Category: Video Games

Helldivers 2 updates could bring back the first game’s sneaky teleporting Illuminate faction

Nose around Helldivers 2‘s Galactic War map and you might notice that there’s a lot of empty space. Around half the celestial sphere is given over to the dominions of the Automatons and Terminids, leaving ample room for another enemy faction to be inserted via free update or paid DLC. What could that next faction be? Surely it can’t be any worse than a horde of giant bugs or a legion of robots. Surely it can’t be, say, a highly advanced elder species of teleporting illusionists equipped with lightning guns and cloaking devices. Oh dear.

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Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology Out a Day Before the Fallout TV Series

With less than two months to go until Fallout hits the small screens, Bethesda has announced a new compilation based on its popular post-apocalyptic franchise.

Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology is a compilation featuring seven Fallout games. Like the Fallout Anthology released a few years back, this compilation includes Steam codes for the PC versions of the games, as well as a Mini-Nuke replica. The compilation costs $60, with preorders now available at the Bethesda Gear shop, though the anthology is supposed to be sold at other retailers.

The Mini-Nuke replica is a lovely collector’s item for fans of this nuclear-fuelled franchise that stores the cards and features a sound effect that produces an explosion. Or, if you are really creative, you can use it as a case for a gaming PC.

What’s interesting about the packaging, as seen in the image above, is the compilation includes seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. cards. Based on the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. cards found in 2018’s Fallout 76, each card is printed with a P.C. code for the seven Fallout games. You can see the complete list below:

Not a bad compilation for newcomers to the series or longtime fans who have yet to collect all the Fallout games in their digital library. Of course, if the only Fallouts you are missing are the classic games like Fallout Tactics, you could wait until later this year when the Epic Games Store gives them away for free.

Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Anthology releases on April 11 — one day before the Fallout T.V. series premieres on Prime Video.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Pacific Drive review: the car’s the star in this atmospheric yet unwieldy survival game

Playing Pacific Drive reminds me of an army recruitment advert shown on British TV about 20 years ago. A group of soldiers are travelling along a road at night in a Land Rover, when suddenly they spot the enemy ahead. The front seat passenger starts barking orders at the driver: “Get off the road! Kill the lights! Through the trees!”. You sense the panic as the camera, inside the vehicle, jolts with the suspension on the rough ground, and the driver fights the steering wheel to stay in control. It’s a scene you reenact quite frequently in Ironwood’s survival game with roguelike trimmings. Well, except, instead of a Land Rover you’re behind the wheel of a rusty station wagon, and instead of military opposition, you’re scarpering from paranormal phenomena.

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Hands On: We’ve Played Princess Peach: Showtime! – Is It Any Good?

Show must go on.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a game that isn’t going to immediately appeal to many of the fans of big shooty bang-bang games like DOOM Eternal, but there’s a place for it still with an audience as sizeable as that of the Switch. Nintendo invited us to come along and give the game a go for ourselves ahead of its release on 22nd March, and so we did that.

Let’s be very upfront about a very important factor which was probably already made blisteringly apparent in the original reveal trailer: Princess Peach: Showtime! is not a difficult game. Deep breaths, everyone.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Bluey: The Videogame, Tales of Arise, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and More

Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Bluey: The Videogame, Tales of Arise, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and More

  • Megan Spurr, Community Lead, Xbox Game Pass

Game Pass February Wave 2 Hero

For the second half of February, we have some surprise games, some not-so-surprise games, Perks, and a DLC – plenty to get you gaming now and to prime your pre-install buttons! Whether you boot up Bluey: The Videogame to play with the family, jump into Madden NFL 24 to try and recreate the big game how you would have played it, or just want to play Maneater to see what it’d be like to be an absolute menace as a shark, we have you covered. Let’s get to the games! 

Available Today 

Return to Grace (Cloud, Console, and PC) 
A daring space archaeologist has just unearthed the ancient resting place of a long lost A.I. god known as Grace. Adventure with various fractured A.I. personalities as you uncover the great mystery of why she was shut down all those years ago in this first-person narrative adventure set in a visually stunning ‘60s retro sci-fi world. 

Tales of Arise (Cloud, Console, and PC) 
As two worlds of conflict converge in Tales of Arise, two people from opposite walks of life join forces to challenge their fates and create a new future. Along the way, meet up with a unique cast of allies, all with their own reasons to fight. Featuring a real-time combat system, battles are energetic and enthralling with countless combinations of skills and abilities. 

Coming Soon 

Bluey: The Videogame (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 22 
Join the fun with Bluey and her family in Bluey: The Videogame! Play a brand-new story set across 4 interactive adventures. For the first time ever, explore iconic locations such as the Heeler House, Playgrounds, Creek and a bonus beach location. Play your favorite games from the TV show, including Keepy Uppy, Chattermax Chase, and more! 

Maneater (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 27 
Returning to the Game Pass library, Maneater is a single-player action-RPG, set in the Gulf Coast’s unforgiving waters. Fight to survive in the open ocean, swamps, and rivers with danger lurking at every depth. Your only tools are your wits, your jaws, and an uncanny ability to evolve as you feed. 

Madden NFL 24 (Cloud) EA Play – February 27 
Ultimate members can start their season with Xbox Cloud Gaming on February 27, 2024, courtesy of EA Play. Don’t forget that until March 8, you’ll also score an Ultimate Team Supercharge Pack with your membership. 

Indivisible (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 28 
Making a return to the Game Pass library, immerse yourself in a fantastical world with dozens of playable characters, a rich storytelling experience, and gameplay that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. With a huge fantasy world to explore and a variety of characters to meet and fight alongside, help Ajna learn about herself and how to save her world. 

Space Engineers (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 29 
A sandbox game about engineering, construction, exploration, and survival in space and on planets. Players build spaceships, wheeled vehicles, space stations, planetary outposts of various sizes and uses (civil and military), pilot ships, and travel through space to explore planets and gather resources to survive. Featuring both creative and survival modes, there is no limit to what can be built, utilized, and explored. 

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 5 
Load up your Boltgun and unleash the awesome Space Marine arsenal to blast your way through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood in a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, frenetic gameplay and the stylish visuals of ’90s retro shooters. 

In Case You Missed It 

Diablo IV is Coming to Game Pass on March 28 

The next-gen action RPG experience is coming to Game Pass with endless evil to slaughter, countless abilities to master, nightmarish dungeons, and legendary loot. Experience a gripping story or jump straight into Season of the Construct to unearth a new threat looming deep beneath the sands of Kehjistan. 

DLC / Updates 

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Dune Expansion – Available now 
In collaboration with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment, Xbox and Microsoft Flight Simulator are taking you beyond Planet Earth into the harsh deserts of the world of “Dune” and the planet Arrakis. Aviators can put their courage and skills to the test in the cockpit of the Royal Atreides Ornithopter, mastering tutorials, time trials, and a daring rescue mission. See “Dune: Part Two”, only in theaters on March 1 and play the “Dune” Expansion free with Game Pass today. 

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks 

Calm Premium – 3-month trial offer – Available now 
Get 3 free months of Calm, the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation, now featuring two exclusive Xbox-themed Soundscapes from Halo and Sea of Thieves. Terms and conditions apply. 

Apex Legends: Breakout Supercharge Pack – Available now 
Trick out specific weapons and Legends in special gear with the Apex Legends Breakout Supercharge Pack, available with EA Play! 

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Drakkar Edition Pack – Available now 
Live your own Viking saga with the Drakkar Content Pack.  

Puzzle Quest 3: Green Knight’s Gear Bundle – Available now 
Acquire a full set of exclusive green skins for the original five heroes, along with a piece of gear and additional resources to help you on your quest! 

PUBG: Battlegrounds – Exclusive Survivor Pack – Available now 
Expand your item collection with the Hunter’s Chests, Keys, and Contraband Coupons. 

Leaving February 29 

The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon, which means it’s a perfect time to plan out your achievement grind with these at the top of your list before they go! 

  • Madden NFL 22 (Console and PC) EA Play 
  • Soul Hackers 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) 

That’s a wrap! Stay tuned on Xbox Wire for the latest news and be sure to follow us on social at @XboxGamePass and @XboxGamePassPC for updates when these games are ready for your download queue! 

The post Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Bluey: The Videogame, Tales of Arise, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Best Video Game Deals Today (February 2024): Enjoy Discounts on Console Bundles, SD Cards, and More

Buying new video games, hardware, and accessories for your preferred console doesn’t need to make a massive dent in your wallet. In fact, deals happen all the time for items like these, so you can save money while investing in your favorite hobby.

TL;DR – Our Favorite Video Game Deals

These sales even occur outside of events like Prime Day, Black Friday, or publisher events like Nintendo’s eShop sale in the summer or PlayStation’s Days of Play. And while we’ll always keep you up to date on those sales and what’s included in them, here, we’ll provide you with year-round deals that are worth taking advantage of. Whether you play on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, you’ll find the very best deals listed below.

Get Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon on PS5 for $37.99 & More Game Deals

One of our favorite deals right now is on Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon for PS5, which has dropped down to $37.99 after clipping the 5% off coupon. You can also pick up Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Launch Edition for Xbox Series X for $39.18, and in the world of Nintendo, Super Mario RPG is discounted at Walmart to $48.80 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is down to $48.99 at Walmart as well! Check out the links below for even more great deals.

More Video Game Deals:

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Get $40 Off the Anker 737 Power Bank (Perfect for Steam Deck)

If you’ve been looking to pick up a power bank to use with your favorite devices, you can never go wrong with options from Anker. To see even more excellent power bank options, check out our picks below.

More Power Bank Deals

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Xbox Console & Bundle Deals

There are a few console bundles on sale at the moment alongside a great deal on the 1TB Series S and Series X. One of our favorite deals leftover from the Black Friday/Cyber Monday season is on the Diablo IV Xbox Series X bundle, which you can get for $464.50 at Walmart. You can also get the Series S Starter Bundle for just $269.99 at Target. Outside of bundles, the 1TB Series S has a deal at Dell right now, down 14% to $299.99, and the Xbox Series X is $50 off at Best Buy in their Presidents’ Day sale.

Perfect Switch SD Card for $25.99 (and More Deals)

The best Switch SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, as it’s quite likely we’ll be getting a Switch successor / the next Nintendo console within the next year or so (if rumors are to be believed). Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just below for your convenience.

More Switch Micro SD Card Deals

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Get Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 For Free With This PS5 Bundle

You can still save on a Spider-Man 2 PS5 Slim bundle, which includes the brand-new game alongside the new Slim console and a DualSense wireless controller. It’ll set you back $499, which is 11% off its usual price of $559.99. This was the most popular deal for IGN readers over Black Friday, and retailers are finally starting to sell out of the impressive bundle in 2024. Stay tuned for even more amazing PS5 deals and bundles in the near future (and maybe even a PS5 Pro Model?)

Enjoy Discounts On Select Xbox Controllers

In need of another Xbox controller? Well, you’re in luck, as there are quite a few discounted right now. In my opinion, you can never have too many controllers. You never know when someone will pop on by and want to play Overcooked or It Takes Two, or any local multiplayer game.

More Xbox Controller Deals:

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How to Avoid Xbox’s Game Pass Price Hike ($44.99 for 3-Months of Ultimate)

By securing 3-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $44.99, you can actually avoid the hiked up Game Pass price. We recommend securing your current subscription for as long as possible. You can stack up to a maximum of 36 months of Game Pass, meaning you have the option to accumulate 3-month subscriptions up to 12 times.

Admittedly, this approach might put a strain on your wallet, totaling $539.88 if you purchase the 3-month package from the link above. However, when you compare it to the new cost of Game Pass Ultimate for 36 months at $16.99 per month, amounting to $611.64, you’ll realize you’re saving $71.76 on your subscription for the next three years. Otherwise, secure your membership for at least a year to lock in at least some savings overall.

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Amazing 4TB PS5 SSD Deal for $173.66

Could your PS5 use more storage? Prices have been dropping since Sony started letting people upgrade their SSDs. Right now you can get an absolutely massive Verbatim 4TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD for $173.66. This is absolutely worth investing in for your PS5, and you can find even more great SSD deals below.

More PS5 SSD Deals:

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Official Guide for $27 (Save $18)

With these, you’ll have a detailed overview of Hyrule, a helpful walkthrough to get you through the game, and much more. Not only that, but they have gorgeous covers as well, especially the Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition has an MSRP of $29.99 but is on sale for $18.74, and the Collector’s Edition normally runs for $44.99, but you can get it for $26.85. Plus, if you want to complete the set, the Breath of the Wild guidebook is also down to just $22.49 right now as well.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Cobalt Core isn’t just a great game, its soundtrack is also an all-timer

Every year, there are a couple of game soundtracks I become properly obsessed with. In 2022, I more or less had the music of Tunic and Citizen Sleeper on repeat whenever I left the house. In 2021, it was Chicory. In 2020, it was Coffee Talk and Signs Of The Sojourner, and in 2019, it was all Mutazione, all the time. 2023 was a pretty great year for game music as well, as we not only got Alan Wake 2’s exquisite musical set-piece that’s honestly just been getting better and more insane as time’s gone on, frankly, but also the toe-tappingly brilliant soundtrack of Cobalt Core, which has somehow risen even higher on my forever playlist after revisiting it for this month’s RPS Game Club.

Composed by Aaron Cherof, Cobalt Core’s music alternates between high-energy battle tracks and calmer, more relaxed ambience. It’s so dang good, and an absolutely perfect backdrop for sliding in and out of oncoming missile fire in its roguelike spaceship fights. So come along and jam to some of its best tracks with me below as I pick out some of my musical highlights.

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Need for Speed Unbound Gets Surprise Second Year of Live Service

Need for Speed Unbound is back with a second year of live service.

Developer Criterion issued a year two roadmap blog post, saying: “Surprise! We’re still here, and not just here — we have a whole year’s worth of content coming to you!”

Another 12 months of content is planned from a small team, Criterion confirmed, although it warned players: “We’ll be honest and admit we can’t build everything everyone wants right now, but we can decide together what NFS should be in the future.”

“Our vision is that through our second year of live service, you can, for the first time, begin to play the ultimate NFS experience in one place,” Criterion said. “Your feedback and gameplay will help shape the future of this iconic franchise.”

Fans can expect four new volumes of content in the next year, each launching every few months. At least one new major mode, two new cars, and a new Speed Pass (with optional premium track) arrive as part of each volume. “And when we say cars, we mean cars in the NFS sense, like no one else creates,” Criterion teased. “We aren’t just talking base models here and stock paint there; we are talking cars that come with fully customizable body kits with a myriad of interchangeable parts so you can tweak your ride just the way you want it.”

More events, challenges, ranks to earn, and new progression are also part of the plan, as are bug fixes and improvements. “We see this as a year to test and learn and understand what works best for you,” Criterion added.

Need for Speed Unbound launched late 2022, receiving a 7/10 from IGN’s review. “Need for Speed Unbound hasn’t strayed very far from the fundamentals of 2019’s Heat, but its bold new animated style impresses,” we said.

EA has remained quiet on the future of the series since, and is yet to announce a brand new Need for Speed game for the future.

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.

WH40K: Rogue Trader’s “first major update” is out, and everyone gets a free respec

A colossal new update for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader launched last night, hitting the grimdark space-aristocrat RPG with so many changes that the patch notes are almost 17,000 words long. Fitting for a game that our Rogue Trader review called “engrossing, obscure and absolutely exhausting”. It adds loads of new voiced lines, fixes everything from wonky abilities to broken quests, reworks balance, improves performance, and so much more. Enough is changed that developers Owlcat are giving everyone in your party a free respec to adjust to what the game has become.

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New Special Edition TIME Magazine Celebrates 25 Years Of Pokémon In North America

Better late than never, eh?

It has been 25 years since Pokémon Red and Blue was released in North America. In fact, it has been 25 years and five months, but in the spirit of ‘better late than never,’ TIME has decided to get in on the action with a new special edition of the magazine.

Ahead of Pokémon Day 2024 (and the Pokémon Presents showcase therein) on 27th February, the iconic magazine company has unleashed four special edition covers, each depicting a different one of the OG starters or Pikachu — because Pikachu has to be there, right?

Read the full article on nintendolife.com