Steam

Scavenger’s Fate landed during the second act of Destiny 2’s Episode Revenant, adding another Void shotgun to the list—and this one has a fairly stacked list of perks in its **** roll. This shotgun has no Withering Gaze, but it still brings plenty of surprises. The usual reload perk and damage perk formula certainly applies here, and in no small part because of a wealth of options to speed up your reload. There are even a couple of good perks for Destiny 2‘s Crucible if you’re PvP-inclined. View the full article

Honkai: Star Rail has revealed the 5-star character Aglaea for Version 3.0, who is also the first Path of Remembrance character in the game. The character will be playable in Honkai: Star Rail's next major arc, along with The Herta. View the full article

Thanks to Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar and the Half-Life 2 beta ***** from 2003, we've had a few little looks at concepts Valve considered for the FPS sequel but had to cut during development. For instance, thanks to files found in the leaked version, we know there were plans for a level set on an icebreaker ship that would lead to a mini-submarine trip to an underwater base—an idea that ended up being re-used in the Half-Life 2: Episode 3 synopsis, and the fan game based on it... Read more.View the full article

Bethesda announced that the next update to Fallout 76 will bring with it a number of "substantial" changes to various in-game Perk Cards. The update, titled "The Gleaming Depths," will launch in December 2024 alongside Fallout 76 Season 19. View the full article

NBA 2K25's Update 3.0 sets the stage for Season 3 with a range of updates and improvements across all modes. Highlights of the upcoming NBA 2K25 update include court and uniform changes, gameplay adjustments, and significant performance enhancements in MyCAREER, MyTEAM, and The City. View the full article

2024 has seen a string of unlikely events. Eternally in-fighting Britpop band Oasis reformed and set its sights on a world tour, human-sized Cheeto Donald Trump secured a second term in the White House, and Valve announced that it was finally releasing the Steam Deck into the *********** market, delighting Aussie gamers and likely putting the noses of grey importers firmly out of ******. As of earlier this week those Aussie Steam Decks have started shipping out directly from Valve’s local warehouse complete with an Aussie power supply and sold at a price point that substantially undercuts the inflated charges of every grey importer we checked at the time of writing. So, if you were planning on getting a Steam Deck then buying one directly from Steam is a no-brainer, but two and a half years after the system’s original launch – do you want to buy one at all? Let’s rewind a little. When the original LCD Steam Deck launched in February, 2022, IGN’s reviewer Seth G. Macy said: Steam Deck (LCD) Review “When the Steam Deck is living up to its promises, it's absolutely incredible. Playing GTA 5, **** of War, and other modern games on the go is an absolute joy, and the hardware and controls feel good to hold even though it’s a big chubby boy of a handheld. It seriously impressed me with how nice some demanding modern games look on its 7-inch screen. But those dizzying highs are all too often snapped away by insurmountable compatibility issues with SteamOS, and installing Windows to get around those comes with its own set of problems. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve been left frustrated and annoyed to have to troubleshoot issues when trying to play a game for the first time. Battery life is another major buzzkill – if you’re not careful with each game’s settings you can ***** through a full charge faster than a train ride from Boston to Manhattan. Sure, it’ll last a lot longer if all you want is to play low-power indies, but in that case the Switch is a smoother experience for less money. So while I can certainly recommend the Steam Deck with some major caveats, including a noisy fan and comparably long loading times, I’m definitely not as head-over-heels in love with it as I hoped I’d be when I first opened the box.” – Seth G. Macy, February 26, 2022 Score: 7 Read the full Steam Deck (LCD) review here [/url] It’s worth pointing out that a lot has changed in the couple of years since. Valve has rolled out hundreds of system updates to the Deck, improving everything from software compatibility to increasing battery life and even minimising the whine of the internal fan, no hardware mods required. In late 2023 it also introduced a second SKU, the Steam Deck OLED, which introduced a slightly larger and eminently more vibrant screen, as well as a slightly beefier battery among other tweaks to the hardware. Here’s what IGN’s reviewer Bo Moore said at the time of the Steam Deck OLED’s North ********* launch: Steam Deck (OLED) Review “The Steam Deck OLED is a clear, across-the-board improvement on what was already a fantastic gaming handheld. Steam Deck has matured greatly since it launched, and though there will always be some holes in its catalog that don’t work out of the box, the fact that you can easily play 2023 games like Diablo 4, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on the go with few compromises make it a fantastic way to clear your backlog when you’re away from your main PC. The OLED model brings hardware tweaks beyond the absolutely gorgeous screen. The real star of the show is the improved battery life, which puts the Steam Deck significantly more clearly in the “portable” category than simply a handheld device that you’ll need to keep plugged in most of the time. Add in a slew of small but altogether significant improvements, combined with twice as much storage at the same price, and the Steam Deck OLED is a fantastic device that’s an obvious choice for anyone looking to get into handheld PC gaming. Heck, if you’re constantly running down the battery on your current Steam Deck, it might even be a big enough deal to consider upgrading.” – Bo Moore, September 12, 2023. Score: 9 Read the full Steam Deck (OLED) review here [/url] The Steam Deck is launching in Australia with three different SKUs: the 256GB LCD model for $649, the 512GB OLED model for $899, and the 1TB OLED model for $1049. The 512GB OLED model would appear to be the sweet spot, since it boasts both the better screen and larger battery capacity, and should 512GB of SSD storage prove to be too restrictive in this era of ever-growing game installation sizes it’s worth noting that all three Steam Decks can be expanded with increasingly affordable microSD cards. You can also open up your Steam Deck and swap out the SSD if you’re tech savvy enough, although Valve doesn’t recommend it and doing so may void your warranty even within the comfy embrace of Australia’s considerable consumer protection laws. The OLED models provide a number of other advantages over the base LCD model too – they’re around 50g lighter which translates to a surprisingly more comfortable system to hold, the back paddle buttons feel a little firmer, and the speakers sound a little clearer at higher volumes. But beyond these tweaks (and there are a number of others), the OLED screen is just a substantial step up from LCD, and one worth paying the additional $250 for. What About the Competition? A lengthy delay to the Steam Deck’s local launch has given a headstart to the likes of ASUS and Lenovo to make a play for the commute-based gaming time of Australians. However, despite the fact that the ASUS Rog Ally and Legion Go may promise higher resolution displays and *******-inducing terraflop counts, most of them are hamstrung by their reliance on Windows for their operating system. And to speak plainly, Windows might be okay powering your desktop PC or Xbox, but it’s presently pretty unwieldy to work with on a gaming handheld. Updates to make its UI better optimised for handheld gaming are supposedly on the way, but at the moment these devices are just too painful to use compared with the more console-like experience of SteamOS on the Deck. SteamOS’s UI is snappy and easy to navigate, and to be honest so many of its initial rough edges have been smoothed out by this point that it’s very difficult to find fault with it. Since receiving a review unit from Valve a couple of weeks ago, the Steam Deck has quickly become a terrific tool for trawling back through my gaming pile of shame. Games that I’ve pushed to the side in recent years in favour of making time on the couch for hardware-pushing AAA titles have finally grabbed my attention either in short bursts on the couch while I’m waiting for a **** to boil or in lengthier sessions on train rides, and I’ve finally been able to make time for the likes of Dave the Diver, ***** Cells, as well as more recent releases like Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. At the same time, I’ve also been chipping away at Rockstar’s recently released Red ***** Redemption PC port, which runs brilliantly on the Deck with visuals that are substantially sharper than those found in the comparatively smudgey Switch version. Surprisingly, despite the fact that only around 10 per cent of games on the Steam store are deemed either ‘playable’ or ‘verified’ on the Deck, I’m yet to find many games that I want to play that don’t work – officially verified or not. Even both Silent Hill 2 and Horizon Forbidden West, which are currently listed on Steam as being unsupported, seem to run fairly smoothly on the Steam Deck with a little bit of tweaking to the settings, for example. That said, there are some obvious limitations to the hardware. The screen resolution is only 1280x800, which is certainly sharp enough for the Steam Deck’s seven-inch screen, and it also means the system’s GPU doesn’t have to push as many pixels as your desktop PC or gaming console. However, some more graphics intensive games struggle to hit even that relatively low resolution, with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy a little soft in their presentation. Even so, while you can’t go into the Steam Deck expecting it to handle absolutely everything you can throw at it, but if you’re anything like me you might be surprised at just how capable this ***** lapwarming slab can be in most cases. There is of course the question of a potential Steam Deck 2. Valve has indicated that it’s working on a handheld successor, but in an interview with [Hidden Content] last month, designer Lawrence Yang said that his team wants “to wait for a generational leap in compute without sacrificing battery life before we ship the real second generation of Steam Deck.” Just how long this generational leap will take to arrive is anyone’s guess, but you’d have to assume that the shiny new Steam Deck you pickup in November 2024 is unlikely to be superseded any time within the next couple of years at least. (Or indeed, dull new Steam Deck if you spring for the top of the line 1TB OLED model with the matte finish on its display.) So is the Steam Deck still worth it as of November, 2024? I would argue yes. Though it may lack the power to run some of this year’s beefiest titles like Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 at a playable framerate, it still supports a staggering number of games – enough to fill up thousands of train rides or trips to the ******* – and, should you opt for an OLED model, it runs them with enough battery life that you’ll rarely feel the need to be tethered to a USB power cord. Australians should rightly feel aggrieved that we’ve had to wait this long to buy a Steam Deck without resorting to eBay sellers or relying on ********* friends to ship one over to us, but there’s an upside here – two and a half years of system updates and one hardware refresh means that those of us who waited will be getting our first hands on with the Steam Deck in its most optimal form. Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN's Sydney office. He's increasingly afraid of social media, but on the rare occasion he does tweet you can find him here. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida surprised fans by revealing a mobile version of the popular MMORPG is in development and sharing some footage via a trailer. Final Fantasy 14 Mobile will include all content from A Realm Reborn along with some additional features like the Manderville Gold Saucer and PVP. View the full article

It's finally time for players to get their hands on Stalker 2 after GSC Game World delayed it once back in January 2024 to deal with some technical issues and then again in July 2024 to give the devs time to fix some "unexpected anomalies.".. Read more.View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Bust a groove with your mecha friends in RPG dance battles next year View the full article

Mortal Kombat 1 players have noticed the absence of the Whazzup mask in the game. Mortal Kombat 1 was released in September last year, and since then the roster has been gradually expanding. In addition to adding familiar names from the franchise, the developers have also been bringing iconic guests into the fold. View the full article

Final Fantasy XIV is the latest online multiplayer game to head to mobile, joining Diablo and Monster Hunter among others. It is being developed by Tencent subsidiary LightSpeed Studios, which is responsible for PUBG Mobile and recently added Dragon's Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno to its ranks as part of its newly-established Japan Studio. The official release calls it an "exciting extension of the beloved franchise" and says it will capture the "immersive experience of the original title in a fresh, mobile-friendly format." It's unconfirmed whether the new mobile title will include cross-progression or any of the expansions, but LightSpeed Studios does plan to retain lifestyle content including fishing, Triple Triad, and chocobo racing. In a statement as part of the release, Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida called the new release a "sister to Final Fantasy XIV." “It has been 11 years since FFXIV 2.0: A Realm Reborn launched, and this new mobile game will be a sister to FFXIV, aiming to recreate the grandeur of the original's story and combat mechanics on mobile devices,” Yoshida said. “Non-combat features, such as Disciples of the Land and Hand, will also be faithfully implemented and we look forward to growing alongside the passionate FFXIV community." Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was first released in 2013 and has experienced huge success since, releasing multiple acclaimed expansions, including Dawntrail earlier this year. It has been lauded for its respectful handling of Final Fantasy history, its storytelling, and its numerous features. The release claims that the mobile version will allow players to "immerse themselves in the meticulously crafted visual experience that defines Eorzea on mobile." It will include "intricate weather and time-of-day systems" and "over 600 weather patterns across various landscapes." The development teams have sought to optimize player character and equipment designs for the original game. IGN has asked for clarification on whether it will only feature the original A Realm Reborn content to start. Final Fantasy XIV Mobile does not yet have a release date, but a demo will be available for play tests in China, with a global launch following soon after. Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot. View the full article

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Stable channel. General Fixed a regression in audio capture for Remote Play Together Fixed issue causing some games to slow down after long play sessions. Fixed some causes of rare crashes in Steam Client. Desktop Mode Fixed successive game recording exports after the first one sometimes exporting the wrong clip.View the full article

A new trailer for Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone shows off a 30% XP bonus for players who own ****** Ops 6. The newest Call of Duty title appears to be a giant success. ****** Ops 6 is popular among many, and some gamers are using this title to return to the series after taking a break from the list of new releases aside from Call of Duty: Warzone. It appears that Activision may want to ensure that success can be capitalized on. View the full article

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players enjoy a story of revenge with many side quests, one of which includes hunting down high dragons. Their mission is to unite the Veilguard and defy the Gods. While doing so, players will face many obstacles and challenges. Some are mandatory for the story's sake, while others are optional. View the full article

Final Fantasy XIV has been officially announced for mobile devices! The award-winning MMORPG is coming to android and iOS, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. Final Fantasy XIV is a full-featured MMO with spectacular graphics and intricate gameplay, condensing that down into a mobile-friendly game is sure to be a difficult task. Even […] Source View the full article

There are many armor sets you can get in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, but one of the strongest is the Auroral Armor. This blue, red, and gold set of protective gear improves a character's innate defensive stats and provides several unique additional benefits. However, to obtain this armor, you have to travel to a dangerous dungeon that could trick you into losing everything. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This patch to the 5-year old RPG aims to rebalance and retool much of the game View the full article

The beloved 2019 action-adventure game's sequel makes a genre shift. View the full article

20 years ago, Half-Life 2 was the recipient of two of PC Gamer's highest review scores ever: 96% in PC Gamer ***, and 98% in the US version of the magazine, which at the time published separate reviews. .. Read more.View the full article

I've got to admit, when I loaded the latest iteration of Undisputed, the console and PC boxing game, I was scared that this stop-gap before the December update could potentially make the game worse. At first, I questioned the move's timing. At best, it was an attempt to help satisfy fans who were left somewhat underwhelmed by the gameplay, and at worst, it was an effort to get more buzz for the game to capitalize on the popularity of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson ****** card on Netflix. View the full article

Welcome to a hump day of humdinger discounts. As you would've no doubt seen already, I'm tracking some very early ****** Friday Sales in a gigantor article. That being said, I also wanted to do a smaller daily deals round-up that affords me the space to talk about crusty old games (my favourite thing). Speaking of which... In retro news, I'm busting out a 26-shaped cake (and The ******) for Bust A Groove on PS One. One of those *****, I Wish They Remastered That games of yore, this 1v1 dance fighter was a rhythm genre pioneer with a catchy-as-***** soundtrack. I first became entranced by it via a one-level demo of this Heat Stage on an Official PlayStation Magazine disc. I bought the full game and was soon cuttin' some rug with a wider cast of weirdoes, a deeper range of combo inputs, and a two-player Versus mode that a mate and I played non-stop. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games. - Bust a Groove (PS) 1998. eBay - NFS: Underground (GC,PC,PS2,XB) 2003. eBay - NFS: Undercover (PC, PS2/3,X360) 2008. eBay - MK vs. DC Universe (PS3,X360) 2008. eBay - New Nintendo 3DS launch (2014). eBay Table of ContentsNintendo SwitchPCXboxPlayStationLEGONice Savings for Nintendo Switch It Takes Two (-38%) - A$36.95Mario Golf: Super Rush (-29%) -NFS Hot Pursuit (-35%) - A$39Sonic X Shadow Generations (-33%) - A$54Mario Kart 8 Del. (-20%) - A$64Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope (-69%) - A$27.95BioMutant (-50%) - A$29.95Super Mario RPG (-27%) - A$58.60 Expiring Recent Deals Just Dance 2025 (-49%) - A$36Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble (-30%) - A$48.99FC 25 (-44%) - A$49Maneater (-35%) - A$38.81Ring Fit Adventure (-27%) - A$91PowerA Pro cont. (-30%) - A$70 Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card. Switch Console Prices How much to Switch it up? [/url] Back to top Purchase Cheap for PC Corsair K55 Core RGB (-32%) - A$54HyperX Alloy Origins 65 (-26%) - A$117Corsair Scimitar Elite (-33%) - A$92Logitech G203 Wired (-39%) - A$43Logitech G502 X Plus (-41%) - A$177 Expiring Recent Deals Corsair K70 Core Mechanical (-31%) - A$137ASUS ROG Falchion RX keyboard (-36%) - A$179SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless (-48%) - A$61.49SteelSeries Apex Pro keyboard (-36%) - A$279.49HyperX Alloy Origins (-23%) - A$137.69 Or just get a Steam Wallet Card PC Hardware Prices Slay your pile of shame. [/url] Back to top Exciting Bargains for Xbox Red ***** Redemption II (-72%) - A$24.95Tekken 8 (-47%) - A$63Mortal Kombat 1 (-53%) - A$35.68GTA V (-58%) - A$24.95Dragon Age: The Veilguard (-32%) - A$75Star Wars Outlaws (-41%) - A$65 Expiring Recent Deals Space Marine 2 (-39%) - A$66.95CoD: MW2 (-73%) - A$29.95Moving Out 2 (-50%) - A$22.71F1 24 (-41%) - A$64.95Riders Republic (-50%) - A$29.86Persona 3 Reload (-39%) - A$66.95 Or just invest in an Xbox Card. Xbox Console Prices How many bucks for a 'Box? [/url] Back to top Pure Scores for PlayStation LEGO Skywalker Saga (-73%) - A$24RoboCop: Rogue City (-35%) - A$58.54Need for Speed Unbound (-82%) - A$20Visions of Mana (-31%) - A$69Hogwarts Legacy (-56%) - A$48.45UFC 5 (-57%) - A$47Star Wars Outlaws (-42%) - A$64Dragon Age: The Veilguard (-37%) - A$69 Expiring Recent Deals Space Marine 2 (-39%) - A$66.95Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (-46%) - A$65FC 25 (-55%) - A$49Undisputed (-43%) - A$50.95WRC (-55%) - A$27Cyberpunk 2077: Ult. (-42%) - A$64Tekken 8 (-47%) - A$63Madden NFL 25 (-41%) - A$64.99Persona 3 Reload (-36%) - A$69.95 Or purchase a PS Store Card. PS5 Pro Enhanced Bargain What you'll pay to 'Station. [/url] Back to top Legit LEGO Deals Sonic: Shadow The Hedgehog (-30%) - A$20Mario: Peach’s Castle (-21%) - A$79Mario: Bowser (-28%) - A$289 Expiring Recent Deals Star Wars: Boarding the Tantive IV (-22%) - A$69BMW M4 GT3 & BMW Hybrid (-33%) - A$50Marvel: Motorcycle Chase (-33%) - A$10 Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

One of Ghostface's fatalities in Mortal Kombat 1 has an interesting change when performed against Kenshi. Some would say that part of Mortal Kombat's notoriety comes from its unique Fatalities, and Mortal Kombat 1 is no exception. Fans look forward to each iteration and check how creative the development team is in terms of conjuring up new ways to finish off opponents. This is also true whenever characters are introduced in the game. View the full article

Try out the narrative isometric time-loop RPG for a limited-time. View the full article

Some Heroes of the Storm fans have created a petition asking Blizzard to bring the MOBA to Steam. This decision would ultimately not take a lot of resources from Blizzard and would give Heroes of the Storm the chance to revitalize itself on a new platform. View the full article

Pre-orders are now open for the Windows 365 Link, Microsoft's new $349 mini PC that helps schools, businesses, and other organizations quickly access the cloud-based Windows 365 OS. A beta program is open in several countries, and general availability begins in April 2025. Read Entire Article View the full article