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There are few ideas more worthy of a sequel than that which powered Splitgate. Cribbing Aperture Science’s portal tech and loading it into a competitive arena shooter? I mean, c’mon – who the heck wouldn’t want to play that?! But while the first stab at this awesome concept proved too much of a rough draft to keep players’ fickle attentions for long, Splitgate 2 hopes to build on what worked by making modest improvements to the formula. After playing four hours of its fast-paced PvP matches for myself, I think this streamlined sequel stands a much better chance of keeping my attention, even though it seems like it won’t exactly swing for the fences with the kind of significant overhauls one might hope for. Most of Splitgate 2’s tweaks are incremental improvements rather than anything revolutionary, but nearly all of the decisions developer 1047 Games has made are welcome changes. Without question the biggest refinement is the addition of character classes in the form of the three playable factions. Aeros is all about mobility, with abilities that keep you moving faster and let you easily restore your health. My personal favorite, Meridian, is a support faction that can reveal enemies through walls for their whole team and manipulate time within an area of effect, so you can do things like ****** and reload faster, but your enemies do so more slowly. Finally, there’s Sabrask, who are brute force bruisers with sticky grenades and deployable protective walls they can ****** through while their opponents can’t. None of the factions play all that differently from one another (you’re still always manipulating the battlefield with portals, jetpacking all over the place, and using samey feeling weapons with all three), but the abilities and equipment they each bring into battle are pretty significant, and since they all have quite short cooldowns to boot, that makes them feel pretty distinct despite having a lot in common. Dropping barriers as a Sabrask knucklehead or a time-altering dome as a Meridian agent can have a significant impact on the flow of battle, and encountering a Aeros fighter hopped up on stims and flying through the air at blazing speeds can be extremely bad for your health. It’s also neat that you can customize all three with a handful of different options for your class equipment, a few options for perks that passively augment how your character plays, and more. For example, if you want a more tactical version of the Sabrask faction, you can replace your sticky grenade with a smoke grenade that gives you a different sort of advantage with that class. Or, if you’re like me, you might just want to go into battle with a shotgun to pop out of portals and give the ****** a lead surprise at close range. The freedom you lose from getting to assign your portal manually is more than worth sacrificing for a simpler and more intuitive experience. Another fairly big adjustment comes in the form of Splitgate 2’s maps, which are much smaller than its predecessor’s arenas and are more ************* in their placement of surfaces you can place portals on. The original Splitgate’s maps were often too big for the player count and as a result, it took a bit too long to get into the action after each respawn. In Splitgate 2, that’s not a problem at all, and maps on the whole seem to be a lot more thoughtfully planned out. Of course, smaller maps mean there are also more opportunities for spawn ********, and at least a few of my deaths came mere seconds after spawning, which never feels great. The fact that portals only appear in select areas and are way less common than in the last game is also mostly a good thing. Plus, there’s generally less chaos and fewer opportunities for more experienced players to sweat all over newcomers with their portal-based tricks and superior map knowledge, which definitely makes for more welcoming matches. On the other hand, though, it’s a bit of a bummer that there are fewer opportunities to get creative and pull off wild stunts. I’ll probably need more time in the wild with the more prudently placed portal surfaces to say for sure whether this adjustment is for the best. While factions and map design represent the biggest changes in Splitgate 2, most of the other adjustments are much more minor. One nice update is how your respawn timer works, which grows longer with each ******, and can be sped up by having your teammates score ****** against the ******, with each frag reducing it by three seconds. Another is how portal mechanics have been simplified, so instead of having to juggle two separate commands for each part of your portal, your **** is now smart enough to do this automatically based on context. The freedom you lose from getting to assign your portal manually is more than worth sacrificing for a simpler and more intuitive experience. These minor quality of life updates might not be the game-changers one might expect from a sequel, but they definitely help nudge an already rock-solid concept in the right direction. The flip side, though, is that so much of Splitgate 2 ******** unchanged from the original that I’m genuinely not sure if it’ll be enough of a shot in the arm for this sequel to avoid the fate of its predecessor. From what I can tell, it certainly seems this will be a step up from Splitgate 1, but will it be enough of an improvement to keep my attention? Time will tell. View the full article

t this point, I'm kind of waiting for the Borderlands movie's redemption arc to kick in. Despite its stacked cast and many years in development, this thing has been universally declared a stinker: and not even the so-bad-it's-good kind. PCG's own Joshua Wolens found it left him pining for the original Super Mario Bros movie, the Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 10%, and the opening box office receipts were utterly dire ($16 million globally on a $145 million production / marketing budget, and that's even before the theatres take their cut)... Read more.View the full article

***** Cells is finishing a ***** of a run. The excellent roguelike that first hit early access all the way back in 2017 got its "final major update" today, adding a raft of new features, weapons, customisation options and, most importantly, bidding a fond farewell to fans... Read more.View the full article

Ultimate weapons are the strongest weapons in The First Descendant. Almost every build in the game involves a specific Ultimate ******* to take advantage of the Reactor mounting, so you might as well upgrade them to make the most out of your Descendants. There are many ways to improve your Ultimate weapons in The First Descendant, including leveling them up and increasing ******* Proficiency. However, something only available for Ultimate weapons is enhancing their Unique Ability. View the full article

The lobby has many different items you can use to create a stunning look in Dress To Impress, but some of the most unique assets require a bit of extra work to unlock. This is the case for Lashes, one of the most useful accessory items you can get. The Lashes accessory item gives any look you create a nice bit of extra detail. It’s also a super customizable item, which makes it a great one to use for creating truly unique looks. Here’s how to get Lashes in Roblox’s Dress To Impress. View the full article

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical broke the mold for narrative gaming when it first released last summer, taking typical choice-based mechanics and giving them a brilliant twist in the form of interactive songs. It was the debut release from Summerfall Studios, which was founded in part by Dragon Age creator David Gaider, and received widespread critical acclaim for its storytelling and soundtrack. A year later, players are finally able to return to the mythical world of Greek gods with the new Orpheus DLC, which focuses on the titular character looking for love with the help of messenger **** Hermes. View the full article

Influencers and streamers covering ****** Myth: Wukong have been asked to keep politics, COVID-19 references and “feminist ***********” out of their coverage, it’s emerged. As reported by Sports Illustrated’s Video Games team, French content creator and former Gamekult editor Benoit Reinier posted a video revealing that he had been sent the document, which he then shared online. The document, sent to influencers and streamers by Hero Games – the marketing team for ****** Myth: Wukong’s developer and publisher Game Science – specifies a number of topics they aren’t allowed to talk about while covering the game. Read More... View the full article

No gaming handheld has been able to challenge the Steam Deck on both price and performance, and this streak looks set to continue with the Zotac Zone price, which has now been confirmed as $799. Time will tell whether the Zotac Zone can make a name for itself as one of the best handheld gaming PCs, but launching at the same price as the Asus ROG Ally X is far from ideal. Asus already had skin in the game, and a big brand reputation, prior to the release of the Ally. Zotac, however, is starting from scratch in this market. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X already has its first price cut The best back to school laptop deals 2024 Save $400 on this RTX 4060 gaming laptop from HP, if you're quick View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Let's get one thing out of the way - the Silent Hill franchise is one that's passed me by. Don't ask me why, I just never had the ******* or opportunity to play as a youth. What hasn't escaped me is the criticism from fans and horror purists directed towards the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. I'm very aware that handing the keys over to Bloober Team, altering key design aspects, and seemingly focusing more on combat has all resulted in concern. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Silent Hill 2 remake release date, trailers, and more Silent Hill 2 Remake dev blames Konami for bad trailer Silent Hill 2 and MGS 3 remake almost here, according to new teaser View the full article

We've found a fantastic gaming laptop deal on Best Buy that is perfect value for less than $1,000. The HP Omen 16 has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU alongside 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD storage, and a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, meaning you'll be running the latest and greatest games at high settings for years to come. Better still, you'll save $400 over the MSRP, but only if you're quick. We took a closer look at this model in our HP Omen 16 review, awarding it an 8/10, praising its fantastic performance even at MSRP. We even go as far as to recommend it as one of the best gaming laptops, specifically as the go-to for anyone looking to buy a 16-inch laptop. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Nvidia brings World of Warcraft mods to GeForce Now New Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 could arrive next week, says ***** Nvidia GPUs with double VRAM spotted, but there's a catch View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Ubisoft has confirmed plans to lay off 45 employees from two of its US studios. As reported by Bloomberg, the cuts are spread across Ubisoft San Francisco and Cary, North Carolina-based Red Storm Entertainment. Ubisoft San Francisco is the studio behind Rocksmith, South Park: The Fractured but Whole and XDefiant, while Red Storm primarily develops games in the Tom Clancy’s franchise. Read More... View the full article

Hollow Knight: Silksong won't be appearing during Geoff Keighley's two-hour long Gamescom Opening Night Live broadcast this week. The organizer confirmed that the long-awaited game won't have a trailer or showing during the live stream on social media Saturday. View the full article

Silent Hill 2 is set to release for PS5 and PC on October 8 – or October 6 if you spring for the pricier deluxe edition. A full remake of the survival horror classic that landed on PlayStation 2 in 2001, this new version of the foggy ******-fest features updated graphics, controls, and more. It’s also now available to preorder at all the usual retailers (see it at Amazon). Read on to find out what’s new in this remake, as well as what kinds of preorder bonuses you can expect. Preorder Silent Hill 2 PS5 Get it at Amazon - $69.99Get it at Best Buy - $69.99Get it at GameStop - $69.99Get it at Target - $69.99Get it at Walmart - $69.99Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99 PC Get it on GMG - $54.59Get it on Steam - $69.99Get it on Humble - $69.99 If you want a physical copy, or all you want is the game itself with no paid extras, then the standard edition is the one to get. Silent Hill 2 Digital Deluxe Edition PS5 Get it at PS Store - $79.99 PC Get it on GMG - $62.39Get it on Steam - $79.99Get it on Humble - $79.99 Those who want some digital extras with their game can pick up the digital-only deluxe edition. It comes with the game itself, plus the following digital items: 48-hour early access (October 6)Digital artbookDigital soundtrackPyramid Head Mask (pizza box)Robbie the Rabbit mask (PS5 only)Silent Hill 2 Preorder Bonus Preorder Silent Hill 2, and you’ll receive the following in-game digital item: Mira the Dog Mask I don’t know about you, but this is probably the single best preorder bonus I’ve ever seen. Truly incredible. What Is Silent Hill 2? Like the original before it, the Silent Hill 2 remake kicks off when James Sunderland receives a letter from his deceased wife Mary, asking him to come to the town of Silent Hill. He does, and he finds a town veiled in fog and inhabited by all kinds of terrifying creatures. This new version of the game features overhauled graphics and sound, bringing it up to what players expect in the modern gaming landscape. The environments have been expanded and filled out, letting you explore previously unreachable areas. Like the recent Resident Evil remakes, Silent Hill 2 ditches the fixed perspective of the original in favor of an over-the-shoulder camera. Combat has also gotten an overhaul, with a new dodging mechanic and the ability to aim down sights, neither of which you could do in the original. Other Preorder Guides Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Geoff Keighley has teased the reveal of a brand new game some fans believe is a new entry in the Dying Light series. Keighley tweeted a live action video called The ******, which depicts a woman desperately trying to escape from a terrifying ****** in a wooded area. Alongside the tease is the promise of more information at ONL, which kicks off at 11am PT / 2pm ET tomorrow, August 20. The ****** Is Coming Tune into @gamescom Opening Night Live, tomorrow at 11a PT / 2p ET / 8p EST for the reveal. Set a Reminder on YouTube to Watch Live: [Hidden Content] [Hidden Content] — Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 19, 2024 But what is The ******? Fans have already linked it to a recent trademark for a new Dying Light game called Dying Light: The ******, which popped up on the ******* States Patent and Trademark Office last week. Dying Light developer Techland is listed as the owner of the trademark. Techland has filed for a new trademark: DYING LIGHT: THE ****** [Hidden Content] [Hidden Content] — Kurakasis (@Kurakasis) August 14, 2024 The question now is whether Dying Light: The ****** is DLC for Dying Light 2, a standalone expansion, a smaller-scale entry or spin-off, or what should be considered a fully-fledged sequel in the Dying Light series. Dying Light 2 launched two-and-a-half years ago, in February 2022, as a sequel to the hugely popular zombie ***** ‘em-up Dying Light. It sold five million copies in its first month on *****. In July 2023, ******** mega corp Tencent bought Techland for an undisclosed fee. So, it looks like we’re going to see a new Dying Light game at ONL, but we won’t see the hotly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, which Geoff Keighley has already ruled out. Confirmed games set to appear during the two-hour show include Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, Civilization 7, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

A Red ***** Redemption 2 player completed their 100% run by visiting Arthur Morgan's grave to say goodbye as John Marston. This emotional Red ***** Redemption 2 final scene, with John standing by Arthur's grave, resonated with other players, who shared their reflections on the game's story. View the full article

You’re missing out if you play Counter-Strike 2 without console commands. This tactical shooter features a long list of customizable options to personalize your game. You can use the console to add, tweak, and replace user interface elements like your mini-map, HUD, crosshair, and much more. How to open the console in CS2 Don’t miss out on these commands. Image by Dot Esports To use the console in CS2, press the tilde (~) key on your keyboard when you’re in a game. If you haven’t already, you can enable your console by heading to your settings and checking the Enable Developer Console box. View the full article

I probably spend too much time online, so today’s “Browser subwindow” clue was quite easy for me to solve. But since it’s such a short and specific clue, it can definitely be difficult to complete. The answer for the “Browser subwindow” hint is just three letters long. If you’re struggling to solve this one, here are some hints and the official answer to help you complete this puzzle clue. View the full article

Dragon Age: The Veilguard got another trailer last week, and it went down a whole lot better than the initial reveal. Morrigan is back, old plot points are being revived, and we're getting a **** griffon. However, not everyone is happy with what we've seen so far, and are making their grievances known wherever they can. View the full article

Half-Life 2 is about to turn 20 years old. That's two decades, over 7,000 days, and countless FPS games emulating Valve's work. We're still waiting on Half-Life 3, and while recent rumors point to the sequel being as real as it ever has been, it looks like something big may be in store for Gordon Freeman's second adventure. A new update bears a striking resemblance to one Valve dropped for the original Half-Life right before that game's huge free update last year, so HL2 might be getting a similar overhaul. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Half-Life 2 coming to the big screen in the worst way imaginable Half-Life 2's vehicle levels *****, and it's time we all admit it Half Life 2 RTX won't use AI textures, devs are crafting "every pixel" View the full article

I remember watching Felix 'PewDiePie' Kjellberg play Alien: Isolation as a ****. I wasn't allowed to play it because the movies terrified my mom and would therefore horrify me, so watching Pewds was as close as I got. It was like a delayed chorus; he'd scream, I'd scream, he'd scream, I'd close YouTube. Whether I knew it back then or not, Isolation had implanted a seed in me; one that would grow and entice me back to the eerie, abandoned halls of the Sevastopol again and again. It's been years since I played Isolation, but with the release of Alien: Romulus and a pretty hefty discount, I might just have to terrify myself all over again. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: One of the greatest horror games ever made is less than $10 right now Alien Day Steam ***** drops prices on some real highs and lows Alien: Isolation mod adds "more aliens" to classic horror game View the full article

****** Myth: Wukong developer Game Science has confirmed the global release times for the hotly anticipated action game, revealing when it goes live across the world. The release date is set for 10am UTC+8 on August 20, which means ****** Myth: Wukong actually goes live at 7pm Pacific on August 19 and 3am *** on August 20. ****** Myth: Wukong is inspired by the classical ******** novel Journey to the West and is set for release on PlayStation 5 and PC this week, with an Xbox Series X and S version slated for a later date (find out why here). IGN’s ****** Myth: Wukong review returned an 8/10. We said: “Despite some frustrating technical issues, ****** Myth: Wukong is a great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a beautiful world.” ****** Myth: Wukong Global Release Schedule:Los Angeles: 7pm PDT August 19Mexico City: 8pm CST August 19New York: 10pm EDT August 19São Paulo: 11pm BRT August 19London: 3am BST August 20Berlin: 4am CEST August 20Johannesburg: 4am SAST August 20Moscow: 5am MSK August 20Dubai: 6am GST August 20New Delhi: 7.30am IST August 20Beijing: 10am CST August 20Singapore: 10am SGT August 20Seoul: 11am KST August 20Tokyo: 11am JST August 20Sydney: 12am AEST August 20 Today, IGN verified an email sent from the ****** Myth: Wukong marketing team that told content creators granted a Steam key that they must not include “feminist ***********” or use what are called “trigger words” such as COVID-19 in their coverage. Game Science has yet to respond to IGN’s previous report compiling numerous sexist comments made by the studio's founders and other developers spanning the last decade. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

The PlayStation 5 and PC version of Until Dawn reportedly costs $59.99 and fans are once again debating what a good price for remakes is. The $60 price tag hasn't been confirmed officially but comes from Dealabs' billbil-kun, one of the most reputable leakers who for the past several years has announced each month's PlayStation Plus games before PlayStation itself. This price is therefore likely. Its reveal has been met with mixed reactions from PlayStation fans, with some saying the level of remaster or remake going on here justifies the near full price product. Others, who point out Until Dawn turns a decade old in 2025, are less enthused. "I'm not paying full price for a game that's been about $10 for the past decade," said noelle-silva on Reddit. "It was free with the PS Plus Collection that came with the PS5," said another. "*****, that's greedy as *****," said LovelyOrangeJuice. Others, meanwhile, argued the opposite. "How hard is it for people to understand that it's not a remaster," said No_Caregiver8718 on another Reddit post. "You can still go to your local game store and buy a copy of the original for PS4," said TechSmith62626 on another. And the case for Until Dawn is a touch more complex as it's not just a graphical upgrade. It features a revamped opening with new scenes, revised cinematography throughout that uses a combination of fixed and over-the-shoulder camera views, myriad accessibility and usability changes including an alternative to its somewhat infamous "Don't Move" mechanic, and the wealth of graphical upgrades such as updated character models and environments, visual effects, animations, and more. Many fans point out that playing the PlayStation 4 game on PS5 already runs it at 60 frames per second, but the full PS5 and PC version obviously provides much more than that. Whether or not it's worth it to each individual player ******** to be seen, and Sony is yet to announce whether any form of discount will be available to those who already own it on PS4. This option isn't available for PC players, of course, who must pay $60 to play Until Dawn regardless of whether or not they care about the upgrades. Some have pointed to this as a sore spot after seeing the PS4 version priced at under $20 for the last several years. Until Dawn for PS5 and PC was announced in January 2024 as the latest in a long line of ports and remasters that includes this year's The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Bloodborne. Just mentioning it sends shockwaves through the room but also calls for tears to flow as Sony’s apparent ignorance of it leaves many feeling somber. However, though prospects of a remake or remaster are poor, emulation might be the solution, and Bloodborne now runs at 60 fps on the PC. The stellar footage was shared by YouTuber Yahfz today, Aug. 19, who experimented with the ShadPS4 emulator, whose sole purpose appears to be running Bloodborne by any means necessary. In the video, Yahfz controls their character throughout the Hunter’s Dream area, swings their mighty hammer, and generally walks about. While there’s no sound but ambiance, and the textures aren’t rendering fully, the fact that the game is even running at such a pace is mind-boggling. View the full article

Last week, the Helldivers 2 community banded together to protest against the recent and controversial nerfs by allowing the Automaton hordes to reach Super Earth. The idea was that it would box developer Arrowhead into coming up with a convincing narrative solution or, if the first game was any indication, cause the entire campaign to restart. Nothing happened. View the full article

Bang. Hideo Kojima’s back. Well, back to tweeting out ****** Stranding 2 teasers that consist of an image of a faceless actor with a question written over the top of them, imploring people to ask questions. Questions like who? Like how? And like what now? Yep, at 9AM on a Monday during the week of a video games event — Gamescom, you might have heard about it — the developer’s posted a teaser image that may or may not be hinting at anything for that show. One thing’s for sure, fans are pretty certain they’ve worked out which actor’s mug the teaser features. You can find this latest Kojima teaser, which to my knowledge is the first of this kind the director’s posted in a little while, below. ****** Stranding 2’s marketing has been full of these, with the most memorable ones having come around the time Kojima Productions was telling everyone about Elle Fanning’s involvement in the game, via the same kind of ‘blank faced outline, here’s a question mark’ fashion as is being used here. Read more View the full article