Company Of Heroes 3 feels like World War II on its summer holiday. With two campaigns spanning each side of the sunny Mediterranean, this is arguably Relic’s breeziest and most colourful theatre of war yet, evoking the same kind of swagger and gung ho optimism as a Hollywood action flick. It’s a feeling that might seem out of place given the current climate, especially now, just days away from the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But while your main objective is always one of domination, gradually turning the map from red to blue on both a micro and macro scale, this is ultimately a game about searing comebacks – of beating back seemingly impossible aggressors, and finding hope where previously there was only despair. I think we could all do with a bit of that in this day and age, even if the battles before you end up feeling like nothing more than the digital equivalent of plonking down a big box of toy soldiers on your living room floor and going daka-daka-daka as they all fall over.
Super Nintendo World in Hollywood, California is finally open to the public, and we’ve been exploring the park to uncover its secrets.
Today, Alan will be your guide as he proffers essential tips for making the most your visit, including basic info concerning entry and queue times and the like, plus exactly how essential the Power-Up Band is to your enjoyment of the park (spoilers: very!) and advice on how much you should consider budgeting for if you’re partial to the sweet scent of exclusive theme park merch…
Pokémon GO developer Niantic recently implored its players to stay away from a public park in Las Vegas unless they purchased a $30 in-game content pass.
Sunset Park was the location of the Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn event which took place from February 18 to 19 and, for those who paid $25 before the New Year or $30 after it, let players engage in all sorts of extra in-game activities focused on Pokémon from Ruby and Sapphire.
Players descended on the park in the hope of raiding, catching, trading, and battling pocket monsters, but 17,000 regular players showing up allegedly disrupted the local network and rendered the game unusable for those who had paid.
Players (and the public) did not have to pay to enter the park, but just to access the extra content available in Pokémon GO itself.
As reported by Eurogamer, the first day of the in-person event ended in frustration, with many players complaining that network issues were causing them to disconnect from raids, or entirely preventing them from logging into to the game.
Niantic later acknowledged the issue in a tweet from the official Pokémon GO account, stating that “an additional 17,000 trainers without tickets joined us at the park, causing spotty connectivity throughout the day”.
In a subsequent tweet, the developerasked non-ticketed trainers to stay away from the public park altogether, in order “to ensure a smooth event for Sunday ticket holders”.
We ask that Trainers who do not have a ticket for Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas refrain from joining us at the park tomorrow, to ensure a smooth event for Sunday ticket holders and Trainers who have the Sunday Extra Day Add-On.
The company also sought to placate disgruntled paying customers by extending the duration of select events taking place across the city, and offering a free bundle for affected players containing three premium and remote raid passes.
However, connection issues reportedly persisted throughout the weekend, despite the calls for non-ticketed players to stay away.
Despite Niantic claiming it was the fault of the additional players, it’s not the first time this has happened with Pokémon GO. The original Pokémon GO Fest in 2017 infamously ended in frustration for many players who, similar to the latest in Las Vegas, struggled to connect to the game, and connectivity issues have plagued other events too.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Birth really caught me off-guard. From the look of the screenshots, I was expecting a creepy story in the vein of Little Misfortune or Fran Bow, but instead Birth is infinitely more introspective. Sure, it’s a game about death, decay, and loneliness, but it’s told in the most gentle and genuine way possible. Its themes are heavy, but the game could not be more light-hearted. I have no idea how it does it, but Birth is weirdly the most wholesome yet creepy game I’ve ever played.
Redfall has received a new trailer ahead of its May release date, showing off its twisted open-world and magic-infused shooting. It looks like a bloody visual feast, but the bigger news is how Redfall’s open-world multiplayer is untethered, meaning a four-player squad can separate and fight bloodsuckers in different parts of the coastal town.
Jumplight Odyssey is an upcoming starship roguelite colony sim from the makers of Armello, and when I saw it in action late last year, I was extremely pumped for it. It was formally announced with its very flash animated opening sequence during November’s PC Gaming Show Preview stream, but now you, too, can see what it actually looks like in motion with its very first gameplay trailer. Come and have a gander at its spaceship antics – or, if you’re like me, just watch the two full seconds of a crew member giving Ham the pig a nice big belly-rub on repeat.
Over the weekend, images from the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom art book leaked online revealing unannounced details about the most anticipated launch on this year’s gaming calendar.
Gran Turismo players! The 1.29 update for Gran Turismo 7 arrives today February 20 at 10pm PST* / February 21 at 6am GMT / 3pm JST.
PlayStation VR2 (PS5 only) for Gran Turismo 7 arrives
With the 1.29 update at no additional cost, players will be able to for the first time experience all the races and game modes (excluding ‘2P Split Screen’ mode) with a whole new level of realism. PS VR2 players will also be able to access an exclusive ‘VR Showroom’ area from their ‘Garage’ or the in-game car dealerships where they can admire all the stunning details of the ultra-high-definition car models in a variety of locations and lighting settings.
GT7 takes full advantage of PS VR2’s next-gen features – Utilizing specially optimized HDR tone mapping, as well as foveated rendering from the eye-tracking feature (a technology that renders areas of the screen that the player is directly looking at in high definition), and dynamic 3D audio support, players will experience a whole new dimension of highly immersive gameplay.
Take your Gran Turismo 7 experience to new heights with PS VR2 (launching February 22).
Experience Gran Turismo Sophy in Race Together mode (PS5 Only)
Gran Turismo Sophy is a revolutionary superhuman racing AI racing agent developed in a collaboration between Sony AI, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Polyphony Digital. “Gran Turismo Sophy Race Together” mode gives Gran Turismo players of all levels and abilities the opportunity to go head-to-head against GT Sophy in GT7. The special mode, available as a time-limited in-game event (From Feb 21 to end of March), is a first look at GT Sophy in GT7 and is designed to maximize the fun and excitement of racing against GT Sophy for everyone. Player feedback on this initial special feature will be used to continually improve the GT Sophy Race Together mode feature for future releases.
In GT Sophy Race Together mode, players can race against GT Sophy in a series of four circuits of increasing difficulty, as a Beginner / Intermediate / Expert driver. In each of the four races, the player races against four GT Sophy cars of different performance levels. Players can also challenge GT Sophy in 1VS1 mode, where GT Sophy and the player race one-on-one with identical car configurations and settings, which showcases the superhuman racing skills of GT Sophy. The excitement of GT Sophy Race Together mode is enhanced with GT7’s new emoticon feature, which displays emoticons on the GT Sophy cars throughout the race to react to the in-game action.
The mode can be accessed directly from the top right panel on the GT7 World Map, and the player can start a race against GT Sophy once the player has reached Collector Level 6. For more information on GT Sophy, please refer to the official site.
Grand Valley returns with Highway 1
A Gran Turismo classic, Grand Valley returns to the series with an all-new look. The full ‘Highway 1’ layout is a challenging course featuring full-throttle high speed sections along with tight winding technical corners. The shorter 2000m ‘South’ layout features harsh elevation changes and blind corners to keep drivers on their toes. An expansive environment where the ocean meets the mountains, as well as large bridge and tunnel sections makes for a dynamic location that recreates the excitement of driving the world’s great winding seaside roads.
5 new added cars
Honda RA272 ’65
The F1 machine that garnered Honda their first victory.
With their innovative ideas and forward-thinking engineering skills, Honda has achieved a number of technological revolutions. A great example of this is their first endeavors in F1 in 1964 when there were still relatively unknown as a car manufacturer. The machine they developed was the RA271 which used an aluminum shell over a space frame body, with a 1.5L V12 engine in an unusual transverse midship position. Its uniqueness however would be its downfall and it failed to make any achievements in its debut year. In 1965, Honda put the machine through a radical overhaul resulting in the RA272. The RA272E engine was a more efficient version of the previous V12 using lightened components. The construction of the rear suspension was changed from an inboard to an outboard setup, which allowed the weight to be reduced from 525 kg to 498 kg, a major improvement. At the steering wheels sat Ronnie Bucknum in his second year as well as new driver Richie Ginther.
Italdesign Exeneo Vision Gran Turismo Street and Off-Road Mode
A high-performance luxury car prepared as a ‘beautifully wrapped gift’.
Italdesign was founded in 1968 in Turin, Italy, and has designed and engineered more than 300 production cars and premiered more than 100 concept cars at the most important world auto shows. Many of its pieces have been featured in Gran Turismo. Some of the cars designed by Italdesign have gone on to become genuine movie stars, such as the De Lorean DMC 12, which starred in the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy, or the Lotus Esprit, which was driven by Roger Moore in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. The Italdesign Exeneo Vision Gran Turismo continues the long Italian tradition of Gran Turismo automobiles, though updated with cutting-edge technology. Inspired by the 2013 all-road, mid-rear engine, compact GT Italdesign Parcour, this concept car features four different chassis settings (track, snow, off-road and urban), and was designed to be driven both on circuits and off-road tracks. A powerful V10 midship engine, together with two 200 kW (268.2 BHP) electric motors, assures a total output of 910 kW (1,219.9 BHP) of power, allowing the Exeneo VGT to reach a top speed of 236.1 mph, with an acceleration from 0 to 62.1 mph in 2.5 secs. A 7-speed gearbox, Individual Wheel Drive (IWD) and KERS recovery system complete the power train. To ensure maximum stability, intelligent suspension adapts automatically to different types of terrain.
Citroën DS 21 Pallas ’70
A historic vision of the future from France.
Citroen were committed to front-wheel drive, and this DS is their masterpiece, made with all the most cutting-edge technologies of the time. It first appeared at the 1955 Salon de l’Automobile. While many other manufacturers were still producing cars in the pre-war style, the DS was a stunning vision of the future. With its avant-garde aerodynamic body and revolutionary hydropneumatic suspension system it was nicknamed the ‘flying saucer’. Development was lead by Andre Lefebvre, while the comparatively large 4.8 m long body was design by Italian Flaminio Bertoni, who had also worked on the classic 2CV. With such a forward-thinking design, the popularity of the DS did not wane for some time. Including various equipment and engine upgrades, the car continued to be produced for 20 years. In 1964, the ‘Pallas’ grade was added with luxury interior and exterior fixtures. Then in 1967, the car was given a more modern visage with the 2 round headlights replaced by 4 headlights in covered units.
Porsche 911 Carrera RS (901) ’73
A first in Porsche 911 history, the elusive RennSport.
Appearing in 1973, the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 was the first model in the long history of the Porsche 911 to feature the RS badge. RS stands for ‘Rennsport’ or simply ‘racing sport’ in English, and as this name suggests it was developed as a homologation model for the FIA’s Group 4 category. The 2.4L engine from the base model 1973 911 S has been enlarged to 2.7L, now producing 207.1 BHP. The front end features an air dam which allows for the addition of an oil cooler. The rear of the car features the iconic duck tail spoiler as standard, with stretched rear fenders to house the new wider rear tires. The Carrera RS 2.7 was available in 3 grades: Touring, Sport and Racing, though even the luxury Touring model weighed less than 1,100 kg.
Scapes
‘‘Drift Stage’ and ‘Move the camera up and down’ have been added to the featured section. Support for drift photos has also been added with this update. A tutorial will be available the first time you play after the update, which guides you through the steps for taking drift photos. Follow the on-screen advice and have fun shooting the perfect drift shots.
*Internet connection and Gran Turismo 7 game required for update
Battlefield 2042’s fourth season. called Eleventh Hour, will bring a wave of fresh content to the shooter including a new map, hardware, and a recon specialist when it launches on February 28.
The new map, Flashpoint, will have a South African setting and features a variety of interior spaces that encourage frenetic close quarters combat, while the surrounding rocky terrain is likely better suited to sniper and tank-based warfare. The sprawling Discarded map, which is set in an abandoned Indian shipyard, is also set to get a rework.
Season 4 also adds a new recon specialist to 2042’s roster in the form of the “ambush expert” Camila Blasco, whose deployable X6-infiltration device prevents enemies from locking on to nearby friendlies, while highlighting enemy tech.
Blasco’s training also renders her movements invisible to motion sensors — a perk which will compliment the insertion beacon and constant steady sniper scope that comes as standard for all recon specialists.
The upcoming season will also see the addition of the stockless Super 500 Shotgun sidearm and the fast firing AC9 SMG, which could prove useful in the cramped interior sections of the new map. Meanwhile the heavier hitting RM68 Assault Rifle and the RPT-31 LMG, aided by the sticky SPH Explosive Launcher gadget, will aide in aggressive negotiations with medium range hostiles.
Season 4 also introduces the CAV-Brawler, which is designed to act as a nimble armoured personnel carrier and a mobile spawn point, even when full of crew. A new Battle Pass will also be dropping on February 28, bringing 100 tiers of content as normal. Whilst many of the tier rewards will be available for all, some cosmetics will be gated behind the premium Battle Pass subscription.
DICE recently replaced Battlefield 2042’s poorly received specialist builds with the franchise’s classic class-based system. The move sorted all existing characters into one of four classes: assault, engineer, medic and recon. Check out IGN’s explainer video fora full breakdown of how this change fundamentally affects and rebalances the gameplay of 2042.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Pixel Games. However, with the utmost respect to their output… these are not the kind of games that are going to foster interest in the Speccy amongst modern players. Of course, that may well not be the point, but I’d be a little taken aback if even avowed old-school gamers were going to bother picking up the likes of gardening simulator Pedro, a game that scored 63% in Newsfield’s iconic Crash magazine back in the day, or Sam Stoat: Safebreaker, which did a little better at 68%.
Company Of Heroes 3 feels like World War II on its summer holiday. With two campaigns spanning each side of the sunny Mediterranean, this is arguably Relic’s breeziest and most colourful theatre of war yet, evoking the same kind of swagger and gung ho optimism as a Hollywood action flick. It’s a feeling that might seem out of place given the current climate, especially now, just days away from the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But while your main objective is always one of domination, gradually turning the map from red to blue on both a micro and macro scale, this is ultimately a game about searing comebacks – of beating back seemingly impossible aggressors, and finding hope where previously there was only despair. I think we could all do with a bit of that in this day and age, even if the battles before you end up feeling like nothing more than the digital equivalent of plonking down a big box of toy soldiers on your living room floor and going daka-daka-daka as they all fall over.
.jpg/BROK/resize/1920x1920>/format/jpg/quality/80/Brith-(1).jpg”></p><p>Solo dev Madison Karrh’s point-and-click puzzler <a href=)
Birth really caught me off-guard. From the look of the screenshots, I was expecting a creepy story in the vein of 
Redfall has received a new trailer ahead of its May release date, showing off its twisted open-world and magic-infused shooting. It looks like a bloody visual feast, but the bigger news is how Redfall’s open-world multiplayer is untethered, meaning a four-player squad can separate and fight bloodsuckers in different parts of the coastal town.
Jumplight Odyssey is an upcoming starship roguelite colony sim from the makers of Armello, and when I 
 Personally, I’m what they called a “Speccy” kid, and I have carried a deep and profound love of the elderly microcomputer’s cassette tape screeches, colour clash and long, long load times into my adult life, despite the fact that – and please don’t get upset, purists – many of the great Spectrum games don’t hold up in the cold light of the modern day. It’s not that the games are necessarily <em>bad</em>, more that they were tremendous for their time. Still eminently enjoyable, but they require the player to get their head into a certain zone, to put up with what are inarguably quite archaic controls and mechanics.</p><p>
Oddly enough, there are some Spectrum games on Steam, thanks to a publisher called <a href=)
Pixel Games. However, with the utmost respect to their output… these are not the kind of games that are going to foster interest in the Speccy amongst modern players. Of course, that may well not be the point, but I’d be a little taken aback if even avowed old-school gamers were going to bother picking up the likes of gardening simulator Pedro, a game that scored 63% in Newsfield’s iconic Crash magazine back in the day, or Sam Stoat: Safebreaker, which did a little better at 68%.