Seventeen years after the last Rogue Squadron, Star Wars: Squadrons flies in to fill the void. Was the wait worth it, or should we hold out for remasters of the Rogue Squadron series? Check out our review and find out.
Star Wars: Squadrons Review
Squadrons starts with you making two characters: one for the Empire and one for the Rebellion. After a brief training mission, you are pushed forward in time to after Return of the Jedi.
What's left of the Imperial fleet is still in control of the skies, and the new Republic is trying to push them back. The story isn't anything to write home about; it's serviceable, but after Fallen Order, it's just okay. It'll run you roughly seven to nine hours, depending on difficulty and how quickly you get used to the controls.
I commend the story mode for teaching you all the tips and tricks for each of the ships. After the prologue, you can jump right into multiplayer, but you will be blown out. Learning to drift, how to target correctly, capital ship weak points, and how to handle the ships is an absolute must. I foolishly jumped into a fleet battle and had no idea what to target on the enemy Star Destroyer, and we lost as a result. Put your time into the Story Mode to become a superior pilot.
There are also interactions with your crew members on in your hangar in Story Mode. These are mostly forgettable, with a few exceptions. Wedge showing up was pretty cool, but his first mission was actually pretty dull. The other thing comes when you talk to your fellow pilots. They look at you and there is occasionally a delay after the say things. It's almost like they had a choice system in place for your responses and dropped it, leaving an awkward pause in some conversations. Choices would have made the story much more interesting, that's for sure.
Now let's talk about the gameplay. If you are looking for Rogue Squadron, this is not the game for you. Star Wars: Squadrons is more of a flight sim than an arcade dogfighting game. There is no third person perspective, which is a huge bummer for me. You will always be looking out of the cockpit, trying to find your targets. It can become extremely frustrating when you don't know where the enemy is shooting you from, and you die without ever seeing them. There is a radar and an auto-target system, but the results are often a mixed bag.
One really cool feature is the power management system. Basically, you can give your weapons more power, get more speed, or increase your defense. Doing this will lower your other stats, but the payoff can be massive if timed well. Using the A-wing at max speed to track down an enemy bomber, switching to attack stance, killing them, and then speeding away before another guy can get you feels great. It does mean you will need to be doing a lot of micromanagement in the middle of combat, but it's as simple as pressing a direction on the d-pad.
Speaking of ships, you have four on each side. For the Republic, you have the X-wing, A-wing, Y-wing, and the U-wing. The Imperials have the Tie Fighter, Tie Bomber, Tie Reaper, and the Tie Interceptor. Each one plays a little different and is designed for certain things. The Bombers are great against big capital ships, but are slow and not as good against fighters. Fighters are good at blowing each other up, but not as good against capital ships. Support ships can resupply your missiles and heal allies while doing a moderate amount of damage to enemies. Then the speedy ships get in and out without being hit because their armor is trash. A good squad has a mix of these ships in order to achieve victory.
Each of these ships can be customized to your personal preferences. You can change the color and adjust a few cockpit items for cosmetics. Most of it will come down to new lasers, hulls, missiles, and other upgrades. Some lasers have less distance, but can be charged up or can be made to shoot quicker. You can make your hull more sturdy, but you lose a bit of speed and maneuverability. You can change missile countermeasures and special weapons to help spice it up. These options help keep things somewhat fresh, but sadly there are only two online modes, where you will spend the bulk of your time.
Dogfight mode is the team deathmatch mode of the game. It's a 5v5 battle in space where you pick your ship and go at it with the enemy team. You don't have to worry about any AI pilots or capital ships taking you out in this mode; the first team to get up to 30 kills wins the game. Teamwork is a requirement, and if you don't communicate, it can be very frustrating. You will often have someone on your tail trying to burn you down. Still, this is the mode to test your piloting skills against other space cowboys.
The other mode are the Fleet Battles. Fleet Battles consist of three stages: There is a dog fight stage where the fighters battle it out until one team breaks through. From there, one team will defend, and another will attack with the idea being to either destroy enemy support ships or protect the support ships for your faction. Finally, the capital ships are the targets. You'll have to break multiple parts to disable shields, weapons, tractor beams, and other parts. If you destroy the enemy capital ship, you win. If yours is destroyed, you lose.
Star Wars: Squadrons is a solid Star Wars game, but it will only have legs for a specific kind of player. If you are okay with more sim-based fliers instead of arcade ones, be sure to check this one out.
Seventeen years after the last Rogue Squadron, Star Wars: Squadrons flies in to fill the void. Was the wait worth it, or should we hold out for remasters of the Rogue Squadron series? Check out our
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Pikmin Short "The Night Juicer" Released
Ahead of the release of Pikmin 3 Deluxe later this month, Nintendo has released the new short "The Night Juicer."
Players will be able to get a firsthand look at the antics of the multicolored Pikmin (and Olimar) through this short. Two more are planned in the future, dubbed "Treasure in a Bottle" and "Occupational Hazards." Never fear though; Nintendo stated that no Pikmin were harmed in the making of this film.
You can watch the first short movie below:
PIKMIN Short Movies – The Night Juicer – Nintendo
An expanded version of Pikmin 3 for the Wii U, Pikmin 3 Deluxe has players exploring a strange world and saving their famished planet. Different crops of Pikmin are at your command, which can be used to overcome obstacles, take down creatures, and uncover food.
New to this release are a variety of difficulty settings, lock-on targeting, and optional hints. New side-story missions that put the spotlight on Olimar and Louie, the ability to play Story mode with a friend, and all DLC stages from the original release have also made their way to the Deluxe edition of the game.
The game will come out for the Nintendo Switch on October 30, 2020.
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Fall Guys Season 2 Now Available
After months of anticipation, Season 2 of Mediatonic Games and Devolver Digital's Fall Guys is here. See what awaits players with our write-up.
Featuring a medieval theme set in the Middle Ages, this update brings with it new Rounds, emotes, costumes and more.
The following Rounds have entered the rotation:
- Hoopsie Legends – Teamwork (sometimes) makes the dream work
- Knight Fever – Our most challenging Gauntlet yet
- Egg Siege – Tactical scrambling action
- Wall Guys – Build it up, tear it down
Along with these new events, a new Featured store schedule has been created for the duration of the season. New features, including a Show Selector, have also been included.
Learn more with the trailer below:
Fall Guys Season 2 – Jump In Now!
Inspired by game shows like Total Wipeout and Takeshi's Castle, Fall Guys pits players against 59 other opponents in an attempt to not get eliminated and win the coveted Crown. Along the way, players can purchase cosmetics and raise their Fame level.
The game is now available for the PlayStation 4 and the PC via Steam. You can read our review of the base game here (we gave it a 75/100).
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Rambo Coming to Mortal Kombat 11
The infamous Sylvester Stallone will come over to WB Games and NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 11 as part of Kombat Pack 2.
Based off of his appearance in First Blood, Sylvester Stallone will voice the character. The design and cinematics teams drew inspiration from the 1982 classic.
Also coming to the game as part of Kombat Pack 2 are fan-favorites Mileena and Rain. Rain now wields a katar, and can use his water powers in new ways. Mileena, on the other hand, now has razor-sharp claws, and has her own Shao Kahn style helmet as part of her Kahnum Mileena outfit.
Learn more with the trailer below:
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate | Kombat Pack 2 Official Reveal Trailer
The game is now available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with releases planned for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series S/X. Note that the Ultimate Edition of the game (which features the base game, the Aftermath expansion, and Kombat Packs 1 & 2) will come out on November 17, 2020, and current-generation owners can get a free upgrade to the next-gen version. "Kross-play" support between generations will also be included.
You can read our review of the base game here (we gave it a 70/100).
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Double Payouts on All Contact Missions This Week in GTA Online
Take advantage of Double GTA$ & RP in all Contact Missions this week in Rockstar Games' GTA Online.
From now through October 14, all classic and contemporary Contact Missions will pay out double. Take them on by keeping an eye out for texts and calls, browsing the Missions list (located in the Jobs Menu), and by using the Quick Job feature on your iFruit.
Associates and Bodyguards will earn Tripled Salaries for the next seven days, and Transform Races will pay out Triple Rewards.
All those that play GTA Online anytime this week can net themselves the Fruit Tee on the house.
Those that swing by The Diamond Casino & Resort and give the Lucky Wheel its daily spin could walk away with GTA$, RP, clothing, and more. This week's top prize is the supercar Lampadati Tigon.
Players will also be able to take advantage of the following discounts this week:
High-End Apartments – 40% off
All Garages – 40% off
Laser Weapons:
- Up-n-Atomizer – 40% off
- Widowmaker – 40% off
- Unholy Hellbringer – 40% off
Vehicles:
- Blista Kanjo – 40% off
- Dinka Sugoi – 40% off
- JB700W – 30% off
- Maxwell Vagrant – 30% off
Finally, GTA Online players that have connected their Rockstar Games Social Club account with their Prime Gaming account will receive GTA$200K for playing any time this week. Members will also receive the following:
- The Vespucci Canals Nightclub location for free
- 80% off the P-45 Nokota
- 80% off the FH-1 Hunter
Prime Gaming members that link their Amazon account to their Rockstar Games Social Club account can get themselves a one-time GTA$1,000,000 bonus deposited to their Maze Bank Accounts within 72 hours.
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Trophy Changes Coming to PlayStation Systems
Sony Interactive Entertainment is bringing a number of Trophy enhancements to the PlayStation ecosystem.
In a blog written by the Director of Product Management Toshimasa Aoki, he mentions that the Trophy level range is being changed from the current "1-100" to "1-999." This means that players' Trophy level will automatically be remapped to a new level within this new range, dependent on the Trophies earned to date. As an example, somebody who used to have a Trophy level of 12 now has a level in the low 200's.
To go along with this, a new Trophies level calculation system that is more optimized and rewarding has also been included. Early levels can be progressed through more quickly, and levels will increase on a more consistent basis. Platinum trophies will also count more toward level progression.
Trophy level icons correspond as follows:
- Bronze: levels 1-299
- Silver: levels 300 – 599
- Gold: levels 600 – 998
- Platinum: level 999
Finally, Trophies earned on previous PlayStation systems will come with players to the PlayStation 5. These can be seen in past systems, the PS App and My PlayStation.
These updates will be automatically implemented on the system side, starting later tonight in North America and tomorrow in Europe.
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Cosplay Wednesday – Watch Dogs Legion's Ded Coronet
The world of Watch Dogs moves from San Francisco to London with the upcoming release of Ubisoft's Watch Dogs Legion. In honor of this upcoming title, Gamers Heroes takes a look at a spot-on cosplay of Ded Coronet.
Hailing from Russia, the duo of Daria Gerenal & kuroru helped make this dead-on cosplay of Watch Dogs Legion's Ded Coronet. These two have been looking for a Watch Dogs character to cosplay ever since the first game came out in 2014.
They were drawn to the number of customization options the game provides, with each mask being stylish and unique. Ded Coronet was chosen due to his resemblance with the classic DedSec skull symbol and the general Shakespearean vibe he gives off.
Credit goes to kuroru for the photo.
You can find general-kuroru on DeviantArt here, on Twitter here, and on Instagram here.
Do you enjoy a bit of gaming cosplay? Or maybe you're passionate enough to do it full time. Drop me a line at casey@gamersheroes.com and we'll feature some of your cosplay.
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How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate III has a very large world to explore, and walking isn't overly quick. This guide on How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3 will explain the process of fast traveling as well as information on how to unlock new waypoints so you can fast travel to various areas around the map.
Before you're able to fast travel in Baldur's Gate 3, you need to unlock Waypoints. They are easily visible on the map, once discovered. It looks like a purple whirlpool icon. When you are exploring the game world, look for glowing purple glyphs on walls and other surfaces. If you approach, you will see the glyph respond to your presence and a message will pop up on the screen saying you have unlocked a waypoint.
How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3
The act of fast traveling itself is actually very simple in Baldur's Gate 3. When you are running around the world exploring, look in the top right. In the top right corner there's a number if icons. This is how you visit your camp, take a short rest, take a long rest, and various other actions.
Click the icon that looks like a small wing. This will open the menu for Fast Travel. You cannot click the icons on the map itself, which can be a little confusing. Once you have pressed the Fast Travel button, you will see a Waypoints menu appear in the top right.
This is how you fast travel. You select one of the Waypoints. Once selected, you will immediately fast travel to that location. You do not need to be at a waypoint in order to fast travel.
Baldur's Gate 3 has many side activities to discover and explore. This guide on How To Open Overgrown Ruins In Baldur's Gate 3 will tell what you need to do in order to open the large gate that's
Baldur's Gate III has a very large world to explore, and walking isn't overly quick. This guide on How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3 will explain the process of fast traveling as well as
Want to recruit more members to your party and boost your camp numbers? This Baldur's Gate 3 Companion Location Guide will tell you how to unlock additional characters that can join your case, adding
Want to find the best and strongest gear in Baldur's Gate III? This guide on Where To Find The Best Rare Magical Items In Baldur's Gate 3 breaks down the locations and details of each powerful
The post How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3 appeared first on GamersHeroes.
How To Open Overgrown Ruins In Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 has many side activities to discover and explore. This guide on How To Open Overgrown Ruins In Baldur's Gate 3 will tell what you need to do in order to open the large gate that's blocking the entrance to the Overgrown Ruins but be careful, it's not a welcoming place.
Depending on your character, the skills and proficiencies you have, there's often multiple ways to solve most of the puzzles and obstacles you encounter. However, there's also a chance that you're completely ill-equipped for a particular situation and may have to revisit it later down the line. The Overgrown Ruins could be one such situation.
How To Open Overgrown Ruins In Baldur's Gate 3
A short distance West of the entrance to the Overgrown Ruins is a busted old dock. There are two wooden crates at the entrance to the dock. Search the larger crate and inside you will find Thieves Tools. These are a special item that allow you to attempt to lockpick a locked door or container. However, the success percentage is based on your Sleight of Hand skill. If that skill is incredibly low, there's a very good chance accessing the Overgrown Ruins could be tough..
To check your Sleight of Hand open the character sheet menu and look at Dexterity. There's a small drop down arrow next to it. As long as your Sleight of Hand is average, you shouldn't have too much trouble. If it's -2 or -3, it may take quite a few attempts but should still be possible.
Return to the Overgrown Ruins gate and save the game. Save it in a fresh slot. Then right click the door and select Lockpick. Depending on your Sleight of Hand skill rating, you may be able to unlock the door on your first attempt. Otherwise it could take many attempts.
When you enter the ruins, search the Sarcophagus in the center of the room last. It activates a number of traps that blast fire across much of the room. Open the Sarcophagus from the North West side so you can run straight towards the door once the traps activate.
Baldur's Gate 3 features many paths, many options, but each come with a consequence. In this Baldur's Gate 3 Choices & Consequences Guide we list many of the major choices that you can make
Want to recruit more members to your party and boost your camp numbers? This Baldur's Gate 3 Companion Location Guide will tell you how to unlock additional characters that can join your case, adding
Want to find the best and strongest gear in Baldur's Gate III? This guide on Where To Find The Best Rare Magical Items In Baldur's Gate 3 breaks down the locations and details of each powerful
Hidden quests and objectives provide some worthwhile rewards in Baldur's Gate III. This Baldur's Gate 3 Side Quest Guide will tell you where to find each of the side quests we have discovered on our
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Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation Guide
Scared of messing up or wondering what's the best class to build in Baldur's Gate III? This Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation Guide takes a deep dive into creating your own character in the game, explaining the different class options, skills, abilities, and everything in between.
This guide is going to feature all of the information from the character creator in the game itself, alongside some tips and tricks on getting the maximum out of your build. Players with experience creating characters in Dungeons & Dragons will likely feel right at home but for other players, some of the aspects of character creation may be a little confusing.
Explaining The Basics
If you're not familiar with Dungeons & Dragons or other games of this type, the character creation process may be a little overwhelming. However, it's actually relatively simple once you cut through to the very basics of creating your own character.
There are 6 main abilities in the game. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. While it's not really possible to create a bad character, as a lot of characters are about playing the role, but it is definitely possible to make inefficient characters. There is a huge variety and tons of potential but for the sake of keeping things simple, we're focusing on the basics for creating your first character. There are many exceptions to the below but again, just the basics.
A lot of focus when building your character should be based on Proficiency bonuses. As you level up in the game your Proficiency Bonus increases. A Proficiency Bonus applies that bonus to all skills in which the character is Proficient. So for example, a Rogue will often use Stealth and Sleight of Hand, so you want to make sure you are proficient with those skills.
Class
With a basic understanding of Proficiencies, now it's time to set the foundations for your character. The game puts the choices in a strange order as you will likely want to choose your class first. There are six classes available in Early Access. Cleric, Fighters, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, and Wizard. It's worth noting that during Chapter 1 of the game you will encounter a Cleric, a Fighter, a Rogue, and a Wizard. So if you don't want to create a healing class like a Cleric, don't worry as you will get healing options very early.
Some classes, such as Cleric, have access to additional options that can drastically change the classes role. For example, Life Domain Clerics focus primarily on healing whereas Light Domain Clerics have access to more damaging spells. Other classes, such as Fighter, unlock these options after leveling up so there's always more to a class than what is available at the start.
Ultimately, the class decision is up to you. They are all functional, balanced, and great fun to play. You will also notice that magical classes have access to Cantrips and Spells. Cantrips are abilities that you can use every turn if you wish. Spells are more powerful but also restricted based on Spell Slots, a resource for casting spells that is returned when you sleep or long rest.
Once you have decided which class to play, head to the Origin tab.
Origin
Now that you've chosen your class, look at the Abilities on the left and see what your classes main Ability is. As you can see above our Cleric's main source of stats comes with Wisdom, so all Wisdom actions are boosted with a Proficiency bonus. Now you want to focus on your Background. These are additional Proficiencies that fall outside your main Abilities. This is the best way to add a bit of charm and character to your creation.
For example, you're now building a Cleric. A divine healer to keep your allies alive. The class automatically gets Proficiency Bonuses to Religion, Medicine, and Perception. Maybe you want to double up as a bit of thief or stealth specialist. You can take the Urchin background that provides a bonus to Sleight of Hand and Stealth. Or maybe you want to be more useful in conversations so you take Noble to be able to persuade people to your way of thinking.
All Skills are used are some point or another but there are definitely ones that occur more frequently. Persuasion and Intimidation can often be used to avoid fights, obtain information and perform otherwise very useful feats. If you're unsure of what to take, Noble is a generally safe bet.
Once you've done the Origin, choose your race.
Race
There are a lot of races and subraces in Baldur's Gate 3 and ultimately, there is no wrong choice. If you want to maximize your efficiency, it's a good idea to take a Race that compliments your other decisions. So, working on the base Cleric again, the most important stats are Wisdom, Constitution and Strength. As such, it would be a good idea to take a race that adds further to those bonuses.
Humans are a safe choice as they provide +1 to all stats. Half-Elf is another good choice as you're given the choice of adding two points to any of the Abilities. There are many other ways to build characters. For example you could quite easily focus on Wisdom & Dexterity as a Cleric for a higher armor value, but breaking from the traditional ability scores can be more difficult to manage.
Not having the bonuses from the race is not a game breaker. If you want to play a specific race because of lore or appearance, go for it.
Skills
Skills are the backbone of your characters strengths and weaknesses. They are not directly tied to combat, they are more for other areas of the game. During your adventures in Baldur's Gate 3 you will come across hundreds of unique situations that require specialist knowledge in certain areas. There is no right or wrong choice here, all skills are valuable, but others do see more use.
Animal Handling can help you avoid a fight against a fearsome Owlbear. Intimidating a group of Goblins could help you avoid a dangerous fight. Sleight of Hand makes it easier to pick locks and pickpocket other characters. Survival can help you identify tracks and spot ambushes. It's more about creating your characters personality that maximizing efficiency here.
If you're stuck on choices Persuasion is used a lot throughout the game. Sleight of Hand is a great skill for getting into secret areas and completing challenging objectives. Medicine can help with healing injured civilians you encounter. Stealth can help you open combat with a powerful, swift strike to a strong opponent. There's a lot of options here, experiment and play the game for a few hours and see what would most benefit your play style.
Abilities
This is the one area where you can really make your experience much easier or much harder. Using Cleric as an example again. Wisdom determines their ability to cast their spells. Ignoring that entirely and placing all of your points into Charisma will make some parts of the game much more complicated. It's perfectly viable to build whacky characters but if it's your first time using a system of this type, it's a good idea to find your footing with basic characters first.
You can always come back and make something a bit more unique.
Strength
Determines how likely your attack is to hit your target, when using Strength weapons
Affects your jumping distance
Increases carrying capacity
Dexterity
Determines how likely your attack is to hit your target, when using Dexterity weapons
Influences Initiative (Who goes first in combat)
Increases your armor value (How hard you are to be hit)
Constitution
How many maximum hitpoints you can have
Useful for everyone but less important for range/magical roles
Intelligence
Determines hit chance for magical spells
Wisdom
Determines hit chance of spells for Clerics, Rangers, and Druids
Charisma
Determines hit chance for Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks magical spells
Each Ability can only be as high as 17 during character creation, that includes bonuses from everything else. Focus on the primary abilities to support your chosen class and then, if you choose, you can add a couple of points elsewhere for some bonuses to other aspects of your character.
Creating, experimenting, and enjoying new characters is one of the most exciting aspects of Baldur's Gate 3 so don't be afraid to experiment. It's easy enough to roll a new character so have fun with it and see what you can come up with.
Baldur's Gate III has a very large world to explore, and walking isn't overly quick. This guide on How To Fast Travel In Baldur's Gate 3 will explain the process of fast traveling as well as
Want to find the best and strongest gear in Baldur's Gate III? This guide on Where To Find The Best Rare Magical Items In Baldur's Gate 3 breaks down the locations and details of each powerful
Hidden quests and objectives provide some worthwhile rewards in Baldur's Gate III. This Baldur's Gate 3 Side Quest Guide will tell you where to find each of the side quests we have discovered on our
In the prologue for Baldur's Gate III you find a survivor trapped within the pod. As all good heroes would, you ask yourself can you rescue the woman trapped in the Mind Flayer Pod in Baldur's Gate 3?
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