Game Infliction, Author at Game Infliction

Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism is Coming to Xbox – Will the Soviets Win?

Summary

Pre-order Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism with 10% off, launching March 9th.
The third installment of the turn-based Strategic Mind wargame series, set in WWII.
Rich storytelling with about 60 minutes of cutscenes, challenging gameplay with advanced mechanics, and expanded strategic possibilities.

Hello there, Xbox wargamers!

This is Oleksandr Sienin, I am the COO and developer from Starni Games. Today I wanted to bring to your attention Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism, which is the third installment of Strategic Mind series coming to Xbox One with Xbox Series X|S compatibility.

The first installment Strategic Mind: The Pacific, about the fight between the USA and the Empire of Japan, was brought to Xbox One by our porting partner and publisher Klabater, on June 26th, 2022. The second, Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom, showing World War II from the Allies’ perspective, came to Xbox on September 22nd, 2022.

And this time, we’re coming to you with Spectre of Communism – the Cold War played from the Soviets’ perspective. Read more and dive with me into the world of political intrigue and experience the tension of the Cold War era.

What is Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism about?

The game tells an alternate story of the Red Army after World War II. You take on the role of a commander leading your nation through the challenges of the Cold War.

The game features a deep, immersive storyline that will allow you to explore the struggles of the time and the spectre of communism that hung over the world. With engaging gameplay mechanics, 3d graphics, and a rich, detailed world, Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism offers long hours of intense brain challenge and tons of fun.

Is your mind strategic? Let’s see about that.

The strategy is the Strongest Point of the Game

The Soviets had a simple strategy for World War II and the Cold War – to throw so many people at their enemies that the enemies will run out of ammo.

This will not work for the game. If you are in love with strategies, you’ll enjoy a wide array of tactical possibilities to overcome your foes in Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism.

The Spectre of Communism haunted the world. You will haunt your adversaries.

The elements that come into play are:

Different types of units – you have tanks, artillery, infantry, aircraft, and many more, each with its strengths and weaknesses,
The development of the units – choose your go-to formation and maximize it, or spread the development to have a more balanced setup,
The terrain – you may use it for your protection or get a higher ground,
The movement of the units – moving your units together in a way they can protect each other is crucial,
The planning – while moving units around you need to keep an eye on the chain of supplies.

There are endless combinations of approaching each stage. Changing one variable can mean the difference between winning and losing a battle and ultimately the whole round.

Also, what’s interesting, the progression is historically accurate, which means you are able to unlock a certain type of unit no sooner than the moment it was introduced in history.

It takes some time to get a grasp of understanding of the game, and it may become challenging, but after all – it’s the challenge what it’s all about, right? What’s worth having, never comes easily. If you truly are a strategic mind, you’ll feel comfortable moving around the Soviet Union in no time.

You will be able to experience all the thrills of this classic political thriller from the comfort of your home. If you have not played any of the Strategic Mind series yet, we hope this installment, and its 10% discounted Pre-order offer, will encourage you to discover the rich storytelling, challenging gameplay, extensive cutscenes, and expanded strategic possibilities of the Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism or the other WWII campaigns of Strategic Mind.

Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism

Klabater

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism is a (hi)story-driven turn-based strategy set in the WW2 period. It offers refined wargame mechanics, story-rich gameplay, and modern 3D graphics. Lead the USSR Armed forces staging the world Communist revolution. For Stalin! For the Motherland!

The game has many historical operations and events but also features a number of alternate history moments. It is created with great care and attention to historical details by a team which is passionate about WW2 history. Watching cinematics before and after every operation you can almost feel that you are indeed a participant of the unfolding epochal events. Moreover, numerous primary and secondary objectives allow you to explore every battle in detail. The gameplay is plot-driven and features many historical personalities such as Joseph Stalin, Georgy Zhukov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Kliment Voroshilov, Lavrentiy Beria, Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Konstantin Rokossovsky and others.

Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism is the third installment in the Strategic Mind line of games. The first one – “Strategic Mind: The Pacific” – was about naval warfare during the Pacific War, while the second one – “Strategic Mind: Blitzkrieg” – was telling the story of the European theater from the German perspective. It is high time “Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism” tells the USSR story in WW2, a story filled with valiant hearts and vile betrayals. As a part of the Strategic Mind franchise, it will retain many features of the series along with adding new content and features to the existing variety.

Elden Ring Finally Gets Some Cool Toys of Melina, Raging Wolf and Vyke

Bandai Namco sent us some of the first Elden Ring action figures, the S.H. Figuarts Festering Fingerprint Vyke and super-deformed Figuarts Minis of Melina and Raging Wolf. Vyke will run you around $75, while the Minis are both $30. A variety of toy and collectible sites have had them up for pre-order for a while, and will likely start shipping soon.

Vyke, who appears as an NPC invader in-game and whose armor is being worn by the Tarnished on Elden Ring’s box art, includes his war spear, a fire effect to recreate the frenzyflame thrust attack, and four interchangeable pairs of hands (one pair of first, one pair open, and two pairs for holding the spear at different angles.) Data-miners have dug up unused assets that suggest Vyke originally had a much larger role in Elden Ring’s story, but currently, the game’s cover model and first official action figure feature a random dude who jumps you outside an abandoned church.

Melina and Raging Wolf each include one interchangeable arm – Melina’s is outstretched, Wolf’s is holding a sword. Though the Minis are articulated, the proportions and sculpted clothing make posing pretty limited. They unclude small stands though, which are necessary for displaying purposes on account of the toys’ enormous heads.

Weirdly, these are the first FromSoft characters to get the Figuarts treatment, despite it being a Bandai Namco toy line. There are a variety of Dark Souls collectibles from other manufacturers, and Bloodborne, Sekiro and Demon’s Souls have all gotten Figma action figures. Figma and Nendoroid both have some Elden Ring figures in the works, but hopefully we see more from S.H. Figuarts as well.

Some of us, however, couldn’t wait a whole year for Elden Ring toys, and decided to take matters into our own hands before the game was even out:

Dead Island 2’s extended trailer shows combat that’s polished and predictable

Dead Island 2 seems destined to be a competent but unoriginal take on the zombie smashing genre. I am undecided if I find the prospect an entertaining diversion or a mind-numbing waste of time, but a new, extended 14-minute demonstration might help you make up your mind.

Mario and Peach Amiibo Are Back in Stock

Two amiibo from the Super Mario line have been reprinted and are now available to purchase again at Best Buy. You can pick up a Mario and a Peach amiibo, both of which came out a few years ago before going out of stock and into retirement. Well, they’re back, at least for the time being. Grab them if you want to add them to your collection.

Mario and Peach Amiibo Reprints

The Mario amiibo was originally released on March 19, 2015. The Peach amiibo came a couple years later, on March 23, 2017. Despite their release dates being updated to 3/1/2023 in Best Buy’s listsings, the product descriptions for both still reference scanning them on your Wii U GamePad controller (RIP). Don’t worry, though — they’ll work just fine on your Nintendo Switch.

It’s unclear why, exactly, these two amiibo have been reprinted now, though there are some possibilities. We’re approaching March 10, aka Mario Day, and these could be part of that whole celebration. There’s also the impending release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which may have something to do with it as well. In any case, these are some colorful amiibo that would look good on the shelf of any Mario and Peach fan.

These reprints raise other questions that are unanswered for the moment, as well. Will other amiibo from this series be repinted soon? Will these amiibo show up at other retailers aside from Best Buy? Who knows! If they do, we’ll add links above.

If that’s not enough for you, also take a look at our roundup of the best Nintendo gifts, and the best toy gifts. They don’t even have to be gifts for other people. Treat yourself, as they say.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed or on Mastodon @chrislreed.

F1 Manager 2022 is free to play on Steam right now

F1 Manager 2022 is free to play on Steam this weekend. From now until March 6th for nowt, you can try Frontier’s driving management simulation, with a 70% discount if you decide to buy it.

talked about a few times, as this 34-in ultrawide QD-OLED manages to outperform almost everything else on the market – albeit with a four-figure price tag that also eclipses almost every alternative.

Now though, this 3440×1440 165Hz gaming OLED has dropped in price by a sizeable 26% or £310. That brings the monitor well into three-figure territory at £880, still pricy but a reasonable value given that this Dell monitor is head and shoulders above its IPS, VA and TN opponents.

Cosy 3D Farming Sim ‘Everdream Valley’ Is Looking To Take Stardew’s Crown

Coming to Switch Spring 2023.

Mooneaters, Untold Tales, and VARSAV Games have announced Everdream Valley, a brand new 3D farming sim that – in their words – is looking to be “your new favourite cosy farming game”.

Launching on the Switch in Spring 2023, the game sees you restore your special corner of the valley during the day, and take part in magical dreams at night that will let you embody various farmland creatures.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Overwatch 2: Check Out the Kiriko One-Punch Man Collaboration Skin (and How It Was Made)

Xbox Wire can exclusively reveal one of Overwatch 2’s upcoming One-Punch Man collaboration skins – support hero Kiriko in the form of Terrible Tornado. The legendary skin comes as part of a wider collaboration between Overwatch 2 and One-Punch Man, which has already seen Doomfist revealed in a skin based on the eponymous superhero himself, Saitama.

The Legendary Terrible Tornado – Kiriko skin will arrive as part of a bundle, available for 2,100 coins in the Overwatch 2 in-game store. The bundle includes the legendary skin, the Terribly Impressive Victory Pose, and the Terrible Tornado namecard. The skin – and the rest of the One Punch Man collaboration – will be available from March 7 until April 6.

It’s the first major in-game collaboration for Overwatch since a LEGO-inspired Bastion skin in 2019, and I caught up with Art Director, Dion Rogers to find out how this unexpected partnership emerged:

“It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a while,” he begins. “You know, Overwatch’s art style is kind of a marriage of West-meets-East aesthetics and values – there’s a bit of an anime look to Overwatch. So, being fans of anime, we were looking for a partner to collaborate with. And we looked at various studios, and then when One-Punch Man came up, it was surprising how many people on the team knew the anime, they loved it, they watched it. Aaron Keller, our game director totally knows all the characters and things backwards and forwards.

“So it was pretty surprising. We felt like that’s a great one because the team would be very excited by this idea – because the team knew the anime so well, and they were so excited, it’s at that point that it really felt like the right fit.”

Rogers wasn’t wrong. He says that the collaboration was so popular in the studio that, on the very first team meeting about it, the character artist for the Saitama – Doomfist skin began drawing designs during the call, and was sharing them soon after. If you wanted some measure of how much the Overwatch team likes One Punch Man, consider the fact that Doomfist had a voice line referencing the show for years – “One punch is all I need” – before this crossover came together. “Yeah, we were inspired,” Rogers laughs when I ask about it.

So, what about Kiriko’s costume specifically? Terrible Tornado is an incredibly powerful psychic in the world of One-Punch Man, and comes with a distinct personality all of her own. What made Kiriko the right fit to put on her costume?

“Part of the challenge of bringing some of the heroes in is basically [because of] a silhouette change. So gameplay-wise, we have to be careful. Doomfist, for example: as Saitama he gains a cape. Doomfist, we never give him a cape, in any of the skins, so that his silhouette – the shape that players are used to seeing – remains. So we were very careful when we applied this.

“Kiriko – on top of needing some more skins, because she’s a newer hero in the game – she fits the silhouette of [Terrible Tornado] pretty well. So it just felt like a natural choice – we could do her hairstyle, but a lot of Kiriko’s base silhouette comes from her skirt, the little kind of angled parts on her clothing. So we could keep that look while capturing [Terrible Tornado] in kind of cosplay form.”

Rogers raises an interesting point about this collaboration – in most games, you’d kind of assume the heroes were meant to be a version of the One-Punch Man characters but, in Overwatch 2, they’re cosplaying as them.

“Our heroes are basically aware of the anime and are fans too. And they’re cosplaying as the heroes.”

“That’s our approach; that our heroes are basically aware of the anime and are fans too. And they’re cosplaying as the heroes. So when you see Doomfist wearing the Saitama outfit, he’s a fan too.”

It raises the question – is this a one-off, or could we see more cosplay-esque collaborations for Overwatch 2 in future?

“We definitely want to do more collaborations over time, but with the right opportunity [because] it took us a long time to reach here – hopefully it doesn’t take us as long for the next one. But our goal is to do more. It was super fun for the team. It’s surprising, I think our approach overlaps with Overwatch very well.”

“And what I like about the new game is it’s seasonal, we have the seasonal cadence of things now. It’ll allow us to pursue more things like this, because we have targeted seasons that we can plug these things into.”

I can’t let Rogers go without asking the obvious follow-up: what would his dream collaboration be once One Punch Man is done? “Oh yeah. Dragon Ball – that’s one of them. Actually, Street Fighter, I’d love to combo with Street Fighter at some point.” Here’s hoping one (or both!) happen one day soon.

Overwatch 2 is out now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. The Overwatch collaboration event, including the Legendary Terrible Tornado – Kiriko skin, will begin on March 7 and run until April 6.

Overwatch® 2

Blizzard Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆
1997

★★★★★

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Team up with friends and dive into the reimagined PvP experience as a time-jumping freedom fighter, a beat-dropping battlefield DJ, or one of over 30 other unique heroes as you battle it out around the globe.

EVER EVOLVING HEROES, NEW MAPS, NEW WAYS TO PLAY AND UNIQUE COSMETICS! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch’s distinct heroes. Take them into battle across 24 futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.

SEASON THREE IS NOW LIVE
New heroes, maps, and game modes will be added in seasonal updates every nine weeks. Drop into Season Three to explore new terrain in the newest map, ANTARCTICA, and over 20 tiers of completely free rewards on the Battle Pass. Purchase the Premium Battle Pass to unlock an additional 60 Tiers of cosmetic rewards including the all-new Mythic Kiriko skin, legendary skins, sprays, voice lines, weapon charms, and more!

A mobile phone number must be linked to your Battle.net Account to play Overwatch.

Welcome to the Jüngle – The Last Worker and PS VR2

Hello folks, I’m Ryan Bousfield, founder and director of Wolf & Wood Interactive, and I’m here today to announce that our upcoming game, The Last Worker will be launching on PlayStation 5 and on PS VR2 on March 30!

For people who may not be familiar with the game, let me give you a quick run-down. The Last Worker is a first-person narrative adventure we are creating with Jörg Tittel (writer, director) and Wired Productions (publisher) that balances light work simulation tasks with stealth gameplay and a deliciously dark and satirical story, performed by a star-studded cast (featuring the likes of Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jason Isaacs, Clare-Hope Ashitey, David Hewlet, Zelda Williams, and Tommie Earl Jenkins).

You are Kurt, the very last human worker for Jüngle – the most profitable company in the world. Kurt is responsible for “delivering dreams” along with his co-bot assistant SKEW, navigating a huge distribution centre (larger than the sunken island of Manhattan) on a gravity defying pod, and then using your “Jünglegun” to retrieve, analyse and then tag products appropriately before dispatching or destroying them. Kurt is pretty happy with his lot, all things considered – that is until a contact from a shadowy organisation disrupts his day to day work and offers him the chance to peek below the surface of Jüngle and the dark secrets that built an empire…

The Last Worker will be playable in both traditional “flat mode” and PS VR2 compatible, with both versions of the game built independently to make the most of the strengths of each version of the game, and of course make the most of the unique features that PlayStation 5 and PS VR2 hardware brings to the table.

Hybrid game and Saves

The Last Worker will be available as a PS5 and PSVR2 title, but you won’t need to pay for an upgrade, when you buy the game you receive both versions – and the save files and progress carry over between them. This means if you spend the morning fully immersed in the PS VR2 world of JFC-1, but want to quickly get a shift in later without putting on your headset, you can simply play on your TV.

4K HDR PS VR2 visuals

The Last Worker features a gorgeous stylised world, that blends custom shading and art from concepts drawn by comic artist legend Mick Mcmahon (known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd and Sláine) that have been lovingly adapted by our team hand drawing each and every pen stroke in 3D! This has led to a vibrant, colourful world that is brought to life in spectacular fashion with the PS VR2’s two 2000×2040 OLED screens.

3D audio

Wolf & Wood have previously released PS VR titles, and understand the importance of audio in crafting a believable immersive world, this is no different for The Last Worker, with crisp 3D audio implementation allowing every explosion, piece of dialogue from the cast or track from the OST (Which was created by Olver Kraus, known for his collaborations with Adele, Sia, Florence and the Machine, and others) to come through crystal clear regardless of your position.

Adaptive triggers and haptic feedback

As Kurt’s story progresses, so does the selection of tools available to him, from using the Jünglegun as a makeshift hacking tool to a powerful EMP gun – each tool you’ll use to complete your day job (or perform espionage) includes unique feedback through use of the adaptive triggers and powerful haptic feedback – whether you’re labeling a package or flinging rats into the face of a pursuing security bot.

PS VR2 headset feedback

One of the PS VR2 features we’re most excited is the feedback on the headset itself – and for The Last Worker we’ve ensured that they are responsive to the action on screen as you soar around JFC-1 to put you right in the hotseat of Kurt’s Jünglepod. The impactful chaos of flying debris, gigantic robots, and explosions are all simulated for the player with optional headset haptics.

We can’t wait for you to experience all this and more – no matter how you choose to play The Last Worker, you’ll become immersed in exploring the dark underbelly of Jüngle and the important story shared by Kurt. Until then, keep your eyes peeled on the Wired Productions and The Last Worker social accounts for more information, and we’ll look forward to your induction day on March 30.

The Best PS5 SSD Deals for 2023: 2TB From $131.99

2023 might finally be the year where 2TB PS5 SSDs might actually be worth the upgrade. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $100 price point and 2TB SSDs are under $200. The reason PS5 SSD upgrades are pricey is that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up an PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive. That means, for better or for worse, picking a top-shelf SSD.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD. Not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (we recommend this one for $10) and install it yourself. It’s very easy.

Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for PS5 for $131.99

Constantly going in and out of stock

Crucial’s newest M.2 SSD meets all the requirements for your PS5 SSD upgrade. It supports transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s which is well above the 5,500MB/s minimum threshold. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the original PS5 SSD. If you’re worried about opening up your PS5 case, don’t worry it’s very easy. Crucial has an official YouTube PS5 SSD install guide to see you through the process.

WD 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $179.99 or Less

Amazon is offering a 2TB WD Black SN850X with preinstalled heatsink for only $179.99. The SN850X is the successor to the SN850 SSD. It has newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, which combined offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. For PC gamers, there’s also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB “Optimized for PS5” SSD with Heatsink for Only $159.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is the same super-fast M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen4 SSD that’s marketed for enthusiast gaming PC builds. This one is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. Performance wise, the MP600 Pro matches the best SSDs out there with its 7,100MB/sec sequential read and 6,800MB/sec sequential write speeds.

Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB PS5 SSD for $144.99

Amazon is offering the Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x 4 Internal Gaming Solid State Drive, which is compatible with the PS5 console, for only $149.99. This makes it definitely the lowest price we’ve seen for a brand name 2TB PS5 SSD, especially since this one even includes a slim aluminum heatshield. The VP4300 is an M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 solid state drive with rated transfer speeds of 7,400MB/s read and 6,800MB/s write. That makes it well above the PS5’s recommended 5,600MB/s speed requirement.

Samsung 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $179.99

Samsung SSDs need no introduction. They’ve made some of the most popular and reliable PS5 SSDs on the market. The 980 Pro has been out for a while now, but it’s still one of Samsung’s fastest M.2 PCIe SSD, with only the newly released 990 Pro being faster. It is fully PS5 compatible in terms of form factor and performance, with blistering speeds of up to 7,100MB/s. It goes toe to toe with other well-known options like the WD Black SN850 and the Seagate Firecuda 530.

More PS5 SSD Deals

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How easy is it to install the SSD?

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

What if the SSD I bought doesn’t have a heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for about $10 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

For more deals, take a look at our daily deals for today.

Author: Game Infliction