Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series is back with another cabinet classic on Switch 2. I got to check out Jet Ski racer Aqua Jet back in August, which was a lovingly crafted port. This time I’m revisiting the destructive tank combat of Namco’s Tokyo Wars, which served as inspiration for The 3DO Company’s N64 classic Battle Tanx: Global Assault.
Aqua Jet was notable for having a cabinet containing a replica Jet Ski, something which can’t really be recreated on Switch (without some serious hardware modding). Tokyo Wars had a similar hardware quirk that provided a satisfying kickback to simulate your tank firing its payload. A feature that is, bafflingly, not emulated with the Switch 2 controllers’ haptics.
How Friendship and Duality Are at the Heart of SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide
Lillian Salvadori, Marketing Manager, SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide
Summary
SpongeBob and Patrick are longtime BFFs, but strikingly opposite in their approach to challenges.
While SpongeBob is an agile karate king, Patrick can manipulate heavy objects.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide is available now for Xbox Series X|S.
In SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide, available now for Xbox Series X|S, we wanted to place a special focus on the themes of duality. SpongeBob and Patrick are longtime BFFs, but strikingly opposite in their approach to challenges. SpongeBob is the eternal optimist, hardworking and curious, while Patrick is laid back, good natured and carefree. The two are united in their love for live, playing jokes, and annoying Squidward.
It’s a character trope that we see throughout the series through other character relationships like Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and Plankton and Karen. The series always focuses on interpersonal relationships and finding unity in differences. This was a huge inspiration for us as we approached the antagonists King Neptune and the Flying Dutchman, and we felt like this was a unique opportunity to take this recurring series theme and apply it to a less explored dynamic between two series characters.
When we set out to make Titans of the Tide, we had two strong SpongeBob games to base our learnings on. Battle for Bikini Bottom-Rehydrated remains a cult classic, beloved by the SpongeBob community. Its gameplay is a little slower, but the writing and story development is superb and all three main characters – SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy are playable. With Cosmic Shake, we focused on the fidelity of gameplay and wanted to highlight this through focusing on SpongeBob as the main character with Balloon Patrick by his side throughout their adventures. In Titans, we further refined gameplay by re-introducing Patrick as a playable character. You can see the duality theme pop back up again here as SpongeBob and Patrick’s approach to saving Bikini Bottom varies with their skillset.
While SpongeBob is an agile karate king, Patrick’s burly nature helps players to pick up and throw heavy objects, burrow, and use a grapple hook to bring objects closer to him. Switching between the two characters is seamless, which lends itself to epic combinations and unique puzzling. We intentionally kept the basic fighting and traversal abilities mechanically similar (though vastly different in animation style) so that parents and kids alike can play large swathes of the game as their favourite character.
Let’s take a moment to talk about the antagonists: King Neptune is a posh aristocrat whose main concern is his reputation and debonair lifestyle, while the Flying Dutchman is a rowdy pirate who haunts the Seven Seas. Bringing these larger-than-life characters to our audience can be challenging. We worked hard to match the dialogue and character developments throughout the game to those of the series, so that viewers and players have a seamless experience throughout the SpongeBob universe. Once our base for the characters was established, we prototyped the story outline and filled it in with dialogue and story development based on the development of our key features so that the result is a smooth experience that feels like a natural extension to the series.
In creating the story, we started with the premise that Mr. Krabs was having a 50% off discount at the Krusty Krab. Pay half price for, well, half of a Krabby Patty. A legendary marketing move, courtesy of Eugene Krabs. The Flying Dutchman has been waiting in line for hours when King Neptune storms in and jumps the line. The two iconic egos clash and chaos is unleashed upon Bikini Bottom. Half of the population is turned into ghosts, including SpongeBob who’s caught in the crossfire. Luckily Patrick and SpongeBob figure out that they can trade places as the “ghost buddy” by holding their BFF rings together. While King Neptune and the Flying Dutchman battle it out, you follow SpongeBob and Patrick in their journey to reconcile those two old geezers.
We’ll leave the rest for you to explore and we look forward to seeing what your favorite moments are. SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide is available now for Xbox Series X|S.
How do you stop the two biggest egos of the Seven Seas from fighting? A clash between the Flying Dutchman and King Neptune has unleashed ghostly mayhem all over Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob and Patrick will need all their skills, bravery and – dare I say – wit, to return life to what passes for normal in their undersea home. Join Bikini Bottom’s most notorious duo on their ghostliest adventure yet!
Switch seamlessly between SpongeBob and Patrick
Combine SpongeBob and Patrick’s unique platforming skills
Master Patrick’s brand-new skills like grappling and burrowing
Experience a new ghostly story
Fully voiced by the original cast of the show
Visit iconic locations like Neptune’s Palace and Mount Bikini
Battle epic bosses like the Flying Dutchman, King Neptune and Hibernation Sandy
Fallout fans have a whole lot to be excited about these days. From Season 2 of the hit Amazon Prime Video series dropping next month to Fallout 4 coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and Fallout 76 getting a Burning Springs expansion, we’re spoiled for content. Fallout Day on October 23 brought even more announcements. With everything that’s coming, there are tons of fun new collectibles and memorabilia to buy or pre-order in anticipation.
IGN Store is stocked up on awesome Fallout exclusives; there’s even a functional, true to the TV series Pip-Boy Die-Cast replica and Lucy’s Vault 33 Backpack, both of which would be any cosplayer’s dream. Bethesda’s Gear Store already has the 15th Anniversary Fallout: New Vegas bundle up for preorder, along with mementos from the Mojave Wasteland. Or grab my personal favorite, a decorative, rocket-shaped Nuka Mix bottle to create your own Nuka Mix Station at home.
TL;DR: Top Fallout Gear Any Fan Will Love
Take a look at this curated list of top Fallout gear any fan would love, alongside a handy blurb about each. With the holidays quickly approaching, these items also make great gifts for all the Wastelanders in your life.
Fallout Desert Sandtrack Flea Die-Cast Replica
Chryslus Motors classic Fusion Flea got a wasteland makeover with a sick camouflage livery and a rear wheel swapped for tracks, ensuring it’s ready to take on the unforgiving dunes. The Desert Sandtrack Flea is a 1:18 scale replica from The Wand Company, and an IGN Store exclusive that has a limited run of just 1,500 units available for preorder right now. With a mix of die-cast metal, thermoplastic rubber, and engineered plastics, it’s built to last. The attention to detail, from the steerable front wheels and tinted windshield to the engine and its glowing nuclear core, makes this military-ready hot-rod a great addition for any collector.
Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle
Bethesda has a brand new Fallout: New Vegas Bundle available for pre-order from its Gear Store for the 15th Anniversary. In addition to getting the Ultimate Edition of the game via a digital code, which includes all the officially released DCL expansion packs and two weapons packs, it comes with a bunch of cool memorabilia that every Courier will want.
An 8-inch PVC Victor Statue is ready to watch over Good Springs, while one pin and two patches let you represent the Mojave Wasteland anywhere. It even comes with Doc Mitchell’s evaluation cards, allowing you to do a psychological evaluation of friends in the real world. Everything then comes packaged in a retro display box created exclusively for this 15th Anniversary Edition. This bundle doesn’t drop till June 2026, but it’s perfect for any New Vegas fan.
Fallout Pip-Boy 3000 Replica
Fans of Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 3 will want to get their hands on, or rather arms into, this 1:1 replica of the Pip-Boy 3000. Each detail of this wrist-mounted computer remains faithful to the game. A fully functional IPS display delivers that vintage cathode ray tube look, complete with screen glitches and a huge gallery of media, including the Atomic Command minigame. The Wand Company spared no expense when creating this replica, from its die-cast metal front casing and memory foam cuff with a spacer to a rechargeable LiPo power cell and LED torch. It’s sure to elevate your cosplay to another level, but the included machined metal stand is ideal for displaying this exhibition-grade collectible — or using the Pip-Boy 3000 as an alarm clock; yes, it does that too.
Fallout New Vegas Ranger Statue
The detail is incredible on this 8.4-inch resin statue of a New Vegas Ranger. It’s clear he’s a veteran warrior with his battle-worn armour, instantly recognizable Desert Ranger trench coat, gas mask, and dark red eyes. He’s combat-ready with his finger on the trigger of a meticulously decorated revolver. Anyone looking to add an iconic figure of the Mojave Wasteland to their collection will love this statue.
Fallout Official Vault 33 Hoodie
Represent Lucy and the rest of the vault dwellers in Vault 33 from the Prime TV series with this official Vault 33 hoodie. Featuring the signature blue and yellow color scheme with an embroidered “33” on the front and a bold patch across the back, there’s no mistaking your commitment to a brighter tomorrow. The 60/40 cotton-poly blend on this heavyweight zippered hoodie is sure to keep you cozy, especially during the cooler months ahead.
Fallout Nuka Mix Glass Bottle & Caps
Take a piece of the dreamy post-apocalyptic soda fountain from Fallout home with your very own Nuka Mix glass. The 12-ounce bottle features that iconic rocket shape and comes with 10 brown tinplate bottle caps ready for your own Nuka blends. It’s for display purposes only, so you can’t actually drink (or enjoy the gameplay buffs and weird side effects) from this bottle. Nuka Mix isn’t the only Nuka-Cola flavor available; Bethesda’s Gear Store has a bunch of other kinds for an epic Nuka Mix Station at home.
Fallout Desert Ranger Battle Wearable Helmet
Before the New California Republic Rangers formed, there were the Desert Rangers, and you can grab a piece of their history with a durable plastic helmet modeled after one found in Fallout: New Vegas. It’s hand-painted with weathered detail to make each helmet unique. A green glow even comes from the eyes, thanks to the inclusion of LED lights. Best of all, this helmet is wearable for some epic cosplay, and it comes with a stand for displaying. An enamel pin of a completely geared-up Desert Ranger is also included. You can pre-order the Desert Ranger Battle Helmet now, with shipping expected to begin in December.
Fallout Lucy’s Vault 33 Backpack
While you might not be navigating the Wasteland like Lucy, you can accessorize similarly to her in the real world with this remarkably accurate replica rolltop backpack. While it’s brilliant for cosplay, this bag is well-built, durable, and surprisingly big, making it a great option for everyday use. You’ll find a 20L interior compartment, a laptop slot, pockets for various accessories, and, of course, the thick signature yellow blanket that rests on top. Given that this backpack is from the minds at The Wand Company, even the patterns and materials to create it are specially sourced to match what’s used in the show.
Fallout Bottlecap Series: Sunset Sarsaparilla with Collectible Tin
While you can’t use these bottle caps for currency in the real world, they do make for one fun keepsake. The Mojave Wasteland is known for its abundance of Sunset Sarsaparilla, and this pack of 20 tinplate caps and collectible tin with a cowboy on the lid will please any New Vegas fan. You might even luck out and find a few caps with a blue star underneath.
Fallout Vault Boy Resin Plaque
The most iconic figure in the Fallout franchise is Vault Boy, and you can preorder a plaque to display Vault-Tec’s cheerful mascot at home. This 200 x 198mm full-color, embossed resin sign comes with hardware to display it on a wall, or plop it on a shelf with the included stand. It’s perfect for game rooms, adding a touch of retro flair to your space.
Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.
Anyone order a free Mafia: The Old Country update? Well, whether you did or not, a free update is what you’re getting. This one’s quite features driven, focusing a lot of challenges and cosmetics, but there’s a few new weapons and the like too. Let’s take a little look-see!
Haha. Yeah, I know. “Half-Life 3”. The long-fabled, often-rumored, still non-existent third numbered entry in the Half-Life series that fans have craved but never heard a credible whisper of. It’s been a pervasive joke in the industry and among fans for years, a stand-in for a thing that doesn’t exist and never would.
And yet, for some reason, a lot of people seem to think it’s being announced soon. Possibly in the next few weeks. Maybe even today.
You might have seen it. The sudden flurry of mentions of Half-Life 3, some humorous, some quite serious. The surge of memes. A handful of people that seem to have lost their dang minds:
So what’s going on? Why do people think Half-Life 3 is imminent, seriously or unseriously? We investigated:
Half-Hope
Half-Life 3 rumors have existed pretty much since Half-Life 2 first released, so that’s nothing new. But the last couple of years have seen a steady trickle of interesting little threads that have lead many to believe that a third entry was actually in development, quietly, at Valve. There were vague nods, such as the Half-Life: Alyx team saying they wanted to make more Half-Life games and a Final Hours documentary that actually confirmed it was in development at one point between 2013 and 2014. We’ve also seen dataminers pulling crumbs from various Valve releases over the last few years of what seems to be an in-development game internally at Valve known only as “HLX”, using Source 2. Dataminers have worked out that it’s a full-fledged, non-VR, Half-Life game of some sort, that’s been in the works since at least 2021, probably earlier. That game is possibly the same one as was accidentally leaked by a voice actor in 2024, who referred to it as “Project White Sands”.
But this year there’s been a marked increase in little breadcrumbs. Right after the new year, G-Man’s voice actor issued a cryptic post teasing “unexpected surprises” in 2025 – it was his first tweet since he congratulated Valve on Half-Life: Alyx in December 2020. Fans proceeded to tear apart the post, delving deep into an album cover image and the number 197 for what they believed were even more hints that something was in the works.
But an already simmering pot of rumors turned into a full boil with the announcement last week of new Valve hardware: the Steam Machine, complete with a new Steam controller, and a VR headset known as the Steam Frame. Notably, there were no software announcements alongside these hardware reveals, which is a bit odd given that Valve tends to release new games alongside new hardware – recall Half-Life: Alyx and the Valve Index headset. Around the same time, a number of Valve and industry insiders began mentioning Half-Life 3, saying confidently that it was planned for a 2025 announcement still. One leaker, who has a good track record of getting Valve stuff right, said back in May that Half-Life 3 was officially “playable, end-to-end.” There’s a massive Miro board floating around that has catalogued every remotely credible recent mention of Half-Life 3, and is worth digging into if you want follow along.
Go, G-Man, Go
There are so many other weird little indicators floating around that are leading to wild speculation. For instance, Valve’s “Upcoming Releases” tab on its own Steam page only lists one game (Deadlock) despite the sidebar indicating that there are two upcoming game releases. A tweet/X post from the official The Game Awards account commemorating Half-Life’s 27th anniversary today has sent everyone into a frenzy, even though it tweets this anniversary every year. There was a weird amount of extra security at Valve during the recent Steam hardware preview events – something noticed by IGN’s own representatives and contrasted with my personal experience there for Half-Life: Alyx years ago, which featured a relatively normal and relaxed amount of security.
And there was an incredibly silly saga where Geoff Keighley posted a screenshot that showed he had one game in his Steam wishlist. When asked what the game was, he responded with an eyes emoji, and then showed the game Dadlympics. Of course, the Half-Life nerds pounced. Keighley then posted a screenshot of his wishlist showing only the game “Dadlympics,” but notably, this was added on 11/18, the same day he posted the screenshot, suggesting he’s hiding something. Is he hiding Half-Life 3? Probably not! It doesn’t have a viewable Steam page! That’s not how Steam works! But that hasn’t stopped Half-Life 3 fans from pouncing. Seriously, the replies are hilarious.
Whatever you believe is happening here, the reality is that this has resulted in the community going completely bonkers. The Half-Life subreddit is overflowing with Half-Life 3 summoning and hope posts. A quick search for Half-Life on Twitter/X reveals an overflow of discourse, prayers, and memes. It’s kind of nuts, and also really, really fun:
Okay, so let’s say everyone’s right, and we really are getting Half-Life 3 announced soon. When? Well, some think it’s as soon as today. November 19, as The Game Awards posted, is the anniversary of Half-Life – what better time to make an announcement? We’ve already passed the anniversary of Half-Life 2, and the anniversary of Half-Life: Alyx’s announcement, but that particular anniversary is the reason you’re likely seeing so much noise around this today. The other big possibility floated by some is an announcement at The Game Awards, which is coming up on December 11. That would be a little surprising, given that Valve doesn’t need an awards show to command attention with such an announcement. But Valve also has a long history of friendliness with host Geoff Keighley, so maybe it’s not so far-fetched after all.
Whatever the case, one thing is certain: either Half-Life 3 is getting announced before December 31, 2025, or an awful lot of folks are going to have egg on their faces come January 1, 2026. I’m personally hoping for the former, but the community has been hoodwinked before with Half-Life rumors, multiple times even. Keep injecting that Hopium, folks. Perhaps the return of G-man is right around the corner.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride update finally has a release date: November 20. It adds a number of new features, including challenges, a first-person driving camera, classic difficulty, and photo mode.
The major update to Hangar 13’s narrative adventure is a callback to the original Mafia’s Free Ride Extreme and the Free Ride mode in Mafia: Definitive Edition. As explained by Peter Amato, Content Manager at publisher 2K in a post on the PlayStation Blog, Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride update is a collection of challenges separate from the main story that give players chances to revisit the world in a “more self-guided way.” Veteran fans of the series will find that Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride mode will be slightly different from previous titles as a result.
The repeatable challenges include combat, stealth, and different race types. Completing them earns you the Dinari in-game currency to spend on the new outfits, charms, weapons, and vehicles unlocked by progressing through this content (as well as on items unlocked via the campaign).
“We want players to explore the world in a freeform way, and Free Ride turns it into an expansive hub where you’ll find and access various challenges by travelling around, unlocking Hitching Posts, and meeting contacts,” Amato said. “Challenges are instanced and accessed via these contacts, and doing so will place you into a combat location or special world state.
“These combat encounters reuse mission locations, so once you’ve played the corresponding story chapter and unlocked a Challenge in Free Ride, you’ll get to re-experience areas in new ways. Races happen out in the world and we’ve placed them along less-traveled paths, so it should be fun seeing parts of the map you may have previously passed by.
“Of course, there may be new places to explore too, but that’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself…”
Elsewhere, there’s the Cinema Siciliano visual treatment, which Amato said makes Mafia: The Old Country feel like playing “a genuine piece of classic Italian cinema.” “The visual treatment is stunning and it feels like you’re experiencing a black-and-white movie shot on an old-school sound stage, while the vintage-sounding audio convincingly brings the whole thing together,” Amato explained.
All the new items earned by playing Free Ride are usable in the main story campaign. All the new elements are present from the start, so new players will have them as options going through the game for the first time.
The addition of first-person driving is a first for the Mafia franchise. And the Classic difficulty makes the game harder.
“Definitely,” Zelnick said when asked if The Old Country performed well enough to instill confidence to continue the franchise. “We’re really excited about Mafia, and I think that’s a great question because it is sort of a reset for the franchise. We don’t have anything to announce — that comes from the label — but it definitely performed well ahead of expectations.”
Take-Two stopped short of providing exact sales figures but said the early 1900s Sicily-set Mafia “quickly surpassed our internal expectations and affirmed our belief that consumer demand remains strong for premium, narrative-driven experiences that over-index on value.” Although it’s unclear when or how another Mafia game could materialize in the future, more new content and updates for The Old Country are confirmed to be in the works.
Mafia: The Old Country launched in August as a prequel for the crime drama video game franchise that got its start with the original Mafia in 2002. The series saw semi-regular releases up until the launch of the divisive Mafia 3 in 2016, with only a group of well-received definitive edition remasters arriving to break up the wait for more in 2020.
IGN’s Mafia: The Old Country review returned an 8/10. We said: “Mafia: The Old Country is a conventional but effective return to the linear and tightly story-driven format of the original Mafia and Mafia II, and it boasts a wonderful eye and ear for detail.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Ark is one of those strange series to me that seems to have a ridiculous amount of cash to dispense, what with its star-studded cast in the animated adaptation. Gerard Butler and bloody Michelle Yeoh are in it! Not to mention David Tenant, Elliot Page, Russel Crowe and Vin Diesel, the final of whom is meant to be in the borderline MIAArk 2. But some of those voices will be appearing in-game through Ark: Survival Ascended’s next expansion, Lost Colony, which now has a release date!
The full release of Kirby Air Riders is right around the corner, and to make sure that everything is in tip-top condition on launch day (tomorrow), Nintendo has released a day one patch to up the game to ver. 1.1.1.
The patch actually encompasses ver. 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, the former of which adds in the game’s online modes, and the latter sets about fixing any unwanted bugs that might pop up along the way. There are a bunch of features included in this one too, such as the addition of a Team Battle to City Trial, the ability to share replays, and amiibo support for the upcoming Air Riders figures.
Building a Vibe: The Making of Delta Force’s Newest Map, Monument
Joe Meng, PR & Communications Manager, Team Jade
Delta Force has been out on Xbox Series X|S for a little more than three months. Available for free, the game provides three distinctive modes for players of various taste palette: Operations, the game’s accessible, Operator based Extraction Shooter; the Black Hawk Down PvE campaign; and Warfare mode, where players engage in vehicle and/or infantry skirmishes taking place on a growing roster of maps, with its latest addition: Monument. It’s big, with lots of POIs and routes, meaning it’s packed with gameplay opportunities. But this map is more than just a new playground with a new look. It’s delivering a vibe. I spoke with two developers from the team to find out what this map was all about, and why it was so special for the team.
The making of this map took a rebellious turn. Gameplay-first has always been Team Jade’s go-to recipe but with this map, the team decided to flip the script. “I think it really started with a tribute,” said Kai, Level Designer at Team Jade who worked on this map. “We really liked ‘Operation Monument,’ the first mission from Delta Force: Land Warrior. We were discussing what to make next, and someone tossed out: ‘Why don’t we do a pyramid?’ and instantly, everyone just knew—that’s it!”
“This wasn’t just about a simple remake,” he continued. “With modern tech, we finally had the power to actually deliver the desert atmosphere and pyramid experience we’d dreamed of. This was very much a continuation of that classic experience. Getting the opportunity to build content around this really fired us up.”
“We wanted this map to let players truly immerse themselves in the unique atmosphere of the local culture, and this became our top priority for this map,” Wei, the 3D Environment Artist, chimed in. “So, our team actually made the trip out there for hands-on research—to experience the real sand dune terrain and pyramid architecture for ourselves.”
The caveat here, is that the team had already built a prototype of the map, in a bunch of grey boxes as you’d imagine in the engine editor. The team thought the trip would just add some cherries on top, but they were wrong. This trip, as it turned out, changed everything.
“Honestly, picturing something in your head and seeing it with your own eyes are two completely different things,” Wei laughed. The already built “greybox” version of Monument, designed with a traditional gameplay-first, hand-crafted approach, “showed promising results in internal playtests, but when we actually stood among the pyramid complex, we realized the real terrain’s elevation changes and sheer scale far exceeded anything we’d imagined. The desert environment really amplifies the grandeur and mystery. This vibe is something that we must, we have to deliver with this map.”
After the team got back, they effectively redesigned the map, drawing inspiration from the actual terrain. This “authenticity-first” approach, bolstered by photogrammetry scanning done back in the HQ office, created natural combat spaces that felt more organic than anything they could have “hand-designed” from scratch. “It’s like every grain of sand, every brick carries a story,” Wei said.
But getting the look and feel right is only half the job for a map. That’s where level designing shines. “Overall, Monument is a map that combines the diverse combat experiences from… Warfare mode while showcasing distinctive regional culture,” Kai remembered. The battlefield is split into four sectors, each with its own feel, from an abandoned town in Sector A to the dunes of Sector C.
“Sector D brings us inside the pyramid itself, with a maze of passages,” he beamed with excitement. This is where the “vibe” and the “gameplay” truly merge. “Besides the orderly corridors built by craftsmen… there are also secret passages carved out by tomb raiders over the centuries. So if a frontal assault gets too tough, try switching things up and taking a different route; you might stumble onto something unexpected. Players want big maps filled with POIs and routes, and this map really just speaks to that.”
I asked Kai what the team was most excited for players to experience. “I can’t spoil too much,” he chuckled a bit, “but there’s this feeling as the battle progresses. You gradually move from the distant town, across the dunes, closer to the pyramid, and finally step inside, with each stage offering a totally different feel… It’s those moments where you breach that final interior, with sand trickling from the crevices and the distinct sound of the Ney flute in the music… that’s the stuff that sticks with me. Like, this is so cool. You don’t usually get to experience this in a shooter.”
“Players may have already seen pyramids in movies or history books,” he finished, “but this is their first chance to really explore one… running freely, driving at full speed, and fighting in its shadow. We hope everyone has a blast playing it.”
Delta Force is now available for free on Xbox Series X|S. Season Ahsarah, featuring the Monument map, is available now. On top of this new map, the game is to introduce a new Engineer Operator, Gizmo and more content to the game. Delta Force will support console only cross-play with this new season, and native mouse and keyboard input, among other console-specific improvements.
The iconic series returns as the definitive free-to-play modern team-based tactical shooter, and featuring three distinct gameplay modes:
– Warfare: battle the enemy across land, sea and air in truly epic 32 v 32 PvP combat, featuring a wide range of vehicles and unique tactical gear.
– Operations: Delta Force meets the next generation extraction shooter as you deploy behind enemy lines with your squad, search for valuables, take on rival players, and extract before it’s too late. Alternatively, our PvE Raid mode offers challenging objective-based missions designed to push your squad to the limit.
– Black Hawk Down: step into the boots of legendary Delta Force operators for this remake of the classic series campaign based on the gripping 2001 movie.
We are committed to NO PAY-TO-WIN and development is driven by community feedback. Fair play is a top priority, and our dedicated G.T.I. security anti-cheat team ensures a fair gameplay experience by proactively targeting and removing cheaters.
Mafia: The Old Country‘s depiction of 1900s Sicily is teeming with immersive detail and dangerous encounters. With the new Free Ride Update, the developers at Hangar 13 are giving players even more freedom to explore and survive the Valle Dorata’s criminal underworld.
See all the additions included in the Free Ride Update via the trailer below, then read on for insights from Associate Design Director Josh Zammit about this free update for owners of Mafia: The Old Country.
How does Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride mode call back to, or differ from, past Free Ride modes?
Free Ride is a callback to the original Mafia’s Free Ride Extreme, as well as the Free Ride mode we shipped in Mafia: Definitive Edition. It’s a collection of Challenges separate from the main story that give players chances to revisit the world in a more self-guided way. Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride mode will be slightly different from previous titles, yet familiar to returning fans all the same.
This time, we’ve constructed several kinds of repeatable Challenges—including combat, stealth, and different race types—in a variety of new and familiar locations. Completing Challenges will earn you the Dinari in-game currency to spend on the new outfits, charms, weapons, and vehicles unlocked by progressing through this content (as well as on items unlocked via the campaign). We’ve also included a number of other fresh and exciting features for players to sink their teeth into, and I hope fans enjoy them.
What’s the first thing you’d suggest players to do when they enter Free Ride mode?
There’s a lot to explore in this update, so players will have plenty of potential starting points. But I’m excited for them to experience the Valle Dorata in the most immersive way possible, and to me, that’s First-Person Driving. The first thing I’d do is spawn my fastest car from the garage, turn on the First-Person Driving camera, and just joyride. The new Photo Mode is another much-requested feature I think players are going to love. So get out there, find some action and beautiful vistas, and take amazing screenshots to share with friends.
Which pieces of content are you personally most excited about?
We’re super proud of everything the team has achieved, so I find it hard to pick one that I’m most excited about. I love the races; it’s a ton of fun to drive around our world at high speed in the amazing old cars. There’s loads of technical corners, and the better you get, the more satisfying they are to navigate.
The Combat Challenges are great as well. Standoffs push your limits when it comes to openly engaging enemies, and Assassinations are fun to experiment with until you nail that perfect run. There is one piece of content I think players are going to find especially intriguing and unexpected, though I don’t want to spoil it. Keep an eye out for notes in Enzo’s apartment—one may end up revealing something cool to investigate.
Beyond extra Challenges and other added content, how does this update enhance one’s experience of the main campaign?
I’ve already mentioned First-Person Driving because it really hits differently, and that’s equally true during the story. Driving around with Cesare in first person is great fun, especially in Chapter 7. It adds to the immersion and feels like living in that moment with your best friend.
Cinema Siciliano is another fantastic way to experience Mafia: The Old Country. We’ve gone out of our way to make it feel like you’re playing a genuine piece of classic Italian cinema. The visual treatment is stunning and it feels like you’re experiencing a black-and-white movie shot on an old-school sound stage, while the vintage-sounding audio convincingly brings the whole thing together.
We’ve also added Classic Difficulty, adding a new degree of challenge and raising the stakes higher, making for even more reason to take another crack at Enzo’s journey.
On top of that, all the new items you can earn by playing Free Ride will be usable in the main story campaign.
For new players, all of these elements will be present from the start, and having them as options throughout the game is going to be awesome. I’d recommend playing through on one of the original difficulties first, but if you’re confident in your skills—or just want to get punished—Classic puts them to the ultimate test.
How does First-Person Driving change the feel of exploration?
Though it’s something the team always wanted to include, this is the first time we’ve officially supported first-person driving in the franchise. We’re massive driving fans, so it was important to get the details in the cars right.
In terms of how it impacts exploration, it obviously changes the way you see things as you drive around immersed more firmly in Enzo’s shoes. I’ve spent many hours traversing the Valle Dorata with it now, and still stop to marvel at details I rarely noticed while zooming around in our classic third-person view. Tackling races in first person offers another new way to test your abilities, as dust and smoke from other cars add an intense and exhilarating perspective that the detached camera can’t easily convey.
How does Free Ride mode make use of the game’s map in ways that the main game didn’t or couldn’t?
We want players to explore the world in a freeform way, and Free Ride turns it into an expansive hub where you’ll find and access various Challenges by travelling around, unlocking Hitching Posts, and meeting contacts. Challenges are instanced and accessed via these contacts, and doing so will place you into a combat location or special world state.
These combat encounters reuse mission locations, so once you’ve played the corresponding story chapter and unlocked a Challenge in Free Ride, you’ll get to re-experience areas in new ways. Races happen out in the world and we’ve placed them along less-traveled paths, so it should be fun seeing parts of the map you may have previously passed by.
Of course, there may be new places to explore too, but that’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself…
Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride Update is available November 20, free for all PlayStation 5 players. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can try it via a Game Trial beginning Friday, November 21.
