Author: Game Infliction

Xbox Celebrates Mutant Nostalgia With Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Custom Comic Xbox Series X and Controllers

Summary

  • Xbox and Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” have united to bring fans an extraordinary collaboration – the “X-Men ’97” Xbox Series X, wrapped in an exclusive comic by Marvel’s Rich Douek and Paco Diaz.
  • Immerse yourself further with Xbox Design Lab’s X-Men character controllers. Each inspired by your favorites, they come in nostalgic blister packs.
  • Enter our limited-time sweepstakes for a chance to win this ultimate collector’s bundle! Don’t miss your shot at this iconic piece of mutant history.

Calling all Xbox and X-Men enthusiasts! We’re ecstatic to announce an incredible collaboration between Xbox and Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97,” now streaming on Disney+. Prepare to immerse yourself in the world of mutants like never before.

Xbox and “X-Men ’97” have come together to bring you a very special  Xbox Series X wrapped in a limited-edition comic inspired by the all-new series and created by Marvel writer Rich Douek and artist Paco Diaz. This thrilling 2-page story with full page cover is exclusive to the Xbox Series X, and features Cyclops leading the X-Men in a battle against Sentinels and Master Mold, with an Xbox Series X console making a special appearance in the Danger Room.

Marking the first time an Xbox Series X has been wrapped by a comic book, this collaboration promises to immerse fans in a nostalgic journey through the world of the “X-Men ’97.”

In addition, Xbox Design Lab created a set of controllers inspired by you the colorways of your favorite X-Men characters from the show: Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Morph, Magneto, Jubilee, Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, and Bishop. Each character comes to life through unique controller designs, and comes in a 90’s inspired blister pack that makes for the ultimate collector item.

Fans eager to get their hands on the “X-Men ’97”-inspired Xbox Series X and one of the Xbox Design Lab character controllers will have the opportunity to enter the sweepstakes hosted on Xbox Twitter.

By following Xbox on X (formerly Twitter) and retweeting the official Xbox sweepstakes tweet ( #XMen97XboxSweepstakes) during the Entry Period, fans can secure their chance to win a Xbox Series X Console inspired by X-Men ’97, Xbox Wireless Controller (this comes with the console but will not be customized), and a Xbox Design Lab Controller inspired by X-Men ’97 Wolverine . The sweepstakes will run exclusively from Monday, April 22, 6:00am PST through Sunday, May 19, 8:00pm PST, offering participants ample time to join in on the excitement.

Get ready to unleash your mutant powers with this Xbox and “X-Men ‘97” team-up and don’t forget to catch the latest episodes of “X-Men ’97” on Disney+, available on your Xbox!

About Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ‘97”

Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

The all-new series features 10 episodes. The voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler. Beau DeMayo served as head writer; episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi-Emmett Yonemura, and the series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo. Featuring music by the Newton Brothers, Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” is now streaming on Disney+

The post Xbox Celebrates Mutant Nostalgia With Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Custom Comic Xbox Series X and Controllers appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Microsoft Made an X-Men ‘97 Xbox Series X That’s Actually Wrapped in a Comic Book

Microsoft’s run of custom Xbox consoles continues, this time with an X-Men ‘97 Xbox Series X and controllers.

Amid the continued success of the Disney+ X-Men ‘97 animated show, Microsoft has revealed the Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Custom Comic Xbox Series X. It’s an Xbox Series X wrapped in an exclusive comic by Marvel writer Rich Douek and artist Paco Diaz, with Xbox Design Lab’s X-Men character controllers to accompany it.

The comic is a two-page story with a full page cover exclusive to the Xbox Series X, and features Cyclops leading the X-Men in a battle against the Sentinels and Master Mold. An Xbox Series X console makes a special appearance in the Danger Room.

This is the first time an Xbox Series X has been wrapped by a comic book, Microsoft said. And in now Microsoft tradition, it’s only available as part of a limited-time sweepstakes hosted on Xbox Twitter.

Meanwhile, Xbox Design Lab created a set of controllers inspired by X-Men characters from the show: Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Morph, Magneto, Jubilee, Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, and Bishop. Each character has a unique controller design, and comes in a 90s-inspired blister pack.

Here’s how to enter the competition, per Xbox:

By following Xbox on X (formerly Twitter) and retweeting the official Xbox sweepstakes tweet (#XMen97XboxSweepstakes) during the Entry Period, fans can secure their chance to win a Xbox Series X Console inspired by X-Men ’97, Xbox Wireless Controller (this comes with the console but will not be customized), and a Xbox Design Lab Controller inspired by X-Men ’97 Wolverine. The sweepstakes will run exclusively from Monday, April 22, 6:00am PST through Sunday, May 19, 8:00pm PST, offering participants ample time to join in on the excitement.

This isn’t the first custom console or controller Microsoft has created. Most recently, it made an official Fallout-themed Xbox Series X that comes with its own vault. Before that, Microsoft made a bizarre Final Fantasy 14 Xbox Series X that doesn’t actually work. Earlier in February it revealed a Dune: Part 2 special edition with a floating gamepad. Other Xbox Series X and S generation highlights include red and blue fluffy Sonic the Hedgehog gamepads, one made out of actual Jade, and even an edible gamepad.

X-Men ‘97 is now six episodes into its first season, and things are looking increasingly bleak for the merry mutants. Check out our article, X-Men ’97: 10 Burning Questions After Episode 6, for more.

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.

Arise now, ye Cerim: No Rest for the Wicked’s performance updates are underway

No Rest for the Wicked launched into early access as a bit of a fixer-upper, even by the standards of its ‘buy now, play finished game later’ model. The good news is that the grim action-RPG’s wonky performance is already being straightened out, with two of its three hotfixes thus far delivering a noticeable improvements, even on older graphics cards.

Read more

The original Fallout is the perfect antidote to Fallout fever

Speaking to RPS regular Jeremy Peel in a new feature about RPG design, Amazon’s Fallout TV show and his time working on Pentiment and Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian’s Josh Sawyer has reflected a bit on what Fallout: New Vegas owes to Black Isle and Interplay’s very first Fallout from 1997. “A lot of the philosophy that I approached New Vegas with was the philosophy of Fallout 1, or how I interpreted it,” Sawyer observed. “Fallout 1 was foundational for me in understanding how role-playing games should be made.”

Read more

The Pokémon Company Is Selling a 5 Foot Slowpoke for $450

The Pokémon Company is selling a giant, 59 inch-long Slowpoke plushie for $450.

As reported by Nintendo Life, the jumbo Slowpoke is now available to preorder online at the Pokémon Center, where it’s pictured taking up an entire single bed and alongside a woman who’s roughly the same size.

The Slowpoke plushie was released in Japan in 2021 but is now making its way to the west. “It is so cute and so squishy,” said verified purchaser Christopher K in the reviews section. “Its vacant stare is also so calming, and its tail is so cuddly.”

“You really don’t know how big it’s going to be until it’s taking up half of your queen sized mattress and you have to rehome all the other stuffed animals so you can sleep on your own bed,” added Catherine B.

Nothing will prepare you for the sheer girth and size of this gargantuan unit.

“You will read the measurements but nothing will prepare you for the sheer girth and size of this gargantuan unit in person,” said Georgia M.

Slowpoke may be the ideal candidate for such a plushie given it rarely moves in the world of Pokémon. “It is incredibly slow and dopey,” reads its Pokédex entry. “It takes five seconds for it to feel pain when under attack.”

This plushie is on the large side even for a Slowpoke, however, as its average size is just 47 inches compared to this one’s 59, which places it at four foot and 11 inches or 1.5 metres long. The Pokémon Company measured it in a less conventional way too, learning the Slowpoke plushie comes in at 11 bananas long in a X/Twitter post (above).

While this may seem among the most premium Pokémon merchandise available, its $450 doesn’t scratch the surface of a custom line of Tiffany & Co jewellery. While some of the cheaper items come in at $1,290, the most expensive piece, a Pikachu pendant made of 18-karat yellow gold with diamond accents, costs $29,000.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Metaphor: ReFantazio gets mega-trailer and October release date – good news, brawler-only parties are viable

As one of the Treehouse’s resident Atlus sickos, I was incredibly happy to wake up to 25-minutes of Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s director Katsura Hashino talking us through some new footage. We get a look at a new rural town and the activities you can get up to, like bounty hunting. Travel on your magic mech is compared to “camping”, which I wasn’t expecting. And there’s lots of combat on show, with transitions from real-time to turn-based battles outlined in a bit more detail. Oh and it’s coming out in October, which gives me plenty of time to clear my JRPG backlog before this inevitably takes over my entire existence for the foreseeable.

Read more

Random: Paper Mario Fans Need To Check Out This Awesome Acrylic Standee

Paper Acrylic? Acrylic Paper?

If you, like us, are looking forward to the upcoming remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch, then you might want to check out this rather awesome-looking acrylic standee from Jay Choi (AKA Jayperior).

Officially called ‘Paper Plumber & Friends’ because, y’know… reasons, the characters have all been handdrawn by Jay and can slot into the main standee in whichever order you see fit.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Castlevania: Legacy of Darnkess Player Discovers New Konami Code After 25 Years

Nintendo 64 game Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness released 25 years ago, but a new Konami Code, essentially a cheat code, has just been discovered for it.

YouTuber JupiterClimb uploaded a video revealing the code, which he said makes Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness “the definitive way to play Castlevania on the N64”. While the game arrived as a definitive edition of the regular Castlevania 64, some criticised it for making only the werewolf character Cornell playable from the beginning. Thanks to this code, however, that’s no longer an issue.

By inputting C-Up x4, C-Down x4, C-Left x2, C-Right x2, C-Left x2, C-Right x2, L, R, and Z twice in the main menu, players can create a brand new save and see all four characters unlocked, meaning Reinhardt Schneider, Carrie Fernandez, and Henry Oldrey are all available from the beginning.

Players would otherwise have to play through significant portions of the game to unlock each character despite some being available from the beginning in the original version. Beyond just their base versions, each character’s alternate skin is also made available immediately.

The Konami Code also grants access to hard mode once players begin a new save and reach a save point after inputting it. By quitting out of the game and returning to select a new save, the hard difficulty will be unlocked.

Bizarrely, JupiterClimb also showcased other newly discovered codes, which essentially fill a character’s inventory, grant a max level power-up and sub-weapon, and give them 99 jewels.

These codes will perhaps breathe new life into Legacy of Darkness, which is otherwise part of a long dormant franchise. Although a well received Netflix animated series arrived in 2017, Castlevania hasn’t seen a new video game release since 2014.

This discovering of new codes and the reception to the Netflix show perhaps show fans are eager for more Castlevania games, however, and Konami itself acknowledged the “excitement and enthusiasm” of fans and told IGN this was “really motivating”.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Whatever the Fallout TV show does with New Vegas lore, Josh Sawyer doesn’t care: “It was never mine”

What’s it like to watch a smash hit TV show set in the backyard of a game you’ve made? It’s a question which Fallout: New Vegas project director Josh Sawyer is uniquely qualified to answer.

“The show really does capture the aesthetic of Fallout 4 and 76, while also feeling like it is set on the West Coast,” he says. “If you’re a fan, then you can see where the plot elements have been pulled from in previous entries. And if you’re new to it, thankfully, those plot elements are fairly straightforward. So I think it’s a good show for fans and a good show if you’re new to it, even though there’s a lot of stuff going on. I’m certainly interested to see where they’re going in the second season.”

Read more

No Rest for the Wicked Early Access Hotfix 3 Improves Performance, Balance, Loot and More

No Rest for the Wicked developer Moon Studios has released the biggest update yet for its action role-playing game as it battles to improve its ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam.

No Rest for the Wicked launched on Steam in Early Access form on April 18 to impressive concurrent player numbers, but players complained about a number of issues, including performance problems, localisation issues, and absent quality of life features. Check out IGN’s No Rest for the Wicked Early Access review for more.

Moon Studios, famous for the Ori franchise, said Hotfix 3 improves performance, balance, loot, harvesting, and graphics, and fixes progression blockers while adding new options in the Settings screen. A good few dozen other bugs across the rest of the game have also been squashed, Moon Studios added. It’s worth highlighting the following change: “Automatic Camera Zoom adjustment for handheld devices and Performance Mode.” That should go down well with players on Steam deck, for example.

In a tweet, Thomas Mahler, Moon Studios CEO and creative director, called on Early Access players to “hang tight” as the developer works towards the 1.0 release. “We understand that people paid good money to play Wicked, so they expect a good experience on their machines from the get-go,” Mahler said.

“We already released a few optimization fixes with more dramatic changes on the way! Joining us on our Early Access journey means that you’ll get all the improvements, content updates and fixes until we release 1.0, so just hang tight, we’ll make sure that you’ll get an excellent product (while being able to give us direct feedback, we’re listening!).”

No Rest for the Wicked Early Access Hotfix 3 patch notes:

Performance Improvements:

  • Improved area streaming, making the game feel smoother while traversing across different areas
  • Dynamic Resolution Scaling is now less aggressive, maintaining higher image quality
  • Improved culling for off-screen physics objects and characters
  • Fixed culling for bird animations, improving their performance in levels (there’s a lot of them!)
  • Additional Shader Optimizations for performance mode
  • Fixed a leak which increased memory and CPU usage the longer the game was played
  • Optimized rain and other GPU particles
  • Opening Cinematics and Ship Prologue Optimizations
  • Memory optimizations for character customization textures
  • Additional general CPU performance improvements

Graphics Additions and Fixes:

  • Adjusting Brightness / Contrast / Saturation no longer breaks HDR rendering
  • Fade to Black now actually fully fades to black in HDR mode

Settings Additions and Fixes:

  • Added Camera Zoom Adjustment Option
  • Automatic Camera Zoom adjustment for handheld devices and Performance Mode

Menu Changes:

  • Added a new menu for exiting the game which includes both Exit To Main Menu and Exit To Desktop (localized text for this menu is coming soon!)
  • Adjusted Repair menu size to accommodate for text in other languages

Balance Changes:

  • Weapons parrying now consumes Stamina (Shields parrying remains unchanged)
  • Nerfed Gain Focus On Focus Use enchantment
  • Unarmed can now land hits while enemies are on the ground after performing a Backstab

Loot Changes:

  • Adjusted Dig Spot rates such that Clay drops more often
  • Reduced the number of hits needed for Dig Spots, Ore Veins, and Trees

Enemy Changes:

  • Improved behavior for Nith Screamer and Shackled Brute

Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed the crane not turning correctly in Nameless Pass and blocking players from progressing
  • Fixed a chest at Mariner’s Keep elevator locking you in when trying to loot it
  • Fixed dig spots sometimes not giving any loot
  • Fixed remaining enemies and bosses becoming kaijus
  • Fixed Falstead Darak dealing damage during his transition while he is still human
  • Fixed certain doors in Sacrament not having interaction hints
  • Fixed missing VFX for attacks by the Twin Bruisers, False Ones and Boarskin Axe
  • Fixed condition where enemies attack when they should not
  • Fixed vendor buy/sell prices on Raw and Refined materials being only ¼ of what they should be
  • Fixed missing furniture items at Workbench
  • Fixed Mira and Meri’s Spinning Wheel not allowing players to refine wool threads into garments
  • Fixed keyboard and mouse buttons not working on Bounties contribute panel
  • Fixed an issue where side notifications would occasionally spam players
  • Fixed parry tutorial trigger conditions
  • Fixed wording of enchanting tutorial to more accurately describe common rarity
  • Fixed spot in the Prologue where you can jump off the ship
  • Fixed sizing of a railing on the ship in the Prologue
  • Fixed spots where you can get stuck in a climbing loop in Orban Glades and Nameless Pass
  • Fixed spot in the Black Trench where you can see out of world
  • Fixed Angler’s Delight Chowder’s recipe name
  • Changed Danos’ confirm button color so it does not look grayed out
  • Fixed NPCs not knowing how to hold fishing rods in Nameless Pass
  • Fixed missing shadows and incorrect volumetric fog after changing resolution
  • Fixed reflection popping in sewers dungeon
  • Fixed torches and fire popping in cinematics
  • Fixed rain appearing in caves in Nameless Pass
  • Fixed missing audio for waterfall in Potion Seller Cave
  • Fixed missing audio for Nameless Pass Prisoner chopping and mining
  • Fixed an issue where there was a super bright mist in the Twins Boss arena after respawning
  • Fixed pink effects appearing in faders at times
  • Improved collision in some places at Orban Glades
  • Improved faders in Nameless Pass
  • Fixed Photosensitivity screen having overlapping text in certain languages

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.