Author: Game Infliction

God of War Sons of Sparta: What you need to know

God of War Sons of Sparta is a brand-new entry to the series available now for the PlayStation 5! 

Developed by our partners at Mega Cat Studios, Sons of Sparta takes God of War staples and translates them like never before into a retro-inspired 2D action platformer.

Looking to learn more before embarking on a journey back to ancient Greece this weekend? Here’s what you need to know about God of War Sons of Sparta! 

Duty, honor & brotherhood

Sons of Sparta is a canon story that takes place in Kratos’ youth from the writing team that brought you God of War (2018), God of War Ragnarök, and God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla. 

Set during the brutal training period Spartan cadets undergo at the Agoge – Kratos, alongside his brother Deimos, must traverse far beyond the home they know into the beautiful yet dangerous region of Laconia that surrounds the familiar walls of Sparta. 

Kratos and Deimos must overcome threats that will put all their training to the test while challenging them to confront the true meaning of duty, honor, and brotherhood.  

God of War Sons of Sparta: What you need to know

Heartfelt performances 

Sons of Sparta features a fantastic vocal cast whose performances bring the depth and emotion fans expect from God of War games. 

We’re thrilled to have two actors who have both portrayed Kratos in the Greek saga reprise their roles for this game. TC Carson returns as the adult version of Kratos who serves as our story’s narrator, while Antony Del Rio portrays the younger version of Kratos, which he also did in God of War: Ghost of Sparta back in 2010! 

We’re also excited to have newcomers join the series, including Scott Menville, as the voice of our young Deimos. 

God of War combat in 2D 

Sons of Sparta brings God of War’s kinetic combat to a brand-new genre. Customize your weapons, learn new skills, and harness powerful divine artifacts using the Gifts of Olympus to end your foes with brutal finishers. 

God of War Sons of Sparta: What you need to know

A Spartan’s first weapons

Kratos’ spear and shield can each be enhanced and adapted using different attachments. Each attachment comes with its own upgrade path, so you can tailor your build to empower whichever playstyle you enjoy.  

Kratos also has access to three primary skill trees where he can learn new abilities to improve his offensive, defensive, and movement kits. 

Gifts of Olympus 

Throughout his adventures in Laconia, Kratos will acquire Gifts of Olympus, divine artifacts that can turn the tide in combat through their special and super attacks.

Some of the Gifts excel in ranged combat – striking with precision from afar or launching an exploding projectile to hit multiple creatures. Others come with their own devastating melee combo to supplement Kratos’ spear attacks. 

Myths and legends

Sons of Sparta features the return of many iconic creatures from the Greek saga, including hulking minotaurs, nimble satyrs, and undead legionnaires. We worked closely with the team at Mega Cat Studios to faithfully translate the original animations to their 2D representations in-game. 

On top of the classics, MCS has also brought in many new creatures from Greek mythology didn’t have the chance to explore in the originals.

Explore Laconia 

Stunning high-definition pixel art environments will take you on a journey through a variety of locations that bring Kratos’ homeland to life with incredible detail. 

As you progress through the main story, you’ll find that Laconia is also full of content that rewards exploration – optional quests, hidden encounters, and loot await!

The sound of Sparta 

Bear McCreary returns to score Sons of Sparta with an incredible soundtrack that melds retro aesthetics with God of War’s signature sweeping orchestral and choral style.

Get it today

The Standard and Digital Deluxe Editions are both available for purchase digitally at PlayStation Store:

Thank you to all the God of War fans for your continued support, we hope you’ll enjoy Sons of Sparta! 

Magic Market Watch: Lorwyn Eclipsed Has Caused Elemental Cards to Rapidly Spike in Value

Magic: The Gathering launched its first set of 2026, Lorwyn Eclipsed, and early signs are it’s a great return to in-universe cards.

As we do regularly, we’re looking at how the latest set has affected pricing across the cardboard game we love so much, leaning on data from our friends at TCGplayer. Spoiler alert: Black and Blue cards are in vogue this season, it seems.

Climbers

Kicking off with an Elemental that makes for a nifty inclusion for upgrading the Dance of the Elementals precon, Sunderflock is a nine-cost card that gets cheaper the more Elementals you have in play.

It also puts non-Elementals back in their owners’ hands, and is a 5/5 with Flying for good measure. It’s selling for around $10, having gone for (according to TCGplayer data) a single cent in recent months.

Next up, Eddymurk Crab. Another Elemental (Crab), this one has Flash and costs less to cast for instants and sorceries in your graveyard. It also taps target creatures and is a 5/5 in its own right. It’s sitting at under a dollar right now, but has spiked from being worth next to nothing not long ago.

Moving from Blue to Black, and Elementals to something a little more demonic, Doomsday Excruciator is a card that’s “spiked” to around two dollars. Not a lot, sure, but this six-cost, 6/6 with Flying was half of that last week. It exiles all but six of everyone’s cards, and dares you to finish a match more quickly by giving you an extra draw.

Pairing nicely with that is Insatiable Avarice, which forces a player to lose life and draw three cards. This one is up to around $15 at the time of writing, but was $2 just a couple of weeks ago.

Harvester of Misery jumped from $3 to around $18 (with some sellers shipping it for much more). This 5/4 with Menace dishes out -2/-2 to other creatures, and that might be enough to trigger a big with the Blight Curse precon.

Crashers

Now that Lorwyn has been released, we’ve got a few Crashers from the latest set that are worth a pickup.

Everyone went mad for Hexing Squelcher, with the Goblin Sorcerer preventing counters and dishing out Ward. It’s not around $18, down from $50 before launch.

We’re big fans of Mirrorform in these parts, but the Mythic has dropped to just around $5. Grab it, and then check out our list of crazy combos.

Another big drop is the 6/6 dragon, Spinerock Tyrant. It deals damage as -1/-1 (making it a Blighter’s dream), and doubles up spells. Now, it’s under $3, having been close to $30 at pre-launch prices.

Sticking with big numbers, Curious Colossus is a 7/7 that makes everyone else’s creature a 1/1. If you can pair that with a Massacre Wurm or something similar, you can board wipe an entire table in the late game. It’s now under $3.

Finally, Ashling, Rekindled is a 1/3 that transforms into Ashling, Rimebound to generate more mana. It’s a cheap card in terms of mana cost, but it’s now just $2 – down from $15.

For more on Magic: The Gathering, check out all we know about the Commander precons for Secrets of Strixhaven and Marvel Super Heroes.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.

Girls Frontline 2: Exilium Announces Strong New Dolls and Free Rewards Coming in Next Patch

Girls Frontline 2: Exilium recently revealed the new content that’s coming in its next patch on February 19, and there’s a lot. The headliners are two new T-Dolls, Alva and Voymastina, the latter of which is the strongest Doll in the game. Alva will arrive on February 19, and Voymastina will arrive on March 12. On top of that, there’s new story content, limited-time outfits and events, and lots of free rewards.

New T-Dolls Join the Fray

Alva, the dependable leader of Task Force DEFY, is the first new Doll to join the roster. Though reserved in demeanor, she is fiercely protective of her squad. She’s a Support-class Doll and excels at providing powerful shields and enhancing team survivability, making her a natural fit for shield-focused teams. With her signature weapon, 6P33, she increases the critical damage of Freeze-based allies and further amplifies the damage of shielded units, turning defense into offense. She synergizes particularly well with Robella, creating a 1+1>2 effect, and her arrival marks the full realization of shield-centric Freeze teams.

The new story content, called Corposant, will be released in three parts on February 19, February 26, and March 12. It features CG animations and delivers an experience comparable to a visual novel, with more than 100,000 English words. When the final chapter launches on March 12, it will also introduce the highly anticipated new Doll Voymastina, who is officially recognized as the strongest second-generation Doll in the game.

Codenamed “White Mastiff,” Voymastina is a physical-team core damage dealer who specializes in defense-ignoring capabilities, delivering massive physical damage through both active and support attacks. Her exclusive effect, Predator’s Principle, boosts burst damage, while Eye of the White Mastiff enables sustained offensive pressure. Debuting alongside her is the Elite assault rifle 6P71 (Medium Ammo), Voymastina’s imprinted signature weapon, designed to complete her combat profile and reinforce her role as a top-tier damage dealer.

Free Goodies on the Way

The patch will add lots of new free rewards, led by the ability to earn 55+ pulls, 11,000+ Collapse Pieces, an Elite Doll (Balthilde), and a Commander outfit during the themed Corposant event that launches February 19.

Plus, there are multiple upcoming log-in events that can score you additional goodies. Starting February 19, you can log in to receive 10 Targeted Access Permissions (which are used to pull for characters) and sign in to receive another 10. And another event starts March 12, where you can get an additional 10. Also starting February 19, you can get one reward mail every week, each containing one Access Permission, 100 Collapse Pieces (which can be used to get more Targeted Access Permissions), and 100 Next-Gen Memory Sticks (which can be used to increase your affinity with individual Dolls).

From February 19 to April 1, the limited-time Splash Bash event introduces a PK-style gameplay mode featuring interactive matchups between Dolls and players. There’s streamlined gameplay guidance and stage-clearing tips, making the mode a light but competitive change of pace. And you can unlock the exclusive Commander outfit Leisurely Heat by participating.

On top of all this, the upcoming patch will also add limited-time discounts on three new outfits: Alva – Antje, Lenna – Flying Phantom, and Nikketa – Night on the Silver Bay. And there will be a new permanent gameplay mode called Ashen Tales in Artifact Recovery.

As always, Girls Frontline 2: Exilium will continue to release more new content in the future. In the next six months, you can expect extensive story updates, new gameplay modes, new Dolls and outfits, and collaborations with other major IPs. If you want to stay up to date on those details and announcements, you can visit the official website or join the community on Twitter, YouTube, or Discord.

Vote for the Best Cover Athlete in FIFA/EA FC History

The FIFA/EAFC game franchise has been going strong for more than 30 years, and in that time it’s featured some of the most iconic players in history on the cover. But only one can be crowned the true GOAT, and now is your chance to tell us who that should be.

We’ve created a tournament presented by McDonald’s and their limited-time Hot Honey sauce. Just as these cover athletes elevated the FIFA/EAFC franchise, the Hot Honey sauce elevates your faves to a new level. The tournament will have 32 cover athletes organized into a bracket that you’ll vote on, and they cover just about the entire run of the series, from Erik Thorstvedt (FIFA Soccer 95) to Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala (EA FC 26).

Players will face off in 1v1 matchups, with the one who gets the most votes moving on to the next round. All the matchups in each round will be done at the same time, and voting will be conducted through polls on the bottom of the page you’re currently on as well as IGN’s Instagram stories. If you come back to this page on the dates listed below, the polls will be updated to the latest round and you can vote again.

🗓️ Voting Dates

First Round: Feb. 13

Sweet 16: Feb. 17

Elite 8: Feb. 19

Final 4: Feb. 23

Championship: Feb. 25

Winner Announced: Feb. 27

PSA: Metal Gear Solid 4 Is The Headliner, But Master Collection Vol. 2’s “Bonus” Is One Of GBC’s Best

Non-canon fodder.

News that Konami is following up the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 with a Master Collection Vol. 2 was very welcome, but hardly the most surprising reveal of the year. Still, seeing MGS4 available for a system other than a PlayStation 3 feels weird, at least for gamers of a certain vintage.

It’s not quite a Sonic-on-Nintendo-level event; it’s more like when Wipeout came to N64. A brilliant game, a very pleasant surprise, but…is this legal!?

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Why the Blizzard Showcase Was the Just the Beginning of a Massive 2026

Why the Blizzard Showcase Was the Just the Beginning of a Massive 2026

  • Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

Blizzard 35th Anniversary

For the last few weeks, Blizzard has been going big. Blizzard Showcase brought together the four key titles – Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone – and gave the space to bring their updates, announcements (and some surprises!) in their own ways. It’s all a part of the road to BlizzCon 2026: the year of Blizzard’s 35th anniversary, not to mention the 30th anniversary of Diablo, and the 10th anniversary of Overwatch. This is the perfect space in time to look back at the universes that have brought us together and look forward to the future.

For Blizzard President, Johanna Faries – speaking on the Official Xbox Podcast  – the Showcase has been a combination of careful planning and happy serendipity:

“We’ve been really thoughtful about [giving] our players what they’re hoping for, and hopefully delight them and surprise them in some big ways. I think those have landed. And we’ll just continue to sort of prime what we hope to be a very, very big year as we continue on here in 2026.

“Our franchise teams, and our game teams within those franchises, think a lot about, ‘What do we want to do next year? What do we want to do five years from now?’ Maybe, ‘What do we want to do 10 years from now?’ And we’ve organized our thinking and our strategic planning to make sure that comes together in a really thoughtful way. It’s very intentional how we’ve slate planned into the future.

Diablo 4 Warlock

“At the same time, the inorganic part was we sat back well over a year ago, and I said, ‘Look, there’s something bigger going on here, and I think we can marry this. I think we can make this a party on behalf of all of Blizzard Entertainment.’ And hopefully if you’re a fan of Blizzard, you’re gonna feel something bigger than just, ‘Oh, I got what I needed from Overwatch’ or, ‘I got what I needed from Diablo.’”

That idea – that this is a celebration of momentum across Blizzard, not just a series of game announcements – comes with a key extra detail: this is going to be a massive year. Showcase represents what Blizzard has to show us now, but its 2026 is far from over – not least with a return to the legendary BlizzCon later this year.

“Right now, we have a huge swath of announcements that our games have just brought forward. And why I say that is I think we’re pretty excited to say: There’s still BlizzCon coming in this calendar year, right? Imagine what else we’re stacking up.

“We’ve got to execute on that. We’ve got to make sure we’re delivering in a big way. But I think the teams are cooking. They’re very excited to bring some major announcements, maybe some surprises.”

We certainly haven’t seen everything Blizzard, and its games, will have to offer this year – but the wider point of this moment is to set the table for the future of the company. Blizzard is celebrating 35 years of existence by preparing for the next 35 years.

“I think there’s just an energy around this moment and how this is sort of a launching pad for a big future. It’s very fulfilling to be able to come into work and feel busy in that way, pressure in that way, stakes in that way. I think we’re all really proud of being able to try and pull it off. But again, it’s many years in the making.”

Overwatch upcoming heroes

As Faries makes clear, that long-term thinking is being applied per-franchise, and per-game – making sure that it’s not just Blizzard’s future being considered, but how each individual title can thrive:

“What do we want the next 35 years to look like? What’s the vision? What’s the direction? We’ve set a lot in motion with respect to that, making sure we’re clear on it, making sure we’re coordinated on it, making sure that every year from this moment forward, there’s sort of a reliability that players can depend on us to launch in big ways, launch in surprising ways. Maybe take some zags!

“Not everything’s going to hit. That’s gaming. But in many ways, let’s understand where we are going – not only as a company, but by franchise, by game, right? I think at minimum, if you were to ask any of our major teams right now, ‘Hey, what’s your plan for the next three-, four-plus years?’, they have a very clear answer.

“I think this is just very much the beginning – I know you often kind of hear that – but I think ’26, in many ways, really represents a long road ahead of us in terms of things to be excited about.”

You can hear much more from Johanna Faries about Blizzard Showcase, BlizzCon, and Blizzard’s games on the Official Xbox Podcast right now

The post Why the Blizzard Showcase Was the Just the Beginning of a Massive 2026 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Yes, You Can Use the Virtual Boy Accessory to Play Smash Bros., Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild in VR

Nintendo’s upcoming Virtual Boy accessory can be used to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it’s been reported.

VGC has tested the new Virtual Boy headset (and its cheaper cardboard alternative) with the four games, which previously received VR modes to become compatible with Nintendo Labo VR following its launch back in 2019.

As VGC reports, the new Virtual Boy accessory works in an identical manner to Nintendo Labo VR, essentially acting as a shell with a pair of lenses for your Switch screen. (And yes, you can remove those red Virtual Boy lenses.)

Viewing the four classic Switch games in their VR modes, players are treated to a VR effect, and can look around naturally by moving their head — which is tracked by the console’s motion sensors.

Does Nintendo intend for you to use your new Virtual Boy accessory this way? It’s debatable. On the one hand, using the actual Virtual Boy accessory for this is a little difficult, since it is designed to sit on a flat surface, removing your ability to look around easily. On the other, VGC notes that Breath of the Wild’s Switch 2 upgrade retains its VR mode option, so perhaps this was the plan all along.

Nintendo will officially launch its Virtual Boy Nintendo Classics collection next week on February 17, which you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription on either Switch or Switch 2 to access. You’ll also need a Virtual Boy ($99.99) or cardboard Virtual Boy ($24.99) accessory, sold via the My Nintendo Store.

As of next week, the Virtual Boy library will arrive with the following games:

  • Galactic Pinball
  • Teleroboxer
  • RED ALARM
  • Virtual Boy Wario Land
  • 3-D Tetris
  • Golf
  • The Mansion of Innsmouth

Over time, Nintendo will then slowly launch more, including two games that previously never saw the light of day.

  • Mario Clash
  • Mario’s Tennis
  • Jack Bros.
  • Space Invaders Virtual Collection
  • Virtual Bowling
  • Vertical Force
  • V-Tetris
  • Zero Racers (previously unreleased)
  • D-Hopper (previously unreleased)

“Would I recommend the average Nintendo fan drops $100 or even $25 to play these games? No, probably not,” IGN wrote after going face-on with the Virtual Boy accessories recently. “There are only seven of them to play at launch, and they are more enjoyable from a historical perspective than an entertainment one. You could buy seven superior indie games for 100 bucks that come in more than just one color. But if you love exploring wacky bygones from past eras and want a really cool accessory to display in your game room, you’ll probably really like the new Virtual Boy like I did.”

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Despite being “a significant change”, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance’s devs insist it’ll still appeal to clapped-out Soul Reaver enthusiasts

Edwin, come look at this! Seriously, come look at this! It’s that thing from your site bio. They’re doing a new one. Edw-0h wait, he’s on holiday today. Ah well, I guess I’ll have to aim my distictly non-Soul Reaver enthusiast eyes at Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. Ooh, Edwin, this nice marketing person claims it’ll appeal to veteran Kainers like you, despite being a bit of a new direction for the series.

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No AI tricks here – G-Sync Pulsar’s clarity boosting monitor tech looks like the real deal

Nvidia’s relationship with PC gaming doesn’t always feel like a loving one. Sometimes they’re gifting us a useful new version of DLSS, sometimes they’re helping drive RAM prices up to £300 a stick. Even so, it’s hard not to look at G-Sync Pulsar – a new bit of monitor cleverness that seeks to remove unwanted motion blur from its LCD panels – and see some goodness still inside that big, green eye. After trying it out at a demo event this week, I’m hopeful that Pulsar can clean up how games look in motion as well as anything since the original G-Sync.

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