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Next Epic free game confirmed, get Football Manager 2020 now

With all the next-gen announcements popping off, it seems we're definitely knee-deep in peak video game season. Amidst all this madness we still have a comforting constant in Epic Games and their weekly giveaways.

For a while now, Epic has been doling out free games to its users – from AAA new releases to older indies. This week you'll be able to redeem two hefty titles including Ubisoft hack 'em up sequel, Watch Dogs 2, and Football Manager 2020.

Just last week it seemed as though the only free game we'd be getting is Stick It To The Man! so it's great to see these two extra freebies thrown on top as a bonus for Epic users. The company have also confirmed its next free game, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition, will be touching down next Thursday. Originally released in 2004, we can't wait to strap in for a breakneck dose of theme park management nostalgia.

Want to know more about which games Epic have offered in the past? Here's the complete list, tagged with our reviews.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition September 24-October 1, 2020
Football Manager 2020 September 17-24, 2020
Watch Dogs 2 September 17-24, 2020
Stick It To The Man! September 17-24, 2020
Railway Empire September 10-17, 2020
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine September 10-17, 2020
Into The Breach September 3-10, 2020
Hitman August 27-September 3, 2020
Shadowrun Collection August 27-September 3, 2020
God's Trigger August 20-27, 2020
Enter the Gungeon August 20-27, 2020
The Alto Collection August 13-20, 2020
Remnant: From the Ashes August 13-20, 2020
A Total War Saga: Troy August 13-14, 2020
Wilmot's Warehouse August 6-13, 2020
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP July 30 – August 6, 2020
Barony July 30 – August 6, 2020
20XX July 30 – August 6, 2020
Next Up Hero July 23-30, 2020
Tacoma July 23-30, 2020
Torchlight II July 16-23, 2020
Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition July 9-16, 2020
The Escapists 2 July 9-16, 2020
Killing Floor 2 June 9-16, 2020
Hue July 2-9, 2020
Stranger Things 3 June 25-July 2, 2020
AER Memories of Old June 18-25, 2020
Ark: Survival Evolved June 11-18, 2020
Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection June 11-18, 2020
Overcooked June 4-11, 2020
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection May 28-June 4, 2020
Civilization VI May 21-28, 2020
Grand Theft Auto V May 14-21, 2020
Death Coming May 7-14, 2020
Crashlands April 30-May 7, 2020
Amnesia: The Dark Descent April 30-May 7, 2020
For the King April 23-30, 2020
Just Cause 4 April 16-23, 2020
Wheels of Aurelia April 16-23, 2020
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments April 9-16, 2020
Close to the Sun April 9-16, 2020
Gone Home April 2-9, 2020
Drawful 2 April 2-9, 2020
Hob April 2-9, 2020
Totally Reliable Delivery Service April 1-8, 2020
World War Z March 26-April 2, 2020
Torment x Punisher March 26-April 2, 2020
Figment March 26-April 2, 2020
Watch Dogs March 19-26, 2020
The Stanley Parable March 19-26, 2020
A Short Hike March 12-19, 2020
Mutazione March 12-19, 2020
Anodyne 2 March 12-19, 2020
Gonner March 5-12, 2020
Offworld Trading Company March 5-12, 2020
Inner Space February 27-March 5, 2020
Faeria February 20-27, 2020
Assassin's Creed Syndicate February 20-27, 2020
Aztez February 13-20, 2020
Kingdom Come: Deliverance February 13-20, 2020
Ticket to Ride February 6-13, 2020
Carcassonne February 6-13, 2020
Farming Simulator 19 January 30-February 6, 2020
The Bridge January 23-30, 2020
Horace January 16-23, 2020
Sundered: Eldritch Edition January 9-16, 2020
Darksiders Warmastered Edition January 1-9, 2020
Darksiders 2 Dethinitive Edition January 1-9, 2020
Steep January 1-9, 2020
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair December 31, 2019
Hello Neighbor December 30, 2019
The Talos Principle December 29, 2019
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun December 28, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter December 27, 2019
FTL: Faster Than Light December 26, 2019
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator December 25, 2019
Celeste December 24, 2019
Ape Out December 23, 2019
Little Inferno December 22, 2019
Superhot December 21, 2019
Towerfall Ascension December 20, 2019
Into the Breach December 19, 2019
The Wolf Among Us December 12-19, 2019
The Escapists December 12-19, 2019
Jotun: Valhalla Edition December 6-12, 2019
Rayman Legends November 29-December 6, 2019
Bad North November 21-29, 2019
The Messenger November 14-21, 2019
Ruiner November 7-14, 2019
Nuclear Throne November 7-14, 2019
Costume Quest October 31-November 7, 2019
Soma October 31-November 7, 2019
Layers of Fear October 24-October 31, 2019
Q.U.B.E.2 October 24-October 31, 2019
Alan Wake: American Nightmare October 17-24, 2019
Observer October 17-24, 2019
Surviving Mars October 10-17, 2019
Minit October 3-10, 2019
Metro 2033 Redux September 26-October 3, 2019
Everything September 26-October 3, 2019
Lego Batman Trilogy September 19-26, 2019
Batman: Arkham Collection September 19-26, 2019
Conarium September 12-19, 2019
ABZU September 5-12, 2019
The End is Nigh September 5-12, 2019
Celeste August 29-September 5, 2019
Inside August 29-September 5, 2019
Fez August 22-29, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter August 15-22, 2019
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden August 15-22, 2019
GNOG August 8-15, 2019
For Honor August 2-9, 2019
Alan Wake August 2-9, 2019
This War of Mine July 25-August 2, 2019
Moonlighter July 25-August 2, 2019
Limbo July 18-July 25, 2019
Torchlight July 11-18, 2019
Overcooked July 4-11, 2019
Last Day of June June 27-July 4, 2019
Rebel Galaxy June 20-27, 2019
Enter the Gungeon June 13-20, 2019
Kingdom: New Lands June 6-13, 2019
City of Brass May 30-6, 2019
Rime May 23-30, 2019
Stories Untold May 16-23, 2019
World of Goo May 2-16, 2019
Transistor April 18-May 2, 2019
The Witness April 4-18, 2019
Oxenfree March 21-April 4, 2019
Slime Rancher March 7-21, 2019
Thimbleweed Park February 21-March 7, 2019
Axiom Verge February 7-21, 2019
The Jackbox Party Pack January 24-February 7, 2019
What Remains of Edith Finch January 11-24, 2019
Super Meat Boy December 28, 2018-January 10, 2019
Subnautica December 12-27, 2018

 

Source: Epic Games

Something for the Weekend – 19/09/20

Just a week after Microsoft lifted the lid on the new Xbox, Sony have revealed the all important details about the PS5 in a short but snappy presentation on Wednesday night. Since then, trying to get your hands on a pre-order has been a bit of a kerfuffle, but let us know below if you've been one of the successful ones!

In the News This Week

First up, here's everything about the PlayStation 5:

And here's what else happened:

Giveaways

If you're into your Battle Royales, we've got a pretty snazzy giveaway this week, with 10 Spellbreak PS4 Founder's Packs worth a whopping £99.99 up for grabs!

The contents include a Keymaster Outfit, Bughunter Outfit, Mystic Outfit, Master Badge, Battlemage Badge, Mage Badge and 15,000 Gold, with the giveaway running until Friday 25th September.

Games in Review

It felt like quite a hit-or-miss week for the reviews, but there's some near essential games in the mix.

Featured Articles

Turning our attention to the previews, Jim's initial scepticism was brushed aside once he went hands on with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time – and you can also try out the Demo if you pre-order. Meanwhile, Steve enjoyed Remothered: Broken Porcelain, saying that it's certainly improved – in fact, it's "just the sequel that I was hoping for".

Elsewhere, Jim asked whether For Honor was still worth playing in 2020, as Stefan questioned whether the disclosure that several PS5 exclusives would be coming to PS4 prove that Microsoft were right with their approach to cross-generational gaming.

Last up, the What We Played crew gathered round to discuss what next-gen console they will be buying.

Trailer Park

Deathloop gets a brand-new PS5 gameplay trailer

Watch the new Spider-Man: Miles Morales gameplay video

Resident Evil 8: Village has a new trailer from the PS5 showcase

Some new Oddworld Soulstorm gameplay shown for PS5

Your Achievements

Instead of asking the community what you've been playing this week, we asked what your plans were for the next generation.

Already having secured PS5 pre-orders are TSBonyman, doomsday619, Andrewww and beeje13, while Matthijs, MrYd and a few others are hoping there'll be a second batch down the line.

Ico, seems to be the only one planning to grab an Xbox on day one, the value of Game Pass hard to pass up, but others are tempted by the Xbox Series X or S sometime down the line.

Meanwhile, tactical20 is holding out for a souped up Nintendo Switch, the plucky hybrid having rekindled his love of gaming since its release.

Have a good weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Marvel's Avengers update 1.07 fixes over 1000 issues

After teasing a huge upcoming Marvel's Avengers patch in their latest War Table blog, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have deployed it just in time for the weekend.

Marvel's Avengers update V1.3.0 (which will show on consoles as 1.07) is now available to download and will be needed in order to access online features. The PlayStation 4 file size for this patch weighs in at just under 4GB.

With over 1,000 fixes this latest post-launch patch is quite the whopper and includes remedies to platform-specific errors while improving other areas of the game including gear, combat, and online mtachmaking.

For more on Marvel's Avengers, you can check out the new missions, challenges, and marketplace items from the weekly reset. Make sure you also read our day one review of the game.

You can review the patch notes in full below, which also includes a number of known issues Crystal Dynamics are working to resolve.

Marvel's Avengers V1.3.0 Patch Notes (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia)

REASSEMBLE CAMPAIGN & AVENGERS INITIATIVE

Various Reassemble Campaign & Avengers Initiative fixes, including:

  • Fixed an issue where A-Day would not progress if the player started the campaign from the War Table after selecting Avengers Initiative first.
  • Fixed infinite loads when reloading the game during "The Light that Failed" and "To Stand Alone".
  • Resolved bad save states for an infrequent bug where players are unable to progress with the campaign due to an infinite loading screen.
  • Fixed an issue where a strongbox in "House Call" was sometimes not usable.
  • Fixed an occasional bug with the bridge in the mission "House Call" that prevented progress. This should also fix bad save states.
  • Fixed an issue where Pause and Character menus were blocked during "Testing… 1, 2, 3".
  • Fixed an issue where you would be teleported out of world when attacking the boss between fight phases in "To Stand Alone".
  • Fixed an issue where steps 1 and 2 of the "A Global Offensive" mission chain were not tracking properly.
  • Fixed an issue where combat would not progress when defeating both Assault Adaptoids at the same time in "By Force of Mind".
  • Fixed a hole in geometry in "Dogs of War".
  • Fixed an where players could fall out of bounds in "Along came a Spider"
  • Fixed an issue where players could get stuck inside geometry in "Rocket's Red Glare" after enabling the teleport to space.
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes an enemy could be stuck behind a closed door during "Task at Hand".
  • Fixed an issue in "Bad Blood" where the Final cinematic would sometimes not play audio.
  • Fixed an issue preventing "Interrogation Anxiety" from being completed. This should also fix bad save states.

MULTIPLAYER & MATCHMAKING

Various fixes to multiplayer & matchmaking systems, including:

  • Reduction of cooldown after leaving a strike team before the user could matchmake again (from 30 second down to 4 seconds).
  • Matchmaking now stays enabled during mission launch countdown to give more time for players to join.
  • Fixed a bug where the "Searching for Heroes" UI would not always match the actual matchmaking status.
  • Fixed a bug where multiple host migrations would prevent the player from matching successfully again.
  • Fixed "Quick Match – Launch with any Hero" failing when two Quick Match players joined another match simultaneously.
  • Fixed losing Quick Match status when a player failed to join another match.
  • Fixed a bug where leaving an existing Strike Team would prevent the next Quick Match attempt from working properly.

ART & ANIMATION

Various art, animation, and character fixes/polish, including:

  • A variety of minor graphical issue fixes including clipping and popping.
  • Fixed several areas where players could see out of world.
  • Fixed many minor graphical errors and transitions.
  • Fixed several ragdoll issues.
  • Fixed a visual issue where enemy shields would pop in.
  • Fixed Captain America character model bug in "Front Line" outfit.
  • Fixed an issue where Thor would appear in the "War Cry" outfit in the Main Menu before unlocking it.
  • Fixed an issue where Tony appeared in the incorrect Iron Man armor during the "Alone Against AIM" cinematic.
  • Fixed Faction NPCs having no facial animation and freezing upon interact.
  • Fixed Sprint Heavy Attack sticking to ground during certain combat scenarios.
  • Fixed an issue with Black Widow's grapple that launched her off trajectory.
  • Fixed an issue where Iron Man would play the incorrect animation when doing laser Heavy Attack.
  • Fixed an issue with Monotronic Exo Takedowns in multiplayer where the animations would get out of sync.

USER INTERFACE

Various UI fixes & polish, including:

  • Fixed an issue that would cause damage numbers to appear on destroyed objects.
  • Fixed an issue with Faction prisoner rescue, in which cell destruction markers would sometimes show the wrong icon upon Reload Checkpoint.
  • Various Skill Menu videos updates for Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man.
  • Various localization and text fixes.
  • Approaching hackable terminals with a Hero that lacks that ability now displays a tutorial explaining why it cannot be accessed.
  • War Table icon now has different appearance when there is a new Mission available.
  • Reward icons for some Missions have been corrected to display the actual rewards.
  • "Cancel" label added to the push-pull piston UI when interact option is set to "tap".
  • "Inhuman Sanctuary" mission chain thumbnail now better reflects being a Pym-centric activity.
  • "Inhuman Sanctuary" mission chain notification no longer appears in campaign if it has already been shown in the Avengers Initiative.
  • Talisman Artifacts now display correct thumbnail images.
  • Faction Rank reward tutorial on helicarrier no longer displays before the Faction Vendor is available.
  • Vault sequence tutorials now allow players to access the Character Menu while active.
  • Based on player feedback, players can now see progress when being revived.
  • Based on player feedback, we have implemented a 0-10 Motion Blur slider. When set at 0, Motion Blur is completely disabled.
  • Fixed issues of objectives not displaying after player death.
  • Fixed an issue where UI elements would show up during the introduction of Dropzones.

COMBAT

Various combat fixes/tuning, including:

  • Fixed an issue where "Control Point" events would continue to spawn new enemies after completing the control requirement.
  • Fixed an issue in "Defend" events where the battle would sometimes stall until Heroes got closer to defenders by increasing participation radius.
  • Improved an issue where sometimes the "Secure the Area" portion of some Sabotage encounters would not register completion due to enemies becoming inaccessible or hidden during battle.
  • Fixed an issue where at higher difficulties, enemies would hack rescue cells silently, causing mysteriously inconsistent activation times.
  • Fixed an issue in a small number of encounters where some stronger enemy types would spawn too many at once.
  • Fixed an issue which could prevent lock-on from working when the Warbot is downed.
  • Fixed some navigation issues that would allow flying enemies to go out of world.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause Dreadbots to become unable to move.
  • Fixed an issue that would allow the final stage of the Warbot to be skipped.
  • Fixed multiple issues where some attacks were not able to damage the Warbot when it is downed.
  • Fixed an issue causing some enemies to spawn without proper portal FX.
  • Fixed an issue where rarely a hero could still be controlled after being defeated by Adaptoids.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause Kamala to unintentionally throw grabbed enemies at her feet.
  • Fixed an issue which would cause Kamala's arm to stay stuck in front of her when doing in-air attacks.
  • Fixed an issue where Widow's Bite could get shot out of the air by enemies.
  • Fixed an issue where Widow could not move on stairs while aiming the High-Caliber pistol.
  • Fixed an issue where player would get stuck when triggering Hulkbuster near other interactable items.
  • Fixed an issue where certain Hulkbuster moves cause double vision on another player's machine.
  • Fixed an issue where Hulk could become stuck interacting with the world while holding an enemy.
  • Fixed an issue when in high framerates, Hulk's Sprint Heavy Attack would fall short.
  • Fixed various issues with Captain America's "Mirror Shield" skill.
  • Fixed an issue where Captain America's shield could become stuck in Iron Man's Energy Barrier.
  • Fixed an issue where Iron Man could become stuck when evading while flying low to the ground.
  • Fixed an issue where Ironman's Unibeam Heroic ability could be used infinitely during his combat on the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • Various Iron Man lock-on improvements.
  • Iron Man's "Hyper Coils" skill now grants the intended 10 second duration increase.
  • Iron Man's Laser Specialization reduces the intrinsic cost of aimed ranged attacks.
  • Invulnerability frames when entering Hulkbuster have been extended.
  • Improved enemy spawn positions in 2 encounter locations.
  • Minor tweak to turret activation in "The Inhuman Condition" AIM bunker.
  • Reduced difficulty for Embiggened Kamala to revive downed allies.
  • Reduced difficulty of "Secure the Asset" in the "Alone Against AIM" missions.
  • Reduced aggressiveness of turrets and enemy ranged attacks.
  • Adaptoid laser attack is easier to avoid.
  • Assault Adaptoid tuning, including:
    • Less aggressive in multiples.
    • Less aggressive when the fire shield is active.
    • Triggers a smaller hit reaction when Heroes are hit by the laser.
    • The laser attack is easier to avoid in combat situations.
    • Fireball visuals were updated to make them easier to see in combat.

GEAR, CHALLENGES, & REWARDS

Various Gear, Challenges, & Reward fixes/tuning including:

  • Fixed an issue where the Fabrication Machine would occasionally not reward an outfit (or units if a duplicate pattern).
  • Fixed an issue where resources in a player's inventory – including Units – would disappear if they reached a total of 32,000. We have capped all Units and Resources at 65,000 for storage and ensured they will not disappear moving forward. If you lost a large number of Units due to this bug, please contact Square Customer Service.
  • Resolved bad save states and returned missing campaign outfits to users from a bug that was reverting them to a locked state. Note: Iconic Outfits may still be missing or locked, but we are investigating.
  • Increased Gear power cap for Threat Sectors, Drop Zones, and Hives to 130 to align with their max mission power.
  • Exotics gear now have higher attribute points. Power Level 130+ Exotic gear now always has better attributes than other rarities.
  • Gear that was erroneously being awarded at Power 1 and Uncommon rarity has been fixed in all activities.
  • Activity-specific Gear earned in Elite Heroic Hives is now awarded at correct power and rarity.
  • Gear with hero-specific perks can now be awarded at Epic, Legendary, and Exotic rarities with the correct number of perks; previously Legendary gear items of this type had too many hero-specific perks and Epics were not awarded at all.
  • Faction XP is awarded to the entire strike team when rescuing Inhumans in War Zones.
  • Hulk's "Fractured" outfit now appears in the Appearance Menu when awarded through a Rare Pattern; will display item correctly in inventory of players who have already collected this outfit.
  • A Rare Pattern is now correctly awarded at the start of the 'More Assembly Required' mission.
  • Various Hero Challenges that were incorrectly tracking progress or not advancing under certain conditions have been fixed.
  • Based on your feedback, we are moving to a single global content refresh and challenge reset time and day. Starting with this V1.3.0 patch, challenges will reset every Thursday at 10:00 AM PT. As a token of our appreciation we will provide 22 challenge points per hero with the refresh to account for the shortened challenge period. These points will be available to claim until Thursday the 25th at 10:00 AM PT.

PLATFORM-SPECIFIC FIXES

Additional PlayStation Fixes:

  • Fixed bug where players would not join an existing lobby if 'Quick Match – Launch with any Hero' was selected while set to the same Hero as a player in the lobby
  • Optimized matchmaking filters to reduce matchmaking search times
  • Changed matchmaking algorithms to reduce server load and further improve matchmaking search times
  • Generally improved matchmaking invite functionality and bug fixes.

Additional Xbox Fixes:

  • Fixed bug where a lobby would become unjoinable if a host migration occurred during an active mission.
  • Fixed a bug where invites would not work if a player had the "Show as offline" privacy setting enabled.
  • Update from V1.2.5: We have confirmed that "New Girl Makes Good" will retroactively grant on Xbox if you had earned it prior to Patch V1.2.5. "Tentative Peace" will not retroactively grant. Both have been properly registering progress since V1.2.5.

Additional PC Fixes:

  • Various stability fixes based on collected crash reports.
  • Additional error messages for failure cases based on collected crash reports.
  • Various CPU performance improvements.
  • Reduce number of CPU cores used for Direct3D shader pipeline compilation.
  • Overall reduction to memory usage.
  • Added Backup Save menu in Settings -> Gameplay.
  • Fixed Kamala and Thor HARM tutorials when Defense Mode was set to Toggle.
  • A number of mouse/keyboard UI improvements.

Additional Stadia Fixes:

  • Added Backup Save menu in Settings -> Gameplay.
  • Added ability to erase all save-data in Settings -> Gameplay.
  • Improved performance for 30fps High-Resolution display mode.
  • Fixed Kamala and Thor HARM tutorials when Defense Mode was set to Toggle.
  • A number of mouse/keyboard UI improvements.

Known Issues & Workarounds

THE MISSION "INTERROGATION ANXIETY" CANNOT BE COMPLETED

  • Presentation: Rarely this presents as an inability to continue in the mission Interrogation Anxiety due to not being able to interact with specific characters.
  • Status [9/18]: We identified and addressed one major scenario that should fix this bug and resolve bad save states, and we are still investigating other potential causes.

VARIOUS PS4 TROPHY BUGS

  • Presentation: Reported issues with an array of trophies, including:
    • Former Glory: Complete the "Iconic Avengers" mission chain
    • Old Fashioned Beat Down: Complete HARM Challenges I to V
    • The Best Defense: Defeat any 20 different enemy types
    • Tentative Peace: Complete 15 Villain Sectors
    • Gold Star Success: Complete 100 assignments
    • Holding it Down: Complete 30 War Zones at Challenge III or higher rating
  • Status [9/18]: Fixed several known issues around PS4 Trophy bugs. We are actively investigating the remaining.

UNABLE TO ACCEPT DAILY FACTION MISSIONS/VILLAIN SECTORS

  • Presentation:  Missions show up as already completed and do not refresh, which does not allow users to accept new ones in order to play them, causing them to miss out on rewards.
  • Status [9/18]: We are actively investigating

VARIOUS SKILL POINT BUGS

  • Presentation: This presents one of several ways, including:
    • Hulk having an extra skill point at 50
    • Kamala missing a skill point at 50
    • Thor missing a skill point at 50
    • Black Widow missing a skill point at 50
  • Status [9/18]: We are actively investigating.

Source: Avengers

Social Links – the value of friendship in video games

I've never been great at making friends. Blame it on me being a shy introvert at a young age then carrying a misanthropic streak in my adulthood, but being a gregarious social butterfly is not one of my strong points.

That's not to say I'm a totally aloof and unapproachable grouch. I'm generally a friendly person who doesn't like to cause conflict. In my time, I've met many like-minded people, colleagues, acquaintances, and peers, but the one nagging thing in the back of my mind is always, 'but are they friends?'.

What does that even mean in the social media age of so many casual swipes and requests, where being mutuals on Twitter can assume a familiarity that may or may not be genuine? Given reports that consider Millennials and Gen Z the loneliest generations, it's clearly not just something that's been on my mind.

That's probably why I get fascinated by games that incorporate a social or friendship system. We know that a lot of games are about player power fantasies, but games where you can be charismatic, popular, and everyone wants to be your friend? That's surely a super power we can all relate to.

To some extent, the power of friendship is a well-spun theme in party-based JRPGs where victory against evil forces rests on a collective group of heroes, or indeed Saturday morning cartoons, but the first game that really brought this down to earth for me was Persona 4, which I was recently replaying with via the Steam port.

As a transfer student who starts off knowing nobody in the small rural town of Inaba, you soon make friends with fellow classmates who get caught up in a kidnapping and murder mystery that involves fighting shadows from another dimension. Integral to the story is how each teammate has to confront their shadow, a manifestation of a repressed side of themselves. It follows that friendship forged-in-fire trope where bonds grow stronger after facing your worst demons together. But alongside this you also have the opportunity to strengthen your bonds through the game's Social Link system.

These aren't limited to party members but also fellow classmates like Daisuke and Kou from the football and basketball clubs or those beyond your school or age range, like elderly widow Hisano or even your own uncle Dojima. Between your investigating and dungeon crawling, you're balancing a normal life of a high school student and can choose how often you meet up with your acquaintances. It feels natural and meaningful how it takes time for bonds to increase over time, as conversations get deeper, your Social Link ranking up once you've reached a new scene in a character's arc, as opposed to some games it just takes showering someone with items to get that relationship gauge to rise. Take Harvest Moon for instance, or Stardew Valley.

There's more to Persona 4's Social Links than just proving you're Mr. Popular. A lot of these arcs are about these character's own personal anxieties and struggles, such as Dojima's fraught relationship with his daughter Nanako. Or Yumi from the school drama club who's having a hard time reconciling with her estranged father on his deathbed. More importantly, while you do need to spend time with them to advance their arc, you're not magically solving their problems either – sometimes you're just there to hear them out and offer them the emotional support they need. Isn't that what friendships are all about – being there for one another in the good and bad?

Through many of these heartwarming stories, culminating in you maxing out your Social Link, I find myself contemplating where my own friendships would rank – do any even go beyond Level 2 or 3, let alone max out as an everlasting bond? Sure, I can be friendly and get on with people, but how well do I ever get to know them? Who would I reach out to when I have something I need to get off my chest? Or rather, would they choose to confide in me? In contrast, I've had acquaintances who met each other through me first who then go on to become besties while at my last workplace, colleagues who started around the same time as me went on to marrying each other.

There's an inherent problem with trying to evaluate your friendships with how good a friend you are – though isn't that what happens when affix labels like 'close' and 'best' friends? – because surely real friendships aren't quid pro quo.

That also quickly reveals just how video games fail to portray the complexity of human relationships when so many are quid pro quo in design. That's fetch quests in a nutshell. Sure, the characters of Persona or Fire Emblem may be attractive, charming and well-written, but you're also conscious that you're spending time to level up a friendship because there's something in it for you, whether it's increased battle proficiency or Persona 4's Social Links that grant XP bonuses when fusing personas.

That crosses over not just to NPCs but also IRL. Just think of the times you've been compelled to add or follow someone either as a nicety or to increase your own social currency. And how many times have you added a friend on your Switch purely so you can trade rare Pokemon or turnips (I also can't quite articulate the anxiety when I've seen requests from people to be my 'best friend' on Animal Crossing).

Making friends is easy in Judgment, the Yakuza detective spin-off, but then it would be when you have the charisma and boyband good looks of Yagami. In his Kamurocho there's scores of NPCs just waiting to become your friend and it all entails in speaking to a character, hearing out their requests and then fulfilling it in order to boost the friendship meter. That's not to say there aren't some genuinely wholesome encounters, like when you get to play matchmaker between two baristas working alternating shifts at the same coffee shop. These friendships also serve to boost your detective agency's reputation, therefore increasing business by way of more clients.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons probably goes some way of providing a nuance to the relationships between you and your fellow animal friends. For a start, they're not necessarily friends, but more like neighbours you can greet every so often. Yet how you get to know them happens more organically.

It's not a one-way street in interaction because they'll sometimes be the one to approach you with a gift, or run towards you excited to teach you a new reaction. More touching is when you unexpectedly receive a letter from one of them offering anything from words of encouragement to whatever random thought that pops up, much like a friend's unsolicited Whatsapp musings at 3am.

A more unexpected surprise is Sable at the Able Sisters store. When you first approach her, she's quietly beavering away with her sewing, but if you keep going to speak to her, she eventually opens up to you. Sure, there's a kind of reward element in there where she'll offer you additional patterns for you to customise your furniture, but what's more touching is how she comes out of her shell, opening up about her deceased parents while also occasionally teasing her sister Mabel.

Nonetheless, there is still a quid pro quo element, mainly the attention or lack thereof your islanders get. If you've been away for a long time, they may mention that they were worried why you hadn't been speaking to them, while entirely ignoring an islander is also how you're supposed to get someone to leave. Then again, maybe it's not too dissimilar to real-life anxieties about a friend not responding to a text, or just losing touch because of a lack of contact.

This anxiety is actually conveyed not in the game of Persona 4 but rather its anime adaptation, where your protagonist (known as Yu in the anime) is ultimately afraid of losing his bonds and being left alone. In the anime's finale, we discover he's stuck in a Groundhog Day time loop, a way of suppressing his fear of having to move away and lose his friends. It honestly resonates too as I have often found myself quickly losing touch with everyone from each phase of my life, whether from school or work, and the opportunity to meet and foster friendships becomes increasingly more difficult as you get older, especially when working from home.

Yet if games don't always best represent friendships, video games can still be a way to maintain and even rekindle them. I'd like to conclude with a story about one of my oldest friends Josh, who I've known since the early years of primary school. While we weren't always close back then and lost touch for most of our twenties as our lives took different directions, we always had a shared love of video games, especially as I was responsible for getting him hooked on Halo. So it was almost by fate that shortly after I did get back into games after a long hiatus, he reached out with an email and we quickly fell back into recounting our love for gaming and the latest trends.

We don't really get the time to catch up face-to-face or for an online gaming session, especially when he has his own family and obligations, but it's great to be back in contact again being able to easily touch base on our shared interests. More recently, he completely surprised me out of the blue as he said he had to downsize his home office to make room for their new baby and had something left over for me I could find useful. That turned out to be his old laptop he wanted to donate to help me with my freelancing career – by 'old', I actually mean a pretty damn cutting edge gaming laptop that he could've easily traded in for over a grand. That kind of generosity still blows my mind. I mean, I shouldn't really put a value on acts of kindness, but isn't that what friends are for?

JETT: The Far Shore has been delayed until 2021

Superbrothers A/V Inc. and Pine Scented Software Ltd have confirmed that the PS5, PS4, and PC game JETT: The Far Shore has been delayed until 2021. The reason behind the delay is that the development team simply needs more time to get JETT into a state that is good enough for release. When in 2021 is unknown so it could be early on not for another 12 months, all depending on how development continues for the game.

In a statement the studio wrote:

"Revealing JETT: THE FAR SHORE in June 2020 was an absolute thrill, and it has been a delight to uncloak after so long in stealth.

The JETT squad has been moved and motivated by the love, curiosity and support directed our way. We're glad to report we've come a long way in a brief while, and that JETT is shaping up to be something pretty special.

However, as of now it seems we're in need of more time in order for JETT to soar, and for the squad to complete this interstellar trip in good condition. JETT: THE FAR SHORE is now fixin' to deploy in 2021 on PlayStation consoles and PC on the Epic Games Store. Hectic times, so we've revised our trajectory. It'll be stellar, when it alights.

While we'll be on the quiet side for a while longer, look to @jettxyz where we're regularly surfacing JETT gifs.

Meanwhile at JETT.fyi you can subscribe to the JETT email bulletin, where we'll eventually shed some light on JETT and its all-star squad, and where we'll exclusively debut occasional a/v tidbits (such as today's tidbit "Soak In Brine")."

The features of JETT: The Far Shore includes:

  • EMBARK on an exploratory single player adventure presented in five captivating acts encompassing monumental moments, laid-back exploration, occasional white-knuckle action, moments of heartfelt companionship, and a helping of existential dread.

  • SOAK in an sea of music and 3D sound, with a breathtaking score by Scntfc.

  • DEPLOY to the surface of a mythic ocean planet: skim up undiscovered coastlines, inspect indigenous flora and fauna, adapt to new perils, and problem-solve tough obstacles using your jett's array of scientific tools.

  • INVESTIGATE the source of 'the hymnwave', an interstellar invitation that propelled a people to look beyond their troubled skies and across the sea of stars, for salvation.

  • RENDEZVOUS at 'Ground Control' and get to know fellow scouts in relaxed first-person sequences, as the scouts struggle together to "satisfy 'Jao's directives'" and acquit themselves with honor.

  • ENDURE hardships, evade pursuers and grapple with massive 'kolos' creatures by navigating hazards and out-pacing or out-smarting adversaries.

  • DELVE DEEPER after the campaign's culmination to explore a robust mysterious endgame where the open-world immersive sim elements flourish.

Source: Press Release

Hogwarts Legacy is not a new story from J.K Rowling

Warner Bros. Games has confirmed that J.K Rowling is not directly involved with the development of the Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy, and that the story has not come from her. The information comes via an FAQ that Warner Bros. Games put out to give more information about Hogwarts Legacy, where the setting and gameplay types are confirmed.

In a brief statement, Warner Bros. Games wrote this about J.K Rowling.

J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World. This is not a new story from J.K. Rowling.

Hogwarts Legacy was announced during the PlayStation 5 Showcase, but it is not a PlayStation or next gen exclusive. The game will also be released for  PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One and PC at some point in 2021. You will also not be running into Harry and friends as Hogwarts Legacy is set during the 1800s, but you will have access to similar magic as you will be a student at the wizarding school. Players will not be limited to exploring the halls of Hogwarts though, as other locations in the wizarding world will also be available to explore through the open world.

David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Games said, "Hogwarts Legacy gives players control over their own experience with RPG gameplay unlike anything else in the Wizarding World, which will continue to build fan appeal in the Portkey Games label. Avalanche has brought to life this rich and deep world, full of action-packed magic, as well as a detailed, mysterious story to engage fans and gamers alike."

Portkey Games is the development label behind Hogwarts Legacy, and it is being developed by Avalanche Software. This is the Avalanche that worked on Disney Infinity, not the Avalanche that worked on the Just Cause games.

Source: Warner Bros.

Amazon have started emailing customers to say they may not get their PlayStation 5 on launch day

You'd think it's an obvious thing to state, but John Lewis, Very, Argos, and now Amazon all seem to be trying to sell things they just haven't got, in particular PlayStation 5 consoles.

Amazon have started sending out emails to customers who thought they had bagged themselves a PlayStation 5 to tell them that they cannot guarantee it will arrive on launch day. The text reads as follows:

We're contacting you about your order of a PlayStation 5 Console to let you know in advance that you may not receive his item on the day it is released due to high demand.  We'll make every effort to get the item to you as soon as possible once released.

One of the people who may find themselves PlayStation 5 free come November is industry spokesperson and The Games Award host, Geoff Keighley.

It's rather hard to tell but this does seem to be Amazon.com in the United States rather than over here in the United Kingdom, but keep an eye on your email just in case.

PlayStation 5 preorders have been rather disastrous with retailers websites crashing and orders being cancelled. Those who ordered through Argos have been told that if they have not received the confirmation email within two hours after placing the order then they will not get a console, but they won't get their money refunded for 3-5 days.

Online retailer Very has also messed things up and been cancelling preorders, sending unhappy customers the message below.

Hi thank you for your recent order on 17/09/20 for PlayStation 5 console / accessories. Unfortunately, due to extremely high demand and limited availability, your order has been cancelled. We apologise for any disappointment caused. More stock will be made available on the site as it is allocated, so please come back and check. Please be aware, any stock will be VERY LIMITED and will only be available for a short time. Thanks

Source: Twitter / Twitter

Gears Tactics Xbox Series X|S trailer reveals new playable character

Microsoft has reconfirmed that Gears Tactics will be available on November 10th for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox One X, and Xbox One S. Gears Tactics is now available on Game Pass to preload.

Its console release will come alongside a brand new update for Gears Tactics that will add a new playable character, the droid Jack who will bring new skills such as being able to hijack enemy units. There will also be new enemies that will prove a challenge, new Supreme equipment, and optimised support for controllers. Gears Tactics will run at 60 FPS and 4K on the Xbox Series X.

A brand new Locust Horde Limited Edition Controller and Pro Charging Stand has also been announced, and it will be compatible with the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox One X, and Xbox One S. You can check out the picture below.

In our review for Gears Tactics, Dom wrote:

There's a sense that this is Splash Damage and The Coalition playing to the crowd with Gears Tactics. It undoubtedly captures the look and feel of the Gears universe, squeezing it into a slick turn-based tactical game, but while I can see a few genre fans attracted to its more cerebral form of warfare, it's the series fans who are going to get the most out of it.
You can read the full Gears Tactics review here.
Source: Microsoft

Ubisoft give update on Beyond Good & Evil 2 as Michel Ancel announces retirement from video games

Legendary video game creator Michel Ancel has decided to call time on his career in the games industry, nudging Ubisoft to give fans a long, long overdue update on Beyond Good & Evil 2.

Michel Ancel announced his decision today on Instagram, deciding to turn in his mouse and keyboard to focus instead on the real world and the preservation of animals. "My new project takes place in the real world and consists in a wild life open sanctuary dedicated to education, nature lovers and… wild animals," he wrote.

It's a fantastic and truly worthwhile endeavour at a time when climate change and the impact mankind is having on our planet is seeing vast number of species becoming endangered and going extinct. We wish Michel well in his endeavour.

That said, it obviously leaves question marks over the two concurrent projects he had been involved with over the last half decade – the independent production Wild, and Beyond Good & Evil 2 – however he said that both teams have been working without his direct input for quite some time.

Still, it's somewhat concerning for the future of Beyond Good & Evil 2, which was a cancelled project revived for E3 2017, just when it seemed that Ancel was on the way out and leaving Ubisoft. It seems that his passion project will continue on without him.

A statement from BG&E2 Senior Producer Guillaume Brunier reads:

For years, Michel imparted his creative vision and helped us remain faithful to BG&E's incredible universe. His uncompromising passion pushed us to redefine what was possible in crafting an expansive, multicultural, and futuristic science-fiction world. As we move forward, we are all committed to remaining true to this vision.

As Michel noted, he hasn't been directly involved in BG&E2 for some time now, as the team have been hard at work building on top of the solid creative foundation he helped shape. The team's collective strength has us well on our way to developing a flagship next-generation action-adventure game. We recently passed an important internal milestone, delivering a build that proves our Space Pirate Fantasy and offers hours of gameplay and an incredible level of freedom in a seamless online sandbox, building upon the promise of our tech demos shown at E3. I'm incredibly proud of the team's perseverance, dedication to each other and ongoing commitment to developing an amazing game.

We still have a lot more to do to, and we're ramping up the size of the team to help. We recently added Ubisoft Paris as a partner studio, and in the past six months many new people have joined us here in Ubisoft Montpellier. If you're interested in being part of the team, visit our careers site and search for keyword "Beyond Good & Evil 2."

Next milestone: We are aiming to share more and show you the game in action sometime next year, once we pass our next internal production milestones.

We know many of you are eager to hear more from the team, get more detail on the story and universe, and try out the gameplay. We're equally excited to share all of that with you, but we will take the time needed to get it right. We want to go beyond the high expectations you have of us, and that we have for ourselves.

Thank you for your patience, and remember we're always happy to have your feedback, whether through the Space Monkey program, by collaborating and contributing with other fans via our HitRecord partnership, or by chatting with us in the forums.

Source: Ubisoft

Cyberpunk 2077 PC minimum requirements revealed

As CD Projekt Red close in on the release of Cyberpunk 2077, they've reached a point at which they can share the minimum and recommended specs you'll need to play the game on PC. Luckily, with the game targeting current gen consoles, they're really quite low, but if you want all the finery that the game can produce in gameplay videos, you'll need to be going way beyond even the recommended specs – you won't get ray tracing on a GTX 1060!

Here are the Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements, with Minimum described as being able to play at 1080p on Low settings and Recommended for 1080p at High Settings.

Minimum Specs Recommended Specs
OS 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit windows 10
CPU Intel Core i5-3570k or AMD FX 8310 Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
RAM 8GB 12GB
GPU Nvidia GTX 780 3GB or AMD Radeon RX 470 Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or AMD R9 Fury
Storage 70GB 70GB SSD

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is out for Xbox One, PS4 and PC on 19th November. It will be playable on Xbox Series X | S at that point – the consoles coming out on 10th November – and on PlayStation 5 whenever that console releases later this year, but next-gen enhancements will not be there on day one. The game could take some advantages next-gen beyond simple backward compatibility, but for ray tracing and other more integral enhancements, we'll have to wait.

There won't be any waiting on PC though, where CDPR have a pretty tight relationship with Nvidia. At the time of its announcement at E3 2019, CDPR Head of Studio Adam Badowski said, "Ray tracing allows us to realistically portray how light behaves in a crowded urban environment. Thanks to this technology, we can add another layer of depth and verticality to the already impressive megacity the game takes place in."

You'll need a GeForce RTX 20 or RTX 30 series card, with Nvidia rolling out the newer GPUs over the next few months, no doubt hoping to steal away some purchases from the new consoles in the process. AMD have yet to reveal their ray tracing compatible RDNA 2 GPUs, but have announced the event to do so will be held on 28th October.

Source: Twitter

Microsoft Flight Simulator patch 1.8.3.0 is out now, read the patch notes here

Microsoft Flight Simulator patch 1.8.3.0 has arrived on PC with a number of adjustments and changes. Loading times have been optimised, as have CPU and GPU loads in certain key areas.

A lot of the planes visuals and animations have also been upgraded, and so have general aviation systems in them too. The multiplayer servers have been updated too, and there have also been changes to the world too. Oh, UK houses will not appear in the US anymore, which is sure to be reassuring for our friends who might have suddenly questioned their independence.

You can read the full patch notes below.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.8.3.0 update patch notes

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

  • Optimized cockpit screen display when screens are not displayed on screen.
  • New option available to control cockpit screen update frequency.
  • Tweaked CPU thread priorities to reduce interruption of frame critical threads.
  • Optimized loading system to reduce overall loading times.
  • Optimized heavy airport scenes impact on CPU.
  • Reduced the amount of GPU overdraw to improve GPU performance.
  • Memory optimizations to reduce software memory footprint and improve performance on memory limited computers.
  • Overall performance optimizations.

ATC

  • Incoming ATC Azure speech has now three different voices.
  • ATC voice gender is now based on the avatar of the pilot/copilot.
  • Fix for the incorrect voice pack being used if the game is not localized in English and if the Windows Offline Text-to-Speech option is used.

UI

  • Filters and sorting have been improved in the marketplace.
  • Manual cache layout has been improved and the download estimated time should now be correct.
  • Improved support for gamepad navigation in many menus.
  • Case sensitive search is now working properly in control screen.
  • Search by axis in control screen has been fixed.
  • Active pause button has been added in the toolbar.
  • Pause button has been fixed in the Content manager.

AERODYNAMICS

  • Improved wind turbulence simulation to reduce horizontal turbulences.
  • Added simulation of low rpm piston engine vibrations on cockpit.
  • Added simulation of water particles (rain/clouds) density in aerodynamics => generates vibrations flying through clouds or rain.
  • Fixed wet surface friction and braking distances.
  • Fixed live weather wind offset in higher latitude areas (America, Asia…) that was causing the 3kts Wind bug.

AIRCRAFT

COCKPITS VISUALS AND ANIMATIONS

  • Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan EX: AP buttons animations have been fixed.
  • Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan EX, Beechcraft Bonanza G36, ICON A5: placards have been updated.
  • Cessna 172 Skyhawk : compass texture have been improved.
  • Zlin Savage Cub : tail wheel blur effect is now correctly triggered.
  • Zlin Shock Ultra : arcs on airspeed indicator is correctly set.
  • Zlin Shock Ultra : turbo mode has been removed from dashboard.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : MCP buttons visual improvements.

GENERAL AVIATION SYSTEMS

  • Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan EX : propeller sound has been improved when RPM is changing.
  • Cessna Longitude : AP altitude and speed management improvements.
  • Cessna Longitude : auto throttle is now inhibited during take off and until 400 feet AGL.
  • Daher TBM 930 : yaw damper is now automatically turned on when the AP is enabled.
  • Beechcraft King Air 350i : windshield deicing is now working.
  • ICON A5 : « incorrect heading indicator » notification is now correctly triggered.
  • Zlin Shock Ultra : flaps now operate mechanically instead of electrically.
  • Zlin Shock Ultra : trim management improvements.
  • Cessna Citation CJ4 : reverse thrust has been removed.
  • Cub Crafter X Cub : IAS AP mode is now working properly.
  • Daher TBM 930 and Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan EX : PT6 engines shutdown duration has been increased.

GENERAL AVIATION AVIONICS

  • Cessna Longitude : several knobs of the G5000 are now working.
  • Beachcraft Baron G58, Beechcraft Bonanza G36, Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000, Diamond DA40 NG : fixed missing ALT knob.
  • Beechcraft King Air 350i : « menu » key is now working properly.
  • Cessna 152 and 152 Aerobat : avionics state have been fixed using Honeycomb device battery switch.
  • GNS 530 : flight plan display alignment has been fixed on the Garmin GNS 530.
  • G1000 : automatically switches from NAV to LOC when needed.
  • G1000 : ETE and ETA fixed wrong values.
  • G1000/3000/3x : AP setup is no longer reset when enabling AP.
  • G1000/3000/3x : fixed missing flight plan when the selected departure is coordinates on the world map.
  • G3x : text size in « approach box » has been increased.
  • G3x : approaches can now be selected and loaded.
  • G3x : fixed bad information in nearest VOR page when unknown VOR is selected.

AIRLINER SYSTEMS

  • General : AP behavior improvements.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : rear wheels steering has been fixed.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : pressing the battery button now always display the ON part.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : improved flaps deployment and retraction sequences.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : fixed auto–throttle not giving back control to the pilot when disabled.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : center tanks drain first when decreasing fuel quantity via fuel and payload menu.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : auto–throttle is now automatically disengaged when landing.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : auto–throttle now engages correctly during take off roll when conditions are met.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : alt intervention no longer needs to be pressed again when not needed.
  • Airbus A320neo : automatic speed management improvements.
  • Airbus A320neo : alpha floor condition is now correctly triggered.

AIRLINER AVIONICS

  • General : weight is better taken into account for V speed calculations.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : FMC now allows to activate approach without going to route page.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : approach VREF speeds are fixed.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : empty rectangles no longer displayed on the FMA.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : runways are now displayed in correct order in the FMC.
  • Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental : cruise altitude no longer automatically filled in the FMC.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : LNAV and VNAV correctly displayed as armed in FMA when conditions are met.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : altitude target on MCP can no longer be set to negative values.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : auto–throttle mode no longer displayed on FMA when auto–throttle is disabled.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : fixed wrong flaps value displayed in the FMC take off page.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : target heading line on ND is no longer reset while in heading mode.
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner : direct-to flight plans can now be entered in the FMC.
  • Airbus A320neo : target altitude can now be changed when AP is disabled.
  • Airbus A320neo : armed modes no longer appear in boxes on the FMA.
  • Airbus A320neo : flaps « FULL » indication instead of « F » on ECAM.
  • Airbus A320neo : FMGS message « INVALID ENTRY » replaced by « NOT ALLOWED ».
  • Airbus A320neo : FMGS now only displays arrival procedures corresponding to the selected runway.
  • Airbus A320neo : FMGS now correctly displays ETA for approach points.
  • Airbus A320neo : removed remaining waypoints on ND after selecting different approach procedures.
  • Airbus A320neo : fixed heading bug alignment offset issue.
  • Airbus A320neo : fixed missing runway in the perf page of FMGS when a departure runway is already selected.
  • Airbus A320neo : fixed constraints flickering on ND.
  • Airbus A320neo : FMGS block fuel indication now correctly initialized.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Fixed freezes caused by glass cockpits.
  • Travel to feature no longer disengages autopilot when used.

WEATHER

  • Fixed 225°/3kt issue with inconsistent wind in game.
  • Fixed issue with weather persistency on flight restart.

SERVICES

  • Upgraded multiplayer servers.

MARKETPLACE

  • Rating display on bundles has been improved.
  • Performance drop after downloading an item in marketplace has been removed.
  • An addon purchased outside of the marketplace no longer has an impact on the "Installed" filter in the marketplace as it is considered as a "community" content.

CONTENT MANAGER

  • Addon purchased outside of the marketplace now also visible in the Content manager when online, and offline if downloaded in the community folder.
  • 3rd Party content thumbnail display improved.
  • Pause download during installation is fixed.

LOCALIZATION

  • Various typo fixes in multiple languages.

ACCESSIBILITY

  • Subtitles are now enabled by default.
  • Subtitle option has been moved from Sound menu to Accessibility so users can set it during initial install.

CAMERAS

  • Remove rotation clamp on "Instrument cameras".
  • Pilot camera position can now be saved or reset.

BUSH TRIPS

  • Fix leg completion trigger.
  • Completionist achievement should now unlock when all activities have been completed.

WORLD

  • Detected buildings that intersect roads are now excluded.
  • Longer bridges are less prone to having a gap.
  • UK city houses models should no longer appear in US suburbs.
  • "In The Wild" Achievement can now be unlocked

Source: Flight Simulator official site

Observer: System Redux will be a PS5 and Xbox Series X|S launch title

Bloober Team has confirmed that Observer: System Redux will be a launch title for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, launching on November 10th for Microsoft's consoles as well as PC, and November 12th for Sony's console. Observer: System Redux will be priced at $29.99 or €29.99. That will likely put it at around £24.99 in the UK.

Piotr Babineo, Bloober Team CEO, said:

"Making Observer: System Redux available for next-gen console players has been a huge focus for the team. Now that both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 release dates are out there, we can finally share our release date news. We know next-gen pricing is a major concern for our fans and we feel that releasing all the new content and upgrades in Observer: System Redux at the same cost as the original Observer is a great way to stay close with our community."

In our review for Observer, Tuffcub wrote:

If you don't like 'walking sims' then Observer isn't going to change your mind, even if it does include some rudimentary detective work. However, if you like to be swept away by a story and pulled in to a world where every door has a new experience behind it, then close the curtains, turn off the lights, crank up the surround sound and immerse yourself in this great cyberpunk horror tale.

You can read the full Observer review here.

Source: Press Release

No Man's Sky Origins update coming next week

Hello Games has announced the next major update for No Man's Sky and it is called Origins. Not too much is known about what Origins will bring, but the name has been chosen as it will be the start of a new phase for No Man's Sky. The image for No Man's Sky Origins shows three characters standing in different environments. There are differences in creatures and plant life across the three environments, but what this points to is not clear.

In a statement Hello Games wrote:

Four years ago we announced FOUNDATION, our first major update for No Man's Sky, we promised "It won't be our largest update, but it is the start of something". Those words were true at the time, and they ring true for Origins. We called it Origins because it is the beginning of something new, as No Man's Sky continues to grow and evolve.

Beyond came out last year, bringing VR and hugely expanded Online play, and since then we have focused on releasing more regular updates. SYNTHESIS, BYTEBEAT, LIVING SHIP, EXO MECH, CROSSPLAY, and DESOLATION have been some of our most popular, surprising and transformative updates – leading No Man's Sky to have its biggest year to date.

We know there is a huge appetite in the community for No Man's Sky content, and the team has worked our socks off this year to deliver in difficult circumstances. We have been quiet, but we are always listening and focusing on improving the game that our team loves and feels so passionately about.

The studio will be releasing more details and the patch notes for No Man's Sky Origins next week when the update goes live.

Source: Hello Games

What We Played Presents: What Next-Gen Console Will You Buy?

Given the week we're having, we thought we'd take a week off from asking you what you've played, and instead ask that searching question – What Will You Buy? Of course we mean what console you're going to get, not what you're off to pick up from Sainsbury's in the morning. Now that we know the prices, and the release dates for both the Xbox Series X | S and the two versions of the PS5, which have tickled your fancy? All of them? None of them? Are you going to laugh into the sleek fan recesses of your RTX 3080? Let us know!

Obviously, with pre-orders for some things already having been and gone, there's also the potential that you've valiantly failed to secure what your heart desires. Hopefully those that wanted a pre-order have managed to get one.

Predictably, I'm probably picking up an XSX and a disc-y PS5 (and the Oculus Quest 2 for good measure), but then again, I write about games, and frankly these will keep me writing about them for a good seven years or so, so that's probably a pretty good investment. I've also pre-ordered Demon Souls, as it looks incredible, and am slightly interested in Destruction All-Stars. My launch title for Xbox Series X? Well, that'll be Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Yes, I know.

Aran is getting a PS5 with disc drive and the XSX, because he can afford to do both for the first time. "I'm going all in this gen. My games will be Spider-Man Miles Morales, GoW2, Deathloop, The Falconeer, FFXVI, Halo Infinite, and so many more. I'll also jump onto Xbox Game Pass to catch up with titles I have missed so far." Hold on a sec, I don't think most of those are coming out this year!

Jason will be getting the PS5 at some point, but "if it wasn't for this job I'd be getting the Xbox Series X or just upgrading my PC. Unfortunately, I'll need a PS5 for work, where as the Xbox Series X|S, despite being amazing value, isn't essential because of my PC."

It's also a PS5 with a disc drive for Tom Lord. "The slate of exclusive games at launch and upcoming games for 2021 are exciting to me. That's it. The games. I buy the box for the games and Sony's appeal to me more. Strength and depth. Spider-Man and Sackboy are two that pique my interest for day one, and looking forward to Gran Turismo 7 at some point."

Ade won't be going for either at launch, since they cost, you know, money, though money is slightly less of a thing though if, like Tom Hughes, you go for Xbox All Access with the XSX, to buy yourself some time before looking at the PS5 next year.

Nic B will be picking up the full-fat PS5 at launch so he can play Resident Evil VIII, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and FFXVI (Again, I hope he knows they're not all at launch…). He tells us "the price of games means that, overall, in the long term, the disks will probably save me money. I'll probs grab an semi-skimmed Xbox once more games are announced; it looks like a good console, but there's just not enough for me right now to justify the spend." He'll have to watch out that Drea doesn't come round and steal it.

Steve meanwhile is carrying on with his plan to pick up a decent GPU for now as that gives him the most flexibility and doesn't need more space. "I will pick up a PS5 for the exclusives but that'll be in a while when I've built up enough trade-in from current gens. Can't trade my PS4 as it has a broken eject sensor (electrical tape home fix ftw) either. So I'll be playing WiiU and 3DS games this autumn and then trading them. Will go full fat as the just digital tax will really mount up. Series X is mostly redundant for me as I'll be PC gaming and it's another box to find space for."

Tuffcub is going for a full fat PS5, but he says "I must say for the first time ever, the Xbox looks tempting. However, I spend the few hours a week gaming time I have on Destiny 2 so I don't have time to play hundreds of other games, if i had more time an Xbox and Game Pass would be on the list."

It's also full fat PS5 time for Jim, who also said, "I will no doubt get an Xbox Series X at some point though I can't imagine that will be for another couple of years. As always, it comes down to the lineup of games, as good as Microsoft have been on the service side of things. Final Fantasy XIV, Ratchet & Clank, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and God of War: Ragnarok… like a lot of people I don't care about the box itself or the cutting edge innards, I just want the console that has the best, most diverse catalogue of next-gen titles."

Reuben is another going for the big boy PS5 because "I'm all about that" – so not paying extortionate digital game prices then? He continues "I'll be getting the Xbox Series S down the line, but that isn't a priority. In terms of games, I'll be getting Demon's Souls and Miles Morales at launch, and am looking forward to the Playstation Plus Collection to play some of those PS4 games I missed. Long term though, I will happily sell my body for Final Fantasy XVI and that is not a joke."

Gareth is going to see if he can scrape together enough for some flavour of PS5 somehow for launch, but they're not cheap, so "One day in the distant future, when we are no longer worried about viruses, cars can fly, and I've got money, I'll own both." And Nick P has managed to snag a pre-order for a full PS5, with Demon's Souls and Spider-Man Miles Morales looking "chef kiss!"

Miguel wasn't interested in new consoles yesterday – and rightly so. After the Monster Hunter Direct he said, "I'm prepared to simply buy another Nintendo Switch and play Capcmo games until the heat death of the universe. But besides that, I'm definitely leaning more toward the PS5. I already have a beefy PC that I'm also hoping to upgrade with a 3070 (aaaand a new power supply and new processor, woof) so I can play all of the big interesting Xbox first-party stuff on my PC just fine. Plus with a PS5, most of my friend group primarily plays on PS4 so thats where almost all of my multiplayer gaming happens."

And finally, Tef will be getting and disc PS5 and Xbox Series X because he kind of has to. One pre-order is in, another will come on Tuesday, but truthfully, if money, space, games, graphics power and everything else weren't an issue, he'd quite like an Xbox Series S, because it's pretty cute.

What about you? Did you get a pre-order in? Or are you waiting for the Xbox Series X | S ones to go live on the 22nd? Or just sitting out the start of the next generation? Let us know in the comments below.

Giveaway – Win a Spellbreak PS4 Founder's Pack worth £100

Having just launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch, Spellbreak is the latest battle royale contender yet one with a magical twist.

One part Fortnite, one part Harry Potter (or Avatar: The Last Airbender, if you like) this free-to-play title will have you scrapping to survive in a world where you can cast hexes and control the elements.

We've partnered with developers Proletariat Inc to give away 10 Spellbreak Champion Packs. Priced at £99.99, this huge bundle of Spellbreak swag will help you rise through the ranks and includes the following content:

–       Keymaster Outfit
–       Bughunter Outfit
–       Mystic Outfit
–       Master Badge
–       Battlemage Badge
–       Mage Badge
–       15,000 Gold

As always, entering our competitions is simple – just complete the form below to enter in a variety of different ways, including via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. There are 10 codes up for grabs including 5 EU region codes and 5 US region codes.

We'll be running the competition for one week with entries closing at 11.59PM UK time on Friday 25th September. The giveaway is open to everyone though codes will only work in EU/US territories. Winners must respond within three working days of being contacted, and if they do not another winner will be drawn. Our usual terms and conditions apply, and decisions are final. Good luck!

Win a code for a Spellbreak Champion Pack | EU Region

Win a code for a Spellbreak Champion Pack | US Region

Nic reviewed Spellbreak at launch, scoring the game a decent 6/10. Although inventive in its approach to the genre, it can be a tad chaotic, though there's potential here for Spellbreak to morph into a top flight battle royale experience.

Is For Honor still worth playing in 2020?

Originally released back in February 2017, For Honor is easily one of the most underrated games of the current console generation and has only gotten better over time. With Year 4 Season 3 having started this week, we're here to answer the big question: is For Honor still worth playing in 2020?

In the past Ubisoft have been given some stick for their somewhat homogenised approach to AAA game design, building brilliantly vast worlds yet smearing them with the same kind of repeated in-game activities.

However, you only need to look at For Honor (as well as the mega popular Rainbow Six Siege) to see that Ubisoft is an innovative force in the multiplayer space. Both of them are standout examples of what live service games should be – early pioneers, paving the way for the entire gaming industry to follow.

As a result, multiplayer games no longer have that one or two year life cycle they did during the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 days. Balance patches, content drops, and live events have kept For Honor feeling fresh and relevant even if it doesn't have the huge playerbase of other popular games.

I'm new to For Honor

Arriving late to the party can be daunting with any multiplayer game, especially in the fighting genre. It's true that the For Honor servers harbour plenty of regular, experienced players, but you shouldn't be put off.

There's definitely a learning curve though Ubisoft have continued to make For Honor as accessible as possible, making changes to the core combat design while introducing more robust tutorials and training tools.

It's a fighting game like no other with full 3D movement, stance based combat, and game modes that wouldn't feel out of place in an online shooter. However, it shares the same DNA as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and many of the genre's mainstays.

What makes For Honor particularly inviting is the low entry price. Chances are you probably own a copy already via PlayStation Plus, Xbox Games With Gold, Uplay, or Epic. If not, you can grab the base game at a heavily reduced price.

Although this core version doesn't tout the full roster of 27 heroes, it includes a huge wealth of content that has steadily grown over time with more maps, modes, features, and gameplay improvements.

Returning to For Honor – what's changed?

There may be some of you who purchased For Honor at launch then bounced off after a few weeks or months, having gotten your fill. Over time you may have felt that itch to dive back in, but maybe there's been something stopping you. So, what's changed since you last played?

Ubisoft have rehauled their online infrastructure for a start. One major issue that turned players away from For Honor was the regular server issues and forced disconnections whenever someone left a match. Since introducing dedicated servers, matches now run flawlessly.

On the whole, combat is also much more versatile than it was back in 2017. Ubisoft have continued to rebalance its diverse cast of heroes, going one step further this year with their core combat redesign. In a nutshell, For Honor now favours more offensive, creative playstyles instead of those that are defensive and reactionary (boring, in other words).

Of course, since release there's been loads of new content added to the game. In its first year of post-launch support we saw eight heroes thrown into the mix, then in 2018 we got Marching Fire. This premium expansion added an entire new faction, the Wu Lin, with four new heroes, a solo/co-op Arcade mode, and Breach. This new match type has been very popular among the community, staging 4 v 4 siege battles spread across multiple phases.

The content pipeline has slowed since with four heroes in 2019 and two planned for 2020. While it's clear that Ubisoft aren't dedicating as many resources to For Honor as it did a few years ago, the game is still constantly being updated and expanded with a vibrant player community.

We find ourselves dipping in for some melee action every couple of months, checking out the new battle pass season, and maining a different hero. It's one of those games we refuse to uninstall, and hopefully we'll see For Honor make that next-gen jump to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well.

Remothered: Broken Porcelain refines and continues the series' descent into horror

Remothered: Tormented Fathers was one of my favourite new horror titles of the past few years, combining some well considered stealth with an unusual and compelling narrative. While it showed its relatively low budget in terms of presentation, there was a lot to love about it. So I've been looking forward to the next title in the series with great anticipation – especially as it has seen a number of delays. Now scheduled for an October 20th release, I have had the chance to play a preview build and am happy to say that, for the most part, Broken Porcelain is just the sequel that I was hoping for.

The storyline for the first game was convoluted and labyrinthine, so my tired old brain was pleased by the summary of events at the beginning of the demo. This was static text here, but promises to be fully rendered as a video ready for the full release. Either way, it's great to see that Stormind appreciates that their audience may well have not played the first title – or have forgotten the details over the three years. The summary reminded me how much the game owed to the likes of Psycho and how challenging its portrayal of a troubled mind was. I'm not in a position to fully comment on the way it incorporated a complex representation of traumatic gender dysphoria (as opposed to trans identity) but it is worth highlighting that this is an aspect of the original's story.

The preview content saw us playing as a young girl, Jennifer, who turns out to have a key link to the events of the previous game. Taking place in 1973, Jennifer is a young runaway living in a shelter for troubled girls. A rapid series of events transforms her life as she needs to escape from The Ashmann Inn using stealth and puzzle solving in traditional survival horror fashion.

The historical setting and grimy aesthetic fits with the Giallo-esque feel of the original – a comparison cemented by the fact that the titles are set and developed in Italy. Beneath that grime, you can still see an increased level of polish and refinement over its predecessor, and the final build promises even greater things.

Stealth is the name of the game here, and you will spend the majority of your time sneaking around, hiding from sinister foes and solving a range of puzzles. Some of these are basic key fetch-quests, whilst others become more elaborate. The majority of the preview build focuses on the sneaking, however, and this mostly works well. I did find that the controls (playing on keyboard and mouse) were a little clunky, and there were strange moments where Jennifer wouldn't move through gaps that she was visually able to. There were also a few issues with interacting with objects as the cursor wouldn't always align with items that were highlighted, which didn't help with rummaging through the many cupboards and drawers in search of items. In fact the preview build featured an almost overwhelming number of crafting ingredients and weapons. I lost count of the number of knives, screwdrivers, or sharp trowels I was somehow carrying in my pockets. It remains to be seen how this pointy bounty squares with the usual survival horror focus on scarce resources.

There was one main enemy featured in the preview, and they featured the same grotesque appearance and persistence of those in Tormented Fathers (although the lack of saggy old man butt was welcome here). The musical and audio cues for being discovered were particularly effective and there was a genuine sense of dread and unease.

As a taster for the full game, this preview worked really well. It is clear that Stormind Games have listened to fans and critics in refining the central mechanics, and the initial hints at the storyline certainly have me intrigued. I hope that the object interaction and QTEs are tightened up in the full release, but am looking forward to spending some dark autumn evenings exploring the horrors of The Ashmann Inn and whatever other locations the game includes. Look out for our full review just in time for Halloween.

UK retailer Argos is having problems with PS5 preorders, Very and John Lewis cancelling preorders

Hundreds of people on Twitter are reporting that they have managed to purchase as console from UK retailer Argos but have not received the confirmation email for the order. Many others are saying the money has gone out of their bank account but is in a status of 'pending'.

A screenshot from an online chat with Argos suggests that if the purchasers have not received the email within two hours then they will not get a console.

Those whose consoles have been cancelled are very annoyed that they can't get the money back straight away.

The Argos website also seems to be struggling and crashing half way through orders

There are also reports of Very cancelling preorders. Here is the message that was posted on HotUKDeals from Very.

Hi thank you for your recent order on 17/09/20 for PlayStation 5 console / accessories. Unfortunately, due to extremely high demand and limited availability, your order has been cancelled. We apologise for any disappointment caused. More stock will be made available on the site as it is allocated, so please come back and check. Please be aware, any stock will be VERY LIMITED and will only be available for a short time. Thanks

This message was also reported on Twitter.

It seems that John Lewis are also cancelling preorders, this screenshot was posted on HotUKDeals

It seems that the retailers were not aware that there would be huge demand for the console and many have sold far to many in advance. We are trying to keep on top of where you can buy a console, for more information on that click here.

At present two retailers still seem to have not opened pre-orders.

  • CoolShop – Has a page for the PS5 and lists some accessories and games for pre-order, but no consoles.
  • Carphonewarehouse – Register your interest, nothing on sale.

Source: HUKD / HUKD / Twitter / Twitter / Twitter / Twitter

Xbox Series S game installs should be around 30% smaller than on Series X

If you were worried about the size of the SSD in the Xbox Series S, then Microsoft have some mildly OK news for you: game installs should be about 30% smaller on the Series S than on Series X. That's in addition to the space savings that can be found elsewhere through the shift from spinning disc drives to standardised SSDs across all next-gen consoles.

Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald was speaking to IGN about the Xbox Series S, discussing some of the decisions made in the lower-powered console's design and how they'll impact consumers and game developers.

Of particular note is the 512GB SSD, which will quickly be filled by games, and the 8GB of fast RAM from the pool of 10GB. Consumers have worried that 512GB will be too small, and developers have expressed concern about the amount and speed of the RAM. However, According to Ronald, these have both been able to shrink in tandem thanks to the lower performance target.

"With a performance target of 1440p at 60fps," he says, "our expectation is that developers will not ship their highest level mipmaps to Xbox Series S, which will reduce the size of the games. Ultimately the controls in the developer's hands. We've had this technology for a while that allows developers to intelligently choose which assets to install on which device they're playing on. So the flexibility is in the developers' hands to make sure the right assets are there."

In other words, if the Series S can't really make use of the higher detail textures designed for 4K, those simply won't be included. It's the same story on Xbox One, with Xbox One X enhanced games being larger than base console through having larger textures in particular. Textures also make up the majority of RAM usage, so the Xbox Series S can have less RAM, and not as much memory bandwidth is needed to get the best out of the smaller 4TB GPU.

Through it all, developers still have the sheer speed of the SSD and hardware asset decompression, as well as the more powerful CPU, 3D audio engine and other advantages of the next generation. They also have the flexibility to do with this what they want:

"The way that we designed the developer environment was that a developer would ideally target 4K at 60 fps, up to a 120 fps on Xbox Series X, and then they could easily scale down to the Xbox Series S by reducing the rendering resolution to 1440p," Ronald said. "But they're not locked into that. So the developer can choose to use the power of the Xbox Series S in the way that they see fit. So in some cases they may choose to render at, say, 1080p, and then use the extra GPU headroom for things like better anti-aliasing or better graphical effects. On the other hand, the developer may choose to go after something like 120 fps, if that's right for the title, and that might result in resolution tradeoffs."

Speaking of which, one of the key graphical effects of the next generation will be ray tracing, but this will be optional, and seemingly could diverge between the two consoles in order to preserve the core gaming experience.

"In some cases with a lower resolution, they'll be able to deliver the same ray tracing experience they have on Series X," Ronald said, "and other cases, they may choose to disable that in order to turn on other effects that improve the overall experience."

All of that said, I'm sure that many developers were looking at the next generation as a time where they could feel liberated by the sheer power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, exploring ray tracing, much larger worlds and more without worrying about lower powered hardware. Now, as much as Microsoft say otherwise, they will have to consider the Series S in their game designs, even if their first step will be to reduce the game resolution, lower asset detail and see how performance holds up. That will be fascinating to see unfold as we shift out of the cross-generational period in a couple years time.

Source: IGN

How MTG Arena can get its mobile release right

Back in February, Hasbro chairman and CEO Brian Goldner told investors on the 2019 earnings call that "Magic Arena will move to mobile in 2020". This, he said, was "incredibly exciting as we give more people access to Magic Arena".

Since then, there has been excitement in the community, true – we all want to see the game succeed – but it's more of a nervous anxiety, hoping against hope that Hasbro pull the Zodiac Rabbit out of the hat. Unfortunately, knowing what Arena is like, we're all expecting something closer to Vizzerdrix.

I desperately want Arena Mobile to succeed, not just exist. I play Magic almost every day, and I would love a mobile client that lets me play on the go, draft over lunch or even just on the sofa in the evening, instead of being tied to my PC. For this dream to come true, there are a three things Magic Arena Mobile needs to do.

Improve the Arena client

First and foremost, Arena is an clunky programme. While the base client is a reasonable 826MB, regular chunky updates have inflated that beyond 10GB and these patches doing little to improve overall stability. It's like a rickety old steam train; once it gets up to speed it can feel pretty stable, but there's no guarantee that you're going to get into your first game without the client crashing, or that the game won't crash further down the line.

Hasbro need to sort this out and make sure the client is stable on mobile — something that is notoriously difficult given the amount of different hardware out there that they want this to run on — or the mobile client is just going to be a Dead Weight.

Streamline Arena's interface

If you've never played Magic, the game is pretty complicated. You don't need to be Rain Man to keep up, but there are a lot of moving parts to any given game and it's not uncommon to have 10–15 cards in play on each side of the board. That means, alongside libraries, graveyards, hands and exile zones, you have up to 40 things to display in a normal game, sometimes more. It's not conceivable to have over 100 cards on your side of the table. Sadly, a phone screen is simply too small to show all of this, which is why the community has long said Arena will probably work fairly well on a tablet, but nobody is as confident about mobiles.

Perhaps Hasbro can get around this clutter by adding a function that zooms to different sides of the battlefield — at least this way you're looking at your phone screen as if it was a playmat, which is something that all paper players will be familiar with.

It's also important to note that games of Magic are a lot longer than games of other TCGs such as Hearthstone and frequently last up to 45 minutes in best-of-three matches, or more complicated single matches. This, coupled with the fact that you can put real money into the system, means that a solid server connection is vital. A drop in connectivity for even two minutes has monetary implications for the players. Unless Hasbro want to give out a lot of refunds moving forward, they best check they have enough server capacity for the influx of players they're hoping to see.

Honour what was promised

Of course, Hasbro could sidestep all of this by simply releasing a mobile helper tool which lets you edit your collection/build decks on the go. This would bring Arena to mobile, albeit in an Arena Lite kind of way.

Simply put, this isn't going to cut it; we were told in April that the mobile client would have "all your cards, decks, play modes, etc", and that means we expect all the bells and whistles. At the absolute bare minimum, players would want something that allows them to draft, even if they can't play ranked matches, but this would leave a bad taste for a lot of people.

Yes, it's going to be difficult, but getting this right will not only be a massive boon for enfranchised players and it will help bring the game to a much wider audience of mobile users, which is what Hasbro want. If they mess this up, all they will do is frustrate the existing fan base.

Back in April, we were told we wouldn't have many announcements until late autumn, so for Hasbro, The Countdown Is at One. Here's hoping that Vizzerdrix is still consigned to Magic history.

Marvel's Avengers War Table confirms weekly reset, upcoming patch

A new War Table update for Marvel's Avengers has detailed the latest weekly reset while also teasing the game's "biggest patch yet".

Those playing the multiplayer action title will notice that missions, challenges, and marketplace items will rotate on a regular basis.

As part of the Avengers weekly reset there are new Priority Missions and Priority HARM Challenges which can be completed to unlock epic gear and other bonuses. We've listed the new missions below, alongside the new items added to the in-game marketplace.

In the meantime, Avengers players may be wondering when the next big update will arrive. Developer Crystal Dynamics confirmed that it's currently in the pipeline, stating "V1.3.0 – our biggest patch yet – will be dropping soon. We will update this section as soon as it is live!".

You can read more about Marvel's Avengers in our day one review of the game. As promised, here's the latest weekly reset details.

Marvel's Avengers Weekly Reset September 17

PRIORITY MISSIONS

Desert Vault (Low Power Level)

Modifiers:

  • Famine: Enemies do not drop Regen Packs when defeated
  • Outbreak: Toxic hazards are added to the environment. Gamma damage from enemies and the environment are increased
  • Collider: Particle damage from players is increased

Guaranteed Reward: Polychoron & Hero-Specific Gear

Tundra Vault (High Power Level)

Modifiers:

  • Turmoil: Significantly increased presence of Riotbots.
  • Resurgence: Enemy health regenerates after a short delay
  • Clash: Melee damage from any source is greatly increased
  • Snowball: Cryo damage from players is increased

Guaranteed Reward: Epic Gear

PRIORITY HARM CHALLENGES

Weekly First Completion Reward: 2010's Black Widow #5 (0.5% Status Resistance)

Low Power Level Challenge

Modifiers:

  • Oasis: Regen Packs have increased Willpower benefit.
  • Torpedo: Projectile damage from any source is greatly increased

High Power Level Challenge

Modifiers:

  • Famine: Enemies do not drop Regen Packs when defeated
  • Clash: Melee damage from any source is greatly increased
  • Cosmos: Cosmic damage from players is increased

MARKETPLACE UPDATES

We've got some flashy additions to the store this week, including Iron Man's legendary Fireworks Emote, Hulk's Epic "Breakups Really Hurt" Takedown, and Thor's Epic Rock Star outfit. Zebra print and fur boots? Sign us up!

The Marketplace is a place for us to feature purchasable cosmetics in the form of Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates. The Marketplace's Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary items rotate weekly, and can be purchased with Credits.

Source: Marvel's Avengers

Dog Duty Review

I've been playing video games for the majority of my life. The first place I was lucky enough to play games on was the iconic Amiga 500, and the first game was my Dad's copy of interactive murder mystery Cruise for a Corpse – that was way back in 1991. Since then, I've pretty much played video games every week; it's a hobby, vocation and profession that has seen me through all the highs and lows that life has thrown at me. Why am I sharing this? Well, because I want to put it in clear context when I declare that Dog Duty is so very bad that it almost killed my passion for video games stone dead. It is, without doubt, one of the worst games I've ever played.

Still reading? Oh, well I suppose I should expand on that grandiose statement a little. Dog Duty is intended to be a real-time tactical shooter, one that clearly takes inspiration from Amiga classic Cannon Fodder as well as more recent hits like Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines or Shadow Tactics. The player views proceedings from above, sending their squad of three mercenaries to infiltrate and wipe-out enemy installations – each filled to the brim with soldiers, gun turrets and a near never ending stream of reinforcements.

Rather than being limited to bespoke levels, Dog Duty expands its horizons to include an open world in which your mercenary force heads out in a humongous vehicle to dodge machine gun turrets and do battle with squadrons of other vehicles before finally reaching an enemy base. At this point your warriors disembark and must wipe-out some element of the facility or collect a resource. The ultimate aim to wipe out the mega vehicles of the megalomaniacal madman known only as Octopus Commander.

Just one glance at the screenshots and it's clear to see that Dog Duty has taken its retro inspiration very literally. This is a game that looks like it should be running on an arcade cabinet in the 1980's. Characters, vehicles and the environment are a selection of big blocky pixels in slightly different colours. The isometric camera is strictly fixed, no zooming or rotating view point other than during scripted moments. Retro visuals can, of course, be both beautiful and beguiling, but in Dog Duty they are Cinderella's ugly sister and hamper the gameplay. Is that a bridge, a tunnel or just a big grey brick I see before me? Quite frankly, I have no idea. I guess I'd better just drive into it and see. Oh, it's a tunnel – who knew?

There were moments in the game where I literally couldn't tell if my mercs were walking on solid ground or wading through a swamp. Not that this matters from a gameplay perspective as neither has any affect on the movement of units, but it just served to render every environment a chore to explore. It's an issue only exacerbated by the mundane palette of colours, primarily consisting of differing shades of brown and grey.

Then there was the strange blurry lines over everything. I assume they were meant to be rain or maybe an aesthetic decision to enforce the idea that I was looking through an arcade cabinet screen, but they succeeded only in rendering the game deeply unpleasant to look at for any length of time.

With the actual gameplay Dog Duty fares little better. Unlike the strategic elements found in Commandos, Dog Duty is much more of an arcade run 'n' gun proposition. Sadly, the effect of this is that everything is far too automated. Your three person unit shoots automatically, so all you have to do is move them and occasionally activate a special ability, such as first aid or rapid fire, and your warriors do the rest. At least, that's the idea.

Pathfinding is so inept that you'll need to micromanage a unit to the closest of locations, and if there's any stairs involved, just forget about it. It's unlikely your highly skilled ultimate soldier will ever be able to find the top of them. Indeed, at one point, one of the indistinct blobs that's meant to represent my player character refused to even mount a set of steps – despite the fact that they were right in front of him. The AI isn't much better at shooting either – your soldiers, with great relish and zeal, unleashing pure bullet hell on the floor at their feet, when they should be shooting down at the enemy beneath them.

For a shooter that requires your squad to frequently take cover, walls are also worrying inconsistent in their solidity. Sometimes units will just walk through a wall as if they're a friendly ghost, whilst on other occasions they'll remain resolutely stuck on one side. This causes problems when two thirds of the unit gets stuck whilst the one remaining amateur Nightcrawler goes wondering off on his own. Worse still is when enemy bullets go straight through your cover like a flippin' rail gun whilst your hail of bullets in return ineffectively bounce off the now solid object. It's baffling and deeply frustrating, particularly when an enemy turret can make mincemeat of your troops in seconds, rendering cover's indecision over its solidity even more of a nuisance.

Any other issues? You bet. Let's have a quick round-up: the level of difficulty is all over the place, crazy difficulty spikes popping out of nowhere to wipe your squad out in an instant, whilst at other times the game is a complete breeze as your team mates wipe out waves of enemies with little player input. There's next to no tutorial with very few elements of the game or its controls being explained. Your vehicle handles like a bar of soap covered in engine oil sliding down the back of an eel which has been lubed up with an entire tube of KY Jelly.

On the plus side, the script is funny and has decent voice overs, so, there's that I suppose?

For Honor Y4S3 update adds new map, battle pass, and other features

Ubisoft have unleashed their latest season of For Honor content, available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, as well as Google Stadia and UPLAY+.

For Honor Year 4 Season: Resistance adds new content, features, and improvements to Ubisoft's flagship fighting game alongside the latest battle pass.

Following on from the Y4S2 Tyranny season, Resistance sees the For Honor team attempt to weave more storytelling into their content updates. With Heathmoor ravaged by the Cult of Horkos over the Summer, the four in-game factions have assembled a ragtag force of warriors ready to fight back.

So what does this mean in terms of new For Honor content? First up we have a new limited-time event game mode dubbed Tales of Rebellion. Available until October 8th, this PvE co-op mode will have you and your allies go up against the Warmonger armies in narrative battles.

A free mini battle pass will run alongside Tales of Rebellion with a cluster of rewards for fighters to unlock. There will be a bigger battle pass on top of this too that will run throughout Y4S3, tagged with 100 tiers of rewards.

Sadly there's no new hero this time around. Ubisoft confirmed going into Year 4 that they would only be adding two new fighters to the roster in 2020 with the Warmonger being recently introduced. There is a new arena map though called The Belvedere, as well as a Team Identification feature. This basically does away with the red vs. blue colour schemes, allowing you to change the appearance of your warriors while outlining them to indicate which team you are on.

Click below for the full list of changes made in For Honor update 2.22.

For Honor Update 2.22 Patch Notes

IMPROVEMENTS

GENERAL

  • Replaced all dodges effects with a new "dodge shadow effect" for all Heroes
  • All the Heroes now have their own base avatar when they dodge

MAP

Sentinel

Capture Zone A

  • The back staircases leading up to the zone have been doubled in width along with the extension of the capture zone area itself, which removes the path that ran along behind
  • A brasero has been added in the middle of the Capture Zone area, which will protect Players from the Ballista

Capture Zone C

  • The entire 2nd floor is no longer part of Capture Zone C anymore. Instead, the 1st floor now is, and has been enlarged considerably
  • The outdoor balcony area has been reduced in size
  • The interior staircases leading to the outdoor balcony area (from spawn) have been widened by 0.5m
  • Ziplines have been added at each tower, to the left and right of the 2nd floor Ballista, connecting to the Lower Ruins
  • Ballista sightlines have been tweaked

Duel

  • The duel arena located in the Defender Courtyard has been moved to the 1st floor of the Tower Interior
  • The trap door located on the Exterior Roof of the tower has been removed

Brawl

  • The brawl arena has been moved from the Tower to the Defender Courtyardr

Developer's Comment: Sentinel is the map that introduced Ballistas into PvP gameplay in For Honor. Its original design intent was to maximise the use of the Ballistas on the battlefield. Although it provided a very unique experience compared to other maps, it over-relied on camping strategies and navigation between objectives became secondary. With this update we wanted to bring speed and ease of navigation between objectives back to the forefront. It wasn't our intention to simply remove the Ballistas but make them less attractive as a main strategy.

Capture Zone A was not only one of the smallest Capture Zones in the game but also one of the most dangerous ones, with a prominent ledge and in direct line-of-sight from a Ballista. The back area of the zone was also very underutilized. The new open space allows Players to further distance themselves from the ledge and now provides added cover from the opposing Ballista. The other important change is that the run-distances between the Mid-Lane and Capture Zone C have been shortened considerably by moving the capture area to the entire first floor. Which in turn, no longer allows Players to interact with the ballista on the 2nd floor while still holding the zone. Our aim is to have the Ballista be a choice to consider and not a default action. Up until now, those who were using the ballista but no longer had any targets in sight, felt trapped on the 2nd floor with no easy means to move on to another area. This is where the newly added ziplines come in handy. Enjoy!

Temple Garden

  • Removed the doors at the entrance into the Tomb at Capture Zone A
  • Replaced the standing torches near the two outdoor pillars with wall torches

Harbour

  • Closed off a ledge on the deck of the Trireme (Mid-lane). Dominion only

Gauntlet

Capture Zone C

  • The staircase entrance, coming from the Attacker spawn, has been doubled in width
  • The actual zone has now also been extended in to the dual-entry corridor

BOTS

  • All Bots should now have improved Stamina management behaviors when fighting in the lane, stopping to regain Stamina before going Out of Stamina and, if Out of Stamina, waiting to have Stamina again before resuming their attacks

RANKED

  • Decreased the amount of placement matches to 8 (from 15)

USER INTERFACE

  • Orders are now accessible in the pause menu. The LB shortcut in the World Map is still active

Developer's Comment: We've made Orders accessible from anywhere, as it can be useful to have a reminder of what you need do to complete your currently selected Orders before or even during a match. Please note that Orders will not progress in the menu while a game is ongoing as the update is done at the end of the match.

  • Improved the Podium User Interface to better showcase player's names and emblems
  • Added new icons for players above Reputation 100 and Reputation 1000

BUG FIXES

GENERAL

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused most Heroes Feint visual effect to be missing or have very low visibility

FIGHTERS

Warden

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Warden's Side Light Combo animation to skip some frames

Hitokiri

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Hitokiri's "Rei Kick" to be undodgeable if the kick is done on the right after a light attack

Centurion

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an inconsistency that caused Centurion's fully charged Jab after a Heavy Finisher to have a tighter dodge window than intended

Shugoki

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where Shugoki's Guard Break counter window was 200ms rather than 300ms

MAP

Canopy

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed issue in Duel that allowed players to sometime pass through fire

ARCADE

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused some Modifiers to not be displayed in the User Interface

AUDIO

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Hitokiri to be missing effort grunts on certain moves

USER INTERFACE

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed issue that caused a white flash when opening and closing the social menu during the faceoff

CUSTOMIZATION

  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Warden's "Vengeful Instigator Helm" to be slightly offset
  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused the Shaolin "Qiongqi Chest" side pads to move
  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that caused to "Horkos Sigil" effect to not always play properly
  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that cause the Hitokiri's "Kamaitachi" execution to be missing visual effects
  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that cause the Nobushi's "Snapmare" execution to be offset
  • [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue that cause the Valkyrie "Get the Horn" execution to be offset

Source: Press Release

PS5 pre-orders UK – John Lewis & Currys stock has been and gone…

Hot on the heels of the PlayStation 5's launch date and pricing announcement – 19th November and £449 / £359 here in the UK – pre-orders have already quickly started going live and are just as quickly going out of stock. Don't worry though, while stocks will be limited, there are still some opportunities coming for you to pre-order in the UK.

Here's the update on what we know and where you can keep an eye on. We'll be updating this page with more information as we find out more.

Update 12:30PM 18/09 – It seems like all the best hopes for the first batch of pre-orders have been and gone, so we're going to stop updating this post. At this time, the best shot is to register your interest or set up email notifications, as it's likely that Sony will try to allocate further stock over the coming weeks and months. 

PS5 Pre-Orders Out of Stock

  • SimplyGames – This has now been confirmed to have occurred on Thursday afternoon for those that registered interest. However, you can still register your interest, with SimplyGames saying they're hoping to have a second batch of pre-orders made available from Sony.
  • Currys PC World – Pre-orders reopened at midday Stock is only for those that have signed up for email notifications and used the Queue-It system – link here if you want to try, but there's an implausibly long queue so we're marking this as OOS. You will require to pay a non-refundable £5 deposit.
  • John Lewis –  Went live at midday on Friday and went out of stock in less than 10 minutes.
  • Box.co.uk – Went live at 10:30AM Friday – There's a slim chance you might be able to get a digital console still, though the site is struggling and all console stock seems to be gone. Email confirmations will take up to two hours to appear for those that did order.
  • Argos – We're putting Argos in the Out of Stock pile again. Argos pre-orders seemed to be staggered out across the morning, with more becoming available if people were persistent and refreshed the page, but this has seemingly now dried up. While they're working to secure more, note that full payment will be taken when you place your order.
  • ShopTo – Pages for both versions of PS5 now show that they are out of stock.
  • Amazon UK – Amazon UK's PS5 pre-orders are 'currently unavailable', but Amazon's email encouraged people to keep checking back through the day, but both standard and Digital Edition consoles have been listed and gone out of stock. Accessories will be made available through the day, and while the console may quickly go out of stock.
    If and when Amazon pre-orders return, we heard some people struggled to reach the page on mobile and via their apps. Try Amazon via a desktop or laptop or by requesting the desktop site on your phone. However, Amazon do have DualSense controllers available.
  • AO.com – Standard PS5 and PS5 Digital Editions are both now sold out.
  • GAME – Pre-orders went up overnight and are seemingly now out of stock. Check here for any restocks. In-store pre-orders are live from 8AM today, so long as you put down a £10 deposit.
  • Smyths Toys – Pre-orders went up overnight and are seemingly now out of stock for consoles. Some accessories are still available.
  • Very – Very's pre-orders are out of stock. If they return, then beware: Very takes payment at the time of order, not at the time of dispatch.

Upcoming PS5 Pre-Orders… Maybe?

  • CoolShop – Has a page for the PS5 and lists some accessories and games for pre-order, but no consoles.
  • Carphonewarehouse – Register your interest, nothing on sale.

It's been a hectic 24 hours for PlayStation fans, with the build up to the PlayStation 5 showcase, the announcement of the console's price and launch date, a bunch of new game announcements including Final Fantasy XVI,

We also discovered that Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West and Sackboy A Big Adventure are all to be cross-gen releases that come to PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation 5. Meanwhile the PlayStation Plus Collection gives a free library of PS4 games for PS Plus subscribers on PS5.

Oh, and next-gen games from Sony are going to get more expensive… Bear that in mind when deciding which version of the PS5 you're going to get!

More PlayStation 5 News:

PS5 pre-orders US – Does anywhere still have stock?

Hot on the heels of the PlayStation 5's launch date and pricing announcement – 12th November and $499 / $399 in the US – pre-orders have already quickly started going live and just as quickly going out of stock. Don't worry though, while stocks will be limited, there should be plenty of possibilities coming for you to pre-order in the US.

Here's the update on what we know and where you can keep an eye on. We'll be updating this page with more information as we find out more:

Update 12:30PM BST 18/09 – It seems like all the best hopes for the first batch of pre-orders have been and gone, so we're going to stop actively updating this post. At this time, the best shot is to register your interest or set up email notifications, as it's likely that Sony will try to allocate further stock over the coming weeks and months. 

PS5 Pre-Orders

  • Best Buy – Best Buy has a Coming Soon sign here for consoles, while you can still pre-order all the launch games and peripherals for the moment.
  • Amazon.com – There's no sign of any pre-orders still available from Amazon at the moment, though you can set up an email alert if more become available. You still able to grab all the peripherals though, so if you fancy a Dualsense or the 3D Pulse headset it might be worth doing that now.
  • Sony – The consoles are currently unavailable, seemingly allocated to some of those who registered their interest back in August, but PS Plus members can order anything else and it's guaranteed for launch day
  • Walmart – Had units available on Thursday evening. All gone again now. You can set up an in-stock alert now.
  • Sam's Club – There were briefly pre-orders here, but they've swiftly disappeared.
  • Target – Target had units Thursday night, but they've all gone again for the time being

It's been a hectic 24 hours for PlayStation fans, with the build up to the PlayStation 5 showcase, the announcement of the console's price and launch date, a bunch of new game announcements including Final Fantasy XVI,

We also discovered that Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West and Sackboy A Big Adventure are all to be cross-gen releases that come to PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation 5. Meanwhile the PlayStation Plus Collection gives a free library of PS4 games for PS Plus subscribers on PS5.

Oh, and next-gen games from Sony are going to get more expensive… Bear that in mind when deciding which version of the PS5 you're going to get!

More PlayStation 5 News:

 

Xbox Series X|S pre-orders go live Tuesday 22nd September, times and participating retailers listed here

Microsoft have announced the pre-orders for the Xbox Series X|S console will go live in a week's time on Thursday 22nd September at 8AM local time around the world. It seems all the retailers will go live at the same time rather than the staggered approach that was taken for PlayStation 5.

Participating retailers detailed by Microsoft are:

  • UK (8AM BST): Microsoft Store, GAME, Amazon, Dixons, Currys PC World, Argos, John Lewis, Smyths Toys, VERY, AO, Tesco, Simply Games, ShopTo and other participating retailers
  • United States (8AM PT / 11AM ET): Microsoft Store, Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, Newegg, and other participating retailers
  • Canada (8AM PT): Microsoft Store, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, EB Games, The Source, and other participating retailers
  • Australia (8AM AEST): Microsoft Store, JB Hifi, EB Games, Telstra, Harvey Norman, and other participating retailers
  • New Zealand (8AM NZST): Microsoft Store, JB HiFi, EB Games, Spark, and other participating retailers

It gets trickier in other regions though. For Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, you pre-orders start at 9AM CEST at Microsoft Store, Amazon, MediaMarkt, GameStop, FNAC, Elkjøp/Elgiganten, and other participating retailers. These will differ from country to country.

Obviously countries like the US and economic markets like the EU have been coordinated around the last time zone to reach 8AM – Pacific Time for the US, and UK time for Europe.

Microsoft are giving everyone plenty of warning so they are not caught off guard, Sony have been criticised for saying they would give plenty of notice before pre-orders go live but many retailers had sold out by the time people were even aware the console was up for sale.

The next-generation will get started with the Xbox Series X and the Series S set to launch on the 10th November 2020. The Series X will retail for £449 or $499, while the Series S weighs in at £249 or $299. There will also be a 24-month payment plans for bundles that include a console, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play together starting from an exceedingly tempting $24.99 / £20.99 per month for Series S, and $34.99 / £28.99 per month for Series X.

Those will be going live at the same time as other pre-orders, from the following retailers:

  • United States (8AM PT): Best Buy, GameStop, Microsoft Store, and Walmart
  • Australia (8AM AEST): Telstra
  • New Zealand (8AM NZST): Spark
  • UK (8AM BST): GAME and Smyths Toys
  • Denmark (9AM CEST): Elgiganten
  • Finland (9AM CEST): Gigantti
  • Norway (9AM CEST): Elkjøp
  • Sweden (9AM CEST): Elgiganten

The Xbox Series S is the smallest Xbox console yet, 60% smaller than the Xbox Series X, but coming with reduced power as well. It sports an 8-Core Zen 2 CPU, but this is clocked at 3.6Ghz or 3.4Ghz with SMT, putting it 200Mhz shy of the bigger console. That's paired with a 20 CU RDNA 2 GPU at 1.565Ghz, which produces 4 TFLOPS of power. There's also 10GB of GDDR6 RAM, with 8GB at 224GB/s (roughly half the speed of the Series X) and 2GB at a much, much lower 56GB/s on the Series S to cater for system processes. The 512GB SSD is an exact match for the speed of the Series X, and the console will take the same 1TB expansion card SSDs.

It's now been confirmed by Microsoft, the Series S will not run the Xbox One X enhanced versions of games, and will instead revert to the base Xbox One S versions of the game. Even so, it will still make a step forward over the base Xbox One, able to steady or improve frame rates, dynamic resolutions and implement system level tweaks on texture filtering and Auto HDR.

Source: Twitter

Disintegration multiplayer servers will be shut down in November, five months after launch

Private Division and V1 Interactive's Disintegration was only released back in June, but the two companies have announced that the game's multiplayer servers will be shut down on November 17th. That means the servers will have been live for a total of five months. Private Division and V1 Interactive confirmed this is due to a lack of player interest which means it is not feasible to pay the costs to keep the servers for Disintegration running. The in game store has been taken offline already. The full statement is below.

We have made the difficult decision to remove Disintegration's multiplayer modes from the game across all platforms. This will be done in phases over the coming months, starting today with the removal of the in-game store, and will conclude on November 17th with the full removal of multiplayer. The single player campaign will remain fully playable moving forward.

From both the development team at V1 Interactive and publishing group at Private Division, we stand by the creative risks taken to launch such a unique, genre-bending game created by this small but talented and passionate team. While our player base showed interest in the single player campaign, the game unfortunately struggled to build a significant audience necessary for a compelling multiplayer experience. After weighing options, we have collectively made the decision to sunset the multiplayer support.

We believe the video game industry needs constant innovation, and we will continue to take risks, follow creative visions, and support new ideas.

To everyone who has played Disintegration: we thank you.

In our review for Disintegration, Dom wrote:

Disintegration is a game of, and about, duality. It manages to feel like a throwback while it's fresh genre melding brings it straight into the present. It's an occasionally lifeless, mechanically sound construct, but everything about it has heart. It's a double A game, the likes of which we don't often see anymore, and it's one of the most unique and consistently enjoyable sci-fi shooters of recent years.
You can read the full review here.

Balan Wonderworld release date has been confirmed for March 2021

Square Enix has announced the release date for the 3D platformer Balan Wonderworld, and it will be available from March 26th, 2021. Balan Wonderland will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch. The game is being developed by Balan Company and that studio is being led by Sonic The Hedgehog  franchise creator Yuji Naka, and Naoto Ohshima who is the character designer behind Sonic. This is the first time the two have worked together in 20 years. The new trailer showcases the newly confirmed multiplayer aspect of Balan Wonderworld, which allow two player local co-op.

The official description can be read below:

Twelve different tales await players in the bizarre and imaginary land of Wonderworld. As the star of the show you can use powers from 80 different costumes while exploring labyrinth stages, filled with a myriad of tricks and traps to get to the heart of each story. As you journey through this land between fantasy and reality, you must find a way to bring balance to others and yourself.

Players will have to traverse Wonderworld and help to restore it by getting rid of Negati, which are the manifestations of emotions such as worry. Balan Wonderworld also feature over 80 costumes and each costume has powers to assist in the adventure. These include Pumpkin Puncher outfit that lets players smash through obstacles blocking pathways to the Air Cat costume that allows players to walk in mid-air for a certain amount of time.

Source: Press Release

SnowRunner update 1.11 improves wheel support

Focus Home and Saber Interactive have hauled out a new game patch for their popular Spintires sequel, SnowRunner.

Following on from last month's major SnowRunner update – which dropped a truckload of new free and paid DLC content – version 1.11 is much lighter, making some requested fixes while also improving the compatibility of various racing wheels. You can read the full patch notes further down.

Last month, Saber Interactive brought a close to the first part of the post-launch season pass DLC labelled Phase One: Search & Rescue. Split into two halves, this add-on content included new vehicles as well as two new maps, missions, and other extras.

The studio currently has plans for four phases, all of which are included with the SnowRunner season pass. The second phase, Explore & Expand, will then be followed by another dubbed Locate & Deliver, before the fourth and final unnamed expansion.

Snowrunner Patch Notes 1.11

General

  • In Co-op, fixed kicks from the game after watchtower unlocks, contracts completion
  • Additional fixes for co-op on a LAN
  • Fixed bug where trailers' fuel capacity wasn't displayed according to the selected metric system
  • Fixed a bug when snorkel functionality for Royal BM17 depended on the installed bumper
  • Fixed incorrect collision and behavior of International Transtar 4070A with Trapezium bumper and Fuel Tank attached (or other heavy loads)

Wheels

  • Added Logitech True Force Wheel G923 support for PC, Xbox One and PS4
  • Fixed conflicts between using D-pad and moving camera using Logitech G920, Logitech G923
  • Fixed bug when gears binds were not saved when exiting the game
  • Fixed bug when Clutch Pedal didn't work with TX Racing Wheel Leather Edition
  • Fixed winch not working when using Logitech G Saitek Farm Controller

Saber also recently confirmed that SnowRunner mods will be coming to the console versions of the game. For more on SnowRunner, make sure you read our 9/10 review – here's a snippet:

SnowRunner is a game thoroughly, single-mindedly, in love with the open road. It just happens that it's the kind of love that's bred by getting that road so thoroughly under your nails, you occasionally have to wonder whether it's actually hate. Care, attention and time will show that SnowRunner is a passion project worth putting the extra mile in for.

Source: SnowRunner

Life Is Strange 2: Episode 1 is now free permanently

Square Enix has announced that it has made Life Is Strange 2: Episode 1 is now free permanently. According to Square Enix the first episode is about three hours long, so plenty of time to draw you in the series. Episode 1 starts the journey of the two brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz, who run away from home after an accident. Along with running away the brothers have to deal with Daniel's discovered power of telekinesis.

Life Is Strange Episode 1 is free on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The download links are below:

In our review for Life Is Strange Episode 1, Stefan wrote:

Following on from Max and Chloe's time-twisting adventure was always going to be a tricky task, but Dontnod have pulled it off with aplomb in Life Is Strange 2's first episode. Sean and Daniel's relationship, the tragedy that sends them on the run, the contrasting people that they meet and the supernatural twists on a modern day drama all come together in wonderful fashion.

You can read the Life Is Strange Episode 1 review here.

Source: Press Release