No matter how long and tiresome your week is, there’s at least one thing you can look forward to by the time you make it to Friday: Steam’s free-to-play weekend games will be live. This weekend, only one title is available as a free-to-play exclusive, but it’s a big one: XCOM 2, a turn-based strategy game where you command a resistance group of soldiers fighting back against aliens who have captured and now dominate Earth.

From now until Sunday, March 24 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 8 PM GMT (or March 25 at 7 AM AET), you can play XCOM 2 completely for free on Steam–and if you love the game, be sure to grab it at its current steep discount of $15 / £11.37 / AU $21.16 (normally $60). It’ll be on sale until Monday, March 25 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 5 PM GMT (or March 26 at 4 AM AET). The XCOM 2 Collection, its Digital Deluxe edition, and various DLC are marked down as well.

XCOM 2 takes places two decades after XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the series’ 2012 reboot. You play as the commander of XCOM, a military organization working to sabotage and bring down the alien regime that now occupies Earth. Stealth and strategy play an even bigger role in this sequel, which allows for sneaking around enemies and planning thrilling ambushes. The game earned a 9/10 in GameSpot’s XCOM 2 review for its nuanced strategy, compelling characters, and the critical decisions you’re forced to make.

“Time keeps ticking in XCOM 2, and the best we can do is make the right choices when we have the chance,” wrote GameSpot’s Mike Mahardy. “XCOM 2 imparts the weight of those decisions, and that’s what makes it extraordinary. It’s mathematical, emotional, and thoughtful all at once. It’s exhilarating, even in the face of failure. It’s compelling, even though we often lose. Victory is the goal, but that’s just an afterthought here–it’s the complex journey that counts.”

Play XCOM 2 for free on Steam »

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-2-is-free-to-play-and-75-off-on-steam-this-we/1100-6465774/

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the team behind the Yakuza series, has provided an update on its upcoming PS4 title Judgement. The game became embroiled in a controversy when Japanese voice actor Pierre Taki was linked to drug use, something which is treated very severely in Japan. In a tweet, the developer said the character model and voice for Taki’s character, Kyohei Hamura, will be adjusted for its western release.

Additionally, screenshots and trailers featuring Taki’s character have been “temporarily removed from all of Sega’s official channels.” In the future, this material will be made available again with the adjustments reflected in them, Sega confirmed.

Judgement is already available in Japan, but sales of the game were halted while the investigation surrounding the drug use was conducted. Taki later admitted to using cocaine and tested positive for it. Judgement’s western release date has not been delayed and it will be available on June 25.

As previously mentioned, Japan has very strict drug laws and the use of drugs has severe consequences, especially for those in the public eye. In addition to being removed from Judgement by Sega, Disney has also stopped sales of Frozen, in which Taki voices Olaf. Japanese publication Asahi News has reported that Disney is also looking at replacing him for Frozen 2.

Judgment is a narrative-driven game that serves as a spin-off from the Yakuza series. Players assume the role of investigator Takayuki Yagami, who is looking into grisly crimes in Kamurocho, which is the Kabukicho, Tokyo-inspired setting for the Yakuza games.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/judgements-western-release-date-unchanged-actor-ca/1100-6465772/

Most of your time in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is spent dueling with swords, deflecting enemy attacks and striking back in order to overwhelm your opponent and open them up for devastating deathblows. But some enemies are tougher to deal with than others, and no amount of fancy sword work can break something like a sturdy shield. That’s where the Shinobi Prosthetic and its various tools come in, providing you options on the battlefield that are great for dealing with specific kinds of enemies.

You won’t start out with many tools for the Shinobi Prosthetic in Sekiro, though–you have to locate them in the world and bring them back to the Sculptor in the Dilapidated Temple in order to access them. That means that plenty of them are easy to miss, and not finding the right prosthetics can at the right time can put you at a serious disadvantage against some of the game’s tough bosses and mid-bosses. You’ll also lack the means to defeat some of the more irritating regular enemies until you find the right tools.

The Shinobi Axe is one of the early prosthetics that you’ll definitely want, since it’s great for smashing through shields and the wooden hats of the small but tough Senpou assassins. If you don’t search around enough, though, you can walk right past the axe, and that’ll make your progress a little more irritating. Here’s everything you need to know to snag this early prosthetic tool, and while you’re at it, you might want to check out our Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review, and our rundown of how death and Dragonrot work in the game.

Visit Ashina Outskirts To Find The Estate

The Shinobi Axe is actually located in the Hirata Estate, a place you can only access through a specific quest item that lets you visit one of the Wolf’s old memories. The item you need is a bell that you can get from a character early on in the first area you visit, the Ashina Outskirts. Head to the Outskirts Wall–Gate Path area, past the samurai mid-boss you’ll fight near when you arrive. In the next, more open area, you’ll find lots of enemies patrolling around, and several blasted-out houses. Inside one is an old woman who thinks you’re her son when you speak to her. If you let her believe it, she’ll give you a bell and ask you to make an offering to Buddha.

That bell is the quest item you’re looking for. Take it back to the Dilapidated Temple and offer it to the Buddha statue near the Sculptor. That’ll give you access to the Hirata Estate level three years in the past.

Make Your Way Through The Estate

Once you’re in the Estate, you’ll need to progress to a specific area. Fight through the first section until you reach the Idol marked “Estate Path.” It’s this section where you’ll find the Shinobi Axe, although you’ll have to do a little work to reach it.

At the idol, you’ll be on a path that leads through some enemies to a closed gate. To get around the gate, you’ll need to hop over the wall on the right of the path and head past some huts and houses. If you’ve already found the Flame Vent prosthetic, you’ll need to go past that to get to the Axe. Advance through the yards until you pass an area with a row of huts, where a bunch of enemies are hanging out by a campfire. The path ahead of the campfire will take you back onto the main road, on the other side of the gate you couldn’t open. You should pass an injured samurai who tells you the Shinobi Axe is located in a nearby shrine.

Finding The Shrine

As you pass the samurai and come back out on the main road, you’ll be able to turn either left or right. To the right, you’ll see two enemies standing at a gate where you can eavesdrop on them. Instead, turn left, heading toward the locked gate. Jump up on the wall on your left and you’ll see two more enemies talking just beyond. Picking up their conversation reveals they’re talking about burning a nearby building, which they call a shrine. That’s the place you’re looking for.

Drop down and take out those two guys, then open the small square building to find the Shinobi Axe inside. You’ll need to return to an Idol Statue so you can travel back to the Dilapidated Temple and get the Sculptor to fit the Axe to your prosthetic, but you can do that quickly by opening that locked gate–it opens from the side you’re on, giving you a quick path back to the Idol.

Once you have the Axe, use it to stagger baddies with a big, powerful attack, and to smash anybody’s shields. You’ll find those shield-wielding enemies just up ahead on the main path through Hirata, so you’re going to want to get the Axe ready to go as soon as you can.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-where-to-find-the-shinobi/1100-6465776/

The Shinobi Prosthetic packs some of your best weapons and tools in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Once you unlock the special prosthetic arm, you can use it to grapple up to hard-to-reach places and switch between things like a flame thrower, a big axe, and distracting firecrackers to help you deal with various enemies.

The trouble is, those prosthetic tools aren’t always easy to come by. In fact, they’re mostly hidden in the game world, and you need to track them down in order to use them. They’re definitely worth searching for, too, as they can give you an edge against a lot of different enemies, including bosses. One of those is the Flame Vent, a Shinobi Prosthetic that can blast enemies with fire, dealing burning damage that can persist over time. You can pair it with oil that you’ll find all over the place in Ashina, which can make the burning effects even more powerful.

The Flame Vent prosthetic is good against specific, powerful enemies and bosses. Bad guys with red, glowing eyes are berserkers who aren’t staggered by your attacks, so they can be tough to deal with. But as a rule, those guys are scared of fire, so once you have the Flame Vent, you can use it to make them recoil, giving you a second to heal or an opening to deal some major damage.

Here’s everything you have to do to find the Flame Vent as early as you can, so you’ll have it to deal with some early bosses. While you’re at it, you might want to check out our Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review, and our rundown of how death and Dragonrot work in the game.

Head To Ashina Outskirts

Your first stop is the Outskirts Wall–Gate Path area. From the Idol Statue, head forward past the samurai general mini-boss, into the area beyond. In that section, down some stairs, you’ll find a blasted house with a woman inside. Talk to her and she’ll ask if you’re her son; if you let her believe you’re her son, she’ll give you a bell to use as an offering. Bring it back to the Dilapidated Temple and use it at the Buddha statue beside the Sculptor. The bell will transport you to Hirata Estate and a memory of an attack there three years earlier.

Continue To Estate Path

Hirata is a fairly lengthy level with lots of enemies to kill along the way. Keep pushing into the compound until you hit an Idol Statue that marks the location as the Estate Path. You’ll be on a pathway up toward a gate, which you’ll find locked. That’ll force you to the right of the path, over a wall and into some yards with huts and houses, and more enemies.

Keep pushing to the right until you hit an area with rows of huts. You’ll find enemies patrolling here, as well as one archer hanging out on the roof of one of the rows. Clear the area, then push up toward the archer. You’ll see several enemies hanging out around a campfire. You’ll need to kill them to get what you came for.

Check The Campfire

Once all the enemies are dead, get close to the campfire. You should get a button prompt there that’ll let you pull the Fire Barrel out of the flames. Return to the Sculptor at the Dilapidated Temple and he’ll turn the Fire Barrel into the Flame Vent prosthetic tool. Use it to blast fire onto enemies; you’ll also eventually be able to upgrade it to shoot flames further.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-guide-where-to-find-the-f/1100-6465766/

Alan Wake and Quantum Break developer Remedy has confirmed the release date of its newest project, Control. The action-adventure title will launch for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 27.

Remedy confirmed the news to Eurogamer following rumors sparked by a leaked Xbox Store listing. The game was first revealed at E3 2018, where it quickly became one of our most anticipated games.

Control stars Jesse Faden, a woman with supernatural abilities. At the game’s start, Jesse breaks into the Federal Bureau of Control–a fictional government agency that researches ways to explain and exploit paranormal phenomenon–in order to discover the truth about the origin of her powers. Her infiltration, however, runs into a snag, and she’s suddenly thrust into a fight to protect the Bureau as its new director.

Jesse’s powerful supernatural abilities allow her to wield telekinesis to rip apart the environment, or lift herself up and fly through the air. She can also seize the minds of others, bending them to her will and forcing them to fight alongside her.

Game director Mikael Kasurinen compared the atmosphere of Control to the 2018 movie Annihilation, while Remedy creative director Sam Lake loves that Control gives him the freedom to be weird again. For more, check out some Control gameplay from E3 2018 above.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/control-release-date-announced-for-ps4-xbox-one-an/1100-6465769/