Monday, September 30, 2019
Borderlands 3: These 6 Shift Codes Are Still Live
Microsoft Flight Simulator Preview: A Stunningly Detailed Aviation Simulation
I don't think I've ever been as impressed by any technology as much as I was by Microsoft's upcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator (which is coming to Xbox One for the first time, in addition to its usual PC release). It's astonishing in its commitment to realism, and the implementation is clever, extraordinarily technical, and completely blew me away.
I was lucky enough to experience the sim at the Worldwide Flight Simulator Press Event, held at the offices of Rainier Air at the Renton Municipal Airport just outside Seattle. The city of Renton is an aviation city, home of the Boeing manufacturing plant responsible for the 737 airliner. Sitting on the edge of Lake Washington, the woodlands give way to massive hangars and aircraft in various states of completion. The airfield where I got to learn about and play Flight Simulator is the first strip of tarmac the 737's taste before they take to the sky to be delivered to customers around the globe.
Bungie Will Release At Least One Non-Destiny Game by 2025
The next expansions for Destiny 2, “Shadowkeep” is out this week and IGN was able to speak with Bungie CEO Pete Parsons about the studio, and specifically on its plan to become one of the “best entertainment companies” in the world by the year 2025.
Destiny 2 Shadowkeep marks a turning point for the Destiny franchise. It is the first major expansion Bungie has released following its split with ex-partner Activision. “You think this is going to be a really big stressor, but it’s become a really bright shining spot on our ability to bring products to the marketplace and customers,” Parsons tells IGN in an interview.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Borderlands 3 Shift Code Update: Redeem a New Golden Key Before It's Gone
How Minecraft Earth Plans to Reinvent the World Around You
Minecraft Earth is a game of huge ambition. Its creators want nothing less than to bring the creativity and fun of the classic Minecraft experience into the real world, at full scale. The idea is that not only will people get the chance to interact with virtual Minecraft scenarios overlaid on actual locations, but that eventually the game will become a showcase for people’s imaginations; a way to transform hum drum reality into something magical.
Getting there, however, is going to take time and overcoming a whole host of obstacles. Minecraft Earth has been in development for a year and a half at this point, but is still at a relatively formative stage – it boasts some impressive tech, but also has its share of bugs and teething problems. And to truly improve the game, Minecraft Earth needs to go large. It needs an army of people helping to add detail to its OpenStreetMap-based depiction of the world, and it needs to inventory and precisely locate an immense number of real world objects to better anchor virtual play spaces. (More on that in a bit.)
18 Things We Just Learnt About Minecraft and Minecraft Earth
After a couple of months in closed beta, Minecraft Earth is now rolling out in Early Access on Android and iOS, which means millions more people can have a taste of building and adventuring in augmented reality. It’s an important step for the game, given its overworld map is crowdsourced (via OpenStreetMap) as is its ability to accurately place digital play spaces in actual locations (via Azure Spatial Anchors).
Early Access is also exciting because it’s the public debut of Adventures – small slices of Minecraft played solo or with friends in real-world locations. I was actually able to play a couple of these ahead of time and you can read my impressions here. During the same event I also got the chance to chat with Minecraft’s creative director Saxs Persson, who really laid out his vision for not just Minecraft Earth, but for Minecraft too. Here are 18 things you may not know, from Saxs himself…
Minecraft's Nether Update Adds New Biomes, Piglin Beasts and Mobs
Minecraft's next major game update is called the Nether Update and will add "new biomes, mobs, structures, blocks and visual effects to the Nether to enhance its unique and scary atmosphere."
Revealed during MINECON Live, the Nether Update will add the new Target block that acts as a projectile hit-detector and the Soulsand Valley and Netherwart Forest biomes.
Also introduced were the Piglin Beasts and Piglin mobs that bring a brand new civilization to the Minecraft universe. The name Piglin may be a temporary one, however, as fans can now vote on a new name.
In addition to the Nether Update, it was also revealed that Bees, Beehives, and the Honey Block will arrive in both Bedrock and Java versions of Minecraft before the holidays.
Minecraft Earth Early Access Launching in October
Minecraft Earth, the free-to-play augmented reality mobile game that is more-or-less Minecraft + Pokemon GO, is set to launch in Early Access this October, with a plan to be worldwide by the end of the year.
Revealed during MINECON Live, Minecraft Earth has been in closed beta in five cities over the summer, and the Early Access version will add such features as mob variants, crafting and smelting, and social multiplayer experiences called Adventures.
Adventures are smaller versions of Minecraft worlds that can be played in real life through AR technology. "For example, your sidewalk becomes a mine and there could be diamonds under your feet, or your local park may have Minecraft trees where skeletons lurk and you can fight them, dig down into the ground and discover an abandoned mine with treasures."
You Can Now Play Cuphead on Your Tesla Car
You can now play Cuphead in your Tesla vehicle. To be more specific, you can play Cuphead on Tesla Arcade, which lets you play games on the screen just to the right of a Tesla’s steering wheel.
The inclusion of the cartoony, insanely difficult platformer/shoot-em-up comes as part of Tesla’s 10.0 software update, which includes a bunch of other features like a Google Maps-style search function, Spotify, Karaoke, and the ability to summon your car from afar because it’s a darn robot. You can check out Tesla's trailer for the software update here.
Minecraft Comes to Tabletops With Brand New Board Game
The celebration of all things Minecraft, MineCon, kicked off today and brought with it the announcement of Minecraft: Builders & Biomes, a new tabletop game based on Minecraft and developed in conjunction with Mojang.
Similar to the video game version, Minecraft: Builders & Biomes has players "explore the Overworld, build structures, and mine resources," with points earned for "structures and the largest connected biomes."
Check out the slideshow below for look at Minecraft: Builders & Biomes:
Mobs are also part of the tabletop Minecraft experience, with Creepers and Enderman (among others) appearing in the board game version. Ravensburger, the company behind Minecraft: Builders and Biomes, said successfully besting a mob earns "players points in addition to granting additional awards."
Friday, September 27, 2019
10 Things Mario Kart Tour Doesn't Tell You
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - How Bungie is Building a Better RPG
For the first time, we had the opportunity to see all the new systems working together in Destiny 2 Shadowkeep. Bungie let us hop into their new Nightfall Strike “The Ordeal” at 920 and 950 featuring new modifiers which include
- Hashladun’s Serenade: Arc Damage increased. Knockback damage and distance increased.
- Champions: Barrier: This mode contains Barrier Champions, which cannot be stopped without a Barrier mod.
- Champions: Unstoppable: This mode contains Unstoppable Champions, which cannot be stopped without an Unstoppable mod.
- Martyr: Exploder Units have more health.
Returning modifiers that were activated include...
Mortal Kombat 11 Is Getting Co-op Raids
In a move unexpected for games in the fighting genre, co-op Team Raids are coming to Mortal Kombat 11.
Revealed on the Kombat Kast and due to be added in the next patch, three-player Team Raids will bring three fighters together against a single, powerful boss. Rather than having three fighters present on the same screen, each player will see their own 1v1 fight with the boss, but the boss’s health bar will be damaged by all three players simultaneously. Effectively a raid is composed of three individual fights running at the same time, but they all collectively damage the same boss’s health bar. All three fighters share a pool of five lives.
FIFA 20 Legacy Edition (Switch) Review
There’s honestly no genuine reason I could give you to purchase FIFA 20 on the Nintendo Switch if you already own FIFA 19 on Switch. I don’t generally share the sentiment of the crowd that labels sports games as the same every year, but when it comes to FIFA 20 Legacy Edition, all of the comment section tropes are valid. For a series already drowning in microtransaction debate, the Switch version really doesn’t help EA’s case in currying gamers’ favour by essentially offering nothing but a barebones roster update for nearly the price of a full game. A ‘macrotransaction’, if you will.
Last year, I had this to say about FIFA 19’s gameplay on Nintendo Switch:
Thursday, September 26, 2019
PT Hack Reveals Terrifying Unused Secret
YouTuber Lance McDonald is arguably the internet’s greatest P.T. detective, but their last discovery from Hideo Kojima’s Playable Teaser for Silent Hills might be the creepiest yet. An unused version of P.T.’s bathroom area may hint at just how far P.T. could have gone to scare players.
Spoilers Ahead
In P.T. players are trapped in an unassuming home, forced to make laps around the same hallway over and over again. After a while, players can gain access to another part of the hallway, the bathroom. As McDonald explains in his YouTube video, there are two “states” the bathroom can be found in, a version where the bathtub is partially filled with water, and a version where the bathtub is empty.
The Last of Us Part 2 Director on How Dogs Fill Combat With Tough Choices
The Last of Us Part 2 introduces several new mechanics and ideas to its combat system, perhaps most notably the inclusion of vicious attack dogs who have no qualms about hunting down Ellie. The question, for the player, then becomes, will you kill these dogs to survive?
Speaking to IGN at a recent The Last of Us Part 2 hands-on event, creative director Neil Druckmann told IGN about how the dogs add another level of morally difficult choice to combat.
"Dogs are...interesting in that…it feels pretty messed up to kill a dog, especially when you hear it yelp," Druckmann said. "You’re left with this situation where, ‘OK do I want to ghost this whole setup,’ which, you don’t have to kill a single dog in this scenario
Nintendo Switch Lite Review
The original Nintendo Switch no longer feels like a proper portable device now that I’ve used the Switch Lite. This new slimmed-down version reminds me of the Game Boy Advance in look and feel, offering a cheaper and more attractive way to play the Switch’s incredible library on the go. Of course, it comes at the cost of its signature ability to dock and play on a TV, sacrificing a whole lot of flexibility in how you play. But while the Lite can’t actually “switch,” it certainly does the mode it’s stuck in well enough to satisfy anybody looking to replace their aging Nintendo 3DS. In fact, if I’m playing a game in handheld mode anyway, I’d rather do so on a Switch Lite than on a full-fledged Switch.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint Is $49.99--AND Prime Members Get $10 Credit
Update: The open public beta is live and runs from 9/26 to 9/29 for all platforms.
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 4. In it, you play as an elite special ops soldier whose allies have turned against you. It's an open-world game that takes place on a vast island, and you can play through the entire game in co-op with up to four players if you want to. For lots of first-hand information, read our Ghost Recon: Breakpoint preview that's based on six hours of play time.
We Love Untitled Goose Game - NVC 476
The Goose is finally loose! Join the NVC crew as they discuss their wild, evil adventures in Untitled Goose Game. Then, Mario Kart Tour’s payment plan is pretty suspect, and the panel has some thoughts on the subscription plan that actually costs more than Nintendo Switch Online. Plus, Pokémon master Joshua Yehl joins NVC this week for an extended chat about the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Sirfetch’d, Sword and Shield, and more. Finally, hear your listener queries answered on Question Block.
Fortnite: How to Complete the Bullseye Challenges
Death Stranding Has Gone Gold
Death Stranding has officially gone gold, a major milestone on the road to release.
The news was announced by Hideo Kojima on Twitter who thanked everyone from the company that made the game's engine, to his fans:
Got the gold master https://t.co/bCaXp4T43l’s been 3years9m since the studio’s https://t.co/LWCSa0VDGq to mark the 1st step as the new Kojima Productions.Thanks to Sony,Guerrilla,cast members,musicians,artists, staff & fans for supporting us from the start & for all the way thru! pic.twitter.com/LZMlzG7lex
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Fortnite v10.40 Update Adds a New Competitive Playlist and Rift Zone
Mario Kart Tour's Paid Subscription Costs More Than Switch Online
Mario Kart Tour - Nintendo's newest free-to-start mobile game - has begun rolling out on both iOS and Android. With that roll out, one of its approaches to paid content has also become clear - the Gold Pass is a subscription service that costs $4.99 / £4.99 a month (Australian pricing not available at time of writing).
That subscription nets you a series of higher-level rewards (including racers, karts and rubies, an in-game currency) for racing in the game's tours, access to the game's 200cc mode, and the ability to earn badges for playing certain challenges. A two-week free trial is available, after which the paid service will automatically kick in.
That subscription sits alongside the gacha-style microtransactions familiar from other Nintendo mobile games - you can buy rubies to fire a warp pipe that offers randomised rewards.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time Puts Puzzles on a Spaceship
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, which launches ‘soon’, is the first ‘feature-length’ Doctor Who VR game. Much like the TV show, it’s a galaxy-hopping ride from one dangerous location to the next, all while Daleks, Weeping Angels, and other nasties nip at your heels.
Recently I got to take a deeper look inside the game, in which after a brief five-second look at the TARDIS (this VR control room being the closest I’m likely to get to a childhood dream come true), I was ushered forth into the corridors of a spaceship. Fitted out in a decor that wouldn’t look entirely out of place in a classic Robert Holmes episode of Who, the ship is home to a laser lock puzzle that you can watch unfold in the gameplay below. For any would-be-time-travellers, don’t worry: you won’t be seeing any solutions here.
Monday, September 23, 2019
One of These Borderlands 3 Shift Codes Expires at Midnight, Use It Now
Batman: The Court of Owls Explained
Batman has a well-known and timeless gallery of villains, but one of his more recent adversaries poses one of the greatest threats to Gotham City. The merciless group is known only as the Court of Owls, a secret society with comic origins revealed in the pages of the New 52 relaunch in 2011. In fact, they’re so secret, you might not even know who they are. When Batman donned the cowl under the guidance of the creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo—a team that would quickly be considered one of the best to ever take on the Caped Crusader—the ruthless cabal proved to be a match for the Dark Knight.
With the Batman Day teaser that the next Batman video game may pit the player against the sinister secret society, let’s get to know this dangerous foe and formidable addition to Batman’s rogues gallery.
Contra: Rogue Corps Review
Playing Contra: Rogue Corps made me sad. It is absolutely not what I, as a lifelong fan of the series, expect out of a new Contra game in 2019. For one thing, it’s not good. For another, it feels like outside of tough difficulty and over-the-top co-op action, Konami has lost sight of what made the series popular in the first place. Calling this poorly made twin-stick shooter a Contra game not only fosters misplaced expectations, but also sours the legacy of the once-great franchise even further. Also, what’s with the random panda?
In Contra: Rogue Corps you’re thrust into the center of a massive alien invasion, as per usual. The campaign takes place in The Damned City, which is ground zero in the war, supposedly shortly after the events of Contra III: The Alien Wars. The story is far from memorable, unsurprisingly, and barely gives any context for all of the generic alien slaughter. Plus, the sophomoric humor is extremely off-brand. Contra has never taken itself too seriously, but this cheesy banter is painfully stilted and forced.
The Surge 2 Review
Sequels are a tricky business. The best of them not only manage to recapture what people enjoyed about the original, but also find ways to enhance them while effectively introducing new ideas. On the flip-side, there are plenty of instances where, despite a few new good ideas and generally high quality, the sequel doesn’t create quite as much of an impression. The Surge 2 fits snugly into the latter category: this return to the sci-fi Souls-like action game realm hacks and slashes just as hard – harder, in some cases – but falls just short of recapturing the same dismembering joy.
On paper, The Surge 2 does exactly what it should in order to achieve the goals of a sequel: it’s retained a lot of what worked in the first game, and throws in a few solid system updates and quality-of-life improvements aimed at making a better version of the original. However, there are some environmental design and storytelling decisions that eliminate some of the original’s charm and cause the story to trip over its own feet.
What Sony Game Do You Hope to See At State of Play? The IGN Community Answered
With Sony’s State of Play presentation coming tomorrow, all minds are wondering what hotly anticipated games we’ll see. While we already know that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 will be there, and that we definitely aren’t getting any PlayStation 5 news, there’s still lots to wonder about. We asked IGN fans what they most hoped would show up at State of Play, and 17,134 of you answered.
So what game beat out the rest? Let’s break it down.
Link's Awakening: How to Get the Boomerang
Microsoft Announces Xbox Consoles Will be Carbon Neutral
Microsoft has announced it is joining a new United Nations initiative dubbed “Playing for the Planet Alliance” and plans to make 825,000 new Xbox consoles carbon neutral. Other partners in the initiative include 13 other companies, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Twitch, Google Stadia, Rovio, Ubisoft, and others.
“Some of the biggest names in the video games industry, with a combined audience of 970 million players, have today formally committed to harness the power of their platforms to take action in response to the climate crisis,” the UN stated. “Combined, these commitments from 21 companies will result in a 30 million tonne reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, will see millions of trees planted, new “green nudges” in game design and improvements to energy management, packaging, and device recycling.”
The Non-Gamer's Guide to Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game is a delightful simulation of the life of a goose. Some describe the main character as a jerk, but since its a goose, calling it a jerk is redundant. This delightful little game is a ton of fun, and in our Untitled Goose Game review, we applauded it's hilarious take on being a goose and gave it an 8.0 out of 10. Check out the video below to see and hear our thoughts on Untitled Goose Game.
Where Can I Play Untitled Goose Game?
If you want to start playing Untitled Goose Game right now, you can do so on PC, Mac, or Nintendo Switch. Thankfully, the minimum system requirements to run Untitled Goose Game are really low, so you can probably start playing on your laptop or Mac right now.
Inside Xbox Returns With Outer Worlds, Project xCloud Details
Microsoft will air a new, hour-long episode of Inside Xbox on Tuesday, September 24, at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET / 11 p.m. UK / Wednesday, September 25, at 8 a.m. AEST.
The episode will include details on Project xCloud, X019, the next set of games coming to Xbox Game Pass, Obsidian's The Outer Worlds, and an interview with actor Jon Bernthal about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, according to Xbox Wire. It'll also feature updates on Hitman 2, Afterparty, Code Vein, DayZ, and more.
This latest episode of Inside Xbox will come on the same day Sony airs a new PlayStation State of Play. That broadcast, which will reveal new information about The Last of Us Part II, airs a bit earlier in the day at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. UK / Wednesday, September 25, at 6 a.m. AEST.
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle Arena Exclusive Gameplay Reveal
IGN is proud to exclusively reveal the first look at a brand new 4v4 multiplayer mode headed to Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville called Battle Arena, which will take place on its own unique map called the Funderdome.
Battle Arena is a best of seven match that will see one team claiming the win after achieving four victories. However, players must select new characters each round and can not play any character they've played in a previous one for the remainder of the match.
Battle Arena will be available for those who have purchased the Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Founder's Edition on October 1. However, it's important to note that the Founder's Edition can only be purchased until September 30 for $29.99 USD on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Where to Preorder Nintendo Switch Lite (Out This Friday)
Nintendo Switch deals have cooled down substantially since the introduction of the Nintendo Switch model with better battery life. In fact, there aren't really any outstanding Nintendo Switch deals to speak of. However, it's much easier to get your hands on the new model Switch, since retailers seem to have cleared out the older version. So that's... something?
Refurbished Nintendo Switch for $259.99
If you want to save $40 off the regular price of a Nintendo Switch, Best Buy has Geek Squad certified refurbished Nintendo Switch deals happening right now. Pick from grey or neon, but keep in mind, these are the previous model consoles and not the current ones with the improved battery life.
Borderlands 3 Is 2K's Fastest Selling Game Ever
Borderlands 3's publisher 2K says the looter shooter sold over five million copies during its first five days on the market, making it the fastest-selling game in the company's history.
That works out at 50 percent more sales than Borderlands 2 during the same launch window - a game which went on to sell over 22 million units.
The high figures were achieved despite backlash from fans when it was announced the PC version of Borderlands 3 would be an Epic Games exclusive. A press release from 2K announcing the sales records draws attention to the store figures in particular, saying "Borderlands 3 delivered the highest pre-order sales figures to date for a 2K title, as well as broke pre-order records with the Epic Games Store. Initial sales of Borderlands 3 have exceeded the label’s expectations and, in particular, PC sales of the title through the Epic Games Store have been incredibly strong."
PlayStation 5 Will Include Power Saving Feature to Tackle Climate Change
The PlayStation 5 will have an optional setting to slash the amount of power the next-generation console consumes in standby mode.
In a blog post, Sony announced it's working with the United Nations as part of its "Playing For The Planet" initiative, which aims to mobilise gamers to take an active role in combating climate change. Part of this effort involves partnered companies like PlayStation examining ways they can reduce their carbon footprint, and Sony is committing to working sustainable features into its new console's design.
"The next generation PlayStation console will include the possibility to suspend gameplay with much lower power consumption than PS4 (which we estimate can be achieved at around 0.5 W),” writes Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “If just one million users enable this feature, it would save equivalent to the average electricity use of 1,000 US homes.”
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Zelda: Link's Awakening Bottle Locations Guide
Batman: Arkham Origins Dev Teases Cryptic Images While Celebrating Batman Day
Batman: Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal posted a video celebrating Batman Day early Sunday morning, which contained a series of cryptic images that could be teasing a new Batman game.
In what appeared to be nothing more than a 30-second clip of a city building being illuminated by the Bat signal (a somewhat common occurrence on Batman Day), four different images flash by every few seconds. Here’s each image as they appear while paused, courtesy of Twitter user @NYCWallSpider.
Downton Abbey Trounces Rambo: Last Blood and Ad Astra at the Box Office
The posh upstairs/downstairs antics of Downton Abbey: The Movie - the cinematic sequel to Julian Fellowes' hit TV series - was enough of a dapper draw to rake in an estimated $31 million in its opening weekend. It's a handsome haul that proved too much to overcome for Sylvester Stallone's Rambo: Last Blood and Brad Pitt's sci-fi flick, Ad Astra.
Adding in the overseas box office, Downton Abbey's pulled in $30.8 million, bringing its entire run so far to $61.8 million. Which is the type of take vs. budget (a meager $13 million) that might have Focus Features and Universal Pictures International working feverishly to craft a sequel.
Last Blood and Ad Astra didn't perform poorly however, with Pitt's well-reviewed space mystery snagging second place with $19.2 million. It was enough to just barely edge out Stallone's final installment in the 37-year Rambo franchise, which made $19 million.
How to Get the Amazing Koholint Sword in Zelda: Link's Awakening
Use This Brand New Borderlands 3 Shift Code Today Before It Expires
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Zelda: Link's Awakening All Secret Seashells Locations and Map
Friday, September 20, 2019
Minecraft Is Getting a Character Creator
Minecraft is introducing an in-game character creator that lets players customize their avatar's hairstyle, skin colour, and body shape.
As announced in the Minecraft Beta's 1.13.0.15 patch notes, there'll be over 100 free customization items alongside extra accessories created by the development team available for purchase.
The creator appears to be fairly detailed, with the notes promising options to design "body size and shape, limb replacement and tweaking of eyes, mouth, hairstyles and colours, facial hair and skin tones."
Previously, custom skins created outside the game and imported in were the only way to personalise your avatar. That approach is still allowed in a "Classic Skins Tab" where players can upload them in the same way they did before.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Mutazione and the Joy of Quiet Games
I had quite a few gaming options this past weekend. I could shoot my way through the cel-shaded landscapes of Pandora in Borderlands 3. I could dip in and see if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s beta might bring me back to the franchise. I could start up a new, incredibly in-depth RPG experience with Greedfall. Instead, I decided to play Mutazione.
Mutazione, from Danish developer Die Gute Fabrik and now out on PC, Mac, PS4, and Apple Arcade, is a much smaller-scale experience than any I mentioned above, focused on a 15-year-old girl named Kai venturing to an island inhabited by people mutated from a meteor that fell decades ago. There’s Tung, who looks like the Hulk but is as calm (usually) as Bruce Banner, and Yoke, the archivist with a penchant for piano playing who happens to look like a human-sized rat in a wheelchair.
What to Expect From PlayStation's Sept. 24 State of Play
After two relatively closely aired State of Plays (the second a massive improvement over the first), PlayStation has been curiously quiet about its next one...until now. The next State of Play is set for September 24, and armed with the knowledge of what Sony could show off, we’re expecting quite the show.
So, here are our best guesses about what will, and what won’t, be part of the third State of Play.
Will We Get PS5 News at State of Play?
Get Six Great Batman Games for Free on the Epic Games Store
Epic Games is giving away six Batman games for free right now on its Epic Games store. Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Collection and Traveller’s Tales’ Lego Batman Trilogy are both up for grabs and should make nice additions to your games library.
Batman: Arkham Collection combines all three Rocksteady Batman Arkham games into a single package. Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight can all be picked up in this collection. Batman: Arkham Origins is not included in this collection, possibly because it was developed by Warner Bros. Montreal instead of Rocksteady. Check out our Batman: Arkham Knight below.
Is Marvel Setting Up Its Next Big Star Wars Epic?
Marvel's flagship Star Wars comic is ending with November's Star Wars #75, but the true finale is coming in December. Marvel has revealed Star Wars: Empire Ascendant #1, a one-shot special that serves as both a series finale and the final bridge between the comic and the events of The Empire Strikes Back.
StarWars.com had the official reveal for Empire Ascendant #1. This issue will feature work from several veterans of Marvel's Star Wars books, including Charles Soule, Greg Pak, Simon Spurrier and Ethan Sacks, along with art from Luke Ross, Roland Boschi and others.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
New Sirfetch'd Pokemon Is a Farfetch'd Evolution
Nintendo has revealed the identity of the glitched Pokemon that it has been teasing this week: Sirfetch'd, an evolutionary form for Farfetch'd.
Farfetch'd is one of the original 151 Pokemon from the first generation of games on the Gameboy, and has gone with an evolutionary form for 27 years. Sirfetch'd changes this, offering the leek-wielding bird a knight-like, bigger, stronger version, outfitted with a leafy shield.
Check out Sirfetch'd in the video below!
Sirfetch'd is a Galar region evolution and will be exclusive to Pokemon Sword, so you'll need to get trading if you're planning on picking up Shield and wish to have a full Pokedex.
Out Tomorrow: It's Not Too Late to Preorder SEGA Genesis Mini
The SEGA Genesis Mini is nearly upon us, and some lucky people have already picked them up from over-anxious retailers putting them on store shelves ahead of the official Genesis Mini September 19 release date. There's still time to grab one for yourself and even get it tomorrow if you opt for next-day shipping.
Where to Buy SEGA Genesis Mini
You can order the SEGA Genesis Mini right now and have it delivered tomorrow, but only if you're quick about it. Prime members can select next-day shipping from Amazon, and depending on where you live, you might be able to get it delivered from Walmart, too. You can also choose to just pick it up in-store at your nearest Walmart. Next-day shipping from Best Buy isn't nearly as kind, so your best option there would be to pick it up directly from your closest Best Buy location. Same with GameStop.
Total War: Troy Is The Next Historical Total War Game
The next historical Total War game has been revealed to be Total War: Troy.
The news comes thanks to an exclusive cover story in PC Gamer magazine, the latest issue of which has just gone on sale. A picture of the front cover - taken by PC Gamer writer Andy Kelly and posted to Twitter, and subsequently uploaded to Reddit - revealed that Total War: Troy is the next game in Creative Assembly’s Total War Saga series, which focuses on specific conflicts in history, rather than whole eras.
This handsome boy is out now. pic.twitter.com/B6xmvNCSYM
Fortnite Leak Reveals Batman Weapons and Location For Batman Day
Dataminers have uncovered a slew of Batman content heading to Fortnite in the next v10.31 update patch.
Lucas7yoshi and FNBR leaks picked through the data files and discovered new gear, skins, and locations that neatly tie in with Batman Day on September 21.
The leaks have uncovered a new Explosive Batarang that is said to home in on enemies, or stick to walls and explode when other players wander too close. Also found in the Batman kit is the Dark Knight's trusty Grapnel Gun, which will provide new opportunities to quickly gain height. The item description reads, "Pull yourself towards a target location and then deploy the Bat Cape," suggesting it also provides one of Batman's most iconic costume elements.
Toxic Dota 2 Players Are Being Hit With 19 Year Bans
Dota 2 players who cheat, buy and sell accounts, or are abusive are now being banned from the game for up to two decades.
The bans are the result of an update to Dota 2's ranked matchmaking, which made clear that the game will now punish smurfing, role queue abuse, and those with low behaviour scores.
"In terms of our development focus moving forward, we are spending more of our time than usual focusing on matchmaking quality," reads a blog post introducing the update. "We believe that is the right call given how much opportunity there is to make the day-to-day experience better for all players."
Google Announces New Stadia Edition for Preorder
Google has announced a new Stadia bundle, now available at the G-Store, which will replace the previously announced and available Google Stadia Founders Edition.
Google confirmed to IGN that, as of today, September 18, the Stadia Founders Edition, which included the exclusive Night Blue Stadia controller, is now largely sold out. It is available in very limited supply in the U.S. and Canada, as well as the U.K., but is otherwise completely sold out in Europe.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Every Available SHiFT Code for Golden Keys in Borderlands 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Cross Platform Details Revealed For PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Activision and Infinity Ward previously announced that crossplay will be coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. That means Call of Duty players on PS4, Xbox One, and PC can all play together in online multiplayer. But Infinity Ward revealed today a highly customizable crossplay feature which includes a choice to opt-out if desired.
This morning, Infinity Ward published a blog detailing how crossplay will work in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. First and foremost, players can opt-in or out as to whether they even want to engage in crossplay. Opting in, however, will let players match up with friends who play Modern Warfare on different consoles.
Red Dead Online Introduces Legendary Bounties
Red Dead Online has received a new update that adds Legendary Bounties to the game, as well as a new collector’s map and a Free Aim series of activities.
The first of ten Legendary Bounties kicks off now, which designates some of the world of Red Dead’s most dangerous criminals as targets for players to track down and haul in. The first target is Barbarella Alcazar, the de facto leader of the bloodthirsty Del Lobos gang. She can be found somewhere in the New Austin region, and delivering her alive by September 23 will pay a handsome reward. The law will accept her dead, too, but at a reduced rate.
Watch the new Red Dead Online Legendary Bounty Targets trailer below.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the Cruel Realities of White Phosphorous
War is particularly ubiquitous in video games. From the original Metal Gear to Battlefield: Bad Company to Spec Ops: The Line, it has become one of the most popular backdrops for a long line of games, and the de-facto setting for online multiplayer. It makes sense; after all, video games are so often about conflict resolution, and what type of conflict is more recognizable than war? And there's no more recognizable name in war games than Call of Duty.
Since the first game was released in 2003, Call of Duty has grown from a singular game about World War II into one of the most popular franchises in the world. CoD has dropped players into battlefields ranging from occupied France in the 1940s, the mid-2000s Middle East, the front lawn of the White House, and even into outer space. Players have rescued hostages, conducted black ops missions, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and stopped nuclear weapons from striking the continental United States.
Solid Snake and Link's Awakening Amiibo Preorders Back In Stock
The Solid Snake amiibo is easily the most sought-after amiibo in the wave coming out September 20. If you missed your chance to preorder Solid Snake before, the good news is the amiibo is back in stock at Walmart and Best Buy.
You can also get your hands on the Link's Awakening amiibo, too, as well as plenty of Ivysaur and Squirtles.
While you're at it, you might as well have a look at the November 20 wave of amiibo, with Simon Belmont, Incineroar and Chrom.
Where to Preorder the Next Wave of Amiibo
Football Manager 2020 Is the First Fully Recyclable Physical Game
Football Manager 2020 will be released physically using entirely eco-friendly packaging, with all of it recyclable in some way - a first for the industry according to developer Sports Interactive.
Announced by studio director Miles Jacobson in a YouTube video about climate change, the packaging consists of recyclable shrinkwrap, recycled cardboard packaging and a recycled paper manual. It's all printed with vegetable-based ink - "so if you do want to eat the packaging," explains Jacobson, "it's vegan."
Football Manager 2020 is part of the Google Stadia launch window line-up - check out the full list in the video below:
Where to Preorder Nintendo Switch Lite (Out This Friday)
Nintendo Switch deals have cooled down substantially since the introduction of the Nintendo Switch model with better battery life. In fact, there aren't really any outstanding Nintendo Switch deals to speak of. However, it's much easier to get your hands on the new model Switch, since retailers seem to have cleared out the older version. So that's... something?
You can easily preorder a Nintendo Switch Lite in your choice of color, and it comes out this Friday. It's a very nice little system and if you primarily play in handheld mode, it's a no-brainer.
Preorder Nintendo Switch Lite
Death Stranding Reflects Modern Day Politics, Says Kojima
Death Stranding's central theme of connection is a metaphor that reflects Trump, the European Union, and schisms in societies around the world today, says Kojima.
In an interview with Game Informer, the mind behind Death Stranding acknowledged that the "Briefing" trailer for the game uses a lot of language about divided people that echoes the conversations being had about America today.
Watch the Death Stranding Briefing trailer below.
"But the theme of the game is connection," he said. "You will understand the meaning of it."
Borderlands 3 Has a Destiny Loot Cave-Like Glitch
Fans have discovered a Borderlands 3 glitch that can be exploited to farm large amounts of legendary gear in less than five minutes.
The Borderlands 3 Reddit page has seen a number of posts discussing the glitch, with fans sharing tips on how to receive powerful end-game legendary weapons. Most of the instructions advise players to take advantage of the exploits at Mayhem 3, the new high risk / high reward mode that raises the game's difficulty.
"End game farming you can easily get 200 or so legendaries in an hour or hour and a half at most," wrote Reddit user u/ChuunibyouImouto in one post. "By this point, me and my friends have reach the stage of recognizing most legendaries by name and immediately knowing which are auto vendor garbage and which are not."
Monday, September 16, 2019
Borderlands 3: PC Players Report Losing Their Save Data
Some Borderlands 3 players are reporting losing all their progress on PC as a result of corrupt save files.
Many users seem to believe the issue lies in the cloud. Multiple players on Twitter have reported problems after activating cloud saves that then either wiped progress completely or reset to an earlier save point.
One fan tweeted Gearbox and Epic Games asking, "I just lost 7 hours of work from Borderlands 3 because something went wrong with the cloud save that Epic has is
there a way to revert it back so i don't lose all that time and all the gear i got?"
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Gears 5: Scavenger Locations
How to Kill Killavolt in Borderlands 3
Nioh 2 Open Beta Date Announced
An open beta for Nioh 2 is coming this fall, starting on November 1 to November 10. The open beta will be made available on the PlayStation Store.
The announcement comes via the official PlayStation Twitter account.
Check out the new Tokyo Game Show 2019 trailer for Nioh 2:
Nioh 2 was announced at Sony’s 2018 E3 press conference, and instead of original protagonist Irish sailor William, Nioh 2 will allow players to create their own character that’s half human and half yokai (read: demon). Some Nioh fans got the chance to play a closed alpha earlier this year, but this is the first time the game has been made available to a mass audience.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
8 Essential Tips and Tricks for Surviving Blasphemous
Friday, September 13, 2019
Video Game Deals: Save Big on the Resident Evil Franchise
Horror season is fast approaching, with Halloween just around the corner, so now is the perfect time to watch scary movies and play survival horror games, and there is no longer-running survival horror series than Resident Evil.
Green Man Gaming is running steep discounts on the PC versions of many of the Resident Evil games, with most marked 50-75% off, so jump on these deals and get ready to scream.
Best Deal: Resident Evil 2 (Remake) for $31.31
The Resident Evil 2 Remake made serious waves when it released earlier this year (we gave it a whopping 9.0 in our review), so jump on this one to play one of the best games of the year on the cheap.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Will Not Add Goku or Iron Man
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate creator and director Masahiro Sakurai has stated that the series will continue to only feature video game characters, despite numerous requests from fans to add characters like Goku and Iron Man.
Our video above takes a look at the insanely huge Super Smash Bros. roster.
The comments were made at Tokyo Game Show, where Sakurai took to the stage to accept an award for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His words were published on Twitter by user naruki, translated by PushDustin, and verified by IGN Japan.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Dev Responds to Mini-Map Complaints
The developers behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have responded to complaints that the beta doesn't feature a mini-map, saying "we hear you loud and clear."
Multiplayer mode in all the previous Call of Duty games has featured a constant mini-map, which allows players to see where they are in an area, spot enemy gunfire, and sync up with teammates. However, in the Modern Warfare beta the mini-map is only available as a two killstreak reward called "Personal Radar."
After players complained on Reddit about the loss of what had become a valuable tool, communications manager Ashton Williams wrote a post saying "Okay....let's talk about minimap.
NHL 20 Review
Time is everything in fast-paced sports like hockey. A split second can determine whether a goalie makes a game-changing save, a player scores a career-altering goal, or a defender locks up that threat before they have a chance to get off the shot. For many years, EA’s NHL series felt too slow and unresponsive to be a difference maker, but that’s starting to change. Last year’s dramatically overhauled skating made the players feel dangerous on their skates again, and NHL 20 adds stick speed, making one-timers as effective as they were when first introduced in way back in NHL ‘94. This innovation takes the on-ice action forward, but at the same time, EA’s stubborn refusal to improve and refresh some of its most popular modes keeps NHL 20 from really breaking away from the pack.
Strange Glitched Pokémon Teased For Sword and Shield
The latest new Pokémon to join the Galar region has been unveiled - but only partially. The Pokémon Sword and Shield website has seemingly been hacked by a glitched and as-yet-unnamed Pokémon.
The official Pokémon Twitter account shared a link that leads to the upcoming games' main website - but a corner of the screen is covered by a pixelated image. If you hover your cursor over it the image flees around the page a few times until you're able to click it, and the cry of a mysterious Pokémon rings out.
New Pokémon Discovered!
Head this way for the latest on our Galar research, Trainers: https://t.co/lV2QujX0I3
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Nintendo Announce Ring Fit Adventure Fitness Game
Nintendo has finally unveiled what the circular Ring-Con controller it previously teased is used for: a new fitness game called Ring Fit Adventure which will release October 18.
Ring Fit Adventure translates physical exercises into in-game moves, and allows you to explore 20 different worlds. The adventure includes activities such as running, hovering, and steering a raft along a river. The journey is filled with enemy encounters, and players can attack and defend using 40 different ‘fit skills’, which require you to use your arms, leges, abs, and even yoga positions. As such, every quest is a bit of a workout.
Death Stranding: Everything We Learned About Gameplay in the Latest Stream
Hideo Kojima apparently didn’t want to tell people exactly what his new game is, but saw so many people asking that he decided to put on a more explanatory show at TGS. You can watch the 49-minute, Japanese-language demo above.
We already had a fairly good idea about the structure of the game - Norman Reedus’ Sam is a sci-fi delivery man, tasked with helping a fractured United States by convincing independent cities to join the Chiral Network, a connection system designed to tie the country back together. That convincing is seemingly done by helping people out, accruing Facebook-style thumbs-up likes for actions great and small. This demo, however, gave us a much better idea of what a single mission looks like - and it’s as weird, funny, and in-depth as you might expect. We’ve written down every new gameplay element we spotted, along with when we spotted them below. Here we go!
Last Chance for $10 Credit With Borderlands 3 Preorders
Borderlands 3 is almost here; it releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow, September 13. The game will mark the return of many characters from the previous installments, like Lilith, Mordecai, Brick, Tiny Tina, Moxxi, Claptrap, and more, and introduces four new vault hunters. There are new skill trees, abilities, planets to explore, and of course, over a billion guns. Take a look at our Borderlands 3 review to see why we think this game is amazing.
If you're ready to preorder Borderlands 3, you'll want to know what editions are available, what preorder bonuses to expect, and where you can buy it. We have you covered below.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – The Final Preview
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has always been the weirdest Zelda game. That’s saying a lot in a series that has featured a sentient red boat, a golden turd, and a toilet with an arm in it, to name a few. This mysterious island brimming with bizarre townsfolk and a decidedly unusual story moved away from Zelda staples like Triforce pieces, your perpetual nemesis Ganon, and, well, Zelda herself, to tell a very different but much-appreciated tale. All that happened on the Game Boy in 1993. But, luckily, through some miraculous fate, Link’s Awakening is being given a whole new life on Nintendo Switch on September 20. So, how does it hold up?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Preorder Guide
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a brand-new shooter from Infinity War, set to launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 25, 2019.
Despite its name, and a few returning characters, the new title isn’t going to be connected to the previous games in the sub-series. It will also feature a fully-fledged single-player campaign, unlike last year’s Black Ops 4 from Treyarch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will also feature a first for the series — cross-platform multiplayer. In another set of changes, there won’t be a season pass, and all players will get free maps and access to post-launch events. The new game will also see the return of killstreaks, a multiplayer feature that hasn't been used since the original Black Ops.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Why a Group of Red Dead Online Players Are Fascinated by Breaking Its Boundaries
Earlier this summer, a group of indie developers tested out a glitch in Red Dead Online that they’d learned of through YouTube – one that lets players push through the boundary of the game itself, to discover entirely new regions of Red Dead Online.
What they saw while beyond the boundaries of the regular RDO map include everything from incomplete textures on the landscape to lakes that can be viewed through mountains, and even animals holding back from attacks – letting the players view their details up close.
We interviewed the group of players via email – known as The Grannies – who pushed through the barrier and still ride off into the expansive, unknown regions on the map in the wild west.
NBA 2K20 Players Flood Social Media With #Fix2K20 Complaints
Since its launch last week on September 6, a large number of players have begun reporting major technical issues with the annual basketball game, NBA 2K20. The general furor has risen to the point that social media has become flooded with the #Fix2K20 hashtag demanding immediate action from 2K.
A glance at social media shows numerous individuals complaining about bugs, like athletes clipping through the backboard or other people, or various attribute bars being frozen in place when you’re supposed to be making progress. One especially nasty problem has people spending VC (the NBA 2K series’ in-game currency that can be purchased with real-world money or slowly earned) to raise stats, only to have those stats either stay the same or actually become lower, as shown by this player’s video. That can result in losing actual money, which is a huge problem.
GameStop to Close 180 to 200 'Underperforming' Stores Worldwide
GameStop’s tough year continues as the company announced plans to close between 180 and 200 “underperforming stores” by the end of the fiscal year.
In a recent earnings call, GameStop CFO Jim Bell reported further losses for the struggling video game retailer. Sales were down 14.3% year-over-year and the company posted a net loss of $415 million in its Q2 earnings report.
As part of GameStop’s turnaround plan, the company will close up to 200 stores globally. Bell noted that 95% of the company’s 5700 stores worldwide are profitable, and that underperformance is not the sole metric the company is looking at when determining store closures.
Store closures would be the latest sign of trouble at the video game retailer. After failing to find a buyer earlier this year, GameStop recently laid off over 120 corporate employees, including staff members from its Game Informer publication. GameStop confirmed the layoffs to IGN last month. The company also laid off over 50 regional district field leaders and consolidated its regional offices.
8 Essential Tips and Tricks for Surviving Blasphemous
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Gears 5 Multiplayer Review
Editor's Note: For Gears 5, we're reviewing the campaign and multiplayer modes separately, followed by our overall review and score. This part covers the multiplayer modes – be sure to check out our campaign review here and the overall review coming soon.
The Gears of War franchise’s multiplayer is special, and Gears 5’s selection of multiplayer modes carries on its tradition of excellence. If you want a break from the intensity of Gnasher shotgun quickdraws in Classic and Ranked Versus, you can swap over to the chaotic weapon party of Arcade. Or a group of friends can jump into a long session of Horde, or Escape if we you’re short on time. They’re all fun and tense, as always, and the impressive new additions fill gaps for certain playstyles and moods.
A Timer Is Counting Down to a New Final Fantasy 7 Remake Trailer
Square Enix has released a new timer that's counting down to the release of a brand new Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer. The counter is set to hit zero on September 11 at 7 am PT/10 am ET/3pm BST/ 11pm JST.
On Square Enix’s official Japanese website for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, you’ll find a digital timer made to look like Nixie Tubes. It clearly says “New Trailer” atop the timer, so we can presumably expect one of those to go live once the timer hits zero.
The Surge 2 Gets a New Cinematic Story Trailer
The Surge 2, the sequel to the popular 2017 action-RPG, will be released on September 24 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Take a look at the brand new cinematic (read: CG, not-actual-gameplay-but-still-really-cool) trailer above in preparation for the game's launch.
If you want to see some gameplay, we've got that too. Check out the video below to watch the first 16 minutes of the campaign.
Stay tuned for the IGN review of The Surge 2, coming later this month.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Control Patch Fixes Struggling Console Performance
Remedy has updated Control with a patch that improves the game's performance, which should help relieve the framerate struggles the game has faced on consoles.
Control is absolutely worth your time, as we reveal in our review video above.
The patch, which is now live on PS4 and will be applied to the Xbox One and PC versions of Control soon, improves “stability on all platforms” and offers “improved generate frame-rate performance” thanks to optimization of multiple systems. Bugs that cause missions crashes have also been taken care of.
The patch has been fully detailed by publisher 505 Games, and also fixes some errors that hampered game progression and the user interface. While all small on paper, these fixes should help make Control a much more enjoyable experience for many, as the game has been reported by plenty of people to run rather haphazardly. From personal experience, the PS4 Pro noticeably struggles to maintain a stable frame rate when firefights become intense. As such, this patch is very welcome.
Google Stadia Will Offer Game Trials After Launch
Google has stated its intention to offer trials of premium games on its Stadia streaming service once the platform has been launched.
Talking on a recent episode of Stadiacast, Stadia’s head of product, John Justice, explained that trials are “high up on the list” for Google’s plans after the cloud service’s launch in November.
Check out our ideas on how streaming could be the future of video games.
“I think if you look at our plan to make as many people be able to try this as possible, you want people, whether they’re already on Stadia, to let them go discover new games, new things, stuff you haven’t tried,” he said.
Mutazione's Serene Island Holds Many Secrets I Can't Wait to Discover
I can’t wait to get back to Mutazione’s colorful, beautifully drawn island setting. Promising an isle of interesting characters, plenty of heart, and some unique gameplay elements, my brief time playing Mutazione at PAX West 2019 has left me thinking about its fascinating setup and wishing to find out more.
Playing as the 15-year-old Kai, players of Mutazione venture off to an island to take care of their grandfather. Pretty normal so far, right? Well, that island is the site of a meteor crash over 100 years ago, causing its inhabitants to become mutated. The island’s been left to relative isolation, with the mutated though, from my experience, mostly kind-hearted denizens creating a society of their own.
The A to Z of Deadpool
It's been a long, crazy journey for Deadpool. Over the years he's evolved from X-Men supporting character to kooky costumed assassin to Hollywood juggernaut. And he's never shut up during that entire time.
Now, as we wait to find out how Disney and Marvel will handle the character on the big screen, why not join us for a journey deep into the Deadpool-verse as we explore the alphabetical history of all things Merc with a Mouth...
A is for... Ajax
The Full September 20 Wave of Amiibo are Back In Stock at Amazon
All four of the upcoming Nintendo amiibo (Snake, Ivysaur, Squirtle and Link) are widely available for preorder now. Previously it's been a little bit of a process to track them all down, as different retailers had them in different quantities. But Amazon recently had an amiibo restock, and Best Buy and Walmart have been holding steady this whole time (mostly). If you want to preorder them all right now in one fell swoop, this is your chance. Don't delay.
Metal Gear's Solid Snake, Pokemon's Ivysaur and Squirtle, and the Link's Awakening Link are coming September 20, but you can fight your way through the trials and tribulations of online amiibo preorders now.
Where to Preorder the Next Wave of Amiibo
Monday, September 9, 2019
EA Launches Surprise Cloud Gaming Trial With Four Games
EA has announced its Cloud Gaming Technical Trial that will allow fans to test out EA's cloud technology with such titles as FIFA 19, Titanfall 2, Need for Speed Rivals, and Unravel.
EA's chief technology officer Ken Moss took to Medium to discuss EA's biggest public-facing step towards a cloud-based future since its announcement of Project Atlas last year, and fans can sign up now for a chance to try it out for themselves.
NBA 2K20 Review
On the court, NBA 2K20 is a dazzling experience that matches the energy and presentation of its real-life counterpart. Enhanced footwork, dribbling, and player spacing help improve an already sturdy foundation. However, outside of the surprisingly well-written story mode, NBA 2K20 loses its focus off of the court. NBA 2K20 excels at recreating the pro game, but opportunities to purchase microtransactions exist at nearly every corner, and complex modes like MyLeague are given far too little attention.
The first thing I noticed about NBA 2K20 is that everything feels more intuitive. The learning curve is still immense, but learning the basics is now a lot smoother than it used to be. A redesigned “2KU”, NBA 2K20’s optional tutorial mode, is particularly helpful and doesn’t require more than an hour to get through. Thoughtfully, an on-screen controller mimics the movement of the desired skill, making it plenty easy to imitate. Once I successfully learned a skill, like eurostepping toward the basket, I could move on at whatever pace I felt comfortable. This allowed for the remastering of skills I forgot about since last year, and trying out some moves I hadn’t been able to pull off previously at all.
Nintendo and Microsoft, Sitting in a Tree...
Our Xbox crew gives in-depth impressions of Gears 5's multiplayer as well as Borderlands 3. Plus: a surprising departure at Bethesda/Zenimax, a bit more on the next Resident Evil project, and the awesomeness that is Banjo and Kazooie appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring a career-spanning interview with longtime Remedy writer Sam Lake – he of Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control fame. Watch it below:
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
Resident Evil Project Resistance Trailer Teases Cyborg Tyrants
As promised by Capcom recently, a new Resident Evil game - Project Resistance - has been revealed with a short teaser trailer ahead of its gameplay debut at Tokyo Game Show this week.
The trailer shows four characters in what appears to be an Umbrella laboratory. They are repeatedly attacked zombies and a Licker that appear to be unleashed by an unseen, shadowy presence in a control room. The person in shadow ends the trailer by putting on a pair of mechanical gloves that glow with red LEDs, which are mirrored by two glowing red eyes beneath the brim of a Tyrant's hat, seemingly suggesting that this antagonist has the power to control one of Resident Evil's most notorious enemies.
Final Fantasy 8 Still Has the Best RPG Minigame Ever
With the long-awaited remaster of Final Fantasy VIII finally upon us, now is a good time to take stock of this divisive game’s place in the RPG pantheon. Its convoluted plot involving a time-traveling sorceress and a magical orphanage may have tripped over itself in the final act, but that doesn’t negate its monumental contributions to the genre.
Final Fantasy VIII gave us some incredible music, an underrated frenemy in Seifer, and one of the best love stories in games. Its crowning achievement, though, comes in the form of a card-collecting side quest that’s not only the best part of FFVIII, it’s the best mini-game in all of RPGs.
Borderlands 3 Review
Stubbornly refusing to reinvent itself after a five-year absence, Borderlands 3 sticks to its guns and manages to outdo itself. Refined movement and shooting, a legion of enjoyably challenging enemies, and the single largest arsenal of mechanically distinct firearms I’ve ever seen in a video game easily make this the best in a great series of co-op shooters. Its trademark stylized art, on-the-nose humor, and tattoo-fueled storyline are all enjoyable enough in their own right, but what really makes Borderlands 3 excellent is the addicting item chase that unfolds over the course of 30 hours’ worth of lovingly crafted main and side missions. What’s more, this is an adventure I could see myself happily undertaking again from scratch with a new character and a fresh group of friends.
P.T Camera Hack Reveals Lisa Is Always Right Behind You
The half-rotted ghost that hunts you in P.T is always behind you, as revealed by a neat camera hack.
One of P.T's scariest tricks is, when walking down the corridor, hearing Lisa behind you, or seeing her skittering shadow on the wall to your side. When you turn around, however, the corridor behind is empty, with no sign of Lisa at all.
In P.T., it's common to hear noises as if Lisa is right behind you, or see weird shadows moving around in front of you, but when you turn around, there's nothing there. I hacked the game to allow the player to see behind them without actually turning around and... pic.twitter.com/bj1P0ymIZ6
The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Limited Edition Art Book Revealed
IGN is proud to exclusively reveal The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Limited Edition art book, the "perfect companion" to the upcoming title for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Presented by Dark Horse, Lucasfilm Limited, Respawn Entertainment, and Electronic Arts, The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Limited Edition will be released on November 20, 2019, for $79.99 USD. The standard edition of the art book will also be released on November 20 for $39.99 USD. The Limited Edition and Standard Edition can both be pre-ordered from Amazon right now!
You can see a sneak peak of the book below!
Blasphemous Review
Dripping with gruesome style, Blasphemous makes a great first impression. Its intricate combat animations, fervent dedication to twisted religious iconography, and an unassuming hero who habitually slams vials of blood against his metal capirote-style helmet, are undeniably awesome, but style doesn’t always beget substance. As yet another Metroidvania with a Dark Souls bent, Blasphemous is an enjoyable descent into a pitiless world partially marred by some cumbersome mechanics and tedium.
With a title like Blasphemous, it’s no surprise that everything is marked with callous religious iconography. Unsettling cathedrals, shrieking nuns, rosary beads, and thorns — Blasphemous uses Christianity as its foundation for a world blanketed in chaos. Your silent hero (known as the Penitent One) is tasked with achieving the Cradle of Affliction, a penance that takes him to the Mother of Mothers. If that all sounds weirdly esoteric, that’s because Blasphemous thrives on being cryptic. The writing borders on pretension, a series of riddle-like instructions delivered by a character named Deogracias, the witness to the Grievous Miracle.
Nintendo Has Filed a Patent For This Strange Hinged Joy-Con
Nintendo has filed a patent in Japan for a new type of hinged Joy-Con, though its uses remain unclear.
As reported by Polygon, the application from Japan's official patent database contains illustrations showing the top half of both the left and right Joy-Cons folding down - even when attached to the Switch.
However, the patent doesn't give any hints on why Nintendo is experimenting with a new design two years after the Nintendo Switch launched. Some on Reddit have theorised the new shape is crafted to make the controllers more comfortable, with one commenter suggesting, "it looks like the joycon itself is permanently bent for ergonomics, but the rail is hinged so it can still be slid onto the console without ruining the shape of the controller when detached."
Every Hidden Cat and Hidden Toilet in Astral Chain
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Complete Guide to the Guiding Lands - Monster Hunter World: Iceborne's End Game
How to Get Bathycite Ore in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Steamworks Guide
PlayStation Says the Dualshock's 'X' Button is Actually Called 'Cross'
Earlier this week, the official PlayStation UK account tweeted out something that seemingly rocked the gaming community. It turns out, that “X” button (commonly pronounced “ex”) on the right side of the PlayStation Dualshock controller is actually called the “Cross” button, as reported by Eurogamer.
"Triangle. Circle. Cross. Square," PlayStation UK tweeted. "If Cross is called X (it's not), then what are you calling Circle?"
Celeste's Free Chapter 9 DLC Is a Fond Farewell to a Fantastic Game
SPOILER WARNING! These hands-on impressions won’t go into story details, but they will be discussing the structure, new mechanics, and themes of Celeste Chapter 9. Be warned if you’d prefer to go into it blind.
It’s hard to tell if Celeste Chapter 9 has some of the game’s hardest levels yet, or if a year and a half of accumulated rust from not playing is just slowing me down. I’m willing to bet it’s a bit of both, but this free expansion to an already incredible game is a blast either way.
Chapter 9, titled Farewell, will be added to Celeste on all platforms tomorrow, and it feels a little bit like like a bite-sized sequel in some respects. It tells a mostly contained story that picks up after the base game and introduces plenty of new mechanics while also remixing some previous ones in clever ways.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
SNES Online: Every Heart Piece Location in Link to the Past
Celeste Sequel (Probably) Won’t Happen, Developer Says
Spoiler warning! We've kept this article entirely free of spoilers for Chapter 9, but the full interview below it does discuss some mechanics spoilers. They are clearly marked as such, but keep that in mind if you want to enter Chapter 9 entirely fresh!
On Monday, Celeste will get a free update that adds a brand new chapter called Farewell, and that title could be a goodbye to Celeste in a broader sense beyond just the story it tells. Chapter 9 is a sizeable update that has been in the works for a while, but as the team behind this indie hit fully moves onto its next project, a new unannounced game, developer Matt Thorson tells me a Celeste sequel isn’t in their plans.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Buy PlayStation Plus for Cheap: The Best PS Plus Subscription Deals in September
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.
Like us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Check IGN UK Deals Amazon Storefront for our curated lists of best games, tech and accessories.
PS4 and PS4 Pro gamers can enjoy access to games online, exclusive discounts at PlaysStation Store and receive free hand-picked games each month. Batman Arkham Knight and Darksiders 3 are featured in this month's PS Plus games that are now available to all PS Plus subscribers to download and play for free.
Valve Did Not Intend to Incite Anger With 'Unfair' Epic Games Store Comment
Steam's business developer and designer, Nathanial Blue, says Valve didn't mean to encourage backlash against the decision to make Metro Exodus an Epic Store exclusive.
Valve had updated the Metro Exodus Steam page with a note calling the game's move to the Epic Store "unfair," and emphasising Steam was "only recently informed of the decision."
Consequently some fans responded poorly to the news, despite the fact those who'd already pre-ordered the game on Steam would still be able to play it there, and that Metro Exodus is cheaper on the Epic Store thanks to the platform's smaller taxing revenue split. Members of Metro Exodus's development team began receiving threatening messages, and other Metro games were review bombed on Steam.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
All the Pokemon of the Galar Region (So Far)
Each new generation of Pokemon brings us a plethora of new pocket monsters to catch and befriend, but some familiar faces make the Pokedex too. Sword and Shield are already promising great new Pokemon, with a mood-changing mouse, a very dapper Wheezing, wiggly corgi butts, and some of the cutest pokemon we've ever seen.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Campaign and Special Ops Premieres Dated
Activision and Infinity Ward have announced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's Road to Launch, a scheduled list of events leading up to release that includes Betas and a deeper look into Crossplay, Campaign, and Special Ops.
Announced by Call of Duty on Twitter, Road to Launch begins next week with the PlayStation Exclusive Open Beta. The full schedule of events are as follows;
- September 12-16: PlayStation Exclusive Open Beta Weekend
- Week of September 16: Crossplay Details
- September 19-23: Crossplay Open Beta
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Here's What Comes in Each Edition
The next major piece of Destiny 2 content is called Shadowkeep, and it's heading to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 1. It will bring players back to the moon, a setting last accessible in the original Destiny. A new threat has arisen on Earth's satellite, and it's up to you intrepid Guardians to stop it.
Unlike some previous Destiny releases, this one is relatively easy to understand. You don't need to own any previous version of Destiny 2 in order to play Shadowkeep. Buying Destiny 2: Shadowkeep gets you access to the year-one releases Destiny 2, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind. Notably absent is Forsaken, last year's big content release, as is all year-two seasonal content. If you want to play that, you'll have to pay up.
Fans Lost It Over Sans Being Announced as a Smash Ultimate Mii Fighter
Following yesterday's 40-minute Nintendo Direct extravaganza, Nintendo revealed that five new Mii Fighter costumes were coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - but only one stole the hearts and attention spans of fans across the internet: Sans from Undertale.
Sans is a wisecracking, fatalist, lazy skeleton with a penchant for fighting, and fans have been requesting he be added to Smash Ultimate as a fighter for quite some time (though judging by fan reactions, nobody thought it would actually happen). While Sans isn't an original fighter, his Mii Gunner outfit is pretty darn faithful to his character, complete with his dimpled smile, skull Gaster Blaster, and comfy pink slippers.
Gears 5 Is Out Tomorrow: Save $10 Right Now
The next installment in the Gears of War franchise is simply called Gears 5, and it's set to release for Xbox One and PC on September 10 (though you can play it September 6 with the ultimate edition or Xbox Game Pass). This entry in the cover-shooter series focuses on Kait Diaz and continues the story of humanity's struggle against a brutal alien threat. It features five modes, including Escape mode, which has you and two co-op partners trying to (you guessed it) escape a maze-like Hive, plus a Map Builder for making Escape maps.