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Mar 18, 14:00


Kotaku Saturday, March 18, 2023 10:30 AM
    

The internet's been buzzy of late for the freshly announced Persona 5 spin-off game, Phantom of the Night (P5X). Fans were intrigued by the new characters, but they were also excited to meet their old favorites again. But when I looked at the screenshots, I noticed one person missing: Goro Akechi. What gives, Atlus?…

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Kotaku Saturday, March 18, 2023 10:00 AM
    

I spend a lot of time putzing around my PlayStation 5: deleting games here, downloading them there, looking for old saves, and trying to talk to friends. It's made me appreciate every new firmware update, no matter how small or niche the improvements it makes are. And earlier this month, Sony delivered a bunch of…

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PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 1:14 PM
     Half-Life 2 VR Mod Episode One is out now on Steam, and it's a delight

If you need more Half-Life 2 VR, you're in luck. Following the incredible success of Valve's own Half-Life: Alyx and the fantastic community-made Half-Life 2 VR mod, the creators behind the latter are back with more virtual reality adventures for the classic FPS game, with support for all SteamVR headsets including the Meta Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Valve Index. Half-Life 2 VR Mod Episode One is out now on Steam, and it looks spectacular.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best old games, Best FPS games, Best VR games

PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 12:08 PM
     FFXIV patch 6.4 details incoming as Live Letter 76 date announced

News on FFXIV patch 6.4 is coming before March is out, as developer Square Enix gives us the FFXIV Live Letter 76 date for the next producer livestream. These regular broadcasts are typically hosted by game director Naoki Yoshida and community producer Toshio Murouchi, who will likely spend several hours going over everything coming to the critically acclaimed MMORPG in its next major update.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best MMOs on PC, FFXIV Island Sanctuary guide, FFXIV Island Sanctuary animals list

PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 9:29 AM
     Destiny 2 community unites in tribute to Zavala actor Lance Reddick

The Destiny 2 community is united this weekend in paying tribute to the late Lance Reddick, who has portrayed Titan Vanguard Commander Zavala in the Bungie space game since its original release in 2014. Reddick, who tragically died this week, is known for roles in TV series including The Wire, Oz, and Bosch, alongside his roles in games such as Horizon and the upcoming Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, and is set to reprise his role as concierge Charon in John Wick Chapter 4, which releases in March.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Destiny 2 classes, Destiny 2 Lightfall review, Destiny 2 builds

PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 8:30 AM
     Counter-Strike 2 trademarks filed by Valve

My word, it just keeps happening. For the past several days, activity by Valve in the Steam backend seemingly pointed to the release of an updated version of its flagship FPS game in the form of CSGO Source 2. Now, however, it looks like we could be getting closer to a full sequel and the Counter-Strike 2 release date - fresh trademark filings, connected to both Global Offensive and something tellingly labelled 'CS2' seem to suggest that Counter-Strike 2 is on the way.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best FPS games, Best free Steam games, Best multiplayer games

PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 9:36 AM
     Diablo 4 beta code 316719 explained and how to fix the error

What is the 316719 Diablo 4 beta error code and how do you fix it? If you've been playing the Diablo 4 beta and encountered this error, you aren't alone. We've got all the current information on what causes the code to appear and how you can get rid of it.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 release date, Diablo 4 system requirements, Diablo 4 classes

PCGamesN Saturday, March 18, 2023 7:59 AM
     Diablo 4 beta update from Blizzard addresses queue times and errors

The Diablo 4 beta release has been far from perfect so far. While many players have been able to dive into the early access beta for the dark fantasy RPG game and try out its first act, the initial launch has been plagued by lengthy queue times and players being dropped from the game, as well as performance issues on some hardware. Blizzard lists out some of the known Diablo 4 errors and issues it is actively working on as the beta continues.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 release date, Diablo 4 system requirements, Diablo 4 classes

Twinfinite Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:32 AM
     The barrel is now very meta – you just can't use it.

Twinfinite Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:00 AM
     What does the introduction of a new dimension really mean for the medium?

Twinfinite Saturday, March 18, 2023 10:00 AM
     The DCU is fixing to outgun the MCU in more ways than one.

Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 2:00 PM
    

Unlike the first Diablo and Diablo II, players will be given a finite amount of Healing Potions in Diablo IV. That said, players will be able to increase the amount of Healing Potions they can carry at any time. This is done by increasing your Renown in any given region. For example, upon reaching a certain amount of Renown in the Fractured Peaks, players can claim rewards through the Renown tab to increase the amount of Healing Potions they can carry in Diablo IV.

Increasing Renown is done through an array of activities. This can be through activating Waypoints, which is Diablo's version of fast travel, discovering areas (or just exploring the map), finding Altars of Lilith, completing Side Dungeons, finishing Side Quests, and taking on Strongholds. Thankfully, before you throw yourself at Strongholds, you can easily up your Renown by simply walking around and exploring. But if you want to bolster the amount of Renown you get quickly, it is also advised that you pick up any Side Quests you see in any of the towns and cities you will come across.

More Healing Potions Diablo IV

Upon reaching Renown Rank II in Diablo IV, you will then be able to increase the amount of Healing Potions you can carry. In general, it's good to increase your Renown in a region for these optional rewards, as it will net you extra experience, gold and Obols. Obols are the currency used to obtain Whispering Keys or even Legendary items at random from the Purveyor of Curiosities. Paragon Points are also a reward you can obtain, which will be essential to end game builds.

And don't forget that Healing Potions can also be recharged by killing monsters. So don't be afraid to use them if you see a monster drop one. These Healing Potions appear as red orbs, and they will recharge exactly one use of your total amount of Healing Potions.

Diablo IV will launch on June 6, 2023 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and its Early Access beta weekend will be held March 17-20, 2023. The open beta will run March 24-27, 2023.

The post How to Get More Diablo IV Healing Potions appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 1:30 PM
    

Unlike Diablo III, players cannot change the game difficulty in Diablo IV by going into the session's menu. Instead, there is a new way that players can increase or decrease the difficulty of their game. Once you make it past the Prologue chapter, you will find yourself in Kyovashad. From there, you can walk directly north and make your way to a statue of Inarius. It is labeled as the World Tier Statue. Click on that statue to bring up the various tiers of difficulty options available in Diablo IV.

This statue can change the game difficulty of Diablo IV without you needing to create an entirely new session. However, harder difficulties do have certain conditions that need to be met in order to access them. This includes completing certain Dungeons tied to Story Quests on a specific difficulty. Increasing your difficulty will make the game harder by default, but will give players better rewards. This includes higher rarity gear drops, increased experience and difficulty, and other valuable items dropping.

Diablo IV Change Difficulty

However, please keep in mind that if you are in a party, all members will need to be in the city with the accompanying World Tier Statue in order for it to take affect. Also, if you change the difficulty of your game, all portals you may have opened to return to town will close. This means that if you are in dungeon and head back to change the difficulty, that portal will close.

Diablo IV will launch on June 6, 2023 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and its Early Access beta weekend will be held March 17-20, 2023. The open beta will run March 24-27, 2023.

The post How to Change Game Difficulty in Diablo IV appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 1:00 PM
    

Alice Gear Aegis CS Best Gear

Alice Gear Aegis CS Concerto of Simulatrix is out, and with the sheer number of weapons and gear pieces available for its twenty-two playable characters, you might be wondering which items to buy first. Luckily, the game's gear system only looks complicated at first, and we've come up with a capsule guide to help you find the best gear in Alice Gear Aegis CS.

Explaining Alice Gear Aegis CS' Gear System

Every playable Actress in Alice Gear Aegis CS has four pieces of gear to wear:

  • Firearm Gear - One of 4 types of ranged weapon: rifle, SMG, rocket launcher, and sniper rifle
  • Clash Gear - A melee weapon, either a greatsword, sword and shield, spear, or hammer
  • Torso Gear - Gear worn on the arms and shoulders of the Actress
  • Legs Gear - Gear worn on the legs and waist of the Actress

There's a range of items available, and many variations in multiple elements. Most pieces of gear in the game can be worn by any Actress, with some notable exceptions, for the best gear.

Purchasing the Best Gear in Alice Gear Aegis CS

Though there's a lot of gear available in the pool, for the most part you want to focus on getting both unique gear sets for every Actress. Unique gear, i.e. pieces that are patterned on the "canonical" equipment worn by the Actress in question, are built for that specific actress, and unlock unique abilities. Each Actress has two gear sets. A cheaper, "low-tier" set that's generally a customized variation of the common gear, and a genuinely unique "high-tier" gear set made just for them. Low-tier gear can be shared between different Actresses, while high-tier gear can only be worn by the specific Actress. You can identify unique gear pieces by looking at them in the Gear Shop. If the gear icon has a small picture of the Actresses' face on it, that's their unique gear.

[caption id="attachment_955796" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Unique Gear items are identified by the little face on the icon.[/caption]

In general, high-tier unique gear is the best gear in Alice Gear Aegis CS, and unless you're getting very deep into trying to build a setup that's uniquely your own, you should focus your efforts on acquiring the unique gear sets above others. Those pieces have the highest stats and unlock unique abilities that suit the Actresses' fighting style. Getting unique gear early on simplifies your choices, and cuts down on the amount of grinding you'll need to do to unlock everything.

Another bonus of purchasing unique gear sets is that they unlock character-specific poses in the "Preview" function, the better to enjoy the design or set up for some screenshots.

[caption id="attachment_955813" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Meika's custom pose in her unique gear set.[/caption]

To further improve your efficiency grinding, use your first run of a story to purchase an Actresses' low-tier gear, then upgrade to their high-tier gear by the end of the story. If you don't spend money on costumes or accessories, you should have enough left over to purchase the low-tier gear of a new Actress, giving you a head start on your next story run. By the time you've gotten all the best gear in Alice Gear Aegis CS, you'll have plenty of coins left over to buy costumes and accessories for your favorite characters.

Alice Gear Aegis CS is available on the PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. Check out Siliconera's official review of the Switch edition.

The post How to Get the Best Gear in Alice Gear Aegis CS appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 12:00 PM
    

HololiveCity and Hololive 5th Generation Twinkle 4 You Live Announced

Cover made two Hololive Super Expo 2023 announcements involving a new, potentially virtual project. It announced it will launch something called HololiveCity in Summer 2023, with the Hololive 5th Generation Twinkle 4 You Live performance taking place "there" on July 7, 2023. It didn't offer any additional details about the space, but noted more details about the concert and project will come up in April 2023.

First, here's the project announcement with its preliminary teaser art.

As for the Hololive 5th gen performance, the teaser art above only showed the silhouettes of Momosuzu Nene, Omaru Polka, Shishiro Botan, and Yukihana Lamy. It is unknown if they will get new outfits for the show.

There was one other major announcement on day one of Hololive Super Expo 2023. On March 18, 2023, Cover also confirmed the first Hololive English concert, called Connect the World, will be held at the YouTube Theater on July 2, 2023. It will star members of Hololive Myth, Project: Hope, and Council.

The HololiveCity project and Hololive 5th Generation Twinkle 4 You Live will both be fully detailed in April 2023, ahead of the July 7, 2023 concert.

The post HololiveCity and Hololive 5th Generation Twinkle 4 You Live Announced appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:35 AM
    

First Hololive English Vtuber Concert Will Be Held in July

People will soon be able to hear Vtubers from Hololive English Myth, Project: Hope, and Council in concert. Cover announced at Hololive Super Expo 2023 that a Connect the World concert will be held on July 2, 2023. It will take place at California's YouTube Theater, near Los Angeles. Amelia Watson, Baelz Hakos, Calliope Mori, Fauna Ceres, Gura Gawr, Ina'nis Ninomae, IRyS, Kiara Takanashi, Kronii Ouro, and Mumei Nanashi will all perform. The official site for the event is also open.

A trailer appeared as part of the announcement. It noted that on April 5, 2023, a collaboration stream will be held to explain when ticket sales will open. There will also be special Hololive English first concert merchandise of the Vtubers, which will be discussed during that stream.

As a reminder, a number of Hololive English Vtubers appeared in concert on day one of Hololive 4th fes. Our Bright Parade. On March 18, 2023, Amelia, Ina'nis, Kiara, and Mumei all performed. First, Kiara sang "Do U." Amelia sang "ChikuTaku" after that. Her performance was followed by Ina'nis' "Saigo no Hanabira (Meaning of Love)." Mumei's solo song was "My Dearest." Finally, the four also all performed "Suki-chan" together.

The Hololive English first concert Connect the World will see Myth, Project: Hope, and Council Vtubers performing at the Inglewood, California YouTube Theater on YouTube Theater on July 2, 2023.

The post First Hololive English Vtuber Concert Will Be Held in July appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:10 AM
    

Here's How Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle's Super Saiyan God Goku Was Made

To celebrate Saiyan Day (March 18th), Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle is getting characters like UR [Fighter Entrusted with Allies' Wishes] Super Saiyan God Goku and UR [Greatest Instant Combat Power Born of Love] Super Saiyan Vegeta. There are also a number of special events. However, Bandai Namco also used the series' official website to show how the Dragon Ball Z Battle Of Gods movie character was brought to life in-game.

A number of images appeared comparing the game version of the character to his Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods counterpart. Snippets from the film were chosen to show his transformation while surrounded by allies. However, an additional image of him with his eyes closed was included. The Dragon Smash Super Attack game and movie friends match during battle. The developers also adjusted the movie's Saiyan Who Absorbed the Power of God animations from the movie so a version of it could be recreated in-game as an Active Super Attack.

Here are all the side-by-side images shared by the developer showing how scenes from the movie were directly recreated or adjusted for the game.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="956230,956232,956228,956229,956227,956231" link="file"]

And here are the official images showing the character's stats in-game.

There's also a Saiyan Day 2023 PV for the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Hc7Z0N-Tw&ab_channel=BandaiNamcoEntertainment

Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle is available on mobile devices, and Super Saiyan God Goku is available March 18, 2023 through April 3, 2023.

The post Here's How Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle's Super Saiyan God Goku Was Made appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, March 18, 2023 9:00 AM
    

Exoprimal Beta

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Capcom's new sci-fi multiplayer title Exoprimal is a reference of sorts to its Dino Crisis survival horror series. After all, "shooting-based action games involving dinosaurs as a primary threat" is a surprisingly underpopulated genre. After a couple of days of early access to Exoprimal open beta though, I found myself thinking of it as its own thing, a unique experience predicated on mowing down tons of extinct reptiles.

Exoprimal begins with a sci-fi premise. You are an Exosuit Fighter, recruited to become a soldier for the Aibius megacorporation. Exosuits are at the front line of fighting an outbreak of dinosaurs that push through mysterious rifts in spacetime. Aibius is using a "next-generation AI" called Leviathan to design and improve its stable of Exosuit designs. Its idea for gathering needed data? Force people into an infinitely looping series of wargames in some kind of simulated environment.

There's not much story in the Exoprimal open beta, and all you're given is a brief intro cutscene and some background details during character creation process. That said, the full game will include characters and cutscenes that provide context. Not that turning huge guns and weapons on writhing swarms of vicious reptiles needs that much justification.

The Exoprimal open beta has one mode: Dinosaur Survival. In it, two teams of five players are pitted against the dinosaurs and each other. You start on opposite ends of a long map. Shepherded by Leviathan's drones, you move from checkpoint to checkpoint, accomplishing "Dinosaur Cull" missions along the way. As you go along, Leviathan measures your progress, letting you know which team is in the lead and occasionally throwing in equalizers. For example, if your team is moving slower than the other, Leviathan will spawn a special monster that, when killed by your team, increases the power and aggression of the dinosaurs the enemy team is facing on their side of the map.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTdv5RN3zfY

By the end of a given run, your team and your opponents' will be sharing the same area, given an objective by Leviathan to accomplish competitively. All the while you're still fighting swarms of dinosaurs. The most common mission is "Energy Taker", where you collect batteries scattered about the map. The twist is you can also attack and kill your opponents to take some of their batteries. Final missions become a balance of coordinating your team to survive both the dinosaurs and the interference from the enemy team. Leviathan also sometimes spawns "Dominators," which allow a team member to take control of an extremely powerful T-Rex and act the spoiler for a short while.

All through this, you'll experience some top-notch animations. The Exosuits all move in unique ways that combine a semblance of weight with mobility. You don't always expect a sense of "personality" to bleed through in the Exosuits, but they feel more characterful than the avatar you create yourself.

The biggest joy I found in my brief time with the beta was in learning the capabilities of the Exosuits themselves. There are ten playable Exosuits in the game (with more planned after launch), and they're spread across three roles: Assault, Tank, and Support. These map to the "holy trinity" of multiplayer design. Tanks can take a lot of damage and excel at keeping zones safe for their teammates to do their thing. Assaults do a lot of damage and clear out the enemies. Supports can do things like bunch up targets and heal allies.

There's also variation within these roles, so each suit plays pretty differently even within the same general specialization. For example, while a Roadblock and plug up a hole in the line by deploying its huge energy shield, the Krieger's gatling cannon and dome shield can secure a larger area for a shorter time. Meanwhile the Deadeye assault is a versatile unit that can use guns and grenades, but the Vigilant has a powerful sniper rifle and can down single targets (like hostile players) with much greater ease.

It was quite engaging to play around with each suit and get a feel for its play style, and Exoprimal makes this process of mastery pretty convenient to get into. This is because you can switch suits freely in the middle of a match (it's only governed by a brief cooldown period). The default mode also doesn't "role lock" or prevent you from doubling up. So if your team wants to go with four Roadblocks, you can, and you might even do pretty well. You can also switch your suit to adapt to the changing situation. By the time the final stage of a run came around, I often found myself switching out of my favorite Krieger suit to take up the more PVP-friendly toolkit of a Murasame or Vigilant. There's a sense of versatility in Exoprimal's design that gives it a sense of approachability. With regard to abilities, I did also find that the gameplay of holding back swarms of reptiles seems to lend itself better to some suits than others. For example, the sniping capabilities of the Vigilant don't seem all that useful outside the context of facing down enemy players.

The map design is also perhaps a tad linear-feeling. The environments give off the impression of space, but until the final match in each round, you're mostly being funneled down a corridor from task to task. This sensation of being a little bit "on rails" also contributes to my ambivalence about certain Exosuits' play styles. Suits like the Vigilant and Nimbus, which prize mobility but lack the armor to dive straight into the fray only really come into their own when the arenas expand more. In those places, their movement options make more sense. But before then they feel like dead weight compared to the beefier brawlers.

There are also minor concerns with stability. Playing it on PS5, I found that the Exoprimal open beta frequently dropped players out of my matches. They'd be instantly replaced with bots, but it wasn't unusual for me to end up playing an all-bot match with only one or two teammates or opponents. I also noticed some issues with lag, where friendly suits or player-controlled dinosaurs would slide or teleport across the room. It never became unplayable, but it may pose a problem for players in a high-latency environment. That said, it is a beta, so there's time for such issues to be ironed out.

I also didn't get much of an impression on how Capcom intends to keep players engaged over time. My account was gaining levels and building tiers in its "Survival Pass", but since they weren't accessible in the beta client, I couldn't see if they were particularly appealing or game-changing. It's a bit early to pass judgment on that aspect of the game, however.

Those considerations aside, though, Exoprimal is a good time that puts an appealing twist on the now-familiar genre of cooperative horde shooters.

Exoprimal is in development, and will launch on July 14, 2023 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The open beta will run from March 17-19, 2023.

The post Preview: The Exoprimal Beta Is a Dinosaur Slaughterhouse appeared first on Siliconera.


Gamer Empire Saturday, March 18, 2023 6:43 AM
     Bond Fragments are a material in Fire Emblem Engage that is awarded to a character upon completing certain activities. Bond Fragments can be earned through a variety of different methods and come in handy for a couple of different things during your playthrough, so they're an important factor to keep in mind. Recommended Read: How Does Support Work in Fire Emblem Engage? Bond Fragments are reward materials in Fire Emblem Engage that can be used as a currency to purchase various boosts and upgrades to your units, weapons, and rings. There are also multiple ways to earn Bond Fragments in […]

Tabletop Gaming News – TGN Saturday, March 18, 2023 12:00 PM
     Office politics have never been so fun with the release of Thrown Under the Bus on Kickstarter. The lighthearted and easy-to-learn game is designed for 2-6 players, ages 14 and above, and takes 30-60 minutes to determine who will be the next Senior VP. Based on the expression "Thrown Under the Bus," the game is …

Tabletop Gaming News – TGN Saturday, March 18, 2023 10:00 AM
     StartPlaying and Paizo have partnered up to launch a new recurring event called "Pathfinder Play Weekend," which will take place on the last weekend of every month, Thursday to Sunday. The first event will run from March 23rd through the 26th, and players can find open games on StartPlaying's platform. Paizo, the publisher of award-winning …