The weekend is ending, and we’re rounding up the best deals you can find. Today, there are great deals on video games for all consoles, from PS5 to Nintendo Switch. The best deals for Sunday, July 21, include Final Fantasy XVI, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Nintendo Switch Lite, and more.
Final Fantasy XVI for $29.99
Final Fantasy XVI for PlayStation 5 has hit a new all time low at Amazon at $29.99. As one of the biggest titles of 2024, FFXVI brings a wide variety of new systems and elements to the world of Final Fantasy. You play as Clive Rosfield on a mission to track down the one who killed your brother as a child. You can expect larger-than-life setpieces, mesmerizing boss battles, and a memorable soundtrack from Masayoshi Soken.
Save 20% Off Granblue Fantasy: Relink
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is one of the biggest RPGs released this year. Over five years after its reveal, Cygames released the title officially on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC in January. The game features over 20 different playable characters from the Granblue Fantasy series, with characters like Nier, Rosetta, Lancelot, Percival, and more. Score this RPG now for only $39.99 and join the fun with over 100 multiplayer missions to complete!
Nintendo Switch Lite with Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $159
Walmart currently has the Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition Nintendo Switch Lite available for $159. This bundle includes a turquoise Nintendo Switch Lite and a free digital copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Together, that has a $260 value, which means you can save $100 by purchasing this bundle. If you have not purchased a Nintendo Switch yet, this is an excellent option.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for $29.99
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the latest title in the long-running RPG series. Kiryu Kazama returns following the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, uniting with Ichiban Kasuga in a wild adventure you won’t forget anytime soon. Save $40 today and pick up one of the biggest RPGs of 2024.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for $39.99
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is now on sale for the first time since launch! SMT V: Vengeance is an enhanced version of the former Nintendo Switch exclusive SMT V, launched in 2019. The biggest feature available in this upgraded re-release is the all new Canon of Vengeance route, which is essentially 40 hours of new story content. At $39.99, this is a steal for what will likely end up being one of the most popular RPGs of the year.
Save $200 Off This Samsung Odyssey G5 Monitor
If you’re in the market for a new monitor, look no further than this Samsung Odyssey G5 from Best Buy. Right now, you can save $200 off this QHD monitor, which has plenty of top notch features. First, you’ll get a 165Hz refresh rate, which is essential for getting the most out of your games. Additionally, with 32″ of screen, this larger display is perfect for immersion, especially in RPGs and other large-scale titles.
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion for $19.99
A remaster of the PSP title with the same name, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion tells the story of Zack Fair and his journey. The game is set years before the events of Final Fantasy VII and is imperative to expanding upon the overall story. Now is a great time to pick up Crisis Core if you haven’t had the chance to play it yet.
Guilty Gear Strive is set to add Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to its roster in Season Pass 4 in 2025, which will mark the first time a guest character will be added to the series.
As spotted by Wario64, the announcement appears to have leaked ahead of its official reveal at EVO alongside the news that Season Pass 4 will arrive on July 22, 2024.
We didn’t get a good look at Lucy in the game as she is the farthest one away of the new characters, but we did learn she will be joined by two returning characters and a brand new one.
The first fighter will be the Queen of Vialattea, Queen Dizzy, who first appeared in Guilty Gear X and will arrive in October. Venom, who also first appeared in Guilty Gear X, will join the roster in early 2025 and will be followed be the newcomer Unika later next year.
This next season of content for Guilty Gear Strive will also see the additions of a new online battle mode in Team of 3, which will pit the Red Team vs. the Blue Team intense battles with lots of characters. Additionally, there will be a new exclusive color for characters, new stages, and more.
I’m a huge sucker for Collector’s Editions of games. I know they’re expensive but there’s something jubilant about opening a massive box for a game and pulling out artbooks and soundtracks and gorgeous steelbook cases that I’ll throw out immediately because I have no more shelf space left. Into the book of loose Blu-ray discs you go! Maybe I Iike Collector’s Editions so much because they remind me of old-school computer game boxes that always came in weird shapes and always included more documentation than necessary. They were goofy and grandiose. They were treasure chests.
But not every video game Collector’s Edition can be as good as, say, Cyberpunk 2077. While you could argue that a statue of V on a motorcycle is embarrassing (and you’d win that argument), the piece itself is well done and the rest of the set does a good job expanding and immersing you into the universe of the game. It really feels like you’re a tourist visiting Night City and those are your souvenirs. Including the statue, because that’s exactly what a tourist would buy at a cheap shop at the airport.
That said, we all know that not every Collector’s Edition is great. In fact, some video game special editions are absolutely useless. Much like myself, they have no purpose and they definitely have no reason to exist. Some of them actually make the game worse just by having touched this Earth. May God have mercy on their souls and may God have mercy on the poor fools who lost their shelfspace and money.
7. Halo 3: Legendary Edition
Before you get mad, let me say that this is actually a pretty good Collector’s Edition. In addition to the game, it had two discs with extra features about the Halo series, including a couple episodes of Red vs. Blue. The most important part, however, was the Master Chief MJOLNIR Mark VI helmet.
Which was almost big enough to wear but somehow just not. Not that every collectible has to be wearable, but how dare you give me a Master Chief helmet that just almost fits? It could’ve been bigger! It could’ve been smaller! How dare you make every person who sees this stupid thing try to put it on and go, “Oh, it won’t fit.”
Also, not for nothing, when I left one writing job, I abandoned my Master Chief helmet on my desk. I just couldn’t take it anymore. And when I came back to that job again years later for a second run, they tried to give it back to me like a cursed object. I said no.
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition
Yeah, I’ll admit: Night vision goggles are pretty cool. But, uh, do you really need them? And if you did need night vision goggles, you probably wouldn’t buy them as an extra in an Activision game. You might do a little research. You might find brands that work for your night vision needs. I doubt you were like, “Babe, get the truck; we’re killing two birds with one stone by getting a hit game and those night vision goggles we discussed.”
It’s definitely cool that the goggles work, but it’s also an item that sat in the box for years because I live in a city and I’m not casing my neighbor’s house at 2 am for a robbery. I’d say they look cool on a shelf, but they don’t. They’re night vision goggles. Even on a stand, they just look like there’s a giant military camera pointing at the room. Like the Master Chief helmet, you will get frustrated by how much space it takes up and you will eventually get rid of it during a move.
And, let’s be honest, if you’re getting a ton of use out of your video game special edition night vision goggles, you’re also probably on a few lists.
5. Ultima IX: Ascension Dragon Edition
That’s right, baby, we’re going back in time to the game that killed the series! The year was 1999. The Matrix was in theaters and Susan Lucci finally won her Emmy for the role of Erica Kane in All My Children after eighteen previous nominations. It was truly a big year for us all. And Ultima IX: Ascension sounded incredible, both as a game and as a collector’s edition. It included stuff like spooky books, tarot cards, and a map! It was fancy! The kids loved it.
As for the game, it was awful and broken. It played like a first draft of Skyrim that someone made in their sleep after a night of drinking. Nobody wants to make a bad game, but Ultima IX was kind of a bad game. That doesn’t make it the worst video game to ever have a collector’s edition, but it definitely feels like a milestone in that tradition.
You can include all the extras on Earth, but if the game is awful, it’s meaningless.
4. Catherine: Love Is Over Edition
The special edition for Catherine absolutely fits the theme of the games. Among its items are a sexy pillowcase, a cute romance shirt, and polka dot boxers that I assure you will not fit. None of these items are egregious and Catherine is a fantastic game. It’s just that… I don’t… Are you going to put that Catherine pillowcase on a pillow? When? As a bit? Are you doing it ironically? Unless you’re dating an extremely understanding person with your same freak tendencies, I don’t advise using anything in this collection. Despite the game being a sexy puzzle adventure, this will not contribute any meaningful help to your romantic life. It will do the opposite.
Here’s how unboxing this Collector’s Edition goes: You take out the pillow case, shirt, boxers, and fake pizza box. Then you put them in the back of your closet with the wedding album you couldn’t bring yourself to toss out after the divorce.
3. Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition
You know why we’re all here: The bag! Everything else is pretty cool: I mean, hey, the Power Armor helmet actually fits! That’s something! And the little toys and glow-in-the-dark map were pretty neat. It’s just… we were promised a canvas duffle bag. That was one of the cool selling points: A Fallout-themed duffle bag. I know that seems stupid to care about, but they changed it from being a cool military-style bag to nylon with the texture of an extremely cheap umbrella. If you went into the Wasteland, the bag would die of radiation before you would.
We get enough bait and switching in the games themselves. They couldn’t source it better? It’s not like they didn’t have the budget. People are paying hundreds of dollars here and one of the coolest features turned into a bag less useful than a tote you receive for donating to a radio station. Plus, Fallout 76 at launch was completely different than it is now; it was giving off real Ultima IX: Ascension vibes.
2. Mass Effect: Andromeda
Here’s the best part of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s Collector’s Edition: It doesn’t come with the game. Why would it? When I’m buying a special edition, I want all those extras to shove out the game entirely like it’s that woman’s sarcophagus in The Pearl of Love. Seriously, it’s almost impressive to call something the Mass Effect: Andromeda Collector’s Edition and not include Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Instead, it includes a remote control car. Which would be super fun if the game was released in 1992. Now, to be fair, promotional information did say that the game wouldn’t come with the Collector’s Edition. It’s just a weird choice to make. And it’s one that’s going to keep happening as companies realize that if we’re willing to spend $200 on extras for a video game, we’re probably willing to spend $70 on top of that for the game itself.
While there have been other examples of special editions without the game (including another Mass Effect release), Mass Effect: Andromeda feels like the one that turned the tide. And, not for nothing, it wasn’t really the best game until it got patched up. So, in a way, it was almost better that the special edition didn’t include the game?
Yes, it’s super annoying when there are download codes for games rather than physical discs. But no game at all? That’s the chef’s kiss of useless.
1. Dead Island: Riptide Zombie Bait Edition
Jesus Christ! Oh God! Who’s idea was this? Remember when I said that some special editions actually make a game worse? Well, here we are! Holy crap. What an awful, awful idea. I’m sorry. Not all of you can see the image. This special edition of the zombie series included the game (that’s nice!), a weapon pack (pew pew!), and a sculpture of a woman’s bloodied, decapitated torso. I don’t mean that, like, a mannequin without a head. No, it’s been sculpted to make sure you know that, yes, the head and arms have been torn off this woman.
Oh, also the woman is in a bikini. That wouldn’t be a problem, but the whole “she’s been horribly mutilated to death” part takes away from the appeal. I believe this special edition was only released in Europe, I’m assuming because someone on the development team wanted to only punish Europe.
Not only is this big, weirdo thing useless, it will make people judge you. You think having the dust-covered cat-sized Halo helmet can be a little awkward? You hate having to explain your favorite video game’s night vision goggles? All child’s play. Wait until the world sees you as the type of person who owns that statue.
I mean, at least it includes the game. But if you put up that statue, if anyone sees it and escapes your basement, the feds are going to take away your computer. And then there will be no games at all.
MultiVersus Season 2: Back in Time will see the addition of Samurai Jack and Beetlejuice and it will arrive on July 23, which is the same time the game will be getting its long-awaited Ranked Mode.
Samurai Jack will be available at the launch of Season 2 on July 23, and Beetlejuice will arrive sometime before Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is released in theaters on September 6 in North America and September 4 internationally.
You can check out a glimpse of Samurai Jack’s gameplay below, and Warner Bros. Games revealed he will be a Bruiser class character who will “utilize his mystical katana blade, agile footwork, and quick reflexes to send opponents flying off the map.” The clip also shows off the Righteous Warrior Jack character variant that can be purchased on July 23 as well.
As for Ranked Mode, it will allow players to compete in 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 matches and claim leaderboard points that will help unlock exclusive rank-based cosmetic rewards.
Lastly, players will be delighted to know the Water Tower map will also be part of Season 2 and will let players fight it out on the iconic Warner Bros. Water Tower, with “surprise nods to popular Warner Bros. Discovery characters and franchises.”
In our MultiVersus review, we said it “is an entertaining and deep platform fighter, but everything outside of simply jumping into a 1v1 or 2v2 match as any one of the eclectic characters in its cast (who are only related by a common corporate overlord) is tedious. I’ll keep coming back to experiment with my Iron Giant’s perk build for team play or learn how to use Marvin The Martian to his fullest, but I’d be glued to this game if I was given more opportunities to earn memorable variant skins or challenge my skills in increasingly tough PvE battles.”
Warframe developer Digital Extremes has unveiled more gameplay for its upcoming fantasy MMO, Soulframe.
The studio pulled back the curtain on its next project during an inaugural dev stream as part of TennoCon 2024. It’s a closer look at some of the game’s opening moments, revealing customization features, new magical abilities, and combat. The footage also gives us a longer look at the players’ wolf-like mount and the Nightfold hub, where you can relax, customize your arsenal, and talk to NPCs, all with the press of a button. It shares some similarities with Warframe’s Orbiter ship, and in case you were wondering, yes, you can pet your mount here.
It all kicks off with a look at the Warsong Prologue, which higlights customization options for their mother’s hair, skin color, eyes, and more as Soulframe begins. It reveals a taste of not only new features but also how themes of ancestry have been woven throughout the experience. This fully narrated intro sequence is then cut short as a time-skip launches us into the future, revealing what will eventually become each player’s Envoy character.
We got an even better look at the importance of visuals in Soulframe thanks to the introduction of a new NPC: Verminia, the Rat Witch. Digital Extremes says this character can “enhance the customization of cosmetics” while also helping out with potions, elixirs, and more. Although the Envoy’s abilities allows them to hurl their weapons at enemies and turn invisible for stealth approaches, Soulframe players will need more than brute force to take out large foes like Nimrod. This towering behemoth uses lightning abilities for ranged combat while using staff for close-quarters fights, and it looks like we’ll be fighting them more than once.
“The community we’ve formed around Soulframehas been really inspiring for the team and they are the backbone of everything we do.
“The community we’ve formed around Soulframe has been really inspiring for the team and they are the backbone of everything we do,” Soulframe Community Manager Sarah Asselin said in a statement. “We’re welcoming more new players than ever and we can’t wait to share our progress through regular Devstreams with the team as we continue to peel back Soulframe’s layers of intrigue.”
Today’s Soulframe gameplay should whet the appetite of both Warframe veterans and those who have never touched a Digital Extremes game, but there’s still a lot of waiting to do before it officially launches. However, during today’s TennoCon presentation, Digital Extremes promised plans to get its fantasy MMO in the hands of more players sometime this fall. As long as the plan goes unchanged, the studio says that anyone who wants to play Soulframe Preludes will be able to when they sign up.
“The closed testing we’ve been doing with our community has been so impactful; we’ve learned a ton, and we continue to listen and learn each day,” Soulframe Creative Director Geoff Crookes said in a statement. “We’re hoping to open this up to a lot more players this fall. Everything is still rough around the edges, but that’s part of our style – the feedback is important to us, and we really do iterate on it regularly.”
We learned even more about Soulframe during our interview with Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair, Crookes, and Asselin. During our talk, we gained insight into how the studio is keeping with its community-driven development approach, weapon variety, potential Warframe tie-ins, and so much more. Keep an eye out for the full interview to drop early next week.
Soulframe is launching first for PC with plans to come to consoles at an unspecified point in the future. Another dev stream is set to take place in September.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
The weekend has kicked off, and we’re rounding up the best deals you can find this weekend. Today, there are great deals on handheld PCs, laptops, headphones, and, of course, video games. The best deals for Saturday, July 20, include Granblue Fantasy: Relink, ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, Nintendo Switch Lite, and more.
Save 20% Off Granblue Fantasy: Relink
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is one of the biggest RPGs released this year. Over five years after its reveal, Cygames released the title officially on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC in January. The game features over 20 different playable characters from the Granblue Fantasy series, with characters like Nier, Rosetta, Lancelot, Percival, and more. Score this RPG now for only $39.99 and join the fun with over 100 multiplayer missions to complete!
ROG Ally Z1 Extreme for $549.99
If you don’t own a gaming PC and want to jump into the market, a handheld gaming PC is the perfect in-between. For the Black Friday in July sale, Best Buy has the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme for $549.99, which nets you savings of $100. It’s the lowest we’ve seen this model so far. Additionally, you can save $100 off the standard Z1 ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go, which is also powered by the AMD Z1 Extreme.
Nintendo Switch Lite with Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $159
Walmart currently has the Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition Nintendo Switch Lite available for $159. This bundle includes a turquoise Nintendo Switch Lite and a free digital copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Together, that has a $260 value, which means you can save $100 by purchasing this bundle. If you have not purchased a Nintendo Switch yet, this is an excellent option.
Apple AirPods Pro with USB Type-C for $168.99
Amazon has dropped the price of the 2nd gen Apple AirPods Pro truly wireless noise cancelling earbuds with the universal USB Type-C connector by over $80, now only $168.99. With this current gen AirPods Pro, Apple has replaced the proprietary Lightning port with the more universal USB Type-C. Don’t miss your chance to score a pair of new AirPods for an all-time low.
PowerBeats Pro for $139.99
The Beats Powerbeats Pro are an excellent choice if you’re looking for an Apple AirPods alternative. You can get up to nine hours of listening time off a single charge, with over 24 hours available if you use the included charging case. These earbuds are powered by the H1 chip, which allows for easy pairing and instant connectivity when using an iPhone. Overall, it’s hard to beat the value these earbuds provide at just $139.99.
Save $1000 Off Razer Blade 16
Amazon has the Razer Blade 16 listed for $1000 off right now for a limited time. This model includes an RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, a 240Hz QHD display, and more. There are not many laptops out there that will offer you anywhere near the performance you’re getting with this Razer Blade.
Save $200 Off This Samsung Odyssey G5 Monitor
If you’re in the market for a new monitor, look no further than this Samsung Odyssey G5 from Best Buy. Right now, you can save $200 off this QHD monitor, which has plenty of top notch features. First, you’ll get a 165Hz refresh rate, which is essential for getting the most out of your games. Additionally, with 32″ of screen, this larger display is perfect for immersion, especially in RPGs and other large-scale titles.
Model making is a great hobby, but knowing how and where to start is another story. It can be overwhelming for novices: Injection-molded plastic models have been on the market for close to a century, and there are kits of everything from military vehicles to sports cars and anime robots to household objects. Looking at some of the incredible creations of seasoned model builders, it might seem like you need an entire workshop of tools and equipment, the steady hands of a brain surgeon, and years of practice to make something cool-looking, but that’s not the case.
To make getting into this delightful pastime a whole lot less daunting, I’ve put together a list of kits that are worth checking out. Quite a few of these recommendations are based on my own firsthand experience. Up top are kits that don’t require glue, paint, or much else in the way of supplies, but keep scrolling for some recommendations if you’re ready to get your hands dirty and possibly stuck together. Head all the way to the bottom for essential tools and supplies you’ll need for model kits and where to buy these excellent LEGO alternatives.
No Paint? No Glue? No Problem!
For a very long time, model kits needed to be glued together and painted. Nowadays that’s not always the case. Most model companies offer entry-level kits that come pre-colored and can be easily snapped together. Keep in mind that some kits that advertise themselves as “for beginners” or “entry level” are so simplified it’s hard to count them as traditional model kits. However, plenty still offer a satisfying challenge without requiring any messy stuff like paint and glue. Case in point: Gundam! If you’re looking for a beginner route to model kits, and you think giant robots are cool, then either of the following two kits is a good start.
Gundam kits are classified by grade, the two most common being High Grade (HG), which are usually $15-30 and about 6 inches tall when complete, and Master Grade (MG), which’ll run you around $30-50 and are a couple of inches taller, but usually a lot more detailed and complex. There’s also Real Grade, which is somewhere between HG and MG; Entry Grade, which is for absolute beginners; and Perfect Grade, which is for advanced builders.
Gundam modeling (or Gunpla, short for “Gundam plastic models”) has become so massively popular, it warrants its own list of recommended kits. But for anyone who doesn’t care for big anime robots (Why not? Who hurt you?) I’ve rounded up a bunch of kits that take the same no-fuss appeal of Gundam kits applied to other properties and subject matter.
Star Wars Model Kits
Bandai has given the Gundam treatment to a number of other beloved pop-culture properties, most notably Star Wars. A good number of characters and vehicles have been turned into pre-colored snap-together kits. Some lend themselves to this treatment better than others; some of the less colorful subjects may look a little bland without a bit of paint or finishing touches. A basic wash or some dry-brushing will really make the details pop on the more monochromatic Original Trilogy machines.
Boba Fett is nice and colorful and looks great without a drop of paint, which speaks to the character’s inherently kitbashed aesthetic. The Stormtroopers looked a little too plain out of the box, so my esteemed colleague Brian Altano and I personalized them a bit:
Anime Model Kits
If full-color injection-molded action figure model kits work for giant anime robots, why not anime people as well? Bandai’s Figure-Rise line has tackled Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Digimon, and even some of the human characters from Gundam.
Giant Robot Model Kits (That Aren’t Gundam)
Currently sitting at the top of my pile of shame is Kotobukiya’s 1:100 scale Metal Gear Rex. Part of my procrastination is because it’s a big beautiful model kit and I don’t want to mess it up, but also because I built the Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, which was an extremely frustrating build. This may have been because I got it partially from a friend and picked up where he left off, but I think the more intricate and top-heavy design of the Sahelanthropus doesn’t lend itself as well to a physical kit. From what I’ve read, Rex’s more squat form makes for a more straightforward build. Unsurprisingly, a mech designed for a PlayStation 1 game has less proverbial moving parts than one designed for the PS4.
Good Smile Company’s Moderoid line of kits come pre-painted, which is great if you just want to put something together and display it, but they’re also on the pricier side.
Like a lot of Bandai kits, these dinosaur skeletons snap together and are molded in all the right colors. However, since they’re a bunch of bones, they’re monochrome. That said, for anyone who doesn’t have much confidence in their painting abilities, but still wants to paint something, this might be for you. I tried out a bunch of weathering techniques on mine to make it look appropriately prehistoric, and then made a custom base.
Not quite the weirdest model kit I’ve built (that honor goes to a 1:24 scale urinating dog), but it’s definitely up there. This is basically a Gundam, but it’s soup. It’s completely snap together, though surprisingly, deceptively complex in how it’s assembled. The finished product, without a drop of paint, is impressively hard to differentiate from the real thing, which is funny but also raises some concerns about how closely instant ramen noodles resemble polystyrene.
As the name suggests, Aoshima’s The Snap Kit series of model cars are a *snap* to put together, literally and figuratively. Much like Gundam kits, no glue is required and the majority of the pieces come molded in the correct colors. (Stickers are included for the ones that aren’t.) They’re a great option for anyone who’s looking for a quick project that doesn’t require a lot of tools or materials. Without paint, the end result might look a bit more like a toy than a proper replica, but painting is still an option. If that’s the part of the hobby that appeals to you, these’ll get you off to the proverbial races faster.
I turned The Snapkit’s 2000GT-R Skyline into a beat-up junker, and kitbashed the Prius into a heavy metal post-apocalyptic monster truck. A “Judas Prius,” if you will. That one’s a work in progress; it looks too Halo, not Mad Max enough.
Military Model Kits
The beauty of tanks, aside from being a cross between a cannon and a bulldozer, is how forgiving they are of a messy paint job. The real, full-size ones are frequently painted just one color, but get caked with dirt, mud, grease and grime, which is immensely gratifying to recreate in miniature with dry brushing, washes, and pigments. If you screw up during constructing, just call it battle damage! Tamiya makes some excellent armor kits, along with just about any other type of military hardware and/or accoutrement you could ask for, including but not limited to 1:35 scale farm animals.
The scale of models can be a little confusing, but it’s just fractions. A 1:1 scale model is life size, 1:2 scale is 50% the size of the real thing, and so on. However, different subject matter is suited best to certain scales. Cars are usually 1:/24 or 1:32, and the standard for military ground vehicles, like tanks and trucks and infantry, is generally 1:35. Larger aircraft models are 1:48, but 1:72 isn’t uncommon, and when you get into larger naval vehicles it gets even more fractional. There’s plenty of overlap, so if you want a little truck to go next to your 1:48 helicopter, it probably exists somewhere out there. The scale of railroad models is the gauge of the miniature train tracks being used, which I’m not even going to go into here. The point is: You can get a big Harrier jet or little Harrier Jet, or you can buy two big ones and pretend it’s a mommy and a daddy and a baby jet.
Car Model Kits
I am admittedly not much of a car guy. My dad, on the other hand, is very much the opposite. As a Father’s Day gift one year, I tracked down Hasegawa’s 1:24 BMW 2002 Tii kit, and painted it to look like a real car he’s been tinkering with and repeatedly repairing for the last few decades. He loved the gift and I had a great time putting it together. The amount of detail and tiny parts in a kit like this might be overwhelming for a novice modeler, but it’ll certainly keep you busy.
Two companies called Revell make model kits: Revell USA and Revell of Germany. The general consensus among the model building community is that the ones from Germany are excellent and the American Revell kits leave a lot to be desired. I’ve only built the American ones, and I wasn’t impressed.
What’s your dream car? A Lamborghini? What about a kebab truck? Aoshima makes a range of great vehicles, from luxury supercars to civilian automobiles to a surprisingly broad selection of funny little food trucks.
How to Get Started with Model Kits
Tools:
This is a great little set of tools to get started. If you get serious, it’s worth investing in a nice pair of hobby shears, side-cutters or “nippers” for cutting the individual parts off the runners. The cleaner the cut, the less trimming, filing and sanding needed during assembly. I have a pair of Tamiya side-cutters that I swear by, but the God-tier option in this department is the “God Hand” line (not to be confused with the PlayStation 2 game IGN gave a controversially bad score to a million years ago).
A sturdy cutting mat is helpful for not ruining your dining room table and getting yelled at, and also for easily moving your entire project away from the dining room table because you have company coming over and you don’t want people to see the funny little things you make in your spare time.
Model cement is different from regular glue in that it’s actually a solvent that slightly melts the plastic where applied, letting you fuse parts together. This makes it effectively useless on other materials, but for plastic kits, it’s my favorite. A tiny brush is built into the lid, so you just hold two pieces of your model together and apply a drop where they touch. The cement is so thin it’ll usually flow into the crack on its own.
Paint:
Without venturing into the messy, expensive, and frequently frustrating world of airbrush operation and maintenance, my preferred method of painting models is with a combination of “rattle cans” and water-based acrylics. Primer is key because it gives the surface a finish that paint will adhere to more easily than bare plastic. It’s possible to use regular spray paint from a hardware store, but it comes out thicker and can very easily ruin any fine details. Cans of hobby spray paint produce a fine mist, which is much easier to apply carefully.
Mr. Hobby’s Mr. Surfacer is an excellent primer that will even out the appearance of a kit prior to painting, covering up imperfections in the plastic while also providing a nice matte finish that paint will stick to really well.
Unlike lacquers or enamels, water-based acrylic paint doesn’t need any special thinners or solvents when it comes to mixing or cleanup. Vallejo’s Model Color line comes in every shade imaginable, and the dropper bottles make it easier to avoid spills.
Tamiya has a whole rainbow of hobby-grade spray lacquer, which is a great alternative to hand-painting large areas and worrying about brushstrokes. If the model is mostly one color, laying down a base coat and then doing the details by hand is a good system. It’s unlikely you’ll use an entire can of paint on one kit, so if you grab a color or two per kit, over time you’ll likely collect a nice variety.
Like any good hobby, model making is basically a bottomless pit of enjoyably wasted time (that’s not actually wasted if you enjoyed yourself). No matter how good you are at it, you’ll inevitably come across someone who’s so much better than you it makes you want to give up entirely. On the bright side, a lot of experts share their work online along with handy tips and tutorials for any skill level. On YouTube, a few accounts you may want to check out are SpruesNBrews, NightShift, and Jun’s Mini Garage. If you are looking for some inspiration for dioramas, or just to see some ridiculously cool stuff getting made, Laser Creation-World and Minibricks both put up some great work. Happy modeling!
Model Kit FAQs
Where is the best place to buy model kits?
Amazon: You can find some awesome deals throughout the year, but you’ll also want to be wary of resellers marking up prices. If you find something you like, it’s always worth googling it to see what the going rate is.
HobbyLink Japan: Model making is a hobby that requires patience, and sometimes that starts before you even get the kit. HLJ is the biggest online Japanese hobby shop and has a flat-out overwhelming selection of model kits and supplies, plus toys, statues, gacha machine prices, apparel, books, and even adults-only stuff you probably won’t find many places outside of Japan. The catch? Shipping is usually expensive, slow, or both. The cheapest option can take four to seven months to arrive. Cost is generally calculated based on size rather than weight (model kits are big, but light) so it often makes sense to save up and order a bunch of stuff at once.
MegaHobby: I haven’t used this one personally, but it’s also got a great selection and it seems like most stuff ships out in six months or sooner.
IGN Store: We’ve got a modest but solid selection of kits on there, generally of the anime/pop-culture variety. (The best-sellers from HLJ occasionally show up on the IGN Store.) New items are added regularly, and older stuff goes on sale, so it’s worth checking back regularly.
Your local hobby shop: No, really! See if there’s a hobby shop near you, and go support it. Those are a dying breed and the people who work there will often actually know what they’re talking about, and it’s also a great place to meet fellow builders of small things. Bear in mind that model building is a broad hobby, and hobby shops usually cater to one particular corner of it. The 80-year-old WWII diorama builder might not know what a Perfect Grade Exia Gundam is, and the kid with a Char Aznable tattoo may not know what a Panzerkampfwagen is, but they both can most likely tell you about drybrushing, panel lines, and gunk wash.
Max Scoville is a senior writer, host and producer for IGN covering video games, movies, toys and collectibles. He has 15 years of experience in pop-culture media, previously writing for and/or appearing on Current TV, Destructoid, Revision3 and StarWars.com. He has been involved with several podcasts, including The Comedy Button, Weird Heat, Podtoid and you can currently find him hosting IGN’s weekly PlayStation show, Beyond.
His favorite video games/series include Metal Gear Solid, Yakuza, Bloodborne and Secret of Evermore. Some of his all-time favorite movies are Akira, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Royal Tenenbaums, Boogie Nights and My Neighbor Totoro. When he’s not looking at a screen for some reason, he loves to read, paint cartoon monsters and build model kits and miniature dioramas, but most of his free time these days is spent with his kid or being tired.
Bethesda Game Studios is officially the first Microsoft game developer to full unionize under the Communication Workers of America (CWA), forming a “wall-to-wall” union of developers including artists, engineers, programmers and designers. Microsoft has recognized the union.
“We, a majority of developers at Bethesda Game Studios Dallas, Rockville, and Austin, are ecstatic to announce the formation of our union with @CWAUnion,” the group wrote on X/Twitter. “Together as #OneBGSUSA, we advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry.”
The new union will now negotiate a contract with Microsoft. IGN has reached out to Microsoft for comment.
“We are so excited to announce our union at Bethesda Game Studio and join the movement sweeping across the video game industry,” senior system designer Mandi Parker said in a statement via press release. “It is clear that every worker can benefit from bringing democracy into the workplace and securing a protected voice on the job. We’re thrilled to get down to brass tacks and win a fair contract, proving that our unity is a source of real power to positively shape our working conditions, our lives, and the company as a whole.”
Overwatch 2’s 41st hero, Juno, is playable this weekend for a limited time, and fans have already unearthed a surprising bit of lore about the purple-haired space cadet healer and Mei.
Overwatch is filled with voice lines that flesh out lore from its myriad of maps as well as relationships between heroes and villains. It’s just not every character’s death throw voice line would reveal a possible familial tie. Apparently, eliminating Mei as Juno triggers a voice-over exchange in which the Martian hero says, “Sorry, Auntie!” in response to Mei’s dying gasp.
This tidbit of gameplay lore is significant not only in that it might confirm the hero shooter’s fourth familial tie among its heroes, but it also seems to debunk a key fan theory about Juno’s identity.
Late last year, a r/Overwatch thread theorized that Juno—then known as Space Ranger—was a woman named Jiayi. According to the thread’s original poster, Mei had a new voice line that would trigger while at Lijiang Control Center, where she would reminisce over a friend named Jiaya, who she went to grad school with.
Seeing as how this voice line cropped up a month prior to Juno’s reveal at Blizzcon 2023, fans quickly began theorizing that Jiayi was the government name for Juno. At the time, the theory seemed solid, considering Lijiang is the location of Overwatch 2’s in-universe Chinese space station, and Juno’s whole gimmick is that she’s an astronaut hailing from Mars.
This theory took on new life a day before Juno’s limited-time release when X/Twitter user Pampurins posited that Jiayi could actually be the name of Juno’s mother. Pampurin’s revised theory sounds like it’s right on the money thanks to the newly discovered voice line interaction.
While the voice line appears to be considered hard proof that the two are aunt and niece, there’s also a high probability that it is also just a term of endearment, seeing as how the word aunt is commonly used to address older women. IGN has reached out to Blizzard for comment. Regardless, players will likely get an earful of the special voice line interaction during Juno’s weekend of play before her full release comes Season 12 on August 20.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
Listen up chooms, Cyberpunk is back in analog form for a second run. I previously wrote about Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone, an excellent miniatures game where gangs of plastic figures meet in the streets to spill imaginary blood. The new hardware I’m shouting about is Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City. Yes, more gangs and more blood, but this time it’s a proper board game where factions vie for turf and street cred. It’s less about violence, although there is still some of that, and more about strategically spreading your forces to occupy territory, complete jobs, and establish dominance.
This new game comes from board game giant CMON Games, publisher of hit titles such as Zombicide (on our list of best board games for teens), Blood Rage, and Dune: War for Arrakis. While Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City appears shiny and new, its foundation is an iteration on the underrated 2017 title Godfather: Corleone’s Empire. While the biological tissue shares some DNA, the many additions and tweaks layered atop function as jacked-up cybernetics that give this bad-boy a whole new visage.
Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is a very fast and sleek affair. On each player’s turn they perform up to two actions by moving a token on their playerboard from its state of ready to spent. These map directly to specific actions, so if you want to build another hideout on the map or upgrade your combat deck with new weapon tech, you need to spend the appropriate token. In addition to futzing around with infrastructure, you will mostly be activating your units and moving them about to secure territory. The three unit types all perform different functions and support alternate strategic paths. Solos push people out of important spaces and start fights. Techies purchase Edgerunner mercenaries to supplement your forces, as well as complete Opportunities–elicit jobs–for points. Lastly, Netrunners jack into the network which is a straightforward mini-game where moving down a track comes with risk and escalating rewards.
The juice in the action system is in when you decide to recall and reset your action discs. This effectively passes your turn, but it’s the primary way you exploit territory and recruit new figures. This step is necessary, however, as if you’ve already performed a particular action that you want to perform again–such as activating Solos or upgrading your combat deck–you will not be able to again until you reclaim your action tokens. The tempo control here is important, as players dictate the pace and aggression of play depending on how often they reset. It’s a fascinating strategic decision that pulls in several directions and offers various tactical considerations.
While anyone with even a minor amount of experience with strategy board games will readily understand this game’s processes, there is a somewhat tricky learning curve. This is due to the difficulty in parsing the unit types and their associated behavior. Each figure type is denoted by the shape of its base. This isn’t difficult, but it can be confusing to pair the unit types with the action discs and the connected Points of Interest on the map. These POIs are special sub-spaces within each district on the board. Gangs will control these positions with a figure, and they function as either a requirement to purchase an Edgerunner and complete an Opportunity, or they provide bonus resources when you netrun. This confounds new players as they struggle to keep these details straight. After a play or two these quirks will be internalized, but this idiosyncratic triangulation of symbology feels a little inelegant in an otherwise smooth design.
Everything else feels well polished. Most systems are simple yet unrestrained. Upgrading your combat cards for instance has you plucking two from the deck and choosing one to keep. When you add to your deck you remove an existing card, permanently keeping your hand of combat cards at four. This results in upgrades feeling potent as they cycle relatively quickly and see continual use.
Combat likewise is fast and brutal. Each player in the area selects one card secretly and then everyone reveals simultaneously. The player with the highest strength card wins the combat, with every other player forced to lose a figure from the area. More importantly, cards trigger scoring benefits, even for the losers. This combination of simple efficiency management with a brutal and uncaring edge is the design philosophy at large. The game, much like Night City itself, is unflinching and uncaring. A bad roll netrunning and your hackers short out and end up cold on the slab. A miscalculation in combat and you lose a key space. Combat itself is almost entirely dependent on your technology and not on the meatbags present in the space. It’s a hard world and you can’t afford to be soft.
The game, much like Night City itself, is unflinching and uncaring.
Almost everything present is concise and not overwrought. While this is an advantage to keeping the pace of play lively even at a max player count, it’s a detriment when it comes to the fiction. It does feel as though you are commanding gangers and sowing some chaos, but the narrative threads are relatively thin. Those expecting an adventure comparable to the Cyberpunk 2077 video game will be disappointed.
The setting here mostly functions as graphic design and a background presence. Opportunities suffer the most, as these jobs of stealing contraband and performing sanctioned hits are described with vibrant titles and brief story snippets, but the fiction is irrelevant and everyone quickly learns to bypass those surface elements and just worry about the mechanical implications. It never feels as though you’re pulling off heists or wild contracts, rather, you’re just grabbing another card in a simple game of set collection.
To the design team’s credit, they sought to address this failing. One of the most interesting aspects of Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City is the story system. These are narrative scenarios that lay atop the existing game, providing new rules and entire sub-systems to engage. Often, they provide additional ways to earn victory points or unique rewards. They also feature branching story elements, allowing the scenario to veer off in one of two directions.
The story system injects a much needed element of fiction into the game and frames the action around a prescribed narrative. Like the other mechanisms, they’re not intensely detailed, so you’re not reading lengthy paragraphs. Instead, cards offer a couple sentences of context. The achievement here is in how they connect surprise and drama into the mechanical framework of the game. This system is fantastic, marred perhaps slightly by the fact that they often present situations that randomly favor certain gangs. Each gang possesses an asymmetric ability which typically pushes them towards one or two strategic pathways in the game, and sometimes these story events can inhibit or outright neuter one of those pursuits. It can be frustrating, but the unpredictability of the narrative and how it influences the game is well worth the cost.
There is also a nagging concern that some may hop into this game and then become dissuaded when they realize there is a truckload of additional content, with the majority being exclusive to the previous crowdfunding campaign and unavailable at retail. The base game is substantial and a compelling strategy game that feels complete, but there’s no shaking the agony that afflicts some consumers when they realize they can’t get all of the extra expansions that were previously available.
Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City isn’t quite the augmented behemoth that several of CMON’s best titles are, but it is a very interesting game with several qualities that are stimulating. Its greatest assets will be teased out by those familiar with the intellectual property, but the sturdy mechanical foundation certainly doesn’t hurt. There is a solid chance this ends up as one of the publisher’s most underrated titles, not garnering the respect it deserves, and that would be a shame.
