Author: Game Infliction

Ex-Call of Duty: Black Ops Dev David Vonderhaar Reemerges With New First-Person Co-Op Game

Former Call of Duty: Black Ops developer David Vonderhaar has founded a new studio and announced a new first-person co-op game.

The remote-first Los Angeles-based studio, called BulletFarm, is backed by NetEase and on the hunt for staff. It’s working on “an ambitious new AAA game set in an original universe with an emphasis on co-operative gameplay”, NetEase said. This unannounced new game is built using Unreal Engine 5, and “will craft a more intimate and relatable experience while offering a fresh take on first-person gameplay.” Also at BulletFarm as creative director is Chris Cowell, who also worked at Treyarch on the Call of Duty series.

“Starting this new studio has given me a chance to step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at making something entirely new and different,” Vonderhaar said. “This is a departure from the games I’ve worked on, but one that showcases my passion for rich characters, precise mechanics, more intimate storytelling, and plenty of action.

“NetEase has provided us an incredible support structure to explore these new avenues and allow true freedom to begin building the concept and ideas for our game.”

“NetEase Games is fully dedicated to giving BulletFarm the resources and support required to build this new first person experience,” said Simon Zhu, president of global investments and partnerships at NetEase Games. “David’s leadership and the early collection of game development talent assembled at the studio is set to offer something truly unique for his existing fans along with a new audience.”

Vonderhaar was Treyarch’s studio design director and had been with the Activision-owned company for 18 years before leaving last year. Vonderhaar had worked on eight Call of Duty games, starting with 2005’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and ending with 2020’s Black Ops Cold War.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster review: a handsome glow-up of LucasArts’ classic, if now rather creaky Star Wars FPS

A long time ago on a desktop far, far away, my family once owned a demo disc for the original Star Wars: Dark Forces. I cannot remember for the life of me which level(s) it contained. My only surviving memory of it is having quite a good time blasting Stormtroopers and the chaps in black with the swoopy, knock-off Vader helmets, but also getting terribly lost and not really knowing what the heck I was meant to be doing. Now, playing Nightdive Studio’s Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster as an adult probably close to three decades later, both these feelings have come roaring back, as this is very much a Star Wars FPS in the vein of Doom and other early 90s shooters (thumbs up). But it’s one that leans so hard into its maze-like level design that it can regularly feel like a little bit of a tough hang in the cold hard light of 2024 (thumbs down).

Crucially, though, not to the point where it’s best left consigned to the history books. This is still an enjoyable and worthwhile artefact in Star Wars’ PC gaming history, and if your eyes (and general patience levels) can’t quite stomach the ‘Classic’ and still available 1995 original, then this remaster is a pin-sharp glow-up for modern hardware.

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Helldivers 2 Patch 1.000.13 Fixes Super Credits, Unlimited Stratagem Use Glitch, and More

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released yet another patch for the hugely popular co-op shooter, and it makes some key fixes for troublesome issues.

Patch 1.000.13 fixes the Super Credits issue that was preventing the in-game resource from showing up after purchase or collection. Elsewhere, the patch fixes the unlimited stratagem use glitch that occurred after an AFK kick. This was something IGN reported on as part of shining a spotlight on the growing problem of cheating in Helldivers 2. On that, there’s no note about anti-cheat in this latest patch.

Helldivers 2 is Sony’s biggest PC game launch of all time, with a peak concurrent player figure of 458,709 on Steam. Helldivers 2’s success has even sparked renewed interest in Starship Troopers, the film from which it draws quite a bit of inspiration. If you’re playing, be sure to check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 guide.

There’s a lot going on in the world of Helldivers 2. IGN has reported on the fall of Malevelon Creek, one of the game’s most popular maps, as part of the galaxy-wide war against the bugs and bots. We’ve also reported on how Helldivers 2 players are kicking teammates who don’t have ‘meta’ loadouts, and Arrowhead’s return to the “original plan” now it’s on top of the server issues.

Helldivers 2 Update 1.000.13 Patch Notes

Fixes

  • Improved: login speed and error messages on PS5
  • Improved: support for AZERTY keyboards by allowing the Ship HUD shortcuts to be rebound
  • Fixed: Super Credits not showing up after purchase or collection
  • Fixed: Premium Warbond not being accessible after purchase
  • Fixed: crash which could occur when a player changed their rank or title
  • Fixed: missing text in HUD for Acquisitions and Social menus
  • Fixed: crash which could occur while browsing the mission Hologram
  • Fixed: unlimited stratagem use glitch which occurred after an AFK kick
  • Fixed: missing equipment issues after an AFK kick
  • Fixed: purple question marks appearing after an AFK kick

Known Issues

These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.

  • New Personal Orders are not showing.
  • Login rate limiting when many are logging in at the same time.
  • Players can become disconnected during play.
  • Rewards and other progress may be delayed or not attributed.
  • Various UI issues may appear when the game interacts with servers.
  • Pick-up of certain objects in-game may cause characters to freeze in place for an extended period of time.
  • Some games would not be joinable by others for a short period of time during heavy load.
  • Other unknown behaviors may occur.
  • Japanese VO is missing from intro cutscene and Ship TV.
  • Armor values for light/medium/heavy armor do not currently function as intended.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

New Helldivers 2 patch fixes Super Credit bugs plus “Riddler” glitch that allowed infinite orbital lasers

Hell(o), bellowing caped stooges of Super Earth! It’s time for another Helldivers 2 patch. This one makes some heroic adjustments to the shooter‘s generally inoffensive microtransaction system, targetting a technical issue whereby Super Credits and Premium Warbonds would not show up after purchase. Huzzah! Developers Arrowhead have also nuked a rather barmy Helldivers 2 glitch that allowed for unlimited stratagem use with no cooldowns following an AFK kick.

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Metroidvania ‘Turbo Kid’ Brings Gore, Pixel Art And BMX Tricks To The Apocalypse

Pedal to the metal.

Publisher and developer Outerminds has unveiled an all-new trailer for the upcoming retro-inspired metroidvania Turbo Kid and it is looking rather awesome.

Based on the 2015 award-winning indie film of the same name (for which you can find the trailer here), Turbo Kid will see you exploring an apocalyptic wasteland, armed with a series of increasingly powerful weapons and your trusty BMX.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Preorders Get a Huge Discount Just Before Release Day in the UK

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been getting some tremendous reviews, even getting a 9/10 from us at IGN, and plenty of critical acclaim elsewhere as well. The game is finally out on February 29, so there’s only a limited window remaining in which to secure the best deal on your preorder for the game, and so you can play at launch with everyone else. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preorders are currently down to just £51.96 in the UK (see here), all you need to do is use code LEAP20 at checkout to secure the offer.

This is a tremendous deal, and guaranteed to arrive on launch day February 29. But, as it’s also over £18 off the RRP, it’s already gone out of stock once and since come back, so we’d recommend securing your order ASAP to avoid disappointment. If you order today, the game will likely still turn up tomorrow as The Game Collection has a great track record with last-minute orders.

There’s plenty more on offer in the LEAP20 sale at eBay as well, with hundreds of trusted sellers discounting tech, video games, homeware, and more. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is also on sale right now, down to just £23.96 with LEAP20 as well.

Other great deals in the eBay sale right now include Helldivers 2 for £30.28, Dragon’s Dogma 2 for £50.36, and Steam Deck (LCD model) for £375. These deals will expire at 11:59 PM on February 29, so don’t delay if you’re looking to secure the offer.

In our review of Rebirth, we said: “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion, both as a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenges and an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.” If you’re in the US, check out our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preorder guide here instead.

It was also recently announced at the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play that a demo is now available to download via the PlayStation Store. It will let fans play as Cloud and Sephiroth in a sequence from the early part of the game among other content. This is a great opportunity to try the game out before you commit to purchasing via the deal we mentioned above.

There’s also a new relationship system, called Bonds of Friendship, that has been added to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. As explained in the system’s tutorial, “the strength of these bonds can alter portions of the story.” One of those story moments is the Gold Saucer date, and you’ll be able to see how your potential partner feels about you via a variety of emoji-like faces.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Against The Storm’s latest update arrives next week, adds fancy trends window and blight post upgrades

Against The Storm is a roguelite city builder that features lizards and beavers, as they attempt to survive in a universe where it doesn’t stop raining. We gave it a Bestest Best badge when it launched into 1.0, and since then the developers promised more major updates. Patch 1.2 is the latest of the bunch, and when it arrives next week it’s bringing with it a “consumption/production” window, upgrades to the Blight Post, and lots of balance changes.

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Helldivers 2 Community Mourns the Loss of ‘Space Vietnam’ Map Malevelon Creek — but the Fightback Has Already Begun

The Helldivers 2 community was left in tatters after fan-favorite planet Malevelon Creek, dubbed ‘Space Vietnam’ by players, finally fell to the Automatons.

The community reacted in horror overnight as they discovered Malevelon Creek with the dreaded ‘0% Liberated’ flag, and, even more devastating, a ‘Planet Lost’ retreat order. This made the planet inaccessible, and players have even reported getting booted from its surface mid-mission.

Malevelon Creek is widely thought of as Helldivers 2’s best planet. It sees players go up against Automatons — Terminator-style killer robots – in an atmospheric environment clearly inspired by iconic imagery from Vietnam war movies. Its eternally twilight forest biome is creepy, awe-inspiring, and, if you’re doing well, more than a little heroic.

But overnight, Malevelon Creek fell in a surprise twist in the ongoing meta narrative that makes up Helldivers 2’s Galactic War. Here, Super Earth and the alien enemy wrestle for control over entire sectors of the galaxy as players battle to complete operations (sets of missions) and positively contribute to each planet’s liberation status.

Here’s a snippet of the reaction to the fall of Malevelon Creek:

However, as of this morning, the fightback has begun. IGN has verified a tiny percentage pushback on Malevelon Creek as players work to wrestle control away from the Automatons. Malevelon Creek is playable once again.

Helldivers 2’s galactic war is a single, ongoing meta narrative fans have had fun role-playing with since the game’s explosive launch. Currently there are no rewards directly tied to the liberation of sectors, so it’s all just a bit of fun. And it’s not entirely clear that players truly control this narrative through their actions, with developer Arrowhead ultimately pulling the strings as the live-service develops. Still, perhaps more than any previously lost planet, the fall of Malevelon Creek really hurt.

Now Arrowhead appears to have sorted out Helldivers 2’s server issues, it has time to return to its original post-launch plan, so hopefully we’ll get an idea of what to expect in terms of new content soon. If you’re playing, be sure to check out IGN’s comprehensive Helldivers 2 guide.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo Store Restocks Pokémon amiibo In Select Regions

Celebrating Pokémon Day 2024.

We’ve got some good news for Pokémon fans and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo collectors. In celebration of Pokémon Day 2024, Nintendo has restocked its official online stores with select Pokémon amiibo.

The Pokémon included in this restock are Pikachu, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario, Greninja and Incineroar. They will set you back $15.99 USD (or the regional equivalent) and stock may vary between regions. This new batch of Pokémon amiibo are currently available in locations like the US and Australia.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Nintendo Sets Its Sights On Switch Emulator Yuzu In New Lawsuit

It wants the emulator shut down.

Nintendo has always had an incredibly strong stance against video game piracy and it’s now taking legal action against the creators of the Switch emulator Yuzu.

As highlighted by Stephen Totilo of Game File, the Japanese video game giant known for hits like Super Mario and Zelda accuses the Yuzu creators of “unlawfully” circumventing Nintendo software encryption and facilitating piracy. The Yuzu team allegedly accessed Switch games from a hacked unit and made copies of games, which Nintendo believes is a DMCA and copyright violation.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com