It's Goofy
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Previews are in full swing for the second set of the Disney Lorcana trading card game, titled Rise of the Floodborn, and gawrsh, today’s new card is a bombshell. Publisher Ravensburger revealed the strongest Lorcana card ever printed, stats-wise, and it’s Goofy – Knight for a Day. Goofy is known for his silly personality and boisterous sense of humor, which may not seem fitting for a super strong card, but this Goofy is a Dreamborn type, meaning he’s been given a radical twist. In this case, he’s become a dashing knight complete with armor and a two-handed claymore so big it would make Cloud Strife jealous – which certainly accounts for his immense power level. Sir Goofy is a Steel card that costs nine ink to play and has 10 strength, 10 willpower, and four Lore, making him an absolute powerhouse in every sense of the word. In fact, he’s the first card to have stats that go into double digits, giving him the highest attack and defense values in the game. He’s also tied for having ...
Stray Souls Review
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On the surface, Stray Souls seems like it has everything a horror fan would want. In fact, its hellish creatures, townsfolk cult, and mysteriously empty main street with a malfunctioning fog machine are everything Silent Hill fans, in particular, could ask for, unabashedly drawing from Konami's iconic horror series throughout. But despite an effectively unsettling opening, pretty much everything else – from its dull combat and cringeworthy conversations to the uninspired boss fights and long, long list of bugs and glitches – fails to deliver. The most impressive thing about Stray Souls ends up being just how badly it manages to fall short of that inspiration by almost every single measure. Stray Souls takes you to Aspen Falls, an unremarkable American town that – brace yourself for this shocker – hides a terrible secret. Your journey focuses on the newly relocated Daniel, who moved to the community after inheriting a quaint, if rundown, home from a grandmother he didn't eve...
Xbox's Partner Stream Surprised and Delighted – Unlocked 618
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We did the podcast live this week immediately following Xbox's Partner Preview livestream, and we spent the entire episode being pleasantly surprised by both the things Microsoft promised would be there (like Alan Wake 2, Ark: Survival Ascended, and Dungeons of Hinterberg), and the things that were surprises (like Metal Gear solid Delta, Still Wakes the Deep, and The Finals). Plus, we give some constructive criticism on Xbox's latest presentation format. Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel , or grab an MP3 of this week's episode . For more awesome content, check out my recent Alan Wake 2 preview! For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review , our Xbox Series S review , and our PS5 review . 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, s...
Top 10 Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures and Action Figures
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If you are getting into Dungeons & Dragons, or have been into it for a while but are looking to take your game to the next level, figurines can be a great way to increase the immersion. Whether you are a player looking to get a representative of yourself, or a dungeon master trying to create more immersive environments for your players, D&D miniatures can be great visual touchstones for your journeys through Faerûn. There are several to choose from, but these are the best D&D miniatures we found that aren't too expensive to buy at the moment. Don't forget to get some of the best D&D dice you can find right now, too. D&D Icons of the Realms: Starter Set This starter set is great for, you guessed it, 'starters!' It comes with a Gold Dwarf Cleric, Human Ranger, Sun Elf Wizard, Northlands Fighter, Lightfoot Halfling Rogue, and Wood Elf Druid, leaving you plenty of flexibility, whether you are representing yourself, your teammates, NPCs, or even vi...