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Fortnite Week 2 Spray And Pray Challenges (Season 10)

Fortnite: Battle Royale has entered its second week of Season X, and there’s a new batch of challenges for Battle Pass holders to complete. The latest set of missions is called Spray and Pray, and as its name suggests, many of the tasks revolve around finding spray cans or spraying certain objects around the map.

Unlike past seasons, which gave Battle Pass holders access to all of a week’s challenges at once, only three of these Spray and Pray challenges will initially be available, with additional tasks unlocking as you complete them. The first asks you to deal damage to opponents with SMGs; the second has you spray a fountain, a junkyard crane, and a vending machine; and the third tasks you with spraying three different gas stations. You can see the full list of Spray and Pray challenges we’ve unlocked below.

As previously mentioned, you’ll need to own a Battle Pass in order to access the Spray and Pray challenges. Whereas past seasons gave all players a selection of missions to complete each week (with additional ones available exclusively to Battle Pass holders), Season X gates most of its challenges behind the pass, so you’ll need to purchase one if you’re hoping to get the most out of the season.

Beyond that, the Battle Pass works the same as before. Completing challenges will net you Battle Stars, which in turn will help you level your Battle Pass up and unlock skins and other cosmetic rewards. If you need help completing any of this season’s missions, you can find all of our tips and guides in our full Season X challenges roundup, which we’ll continue to update as the season rolls on. You can see all the new cosmetics that are up for grabs in our Season X Battle Pass rewards gallery.

In other Fortnite news, developer Epic Games’ recently rolled out the title’s 10.00 content update, which introduced another new gun to the mix: the automatic sniper rifle. Additionally, a Rift Zone has transformed Neo Tilted into the Wild West-themed Titled Town, and a limited-time Arsenal mode is now underway. You can read the full patch notes for the content update on Epic’s website.

Fortnite Season X, Week 2 Spray And Pray Challenges

  • Deal damage with SMGs to opponents (500) — 10 Battle Stars
  • Spray a Fountain, a Junkyard Crane, and a Vending Machine — 10 Battle Stars
  • Spray different Gas Stations (3) — 10 Battle Stars

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-week-2-spray-and-pray-challenges-season-1/1100-6468976/

That Adorable Disney Switch Is Up For Pre-Order–And Ships To The US And UK

A lovely purple-and-pink Nintendo Switch branded to match Disney’s upcoming Tsum Tsum Festival game is now available for pre-order, and if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll be glad to know it ships to the US and UK.

The product is a Japanese exclusive, so you’ll have to go through Amazon Japan or other similar sites to order it. It costs ¥39,688, or roughly $375 USD / £310. That makes it a premium price, but it’s also a unique model. The Joy-Cons and dock are decorated with tiny Mickey Mouse and card suit icons, and the Home button sports little Mickey ears. It’s adorbs. This is also one of the new models that boasts longer battery life to boot. Its planned release date is October 10, 2019.

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See Disney Tsum Tsum Switch on Amazon Japan

Even if you already have an Amazon account, you may need to create an Amazon Japan account in order to proceed to checkout, and you’ll need Google Translate or another tool to make this process easier. On the shipping page during checkout, click “Register a Foreign Address” for international shipping. Note that an import tax might be applied to your order.

We had previously seen the special edition console announced, but it was unclear if it would be coming to the west. It still appears to be Japanese-only for the time being, but Nintendo Switch consoles aren’t region-locked, so you could import the hardware and play all your games as usual.

Nintendo has quite a bit of new hardware coming out over the next several months. Those include new Joy-Con colors and, more significantly, the Switch Lite. The budget-priced redesign of the Nintendo Switch will cost a bit less than the original model, at the expense of the docking functionality. If you’re holding out for a battery-boosted Nintendo Switch but you want the standard blue/red or gray versions, make sure you know how to tell the old models from the new ones.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/that-adorable-disney-switch-is-up-for-pre-order-an/1100-6468977/

Just Cause 4’s Final DLC Gives Rico A Hoverboard

Just Cause 4 released last December, but Rico isn’t finished felling murderous strongmen just yet. Square Enix announced a new chunk of downloadable content, titled Danger Rising, coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on August 29.

Danger Rising follows Rico as he takes on the Agency upon learning it had plans to kill him. It adds a Hoverboard to his arsenal of gadgetry, which appears to operate much like a skateboard complete with rail-grinding and kickflips. That extra mobility will come in handy against the new Agency enemies who sport stronger weaponry than in the main campaign.

The DLC will add eight new missions, new vehicles, and new weapons like the Sequoia 370 Mag-Slug, Stormalong Em Zero magnesis rifle, and remote drone Yellowstone Auto Sniper Rifle. The trailer below shows some of the story beats and Rico’s new tools in action.

This is the third and final part of the Just Cause 4 “Dare Devils, Demons, and Danger” expansion pass, which is priced at $30 / £25 / AUS$45. Pricing for Danger Rising wasn’t included in the announcement, but currently the first two DLC packs are priced at $8 / £6.50 / AUS$12 and $12 / £10 / AUS$18, respectively. The expansion pass also grants you a week of early access to any new DLC.

“Just Cause 4 has incredible moments where beauty and destruction cross with Rico’s ability to zip around the world at a moment’s notice,” Michael Higham wrote in GameSpot’s review. “It’s gratifying and easy to grasp, especially when you’re able to string a series of wingsuit fly-bys, vehicles hijackings, and fiery explosions all in the name of revolution, but those moments are either short-lived or tied to rudimentary missions. You’re given an awesome toolset that paves the way for creativity in a world with too few problems to solve. At a time when open-world games sometimes overstay their welcome, Just Cause 4 is at the other end of the spectrum, where you wish there was more to experience because it has so much going for it.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-4s-final-dlc-gives-rico-a-hoverboard/1100-6468974/

FIFA 20, Volta, And The Law Of Diminishing Returns

I recently got to play FIFA 20 at a preview event in Berlin and, as you might expect, the new game is like the current version, FIFA 19, but a bit different. The passing is a little better, the shooting is a little better, the UI has been tidied up in some areas–you know, the usual fare.

Out of curiosity on my return from Berlin, I booted up an old PS4 copy of FIFA 15, a game released when Ultimate Team was still a relatively new concept, Career Mode was still good, and Steven Gerrard was still the beating heart of Liverpool’s midfield. The five-year-old game holds up remarkably well and feels surprisingly similar to the upcoming FIFA 20. Sure, the newer games are slicker experiences, but FIFA 20 isn’t as far ahead as you might expect, given the five-game gap.

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That’s not a dig at modern FIFA–I have thoroughly enjoyed 19 and it is comfortably my most-played game of the past 10 months. Rather it’s both a compliment to FIFA 15 and a comment on the diminishing returns developers face when making annual games. Despite five years of tweaks, gameplay improvements, a whole new development engine, and new modes like The Journey, we’re not that much further ahead.

This year’s big new mode is the FIFA Street-like Volta, which, on first impression, seems like a deep and engaging addition to the series’ portfolio. Once you’ve built your custom player-character, you’re presented with a world map showing a number of locations you can visit. These places are the battlegrounds that host various types of street football, and they include London, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro, among a bunch of others. You can then travel to these locales to partake in Story matches and city-specific events–some of which can be played against friends’ teams even when they’re offline. Your team in these modes is made of fake characters created specifically for the mode–though the story mode contains some real-life street footballers as ‘boss fights.’ There’s also a Volta Kick-Off submode that allows you to play small-sided matches–3v3 up to 5v5–with players from licensed professional teams like Man Utd or Real Madrid.

Elsewhere, Volta borrows heavily from Ultimate Team: players are represented by cards, whose chemistry is affected by the position you place them in and the formation you decide to play. Your team’s chemistry will also change depending on the type of court they prefer compared to the one they’re playing on–the presence or lack of solid walls on the outer edge, for example, makes quite a large difference to how a game plays out and to the tactics you can exploit. The mode also contains weekly challenges and deep customization options, the latter of which are represented in Overwatch-style fashion by different colors and labels denoting, for example, Epic, Legendary, or Common rarity items. EA says these items are purchasable using in-game currency only, with no microtransactions present at launch.

Aside from these customization options, such as hats, jerseys, and boots, the long-term appeal of Volta appears to be driven by multiplayer matches against your friends and their teams, as well as striving to accumulate the best players. (When you beat another team, you can pick a player to steal to join your own squad, though that player will also remain as part of their existing squad.)

Volta matches themselves feel very reminiscent of the 2012 FIFA Street reboot–while there is a greater focus on skills and showing off than is found in regular soccer, it’s not as over-the-top as the previous Street games were. There are no gamebreakers or classes, and the control scheme carries over from regular FIFA, a move EA says is designed to help players transition between the two otherwise diametrically opposed ways of playing. In that respect, it seems a successful move–and bouncing balls off walls and nutmegging opposition players before getting on your hands and knees to head a ball over the line is thrilling–but it did feel a little like I was straining against the control scheme in order to achieve such feats. It’s as if the framing was just a little too much like standard FIFA to enable the great moments to flow. Hopefully EA can tighten this up in the remaining weeks before launch.

I found the integration of Volta’s multiplayer and single-player submodes and its AI-driven community squads a little confusing, so I’m eager to get my hands on the mode again when the final game launches at the end of September. My initial instincts say Volta will be a fun option that I’ll dip in and out of throughout the year when I grow tired of Ultimate Team or Career Mode, rather than a main draw like either of those two. However, at least Volta’s appeal appears to be longer-lasting than that of The Journey, which, while I enjoyed, held little to no long-term value.

Volta is a refreshing new way to play FIFA, then, but what happens on the pitch still doesn’t feel significantly different to what came before. This is a problem many games faced toward the end of the last console generation. The reality is that when hardware stays the same, developers can only achieve so much–especially when they face the continual deadlines of annual releases and increasing pressure to update existing games as live services. This issue is not unique to FIFA, and PES has suffered from a similar deceleration in gameplay improvements. The games are still getting better and steps forward are still being made–they’re just smaller with each passing year.

This is reflected in the way the series are developed and marketed these days. EA and Konami focus less on gameplay enhancements and their somewhat ridiculous buzzword labels–Elite Technique, Pro Instincts, Hyper Shooting, Super Space Auto Tackling 2.0, that kind of thing–and more on entire new modes or aesthetic changes. Konami has gone all-out on its license acquisitions this year, for example, while EA points to FUT and Volta before it gets to what’s changed on the pitch. This isn’t necessarily a problem, since we’re still getting cool new features to make it worth forking out every year, but maybe, for the time being, we need to adjust our expectations of what developers can achieve in yearly development cycles.

With the next generation of consoles on the horizon, I’m sure a revolution is coming for football games. Until then, we’ll have to make do with an entirely new mode that, while not groundbreaking, is an enjoyable alternative to the modes we’ve come to know and love (and, occasionally, hate). I suppose Volta could be summed up as being like standard FIFA 20–but a bit different. How very modern.

FIFA 20 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC–with legacy editions coming to Switch and older platforms–on September 27.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fifa-20-volta-and-the-law-of-diminishing-returns/1100-6468973/

SteamWorld Quest Update Adding New Game Plus, New Difficulty, And More

SteamWorld Quest is getting a major update that adds loads of new features, especially for players who have already completed the campaign. The SteamWorld Quest 2.0 update will drop on August 8, bringing a new difficulty mode, New Game Plus, and more.

The New Game Plus mode will let you replay the game from the beginning and you’ll have access to all of a character’s previously unlocked cards as soon as they join you in the story. A new Legend Remix difficulty is even tougher than the usual Legendary setting, and as it’s a remix, it also adds modifiers to some encounters. That difficulty option is only available through New Game Plus. The update will also add an art gallery and jukebox, so you can check out concept art and illustrations and listen to the soundtrack.

Other changes include HD Rumble for the Nintendo Switch tournament, more consumable items at the merchant’s wagon, easier access to the Midas Grand Prix tournament, and other balance tweaks and bug fixes. The announcement also teased that the game is coming to other platforms soon, and that a physical version is incoming.

To mark the update, developer Image & Form is discounting the game by 20% on Nintendo Switch and PC.

SteamWorld Quest is the latest in Image & Form’s SteamWorld series, which regularly explores different genres. It’s been home to a tower defense game, an action-platformer, and a strategy game. SteamWorld Quest is the studio’s take on classic RPGs, with a card-battling mechanic at the heart of the combat system.

“Quest gives you a lot of complex combinations to play around with while also keeping things approachable enough to not feel daunting,” Alessandro Barbosa wrote in GameSpot’s review. “Its uneven difficulty saps some enjoyment out of the otherwise whimsical journey through this new and gorgeous kingdom, but it’s still one that is admirably accessible while deep enough to be engaging throughout its 20-hour adventure.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steamworld-quest-update-adding-new-game-plus-new-d/1100-6468970/

What The Hell Is Metal Wolf Chaos?

Before the days of the stoic Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software was a niche developer nestled between regular releases of the mecha-action series Armored Core and the occasional oddball side project. Fifteen years ago, the developer released a game that blended its talents for mech combat and off-the-wall humor: Metal Wolf Chaos. Developed for the original Xbox, this action satire puts you in the role of the 47th President of the United States, Michael Wilson, who embarks on a high-octane trip across America fighting mech, soldier, and other machines of war following a coup led by vice president Richard Hawk.

Essentially a pastiche of action films, Saturday morning cartoons, and Japanese mecha anime, Metal Wolf Chaos pokes a lot of fun at American culture, embodied by the lead character who also happens to the leader of the free world. It’s a setup that seemed like it would have made for a decent third-person shooter for the North American audience–however, it would never arrive in the West. The original Metal Wolf Chaos for the Xbox was a Japan-only release, positioned as a hardcore action game intended to attract new players to the system. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t make much of a dent in the market, and its release came and went. Now in 2019, From Software and Devolver Digital have released Metal Wolf Chaos XD, a revival of the forgotten game for modern platforms. Out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, it’s not often to see a game that has lived a second life as an internet meme return for a third with a remaster.

What makes the circumstances surrounding Metal Wolf Chaos’ original release so strange was that the intended audience for its ridiculous satire of American culture was, ironically, unable to play the game. From Software never provided an official reason as to why Metal Wolf Chaos never made it to the West. However, publishers at the time were already in the transitional phase for the upcoming Xbox 360, and the game’s satire of terrorism and American culture on soon-to-be outdated hardware likely made it a tough sell. Developed on a budget and in under a year by 30 developers, Metal Wolf Chaos keeps things simple, leaning heavily on the over-the-top mech action with its revolving set of weaponry. President Wilson’s trek across the country to restore the so-called American way of life is emphasized with his mantra of “believing in your own justice,” which puts a certain gravitas behind the game.

In an interview with Destructoid, From Software producer Masanori Takeuchi described their approach to interpreting American culture, and how it was intended to attract both Western and Japanese audiences.

“It is America as perceived by the Japanese. It’s completely fictional, but at the time, it was our idea of this ideology of American culture and comic book heroes, and we pieced that together and it became the president piloting the mech,” Takeuchi said. “We think that when Japanese look at it that way, from the American point of view, it’s almost like how they imagine a Japanese ninja, and sort of the same ideologies, the same kind of fantasy, so it goes two ways.”

To put things into proper perspective, Metal Wolf Chaos is a political game–even when it focuses on fun. Its original release came during the height of Bush-era jingoism following the events of September 11, 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The style and tone of Metal Wolf Chaos are all about America, and the main plot often comes across like a Hollywood fantasy. The lead character, the strongwilled and capable US president, takes matters into his own hands to fight back against the invasion of the country, taking advantage of America’s ease of access to guns to do so. The game opens with the president of the United States piloting his mech, shouting “Let’s Party!” as he faces off against Hawk’s homegrown militia. From this intro alone, you know you’re in for something of a farce. To play Metal Wolf Chaos is to contend with a barrage of one-liners, melodrama, and cheesy platitudes of what it means to be an American–and it does everything with the utmost sincerity. It’s essentially a Japanese anime honed through an American fetishized lense crafted by Michael Bay.

Though North America missed out on the full game, some western players had the chance to try a short demo of the game thanks to the Official Xbox Magazine. With every issue, readers also received a complimentary demo disc. This particular disc featured a hidden demo for Metal Wolf Chaos, allowing players to jump into the game’s early levels set in San Francisco. Unless you owned an imported Japanese Xbox or modified your system to play games region-free, this would be the only way for Western players to experience the game.

In the years since its release, Metal Wolf Chaos garnered a cult following in the West. This was due to the game receiving something of a revival in YouTube Let’s Play videos and internet memes highlighting select moments. But in 2016, indie publisher Devovler Digital–who’s past works included Hotline Miami and the Shadow Warrior reboot–reached out to From Software on Twitter, offering to get the game released in the West. Devolver even used the hashtag #FreeMetalWolf in their offer to the developer. After the tweet went viral, Devolver Digital and From Software began their collaboration on a remaster for modern consoles.

When compared to the original, Metal Wolf Chaos XD keeps things faithful to the original–low polycount and all. Some notable changes, however, include the upgraded resolution to play at 4K, along with a new save system, removing the original’s notoriously taxing process. Metal Wolf Chaos is a pure action game, leaving most of its main story beats for mission bookends. It’s a very low-budget game, and it shows. In a way, though, the low budget ends up creating an aesthetic that offers some added charm to Metal Wolf Chaos’s ridiculous plot and mostly straightforward, objective-driven gameplay. In that regard, it fills that similar “so bizarre, it’s good” space that Swery65’s Deadly Premonition inhabited.

Playing through the game now, however, it’s hard not to draw parallels with the events and storytelling tropes of the game and today’s political climate. With homegrown terrorism, fascism, and propaganda on the rise, it can make some of the events of the game feel eerie–even when its story is totally absurd. Between levels, you’re treated to breaking news segments from major news channels where your battles against the Hawk’s militia are intentionally misconstrued and repackaged as propaganda. Essentially, fake news.

That’s not to say Metal Wolf Chaos is prophetic. But rather, From Software had an awareness of the inherent ridiculousness of American jingoism in 2004 and the absurd results that it could foster. Though we don’t have mechs in 2019, the level of overt patriotism on display in Metal Wolf Chaos isn’t that foreign. Playing through this satire of American culture can be a fun trip down memory lane circa 2004. Yet, there’s an interesting topic of discussion to be found in this game. In many ways, the tone and plot of this cult hit lands harder now then it did before–likely more than the creators ever imagined.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-the-hell-is-metal-wolf-chaos/1100-6468968/

New Hades Update Out Now, Adds New Area And Final Boss

Supergiant Games has released a new update for Hades. Still in early access, the game receives a bunch of content in this update–including new weapons and powers as well as gameplay changes to certain enemies and items.

This latest patch is Hades’ sixth major update, adding a brand-new location at the very edge of the Underworld for you to explore. “We’re actively working on [Hades] based on our plans and your feedback,” Supergiant Games wrote in the patch notes. “We expect to keep adding features, characters, weapons, foes, powers, environments, and more, while expanding the story and fine-tuning all aspects of the experience.”

Supergiant Games hasn’t announced when Hades will leave early access, but this latest update suggests the game could possibly officially release soon. The new area, Temple of Styx, adds more story elements and includes the game’s final battle, so Hades now has both a beginning and an end. Other notable highlights in the update include gameplay reworks, such as the ability to call upon divine aid more often and the addition of new Boons and “Duo” Boons. The update also adds two new pieces of music to the game’s soundtrack.

Hades is an Epic Games Store exclusive, offered for free on the PC digital storefront from day one as an incentive to download the launcher. The full patch notes for Hades’ latest update can be found below.

Hades August 6 Update Full Patch Notes

General Gameplay

  • Boss foes switch between phases faster (their invulnerability periods are shorter)
  • Knock-away effects now work against boss foes
  • Trial of the Gods: spurned gods’ Boons no longer have reduced rarity; they may offer ‘Exchange’ Boons for Boons from the other god
  • Slightly reduced the length of each biome (since completing a run now takes longer than before)
  • Increased healing from Death Defiance effects
  • After clearing Encounters, Chamber doors should unlock slightly faster than before
  • Pool of Purging: newly added! Look for these in chambers from time to time
  • Increased value of Charon’s Obol Chamber Rewards and gifts from Sisyphus
  • Wall Slam damage scales up in each successive biome
  • Health pick-ups no longer block projectiles

Weapons & Powers

  • Heart-Seeking Bow: increased damage of main Attack (Dash Attack is unchanged)
  • Shield of Chaos: returns sooner after the Throw special if there are no other foes near it
  • Various improvements and fixes to input buffering

Boons & Blessings

  • Reworked and renamed Wrath and all Wrath Boons: now you can Call for Olympian aid more often, or use your entire God Gauge for an ultra-powered effect like before
  • Billowing Strength (Zeus): newly added!
  • Thunder Dash (Zeus): normalized base power level
  • Tempest Strike (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
  • Tempest Flourish (Poseidon): slightly reduced power level
  • Divine Strike (Athena): slightly increased power level
  • Proud Bearing (Athena): increased power level
  • Heartbreak Strike (Aphrodite): slightly increased power level
  • Life Affirmation (Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Impending Doom (Ares): newly added!
  • Clean Kill (Artemis): reduced power level
  • Fully Loaded (Artemis): no longer upgradeable using Poms
  • Tipsy Shot (Dionysus): now enhanced by Rapid Cast (Hermes)
  • Second Wind (Hermes): newly added!
  • Greater Recall (Hermes): newly added!
  • Greater Evasion (Hermes): reduced power level of Rare and Epic rarity
  • Passing Through (Hermes): reduced power level
  • Second Wind (Hermes): reduced power level
  • Lightning Phalanx (Zeus x Athena): newly added!
  • Vengeful Mood (Zeus x Ares): newly added!
  • Freak Accident (Zeus x Artemis): cut from game; replaced with…
  • Lightning Rod (Zeus x Artemis): newly added!
  • Sweet Nectar (Poseidon x Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Exclusive Access (Poseidon x Dionysus): newly added!
  • Merciful End (Ares x Athena): reduced power level
  • Heart Rend (Artemis x Aphrodite): newly added!
  • Hunter’s Mark (Artemis): Status Curse now applies to a nearby foe (instead of the one you hit)
  • Ocean’s Bounty (Poseidon): yields greater rewards; no longer affects Centaur Hearts
  • Razor Shoals (Poseidon): reworked; Rupture damage no longer scales with move speed
  • Vicious Cycle (Ares): effect no longer stacks from separate sources
  • Grasp (Chaos): reduced max. possible bonus

Daedalus Hammer Upgrades

  • Sniper Shot (Bow): reduced min. distance for damage bonus; reduced damage bonus
  • Twin Shot (Bow) and Sniper Shot (Bow) are now mutually exclusive
  • Pulverizing Blow (Shield): fixed an issue causing on-hit effects not to trigger from the second hit
  • Exploding Launcher (Spear): now increases base damage of the Throw special
  • Invigorating Blast (Rail): power-up effect is applied more reliably

Foes & Encounters

  • Beware of a variety of all-new foes and sinister traps in the Temple of Styx
  • Thanatos: reduced frequency of his area attack; also increased preattack duration and recovery time
  • Trial of the Gods: Athena effects no longer harm you as foes spawn
  • Slam-Dancer: attacks more frequently
  • Alecto: increased damage of Whip Shot attack
  • Bone Hydra: increased health and armor
  • Soul Catcher: butterfly projectiles can no longer be deflected (only destroyed)
  • The Minotaur: reduced health
  • Theseus: reduced health; removed Chariot reinforcements

Keepsakes & Items

  • Lambent Plume: clear-times required to gain the benefit now vary by encounter type
  • Kiss of Styx (Well): increased shop cost

Level Design & Environments

  • Added Temple of Styx chambers
  • Other minor fixes and improvements to various chambers

Art & Visual FX

  • Added new Temple of Styx environment set
  • Updated textures for Megaera
  • Updated look of Witch variants in Asphodel and Elysium
  • Added slight animation to portraits for Dionysus and Ares
  • Added visual effect for Exit Wounds (Artemis)
  • Updated visual effects for Shatter Shot (Aphrodite)
  • Updated UI and visuals for Death Defiance effects
  • Updated some artwork in the House of Hades
  • Updated visual effect for spurned god’s Boon vanishing in Trials of the Gods
  • Updated visual effect for Gorgon and Megagorgon projectiles
  • Updated shadows on some House of Hades characters
  • Updated main menu based on new Major Update

Menus & UI

  • Updated Wrath Gauge UI (now called the God Gauge) as part of the Wrath system rework
  • Updated biome map with the Temple of Styx
  • Updated text for various Boons and interactions
  • Added visual timer when using Lambent Plume (Hermes)
  • Improved feedback on active Heat UI when using the Pact
  • Text clarifications to some Boons and upgrades
  • Other minor changes and improvements

Music & SFX

  • Two new music tracks, for the Temple of Styx and final battle!
  • Added many new sound SFX for the Temple of Styx
  • Other minor changes, fixes, and mix improvements

Voice & Narrative

  • Added narrative events with several characters
  • Added more Zagreus voice lines for various gameplay contexts
  • Added new Storyteller events for successfully clearing runs; removed some that no longer apply
  • Added Codex entries for new Styx foes, as well as Asphodel and Elysium Witches
  • Updated requirements for some narrative events
  • Fixes and tuning to some contextual voice events

Miscellaneous

  • Updated Development Roadmap to reflect our plans for our next Major Update, and beyond
  • Updated Credits; including with some exceptional Community Contributors (Thank you!!)
  • Cerberus: now permits Zagreus to pet him in certain contexts

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where foes could deal extra damage to you after Charm effects on them expire
  • Fixed an issue where Poms of Power sometimes offered no visible changes in Boon power
  • Fixed issues with the effects of Light of Ixion (Well) and Trove Tracker (Well) not stacking correctly
  • Fixed an issue with exiting Chambers just as the last foe is slain in a Trove Trial
  • Fixed an issue preventing Wrath Boons from being offered as Pom of Power upgrades
  • Fixed Ares’ Blade Rifts getting stuck in walls in some contexts
  • Fixed Tipsy Shot (Dionysus) creating multiple Ammo drops due to Burst Shot (Artemis)
  • Fixed Battle Rage (Ares) activating from Thanatos kills or Exalted respawns
  • Fixed Dying Lament (Aphrodite) hitting the player in rare instances
  • Fixed Sudden Rush (Daedalus) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
  • Fixed Drift Dash (Hermes) sometimes causing the Shield’s Bull Rush to have reduced range
  • Fixed a rare issue with the next chamber not unlocking in the Fallen Warrior’s chamber
  • Fixed being able to gift Ambrosia to the Fallen Warrior before learning his name
  • Fixed pre-boss Shop Chamber previews sometimes appearing alterable by Fated Authority
  • Fixed incorrect footstep sounds sometimes occurring in the House after multiple consecutive runs
  • Fixed the center-most projectile in Tisiphone’s flurry attack being invisible
  • Fixed Skull Earring (Megaera) visual feedback not clearing after healing above the activation threshold
  • Fixed a graphical issue where Elysian Arrow Trap projectiles did not always dissipate correctly
  • Fixed gameplay timer briefly counting up between Olympians speaking and the Boon screen opening
  • Fixed ‘Petrified’ status icon sometimes not displaying correctly
  • Fixed music state sometimes advancing incorrectly after returning from Erebus
  • Fixed an issue causing the save indicator to show in the Main Menu after quitting right after saving
  • Fixed instances where Bone Hydra’s neck segments could sort in front of the head
  • Fixed various other graphical sorting issues
  • Many other minor fixes

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-hades-update-out-now-adds-new-area-and-final-b/1100-6468965/

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Will Use Dedicated Servers For All Platforms

Infinity Ward seems to be working hard to cement Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as more than just a reboot. The developers are going all-in with revitalizing the game’s multiplayer, offering new weapon customization tools, and more. Continuing on that trend, Modern Warfare will feature dedicated servers across all platforms.

The news comes from Game Informer’s September cover story, which reports that, alongside cross-platform play, Modern Warfare will have “dedicated servers for everyone” when it launches on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Modern Warfare isn’t the only game in the long-running franchise to feature dedicated servers, though. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also had dedicated servers when it was released in 2007. So, too, did Ghosts, Black Ops, and World at War. Back in October 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 received a silent server update that improved stability, increasing the tick rate in response to community backlash over slow server speed.

Also out of Gamer Informer, Modern Warfare will feature a cheeky throwback to the ’90s in the form of Tamagunchis, virtual pets that need the same level of attention as the Tamagotchi but with a twist: These virtual pets feed off your kills instead of your constant love and adoration.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-will-use-dedicated-ser/1100-6468966/

Pokemon Go: September Community Day Details And Featured Pokemon Announced

Pokemon Go‘s August Community Day may have ended, but players won’t have to wait too long for the game’s next monthly event. Niantic has now announced the first details for September’s Community Day, which will take place on Sunday, September 15.

The featured Pokemon for September’s event will be Turtwig, the Grass-type starter from the series’ Gen 4 games, Diamond and Pearl. Throughout the Community Day, the turtle Pokemon will appear in the wild much more frequently than it normally does, making for a good opportunity to catch as many as you can and stock up on Turtwig Candy. Not only that, you’ll also have your first chance to catch a Shiny Turtwig.

On top of increased spawns, any Turtwig that you evolve all the way into Torterra up to an hour after the Community Day ends will also know a special event-exclusive move that it couldn’t otherwise learn in the game. Niantic hasn’t announced what this move will be just yet, but the developer will share more details closer to the event.

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Beyond that, Niantic will offer a couple of other bonuses during September’s Community Day. This time, you’ll earn triple the normal amount of Stardust for each Pokemon you catch. Any Lure Modules you use during the event will also remain active for three hours rather than 30 minutes.

As usual, September’s Community Day will run for three hours. Whereas the past two monthly events took place from 4-7 PM local time to account for the hot summer weather, September’s Community Day will take place much earlier than usual, from 11 AM-2 PM local time. You can read more details about the event on the official Pokemon website.

In the meantime, there’s still some time to catch the Legendary Rayquaza, which has returned to Raid Battles until September 2. The Sky High Pokemon has appeared in Raids before, but this time, you’ll have a chance to encounter its Shiny version. You can read tips on how to catch Rayquaza in our guide. Team Rocket is also still appearing at various PokeStops with their Shadow Pokemon, and it looks like the evil team’s boss, Giovanni, could be coming to the game soon too.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-september-community-day-details-and-fea/1100-6468946/

New Cadence Of Hyrule Update Fixes Several Game-Breaking Exploits

A new update is now live for Cadence of Hyrule, The Legend of Zelda-themed Crypt of the Necrodancer-like game. The update implements several quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.

Crypt of the Necrodancer speedrunner wilarseny posted the patch notes for the update on Reddit. In terms of new features, the update gives Cadence of Hyrule achievements, leaderboard categories for co-op play, and a Beat Rumble option–the latter of which causes your controller to vibrate to the beat of the music to better help you time your movements.

There are several bug fixes in the update as well, the most notable of which is the removal of an issue that “could cause enemies to take an extra move when the song looped.” The update also removes some game-breaking exploits, like picking up a bomb even after it had exploded and preventing Ganon from refilling his health by skipping cutscenes during his boss battle. The full patch notes are outlined below.

Cadence Of Hyrule Update 1.0.2 Patch Notes

  • Added achievements
  • Added leaderboard categories for co-op. If co-op is used at any point during a run, the run will become a “co-op” run for leaderboard purposes
  • Added more granularity to time-based leaderboard scores
  • Added a “Beat Rumble” option, that gently vibrates the controller on the beat
  • Added “(<character> only)” flyaway when a player picks up a weapon their character cannot currently use
  • Added collision in several areas to prevent map escapes and dungeon skips
  • Added an option to see the credits from the main menu
  • Adjusted enemy movement behaviour when an enemy is being pushed against a wall by wind
  • Adjusted player movement behaviour when holding an object while being pushed by wind
  • Adjusted player movement behaviour when pushing an object while sliding on ice
  • Added an option to change some HUD elements to improve readability for colour-blind players
  • Changed HUD elements to grey-out when the player does not have enough stamina for that action
  • Prevent giving out dagger/shortsword in “Flawless Victory” blue chest
  • Fixed a bug that could cause enemies to take an extra move when the song looped
  • Fixed a bug where bombs could be lifted after they had exploded, with unintended results
  • Fixed a bug where game time would continue to count up if the console was put to sleep or quit to the home menu
  • Fixed a bug where skipping the cutscene between phases of the Ganon battle could prevent him from refilling his health
  • Many other bug fixes

Cadence of Hyrule is available for Nintendo Switch. In GameSpot’s Cadence of Hyrule review, James O’Connor wrote, “Cadence of Hyrule is a fantastic Zelda game in its own right, even though it adopts the gameplay mechanics of another series. Beyond the aesthetics, it nails the satisfying sense of exploration and increasing power, and it revels in the joy of discovery, as all the best Zelda games do. It’s an extremely successful melding of two great game series and an experience that makes you feel eager for Nintendo to do more interesting things with their major licenses.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-cadence-of-hyrule-update-fixes-several-game-br/1100-6468963/