Let’s break it down! Is what I’m angling for the new name of our weekly Overwatch chat series to be. We’ll see, though. We’ll see. This week, Cecilia, Heather, and I talk about our favorite heroes, why we ended up gravitating toward them, and how becoming competent with certain heroes has changed the way we…

Thousands Of Cheaters Reportedly Banned From Counter-Strike

Valve just dropped the hammer on Counter-Strike cheaters. Big time. For the past 24 hours, reports have been coming in from all over the Counter-Strike-o-sphere that a new ban wave hit cheaters hard. Data-mining site SteamDB puts the number at 11,435 (and counting) bans administered by the VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) system today. That’s a significant…

The PS4’s New Quick Menu Is A Nice Improvement 

Playstation 4’s software update 4.00 was released yesterday. It adds a ton of new features that are pretty swell and make things even better for the console. Alongside a basic redesign of the interface, the new update overhauled the Quick Menu. Holding the PS button pops open the revised menu, which now has shortcuts to…

Insomniac’s Latest VR Game Is A Basic Brawler, And That’s Fine

There are virtual reality games that seek to offer bold and immersive new experiences. Feral Rites, from the Insomniac Games team behind Sunset Overdrive, is not one of those. It’s just a 3D brawler adventure from a slightly different perspective, and that works. One of my favorite virtual reality games so far has been Lucky’s…

Magikarp Is The Best Pokémon Go Buddy 

Now that the Pokémon Go buddy system is widely available, players everywhere are faced with a big decision: who should accompany your walking adventures? I am here to tell you, dear reader, that there is really only one choice. And that choice is the magnificent Magikarp: Look at him, that beautiful bastard. After you select…

The Designer Of RimWorld Is Here To Answer Your Questions [UPDATE: Over]

Tynan Sylvester is the designer of RimWorld, one of Steam’s biggest hits. He also wrote a book on game design and previously worked at Irrational Games, where he helped make BioShock Infinite. Now he’s here to answer all of your questions. Curious to hear some of the stories behind the development of RimWorld? Want to…

Super Mario Stickers Seem Like A Good Reason To Upgrade To iOS 10 

Ahead of the release of his mobile runner later this year, Mario makes his iMessage debut this week in the Super Mario Runsticker pack. As long as you’ve upgraded to iOS 10, you can have Mario all up in your chat box. There are plenty of good reasons to upgrade to the latest version of…

What You Need To Know About Pokémon Go’s New Buddy System

Pokémon Go’s anticipated new buddy system rolled out over the last few days. Yesterday, everybody received access to patch 1.7 for iOS and 0.37 for Android. Now, when you walk around and collect Pokémon, you can choose a “buddy” Pokémon that acquires candy of its Pokémon type after you hit certain distance benchmarks. Here’s how…

Microsoft Accidentally Sent An Xbox One To A Random Customer Two Months Before It Was Announced

In March of 2013, two months before Microsoft officially unveiled the Xbox One, they accidentally mailed one of their prototype units to a random customer. For years that story has remained quiet—until today. Over at Business Insider, my good friend Ben Gilbert tells the story of the time Microsoft lost track of top-secret hardware. Back…

LEGO Dimensions Aliens Unite

In the latest teaser for LEGO Dimensions’ season two content, the girl from Krypton introduces us to a stranded alien botanist in search of a phone. Perhaps there is one in that odd blue box. Just another reminder to players of Lego’s pop culture mashup spectacular that the spending is about to begin anew. Wave…

Smite Launches Its First-Ever PVE Event

Smite, Hi-Rez Studios’ deity-based MOBA, is normally all about putting the hurt on a team of opposing players. In the special Xing Tian’s Mountain mode, launched this week as part of the 201 Odyssey event, players go on an MMO-style raid encounter. Weird, but good. In Xing Tian’s Mountain, players form teams of five and…

Snacktaku Cooks And Eats Hostess Deep Fried Twinkies

For decades state fairs across the country have reeked of things that aren’t generally deep fried—Twinkies, candy bars, drifters—receiving the hot oil treatment. Hostess has decided it’s time to capitalize on one of those. Let’s cook us up some Hostess Deep Fried Drifter. By Deep Fried Drifter I mean Deep Fried Twinkies, and by cook…

Destiny Private Matches Are Finally Here, And They’re Really Fun

I hadn’t realized just how badly Destiny needed private competitive matches until today, when Bungie added them to the game. I also hadn’t realized how much fun I’d have going up against my friends. As of today—almost two full years after Destiny launched—it’s finally possible to put together a private match with your friends. As…

Final Fantasy X Mod Replaces Almost All Audio With Tidus’ Laugh

“My story,” says Tidus. “My ears,” I reply. Johnny Mac created what is perhaps the most diabolical Final Fantasy mod ever conceived. It replaces large portions of Final Fantasy X’s soundtrack and dialogue with Tidus’ infamously forced laugh. Here’s a video: Now try to hear the game’s main theme in your head without Tidus’ laugh.…

Star Wars Galaxies Is Dead, But These People Are Keeping It Alive

The ambitious MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies shut down servers in 2011 but the fan run servers of SWGEmu keeps an old version of the game alive. There are countless players still enjoying a game that officially died years ago. What brings people back to the galaxy far, far away after all this time? The emulated…

Let’s Judge The New Limited Edition Pokémon 3DS XL

Earlier today, Nintendo announced a new limited edition Pokémon Sun and Moon 3DS XL arriving next month. Is this a must-have, or is it ugly, but not ugly-ugly? We’re conflicted. Nintendo’s not been having a great run of limited edition 3DS systems lately. Partial blame can be cast at the eagerly sought-after Majora’s Mask 3DS…