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Tips & GuidesHere’s How Summons Work In Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy wouldn’t be Final Fantasy without summons. Ever since Final Fantasy III, you’ve been able to call on superpowered mythical beasts for aid in battle, effectively turning the tide at the press of a button. Final Fantasy VII Remake, the new dance-off game from Square Enix, is no different. I’ve spent many hours with…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesTips For Playing Gears Tactics
Gears Tactics, the new strategy game out today for PC, adds some brains to the famously brawny series. Yes, you can still shoot baddies to a pulp and chainsaw Locust with abandon. But under the veneer of blood, sweat, and protein shakes, you’ll need to do some serious thinking to get through battles with your…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesThe Good, The Bad, And The Annoying Of Borderlands 3’s “Revenge Of The Cartels” Event
It’s been less than a month since Borderlands 3’s latest big expansion landed with a bang, but vault hunters already have access to another brand-new playground in which they can fire 87 bazillion guns. It’s called Villa Ultraviolet. It’s drenched in neon and gaudy gold. And yes, it’s totally awesome. The only catch? It’s kind of…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To (Hopefully) Not Get Scammed By Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ Sketchy Art Dealer
Before today, the easiest way to get ripped off in Animal Crossing: New Horizons was to strike up a conversation with Tom Nook. Now, there’s a new monster who will fleece you for all of your bells: the art dealer Jolly Redd. Redd is one part of New Horizons’ Earth Day update, which started rolling…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Crush Jules In Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Absurd Squat Contest
At Moscow’s Vystavochnaya station, in 2013, you could board the train for free—if you could bust out 30 bodyweight squats inside of two minutes. The first hints of a glorious new fitness revolution? Nope. Just a pilot program to promote good health (and the ‘14 Sochi Olympics). But what’s important here is this: Cloud Strife…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Play Both Questlines In Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Sprawling Chapter 9
Word on the street is a lot of you are playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix’s dramatization of An Inconvenient Truth. And if you are, you know it’s mostly linear. Sure, some sections let you direct Cloud and friends off the main plot for a sojourn into side-quest suburbia. But Final Fantasy VII Remake…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesI Learned These Final Fantasy VII Remake Tricks The Hard Way So You Don’t Have To
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix’s much-anticipated role-playing game about herding cats and having amazing hair, has taken the video game world by storm. Whether you’re a huge fan of the 1997 original or don’t even know what a Sephiroth is, one thing’s for sure: This game is very, very good For the most part,…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Take Care Of Your Back When You’re Playing Video Games
As officials across the country implement shelter-in-place orders in response to covid-19, many Americans are spending a lot more time at home. I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent a lot of time on my couch, most of it with a video game controller in hand. But there’s a drawback to spending hours a…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Throw A Perfect Game Of Darts In Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix’s ridiculously opulent dating sim, came out last week for PlayStation 4. After years of anticipation, players can finally romp around a lushly rendered Midgar where there’s no shortage of things to do. You can brood, battle monsters, herd cats, cast spells, drink potions and ethers, swing hilariously oversized swords,…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesBaby Pokémon Get Dynamax Versions In Sword And Shield‘s Wild Area
The biggest Pokémon just got a whole lot smaller. Starting today, Pokémon Sword and Shield players are way more likely to run into Dynamax versions of some of the franchise’s most famously cute creatures, including Pichu, a painfully adorable mouse who had a turn as an overpowered brawler in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Dynamax Pokémon…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesLatest Ori And The Will Of The Wisps Patch Is Two Steps Forward, One Little Step Back
When the stunning Ori and the Will of the Wisps came out last month, for Xbox One and PC, it suffered its fair share of bugs. A launch-day patch fixed many of the major glitches—from severe framerate stutter to straight-up freezes—but anyone who’s played over the past few weeks could tell you that Ori wasn’t…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesTips For Playing Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord can be an extremely overwhelming game. While it only just came out in Early Access and it still has plenty of aspects that need fleshed out or fixed, it already offers a ton of medieval role-playing possibilities in which to lose yourself, from managing large-scale battles to cementing political alliances…
By Ethan Gach -
Tips & GuidesThe Best Couch Co-Op Games When You’re Stuck At Home With People
By now, you’ve probably figured out how to stay connected to your socially distanced friends. You’ve set up the Discord server. You’ve figured out which games have great online multiplayer. You’ve pinpointed a weekly time that works for everyone for a large-scale Animal Crossing visit (not that anyone’s schedules are jam-packed these days). But if…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesThe Do’s And Don’ts Of Visiting Friends In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
One of the true pleasures of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the sense of connection. It’s not just that Nintendo’s life sim has achieved near-universal ubiquity in a matter of days. It’s the fact that you, alongside up to seven other players, can go and visit a friend’s island. There, you can do what you’d…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesThe Bravely Default II Demo Is Weirdly Hard, So Here’s How To Survive
Last week, during a surprise Nintendo Direct, Square Enix gifted the world with a demo for Bravely Default II. The demo offers a taste of everything series fans should expect: lovely sprites, marvelous hand-painted backgrounds, and a return to the ever-rewarding Brave/Default turn-based battle system. But it also brought something unexpected to the table: a…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesBorderlands 3’s ‘Door Busters’ Event Guarantees A Legendary Weapon Haul
Borderlands 3 events tend to be hit or miss. The current one, “Door Busters,” isn’t just a hit. It’s a headshot. Technically, “Door Busters” is part of a sweeping, month-long event called “Co-op Loot Drop.” Between now and April 30, if you band up with a co-op partner (or two, or three), any Badass enemies…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesDon’t Let FOMO Ruin Animal Crossing: New Horizons For You
I had my first opportunity to try out some online play in Animal Crossing: New Horizons the weekend before last. My sister and my friend visited my island so I could give them some of the stuff I had accrued during my extra two weeks with the game. They grabbed new fits at the Able…
By Ian Walker
