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NYT Mini clues, like today’s “Mario’s Twin” clue, are my favorite because they blend my main interests: Words and Video Games. Yes, the NYT Mini is a game, but don’t tell the fancy folk who play. ‘Mario’s Twin’ NYT Mini clue hints He’s as iconic as his brother. Screenshot by Dot Esports Before I give you the answer to this clue, I’ll give you four more chances to get it. View the full article

Few games truly deserve the remake treatment as much as Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Arguably the best stealth-action game of its generation, back in 2004 it pushed the PlayStation 2 to its very limits – so much so that the hardware occasionally weighed down its ambitions. Twenty years later, a complete remake from Konami using the power of modern consoles has the potential to unlock the full, uncompromised vision of the game’s original creators. Instead, this new, Kojima-less Metal Gear Solid Delta seems more like a very shiny HD remaster than the elegant remake it could have been. It’s an admittedly beautiful nostalgia trip, but almost faithful to a fault. In a recent hands-on demonstration I was able to play through Metal Gear Solid Delta’s Virtuous Mission; a complete recreation of MGS3’s prologue built in Unreal Engine 5. It looks every bit as fantastic as you’d hope, particularly when it comes to character models – faces and clothing are a real highlight. The jungle is the true star of the show, though, with modern lighting techniques helping showcase the graphical overhaul to every blade of grass, every pool of mud, and every writhing python. If you’re a Metal Gear veteran, you’ll know that the roughly 90-minute duration of the Virtuous Mission is dominated by cutscenes and codec calls. It’s not the ideal section to test drive any changes Konami has made (visuals aside) particularly since Delta uses the same dialogue audio as the original Snake Eater and thus all cinematics are frame-for-frame and line-for-line identical. But, if this slice is anything to go by, any gameplay changes are minimal. Delta appears to be a painstaking recreation of Metal Gear Solid 3 down to the millimetre. Trees stand exactly where they originally stood. The same enemies patrol the same routes. And frustratingly frequent load screens once again divide the jungle into small, self-contained maps. This structure, perfectly preserved from the 2004 original, makes Metal Gear Solid Delta feel so much older than its new high-definition visuals. The jungle is small and claustrophobic, not because of its imposing canopy but because of its limited playspaces. The loading screens act as hard barriers, meaning what happens in one zone doesn’t impact another – alerted guards can’t chase you into a different map, for instance. This lack of continuity between each segment limits your creativity; there’s seemingly no way to cause distractions that fool enemies into investigating beyond a loading screen boundary, or line up a perfect shot across the stitching between zones. Frustratingly frequent load screens once again divide the jungle into small, self-contained maps. All of this, of course, was not just forgivable back in 2004 but expected. The PS2 simply couldn’t render an entire seamless playspace this detailed. But in 2024 the freedom of Metal Gear Solid 5’s sprawling maps, which would be perfectly at home retrofitted into Snake Eater’s ******* wilderness, is sorely missing here. I’m reminded of Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake, which eliminated the original game’s iconic door-opening loading screens in favour of a more immersive, completely seamless police station. Without a similar approach, I worry that the overall play experience of MGS Delta won’t be significantly different enough from the Snake Eater HD remaster available as part of last year’s Master Collection Vol. 1 – a game with a much lower price point and packaged with two other truly excellent games. After playing the demo I had the chance to talk with producer Noriaki Okamura and I asked why the team didn’t opt to bring MGS3’s map design up to date. “We did debate about this internally,” he told me. “Maybe we should reskin the game into the current open-world type map? But after thinking about this, we would definitely have to basically remake the game from scratch, and by doing so it could alter other things about the game, and we decided that’s not the direction we really wanted to take.” While the playspace of the Virtuous Mission is exactly what you remember, Konami has made some smart changes that incontestably make Delta more comfortable to play than its parent. The most important is a modernised control scheme that works in tandem with over-the-shoulder aiming, a feature pulled from the 3DS version of MGS3. This setup is practically revolutionary. The original Snake Eater used inputs that had their roots in the comparatively basic MGS1, but the increasingly complex and ambitious boss battles demanded a level of fine control that the scheme simply couldn’t keep up with. Thankfully the old, fiddly aim mechanics are now gone, replaced with contemporary trigger-based **** control that allows for easy, precise headshots. There’s nothing in the Virtuous Mission that really challenged my marksmanship, but I’m really looking forward to battling The Fury; a boss whose speed and ******* patterns were an uncomfortable fit for the original game’s clunky controls. Other welcome enhancements are a quick-dial system for your codec, allowing you to access vital functions like saving the game by tapping down on the d-pad, while the up button opens a quick-select for your camouflage. The two remaining d-pad buttons cycle through your equipment, which is a minor but solid improvement over the original scheme. More essential is the fact that Snake can now crouch walk (another feature first included in the 3DS version), which practically feels like a necessity in a stealth game. Combined with the refreshed aiming system and modern 3D camera, Snake Eater now plays much more intuitively. However, I will caveat that by saying it does still feel like a game from a prior generation; Snake unfortunately does not move with the fluidity of his MGS5 counterpart. Again, it feels like Konami has missed a clear opportunity to bring modern enhancements to MGS Delta. There are smart changes that incontestably make Delta more comfortable to play than its parent. Provided the entire game follows suit with this demo, I think your feelings on Delta are going to depend on just how faithful you want this remake to be. If you’re a purist, then you’re in luck: the new MGS team at Konami clearly sees the original Snake Eater as something of a religious text. But it means Delta’s creative vision is held prisoner by the early 2000s. Even the cutscenes feature the same fade-to-****** loading between scenes as the original – something surely cinephile Kojima would have exorcised if only he’d had access to SSDs back in the day. Beyond the updated graphics and controls, there’s nothing surprising, refreshing, or dare I say exciting about MGS Delta, at least in this demo. The only significant change we did find was that ********* Ocelot did not trigger the time paradox game over screen. It’s not clear if this omission is simply because the demo is not pulled from the final version of the game, but such a famous Kojima-ism being missing from the first press showing of Delta did raise a concerned eyebrow. Hopefully it makes it into the full release. Okamura told me that he “wanted to avoid a situation where this series will be forgotten in time,” and that the goal of Delta was to “make sure we deliver the game as faithfully as possible so it doesn’t take away from the nostalgic aspect.” That’s a noble goal, but I can’t help but feel that was the job of the Master Collection. I had hoped Delta would have seen the team upgrade and enhance Snake Eater with ideas from The Phantom Pain and beyond, offering the same story and objectives but in a more modern, more flexible, and more reactive stealth hunting ground. That could have made it the remake to topple Resident Evil 2 from its perch. Instead, Metal Gear Solid Delta is shaping up to be little more than a prettier, more intuitive version of 2004’s most essential stealth game. Matt Purslow is IGN's Senior Features Editor. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

With the most recent LoLdle quotes being exceedingly short and mysterious, today’s long LoLdle quote is a bit telling, especially if you’re a fan of the League of Legends Netflix series Arcane. But if you’re not into animated shows or champions with a mean right *****, this one might be a little elusive, which is why the LoLdle quote for Aug. 26 is below. View the full article

Perfect World has today disqualified Russian Counter-Strike 2 squad PARAVISION from the ********* RMR after it was revealed the competitive team had their Valve-banned coach present during their qualifier match earlier last week. PARAVISION made it through a tough closed qualifier for the Shanghai Major RMRs on Aug. 23 with their win over GamerLegion 2-1. Their run also included wins over ENTERPRISE and B8, but with the third victory secured, the team was set to take on Europe’s best CS2 teams for a spot at the Major. In celebrating their victory, PARAVISION posted a now-deleted video that saw team coach Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov partake in the match and their celebrations. View the full article

The existence of Valve’s hero shooter MOBA hybrid Deadlock has only just been officially recognized, and seasoned esports ***** and star streamers like Shroud are already singing its praises after just hours of play. “Yeah, this game is gonna easily—and I mean easily—takeover when it comes out,” Shroud declared, sounding convinced about Deadlock’s potential during his first public session with the impending game on Saturday, Aug. 24. Added Shroud: “It’s the first arena shooter MOBA that’s actually good. All the other ones kind of stink.” View the full article

Plumber Power is one of those tricky quests in World of Warcraft: The War Within that tests the limits of your patience as you solve the steam tunnel puzzles. If you’re struggling, here’s a step-by-step guide to follow to solve all three. How to start the Plumber Power quest in WoW The War Within This is a tough one to complete. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Blizzard Entertainment. You can start the Plumber Power quest in WoW The War Within by speaking to Fourman Grimmes in Gundargaz in The Ringing Deeps. You’ll find him at the coordinates 47 and 32. View the full article

Wizards of the Coast helmsman Mark Rosewater has this week declared that as little as seven percent of surveyed Magic: The Gathering players actually dislike the crossover-slanted Universes Beyond product line enough to want it canned. Universes Beyond sees one of the world’s most popular trading card games mingle with brands or universes outside of what we know as MTG. But in an effort to capture an even greater audience, long-time fans of MTG have complained about experiencing “product fatigue” amidst an overwhelming number of crossovers between popular IPs and the game. Rosewater was quick to push back on the idea in an Aug. 25 blog, suggesting the subset of MTG fans who dislike Universes Beyond and want the idea shredded is quite small. View the full article

The Riot Games balance team has started tempering players’ expectations for its League of Legends plans in 2025, despite the game’s director Pu Liu famously declaring as recently as nine months ago that League would be “changing forever” with everything the developers had planned for next season and beyond. There is “cool stuff coming,” League‘s studio head Andrei van Roon said this weekend, but the idea it would change the game forever may have been “a bit of an oversell.” View the full article

Ezio of *********'s Creed fame left a surprise message during AEW's All In London as part of wrestler Will Ospreay's entrance. Many wrestling fans are already familiar with how Will Ospreay's gimmick is highly inspired by the *********'s Creed franchise. From his entrance attire, up to signature moves like the Hidden Blade, the man with the Aerial ********* nickname has really taken many liberties in regard to the character he plays. View the full article

In World of Warcraft: The War Within, The Brotherhood in the Skolzgal Wood is one of the questlines you must complete to earn the Sojourner of Isle of Dorn achievement. This War Within questline isn’t easy to complete because it contains 12 individual quests, with the first even locked behind your campaign progress. If you’re struggling to finish this WoW The War Within questline or you just simply don’t know where to begin, here’s everything you’re going to need to know. View the full article

Saudi Arabia’s plan to establish the Esports World Cup as a recurring event has been set in motion: The all-encompassing “celebration of esports” will make a return in 2025. A location hasn’t been locked in, but it’s believed the EWC will remain in the region. The announcement came as the Esports World Cup wrapped up this weekend with PUBG, Rocket League, the Esports Awards, and the closing ceremony capping off nearly two months of action in Riyadh. Saudi-backed organization Team Falcons, who participated in just about every esport running at the event, was crowned the champions of 2024 via the club championship ladder, taking home a monstrous $7 million prize. View the full article

****** Myth: Wukong is very much its own experience, but ever since it was first revealed, it's been constantly compared to FromSoft's challenging video games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring. Although it does bear some obvious inspiration, it's not strictly a soulslike, cutting a number of typical genre features and leaning into its own strengths as an action game. When it's at its best, the result has its own beautiful blend of propulsive gameplay and demanding challenges, especially when it comes to dodging the devastating attacks that bosses frequently unleash. View the full article

Although The Sims has dominated the life sim genre since its inception, with its fourth entry currently holding the crown, InZOI appears as though it will finally rival the series, and it looks like it will be just around the corner. Other titles hoping to do the same, like Life by You, have been canceled or seem very far away, as is the case with Paralives. InZOI, on the other hand, offered a character creator demo from August 21-26, showing that the time for players to get their hands on the game is soon. View the full article

Cyberpunk 2077 allows players to ***** into the rich, seedy world of Night City, with an engaging storyline and intriguing characters at its core. There's plenty to see and do while exploring the open world, with a plethora of side quests and collectibles that make Night City feel truly lived in, revealing more about the plights of citizens from all walks of life. View the full article

According to a new report, it seems that ****** Myth: Wukong's Xbox version has been pushed back due to a technical problem. ****** Myth: Wukong was recently released on PC and PS5 to staggering commercial success, selling over 10 million copies so far and smashing all expectations. The game has proven to be quite popular with PC and PS5 gamers, and so it's no wonder that Xbox fans may be feeling left out. View the full article

If you're anything like me, Baldur's Gate 3 knocked your life off-kilter and sent you on a long and winding personal journey through computer and tabletop RPG history looking for the same magic. Brazil-based indie developer vikintor took the lingering BG3 mania to the next level, though, creating a custom ***** map for his and others' Githyanki tabletop characters to hang out in, built with assets from Baldur's Gate 3 and serving as a bit of an extended, tertiary epilogue to one of its endings... Read more.View the full article

The birthday buff was real in the LCS playoffs today, with mid laner Quad putting on a clinic to see his squad FlyQuest clinch its first League of Legends World Championship spot in four years over series favorite Cloud9. The 22-year-old League mid laner was simply too good for Jojopyun and C9, racking up a 25-5 *****/****** score in the 3-1 series victory. C9 drew first blood by taking the opening game, but FlyQuest bounced back and then never looked back as they ran over the 2024 LCS Summer Split runners-up. In the end Quad managed an 81 percent ***** participation, highlighted by an impressive nine-***** effort in game two on Smolder. View the full article

The Viral Villager challenge in Bitlife gives you the amazing life of a famous volleyball player—only to hit a life-threatening roadblock after your trip to France. Like last week’s Bitlife challenge this week’s also requires you to buy the Pro Athlete job pack which allows you to have a sports career. If you’ve already have got your hands on the add-on pack, it’s time to earn some free rewards. View the full article

One of the challenges you’re going to need to overcome in ****** Myth: Wukong is the Banes that debuff you in combat. One of the ******* Banes to get rid of is the Chill Bane, a.k.a Frost, which enacts a freezing status effect. Here’s how to cure Chill state in ****** Myth: Wukong. View the full article

Fluster is a pretty common word we use in relation to being stressed or agitated. As it’s one of the clues in today’s NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, its meaning, particularly one of the emotions it evokes, can be a tad elusive. ‘Fluster’ NYT Mini Crossword clue (Aug. 26) hints and answer It’s the clue to seven across. Screenshot by Dot Esports via the NYT Hint 1: It starts with a “U.”Hint 2: It means to be unhappy or worried.Hint 3: It rhymes with sunset.Hint 4: It ends with a “T.” The answer to the “Fluster” clue in today’s puzzle is “UPSET.” Whether it’s used as a noun or as a verb, fluster refers to making someone confused or upset, particularly when they’re trying to do something, or simply the state of being confused or upset. And upset means a state of being worried, ******, or unhappy. View the full article

The Skywind team has released another deep ***** video that details their progress in porting the beloved island of Vvardenfell into Skyrim. Even among the ocean of mods that have made Skyrim into the ultimate Bethesda sandbox, Skywind stands tall as a truly ambitious undertaking. At its core, it is a remake of Morrowind built upon Skyrim's foundation, but the scope of the project has since outgrown its humble roots and became something closer to a modern re-imagining. View the full article

A skilled group of WWE 2K24 content creators recently recreated some of Triple Hs most famous outfits from 2006 in a custom playable character. WWE 2K24 already comes packed with plenty of fun content for wrestling fans, from the 2K Showcase mode featuring some of the greatest matches from the past 40 years of WrestleMania, two MyRise campaigns that allow players to rise to the top of the promotion as a created wrestler, and new WWE 2K24 stipulations like Special Guest Referee and Casket matches. View the full article

A creative Minecraft player has used the game's newest snapshot update to build an impressive rollercoaster in their world out of mine carts and powered rails in a viral online post. The track goes on for a while and is carefully planned out, leaving many other Minecraft fans in awe over the fact that it functions so smoothly. View the full article

WARNING: The following article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the ending of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.During an interview at Gamescom, Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida revealed that the kingdom of Alexandria, which became the focus of the second half of Dawntrail's main story, originally came from the Ninth Shard. Though Final Fantasy 14 players debated which reflection or Shard the kingdom came from, the direct response from the game's lead put the topic to rest on social media. View the full article

While the Call of Duty NEXT event isn't until August 28, the Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 multiplayer reveal will be taking place on Monday, August 26. Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 has so far revealed its single-player campaign and co-op Zombies mode to the world. View the full article