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Riot Games is introducing mixed-gender tournaments, with these combined events starting in the 2024 VALORANT OFF//SEASON. Paired with the already established Game Changers circuit, this initiative aims to create more opportunities for diverse talent to compete together on an equal footing, furthering Riot’s commitment to “bridge the systemic gap” in the gaming community. View the full article

Destiny 2: The Final Shape may go down as the best expansion in the game’s history if it keeps up its current momentum of both player investment and sentiment. On PlayStation, Destiny 2 saw a player increase of a whopping 86 percent at The Final Shape’s launch, according to a report by TrueTrophies. That’s a whole lot of players heading into orbit, but what may be even more impressive is that they’ve stayed engaged thus far. View the full article

To expand opportunities for Game Changers players to reach higher tiers in the VALORANT Champions Tour ecosystem, Riot Games has unveiled a series of new policies aimed at making it easier for GC players to reach Challengers and the international leagues. Included in these new Riot policy changes is a more direct path for the best VALORANT Game Changers teams to qualify for their region’s Challengers circuit. Teams that qualify for the Game Changers Championship, the yearly world championship event for Game Changers, will receive an automatic invite to their region’s Challengers qualifier. This year’s Game Changers Championship will even expand from eight to 10 teams, giving two more teams an invite to their region’s Challengers qualifier. View the full article

Riot Games is implementing a handful of new policies with the goal of getting Game Changers players into both Challengers and the VCT international leagues, and with those changes comes an opportunity for organizations to expand their reach in VALORANT. Going forward, organizations that currently compete in VALORANT at the VCT international league or Challengers level can field an additional roster “within other tiers” if the second roster is composed primarily of Game Changers players. View the full article

If nothing else, Workers & Resources Colon ******* Republic will give anyone an appreciation of the incredible complexity and difficulty of building and maintaining a city. On another day I might call it the first ever city building game. Even a Settlers or Factorio cannot match its extreme focus on logistical simulation. It isn't realism for its own sake (look no further than the automated vehicles and the ludicrous citizen behaviour to refute that), but a fundamentally different interpretation of what city building means. It's about co-ordinating all your pieces so they'll be in the right place to support each other, and how the whole is all that matters, but that whole will fail if you don't organise its parts. It is… a lot. It's too much at times. But if you have those times, it will occupy them like nothing else. Read more View the full article

Computers have taken advantage of the ultra-fast communication speed that fiber optics can provide for a long time. However, this is the first time it could potentially become a standard internal component of our PCs, with semiconductor fiber optics specialist Cadence demonstrating a new fiber optic PCIe 7.0 interface. The world's first demonstration is still a proof of concept rather than a definite finished product, but it shows the potential of the technology. The interface can clock in at 128GT/s (242GB/s for an x16 connection), which is four times faster than the current 32GT/s (63GB/s for x16) rate of PCIe 5.0. It's too early to know if it will be a technology that finds its way into the best gaming motherboards of the near future, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: WD's new 4TB SSD has a shocking price, and we're all for it This is the smallest Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card, and the cutest too Intel just admitted it still doesn't know why games ****** on its CPUs View the full article

During my 50-hour Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree playthrough, I set about scaling the gnarled tree branches of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh believing a secret or treasure awaited me at the very top. An hour later and over a hundred thousand runes lighter, I realized it was all for naught. Yet it's the promise of exploring a mysterious world filled with potential secrets and rewards that makes the game so special. Back in 2022, we hailed Elden Ring as FromSoftware's masterpiece, one that "lights the path ahead for open-world games in general." Its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, meanwhile, reinforces this idea even more, boasting memorable and befuddling areas and - yes - the soulslike staple of occasionally rage-inducing bosses. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The best Elden Ring armor sets Elden Ring Scadutree Fragments explained Elden Ring Revered Spirit Ashes explained View the full article

[/url][Hidden Content] It has now been almost exactly seven years since Nintendo first announced Metroid Prime 4 and over five years since the company said it was restarting work on the game with series mainstay Retro Studios. Now, Nintendo has finally shared the first glimpse of gameplay for the renamed Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which is now planned for a 2025 release. "After a very long time, we are finally able to share more information about this title," Nintendo executive Shinya Takahashi said during today's livestreamed Nintendo Direct presentation, showing a remarkable talent for understatement. Takahashi went on to also ask that fans "please wait a little bit longer" for additional information before the game's planned release next year. That "additional information" should include whether the highly anticipated game will launch for the Switch—as was promised way back in 2017— or for Nintendo's next console, which the company recently teased via a pre-announcement announcement. Nintendo kept its promise that "there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor" during today's Nintendo Direct presentation, but a major first-party franchise game launching in 2025 definitely seems well-positioned to serve as a showcase for new hardware that Nintendo seems to be planning for around the same time frame. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments View the full article

In a surprising announcement during today’s Nintendo Direct, a new installment in the Zelda franchise was revealed. In Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Hyrule’s fate rests in the hands of Princess Zelda herself, marking a significant departure from the series’ long-standing tradition of featuring Link as the main character. The title features a “new gameplay style that breaks conventions of past Legend of Zelda games,” said Eiji Aonuma, the longtime producer of the series, while introducing the game. The live presentation featured a trailer that introduced Link’s mysterious disappearance, leaving Zelda to save Hyrule with the help of a new companion, the mysterious ****** Tri. Armed with a powerful new *******, the Tri Staff, Zelda embarks on an epic quest to rescue her kingdom. View the full article

Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New DnD Player's Handbook aims to actually teach you the game Get 89% off a full DnD map making suite in new Humble Bundle These homebrew upgrades to DnD rats terrify us to our core View the full article

Blizzard is gearing up for another Campfire Chat on June 21, in which devs will update Diablo 4 fans on the upcoming changes for Season 5. Following a turbulent launch, Diablo 4 managed to please its fanbase with Season 4: Loot Reborn, which introduced substantial gameplay and crafting mechanic improvements. Many of these popular updates were initially unveiled during March's Campfire Chat, heightening anticipation for the upcoming June stream. View the full article

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection has been announced at June 2024's Nintendo Direct, and it's set to bring a a couple of Ace Attorney spin-off titles, including one that's never previously been released outside of Japan, to Switch on September 6. While the gameplay looks like it'll be the usual AA kind of thing - investigating *******, interviewing witnesses, using you big law brain, the collection will offer a bit of a visual twist, via the ability to switch between new hand-drawn HD character art from the original series' character designer and the classic pixel art the games orginally used to render their sprites. Yup, a high-quality art Miles Edgeworth, or weird polygon Miles Edgeworth, the choice is yours. You'll also have the chance to collect some artwork from the games and music to flick through via the menu, giving you a chance to see appreciate how these games came together. Or maybe you're just really into orchestral tunes. We're not judging. Read more View the full article

The creators of Danganronpa's next game, The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-, looks like a mix of ***** Emblem and the classic visual novel series. The days of Danganronpa might be behind us now, but that doesn't mean its creators aren't still going. The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- is the latest title from the creators of the classic series, and yes, it is about a bunch of students having to go through slightly nightmarish events at school while a funny looking mascot oversees it all. If I had a nickel, etcetera. We even got a look at gameplay in the announcement trailer, which promises the game will arrive on Nintendo Switch early 2025. While there isn't too much gameplay shown off, it looks like a mixture of Danganronpa's visual novel-eseque gameplay, mixed ***** Emblem, turn-based, battlefield-based combat. It sounds like some of your allies can **** too, a staple of both Danganronpa and ***** Emblem, so you'll likely have to take care when it comes to picking favourites. Read more View the full article

Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Retro DnD world Greyhawk returns in new Dungeon Master's Guide Get 89% off a full DnD map making suite in new Humble Bundle These homebrew upgrades to DnD rats terrify us to our core View the full article

Warframe fans are eating good today with a huge new update that adds a new Warframe, single-player quest, new mission type, and some quality of life improvements. ***** will be the 57th Warframe added to the game, and her light has attracted some beasties you'll need to take care of in a new clan operation, Belly of the ******. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Warframe ***** Shadows has a date as its powerful new frame is unveiled Warframe dev stream details next cinematic quest and brand new Prime Enter our Warframe giveaway to create your dream keyboard View the full article

Image: Nintendo After years of playing second fiddle to Link in her own franchise, Princess Zelda is finally getting a video game of her own this fall. During today’s Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the franchise’s first game to follow as Princess Zelda herself embarks on an adventure to save the world from destruction. After Ganon bests Link in battle, Zelda is left to her own devices to battle hordes of monsters that descend upon the game’s take on Hyrule (which seems heavily inspired by 2019’s Link’s Awakening remake). According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, Zelda will navigate and ****** through the world somewhat differently in Echoes of Wisdom as she wields a magical staff known as the Tri Rod with... Continue reading… View the full article

Get ready to absolutely ruin an evening with your friends, as a brand-new Mario Party game has just been announced at the Nintendo Direct. Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to launch on the Nintendo Switch this year, on October 17. The reveal, which you can watch yourself down below, shows off a bit of the new gameplay we can expect, switching between the new maps and minigames available. It looks pretty good - the exact kind of package you'd expect from this long-lasting series. The game will have more mini-games than any prior entry in the series at over 110, and will feature several new maps with unique mechanics tied to them. In short, it's set to be a proper package form the Mario Party enjoyers out there, full with all manner of catch-up mechanics, casual fun, and devestating clutch victories that'll have you fuming for days. Read more View the full article

That's right, Metroid fans, Nintendo finally offered a proper reveal of Metroid Prime 4, and it's even got a fancy subtitle. It's been years since the last Metroid Prime 4 update, and for the final game of today's Nintendo Direct, the game finally made an appearance. Titled Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the sequel sees the return of Samus Aran in 2025, and yes, despite all those rumours about the Nintendo Switch 2, it will be releasing on the current Nintendo Switch, so you don't have to worry about picking up a new console just to play it. The trailer offered a look at gameplay, and it's pretty much what you'd expect from a Prime game! Like the previous titles, it's first-person once again, and you'll be doing plenty of blasting. It also looks like Samus will be involved in some kind of space war, as there was a whole lot of ********* and destruction to be found in the trailer. Her classic morph ball ability is back too of course, but outside of that it didn't show too much new stuff gameplay wise. Read more View the full article

One of the main complaints about XDefiant has now been rectified thanks to a new update that went live this morning on all platforms. XDefiant‘s June 18 patch notes explained how the game has now “sped up the process of unlocking ******* attachments by lowering the amount of XP needed to level up your primary *******, from 3,500 to 3,000, and your secondary *******, from 1,500 to 1,000.” View the full article

What is the ****** Ops 6 safe house? It looks like Woods and the gang have to go it alone if they intend to save the world - again. Going rogue presents both opportunity and obstacle; the ****** Ops squad can move without restraints and act as they see fit, but without a supporting organization, they'll have to procure their own equipment and find a new home base. That's where the safe house comes in. The ****** Ops 6 release date is still a while away, but thanks to Call of Duty Direct, we know what to exact when the time comes. The Call of Duty series has cemented its place as one of the best FPS games you can play, and it looks as though ****** Ops 6 will be no different. Here's what we know about the ****** Ops 6 safe house, its murky past, and what secrets you might find within. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: CoD ****** Ops 6 system requirements predictions ****** Ops 6 dev says MW3 response "helped us focus" on CoD's best side Call of Duty ****** Ops 6 team wants to fix that terrible CoD launcher View the full article

Disney Dreamlight Valley revealed two new characters that will be coming to the game later this month. Gamelofts Disney Dreamlight Valley has been teasing new characters with each update, and this time around, a release date for the upcoming patch has also been announced. View the full article

Steam users paying attention to the most popular games on the platform may have noticed a dramatic spike in popularity for an unknown game called Banana, leaving them to wonder what this new game is. At the time of writing, Banana has nearly 850,000 concurrent players, putting it in second place behind only Counter-Strike 2. This means Banana currently has more active players than games like DOTA 2 and PUBG: Battlegrounds. View the full article

Well, there we go. After we got a fresh look at the Perfect Dark reboot for the first time in years during Not-E3's Xbox showcase, the original drops on Switch today, though it is via a subscription service. The game, first released back in 2000, will hit Nintendo's handheld with full online multiplayer, but you'll have to be a part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service in order to get ahold of it, or the four other classic titles it's arriving alongside, all of which were revealed at June 2024's Direct. In case you're wondering, those other titles are The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords, Metroid: Zero Mission, and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Ask your dad about those, I'm sure he remembers one of them. Turok and Perfect Dark are part of the Nintendo 64 Mature 17+ collection, by the way, so you might need to also ask you dad permission to play. Read more View the full article

The launch of the Starfield Creation Club where players can purchase both fan- and Bethesda-made content for the game has drawn a ton of backlash from players. So much backlash, in fact, that Todd Howard himself weighed in on the situation and promised a solution. Howard spoke on the issue in a June 16 interview with gaming YouTuber MrMattyPlays and claimed pricing in the Creation Club was based on Bethesda’s previous experiences with the model in other games, including the live-service Fallout 76. Howard said Bethesda is always looking to “give value to everybody,” and that adjustments will be made in those segments where the value is off. Regarding the paid Starfield mission “The Vulture,” Bethesda’s director said it was the product of several ideas that the company wanted to “wrap around a quest,” and that it is “seeing the feedback.” View the full article

The HD-2D art style is almost like a cheat code for remakes, because it captures the spirit of classic RPGs while modernizing them in a way that ******** true to their original forms. That’s certainly the case for the Dragon Quest games, which are ripe for remakes in this vein and one reason why the initial announcement of Dragon Quest 3 was such a big deal. Now, after three years of radio silence, I was finally able to see the Dragon Quest 3 remake first-hand and despite the new graphical update, it’s exciting to see that this is very much a faithful recreation of the decades-old original. I got to play roughly 45 minutes of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake on PlayStation 5, and as someone whose gaming life revolved around RPGs of its era, I certainly appreciate a good modernization of one. Much like other Square Enix HD-2D RPGs Octopath Traveler and Live-A-Live, it’s further proof that this direction is such an effective way to preserve the look and feel of classic pixel art with visual flourishes that are only made possible by today’s technology. The demo starts early on in the story when the hero picks up a full party consisting of a Warrior, Cleric, and Mage. From the hero’s hometown of Aliahan, I ventured out onto the open region to travel to the northern town of Reeve. Here and in the overworld, the lighting and bloom effects give a pop to an already vibrant old-school look. Although the lay of the land ******** the same, its redesign gives the world a greater sense of scale. Promontory Passage, which is the ruins that leads to the Dreamer’s Tower (the first dungeon), are a stark contrast from the original and the environmental details paint a much more lively picture that wasn’t previously possible. Even compared to the mobile remasters of Dragon Quest 3, the difference is night and day, yet it didn’t feel like I was playing a completely different game. Unsurprisingly, gameplay mechanics are largely preserved with turn-based battles that unfold after choosing actions for each party member. Strategizing with spells and attacks in the hope they line up to take out enemies before they inflict too much damage on your party is the Dragon Quest way. Although I was only playing early levels with a limited number of options, I already know that because of its branching class-based system, Dragon Quest 3 can definitely ramp up in complexity. I regrettably ******* many adorable Slimes in my short time playing, but facing Toadys, Bubble Slimes, and Stark Ravens in groups (and in succession when climbing several floors of Dreamer’s Tower) would be dangerous if I wasn’t smart with my spells and who I was targeting. So, I was happy to see this remake preserve the kind of difficulty that made the originals especially challenging. Unlike those originals, which had a pop-up window in which battles took place, combat encounters transition to a full screen scene with some neat details. The party lines up before commands are issued, then it transitions to a pseudo-first-person viewpoint. While you don’t really get to see characters animate or ******* in battle, there are at least a handful of new special effects when casting spells that weren’t there in previous versions. While the remake stays true to the originals in this respect, it’s one area where I hoped more inspiration would come through, to give party members a little more personality in combat. And so, part of me wishes this remake was more drastic in its creative liberties and quality of life changes. The stiff character animations combined with the vivid HD-2D makeover don’t always work that well together, resulting in an uncanny valley effect that sometimes looks out of place. Combat also lacks snappiness – you can change the text box and battle speed to maximum but the awkward pacing from one ******* to the next makes things a bit stilted. These seemingly minor blemishes really stand out, especially after other HD-2D RPGs, and I feel Dragon Quest 3 could better bridge the gap between modern and classic design principles. Of course, ask 10 different people how far they think a remake should go in terms of changing the original and you’ll likely get 10 different answers, and regardless of these early shortcomings, I can still appreciate the fact that a classic 30-plus year old RPG is being revitalized in 2024. The heart of turn-based RPGs are timeless so even something like Dragon Quest 3, which ******** steadfast in most of its original design with a very simple story, can still evoke the joy of the genre. The difference is night and day, yet it didn’t feel like I was playing a completely different game. It’s not a ******** overhaul then, and if you’re coming fresh off other HD-2D games like Octopath Traveler 2 or Live-A-Live, you should set your expectations accordingly. But I do think it’s important to not just preserve older games with modern sensibilities but make them more approachable as time goes on. The HD-2D foundation once again proves to be nearly foolproof when it comes to recreating that classic charm and a great way to modernize an old RPG that many would not have otherwise revisited. We’ll be able to see it all come together when Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on November 14 this year. 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