Judge Orders Teen To Stop Playing Violent Video Games [UPDATE]

Earlier this week, a student at Lake Park High School in the suburbs of Chicago was arrested for threatening to commit a school shooting on social media. At his hearing, a judge yesterday ordered the teen to forfeit his smartphone to his parents and stop playing violent video games. According to a report by the…

Super Mario Odyssey Players Think They’ve Found New Secrets

Super Mario Odyssey’s latest patch added a highly exploitable balloon hunting mini-game to Mario’s to-do list, but it might have brought secrets as well. Dataminers searching through the new patch have found a handful of hidden images that appear to showcase the location of extra Power Moons. Odyssey’s patch 1.2.0 mostly focused on adding a…

That Time The Final Fantasy Team Made An Aliens Game

The name Square is closely associated with RPGs, and for good reason. But in the days before it had its first huge hit with Final Fantasy, Square tried all kinds of different things, including licensing the rights to the 1986 film Aliens and producing an action game with some now-familiar names in the credits. There’s…

Adding Dick Sizes To Historical Strategy Game Introduces Some Complications

Crusader Kings 2 is a complicated game about conquering Europe through diplomacy and war. It’s a game where characters not liking you can make it hard to expand, or at worst, start a murder plot. One modder added another wrinkle to this already overstuffed simulation: dick sizes. Sex is already a component of Crusader Kings…

Sixteen Steam Features You Probably Don’t Know About

Like the thousands upon thousands of games it hosts, Steam has secrets. [This post originally ran on March 30, 2015. Update 9/18/15: Added more features. Update 2 2/28/2018: Added EVEN MORE features.] Steam is more feature-rich than just about any other gaming platform on the planet. However, as it’s expanded over the years, it’s become…

Overwatch‘s Newest Hero Is Torbjorn’s Daughter

After a week of teasing, Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch’s newest hero is Brigitte Lindholm, daughter of bearded turret lover Torbjorn. Brigitte is a support hero who uses a rocket flail to deal damage, sometimes to multiple enemies at once. Her passive ability, Inspire, heals allies over time, and she can supplement that by dropping…

Stardew Valley Is Definitely A Horror Game

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a seasoned consumer of all things horror, it’s that situations are rarely as innocent as they seem. Dolls will spring to life and kill you. That big, beautiful house you got for a steal is haunted. You know how it goes. I let my guard down with Stardew…

Bloodborne Headlines March’s PlayStation Plus Lineup

If you don’t own Bloodborne, you’re in luck with March’s PlayStation Plus offerings. There are also going to be some changes coming to PS Plus next year. Today’s PS Plus blog includes the announcement that starting on March 8, 2019, PS3 and Vita games will no longer be included in the lineup. It’s not entirely…

My Five Year Struggle To Beat A JRPG 

Every year since 2013, I start a new file in a specific JRPG. I grind, I level up, I do side quests. I pour anywhere from 20-30 hours in, intent on seeing the credits. I get a little further every time, but it’s no use. Something always happens and I leave the game unfinished, dooming…

Nintendo Adds User Reviews, Immediately Pulls Them [UPDATE]

Late last week, Nintendo began allowing users to post reviews on the Switch’s eShop for certain games, with ratings and comments also appearing under each game’s listing on the Nintendo website. This morning, Nintendo suddenly pulled the feature, and it’s not clear why. The new feature, which was originally brought to people’s attention last Friday…

Now that all of the content for Injustice 2‘s $100 Ultimate Edition out, Warner Bros. announces the March 27 release of the $60 Injustice 2 Legendary Edition, containing all of the DLC only much cheaper. Just because it always happens doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.

What could possibly make someone buy Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition on Origin instead of Steam? Llama super hero costumes? Sure, go with that. They look a little silly, but once you see them in action, set to dramatic Final Fantasy music, they are completely ridiculous.

Hasbro Assembles Two Waves Of Avengers: Infinity War Figures

A movie so big it’s split into two parts is going to have at least two waves of Marvel Legends action figures. Here’s a look at the 15 figures from comics and movies making up series one and two of Hasbro’s Avengers: Infinity War  line, including a trio of exclusive reveals (hint: look up). Hasbro’s…

The Tokyo Olympic Mascots Look Like Pokémon

Children across Japan voted for the Olympic mascots they liked best. Surprise! The two they picked resemble Pokémon. That’s not just me, as others thought the mascots looked like Pocket Monsters. The reaction is similar among Japanese Twitter users. During the presentation announcing the winners, one slide features quotes from the kids that voted. One…

Noodle Time, Major

Elena Bespalova is an artist at Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends You can see more of Elena’s work at her ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing…