Game Infliction, Author at Game Infliction

The Best PS5 SSD Deals for 2023: New Price Drops on WD Black SN850X and Corsair MP600 Pro

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.

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.

2-Pack WD 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $299.99

Western Digital has the 2TB WD Black Series SN850X M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD for only $179.99 but when you add two to your cart, price drops to $299.99 (or $150 each). 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.

Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB PS5 SSD for $149.99

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.

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.

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.

Sons Of The Forest hotfix adds a much requested hotkey system

Sons Of The Forest is doing extremely well, selling 2 million copies in 24 hours. There have been a handful of gripes from players, though, and one of them just got resolved in the latest hotfix. You can now add hotkeys to weapons in your inventory.

Final Fantasy 16 were released last year, some questions were asked about its predominantly white cast. Those questions were answered by producer Naoki Yoshida in a fashion he correctly predicted would be “disappointing to some”.

Yoshida has now revisited the question during the latest round of Final Fantasy 16 press.

Countdown: Wii U eShop Spotlight – Star Fox Guard

#5 – We need to guard this one.

For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we’re going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it’s too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for good soon and, for one reason or another, these eShop-exclusives are close to our hearts.

Today, Alana nominates Star Fox Guard, a curious entry in the Star Fox series that’s still worth a look today.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Forspoken Developer Will Be Folded Back Into Square Enix

Forspoken developer Luminous Productions will be absorbed back into Square Enix to continue working on AAA games, the company announced.

On Twitter, Luminous Productions revealed that the change will go into effect at the beginning of May.

“Beginning on May 1, our talented team will join Square Enix to deliver new, innovative gaming experiences to players across the globe,” Luminous’ statement reads.

“Betwen now and then we remain entirely focused on Forspoken. We are currently working on the previously announced patch to address overall game performance (we will deliver an update soon) and the DLC, In Tanta We Trust, is on track for release this summer. Thank you again for your patience and support!”

An Update from Luminous Productions pic.twitter.com/fbDENflRhj
— Luminous Productions (@LumiPro_EN) February 28, 2023

Square Enix also released a statement, saying in part, “The merger is part of the Company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the Group’s development studios,” and that “Luminous Productions Co., Ltd. is meanwhile equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.”

Luminous Productions was originally created largely from developers who worked at Square Enix on Final Fantasy XV. The studio was tasked with crreating new games in the Luminous Engine, the same engine used for Final Fantasy XV. Forspoken was the only game the studio shipped during its existence.

Forspoken released in January to mixed critical reception. In our review, we said, “Forspoken is the sort of game you’ve probably seen before – from its stereotypical fish-out-of-water fantasy story to its giant open-world map full of repetitive optional tasks.”

The game has been criticized for uneven performance, prompting Luminous Productions to work on a patch for performance, graphics, playability, and other fixes.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Phantom Brigade review: entertaining mech battles carry a toothless campaign

Phantom Brigade right. According to its internal clock, battles usually take less than a minute. That time is divided into five-second chunks during which you’re shown what the enemy will do, and must use that to coordinate your own mechs, placing their orders on a visible timeline. You finish your turn by hitting a button that makes everyone go at once for a few explosive moments.

In practice, behind those few seconds are an eternity of theorising, testing, and tweaking. There’s probably a metaphor in there somewhere about writing, video editing, or catering. The result is a game that’s taken me absolutely ages, but whose numbers suggest I’m supposed to be blasting through without a care.

I am enjoying it a lot, despite some frustration.

Soapbox: 1080° Snowboarding Is The Coolest Nintendo Ever Got

Work your body, w-work your body.

Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, on its 25th birthday, Gavin recalls an atypical Nintendo first-party game where the only goofy thing is your stance choice in the lodge at the start…

Tuesday 28th February 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of 1080° Snowboarding‘s Japanese launch. Developed in-house at Nintendo EAD with Giles Goddard (of Star Fox and squishy Mario 64 face fame) and Colin Reed (Stunt Race FX) on programming duties, it’s a fantastic game — and a curiously straight-laced one by Nintendo standards.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Scars Above: How Classic Sci-Fi and Modern Storytelling Combined for a New Narrative Adventure

All of us in the studio have been great sci-fi fans since we were kids, and with some of us now in our forties, that means we’ve been into science fiction for several decades at this point.

A lot of things have changed since some of these classic tales were first told; but the core themes seem to stay just as thought-provoking and stories seem just as current today as they were back then, even if they missed the mark in certain details. For example, an Xbox console is probably several orders of magnitude more powerful than the central computer of the original Enterprise judging by its response time to Mr. Spock’s queries.

We injected this love of science fiction into our game – Scars Above, a single-player 3rd person action adventure. Scars combines the rewarding feel of overcoming difficulty with a compelling sci-fi story. In fact, the challenge itself is woven into the narrative, as are the game’s core mechanics. Set on a mysterious alien world, you play a stranded astronaut faced with overwhelming odds, having to use every resource at her disposal to survive. From crafting and using elemental weapons and gadgets, to exploiting the weaknesses of hostile fauna and flora, and opportunities found in the environment – the approach to combat is not only a design decision but also a storytelling one.

When writing Scars Above, we wanted to capture an old-school sci-fi feel; partly due to our love for these stories, but also due to their continued relevance, thrill, and imagination-building that stands the test of time. Of course, we gave our story a modern spin and hopefully managed to sneak in a few surprises here and there too.

While Scars draws inspiration from many sources – and there are too many to note here – a few of genre-defining works were stuck in my mind while coming up with the game’s original concept: the ethical dilemmas of science and the dangers of unchecked technological progress in Foundation by Asimov; the mission-oriented AI devoid of ethical restraints from Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; and, perhaps surprisingly, the strangeness and the unexpectedness found beyond the rabbit hole in Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, all left their mark on Kate’s journey on the mysterious extrasolar planet.

When it comes to the cult classics on the screen, the comparison to Alien is, of course, obvious; from the resourcefulness of Ellen Ripley to the biological horror of the Xenomorph. A less obvious inspiration can be found in a movie before my time (I remember watching it on TCM as a kid, it was an “old classic” even then) – “Forbidden Planet” from 1956. It was the first science fiction movie set entirely on another planet, far from Earth. It also featured one of the first AI characters with its own personality.

Finally, the idea of protagonists being explorers and scientists instead of soldiers and warriors stems from Star Trek – a continuing source of inspiration for our entire studio. In fact, here’s some trivia for you: Kate is named after the actress Kate Mulgrew – Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager.

Good sci-fi is timeless and we hope to have captured some of its essence in the story of Scars Above, giving it a bit of that enduring quality. Of course, it’s a modern story in a modern story-driven action game, following current trends in both gameplay and storytelling. Our plan has always been to have an interplay between the story and game mechanics. For example, the way Scars is challenging reflects the scale between Kate and the terrifying biological monstrosities that she must face. Kate’s engineering and scientific skills, rather than combat training, translate to gadgets and weapons players need to rely on as part of the tactical combat in the game.

When she’s not fighting, Kate is solving the mystery of the planet and revealing the story through research and scientific exploration, also depicted through gameplay. We made gameplay mechanics a part of the story (even the “respawn” mechanic is a narrative element), and we used the story to drive the design of the mechanics. It’s a modern story, told by modern gameplay – inspired by sci-fi classics and everlasting themes of human curiosity, exploration, and science; and alien planets filled with scary monsters, of course.

We can’t wait for you to beat the odds using knowledge, experimentation, tactical thinking, and sharp shooting skills – as you struggle to stay calm and precise during intense moments of terror. Scars Above comes out today, February 28^th for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Scars Above

Prime Matter

☆☆☆☆☆
5

★★★★★

$39.99

Get it now

Scars Above is a challenging sci-fi third-person action adventure shooter combining the rewarding feel of overcoming difficulty with a compelling and intricate story, set in a mysterious alien world to explore.

Some things were not meant to be discovered…

A colossal and enigmatic alien structure appears in Earth’s orbit and stuns the entire world; humanity names it ‘The Metahedron’. The Sentient Contact Assessment and Response team (SCAR) – consisting of scientists and engineers – is sent to investigate.

Things don’t go as planned and the Metahedron hauls the team across space onto a mysterious extrasolar planet. Playing the role of Dr Kate Ward – a SCAR member – who wakes up dazed, alone in a strange, hostile environment. Determined to survive, you set out to find your crew and unravel the mystery behind what’s happened.

SURVIVE AGAINST ALL ODDS:
Kate is an astronaut and a scientist – not a soldier – but she’s resourceful and determined to do anything to survive.
Use a combination of ranged weapons, devices, consumables and melee attacks, you need to manage stamina as you run, dodge, exploit weak points and discover effective tactics to defeat your foes
Combine different elemental attacks to beat the odds and break through otherwise impassable obstacles.
Craft different items and gadgets to aid you against the countless threats in this exoplanet.

EXPLORE A MYSTERIOUS EXOPLANET:
Immerse yourself in a carefully crafted adventure, inspired by the sci-fi classics.
Explore an alien world filled with countless threats, gorgeous landscapes and ruins hinting of an ancient – yet advanced – civilisation that somehow disappeared.
Journey through different biomes, such as marshlands, freezing wastelands, underground caverns and alien facilities – all with their own set of challenges, enemies, secrets and environmental hazards.

EMBARK ON A RESEARCH JOURNEY:
Kate is a scientist to her core and you’ll use that scientific expertise to extract information from your surroundings by scanning artifacts, materials and creatures in order to learn about their features, properties and weaknesses.
As you explore your surroundings, you will conduct analysis and gain knowledge which will allow you to craft new gadgets, weapons and unlock abilities in Xenobiology and Engineering trees.

THRILLING BOSS FIGHTS:
Ghastly enemy designs – with diverse strategies and tactics – will keep encounters fresh, forcing you to find creative ways to defeat them.

The Scars Above Experience:
[*] Immerse yourself in an exciting sci-fi adventure inspired by the classics of the genre
[*] Explore an enigmatic and intricate alien world – with plenty of mysteries to uncover
[*] Fight tactically, using a combination of elemental attacks, gadgets and items, exploit the environment and enemy weaknesses
[*] Engage exciting and challenging enemies and bosses, from hulking rock-covered monstrosities to nightmarish creatures lurking in the dark
[*] Gain knowledge and acquire new skills
[* ]Scan enemies to learn about their weaknesses and behaviours
[*] Use your scientific skills to conduct research and extrapolate information

Mature Content Description:
The developers describe the content like this:
Violence, Depictions mutated human bodies, Depictions of dead and mutilated aliens.

Sony Creator to Creator: Inside The Last of Us

Here at PlayStation Productions, we strive to introduce our notable gaming IP to new audiences and we recognize that adapting video games from their interactive medium to another is no simple task. In the case of The Last of Us show on HBO, this meant retelling a story beloved by fans of the game in a faithful yet compelling way for TV. Thankfully the show’s top-tier creators were up to the exciting challenge, combining decades of shared experience making video games and TV shows.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive reception so far and as we near the finale in the next few weeks, I’m delighted to introduce the latest chapter in Sony’s Creator to Creator series for the Last of Us. This two-part series features the creators and cast reflecting on their time working on the games and show. The participants include:

Neil Druckmann, Executive Producer / Co-President at Naughty Dog
Craig Mazin, Executive Producer
Pedro Pascal (Joel)
Bella Ramsey (Ellie)
myself, Asad Qizilbash, Head of PlayStation Productions at SIE

This first roundtable features the creators talking about tackling the challenge and opportunity of bringing The Last of Us to HBO. Neil Druckmann discusses the new creative experience of directing a TV episode. Bella talks about their performance of Ellie being an organic blend of themself and the iconic character. Pedro reflects on trudging through snow while on-set fans blast freezing air to simulate a blizzard. Craig talks about the benefit of having detail-oriented fans on the production crew, and how nervousness around getting the adaptation right translated to care and consideration.

Thanks to The Last of Us crew taking the time to share their incredible creative journey. Please enjoy, and thanks for watching. Stay tuned for part two coming in the near future.

Sony Creator to Creator: Inside The Last of Us

New episodes of The Last of Us premiere on HBO Sundays at 6pm PT. Those who want to experience Joel and Ellie’s journey can play The Last of Us Part I, available on PS5 now and coming to PC March 28.

How Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Evolves the Metroidvania Roots of Jedi Fallen Order | IGN First

One of the big departures in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor compared to Fallen Order is that you’re going to have this home away from home in the Planet Koboh. Sure, you’d revisit Bogano and Dathomir a couple of times, but it was always in service of progressing the story and following the mainline plot. In Jedi Survivor, Koboh will almost take on a kind of Metroidvania-like identity with tons of optional areas to explore locked by progression, and each return trip to the planet opening up many new pathways and discoveries. This came out of one of the lessons Respawn learned from feedback of Fallen Order: That players really enjoyed the optional content, like the Crashed Venator and the legendary beasts like Oggdo Bogdo.

“For Survivor, we knew that we wanted to add more optional areas for players to discover and explore. To do this, we knew that we needed to give better rewards for exploration,” said Design Director Jeff Magers.

And sure enough, one of my own big takeaways from my five hours with a preview build of Jedi Survivor was that rewards for taking a detour away from the mainline quest path was always sufficiently rewarding. I’d regularly find tough battles that rewarded skill points, hidden traversal paths that led to new customizable options for Cal, or a shortcut that made traversal through the area much faster.

We knew that we wanted to add more optional areas for players to discover and explore.

“We put a lot of work and focus into our customization system for this game so that our cosmetics would be more exciting to find, while also adding more gameplay rewards for exploration. By exploring the worlds, players will both make Cal more their own through customization, and more powerful and equipped to take on the challenges ahead with Skills, Upgrades, and Perks found in optional areas,” said Magers.

Speaking specifically about the design goals of Koboh, Lead Level Designer Martin Badowsky said that Respawn wanted to create a planet with a dense central area that players would have fun gradually opening up more and more. While playing through Koboh during my preview time, I got the sense that it was almost like a mixture between Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls, and a world straight out of Metroid. Like Firelink Shrine, the cantina and Rambler’s Reach served as a central hub that NPCs would congregate at, with multiple areas within the cantina that would open up as I progressed through the campaign, and then outside of that, there was this giant Metroid-like world to explore with several paths that I could not access with my current slate of upgrades.

Every time the player revisits one of these regions, there would be lots of new things to discover using their newly acquired toolset.

The Metroid vibes are not an accident. “Metroid-inspired games at their core are about discovering new abilities and then using those abilities to pass obstacles, unlock more regions, and eventually develop a sort of intimacy, understanding, and dominance over the game world,” Magers said. “We wanted to make sure we evoked these same feelings from the player in our open spaces, and to do that we made sure that every time the player revisits one of these regions there would be lots of new things to discover using their newly acquired toolkit.”

He also added that the team wanted to address a couple of pain points that players had while exploring the worlds of Fallen Order. They moved the Mantis landing pads to more central locations on planets so that players would have easier access to all of the different regions that the planet has to offer, and most substantially, they added fast travel.

As you’d imagine, fast travel in Jedi Survivor works by finding meditation points and resting at them. When you rest at a meditation point, you’re able to select fast travel, and quickly warp to any other meditation point you’ve discovered on the planet. According to Magers, the team took great care to ensure that the player never needs to use fast travel to complete their journey, but that it’s a valuable tool for those who want to explore every inch of the expanded game world.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit

Author: Game Infliction