Sunday 31 December 2023

Saturday 30 December 2023

The Rarest Wii U Games And How Much They're Worth

Here are the rarest Wii U games, and how much they're worth.


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Best Of 2023: Dredge And Its Mysterious Archipelago Are Peak Lovecraftian Horror

A mysterious fog-covered town, a tropical paradise covering up something deadline in the great below, and vast ocean canyons that sailors rarely make it out from. Every section of Dredge's sizable archipelago is full of secrets that could easily sink your fishing ship as soon as you slow down to investigate.

Except your ship never stays at the bottom of the salt for long. As soon as you die in Black Salt Games' Dredge--a Lovecraftian horror adventure about a fisherman finding work in a mysterious archipelago--you find yourself right back in the nightmare once again. There is no escape, which works wonderfully as both a story and lore mechanic.

Dredge isn't a horror game about survival or bloodthirsty creatures who are hunting you. It's about a world that's already miles deep and full of questions that will never have answers. Spending hours running and getting killed by sinister sealife isn't nearly as compelling as simply spending more time near though. The questions slowly pile up, and it's satisfying to just try and answer them.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Best Of 2023: Remnant 2's Final Boss Is Brutal And Mind-Altering In The Best Way

Remnant 2 has a fair few bosses. There's a corrupted alien wolf that's got altogether too many eyes and really wants you to kill off a magical deer. There's also what I can only describe as a night terror turned into ethereal flesh, which crawls out of walls trying to kill you while opening a portal from its chest to spit spiders at you. There's even a giant alien baby thing that blurs the lines between realities and tries to kill you using a mixture of black holes and laser beams to protect its home from careening into an event horizon.

Note: Spoilers for Remnant 2 ahead.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Your Bizarre Adventure: New Universe Codes For December 2023

The YBA:NU Codes for December 2023 reward Lucky Arrows, Rokakas, and Rib Cages Of The Saint's Corpse. But you must reach Prestige Lv 5 to redeem them.


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The Best N64 Games On Nintendo Switch Online

Here's a selection of the best titles from the Nintendo 64 that you can play on your Switch with an online subscription.


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Friday 29 December 2023

Doctor Doom Is Too Big For Today's MCU

If Doctor Doom replaces Kang in Marvel's future film plans, it will do a huge disserve to the character.


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Best Of 2023: Super Mario RPG's Level-Up Screen Proves ArtePiazza Understood The Assignment

Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars is one of my favorite games of all time. I've played it once a year for over a decade, and as such I am very familiar with this offbeat take on the Mario universe. I loved the characters, I loved the battle system--my first foray into turn-based RPGs, in fact--and I loved the idea of expanding on a franchise I'd been visiting since I was three years old. Before SMRPG, the Mushroom Kingdom and its surroundings was a collection of flat worlds where I'd move from left to right. This time, however, it actually felt like a kingdom, with towns and cities populated by people to speak with, not just enemies to jump on.

On June 21 of this year, Nintendo made the announcement I'd waited on for 27 years: Super Mario RPG was coming back, rebuilt from the ground up with new visuals, new mechanics, and a revamped soundtrack by the original composer. My initial reaction was my brain melting out of my ears coupled with actual tears of joy, but once I settled down and really started to process this news, that joy gave way to a small bit of anxiety: What if the game's personality gets lost in restoration?The gang is back!

Part of what endears me and many other players to Super Mario RPG is just how silly the whole thing is. It revels in physical comedy, like Mario's pantomimed retelling of events to the Mushroom Kingdom's Chancellor. Characters and bosses are inherently weird, from the affable idiot Booster to a battle against a literal two-tiered wedding cake where each tier is a separate enemy. Some of the jokes and puns are dated--show of hands for those who know what the giant knife named Mack was referencing. The mountain of obstacles looked to be the size of Everest; would this remake make it to the summit?Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Where Is Xur Today? (December 29-January 2) Destiny 2 Exotic Items And Xur Location Guide

Xur is back in Destiny 2 this weekend, giving you one last chance to pick up new Exotics and Legendary gear before the end of The Dawning. Here's where you can find Xur this weekend and everything he's selling.

This week you can find Xur on Nessus, in the Watcher's Grave area.

Xur is offering Skyburner's Oath for his Exotic weapon this week. Hunters can snag the Orpheus Rig leg armor; Titans have the Hallowfire Heart chest armor; and for Warlocks, Xur offers the Contraverse Hold gauntlets.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Thursday 28 December 2023

The Hardest Tracks To Master In Mario Kart 8

You might be pretty good at Mario Kart, but these tracks are difficult to master.


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Every Free Game In The Epic Games Store Holiday Sale

Don't miss out on the Epic Games Store Holiday Sale freebies.


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Best Of 2023: Baldur's Gate 3's Best Set Piece Reaches Into Its Dungeon-Delving Roots

A lot of airtime and screen-space has been spent talking about just how big Baldur's Gate 3 is. And it's massive, even growing bigger consistently as the game gets an array of foundation-altering patches. However, Baldur's Gate 3 best sings in its relentless commitment to careful combat and dungeon design. Rosemyrn Monastery is RPG level design at its most straightforward and its most dazzling.

In its overall structure, Rosemyrn sharply inverts the typical dungeon: Above is the dungeon, below the town. The space-faring warriors, the Githyanki, have taken the area below the monastery as their Créche, but most of the monastery itself--the above-ground areas that were once overflowing with clergy, pilgrims, and other guests--is almost entirely abandoned. Rosemyrn was dedicated to the god of dawn, Lithander, and many ventured there to ask his favor.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Video Game Movies And TV Shows Finally Got Good In 2023

While 2023 was certainly a great year for movies and TV shows as a whole (unless you're the Marvel Cinematic Universe), it was an especially great year for adaptations of our favorite video game franchises. As a prime example, Nintendo and Illumination Studios' The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit theaters in April. It was hard to know if the movie was going to work, as even the casting of Chris Pratt stirred disdain among fans. Would they be willing to watch Super Mario on the big screen?

It turns out, they absolutely would. The Super Mario Bros. Movie would earn more than $1.3 billion at the box office, becoming the third-biggest animated feature ever--behind Disney's Lion King remake and Frozen II. It's also the highest-grossing video game movie of all time, and the second-biggest movie of 2023, domestically and worldwide. That's a pretty dramatic change, compared to previous years.

"I think that part of the problem with translating games to movies is that the structure of what makes a good game is very different from the structure of what makes a good movie," Super Mario and Legend of Zelda creator and all-around video game icon Shigeru Miyamoto said back in 2007, after years of bad adaptations that included 1993's Super Mario Bros.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Best Of 2023: Alan Wake 2's Musical Moment Is The Best Surprise In Gaming In Years

Alan Wake 2 surprised us in many ways--how much it differed from its predecessor, how much Saga Anderson added to Alan Wake's story, the way Alan Wake 2 continued to really tie together all of Remedy's games. But the biggest surprise of all begins with two words taking up almost all of the screen:

WE SING.

WARNING: This is your chance to get out of here before I spoil one of the silliest, weirdest, and best gaming moments in Alan Wake 2.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Wednesday 27 December 2023

Best Of 2023: These Three Games Used Their Platform To Educate And Entertain

At first glance, the trio of MLB The Show 23, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage share very little in common. Sure, all three games launched in 2023, and both Spider-Man 2 and Assassin's Creed Mirage feature dense open worlds, but other than what you might call broad similarities, they're almost entirely disparate from one another. That is, except for one surprising commonality: They all taught me something new about the past.

From a packed ballpark in 1920s Kansas to the comic-book streets of New York City and a bustling ninth-century Baghdad, each game adopts a different approach toward educating its players on specific people, moments, and places from human history. When I look back on 2023--a year stacked with exceptional video games--this unlikely trio of AAA games stands out because of the various ways in which they use the art form to shine a light on underrepresented cultures and the pivotal impact they had on our history--doing so in a way only an interactive medium like video games can.

In MLB The Show 23, this takes the shape of a new mode called Storylines. Many sports games have ventured into the past before, but none have done so in such a lovingly crafted way as San Diego Studio's ode to the Negro Leagues. Storylines is essentially a series of playable documentaries, with each one combining archival footage, eye-catching hand-drawn art, and the spellbinding narration of Bob Kendrick--president of the Negro League Baseball Museum--to explore the lives and careers of eight legendary baseball players from an era before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. It's impossible to be a fan of baseball without knowing the story of Robinson and his iconic 42, but MLB The Show 23 taught me about other incredible players I knew next to nothing about, including Satchel Page, Hilton Smith, and Hank Thompson.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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The State Of PC Gaming Handhelds Shows A Bright Future

Last year, Valve irreversibly changed PC gaming with the launch of the Steam Deck. The portable PC platform was certainly not the first attempt of its kind, but with the experience of Valve's engineering and the tight integration with Steam, it quickly became the de facto device to recommend for a powerful and reliable gaming experience on the go. The timing couldn't have been better, too, with the Nintendo Switch only seeing an OLED upgrade the year prior and its heavily rumored specification bump reduced to another lengthy wait for a successor. As a result, the Steam Deck satiated the desire for more demanding gaming in a portable frame, so much so that we suggested it was an inflection point for the market as a whole. But it probably came as a surprise still at how quickly competitors reacted, with 2023 offering a glimpse into a future laden with compelling PC gaming handhelds, each experimenting in eye-catching ways.

With increasingly expensive components being pushed out the door by both AMD and Nvidia, it's no surprise that the market share for PC gaming had been waning over the years. The Steam Deck might not have rectified this entirely, but it's plain to see more positive sentiment around PC gaming since its launch, so much so that most releases nowadays include some nod to Steam Deck-specific settings and verification through Valve's own certification program. But the simplest way to see its effect on the industry is just how quickly it's spawned fierce competition. Asus and Lenovo have both launched their own Steam Deck competitors in 2023, competing not only in terms of performance but also, surprisingly, price, giving consumers a lot to ponder when choosing the best form for taking PC games on the go. There are other players in the game, specifically Ayaneo with its various devices, but its prices are high enough to take it mostly out of the conversation when comparing these core three. Either way, it shows a willingness for manufacturers to take a risk on an entirely new device, with the market clearly hungry for even more options to choose from.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Best Of 2023: A Constant Feeling Of Discovery Made Remnant 2 My Favorite Game Of The Year

There were a lot of moments that made me stop and say, "Wow, that was awesome," in Remnant 2, but the one that shoved it to the top of my list of favorites for the year came during one of its many excellent boss fights.

I'd worked through one of the three strange locations that make up Remnant 2's campaign. This one was a wrecked derelict spaceship the size of a moon that had once been inhabited by an advanced race on a quest to find, more or less, god. That plan didn't really pan out, and their ship's interior had changed over eons from a contained facsimile of their planet into a desolate, post-apocalyptic waste. Through the course of exploring, I'd cleared one of Remnant 2's dungeons and found what was essentially a weird alien USB drive. Now I was carrying it around, waiting to figure out what to do with it.

We eventually reached the final boss of the area, a huge blue alien named Sha'Hala with a ton of eyes and enormous hands. We'd dealt with this guy before in a friend's playthrough, fighting through by the skin of our teeth to defeat him. But when I reached the console to activate the fight with Sha'Hala, I noticed another interactable spot on the bottom we hadn't seen before: a second control point, out of the way and easy to miss. I hit the interact button and was offered the opportunity to use a quest item from my inventory.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Where Is Xur Today? (December 22-26) Destiny 2 Exotic Items And Xur Location Guide

Xur has arrived in the solar system as the Dawning continues to for one more week in Destiny 2. If you're looking for new builds to take advantage of its new weapons (or that new Exotic Strand bow, Wish-Keeper, from the Warlord's Reign dungeon), you might want to check out Xur's slate of Legendary and Exotic gear. Here's where to find Xur and what he's selling this weekend.

This week you can find Xur in The EDZ, in the Winding Cove area.

Xur is offering Coldheart for his Exotic weapon this week. Hunters can snag the Celestial Nighthawk helmet; Titans have the Synthoceps gauntlets; and for Warlocks, Xur offers the Felwinter's Helm helmet.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Downward Spiral Kicked Into High Gear In 2023

It's official: The Marvels is the worst-performing MCU movie ever, making even less than Black Adam, DC's similarly poor performer from last fall. Over the last decade and a half, Marvel has proven to be hugely popular, with its biggest movies among the highest earning films of all time. Meanwhile, The Marvels star Brie Larson is a massively popular actor reprising a role from the MCU's Infinity Saga. Yet, this is where we are. So what's going on?

People throw around the term "superhero fatigue" as a reason to dismiss poorly performing comic book movies or TV shows. It's more complicated than that, though. In reality, a combination of factors are at play, including a misunderstanding of why people were so invested in the first arc of MCU movies, things Marvel Studios should've been doing to get viewers ready for the future of the franchise, and a wild miscommunication between the studio and its fans about what matters in these movies and shows.

People didn't actually like comic book movies



I love superhero movies. You might love superhero movies. But for many people, the MCU ended with Avengers Endgame--the movie that literally had Endgame in its title. For them, it wasn't about liking superhero movies or even Marvel movies specifically. Rather, many of us got swept up in our love for Steve Rogers and Tony Stark (and a few others, of course). Endgame gave finality to two of its most popular characters, and in the process gave many fans of those earlier Marvel movies an excuse not to come back. Cap, Tony, and Black Widow were all irrevocably gone, and characters like Hulk and Hawkeye were in a confusing state of limbo.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Friday 8 December 2023

Thursday 7 December 2023

New Stormgate Trailer Features Marvel Star Simu Liu In Big Role

Stormgate just recently moved into its closed beta period, but developer Frost Giant Studios has a whole lot more to share. As part of The Game Awards 2023, the studio unveiled a new story and gameplay trailer with Shang-Chi and Barbie star Simu Liu.

Not only is Liu featured in the trailer, but he'll also be a playable character in the game named Warz, who is part of the Infernals faction. Liu is himself a big real-time-strategy fan and made an in-person appearance at The Game Awards to deliver the trailer.

The Stormgate trailer features a character frantically trying to cut the power to a portal, which suddenly unleashes a huge wave of energy and countless demonic creatures. A sizzle reel of gameplay footage then shows many different manners of murder, with soldiers and monsters going toe-to-toe and large vehicles mowing down hordes of enemies.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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No Man's Sky Dev Announces Ambitious Open-World Multiplayer Game Light No Fire

Hello Games founder Sean Murray appeared at The Game Awards to discuss the studio's next game, a project he calls even more ambitious than No Man's Sky. Titled Light No Fire, it's an open-world fantasy multiplayer game with a massive world.

Though the game looks very similar to No Man's Sky in some ways, it seems aimed at taking place on a single huge world instead of multiple, procedurally generated worlds. Murray called it "the first real open world," with mountains that are taller than Everest.

The devs of No Man's Sky reveal their next game, Light No Fire, at #TheGameAwards! What do you think so far? pic.twitter.com/c10vgJumcA — GameSpot (@GameSpot) December 8, 2023

A brief gameplay trailer showed building mechanics; flying on birds, dragons, and other creatures; and loads of fantasy races.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Alan Wake 2 Cast Performs Game's Best Moment On Stage At The Game Awards

Almost the entire cast of Alan Wake 2 took to the stage during the 2023 Game Awards for a performance of the song "Herald of Darkness" from the game, in what was possibly the greatest thing that has ever happened at Geoff Keighley's award show.

The performance by Finnish band Poets of the Fall, playing their in-game counterparts, the Old Gods of Asgard, recreated what is also the best moment in Alan Wake 2. The song is a retelling of Alan's life leading up to the events of the first game, followed by a quick recap of Alan Wake's plot, in order to set the stage for the rest of the game.

In true Remedy Entertainment fashion, the song also has its extremely meta parts. Echoing the game's elements and what's seen in-game, the Game Awards performance featured Ikka Villi, the actor who portrays Alan Wake, reprising the fully choreographed role. Matthew Porretta, who voices Wake, lent his vocal stylings to the performance, as did David Harewood, who plays Mr. Door in the game.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Star Wars Movies And Shows In Chronological Order

The Star Wars universe is vast, so if you're interested in watching every movie and TV series in chronological order, we've got you covered.


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Wednesday 6 December 2023

Ark Dev: "The Servers Are Ass, They Run Like Ass, And Their Stability Is Ass"

Studio Wildcard boss Jeremy Stieglitz has made a frank admission about the multiplayer servers for Ark: Survival Ascended, saying they are complete "ass."

During Studio Wildcard's recent Extra Life charity stream, the co-founder of the company said, "The servers are ass. They run like ass. And their stability is ass."

The executive said Survival Ascended's servers will be improved over time "We need to improve it. It's going to be improved," he said, as reported by IGN.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Disney Dreamlight Valley: How To Move Villagers Between The Valley And Eternity Isle

Disney Dreamlight Valley's A Rift in Time expansion offers tons of fresh ways to interact with the game on a whole new island known as Eternity Isle. However, you'll likely notice when you arrive that none of your existing villagers' homes have made the move over to the island with you. That doesn't mean they can't, though, so read on for how to move villagers' homes back and forth between the two locations.

How to move villagers between the Valley and Eternity Isle



Moving villagers' homes between the Valley and Eternity Isle isn't a particularly complicated affair, but you'd be forgiven for overlooking it due to the game not explaining how to do so at all.Moving the homes of villagers takes minimal effort.

To move a home between these two realms, simply open your Furniture tab and navigate to the "Homes" option. Inside this menu, you'll find the homes of every villager you currently have unlocked. Select a home and place it in the realm you're currently in to complete the process.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Disney Dreamlight Valley: Where To Find Plastic Scrap

Disney Dreamlight Valley's A Rift in Time expansion adds plenty of never-before-seen fish to catch in its three brand-new biomes, but not everything in the water swims. As a matter of fact, you can reel in some Plastic Scrap for use in various quests and crafting recipes if you know where to fish for it. Here's how to find Plastic Scrap.

How to get Plastic Scrap in Disney Dreamlight Valley



Plastic Scrap is required for a few quests and in a handful of crafting recipes that you'll encounter early in your adventure on Eternity Isle. As such, you'll need to know exactly how to score some as quickly as possible.Plastic Scrap

To find Plastic Scrap, you'll need to fish anywhere except ripples in Ancient's Landing. In other words, avoid any white, blue, or gold circles and just cast your line into the water at any other spot. Doing so will occasionally yield another fish or two, but you'll have no trouble catching quite a few Plastic Scrap along the way.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Destiny 2's The Final Shape Expansion Could Be Bungie's Last Chance To Remain Independent, Report Suggests

Behind the scenes at Destiny 2 developer Bungie, morale is reportedly all-time low following mass layoffs at the company and other cost-cutting measures. In a new IGN report, sources at the studio claim that a "soul-crushing" atmosphere has set in and that the company is at risk of being fully absorbed by Sony.

While Bungie was acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion in 2022, on paper, the company has still been able to operate relatively independently. In the aftermath of the acquisition, its board of directors consists of PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst, senior Sony VP Eric Lempel, Bungie CTO Luis Villegas, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, and Bungie CEO Pete Parsons. Essentially, Parsons gets a tie-breaking vote on decisions, but the catch here is that Bungie is obligated by Sony to meet certain financial targets.

Should Bungie fail to meet these targets, Sony can legally dissolve the board and take full voting power of the company. It's a scenario that was looking increasingly likely following the release of Lightfall earlier this year, as the poorly received expansion saw the studio miss its 2023 financial forecast by 45% and the player count for Destiny 2 reach record lows. According to IGN, Parsons made the decision to lay off 100 staff members across several departments in an effort to cut costs, while other morale-boosting initiatives at the company were trimmed down substantially.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Best Budget Decks For Modern MTG

These budget Modern decks will give you the best value for their price in MTG.


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Tuesday 5 December 2023

CoD: Warzone And MW3 Season 1 Battle Pass Details, Plus New Bundles For Dune And The Boys

The first season for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone launches on December 6, and Activision has released a blog to showcase the new weapons and cosmetics players can expect in the battle pass. Season 1 includes a new BlackCell premium bundle, three new weapons, and plenty of cosmetics to unlock.

The standard battle pass returns for 1,100 CoD Points, and players can splurge for the $30 BlackCell pass to have access to even more cosmetics and 20 battle pass skips (25 skips on PlayStation.)

Just like past seasons, the three weapons are unlocked in the free tiers of the pass. The XRK Stalker sniper rifle is unlocked in Sector A4, and this is described as a .50 cal rifle with the ability to eliminate opponents in one hit. The RAM-7 assault rifle is available in Sector A7, and this gun is a lightweight assault rifle that offers quick reloading and fast handling. Lastly, the Stormender Launcher is unlocked in Sector A12, and this is a weapon meant to shoot down specific killstreaks and take out drones with its lock-on capabilities.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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See Call Of Duty's Newest BlackCell Operator In Action For Season 1 In MW3 And Warzone

Call of Duty's big new Season 1 update, the first new season since Modern Warfare III launched in December, debuts on December 6, bringing with it a bunch of new content. This includes the latest of Call of Duty's popular BlackCell DLC bundles, and now we know more about it.

The new $30 BlackCell bundle comes with a new Operator named Abolisher, and the skin looks pretty slick. You can see Abolisher in action in the video below.

Everyone who buys the BlackCell DLC gets the Season 1 Battle Pass as well, including immediate access to the Pass' BlackCell sector. The BlackCell DLC also comes with the "Man o' War" weapon blueprint and tracers, the "Flexed Upon" finishing move, the "War Horse" vehicle skin, and 1,100 COD points.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Disney Dreamlight Valley: How To Unlock Rapunzel

Disney Dreamlight Valley is home to a wide variety of beloved characters, including the beloved Rapunzel. If you've got the A Rift in Time expansion, you can invite this long-haired villager to be a part of your valley. Here's how to make it happen.

How to unlock Rapunzel in Disney Dreamlight Valley



To unlock Rapunzel, you'll need to have access to the A Rift in Time expansion. Once you've made your way through its opening hours, you'll eventually gain access to The Grasslands, where you can find Rapunzel hanging out on the far left of the biome behind a waterfall.

Speak to Rapunzel, then use your hourglass tool to clear the nearby gray floating rocks. Talk to Rapunzel right after, at which point she'll ask you to seek out two more gray floating rocks containing Sun Core pieces--one at The Docks and the other in The Plains. These are in random spots in the biomes, so just keep removing the gray floating rocks until you get the other two Sun Core pieces, then create the Sun Core at a crafting bench.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Avatar And Avatar: The Way Of Water Are Getting Multiple Collector's Editions This Month

Several new home video editions of James Cameron's Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water will launch later this month. The biggest of the new releases are the new Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water 4K Collector's editions, which feature multiple versions of the films plus tons of all-new special features. There are also new steelbook versions and 3D Blu-ray releases as well--and all of them launch on December 19, just in time for a last-minute holiday gift.

Let's unpack all the upcoming Avatar and Avatar: Way of Water releases and where you can preorder them.

Preorder Avatar: The Way of Water 4K Collector's edition



$42-$45



Avatar: The Way of Water 4K Collector's edition is a four-disc box set that includes the movie in 4K UHD, standard Blu-ray, and digital formats. You also get eight hours of bonus material like behind-the-scenes featurettes, new deleted scenes, and more. The entire set is packaged in a fold-out case featuring unique artwork from the movie.

Avatar: The Way of Water 4K Collector's Edition will launch on December 19 for $45, but you can preorder it for just $42 at Amazon and Walmart. Preorders are also available for $45 at Best Buy.

For those who don't want to wait, the standard edition of Avatar: The Way of Water dropped earlier this year and is available now in 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD formats at Amazon. Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Walmart Preorder at Best Buy

Preorder Avatar 4K Collector's Edition



$45-$50



The original Avatar film is also getting a new Collector's Edition on December 19. The box set includes the theatrical, special edition, and extended cuts of Avatar in 4K, standard Blu-ray, and digital download formats, plus 10 hours of special features--much of which was not included in any other Avatar home video release. Preorders are available for $45 at Best Buy or $50 at Walmart--though we expect one or both retailers will change their prices to match before release. Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Walmart

Preorder Avatar 4K Steelbook Edition



$42



Along with the new Collector's edition, a new Avatar 4K steelbook version is also dropping on December 19, exclusively at Best Buy. The three-disc set includes 4K and standard Blu-ray copies of the film, plus digital download codes. You can preorder the Avatar 4K steelbook version for $42 at Best Buy.

You can also complete the collection with the Avatar: The Way of Water steelbook edition that released earlier this year. It's available for $39 at Best Buy. Preorder at Best Buy

Preorder Avatar 3D



$35



The last of the upcoming Avatar home video releases is a new 3D Blu-ray version of the original Avatar. This three-disc set includes the movie in 3D Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray formats, plus a digital download code. Disc three features three hours of bonus content, including documentaries on the the film's production and cultural impact. The new Avatar 3D Blu-ray version drops on December 19, but you can preorder it now for $35 at Amazon and Walmart.

It's worth noting that Avatar: Way of Water is also available in 3D Blu-ray for $32 at Best Buy or $34 at Walmart. Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Walmart

These new Avatar Blu-ray sets aren't the only big Avatar releases dropping this month. Ubisoft's new open-world action-adventure game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora launches for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on December 7, and promises to take players to never-before-seen regions of Pandora. Check out GameSpot's latest Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coverage for more information on the game, or check our preorder guide for where you can purchase it ahead of launch.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Sony Announces Season Of Play Holiday Activities And Bonuses

Sony has announced its PlayStation Plus Season of Play event will start on December 5, running all the way through the holidays until January 5. The event will include bonuses and discounts on PlayStation products, tournaments, a free online multiplayer weekend, and Crunchyroll titles coming to Sony's streaming service.

Despite being a part of PlayStation Plus, not all the Season of Play events require you to have a membership. Non-members and members alike will be able to redeem free avatars for PS4 and PS% commemorating some of PlayStation Plus's most popular titles. All players can also get a 15% discount on PlayStation merch over the holidays using the code SEASONOFPLAY15.

Sony is also running a competition to win a PS5 console and a 12 month subscription to PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe, the most expensive PS+ subscription tier. Unlike the rest of the Season of Play activities, the competition won't pop up on the PS+ homepage until December 19. To enter, Sony says players will have to answer five questions about the PS+ gaming catalog, though it's unclear if this will be a trivia-style competition or something more like a survey.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Monday 4 December 2023

PlayStation Access Controller Is One Small Step For Sony, One Giant Leap For Players With Disabilities

The world of adaptive controllers can often feel expensive and overly complicated for a player with disabilities. Paying $100-plus for a base controller and then an extra $80-plus for extensions that you aren't sure will work for you feels intimidating and, at the end of the day, like a significant investment for something that may not provide the ideal experience. However, adaptive, ergonomically designed, and affordable equipment is a hole in the market that Sony is now attempting to fill with the Access controller. After using it for a week in my own setup and with a variety of games, it is a significant first step towards an accessible controller for the PS5 and something that the industry can learn from.

What sets the Access controller apart is the ability to easily customize it right out of the box. Where many other adaptive controllers require you to purchase outside equipment, this one has a base setup of 8 pillow cap plates, a touchpad in the middle, and an adjustable joystick. You can change these button plates with a simple press and pull, as each plate is magnetic and snaps on. The kit also comes with three joystick caps you can easily change. This allows for independent setup and movement, and the size and shape of the controller also save desk space and lessen the cognitive load caused by having buttons and switches spread out on your setup. Still, if you use buttons and switches, there are four expansion ports on the controller for them, and if you already have the Xbox Adaptive kit, your switches will also work with the Access controller. The controller is also mountable anywhere, so you don't have to hold it.

The versatility and ease-of-use of the Access controller is reflected very well in the PlayStation 5. The tutorial for setup is highly detailed and easy to go through. Up to 30 profiles can be created to store different control schemes. You can position the controller in any way that's comfortable for you and map your buttons, and there are labels included for you to pin on your buttons.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Vampire Survivors Adventures Update Arrives On Xbox And PC December 6, Mobile And Switch Later

Vampire Survivors is adding Adventures in its 1.8 update, coming to PC and Xbox on December 6. Adventures are small, "self-contained" stories that reset and remix the gameplay of Vampire Survivors. The update is also coming to the Nintendo Switch and mobile versions, but a later, unknown date.

The trailer for version 1.8, titled The Deeplorable Update, shows a taste of the Adventure mode. There are three Adventures shown in the trailer, A Garlic Paradise, World of Light and Dark, and Legacy of the Moonspell, with the last one only available for owners of the DLC of the same name. Each Adventure has over a dozen chapters, and has a limited selection of characters to choose from.

The description states that the Adventures will reset the gameplay, which implies that your character unlocks and stat upgrades won't carry over, providing a new challenge for anyone that has cleared the main game prior to this update. It's not immediately clear how much new content will be in these Adventures, as the chapter shown reuses the original map, but there is a brief shot showing a new area and new NPC.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Call Of Duty Mobile Season 11 Brings Winter Events And Lets Players Plant Holiday Trees

Season 11 of Call of Duty Mobile is arriving soon, and the big update is themed around the upcoming winter holiday. Call of Duty's latest blog post details what players can expect for Season 11, including holiday themed map changes, a brand-new battle pass, and more.

Call of Duty Mobile Season 11: Siren Song arrives on December 6 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET. Season 11 includes a brand-new battle pass with 50 tiers of free and premium items, including new operator skins, weapon blueprints, CoD Points, and various winter-themed cosmetics.

One of the highlights within the free tiers of the battle pass is the Misdirection battle royale class at Tier 14, which is a new class type designed to disorient enemies. At Tier 21, players can unlock the Groza assault rifle from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Overwatch 2 Season 8 Introduces A New Tank Hero And Weapon Skins

Overwatch 2 Season 8: Call of the Hunt introduces a new tank hero and weapon skins. The new beast hunting season features a PvPvE mode, along with two returning holiday events, Winter Wonderland and Lunar New Year.

Detailed in a Blizzard blog post, Overwatch 2 Season 8 kicks off on December 5, adding the new tank hero Mauga, who can be unlocked via the battle pass--either instantly for the premium version or at tier 45 in the free version--along with the introduction of weapon skins. Mercy, Reinhardt, and Reaper will all get Hard Light weapon skins, which can be used with any other hero skin. Prior to this, the only weapon skins in Overwatch 2 were the golden guns, which were unlocked with points earned by playing competitive matches.

The new season is called Call of the Hunt, with multiple beast hunter inspired skins for heroes like Junker Queen, Mauga, and Ana. Like previous seasons, some of these skins will be in the premium battle pass and some will be sold in the shop throughout the season. The Mythic skin, which is the final premium reward in the battle pass, is an Orisa skin that turns her into a dangerous beast. This theme also inspired the new arcade mode, which has two teams of four competing to take down a boss version of Orisa.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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The Best White/Red/Green Commanders In MTG

What are the best white/red/green commanders in MTG's Commander format? Let's find out.


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Sunday 3 December 2023

Most Anticipated Xbox Series X|S Games Of 2024

Check out the most highly anticipated games launching on the Xbox Series X|S consoles in 2024!


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It Really Seems Like TMNT Is Coming To Fortnite Soon

It's starting to look very much like Fortnite Chapter 5 could deliver one of the most-anticipated collaborations in Fortnite's history: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While not yet confirmed, there are several pieces of very compelling evidence, including plenty of new stuff that was added to the game with the Chapter 5 patch, and two details that were introduced in the season trailer.

The first detail that caught everyone's eye was a glowing manhole cover in the trailer--the Turtles live in the sewer, after all--and then at the end of the trailer, in the fine print that you can read over the season key art, it lists a copyright notice by Viacom, the parent conglomerate of Paramount Pictures that owns the TMNT brand. It was tough not to jump to conclusions based on those two things. Fortunately, we've got even more evidence now that Fortnite dataminers have had time to look through the Chapter 5 files.

After actually playing some matches in Chapter 5, it turns out that the manholes currently function the same way as the old portal toilets--you jump in one manhole and pop out of another one some ways away. While there's nothing inherently TMNT-related about that, the manholes really are a TMNT thing, according to dataminers who have discovered a TMNT lair in the files that you'll be able to access through TMNT-branded manholes in the future.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Mortal Kombat 1 Quan Chi Trailer Shows The Sinister Sorcerer In Action

After Ed Boon teased an upcoming Mortal Kombat 1 update just before the weekend, NetherRealm Studios has released a gameplay trailer for Quan Chi, the next character to join the MK1 roster. He’ll make his debut on December 14.

The trailer shows off the sorcerer’s ability to summon portals to the NetherRealm and use them to his advantage, both through teleportation and special attacks. In one instance, we see a massive tentacle come through a portal and slam his opponent on the floor, while in another, Quan Chi himself jumps through a portal and lands on top of his foe.

The next Kameo fighter, Khameleon, is also featured in the video, and she uses a combination of moves from some of Mortal Kombat’s most famous femme fatales--Kitana, Mileena, and Jade--to help Quan Chi in battle. The trailer ends with a small glimpse at the next downloadable character, DC Comics’ Peacemaker, whose likeness and voice will be provided by John Cena himself.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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How To Get A Free Lego-Themed Skin In Fortnite Chapter 5

With Saturday's The Big Bang event, Epic and Lego finally revealed the long-rumored Lego Fortnite, a free new open-world survival crafting game inside Fortnite. But even if you don't care about Legos, or if that mode doesn't sound enticing, you can still benefit from it: Anyone who links a free Lego Insider account (make one here) with their Epic account will get a free Lego-themed skin for Battle Royale.Both versions of the free Explorer Emlie skin

This skin, Explorer Emilie, includes both a regular skin that you can use in battle royale or any of the other Creative modes that already existed, as well as a Lego version for Lego Fortnite. So even brand-new players can quickly earn a skin without paying a dime. That makes two free Fortnite skins currently available, alongside the Runway Racer outfit that you can earn by gaining 50 account levels before the end of the year.

The Explorer Emilie skin is not yet available, but will show up when Lego Fortnite goes live in a few days on December 7. But you can go ahead and take the steps needed to get her right now, and she'll appear in your locker as soon as she's available. Explorer Emilie is one of many Fortnite skins to have both a standard and a Lego version--more than 1200 existing skins will translate to Lego Fortnite like that.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Fortnite Map Changes In Chapter 5 Season 1: Trains, Bosses, And More

There's a whole new world to explore in Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 thanks to the new Fortnite map. On the Fortnite battle royale island, you'll find a ton of sites to explore, new ways to move about the world, and new enemy threats. Here's everything you need to know about the Fortnite Chapter 5 map.

Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 map changes



The new map continues a trend of featuring multiple biomes, including grasslands, desert, forest, and a frozen tundra. New named locations can be found in each of these, of course, alongside many smaller landmarks not mentioned on the map and just waiting to be discovered.

Some of the games places of interest (POIs) include Ritzy Riviera, a marina in the west, Rebel's Roost, a mansion in the northern forest, Hazy Hillside atop an alpine village, and the Grand Glacier Hotel, which I will enjoy pretending is The Overlook from The Shining.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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Saturday 2 December 2023

Fortnite Is Getting A Lego Game, An Arcade Racer, And A Rock Band Successor All This Week

With Chapter 5 of Fortnite expected to begin this weekend, Epic is revealing big plans for the future. Lego Fortnite, as the simple name suggests, is a huge collaboration years in the making. It's a new free game that will live inside Fortnite starting on December 7, and is playable solo or in multiplayer with others.

Though we've yet to see much of the survival-crafting game, it's presumed that it will play something like Minecraft or Lego Worlds, the Lego Group's previous step into the genre. With Lego Fortnite, Epic and the Lego Group are kicking off a years-long collaboration that was previously announced but yet to bear fruit.

Lego says the partnership with Epic is designed to create fun and safe digital spaces for children and families. It has long been understood that the Lego-Epic collaboration is seen as a step into the metaverse of which Epic CEO Tim Sweeney often speaks.Continue Reading at GameSpot


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