- Uncategorized
New Ghost Recon Causes Actual Diplomatic Incident
Ghost Recon Wildlands is, for most of us, a video game. For the governments of France (home to publishers Ubisoft) and Bolivia, though, it’s now a cause of national beef. Wildlands, which is set in a fictional version of Bolivia where the country is controlled by Mexican drug cartels, has upset the South American country’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2017 - Esports
The invites for the next Dota 2 major in Kiev were announced today. Eight teams receive a direct invite to the tournament, while a mixture of regional invites, Battle Cup Champions and the winners of the open qualifiers will fill out the field. Below are the directly invited teams: 1. Wings Gaming 2. OG 3.…
By Eric Van Allen Published March 2, 2017 - Culture
Brooding White Male Video Game Protagonists, Ranked
Video games are amazing, because you can be anyone or anything in the universe: a blue hedgehog! A ghost! A unicorn with rocket launchers! About 80% of the time, though, you get to be a brooding white guy. There are so many of them that it’s hard to keep track. And they all seem to…
Keza MacDonald Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy X-2‘s Songstress Outfit Is A Time Capsule Of 2003
Final Fantasy X-2 introduced “dresspheres,” which were a callback to the Jobs system of Final Fantasy’s past. As a 13 year old in 2003, I thought Yuna looked amazing in her Songstress outfit, but as an adult I can’t help but think it’s a little bit over the top. Despite that, the Songstress dressphere’s 2003-ness…
By Gita Jackson Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedLook At This Ridiculous Space Submarine Game
GDC’s “alt.ctrl.gdc” section is a lawless land unified only by a single question: “why not?” It’s living proof that anything can be a game controller if you just believe hard enough. And while many of the games on display can be gimmicky, Objects in Space feels like a game I’d play even without all the…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 2, 2017 - Uncategorized
Nier Automata Lets Players Buy PSN Trophies With In-Game Money
Players looking to snag a platinum trophy for Nier: Automata will have an easier time after a few playthroughs. Trophies will be available for purchase using currency collected in game. As noted by Reddit user youkatei, players can actually buy trophies in game using their gathered money. But don’t fret, this isn’t something you pay…
By Heather Alexandra Published March 2, 2017 - Esports
Riot Risks Stifling Creativity In League By Banning Players With Unconventional Strategies
Last week, a player who goes by “Take the Draw” in League of Legends was handed a 14-day ban. The punishment wasn’t because of the champion they played, but the way they were playing it—and now, Riot risks setting a precedent for how you have to play the game. At the start of a normal…
By Eric Van Allen Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedOverwatch’s New Hero Is Orisa
Overwatch’s new and 24th hero is the robot tank Orisa, who fights with a “fusion driver,” or a projectile machine gun. In a developer update video, Overwatch game developer Jeff Kaplan says her weapon has more range than nearly any other tank hero. She’s currently on the PTR. The robot was created by the 11-year-old…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published March 2, 2017 -
CultureSomeone Is Speedrunning Breath Of The Wild Before It’s Even Out
An accomplished speedrunner has been working hard all week to get to the end of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild before the game is released. So far, he’s managed to reach the final boss in 50 minutes, but not beat it yet. This isn’t quite a shock. This new Zelda game, which…
By Heather Alexandra Published March 2, 2017 - Uncategorized
Overwatch Team Will Roll Back Bastion’s Unpopular Buff
Earlier this week, Overwatch’s Bastion buff went live and, as usual, the sky fell. Players were so devastated about the changes, and so vocal, that the game’s director Jeff Kaplan just said he’d roll them back, a little consolingly. But two days post-patch, did players really have enough time to develop workable strategies to counter…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published March 2, 2017 - Uncategorized
Fan-Made Mother 4 Is No Longer ‘Mother 4‘
Mother 4, the long-awaited fan-made sequel to Mother 3, will be rebranding after several high profile DMCA takedowns of other fan games. The Mother 4 team said in an announcement made yesterday on Reddit that while they have not been hit with a takedown request, they do see rebranding as a preventative measure after seeing…
By Gita Jackson Published March 2, 2017 - Culture
The Art Of Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon: Zero Dawn isn’t just a very good game, it’s a very pretty game, and that goes all the way back to the game’s genesis with Guerilla’s art team. Below you’ll see a collection of images from throughout Horizon’s development, including work done by both Guerrilla’s in-house artists as well as those at design studio…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedModders Have Already Made Breath Of The Wild’s Link For Smash Bros
Breath of the Wild isn’t out until tomorrow, but someone’s already modded the new Link into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Hackers and modders are still keeping the Wii U alive, and well, here’s proof. The download link won’t go live until tomorrow, but you can check out Breath of the Wild’s Link in…
By Gita Jackson Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedDoctor Fate Is Our Best Hope Against Superman In Injustice 2
Weaker heroes in the Injustice 2 universe take a pill to make them capable of standing up to the likes of Superman, but there is no pill to make Superman less vulnerable to the magical mastery of the newly-revealed Doctor Fate. Doctor Fate’s signature ankh appeared on some of the earliest marketing images for Injustice…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2017 - Uncategorized
Overwatch Wins Game Of The Year At The 2017 GDC Awards
The Game Developer’s Choice Awards were last night, and you’ll be shocked to learn Overwatch won “Game of the Year.” But there were other awards too, because there are other games. There are games besides Overwatch you guys. The GDC Awards are voted on by folks in the industry, so the nominees and winners always…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedYouTuber Wishes Peers Would ‘Look At The Damn Lens’
If you hadn’t watched many YouTubers before last week’s news, then you might come away from their videos with one question: why do they all look slightly to the left? Jarrod Alonge has an answer. Jarrod Alonge has long been one of my favorite YouTubers since his video poking fun at pop punk bands from…
By Gita Jackson Published March 2, 2017 -
UncategorizedAMD’s Ryzen CPUs Are Here To Take On Intel
AMD today launches the first three models of its Ryzen desktop processor, a trio of eight-core CPUs that promise power to rival Intel’s finest at a more accessible price point. AMD has spent four years and thousands of hours working on the Zen core microarchitecture, and the three Ryzen processors launched today represent the culmination…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2017 - Uncategorized
The Switch’s Day One Update Adds A Spartan eShop And Dreaded Friend Codes [Update: Good News!]
The day one update is now available for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a quick download that adds some basic functionality to the system. It sets the eshop live, complete with nine listed games. And, oh no… friend codes. The biggest effect of the update is that it lets the Switch go online. That enables it…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2017