Author: Game Infliction

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Has a New Feature Fans Are Saying Will Get People Banned or Make Them Go Viral — or Both

Amid the cacophony caused by Call of Duty Next, one new Black Ops 6 feature flew under the radar — but it could end up as the most impactful of all.

Black Ops 6, out October 25, 2024, has a new Body Shield feature in multiplayer that lets you grab an enemy and hold them in front of you to soak up bullets, while firing off a few rounds of your own.

We’ve seen a body shield feature in plenty of shooters over the years, but what developer Treyarch has done here is enabled voice chat between the attacker and the victim.

“Be nice…” the studio tweeted, perhaps in hope more than expectation.

As you’d expect from the notoriously toxic Call of Duty community, reaction is a mix of disbelief and excitement. Disbelief in that some can’t believe Treyarch actually added voice chat to the feature knowing full well the toxicity it will probably enable, excitement in that some are delighted Treyarch actually added voice chat to the feature knowing full well the toxicity it will probably enable.

And already there are fears that what’s said during Body Shield might end up getting you banned, if Activision’s AI-powered voice chat moderation picks up something it deems in breach of its rules. “What could go wrong?” wondered redditor Evisra over on the Black Ops 6 subreddit. A lot, most fans seem to predict.

Call of Duty sort of has this feature already in Warzone. In that game, The battle royale spin-off enables voice chat for deaths, so players can hear their opponent scream into the mic when they’re killed. This Body Shield feature for Black Ops 6, however, feels altogether more intimate.

Anyone who’s played Call of Duty multiplayer recently will know that there tends not to be much voice chat going on. Most play with their mic off, or are in a party chat with their friends. With this feature, Black Ops 6 might change that.

Check out everything announced at Call of Duty Next to find out what else is coming from the world of Call of Duty, including information about the return of Verdansk to Warzone. We also reported on the world first Black Ops 6 nuke, which one player managed to get before the beta even launched.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Rejoice fellow pagans, for stop-motion Scottish Border brawler Judero will launch in September

The first time I encountered Jack King-Spooner’s work, it was when he sent me a copy of Sluggish Morss: Pattern Circus over hospital wifi late at night. The game was a bright spot in a bad time, which might seem peculiar given that Sluggish Morss often looks like a whale’s upset stomach, but it’s such a feverishly inventive creation. It blew the dust from my synapses.

The same appears true of King-Spooner’s upcoming Judero, on which he is collaborating with Soul Searching developer Talha Kaya. It casts you as a “pagan seer” armed with a big stick, who is searching the mythical Scottish borderlands for evil creatures to clobber. It looks cheerier and airier than Sluggish Morss, with a more overt emphasis on mechanics such as combat, but it has the same pickled 3am energy to it. It’s also now got a release date – 16th September – and a new trailer below.

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You Can Now Preorder The Legend of Zelda Complete Series on DVD, Out October 22

Have you been hoping to add The Legend of Zelda animated TV show to your physical media collection? If so, we have good news! You can now preorder the complete The Legend of Zelda TV series, with all 13 episodes, on DVD at Amazon, Target, and Walmart for $13.59. This series is set to release on October 22, so you won’t have to wait too long to add it to your library, either. Head to the link below to secure your copy.

The Legend of Zelda – The Complete Series on DVD Is Up for Preorder

At a time when streaming services are raising their prices, it’s well worth it to invest in physical media. If you’re looking for even more shows or films to add to your collection alongside The Legend of Zelda, we’re here to help. In our roundup of upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray release dates, you can see a wide range of upcoming physical releases, from classic films and shows to newer theatrical hits. This includes some excellent 4K steelbooks that are coming out soon as well, like A Nightmare On Elm Street’s 4K steelbook and a Gladiator 4K steelbook.

If you’ve been hoping to invest in a new TV to watch these shows and films on, there are plenty of TV deals to check out as Labor Day sales kick off, too. At the moment, Amazon’s Labor Day sale is live with a few Fire TVs marked down that are worth checking out. You can also have a look at our roundup of the best TV deals right now to see what else stands out. Sonos and Bose’s Labor Day sales are also live right now with some excellent sound bar deals, if you want to enhance the sound system with your new TV.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Bloody on-foot racer Deathsprint 66 is getting singleplayer PvE modes with grisly challenges

The situation: Sumo Newcastle are making a dystopian on-foot multiplayer racing game called Deathsprint 66, in which you control one of eight Running Men hurtling through the spiked and bladed contours of a futuristic megacity. The complication: competing against other actual human beings isn’t always pleasant or desirable, especially when hurtling through the spiked and bladed contours of a futuristic megacity. The solution: Deathsprint 66 is getting a set of PvE-focussed “Episodes” in which just one human player plus optional bots hurtle through the spiked and bladed contours of a futuristic megacity.

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Upcoming Tactics Game ‘Warside’ Sure Looks Familiar

Is that you..?!

Developer LAVABIRD and publisher First Break Labs have revealed Warside, a tactics battler that… uh… well, it’s Advance Wars, basically.

There’s no specific launch date for the game yet, but Warside will be heading to the Switch soon, boasting over 30 missions in its single-player campaign with more than 25 military unit types to deploy. Local and online co-op is available, and players can also battle each other in PvP matches.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

ConcernedApe Hasn’t Worked on Haunted Chocolatier ‘In a Long Time’ Because of Troublesome Console and Mobile Ports of Stardew Valley 1.6

It sounds like the console and mobile ports of Stardew Valley’s game-changing 1.6 update are proving troublesome — so much so that developer Eric Barone, aka ConcernedApe, hasn’t worked on his follow-up game “in a long time.”

The free 1.6 update, which sparked a fresh 10/10 Stardew Valley review from IGN, launched on PC in March, which means console and mobile players of the phenomenally successful farming and life sim have waited nearly half a year so far. ConcernedApe initially expected the ports would be released a month later.

In a tweet, a clearly frustrated ConcernedApe apologized to disgruntled fans, and promised not to return to work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, until Stardew 1.6 is finalized.

“Console and mobile ports are still in progress,” ConcernedApe said. “I acknowledge that they are taking a long time. There are reasons for this, but the bottom line is that they are not out yet, we are still working on them, and they have been our primary focus since 1.6 came out for PC.

“It would be a huge relief to me if they were ready today, but they aren’t, so all we can do is continue working on them until they are ready. I have not touched Haunted Chocolatier in a long time because I am committed to finalizing Stardew 1.6 first.

“To those who are frustrated or even angry about the timeline, I understand and accept full responsibility. To those who are patient and understanding, thank you, you make life better and reduce stress, and I appreciate it. Back to work.”

I was originally hoping it would be maybe, one month apart max. At any rate, I feel bad about it.

In a follow-up tweet, ConcernedApe responded to one fan who asked why 1.6 launched on PC first, rather than alongside console and mobile later, to say PC enables quick fixes and patches for bugs, whereas it takes much longer on console.

“So it’s ideal to have all major issues resolved before submitting to consoles,” ConcernedApe continued. “Otherwise players might have game-breaking, or even save-corrupting bugs in the game for a week.

“The truth is, I didn’t expect console to take this long, but there have been technical issues with the porting process. I was originally hoping it would be maybe, one month apart max. At any rate, I feel bad about it.”

There is no updated release window for Stardew Valley 1.6 on consoles and mobile, but hopefully it won’t be too much longer. Haunted Chocolatier, revealed in 2021, doesn’t have a release window either.

This week, ConcernedApe explained why he really wants Pam in a potential Stardew Valley crossover with Fortnite.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Black Myth: Wukong Patch 1.0.8.14860 Makes Some Crucial Fixes, and Nerfs One Boss in Particular

The Black Myth: Wukong updates are starting to kick into gear following its record-breaking launch. Today we have patch 1.0.8.14860, out across PC and PlayStation 5.

The patch, which weighs in at around 1.6GB, makes a number of fixes and adjustments, as well as a solitary balance change to one boss in particular.

Warning! Black Myth: Wukong spoilers follow.

According to the patch notes, below, update 1.0.8.14860 slightly reduces the stats of Yaoguai King “Captain Wise-Voice.”

Captain Wise-Voice is a required Yaoguai King boss fight, and one of four “Captains” that you can encounter in Chapter 3. If you’re having trouble, check out IGN’s Captain Wise-Voice boss fight guide for helpful tips on how to emerge victorious from this tricky battle.

Black Myth: Wukong has sold an incredible 10 million copies in just three days, according to developer Game Science. The action RPG, which is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, has seen an eye-watering three million concurrent players across all platforms.

On Steam, Black Myth: Wukong broke a number of concurrent player count records. It’s the most-played single-player game of all-time on Valve’s platform, ahead of CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077, and the second most-played game of any kind on Steam, now behind only battle royale PUBG. (Sony does not make PlayStation player numbers publicly available.) Indeed, Black Myth: Wukong helped boost Steam to a new concurrents record.

Black Myth: Wukong update 1.0.8.14860 patch notes:

Major Updates:

  • Fixed an issue where enabling FSR could cause crashes for some players during startup or the prologue.
  • Fixed a crash issue in certain areas of the Webbed Hollow when NVIDIA Full Ray Tracing is enabled.
  • Fixed an issue where hair would stretch abnormally.
  • Optimized the hair effects for Yaoguai King “Lingxuzi”.
  • Fixed an issue where certain enemies could get stuck motion in specific situations.
  • Slightly reduced the stats of Yaoguai King “Captain Wise-Voice”.
  • Fixed an issue where the attack from Lesser Yaoguai “Lantern Warden” in Pagoda Realm could push players into walls.
  • Fixed an issue where the Destined One could get stuck in performing “Whirling Thrusts in Thurst Stance” and become unresponsive.
  • Fixed an issue where the Destined One could not switch stances properly in the sixth chapter.
  • Fixed an issue where the Destined One could encounter stats errors in specific situations.
  • Fixed an issue where the icon for the quest related to Yaoguai Chief “Daoist Mi” would still appear on Travel menu after the quest became unable to complete.
  • Fixed an issue where the progress display for collecting Portraits in Journals was incorrect.
  • Fixed some text errors in Chinese.
  • Added translations for Portraits in several languages and optimized existing translations.
  • Added translations for song titles and lyrics in Music library in several languages and corrected display errors in English lyrics.
  • Optimized translations for Talents, Equipment, and Inventory in several languages and fixed some text errors.
  • Improved the layout of subtitles in several languages.
  • Optimized the translation of loading screen tips in several languages.

Additionally, we have identified an issue where setting the system language to Turkish on PS5 causes the game to crash on launch. Similarly, on the PC version, setting Windows system language to Turkish may lead to occasional crashes during certain boss fights.

If you encounter this issue, the current temporary workaround is to change the console language to English or another language via the PS5 main menu: Settings > System > Language > Console Language. For the PC version, please change the Windows display language to English or another language via the operating system settings: Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region > Windows display language.

We are actively working to resolve this issue and will fix it in an upcoming patch. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

IGN has reported on a super cool Black Myth: Wukong secret that lets you summon one boss to beat another boss while you basically do nothing, and on how one optional boss encountered very early in the game is absolutely destroying players. While you’re here, IGN has plenty more Black Myth: Wukong guides to help you out, including Essential Tips and Tricks, Things Black Myth: Wukong Doesn’t Tell You, and our Boss List and Guides.

IGN’s Black Myth: Wukong review returned an 8/10. We said: “Despite some frustrating technical issues, Black Myth: Wukong is a great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a beautiful world.”

Last week week, IGN verified an email sent from the Black Myth: Wukong marketing team that told content creators who were granted a Steam key that they must not include “feminist propaganda” or use what are called “trigger words” such as COVID-19 in their coverage.

Game Science has yet to respond to IGN’s previous report compiling numerous sexist comments made by the studio’s founders and other developers spanning the last decade.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing director says “almost all games should cost more at a base level” because they cost so much to make

Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing director Michael Douse has reopened the topic of video game pricing, commenting that prices have not kept pace with inflation (the general increase of prices and goods) in certain markets, and thereby, with the cost of making blockbuster games such as Star Wars Outlaws.

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Call Of Duty Black Ops 6 developer union have accused Activision Blizzard and Microsoft of “bad faith bargaining”

Unionised workers at Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 studio Raven Software have filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against parent companies Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, as reported by Game File (paywalled), and covered by Game Developer. The complaint, write Game Developer, is over “bad faith bargaining” and “concerted activities” – which covers “retaliation, discharge, [and] discipline.”

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Brace Yourselves, Splatoon 3’s Next Big Run Has The Highest Golden Egg Quota Yet

Tallying up the numbers from across the world.

Last week, Nintendo revealed (via the @SplatoonNA Twitter account) that Splatoon 3‘s upcoming Big Run event was going to be one for the books. Not only is the event set to take over the Grand Festival’s new ‘Grand Splatlands Bowl’ stage, but the Golden Egg quota will be one, huge target for all employees to contribute towards. Well, we now know what the quota will be…

As revealed by @SplatoonJP, the next Big Run target is a whopping 700 million Golden Eggs. Yes, million.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com