Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has an "insane secret trick" to destroy crowds of enemies, just don't use it on yourself: "THIS IS HOW I KEEP BLOWING MYSELF UP?"

There aren't any explosive grenades in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced , but a handy exploit lets you make some on the fly. Players have discovered a way to turn smoke bombs into impromptu fiery weapons to handle multiple enemies – but you really need to be careful when using it. On Twitter, Assassin's Creed fan account Zephryss posted a clip of how it works. First, you throw the smoke bomb, and let it start filling the area. Then, using your pistol, shoot a bullet right at where it landed, and you'll get a nice little explosion. "Here's an insane secret trick," they say. They include footage of them doing it a couple of times, across different areas and situations, to demonstrate how repeatable it is. In one of them, several enemies are approaching, and this tool of slight destruction takes a chunk of their health and bounces them back. Here's an insane secret trick in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.Shoot smoke bombs with your pistol to make them explode and take out multiple enemies at once. pic.twitter.com/uIkbdnTktm July 21, 2026 It's a fine addition to the toolkit of any assassin. Not very graceful, mind, but sometimes you need to just go for broke and do whatever you can to get out alive. That last part can be tricky, since many people are figuring this alternate way of using smoke bombs the hard way. "THIS. THIS IS HOW I KEEP BLOWING MYSELF UP??" says one player in response to the clip from Zephryss. "I learned this the hard way when trying to get the trophy of kicking a [berserk] enemy in smoke off a ship," another adds . "Would accidentally pull out pistols and wonder wtf happened." Now that word is getting around, there's a chance Ubisoft could patch this out if it's not intentional. I hope that doesn't happen, because this is definitely handier than it is a hurdle. But a primer on how to do it safely would help, lest more people wind up blowing Edward's face off completely by accident. If you're yet to play it yourself, you can read our Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced review to see how it compares to the best Assassin's Creed games . [/url]

Rintama High codes (July 2026)

Redeem new Rintama High codes, either outside of school or in the middle of class, to claim rerolls and free yen for your bully to pinch. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Rintama High codes (July 2026)

After 2 years, solo Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth modder says fine, I'll do it myself, fixing the JRPG's wonky lighting at long last

A solo modder has taken matters into their own hands and put out a new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth mod aiming to tackle the game's long-standing lighting issues – and the results are incredible, judging by side-by-side comparisons. Modder David 'dddd5' Matos put out the Shader Injector mod for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth late last month (and recently updated it with a couple fixes). Since then, it's only gained more and more traction with fans. "Framework allowing injection of modified shaders into the rendering API," the modder explains on NexusMods. "Comes with modified game shaders that improve lighting/shadow quality of the game significantly." https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zBFViJCICUA The tech experts at Digital Foundry also gave the mod a look and concluded the game's wonky lighting is much better across the board. Some areas, such as the glowing Gold Saucer, are "totally transformed with much better correspondence between the scene and its reflection," according to the outlet. Several comparison shots show dramatic differences between the modded and unmodded versions of the game, too. For context, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a mostly handsome game that's still plagued with a few odd lighting issues. Many light sources don't cast shadows at all, in-game foliage often lacks shadows, some shadows are really low quality, and lighting on character faces generally looks pretty weird in outside environments. Default Shader and Shader Injector 2.1.0 Comparison from r/FFVIIRemake "The overexposure in this game was f****** unbearable," one player writes over on Reddit . "It's so impressive how much better the lighting looks with this mod in most cases," another says . "Even the performance version which only costs a few frames." The next instalment in the series, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation , comes out sometime next year. Here's hoping it launches in tip top shape. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director says "open-world fatigue" is real, and since "the world is even bigger than it was in Rebirth," Square Enix specially focused on guiding players. [/url]

That evil Car Park Capital tycoon game is only getting more evil with MicroProse as publisher, but it still looks gorgeous

Car Park Capital is a triumphantly unwholesome tycoon game in which you try to make an entire society utterly dependent on cars. You start with a relatively green-ish map, and do your best to tarmac it all over. A strange and unlikely prospect, I know! When we first covered this motorist management sim last year , the options included putting up billboards to brainwash obstinate pedestrians, and selling people banana-mobiles. Since then, developer Hilko Janssen of Hilkojj Interactive has found a publisher in MicroProse. If you were hoping that MicroProse might persuade Janssen to give up on his visions of total automotive apocalypse, you were hoping in vain. Read more

Save up to 57% on Select Physical PS5 Games at Target in New Summer Sale

Target has launched a new sale that includes some excellent physical PS5 game deals, including on Saros, Stellar Blade, Death Stranding 2, and more.

Win $200+ of brand new Starcraft miniatures - just by watching Wargamer Direct this Thursday!

In just a few days, we'll be exclusively revealing five future minis for the Starcraft Tabletop Miniatures Game, live on Wargamer Direct 2026 - and you could win all of them, and more! Thanks to our partners at Archon Studio, two lucky viewers of our incredible tabletop showcase this coming Thursday will win EVERY new miniature we're showing off, as well as a two-player starter set for the game. Read the full story on Wargamer: Win $200+ of brand new Starcraft miniatures - just by watching Wargamer Direct this Thursday!

The Samsung Odyssey G5 27" QHD 180Hz OLED Gaming Monitor Drops to $299.99 on Amazon

The least expensive OLED gaming monitor I've ever seen.

This cat-themed PC case has the best power button I've ever seen

Jess has been writing about games for over ten years, spending a significant chunk of that time working on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine. When she’s not investigating all things hardware here, she's either constructing a passionate defence of a 7/10 game, daydreaming about her debut novel, or feeling wistful about the last time she chased some nerds around a field with an oversized foam sword. 

Meccha Chameleon suffers a hack: devs address Steam malware scare and "malicious mod map issue," confirm "all the hackers have been banned" so the official Discord is back

The devs behind cartoony stealth-'em-up Meccha Chameleon have had to do some serious patching on the game after a couple of custom maps reportedly allowed malware to spread. According to the team, the vulnerabilities have been rectified, including hacking in the official Discord server. Over the weekend, a player in the community known as Feint published a blog outlining how Laser Tag Neon, a Steam Workshop map in Meccha Chameleon, was allegedly a "malware dropper." The piece was later updated, claiming that Chroma Grid Arena was plagued by the same problems. "A couple of my friends reported seeing a command prompt window briefly appear while Steam was downloading a custom workshop map," they write on the discovery. "The map was being downloaded through the game's in-game lobby and, once the download completed it immediately began loading for the match." 本日のアップデート3.1.0で記載されているカスタムマップの脆弱性を修正したため適応後は問題ありません。対象のマップについてもアップデート前後でマルウェアが無効化されていることを確認しています。#mecchachameleon #めっちゃカメレオン https://t.co/aGcsXmtKHX July 25, 2026 They add, then, that after looking through the map's files, they realized "it appears to be a malware dropper, despite having passed workshop review." They then go on to list how to spot problems like this, and how the malware works, to help players protect themselves. The blog has since been updated to note developer lemorion_1224's fixes, which include removing these maps at present. A tweet from the dev says the malware's been disabled after the latest round of patching. However, another problem emerged when it looked like someone had taken control of the Meccha Chameleon Discord server. "This is literally what your discord looks like right now," someone says in replies , with a screenshot of the server reduced to two channels. Regular programming has resumed on the server, lemorion_1224 confirming on Twitter a bad actor managed to get into the Discord owner's account. All the admins were locked out at one stage, according to a machine translation of the studio's tweets, but all is well now. I've since joined and can confirm it seems like business as usual. An update on Steam reiterates this, stating the "malicious mod map issue" is now remedied, and "the game itself is 100% SAFE and virus-free." Another post on Steam adds referring to the Discord situation: "All the hackers have been banned." Although the fires have been put out, much like in the game itself, treat everything with some caution. There could be repeat incidents, and it may be harder to fix the next time around. Steam indie hit Meccha Chameleon made more money than any other PC game last month apart from Fortnite, according to new data. [/url]

The Evolution of Marvel Fighting Games

Marvel Comics and video games have had a long, storied, and oftentimes turbulent relationship. Spanning a variety of genres, Marvel games have taken us to many different places, from the thrilling open worlds of Insomniac’s Spider-Man series to the terrible beige-tinged shooting galleries of Punisher No Mercy. But there’s one genre in which Marvel Comics has seen undeniable success: fighting games. Marvel has been in the business of kicking ass in 2D arenas for over three decades, and in that time we’ve seen many twists, turns, smash hits, and fumbles. So buckle up, true believers, as we take you for a ride through the evolution of Marvel fighting games. X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994) The early ‘90s were not a great time for Marvel. Despite successful X-Men and Spider-Man comic runs (and their beloved accompanying Saturday-morning cartoons), a series of costly business blunders and an industry bubble burst left Marvel filing for bankruptcy. It famously turned to flogging everything that wasn’t nailed down to keep the Arc Reactor powered up. In contrast, fighting game aficionado Capcom was flying high. Street Fighter 2 was munching quarters left and right, and arcades were flooded with copycats. After a successful collaboration on a Punisher beat-em-up that earned critical acclaim thanks to its satisfying, meaty combat, Marvel and Capcom – in an effort to capitalise on the success of the Street Fighter formula – decided to work together on the very first fighting game starring Marvel characters, X-Men: Children of the Atom . Despite being built on the bones of Street Fighter 2 Turbo, this was no simple re-skin. Gone were the World Warriors, and in was a roster of Earth’s mightiest mutants. The simple fireballs and firebreath attacks of Capcom’s prize fighter no longer felt adequate, so new special moves were introduced, dominating the screen with strobes and particle effects that were more befitting of the superheroic cast. But it wasn’t just extra spectacle that was needed. Children of the Atom also introduced a unique take on combos and movement. It was significantly speedier compared to Capcom’s previous fighters, altering the rhythm of the action by a considerable degree. Along with added super jumps and air combos, these X-gene influenced adjustments helped Children of the Atom quickly carve out its own identity in the fighting game space. Even the most cynical fighting game fans responded well to this formula shake-up, positioning Children of the Atom as the hottest new fighting game when it arrived in 1994. It was just as technical and complex as Street Fighter, but far more approachable for newcomers. The design proved so successful that PlayStation, Sega Saturn and MS-DOS systems all saw ports of the arcade hit. This popularity allowed Capcom to follow up with Marvel Super Heroes, which built on the principles of Children of the Atom and further refined them, expanding the roster to include more Marvel characters beyond the X-Men. Avengers in Galactic Storm (1995) While the Osaka-based Capcom was experiencing huge success with its new comic book fighting formula, a few hundred miles away in Tokyo, developer Data-East was putting together its challenger. A year later it stepped up to the plate with Avengers in Galactic Storm , an obscure fighting game that is now largely forgotten, lost in the sea of fighting-game hopefuls that filled Arcades in the mid-to-late ‘90s. Despite its lack of success, Avengers in Galactic Storm was the first game to introduce a mechanic that would go on to form the backbone of an entire sub-genre of fighters: the Assistant Character. When selecting your character, you’d be presented with a second unique roster of characters – this would be your “assist”. Today, we see assistant characters as a foundational mechanic for any “tag-fighter”, but back in 1995 the idea was completely revolutionary, despite being pretty basic compared to the tag-team mechanics of today. Back then, your assistant character had one move tied to your super meter; upon activation, they’d spring onto the screen and perform this signature attack. It was a simple addition, but as an idea, it grew and blossomed into a fundamental mechanic we frequently see today. A roster full of nobodies and garish graphics meant that Avengers in Galactic Storm quickly disappeared from the fighting game scene. Although its death was swift, it left a significant impression on what was to come… X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996) After only two years of partnership, Marvel and Capcom took another bold swing with X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, once again evolving the format with a new feature that would impact the fighting genre for years to come. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter expanded the battle from 1v1 to 2v2 while pairing two titans of pop culture. (We’ve mentioned the title twice now, so you probably already know the two franchises involved.) The Street Fighter cast, although themselves somewhat supernaturally powered, were fairly grounded compared to their mutant rivals. To remedy this imbalance, Capcom gave the World Warriors a significant upgrade. Super fireballs were turned into Dragon Ball Z-style beams, rising uppercuts became erupting pillars of flame, and every strike seemed to cause the hit counter to skyrocket. The addition of a second character wasn’t a revolution for the genre; King of Fighters had made 3v3 the core of its identity since 1994. But where KoF operated in a team battle style, where you used a character until they were eliminated, X-Men Vs Street Fighter was the first to present your characters as a unified team. Switching at any time was actively encouraged, as your tagged-out character could restore their health while your second hero fought on. It was the first time in the genre that health was recoverable, and it gave you a vital reason to keep switching. Your teammate could even be tagged in directly when performing a duo-hyper combo, summoning them in to perform their signature move alongside your own, causing high damage and flashy visuals. The tag system and refined combos that Capcom had been tinkering with since Children of the Atom helped create an arcade darling. Players lined up quarters and a competitive scene blossomed around the game, with fans eager to push the limits of what could be done in the arena. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998) After a slight misstep in 1997 with Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter, which disappointingly recycled content from past games while reducing the spectacle, Capcom’s next swing managed to recapture the magic of Marvel while also exploring beyond the boundaries of Street Fighter. In 1998 we were treated to the oft-celebrated Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes . At the time, Clash of Super Heroes’ gameplay was widely considered to be the formula perfected, combining all the lessons Capcom had learned since beginning its Marvel partnership. The combos and hypercombos reached new heights of effects-driven spectacle. The addition of special partner and duo team attacks, which gave you a limited-use partner attack akin to the Assistant Character from Avengers, and the ability to pilot both of your characters at the same time added new wrinkles to master. These additions became the extra spice required to make Clash of Super Heroes stand out among the fighting game crowd. But there was one additional feature that really sparked the game’s popularity: While special partners were randomised by default, through a hidden code, you could select a specific character to bolster your strengths or cover your weaknesses. Thanks to this important addition, competition around Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes exploded. Capcom once again struck on a formula that fighting game fans not only loved, but were willing to invest in. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000) Due to the success of Marvel Vs. Capcom, everyone was keen for another return of the format. Feeling that it had reached the ceiling with what it could do with 2v2, Capcom decided to shake up the series with the sequel. Marvel vs Capcom 2 took the next logical step when it smashed into arcades in the year 2000: it upgraded its 2v2 format to 3v3. Special partners were also removed in favour of a new version of the assist system, and the roster skyrocketed from just 15 characters to a massive 56. Most immediately obvious, though, was that the game completely switched its visual aesthetic to a more generic style, removing the Capcom and Marvel iconography it had used in the first game. As if that wasn’t enough changes already, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 also featured a complete overhaul of its controls. With so much significant change, it was perhaps inevitable that fans initially hated it. En masse, a large portion of hardcore fans immediately opted to go back to the original Marvel vs Capcom. Some stuck with it, though, experimenting with this complete reinvention and discovering that there were near-endless tactical possibilities. The new assist system invited players to build their teams around not just what their characters could do when they’re on point, but what they could do as an assist. Each of the 56 characters had three assist modes, all with specific attacks. With three characters on a team, the combo possibilities began to feel truly limitless. Arguably better than any fighting game before it, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 truly let you build your own identity as a competitive player. Onlookers began to notice dedicated players performing wilder and wilder combos. They became entranced by the incredible speed of the gameplay. Suddenly, the wider fighting game community started to come around. Now, in 2026, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighting games of all time and is still played competitively today, 26 years later. Marvel vs Capcom 2 would, however, be the last in the series to release in arcades. Home consoles were becoming more sophisticated, and the days when the arcade was the best place to play were coming to an end. Series like Tekken, Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat had successfully navigated the switch from the arcade scene to the living room, but Capcom had so far not been as fortunate. The success of titles like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry at home was outpacing its ports of arcade fighters, and as a result, Capcom decided to partially retreat from the fighting game scene. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011) The 2000s saw few attempts to pick up where Marvel vs Capcom 2 left off, with games like X-Men Next Dimension fusing 2D game mechanics with 3D environments and yielding middling results. Capcom largely sat out of developing new fighting games at the end of the sixth console generation. But with a new generation on the horizon, it decided to return in a big way. 2008’s Street Fighter 4 burst onto the scene with a bold new art direction and a back-to-basics setup with new mechanics. It was a smash hit out of the gate, demonstrating there was a whole new generation of fighting game fans and competitive players ready to reignite the genre. The time apart had also been fruitful for Marvel, which was experiencing unprecedented success with its cinematic universe. The stars had once again aligned, and it was the perfect time for the return of Marvel vs Capcom. Marvel vs Capcom 3 ’s arrival was hotly anticipated, and Capcom felt immense pressure to deliver on fans’ expectations. Although the character roster was smaller than Marvel Vs. Capcom 2’s ludicrous 56 heroes, the developer focused on delivering a wishlist of characters who’d previously not made the cut. MvC 3 would finally introduce long-requested fighters such as Dante, Deadpool, and Wesker. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2’s lofty status meant Capcom elected to keep the game as close in feel to its predecessor as it could, refraining from altering the formula while adding enough new elements to sweeten the pot. Additions like aerial tag combos, which let you link from one character to another, blended seamlessly into the existing systems, making it feel like they’d always been there. There was one addition, though, that would prove controversial. X-Factor was the newly introduced comeback mechanic, providing a speed and damage boost where the duration and effectiveness was proportional to the number of characters you had left on your team. X-Factor activation could happen at any time and would cancel any animation, resulting in specific X-Factor combos that could destroy an enemy life bar, but also open the door to comebacks where a single character could decimate an entire team. While it added a certain level of volatility to the game, heightening the excitement, purists took issue with the addition of a comeback mechanic. It was a minor setback in what was generally considered to be another fighting game masterpiece. A second, “Ultimate” version of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 would release less than 11 months later and include an all-new balance patch, new UI, new characters, and new stages. But it was a new, budget-friendly release operating outside the confines of the original, so fans who had bought the first version of MvC 3 were left out in the cold. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, while having its own merit, was seen as a bad deal for the early adopters. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 became the new standard for competitive play and, over time, saw significant success. But due to the nature of the Ultimate edition and its poor sales, Capcom deemed it as somewhat of a failure and once again allowed the Marvel license to expire. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017) Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 would become a staple of fighting game events, but fans still yearned for something new. In 2017 they would get their wish, but not quite in the way they’d hoped. Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite was a bold new direction for the series that restored its 2v2 roots, brought back the Infinity Stones from Marvel Super Heroes, reinvented the battle mechanics and, for the first time ever, introduced a full cinematic story mode. The new battle system was a dramatic shift from the past, completely upending the assist system in favour of “Active Tag”. Previously, tagging in an ally safely required very careful spacing and timing, as the incoming character would perform a pose before being able to block. The new Active Tag system was more generous, allowing you to quickly swap your point character, provided you were not being hit or blocking. The Infinity Stones took the place of the third team member, offering a standard “Infinity Surge” and a super “Infinity Storm” attacks. Using Infinity Surge and taking damage would fill your Storm meter, and each of the six Infinity Stones would offer unique attributes based on their namesake. While met with skepticism, fans were ready to take their favourite heroes and villains for a spin with this new system… provided they were still available, that is. Because of the ongoing success of the MCU, Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite was more closely aligned with the silver screen roster of the time, which meant none of the X-Men or Fantastic Four. This was long before the MCU’s awkward Multiverse Saga. These missing fighters had already disappointed many in the leadup to release, and others quickly followed thanks to the abandonment of the series’ striking comic book aesthetic in favour of a more semi-realistic art style. Capcom was once again on the back foot, a situation only made worse when Arc Systemworks, developers of the BlazBlue series, revealed Dragon Ball FighterZ; a 3v3 tag-fighting game, featuring fan-favourite Dragon Ball characters, that not only used a bold anime-inspired art style, but also borrowed many of Marvel Vs Capcom’s mechanics. Here was a direct competitor that not only looked better, but also felt familiar to fans of old-school Marvel vs Capcom. The unsettled audience quickly moved on from MvC Infinite, which, in turn, ended its post-launch support only 3 months after launch. That’s not to say Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite was without merit, though. The Active Tag mechanic allowed players incredible freedom to approach encounters and to structure combos. But the surrounding package and poor visuals under-delivered, and interest in the series waned. Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite was the first in the series to skip the main stage of fighting game tournament Evo in 2018, something previously considered unimaginable. Marvel vs Capcom, once a titan of the genre, had been dethroned. Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls (2026) All hope is not lost for Marvel fighting game fans, though. In June 2025, during PlayStation’s State of Play showcase, Arc Systemworks, developers of Dragon Ball FighterZ, shocked the world by announcing Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls . The first Marvel fighting game in nearly a decade, it’s also the first ever 4v4 fighting game. It’s early days for Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls, but the signs look extremely positive, suggesting this could be the evolution of the formula we’ve desperately been waiting for. The pedigree is there, and the modern alterations lead us to believe Marvel Tokon will be a unique take on the Marvel fighting game formula, blending the successes of the past with fresh ideas for the genre that will hopefully lead it into the future. And with an already locked-in appearance at Evo France in October 2026, the competitive future is looking bright. From the humble beginnings of X-Men Children of the Atom to the unexplored reaches of 4v4 in Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls, the journey Marvel fighting games have taken has been full of dizzying highs and terrifying lows. But with Marvel Tokon primed for release on August 6, we’re excited to see what the next step looks like. One thing we know for sure is that there’s a dedicated Marvel fighting game fanbase that’s more than ready to assemble. Written by Jack Gash, IGN's UK Syndication Editor and fighting game obsessive.

Framework 13 Pro review

null

In a ridiculous world-first, Elden Ring sicko beats Maliketh with his bare fists as part of an absurd run banning all equipment, weapons, and items

The tradition of playing FromSoftware games in ridiculous circumstances continues, with streamer Skumnut now beating Maliketh, the Black Blade boss in Elden Ring without so much as a piece of armor on his body. He just had his fists, a bit of willpower, and a whole lot of determination. If you're familiar with the Elden Ring community, you probably won't be shocked to hear this is coming from Skumnut, the streamer and YouTuber best known for doing wacky challenges in the fantasy action-RPG. His current expedition is the "Elden Ring Nothing run," wherein he's attempting to beat the whole game with, he says on Twitter, "No shields. No armor. No talismans. No buffs. No spells. No physick. No torrent. No consumables. No equipment at ALL." Simple, straightforward. No problem. His latest hurdle is the hulking mass known as Maliketh, the kind of battle that makes you feel daunted even if you're well-equipped. Skum's in this fight with bright green hair, something to cover his character's nether regions, and moxie. Yesterday, the Elden Ring Nothing run climb returned and we came back fully locked in. WORLD FIRST MALIKETH KILL USING NOTHING. 2 deaths, 3+ hrs.BARE FIST ONLY. No shields. No armor. No talismans. No buffs. No spells. No physick. No torrent. No consumables. No equipment at ALL. pic.twitter.com/pcaPY8m5k7 July 26, 2026 And it's hilarious to watch. The clip he posted on Twitter is a strong sample of how the encounter went overall: a lot of dodging, rolling, and running around while Skumnut occasionally takes potshots to whittle down the beast's health. To call it a marathon feels like an understatement. It's absolutely absurd, but yet, it's undeniable, Skumnut gets results eventually. "It only gets worse, boys," he says to his audience. "Technically there's only two real bosses left," he adds. "So although it's going to get worse, it's almost over." This battle with Maliketh took him three hours, and only two deaths. Will the next opponent take more? We'll find out soon enough. Elden Ring and Dark Souls inspired Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director's approach to the RPG's story – "I didn't want to spoon-feed the player" [/url]

Benedict Cumberbatch Joins Marvel Stars Calling on UK Government to Block 'Dangerous' Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Before It Causes a Disastrous 'TV and Cinema Calamity'

Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have called on the UK government to intervene and block Paramount's proposed $110 billion Warner Bros. buyout.

Blade and Magik lead as Marvel Tōkon's most popular characters during its beta

Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

The Pokémon Company is turning to facial recognition scans to help combat scalpers

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

Exclusive First Look at Stormlight: War for Roshar, the Massive Brandon Sanderson Board Game

It’s time for Stormlight Archive fans to feast as Brotherwise Games is set to launch the campaign for the latest of their Brandon Sanderson offerings, the War for Roshar.

At 117GB, Final Fantasy 14 is about to be the biggest game on Switch 2, beating Square Enix's previous monster RPG Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Final Fantasy 14 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 next month, and now that its file size has been confirmed… I hope you didn't want to have a bunch of games installed on your console. Thanks to a listing on the US version of the Nintendo eShop , we've learned that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 will come in a hefty 117.2GB file size on Nintendo Switch 2. For those keeping score, that comes at just under half of the Switch 2's entire 256GB storage. That's half of your Switch 2 space for Final Fantasy 14. So not only is Final Fantasy 14 the biggest single game file available on Nintendo Switch 2 so far, it also beats out the previous record holder for the franchise – 91.8GB Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – by over 25GB. Square Enix has been desperate to hold the title it seems, since, on top of that, the single biggest eShop game listing to date is Kingdom Hearts Collection, which clocks in at an estimated 131GB … but that includes three games. Of course, Final Fantasy 14 being so big makes total sense. Aside from it having one of the biggest MMO base games, Final Fantasy 14 is currently five major expansions deep with Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, Endwalker, and Dawntrail, and it's only going to get bigger once Evercold releases in January 2027. So even if you're only picking up the base game and not the complete edition of Final Fantasy 14, you will have to install all of that data, too. Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P doesn't quite get the community hype around Chort, the chunky boss who quickly became an online icon: "Just why?" [/url]

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold's new DPS job will be revealed in October, but Square Enix is already dropping some big, feathered hints

Square Enix plans to reveal the next Final Fantasy 14 DPS job in a few months from now, and some fresh clues already have fans fawning over the possibility of playing as a bird-loving Falconer-type when the game's Evercold expansion drops. This past weekend, Final Fantasy 14 composer and sound designer Masayoshi Soken took to the Fan Fest stage in Berlin to tease fans with two audio snippets related to the unannounced second job coming in next year's Evercold expansion, alongside the Bastion . The first snippet blasted clinging and clanging noises at the audience, while the second sounded like a bird screeching and clawing at something. You can try to decipher the clues for yourself in the clip below. New ranged dps teased by Soken at Berlin fanfest from r/ffxiv "These are sound effects from the new DPS job we're going to announce at the JP Fan Fest," it's revealed via a translator. The Japanese leg of Fan Fest is set to begin on October 31, 2026, so we won't need to wait too much longer to find out what the team's been cooking. Over on Reddit, theorists are overwhelmingly in agreement that all clues are pointing to a Falconer job or something adjacent to that, at least (Hunter, Ranger, Beastmaster, etc.) "Falconer is the ranged DPS we saw in the trailer. Bet," one fan writes . Evercold's extended teaser trailer threw fuel over the fire, too, with a brief glimpse of a large, armored, winged creature taking flight and annoying a spellcaster. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/urDT_At-AX4 "Willing to bet that the bird in the trailer is related to the job, but the girl is unrelated," another theorycrafter says . "The last trailer will likely extend that shot to show the bird flying to whoever is our job representative! The baton she has is more likely a plot device, rather than the weapon of the job." A Falconer job would be entirely new for the Final Fantasy series, though past games have dabbled with similar concepts. Final Fantasy 10-2's Trainer job gives one of the characters a big bird to command, for example. And Final Fantasy 5's Hunter can also occasionally call in help from woodland critters, flying types included. "I want this guy to make Final Fantasy 17": Yoshi-P embarrasses Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead with the "highest praise you can get" from players live on stage at FF14 Fan Fest. [/url]

Vatican scrambles to patch 'phishing goldmine' app promoted by the Pope: 'Prayer infrastructure on the framework you learn in week 2 of a Node.js bootcamp'