Let the decision wash over you.
We’ve got at least a year until Pokémon Winds & Waves comes to Switch 2’s shores, but we’re already thinking about the game’s first big question — which starter will you pick? And, we’ve got to be honest, Generation 10 put a particularly tough choice in front of us.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Dear Bus Drivers, it’s time to get back behind the wheel of officially licensed buses from globally renowned manufacturers, soak up the sun along your route and rebuild trust in public transportation. With Bus Simulator 27, we are delivering the most ambitious entry in the series to date. Together with developer Simteract, we are raising the bar in scope, authenticity and immersion. Bus Simulator 27 is coming later this year to Xbox Series X|S with Play Anywhere support.
For years, the Bus Simulator franchise has been all about putting you in the driver’s seat of the world’s most iconic and cutting-edge buses. Now, we are taking that promise even further. We are excited to confirm one of the most requested additions from our long-standing community: Solaris is joining the fleet. It arrives in style with the Solaris Urbino 18 hydrogen – winner of the prestigious Bus of the Year 2025 award. In total, you will be able to operate more than 45 officially licensed buses from 13 globally recognized brands, including Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Iveco Bus, Blue Bird, Scania, Volvo, and many more.
In addition to classic rigid, articulated, double-decker, and electric buses, you will be able to drive coach buses for the first time in the series’ history. Enjoy long-distance journeys, for instance, with the Mercedes-Benz Tourismo
Discover the beautiful fictional Southern European region of Felicia Bay, inspired by Spain and Portugal. Its lively twin cities Mequina and Alcaztelar welcome you to establish public transportation and serve both the residents and tourists. Around 20 distinct districts – ranging from residential to industrial and business – along with a host of exciting landmarks, make your shifts both pleasant and adventurous. You can collect iconic landmarks by passing them on your route or exploring the city on foot.
Bus Simulator 27 features dynamic weather and a full day and night cycle. The streets of Mequina and Alcaztelar are crowded, challenging you to keep to a tight schedule. Be prepared as accidents or roadworks can occur which force you to look for alternative ways to reach your next bus stop. A host of traffic and in-bus events will constantly keep you engaged and entertained.
You can play Bus Simulator 27 in three different ways: Story, Career and Sandbox. In Story Mode, you’ll meet several characters who guide you through building your bus company, offering new contracts and challenges. The Career Mode on the other hand is powered by the economic and managerial systems of the game, allowing you to build your bus empire to your liking and create your very own routes to serve. Last but not least, the Sandbox Mode is the perfect playground to try things out without paying attention to money or rules: just driving around with your favorite bus or exploring Felicia Bay on foot in search of hidden collectibles.
However, driving isn’t all Bus Simulator 27 has to offer. Besides walking around the vibrant streets, you can also enjoy a ride as a passenger or an inspector and check tickets. But the biggest responsibility surely comes with the management part of your enterprise. Create routes considering peak times and passenger volume, purchase buses to expand your fleet and match different urban and interurban requirements, customize your buses by designing unique liveries or applying advertisements for additional income, and manage your staff by hiring bus drivers and assigning routes.
And you can do all this in multiplayer with up to three friends as well. Coordinate routes and collaborate to transport passengers safely and on time to their destinations, and grow your company together. In addition, Bus Simulator 27 features crossplay between Xbox Series X|S and the Xbox App on Windows, including Xbox Play Anywhere – buy the game on Xbox Series X|S and get the PC version at no additional cost.
Of course, Bus Simulator 27 supports popular steering wheels on Xbox Series X|S ensuring a smooth journey every time you start your shift in Felicia Bay.
We can’t wait to reveal more brands, features and surprises, as we move closer to the game’s launch. Stay tuned as Bus Simulator 27 is well on its way to becoming the most comprehensive and immersive entry in the series’ history.
Jump aboard and Ride the Sunshine!
astragon Entertainment
, Mercedes-Benz, MAN, IVECO BUS, Scania, and Volvo, are waiting for you to drive. Whether you are interested in classic rigid, articulated, and double-decker buses or in new electric buses – Bus Simulator 27 has got you covered. And for the first time ever in the series, you can get behind the wheel of impressive coach buses and enjoy long-distance journeys!Felicia Bay is the perfect place to work where others go on vacation – a sunny fictive region in Southern Europe inspired by Spain and Portugal. Explore the vibrant twin cities of Alcaztelar and Mequina, featuring 20 unique districts packed with exciting landmarks – all brought to life by dynamic weather, a full day and night cycle, and bustling, crowded streets powered by Unreal® Engine 5. Create and serve routes, manage timetables, hire bus drivers, assign lines, customize buses with wraps and advertisements, and restore faith in public transportation in the local residents and visiting tourists.
Discover three different game modes and play the way you prefer: Story, Career, and Sandbox. Enjoy your time on the bus interacting with passengers. Watch out for in-bus and traffic events that may occur during your journey. And if you need a bit of variety, play as an inspector or take a ride as a passenger. You can also just exit the bus and explore Felicia Bay on foot to search for stunning points of interest and hidden collectibles.
Play solo or with your friends across all platforms in 4-player cooperative multiplayer crossplay mode. Coordinate routes and manage your bus fleet together and grow your company. Bus Simulator 27 supports a host of popular steering wheels and gamepads to make your ride as enjoyable as possible.
Jump aboard and let’s Ride the Sunshine!
The post Bus Simulator 27 Introduces Solaris and Debuts Coach Buses for the First Time appeared first on Xbox Wire.
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Hey, everybody! Tim, Kristen, and I are back this week to talk about the horrors of Racoon City, Reanimal, and trying to conquer your backlog before a wave of new games comes for us all. Along with our various journeys through Greece in God of War Sons of Sparta.
Stuff We Talked About
Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
O’Dell Harmon Jr. – Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
At the very outset of World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion, we are summoned by an actual prayer to aid in repelling recurring big bad Xal’atath’s invasion of the elven kingdom of Quel’Thalas. And while I’m all for starting out in medias res, this feels like a particularly hamfisted and contextless way to begin a story. It’s almost disorienting at first, and I imagine even more so if you haven’t watched the five or six pre-expansion cinematics Blizzard has released at this point. Thankfully, from that point onward, the 10 hours or so I’ve spent with Midnight so far have otherwise been delightful.
Riding into the reimagined elven capital of Silvermoon is one of those WoW moments I’m not going to forget for a long time. Its gleaming ivory spires towered above me as an excellent new musical theme that references multiple previous ones filled me with awe. The layout does feel a bit alienating sometimes while on the ground since it’s clearly built for flying mounts, and I think there’s a bit too much open space. But the level of detail is maybe the highest we’ve ever seen for an in-game city in WoW ever, with evocative interiors that interconnect in unexpected ways and invite exploration. My framerate has been less than stellar, though.
Expanding legacy areas like Murder Row into extensive subzones with a lot going on helps the city come alive. And I spent more than half my playtime so far without ever venturing outside the walls, excitedly completing every side quest. It’s no secret that I’m a big “Thalassaboo,” having been a fan of the elves of Quel’Thalas since Warcraft 2. And even the smaller, optional adventures in Silvermoon excellently immerse you in the decadence, pridefulness, and political maneuvering that characterize the city. As an Alliance player, I was also impressed with how much of it we get to explore – only about a quarter of it is off-limits to us.
Beyond the shining capital, Eversong Woods has also been reimagined gorgeously. It was already one of my favorite zones in the entire history of WoW, and to see it get such a glow-up, finally healed from the scars of Arthas’ invasion all those years ago, is fantastic. The brewing story about the dangers of fanaticism hasn’t completely gripped me yet. But Xal’atath’s Voidstorm being held back by essentially a giant drain plug that won’t last forever adds an ominous urgency to all of it. And I feel like I have a little bit more context now for who Xal is as a villain, thematically, though most of that comes from those out-of-game cutscenes I mentioned.
I played several different classes to level 80 in the pre-patch event, which included most of the class changes for Midnight, focusing on my trusty Marksmanship Hunter main and the new Devourer Demon Hunter that unlocks with the expansion. I’m not ready to pass judgement on any spec until I see how they play at max level in difficult content. But as far as Marksmanship goes, I mostly agree with the changes so far thematically. Aimed Shot should be a big nuke that takes a long time to cast. But with the removal of talents like Streamline, the damage needs to feel a lot chunkier than it currently does to earn that fantasy. Our final apex talent, which will give it a 100% critical chance at level 90, could be the answer. We’ll see.
As far as Devourer, I’m not sold on it quite yet. I like the other Demon Hunter specs quite a bit, but the flavor of Devourer is a bit more caster-coded than the melee monsters Demon Hunters have always been in the lore. Baseline abilities like Consume don’t feel kinetic enough to me. They don’t feel… Demon Hunter-y, if that makes sense. And it could just be an animation thing. I kind of wish Reap was our main button instead. But the mobility is there, and the mid-range DPS playstyle is interesting. Again, I’ll report back on how it feels at max level.
Since player housing, probably the biggest new feature of Midnight, launched way back in December, I’ve put well over 100 hours into it already. And while the decor I’ve seen after 10 hours with the expansion proper makes me think Blizzard was really holding out on us with the initial offerings, it’s already become one of my main motivations to log in. The tools are very powerful when you learn how to use them, and I’m astounded and inspired to see what some people have done with them.
At the same time, housing definitely shows that it’s a first try in some places. The hotkeys to switch between editing your house and normal gameplay are kind of clunky and add too many steps to certain tasks. There are some common sense features missing, like being able to copy and paste a decoration or furniture item if I have another one in my storage. And it’s neat that dyes can be made by other players, but currently I get frustrated previewing different colors on a piece, then having to make a shopping list and go all the way back to town to visit the auction house and buy the paints I want. I’d like for that process to be faster and have fewer steps.
While the Early Access period for Midnight is well underway as I’m writing this, Blizzard is also withholding quite a lot of key features for the start of the first proper season this time around. Not just raids and Mythic+, but even Heroic dungeons and Bountiful Delves are going to be gated off until March 17. That’s a long time! It gives us plenty of space to level and see the pre-raid 12.0 story at our own pace, but if gear progression is your main thing and you’re not currently subscribed, you could definitely hold off a couple more weeks because you’re not going to have much to do.
I’ll be updating this review as I make my way through the story and try out a few different specs at max level, with a final score to come some time after Season 1 launches so I can get an idea for how the endgame feels this time around.
Amazon recently discounted the 2025 27″ Samsung G5 OLED to $349.99, making it the lowest price I’ve ever seen for an OLED gaming monitor. Today, the deal just got even better because you can now get a free Resident Evil: Requiem game code with purchase. The offer will automatically be applied during checkout. Resident Evil: Reqiuem is now available and with this voucher you’ll be able to download the full version of the game. Check out our Resident Evil: Requiem review.
The monitor also includes a 3 year warranty with burn-in coverage.
Free Resident Evil: Requiem game code with purchase
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G5 (G50SF) is a 2025 model 27″ display with a 2560×1440 or QHD resolution, measuring out to a respectable pixel density of 108ppi. It’s equipped with a quantum dot OLED panel that boasts a near-instantaneous 0.03ms response time, near infinite contrast ratio, and true black levels. QD OLED panels are considered better than traditional W-OLED panels because they are brighter and offer a wider color gamut.
This monitor also features a fast 180Hz refresh rate and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility. If you pair it with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card or higher, you should be able to hit that 180fps ceiling on older games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Valorant. For newer games like Battlefield 6 or Black Ops 7, you might need to step up to an RTX 5070 Ti or Radeon 9070 XT to achieve that 180fps ceiling. The display comes equipped with both DisplayPort and HDMI ports.
As mentioned earlier, this monitor has a 3 year warranty that includes OLED burn-in coverage. That’s still pretty uncommon across most OLED brands, especially when you’re looking at the less expensive models. Most come with just a 1 year warranty with no burn-in protection.
As of today, the Samsung OLED G5 has joined a host of Amazon gaming monitor deals that include a PC game code for Resident Evil: Requiem, the next mainline release in the Resident Evil franchise. The game on its own starts at $69.99 for the Standard Edition, so the deal gets you that much more in savings as well as a fresh AAA release to test out your new display.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Need some h-elpis?
Welcome to our Resident Evil Requiem Guide hub!
Here, we’ll take you through some of the key collectibles in the game alongside the tricky puzzles you’ll come across while exploring the eerie Rhodes Hill Care Center. If you’re curious about how long Requiem takes to beat, we’ll also spill the beans there too.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Last week, we asked to share well-framed moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
parmindernangla shares Atsu framed by the sun in Ghost of Yōtei
artenpixels_ shares Ratchet framed by rock formations in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
jobolts_ shares Arthur framed by some tree branches in Red Dead Redemption 2
call_me_xavii shares Aloy sitting in a frame-shaped hole overlooking water in Horizon Forbidden West.
EduardoPrx shares Eve framed by a halo of lights and containers in Stellar Blade.
x01.vp shares Rèmi standing in front of a circular light in Hell Us Is
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Heroic
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on March 4, 2026
Next week, we need a hero. Share a heroic character using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Among the first things you see in the Marathon reboot playtest is a close-up of a barcoded moth, gleefully chowing on some larval diodes. It’s not even the first cybernetic insect motif I’ve encountered in an FPS this week, but it speaks to me. Friends, we are all that kooky little bug, crawling down overheated silicon canyons, nuzzling at chips, for this is the Nvidia era, the Nvidiascene, and the whole world has become a GPU, dedicated to generating recipe ideas for the three edible objects in your fridge.
Charizard – love it or hate it, there’s no denying that this Pokémon is an icon in its own right. It may be #0006 in the Pokédex, but it’s #1 in the hearts of Trainers across the globe. Since taking place front-and-center on Pokémon Red’s cover art 30 years ago, this Fire-type is iconic in its own right.
Since its debut in the Base Set of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, back in 1996, Charizard has been printed on a whopping 50 unique cards. But which is the most iconic? Let’s settle it, once and for all.
Released in 2020 as part of the beloved Champion’s Path expansion in the Sword & Shield era, the stunning “Rainbow Rare” Charizard VMAX is coming in at number 10.
I love how this card’s distinctive rainbow-foil really brings out its looming Gigantimax figure. While the Pokémon Company has moved away from rainbow secret rares in the Scarlet & Violet era, this Zard Card was many players’ first chase card when the hobby boomed during the pandemic.
It maintains a fairly pricey market value of $180 on TCGPlayer – not bad for a card that’s nearly 6 years old!
The Team Rocket expansion in 2000 introduced the concept of “Dark” Pokémon to the TCG – Pokémon that had been raised by Team Rocket to be as ferocious as possible. These cards typically had a brown and black artwork window, higher attack damage and lower HPs compared to normal Pokémon.
Frightening stuff, and a great tease into Shadow Pokémon we’d eventually get in Pokémon Colosseum, released in 2003. A 1st Edition Holofoil goes for $674.66, proving this card’s premium status.
Designed by artist Saboteri, this SIR card was the headliner of the gorgeous 2025 Mega Evolution Ultra-Premium Collection. The blue flames of Charizard’s Dragon-type Mega X form, contrasted with the red Japanese text, translated as ‘Inferno X’ – this card’s signature move.
This move allows you to discard any amount of Fire energy from among your Pokémon, and do 90 damage for each card you discarded in this way. It’s not the most expensive card going at $38.53 average, but it is one of the most recognizable.
Charizard and the Galar Region Champion, Leon – name a more iconic duo! Based on their dominant appearance in the Pokémon Sword & Shield games and the Journeys anime, this full art card shows off the bond between the two. I particularly love how Leon morphs his hands into Charizard’s claws, and how its attack, Royal Blaze, does 50 more damage for each Leon in your discard pile. It doesn’t fetch the highest price – $29.95 – but you can’t put a price on friendship, can you?
This scrawling illustration by Akira Egawa shows off the Dark-type Tera Charizard. While fans are torn, calling the design ‘lazy’, I couldn’t disagree more. It fetches a tidy $187.09 on TCGPlayer, proving the appetite is still there for this crystalline card.
A battle of legends is automatically iconic – this is exactly how it felt on the playground playing the TCG all those years ago. Originally released in the 2022 Charizard Ultra-Premium Collection, this card features a breathtaking action shot by Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Fun fact – this card connects with the Mewtwo VSTAR card from Crown Zenith.
Neo Destiny introduced “Shining” Pokémon, the first set to use a triple-foil process that made the Pokémon shimmer with a metallic texture. Note – this is not a Shiny Charizard! It actually predates “Shiny” as the term for palette-swapped Pokémon. It’s one of the most prized Pokémon cards ever printed. A 1st Edition Neo Destiny Shining Charizard remains a holy grail for collectors, fetching $6,165.99 at time of writing on TCGPlayer.
Pokemon Skyridge was one of the final sets produced by Wizards of the Coast, meaning this card only ever saw a single print run. Its “Crystal Type” Poké-Body gimmick allowed it to change types based on Energy attachments, which feels very reminiscent of Generation 9’s Tera mechanic – something we’d only see in Generation 9, 20 years later.
The English Gym Challenge era let Trainers cosplay as four Kanto Gym Leaders – Blaine, Giovanni, Koga, and Sabrina. Blaine’s Charizard was the undisputed king of the set. With gorgeous watercolour art from Ken Sugimori, it captures the fiery intensity of the Cinnabar Island leader and his loyal Charizard. Leon who?
The 1st Edition card mistakenly prints Charizard with a Fighting energy symbol. Later printings corrected it to Fire, but the first instance of the word “energy” remained lowercase in all printings. These errors have made Blaine’s Charizard a hot commodity among collectors, with a 1st Edition Holofoil going for as high as $852.01.
Without doubt, Mitsuhiro Arita’s original 1999 illustration is the most famous piece of cardboard in history. This Charizard card is the de facto face of Pokémon TCG. This specific “Shadowless” version lacks the drop shadow on the right side of the art frame, identifying it as a first edition copy of the card. With record-breaking auction prices and universal recognition, it remains the gold standard for Pokémon collectibles.
Sara Heritage is a freelance contributor to IGN.
I almost feel sorry for Browt and Gecqua. How is an angry little leafy bird and a damp blue gecko meant to compete with the face card that Pombon showed off in the reveal trailer for Pokémon Winds and Waves? A tiny, smiley Pomeranian with eyes that could melt hearts as quickly as the fire he, in all likelihood, breathes, I fear that I already know I would die for him.
The thing is, when it comes to starter Pokémon, I’m not even traditionally a fire-type guy. I still insist to this day that there’s no cooler Pokémon than the hydro-pumping, water cannon-strapped Blastoise, so, naturally, my choice in that original generation was always going to be Squirtle. I’m not going to sit here making Brock’s Gym and Mt Moon harder for myself than it needs to be. That penchant for water transferred straight into Gold and Silver, with Totodile more often than not being my first Pokémon of choice. Just look at his little fanged face. Adorable.
And so, I would switch between elemental types for the next couple of decades, picking tactically, and thinking about what would make my onward journey the most fun and frictionless. I’m normally one to utilise an analytical approach to these things and not rush into a quick decision. So, when today’s Pokémon 30th anniversary stream ended with Gen 10’s reveal trailer, and inside of it hid our first peek at Winds and Waves starters, it was frankly embarrassing how quickly I decided that Pombon would be sitting snuggly in my very first Poké Ball. I’m not saying it’s as easy to give me an adorable little smile to get me on side, but in this case, the Pomeranian only went and did it.
Of course, we don’t yet know what any of these three starters will evolve into — I think it’s safe to assume larger birds, dogs, and geckos — but already I don’t even care. Sure, we’ve had our fair share of fire dogs over the years in Pokémon, perhaps most notably Cinnabar Island natives Growlithe and Arcanine, but Pombon is a fierce new breed, and one I will likely arm with quick attack, bite, and ember until he’s a big enough boy to incinerate any flammable fool stupid enough to stand in his way. Yes, even your tiny little Browt, if you, for some reason, decide that he’s the one for you in 2027.
The official Pokémon website describes Browt as a “lively but clumsy Bean Chick Pokémon”. Why would you want to hang out with a clutz? Gecqua is listed as an “intelligent Water Gecko Pokémon”. Brains are overrated; manners are everything. That’s why I’ll be making the actual smart decision and going with Pombon, the “friendly Puppy Pokémon”.
Stick with me, boy, I’ll keep you safe. Fire, come walkies with me.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
