Kotaku Monday, December 20, 2021 7:00 AM  On Saturday, Japanese actress Sayaka Kanda was discovered dead after at around 1 p.m. in Sapporo, Japan. That day, Kanda had been scheduled to perform the role of Eliza Doolittle in a matinée performance of My Fair Lady, but citing an illness, her stand-in assumed the role. |
Kotaku Monday, December 20, 2021 6:30 AM  My Hero Academia debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump back in July 2014, and has become one of Japan's most popular manga. This weekend, creator Kohei Horikoshi announced that the manga was entering its home stretch. |
Kotaku Monday, December 20, 2021 5:30 AM  Japanese police have arrested 40-year-old manga creator Kenya Suzuki on suspicion of importing child pornography, violating the country's laws about importing banned goods. |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 10:33 AM  Firaxis is a big supporter of XCOM 2 mods, and while the studio has now left the community to their own devices, it has also made it so easy for modders to change the whole game. Showing its commitment to the fans, Firaxis actually teamed up with Pavonis Interactive (the creators of the original Long War mod for Enemy Unknown) to make sure that the modding tools were as streamlined as they could be before releasing them into the wild. Below is a selection of some of our favourite mods from the venerable turn-based strategy game, although it's worth pointing out this is a slightly fragmented list due to the slightly weird nature of the XCOM 2 DLC library. The difference between vanilla XCOM 2 and War of the Chosen is a little bit like night and day, so the modding objectives for both versions of the game can be quite different. A mod for one won't necessarily work for the other without some tinkering. Some mods on our list have versions available for both, and we've marked them where relevant. RELATED LINKS: XCOM 2 Tips, XCOM 2 DLC guide, Play XCOM 2 |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 10:23 AM  So, you want to know about Total War: Warhammer III races? While this was one of the biggest causes for speculation during the months immediately after Warhammer III's announcement, plenty of information has been released since, so we can answer the question with some certainty at this point. Developer Creative Assembly previously promised to include all 15 of Warhammer Fantasy's eighth edition core races in its Warhammer Total War games, which at the time prior to the third game's announcement left only Ogre Kingdoms and Deamons of Chaos. The latter was confirmed pretty much straight away, with the Chaos faction divided into four seperate sub-races, one for each Chaos God. The Ogre Kingdoms were then announced and confirmed as the pre-order bonus race in November 2021, fulfilling the prophecy. We were also treated to the surprise that Grand Cathay, the most enigmatic of Warhammer race of them all, would be brought to life for the very first time in partnership with Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy revival. We've laid out a quick summary of all of the confirmed races below, along with some additional speculation regarding future Warhammer III races we think might turn up as DLC. RELATED LINKS: Total War: Warhammer 3 release date, Total War: Warhammer 3 races, The best strategy games on PC |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 7:48 AM  So, you want to know about political games? Political simulations often have the same alluring attraction as war games and strategy games. The average person likes to test their mental prowess to see if they can do better than their real-world counterparts, or perhaps exert some control over a digital space that resembles their own situation as a way of coping with life's trials. Either way, there is an addictive quality to them that's unlike the rush you get from shooters or RPGs, although the escapism is no less real. Whether you're setting economic and trade policies, standing strong on the international stage, or leading a nation through a war or some other crises, there's plenty of things to keep an eye on in a genre that attempts to model every facet of what goes into running a nation. For our list of top political game picks, we've more or less focused on government simulation games rather than games that instead try to recreate or push a specific political agenda - there's plenty of really interesting options in that latter category, such as Papers Please or America's Army, but they deserve a dedicated piece. That said, we have included one or two exceptions that really stand-out. Enjoy! |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 9:57 AM  So you want to know about the Stellaris Enigmatic Fortress? In this sci-fi grand strategy game, there are many powerful entities that can spawn known as 'guardians'. These were first introduced in the Stellaris DLC Leviathans, although Distant Stars and Ancient Relics have introduced more since. Some are giant spaceborne aliens, but the Enigmatic Fortress is ancient abandoned stronghold. This massive space station is guarded by many unique defense platforms that can spawn in any random class A star system. The defenses use regular components and weaponry, and so can be countered like anything else, there's just a lot to get through! If you defeat the fortress, there's then an event chain you need to work through to actually get the rewards. If you let the timer expire at any point, or if you choose the wrong option during the chain, the defences will reactivate and you have to defeat them all over again - so it's better to get things right the first time. That's where we come in! We've put together a quick guide on the fortress, its defences, and the event chain itself - hopefully it should arm you with everything you need. Note that you will need the Leviathans expansion for this one to spawn in your game. RELATED LINKS: Stellaris review, Stellaris mods, Stellaris DLC guide |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 6:55 AM  Cyberpunk 2077's fast-travel system never did feel as fleshed out as it could be. Terminal points teleport you where you need to go, but players soon wondered what it would be like to take it slow and ride the metro after someone found what looked like remains of a train system not long after release. One year later, we now have a mod for that. KeanuWheeze's Metro System mod adds an entirely usable NCART system to the game. There are 19 stations for you to explore, and you can switch between first and third-person views while your futuristic metro cart plods along its track. Essentially, you can now roleplay as that train guy on TikTok but cyberpunk-style. Once you have the mod downloaded, you can enter a metro station by interacting with a fast travel gate. Text on the bottom of the screen will tell you where the next train is going, though a marker on the map will do that, too. While you're on the train you can flip between visual perspectives by using the same buttons you would in your car. You're free to enjoy the silence on the metro, or you can tune into your favourite radio station. RELATED LINKS: Cyberpunk 2077 review, Cyberpunk 2077 lore & universe, Buy Cyberpunk 2077 |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 6:28 AM  Since the release of its Ryzen processors, AMD continues to snatch swathes of CPU market share from Intel in both the gaming PC and workstation sectors. However, the company has not yet made the decision to release a Ryzen Threadripper chip on its latest Zen 3 microarchitecture, with previous reports indicating they would appear sometime next year. New information has since come to light that has helped to narrow down the release date. According to a Videocardz source, we can expect five new Ryzen 5000 Threadripper Pro processors on March 8, 2022. These CPUs will succeed the current Zen 2 based Ryzen 3000 Threadripper Pro lineup, but it's currently unclear whether AMD plans to release standard Ryzen 5000 Threadripper chips at all. Given how late these processors will be to the market, it's possible that AMD has opted to skip ahead to the Pro skew. This appears to be corroborated by conversations Videocardz has conducted with board partners, which "all say the same thing, Threadripper Zen 3 simply arrives too late." RELATED LINKS: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X review, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT review, Best CPU for gaming |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 6:14 AM  Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, a free-to-play card game headed to Steam sometime this winter, has just got a new showing at this year's Jump Festa anime event. That means a fresh look at gameplay and more details about the game's features - including news that it'll offer cross-platform support when it launches. Alongside the new gameplay trailer (in Japanese; included below) Konami has revealed that Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel will let players battle against others across the world regardless of which platform they're on, with this feature being available from the get-go. Given the game's launching on Steam for PC, Nintendo Switch, both current and last-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles, iOS, and Android, that means a pretty big pool of players to take on through cross-play. Additionally, there'll be a cross-save feature available across the various platforms. Konami explains in a press release that players will be able to link their Master Duel game data across platforms, which means you'll get to carry over your progress between PC, console, and mobile if you fancy hopping between them and picking up from where you left off. RELATED LINKS: Upcoming PC Games, The best card games on PC |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 4:23 AM  The first patch of the League of Legends 2022 season has hit the PBE. League of Legends patch 11.24 has headed to live servers to make its debut on the Rift and, following a bunch of teases from Riot Games on social media, the latest batch of new content has begun trickling onto the testing grounds ready for patch 12.1's arrival in the live game soon. Let's take a look. First up, we've got some new Elderwood skins on the way, this time for lucky champions Gnar and Rek'Sai. Riot also revealed a new skin for Ekko called Firelight Ekko, which is inspired by his style in the tremendously successful LoL spin-off Netflix show Arcane. However, this now won't be shipping with 12.1 as "an unfortunate mistake on [the studio's] part due to a miscommunication internally" means that the skin wasn't given new special effects, which the team now wants to make sure it adds. So, the skin has been taken off the PBE for now and will return in a few patches' time. As is is very often the case when a patch has only just hit the PBE, we don't have many balance changes to check out just yet. However, there are some pretty big changes coming to champion Janna, which you can see below - and you can probably expect a batch of wider changes soon. RELATED LINKS: Best LoL Champions , League of Legends patch 12.1, LoL tier list |
PCGamesN Monday, December 20, 2021 10:42 AM  So, you want some games like RimWorld? As Charles Caleb Colton said back in the days of the Commodore 64: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". But what must also be remembered is that without imitation we wouldn't have innovation, and without innovation we wouldn't have variety. Dwarf Fortress, iconic for its deep, emergent gameplay and ASCII graphics, actually innovated on games like King of Dragon Pass. That older but just as classic text-based clan manager is near unrecognisable to our modern town-builders, but its influence is still felt. Dwarf Fortress has since gone on to inspire its own new generation of city-builders and narrative management games. While the free version of Dwarf Fortress is great, it's arcane UI and losing-is-fun design does turn off a lot of would be players. So the design was innovated and along came Rimworld. But now Rimworld has been around for years and it's time to see what new innovations have come along since. Let us present to you our top picks of games that are like Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress for those who are wanting more, but are struggling to know where to look. RELATED LINKS: The best Rimworld mods, The best games like Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress, RimWorld multiplayer guide |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 10:35 AM  A new Cyberpunk 2077 mod makes the dystopian RPG's decorative monorails functional, adding a metro system with cute wee trains you can ride. For all the game's flaws, I did greatly enjoy wondering Night City's streets, cooing at giant buildings and bright colours, and today I was glad to continue that tourism on rail. How lovely to see the megacity from a new perspective, looking down on rooftops and being buzzed by hovercars. See a wee bit of my journey in a video below. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 10:04 AM  Valve are working to upgrade a number of their more popular games for the Steam Deck, optimising controls and interfaces to play better on their upcoming portable powerhouse, the Steam Deck. The Half-Life series, Dota 2, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive, either already have or will receive upgrades designed to make them "better experiences". |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 9:30 AM  I'm rubbish at the building component of Minecraft; it's much easier to simply download a map and wander around in the splendour of someone else's creation. And if you've got the ray tracing beta version of Minecraft for Windows installed, I can heartily recommend you too take a wander through the Nvidia RTX Winter World: a vast, Christmassy and very, very pretty custom map that has you helping Santa throw a festive shindig while you trade sweets with his elves. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 8:00 AM  The twentieth door on the RPS Advent Calendar this year is very small. In fact, it almost looks small enough to attach to someone's head, if you were the kind of weirdo who'd do that kind of thing. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 7:52 AM  Supergiant Games' gay, Greek gallivant, Hades, is the first video game to receive a Hugo Award. The awards which celebrate literary works in the science-fiction and fantasy genres, added a special one-off 'Best Video Game' category this year, which is where old Zagreus picked up his accolade. Our short king's battle out of the underworld beat out its closest competition, cosy escapism simulator, Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the polls by almost fourfold. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 7:06 AM  Have you ever wanted to use your friends as literal pawns to help you solve puzzles? Well now you can! Superliminal has added co-op, letting four of you jump into the world-bending puzzler together. The update dropped on Friday, and it seems that even your pals aren't safe from the game's forced perspective. They'll appear in the world as little chess pieces, and from the looks of things you can pick them up to use as puzzle solving items. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, December 20, 2021 5:38 AM  Once the most prestigious of luxury tech, VR headsets have become both cheaper and more popular over the last few years. A combination of competitive pricing, more user-friendly devices, and more fleshed-out VR games like Half-Life Alyx has seen headsets push deeper into the mainstream within the last 12 to 24 months. |
Twinfinite Monday, December 20, 2021 9:43 AM Anyone who has ever played a video game knows that completing a title to its fullest extent is no easy task, as getting 100% usually means hours of side missions and collectibles that aren't necessary to beat the main story. Only true madmen go out of their way to do this AND take no damage, […] The post Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Player Finishes 100% No-Damage Run appeared first on Twinfinite. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 10:30 AM MiHoYo announced it will release Genshin Impact calendar images throughout 2022, and the first one stars Thoma. The post Genshin Impact 2022 Calendar Images Feature Characters appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 10:05 AM A Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2022 event will be held in February 2022 online worldwide, and Dragon Ball: The Breakers will appear at it. The post Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2022 Will Include Dragon Ball: The Breakers appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 9:30 AM The next DLC character in Dragon Ball FighterZ will be a variant of Android 21. For this version, she'll be wearing her lab coat. The post New Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC Puts Android 21 in her Lab Coat appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 9:00 AM The company has also started hiring new game developers who will join the transfer. The post DelightWorks COO Yoshinori Ono Will Move To Aniplex's New Company appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 8:30 AM Koei Tecmo made a new story in the game by creating a custom character based on the ROTK character. The post Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires Wutugu Diary Tells a New Story appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 8:00 AM This album will feature versions of iconic NieR Replicant songs inspired by text from Yoko Taro. The post NieR Replicant Arrangement Choir Album Pre-Orders Open appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 7:30 AM The company advises people to make new accounts and necessary purchases ahead of the major holiday. The post Nintendo Expects Servers to Overload Again on Christmas 2021 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 7:00 AM Players will be able to create their own characters, and adventures, within the world of Octopath Traveler. The post Octopath Traveler Tabletop Rulebook Now Available to Pre-Order appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 6:30 AM This new wallpaper features Liyue as a backdrop. The post Genshin Impact Keqing Live Wallpaper Now Available for PC appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 6:00 AM The set was originally introduced in the Monster Hunter World Iceborne expansion. The post Monster Hunter World Iceborne Orion Armor Set is Coming to Monster Hunter Rise appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Monday, December 20, 2021 5:30 AM The ad featured Red XIII looking down at pedestrians, taking a nap, and running from Shinra helicopters. The post Final Fantasy VII Remake Red XIII 3D Ad Appears in Tokyo appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Monday, December 20, 2021 9:00 AM First video game to receive literary honor Supergiant Games' Hades, not content with already being the sexiest video game in... The post Hades adds a literary Hugo Award to its jam-packed trophy case appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Monday, December 20, 2021 7:19 AM The Persona 5 crossover lasts until January 31 It's weird to think that Disney style, eventually, a lot of the... The post Persona 5 is crossing over into Final Fantasy War of the Visions appeared first on Destructoid. |
Destructoid Monday, December 20, 2021 4:00 AM Who is your favorite duelist? Following on from this past weekend's open beta, publisher Nexon announced that its spin-off fighter... The post DNF Duel launches on PlayStation and PC summer 2022 appeared first on Destructoid. |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, December 20, 2021 10:00 AM  I feel like I've been seeing a lot of short, 3D puzzle platformers lately. And I feel that way because I have. Scarf is the latest one to grace us with its presence and, while it is only four hours or so long, it boasts an interesting narrative, a solid amount of variety, and surprisingly good world design that all add up to an experience that's worth undertaking if you're looking to blow an evening while learning about a star boy and his sentient scarf-thing. Just don't expect a collectathon platformer, which is what I had initially hoped it was. Scarf begins when the boy, known as a Nomad, is conceived and brought into the universe. He's a small blue thing, but there's a hole in the center of his chest. At the start, he meets the titular scarf, a living, red creature that rests about his neck. The scarf is but one small part of a main body, but that body is inactive now. Therefore, it enlists the boy into helping it find and reclaim pieces of th... |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, December 20, 2021 9:00 AM  NEO: The World Ends with You is a huge, unique game that fans have really been enjoying since its release on both consoles and PC. I got to field some questions to various members of NEO's team, and they were gracious enough to fill us in on the process of making the game. These members include the game's Producer Tomohiko Hirano, Series Director Tatsuya Kando, and Game Director Hiroyuki Ito. On the translation front, three of the game's English translators explained all about the demanding endeavor to translate and localize the title. They're Matt Furda, the lead English translator, who is joined by the translators Christopher Orr and Katherine Ellerhorst. Without further ado, let's jump in. NEO: The World Ends With You — On game design and localization interview PCI: What were the hardest parts about creating a sequel to a game that came out nearly a decade and a half prior? Hirano: I believe both Mr. Kando and Mr. Ito will talk ab... |
Tabletop Gaming News Monday, December 20, 2021 10:00 AM |
Tabletop Gaming News Monday, December 20, 2021 9:00 AM |
MonsterVine Monday, December 20, 2021 9:00 AM Yeah, yeah, yeah, VR can change society blah blah blah Metaverse blah blah Zuckerberg 6G vaccinations. Everyone knows the real point of the Oculus Quest–I will NOT call it that stupid Meta name–and other VR platformsis shooting the hell out of things in VR. The benchmark so far has been Arizona Sunshine, which is about…look, […] The post After The Fall Review: I Tried So Hard and I Fell So Far appeared first on MonsterVine. |