New Helldivers 2 update, Omens of Tyranny, live now, features the return of the Illuminate faction

The time has come, Helldivers. The War has changed.

These are dark times for freedom loving citizens everywhere. Our galaxy grows cold from the embrace of old enemies returning and darkens with the threat of new horrors emerging.

We must now stand together in Super Earth’s light and oppose these sinister tidings. These Omens of Tyranny.


New Helldivers 2 update, Omens of Tyranny, live now, features the return of the Illuminate faction

The Illuminate return

Missing for almost a century, the Illuminate will challenge our recruits more than the other factions they have faced. They are advanced, highly-intelligent beings wielding powerful technology that appears to average citizens like a kind of dark magic.

At the end of the First Galactic War, the Helldivers worked together to eradicate the Illuminate. We believed we were successful, and for nearly 100 years, we have lived in relative peace, holding the Terminid and Automaton threats at bay. Thanks to our continued recruitment and training of new Helldivers, we have held these two fronts with complete, unmitigated success.

But now the Illuminate have emerged seemingly out of nowhere. Even though we don’t know the true origin of the invasion, we have no choice now but to suppress three factions in the Galactic War.

The Illuminate are spreading through mind control, abducting citizens of weaker dedication to democratic ideals and brainwashing them for a dark purpose which is still yet unknown to us. These mind-controlled citizens have been twisted and corrupted into a menace we call The Voteless–Super Earth’s own people turned against the principles of Democracy and fair elections, losing their ability to vote entirely.

The intentions behind the Illuminate invasion are still unclear. Right now, they remain as smaller bands of insurgents, staging attacks, building mysterious structures, and abducting citizens before disappearing again.

It’s up to us to stop them from getting their totalitarian tentacles any deeper into Super Earth’s domain.

The fight at our doorstep

Omens of Tyranny is bringing the fight into the streets, with new mission areas inside Super Earth’s many colonies.

Our colonies are being ravaged by these invaders, turning our once bright and sunny streets filled with smiling citizens into dark ruins, overrun by Voteless and Illuminate. Arm yourselves with your trusted tools of destruction and rid our colonies of this scum.

But it won’t be easy. Gone are the wide-open spaces that Helldivers are accustomed to fighting in. Cities mean closer quarters, dark alleys, and forked paths where one wrong turn means meeting a horde of Voteless to liberate. You’ll need your best and brightest squad to navigate them carefully.  

Go easy on the gun, Chief

With all these new developments, there won’t be time to take driver’s ed. courses, Helldiver. A Fast Recon Vehicle “FRV” will now appear in the colonies, ready to plow through the Illuminate at high speed.

Keep following the Major Orders issued by Super Earth High Command and you will get the keys to your very own FRV–a brand new, top-of-the-line manual transmission reconnaissance and combat vehicle. The whole squad can ride together, and your passengers can even lean out of the windows to lay down some suppressive fire as you shift gears and speed to your next destination. Just one question left: Who’s driving?

There’s more to discover yet, and we can’t wait to get you back into the fight.

The newest major update for Helldivers 2, Omens of Tyranny, featuring the return of the Illuminate faction, is now live! High Command has ordered all Helldivers to report to their Super Destroyers – it’s time to give these squids hell.

Introducing DualSense Wireless Controller – Helldivers 2 Limited Edition


New Helldivers 2 update, Omens of Tyranny, live now, features the return of the Illuminate faction

Eliminate bugs, bots and squids with the Super Earth Ministry of Defense’s sleek new DualSense Wireless Controller – Helldivers 2 Limited Edition, sporting the iconic yellow and black armor paint scheme.

The DualSense wireless controller – Helldivers 2 Limited Edition will be available in limited quantities for $84.99 / €84.99 / £74.99. Pre-orders start on December 20, 2024 at participating retailers, with launch on February 6, 2025. The exact launch date and availability for the controller may vary by country/region.  

direct.playstation.com Purchase Information

Starting Friday, December 20 at 10am ET in the U.S. and 10am local time in the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Portugal, players will be able to pre-order the DualSense wireless controller – Helldivers 2 Limited Edition exclusively through direct.playstation.com.  

Helldivers 2 soundtrack now on vinyl

Suit up, Helldivers! The Helldivers 2 (Original Game Soundtrack) vinyl is being prepared for deployment.

It features:

·   Translucent bright yellow disc

·   Incredible music by Wilbert Roget, II

·   Single-pocket jacket with credit insert

Pre-order now and join the fight for freedom!

Yakuza / Like a Dragon Dev RGG Studio Announces Project Century – The Game Awards 2024

Yakuza / Like a Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed Project Century at The Game Awards 2024, a new action game set in 1915 with some absolutely fantastic vibes.

Despite a pretty lengthy trailer, we don’t actually know much about what Project Century is. It looks kind of like a classic Yakuza action game, with a tough guy protagonist walking around what we probably can safely assume is Japan, beating people up. But this is much gorier than we’re used to seeing, the protagonist seems to be a mystery man we haven’t met before, and the Japan we’re exploring seems to have some sort of alt-history stuff going on? Neat!

Fans will likely be surprised at the announcement given RGG Studio only revealed its last game in September and is yet to release it, as Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii isn’t due out until February 21. But this isn’t the highly anticipated and most obvious choice of Yakuza / Like a Dragon 9, however, which still goes unmentioned at RGG Studio. The developer only released the last mainline entry in January with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, of course, but given its intense release schedule, another mainline game already wouldn’t be out of the question.

The developer is known for juggling multiple games at once, as in the last five years, for example, RGG Studio has released Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, alongside three Super Monkey Ball Games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5. That’s 12 games in total.

In our 9/10 review of the last RGG Studio release, IGN said: “Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series.”

Developing…

It Takes Two devs are making a new co-op game called Split Fiction, coming March 2025

It’s the Game Awards this evening, which means another year of Josef Fares appearing on stage to performatively say “fuck” like he thinks it’s naughty. Thankfully this year he also had a game to show: Split Fiction, a new co-op action adventure. It’s about two aspiring authors, one who writes science fiction and one who writes fantasy, being sucked into and having to survive inside their own fictions.

Read more

The Witcher 4 Developer CD Projekt Explains Why It Went With Ciri Over Continuing With Geralt as Protagonist

CD Projekt has explained why it went with Ciri as protagonist for The Witcher 4 instead of continuing with Geralt as the main character.

The Witcher 4, just revealed at The Game Awards 2024 with a debut trailer, is the first in a new trilogy of Witcher games set after the events of The Witcher 3.

Speaking exclusively to IGN ahead of the reveal, executive producer Małgorzata Mitręga said Ciri was “the very organic, logical choice.”

“It was always about her, starting from Saga when you read it in the books. She’s an amazing, layered character. And of course, as a protagonist we said goodbye to Geralt previously. So this is a continuation. I guess for all of us it’s like she was meant to be. That was always her.”

Game director Sebastian Kalemba added that because Ciri is younger than Geralt, players will have more freedom to define her character in a way they couldn’t with Geralt. This also affords the developers more space to explore her character.

“She’s actually about to become the Witcher,” Kalemba explained. “She’s about to actually form her own codex, but on her own terms. The way she actually deals with the monsters, the way she deals with quests, the adventures, it’s her own unique way. And also I think that she gives more room to be able to tell different stories here and there. Of course, we want to give the opportunity for the player to explore more nuance because this is what we do. But she deserves that.”

Both Mitręga and Kalemba acknowledged a potential backlash from some corners of the internet at Ciri’s role as protagonist in The Witcher 4, but both insisted Ciri was always going to be the game’s main character.

“There was an intention behind this choice,” Kalemba said. “It was far from roulette. It wasn’t random. I remember we had discussions nine years ago, we were talking about who’s next? The very, very instant answer was Ciri. There are many reasons behind that. We’ve already mentioned a few. But she really deserves a stage and we want players to really experience her story because she has so much to tell, so much to prove. The amount of challenges that are in front of her give us so much amazing energy and fuel to create an epic saga that we had no choice but to go with it. We all felt that this is the way. I believe this is the super right choice.”

We’ve got plenty more exclusive content on The Witcher 4, including a trailer breakdown and an interview with CD Projekt where the developer explains why The Witcher 4 will avoid a Cyberpunk 2077-style launch disaster.

And be sure to check out IGN’s round-up of everything announced at The Game Awards 2024 for more on what’s coming to the world of gaming in the years to come.

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.

Shadow Labyrinth is a twisted bloodthirsty take on Pac-Man, out in 2025

Pac-Man is doing a Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within, everybody. That’s to say, the Bandai Namco series is doing one of those dark, edgy iterations. It’s called Shadow Labyrinth, it’s out in 2025, and it’s a 2D hack-and-slash with gruesome monster designs. But none so gruesome as Pac-Man, who can transform into a huge champing black hole. Wakkawakkawakkawould you play this?

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Watch: The Game Awards 2024 – Live!

Gong show.

It’s time for The Game Awards, the annual bash that sees a load of industry people head to LA to showcase their upcoming games and accept awards in the company of their peers (and sometimes some random who managed to get on stage).

Geoff Keighley’s main show officially kicks off at 5pm PST / 8pm EST / 1am GMT (Fri) / 2am CET (Fri) / 10am JST (Fri), but a pre-show section takes place half an hour before that.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Mafia: The Old Country release date shrinks to summer 2025

Open world fuhgeddaboudit simulator Mafia: The Old Country will release in summer 2025, according to a Youtube trailer that has leaked on social media ahead of tonight’s Game Awards. The trailer also treats us to a few snippets of the game’s story scenes, shoot-outs and punch-ups. We get to see wise guys swinging knives, riding horses and glowering silently at sun-baked Sicilian countryside.

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Delta Force Review

“First-person shooter” is a broad term. It can mean everything from an action-horror game like F.E.A.R., to a sci-fi adventure like Metroid Prime, to a demon-eviscerating romp like Doom. Even narrowing it down to a sub-category like “military FPS” still puts the linear campaign of Call of Duty, the enormous PvP clashes of Battlefield, and the white-knuckle extractions of Escape from Tarkov (among others) under a single umbrella. Delta Force, the latest revival of a now 26-year-old shooter series last seen in 2009, is probably best defined as a bit of each of those last two – with a dedicated large-scale PvP mode and a separate extraction shooter mode, it sits somewhat awkwardly at the center of that Venn diagram. As a result, it’s a free-to-play one-stop shop of “just fine”: It’s competent all around, but doesn’t distinguish itself in battle with any substantial new ideas.

While Delta is officially “out,” (whatever that means anymore) only two of the three main modes are currently available. The third, a single-player campaign, is planned as paid DLC somewhere down the line. Of the two that are here now, the Warfare mode is Delta Force’s version of the big team combat of Battlefield, where 64 players duke it out for supremacy across one of a handful of sprawling arenas. There is no straight kill-focused Deathmatch; instead, the focus is on objective-based games like King of the Hill variants. The standout among these is Attack and Defend, which has one team capturing strategic points before running out of a finite number of respawns, while the other team defends those areas with limitless lives. It’s a subtle rule change that does put a good spin on a mode we’ve seen a ton of in Battlefield; initially, the offense has the advantage thanks to favorable terrain and an abundance of vehicles, but things even out as the match progresses and the defense retreats toward their home base and has quick access to respawned reinforcements. This means each side typically gets to spend some time as both the figurative hammer and the nail.

The battles certainly do feel big, which is a good thing. Fast respawns mean both teams are dense with soldiers at all times. Once the bullets and rockets start flying, the chaos and confusion of combat is as exciting as you’d expect for a Battlefield-style game. Each gun you use earns it’s own XP to unlock component options, as is common on modern military shooters. It’s particularly fun when you get behind the controls of a vehicle and start running roughshod over the other team. A tank fully loaded with gunners can dominate, but don’t sleep on the impact of a simple machine gun turret on the top of an armored car. And similar to Battlefield (yes, you’re hearing that comparison a lot, for good reason), aerial vehicles like helicopters are challenging to pilot but can be powerful in the right hands, rewarding skillful play.

Vehicles don’t totally dominate the battlefield, however, thanks to the varied operatives you can choose to play as and switch between mid-match. These named characters act as a sort of hybrid between a simple loadout choice and a bespoke hero, which is somewhat similar to the Specialists from Battlefield 2042, which fits the jack-of-all-trades theme persistent throughout Delta Force. They create the sort of rocket-paper-scissors balance that Battlefield veterans will know intimately, and it’s done pretty well: if you are being overrun by vehicles, it might be a good idea to spawn with a rocket launcher or, if the fight is taking place in open spaces, it could be time to bust out the trusty sniper rifle. Each character has unique abilities that are helpful in battle too, like Luna’s Detection Arrows that can periodically be fired to reveal enemies, but none are so powerful as to outright win a skirmish, let alone a whole match for you.

I just wish the action felt better on a basic level.

I just wish the action felt better on a basic level. One thing that strikes me as off is the way that bullet arc and trajectory factor heavily into shooting, so leading your targets is essential for firing accurately at a distance. I don’t mind leading a target, but often the bullets feel like they are flying so slow that I may as well be firing airsoft rounds. Maybe that’s more realistic than Call of Duty’s more arcadey ballistics model, but feels deeply at odds with the aggressive pace of play that the objective-based Attack and Defend mode drives. Once you die you generally need to rush back to the objective, but as you’re dashing through open space you’re an easy target, and the finicky shooting also means it’s tough to return fire accurately on the move. I found this meant deaths tend to come in bunches while I tried to get back to a good position. It’s also a bit strange to have the gunplay be so grounded in simulation at one moment, then have operators activate fantastical abilities like clouds of healing smoke or status effect-inflicting drones the next. There’s nothing inherently bad about that, it’s just a head-scratcher.

Get in, get loot, get out

On the other side of things, the Operations mode follows the equally familiar extraction shooter framework: You and up to two friends can form a three-person squad to enter an area, shoot AI bad guys, grab the loot, and scoot back to the extraction zone without catching a bullet. It’s a tried-and-true formula that Delta Force follows to the letter, but the generally high quality of its execution makes up for at least some of that lack of imagination.

There are three levels available at launch (with another unlocking in just a few days) and each is an open sandbox that is dense with objectives to choose from. Maps easily highlight points of interest for things like bounty targets, safes to plunder, and intel to decode. That might seem like a small detail to praise, but in a genre dominated by games like Escape from Tarkov that are designed to be intentionally opaque, Delta Force’s choice to make important information accessible is a nice differentiator. I like being able to just drop a waypoint and know what I’m in for when I get there without having to memorize the maps or look them up in a guide.

I’m a fan of the enemy variety the Operations mode throws at you.

Once you pick your destination, you’ll need to shoot your way through squads of AI soldiers, and occasionally other human squads who cross your path. So while we have more information here than in similar games, the suspense is still in effect because you never know who’s around, or in what numbers, and that means every enemy encounter starts with some fast risk assessment: do you take the shot and risk letting everyone know where you are, or do you sneak by, leaving a potential threat on the field? Making quick decisions with limited information does a good job of keeping the action strategic and interesting. That’s particularly true if you see other people, as they are certainly more dangerous than the bots, but could be loot-rich targets worth taking on.

I’m a fan of the enemy variety Delta Force throws at you. I encountered plenty of run-of-the-mill soldiers that had my squad fighting roving bands of riflemen, ducking into buildings to avoid sniper fire, and executing on-the-fly flanking maneuvers to get around riot shields. But then there are surprises that shake things up: One memorable moment saw my team pinned down by a massive armored baddie blasting at us with a minigun as we lobbed grenades from behind cover. Another time, a member of our trio was cracking a safe while the other squadmate and I provided cover, and I almost jumped out of my chair when a giant alligator came around the corner and tried to put a stop to our fun.

One place where you get perhaps too much information, though, is the loot system. There are all sorts of containers everywhere, like file cabinets, coat pockets, fallen enemies, etc. – but just about any Operation starts with the whole squad just running right towards whichever safe on the map is marked with the best loot. That could use some work, because the levels themselves are really cool when you explore them freely. Areas like The Dam mix offices with exposed industrial exteriors, and there are often hidden doors to open or secret hidden areas where loot can be stashed. Some areas require specific operators to access, like chain link fence that needs to be cut into by the Engineer, which would give you even more reasons to think about your team composition if there were a reasonable chance that there’s something worth finding on the other side. I would be much more inclined to explore if I thought valuable treasures were potentially waiting in all these hidey-holes.

The time between Operations is spent at the Black Site, which functions as your home base and the tiny amount of storage space in your stash that needs upgrading. It’s also where you manage the well-built loadouts screen where you can save a few different kits you can take into battle, or rebuild them with just a few clicks. It’s a fast and slick way to get back in the action, which helps take the sting out of a failed extraction.

I’m also a fan of the ticket system, which you can trade in for entire load-outs, including weapons, armor, ammo, and healing items. There are different quality levels you can cash in, Recruit gives basic equipment, Standard includes better armor and weapons with more powerful mods, etc. Every failed extraction gives you a Recruit Ticket, and you automatically generate one every eight hours, so even if you have a run of terrible luck and lose all your in-game money, you can still start working your way back up from the bottom with some decent gear. The more powerful tickets, meanwhile, are tied to completing events. These can be as simple as logging in at certain times, or as complex as completing a long series of assigned tasks in a particular level or as a specific character.

Upgrading other parts of the Black Site takes a mix of increasing levels and salvaging specific components in the field. I appreciate that you can see what things you need to collect, and even launch straight to the correct level to find them, though the amount of time it takes to get even the early upgrades going can take way too long when you need to have good RNG luck with what you find on top of grinding up to the right level. I’d love to build up a workbench to make my own ammo, but given the commitment I’m just going to stick to selling weird vases and buying what I need, thanks.

Balatro Gets More Free ‘Friends Of Jimbo’ With Cult Of The Lamb, 1000xResist, And Shovel Knight

Hello JimBen (Starr).

Do you need yet another reason to go back to the incredibly moreish poker roguelike Balatro? Yes? well how about eight more Friends of Jimbo!

Friends of Jimbo 3 is out now for free, and it adds eight new cosmetic flairs that you can apply to your cards. And at last, Shovel Knight has managed to dig his way into the game — it was only a matter of time, right? He’s the king of indie crossovers.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Star Trucker: Time to Reveal your True Strength

Star Trucker screenshot

Breaker/Breaker, fellow truckers!

It’s time for a new round-up of our latest updates, customization packs and treats. Christmas is upon us after all, so why don’t we talk about gifts?

A New Customization Pack is Here: Heavy Duty

We know many of you want to show off your truck’s true strength for real, so we have the perfect pack for you: A full suite of sturdy truck customization options, available now.

  • A new paint job: Blue Collar Cruise,
  • A new Hood Ornament: Lucky Chunk.
  • Not one but three new Truck Grilles! Comet Pusher, Star Riot and Moon Shot.
  • A new Sensor Manifold: Keystone.
  • A new Exhaust Stack: Keystone.
Star Trucker screenshot

All the Extra Content in One Screen

We have a good amount of extra content available already, so we thought it was time to make things easier to find. You can now access a downloadable content screen from the menu screen. It will show a notification every time there is a new DLC you have not seen, with a preview; and it will help you keep track of every pack you own.

Along with this, we’ve added the Starter Trucker Theme option: If you’ve unlocked or purchased a customization pack you can now set it as a starter theme when beginning a new game.

For Glory!

Last but not least, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite thing: Free stuff!

We’ve joined forces with none other than SteelSeries to release a totally free promotional pack to unlock an exclusive SteelSeries hood ornament inspired by their mascot Lars, and a new paint job. You will find both with the latest game update, available through the Body Shop and the Paint Shop

Star Trucker hood ornament
Star Trucker customization

We want to take this opportunity to wish you all a fantastic holiday season, whatever you decide to do, and of course to say thank you once more for an incredible year. More to come in 2025 so keep your eyes peeled.

Star Trucker – Heavy Duty Customisation Pack

Raw Fury

$2.99

Get ready to showcase your true strength with this full suite of sturdy truck customization options.

– New Paint Job: Blue Collar Cruise
– New Hood Ornament: Lucky Chunk
– Three new Truck Grilles: Comet Pusher, Star Riot and Moon Shot
– New Sensor Manifold: Keystone
– New Exhaust Stack: Full Guard Curve

The post Star Trucker: Time to Reveal your True Strength appeared first on Xbox Wire.