Category: Video Games

The Finals is a gloriously destructive shooter that’s too frantic for its own good

Mad dashes, daring escapes, last minute reversals: these are some of my favourite moments in multiplayer shooters. It’s exhilarating to scream towards the chopper in Left 4 Dead or a dropship in Titanfall.

The Finals is a multiplayer shooter that seems to take place entirely at this elevated pitch. In the dozens of open beta matches I’ve played, the result is as thrilling as those other games, but also exhausting. I wish it would chill for just a moment so I could fully enjoy its delights – of which there are many.

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Super Mario Party + Red & Blue Joy-Con Bundle Announced

It’s party season.

Nintendo has revealed a bunch of Switch bundles and discounts ahead of Black Friday and the Holiday season, but one new bundle to come out of this announcement is the Super Mario Party + Red & Blue Joy-Con Bundle, which launches on 10th November.

Retailing at $99.99, you’ll be able to pick up a copy of Super Mario Party along with a pair of Red and Blue Joy-Con. These Joy-Con are much darker than the standard red and blue you usually get with the Switch.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition launches the free Sweet Science update Nov 7 on PS VR2

Hey, internet people, this is Yasmine here from the marketing team at Survios. We’re over the moon to reveal the upcoming Sweet Science update, heading to Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition tomorrow on PS VR2! After the nationwide premiere of Creed III in theaters earlier this year, Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition has introduced an array of new boxers, a Muscle Beach setting inspired by the film, and an expanded version of the original 2018 PS VR game.

From improved matchmaking to a slew of fitness updates, plus a brand new playable fighter, we don’t mean this lightly when we say you’ll be on your way to mastering the sweet science of PS VR boxing. Since we’re simply hours away from the content update going live, let’s go ahead and dive into what makes this update so sweet.

Set personal fitness goals

While experience is king, we know how necessary fitness is in every champion’s journey. Introducing the many ways Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition can bring you closer to your fitness endgame, players can now set personal calorie or time goals, no matter what mode or fight they’re in. Whenever you’re out duking it in PvP with a friend or working out in the various gyms available to you, your goals stay with you thick or thin.

Simply open the handheld menu with your PS VR2 Sense Controller and navigate to Fitness Goals. There, you can tweak your calorie or time goals on the fly. As you play, you can track your total time and calorie burn per play session, now more accurate than ever with our improved calorie tracking algorithm.

And of course, players can continue to utilize the Calorie and Timed Sparring modes under Fitness mode for tailored fitness-focused sessions.

Tommy Gunn enters the ring

Heavyweight champion legend Tommy “The Machine” Gunn, famously portrayed by Tommy Morrison in Rocky V, arrives in the ring to fight – anytime, anyplace, anywhere! With raw and incomparable power, Tommy is a force to be reckoned with in our extension roster of playable PvP characters. And for our Deluxe Edition owners, you will automatically receive an additional exclusive glow costume for Tommy Gunn upon update.

Thank you to all our fans who have joined us on this thrilling five-year-plus journey with us! We’re so excited to see what you think of this new update. If you haven’t already picked it up for yourself or a challenger-in-waiting, visit PlayStation Store for PS VR2 and download Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition, where you can experience the thrill of cinematic boxing for yourself.

The Finals Open Beta Comes to an End After 7.5 Million Players

The Finals open beta was a huge hit, with an impressive 7.5 million people playing.

In a tweet, The Finals developer Embark Studios called the open beta “an unforgettable week for us”, and said now was the time to “hunker down” and work on fixes and improvements. No release window was offered.

Created by ex-DICE developers who worked on the Battlefield series, the free-to-download, destruction-based competitive first-person shooter was so popular it even hit its player capacity within a few days. The open beta was massive on Steam in particular, with a peak concurrent players figure of 267,874. That was enough to put The Finals in the top five most-played games on Steam.

In our preview of the game, IGN said: “The Finals is a fast-paced first-person shooter that focuses on arcadey game styles and game-show mechanics. What makes it unique is that everything, and I mean everything, can be destroyed. It’s a lot to take in, but after playing a bunch of it, all of the elements manage to work really well together when the game isn’t stuttery and buggy.”

However, The Finals has not been without controversy. Last week Embark responded to criticism from voice actors and developers after The Finals was slammed for using AI voice overs.

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.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Devs Say Miles Morales Is the ‘Main’ Spider-Man From Now On

The developers of hit PlayStation 5 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have said Miles Morales is the “main” Spider-Man from now on, which has caused some fans to speculate about what Insomniac may do with the inevitable Spider-Man 3.

Spider-Man 2 spoilers follow.

Gizmodo asked Insomniac narrative director Ben Arfmann and advanced writer Brittney Morris about the ending of Spider-Man 2, which is a clear passing of the torch from Peter Parker to Miles. Here’s how the conversation goes:

“Pete. I got this. All of it. Go be Peter Parker for a while.”

“Are you sure? It’s a big city.”

“I can handle it. As long as I can still call you for advice.”

“You don’t need it.”

In the interview, Gizmodo asks Arfmann and Morris: “You said earlier you basically knew right away that you wanted playable Venom. Does that also apply to ending this game with Miles as the ‘main’ Spider-Man from now on?”

Morris replies: “It always felt very natural, and I think we all collectively thought it would happen. To me, it shows a great deal of evolution from Miles; at the beginning of the game, we see him struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his life. By the end, we had Miles carrying the burden of saving the city, and also carrying Pete when Pete wasn’t strong enough to carry himself at various points.

“That’s what’s been so cool about writing a story about two Spider-Men: they’re both strong, and one of them can be strong when the other is not. By the end, Miles is more confident and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got this. How much worse can things get after what we just went through?’ “

Spider-Man fans are now speculating about what Miles being the main Spider-Man means for future titles (IGN has a comprehensive feature looking into how Spider-Man 2 sets up the sequel). There’s a lot of talk about another Miles Morales spin-off (Spider-Man: Miles Morales came out in 2020). Insomniac has already spoken about the potential of a Venom spin-off. We know the developer’s Wolverine game is set in the same universe as its Spider-Man games. And of course there will be a Spider-Man 3.

As IGN’s Jesse Schedeen writes: “We assume this ending is setting the stage for a direct sequel to Spider-Man: Miles Morales, with Peter’s retirement providing the justification for why Miles is the only hero in the spotlight. As for the inevitable Spider-Man 3, surely some new disaster will compel Peter to come out of retirement and suit up once again. This game provides plenty of clues as to what that disaster might involve.”

The most shocking theory is that Insomniac plans to kill off Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3, which would be a significant step further than simply having Parker retire from being Spider-Man. Perhaps Pete will bite the dust trying to save New York from the Green Goblin, who is teased at the end of Spider-Man 2.

It’s all speculation for now, and it will be quite the while before we know for sure what Insomniac has in store for fans.

Spider-Man 2 is PlayStation’s fastest-selling game ever over a 24-hour period, with an impressive 2.5 million copies sold in just a day. IGN has reported on one player who discovered the fate of an absent villain by going out of bounds, covered the comic-book that references the lack of superheroes in the game, and we’ve even investigated whether Spider-Man 2 should take fall damage, according to science and lore.

If you’re playing, check out our list of Spider-Man 2’s best skills to get first as well as all of the Spider-Man 2 suits in the game.

We wrote in our Spider-Man 2 review: “As a sequel in a spectacular series, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is both blessed and cursed… Insomniac refines a successful formula of combat and web-swinging without revolutionising either in major ways, making them comfy and familiar with just enough new tweaks and abilities to elevate them to fun new heights. The part that feels like it actually needed a radical rethinking is the open world of New York City, which has been made bigger but not better, with an exhausting checklist of mostly repetitious side activities.”

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.

Screenshot Saturday Mondays: Kicking in doors and clicking on shoes

Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter’s #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, my eye has been kicking doors, clicking on shoes to walk, running along walls, and fiddling with buttons on a television in space. Come check out these attractive and interesting indie games, and more!

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Silent Hill 2 Remake Includes Pyramid Head Origin Story According to Best Buy Listing

Silent Hill 2 Remake includes a playable origin story for the series’ most famous baddie Pyramid Head according to a Best Buy listing.

Spotted by @bobvids on X/Twitter, the preorder listing for Silent Hill 2 Remake on Best Buy Canada promises the return of Pyramid Head “along with a special origin story for fans to play through”.

Konami hasn’t confirmed this previously but the information presented by Best Buy will likely come from official sources, though IGN has asked the publisher for comment. Developer Bloober Team, who are remaking the beloved horror game for Konami, has previously said it will “faithfully” stick to the original game’s story, leading to some confusion over what this origin story could be.

Discussing the Best Buy listing on Reddit, many fans believe (and hope) the origin story is just a poorly worded reference to Born From a Wish, a side story that takes place adjacent to the early events of Silent Hill 2. We won’t spoil that story here, but it was released in some Silent Hill 2 special editions and re-releases and therefore is canon to the original story.

“Because of the way it’s written, people think it’s saying that Pyramid Head is getting his own playable origin story,” TyChris2 said. “Which, to be fair, is a very stupid idea, and if that IS what it’s saying then I’m with the people that are upset. But I’m pretty sure it’s referring to Born From a Wish. In which case, yeah obviously there’s no problem there.”

NappingPlant added: “I’m only assuming Born From A Wish because the alternative, a Pyramid Head origin, is a god awful idea. Actually, considering the marketability of Pyramid Head, it would totally make sense for Konami to ask Bloober to excise the character from James so they can use him in future games. It’s Konami at the end of the day, the most cynical answer is usually the correct one.”

Konami has been criticised by fans for its decisions in the past, with examples even coming in the past month. The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 arrived on October 24 to major criticism for its performance issues and lack of new features, with Konami itself even sharing a list of problems ahead of launch.

Interactive streaming series Silent Hill Ascension was also slammed after premiering on October 31, with the community-run choose your own adventure experience full of microtransactions.

Bloober Team has been adamant about not making story changes though. “We are focusing on bringing the distinct, visceral atmosphere back in the modernized Silent Hill 2,” chief marketing officer Anna Jasińska said in January 2023. “Longtime fans shouldn’t worry about us missing the point while we’re livening up the title.

“We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place.”

Exactly what would change in the remake was a little unclear when Konami first announced it, with director Mateusz Lenart only saying that Bloober Team would “make everything that made the game a timeless classic”.

Silent Hill 2 Remake still lacks a release date though, with Bloober Team practically going quiet since it was forced to clarify some misunderstood rumours back in March 2023.

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

Devolver hire Portal’s GLaDOS to Let’s Play their Portal-esque puzzler The Talos Principle 2

Devolver have released a Let’s Play for robo-philosophical puzzler The Talos Principle 2 in which the Let’s Player is GLaDOS, nemesis of Valve’s Portal games, with which The Talos Principle has a few things in common. They’ve brought on original Portal voice actress Ellen McClain to narrate the footage, and the result is genuinely quite funny. As you’d expect, GlaDOS isn’t that impressed by Croteam’s work. I score this a 7/10 on the Hoot And/Or Holler scale.

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Random: 8 Cancelled Retro Studios Games Detailed, Including ‘Portal With Combat’

And an NFL game?!

Retro Studios is best known for its work on the Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises. Still, the developer has dabbled in a number of intriguing projects that have unfortunately wound up on the cutting room floor.

DidYouKnowGaming is back with another deep dive video looking into the studio’s history, specifically detailing 8 projects that have, for one reason or another, ended up being cancelled.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Score a PS5 and Modern Warfare 3 for Just £390 with This Amazing Early Black Friday Deal

This early Black Friday deal in the UK is already a cut above the rest, and could well be the best discount we see over the holiday shopping season. With the PS5 Slim launching soon globally, we’re already starting to see huge discounts on the previous standard PS5 Disc model and its relevant bundles.

At select UK retailers, you can currently find the PS5 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023) bundle for just £399.95, which is already a tremendous discount from the RRP of £539.99, but at the EE Store, you can currently get the bundle for £389.49 with code 5GAMEDAYEE. This will be one of the best Black Friday deals this year, but it’s definitely an early deal as it will expire on November 7 — so act fast to secure your order and avoid disappointment.

Considering the best PS5 deal we had this year was a discount to £400 standalone, this deal which now includes a brand new £70 is hard to ignore. While we also have the PS5 Slim to look forward to, for now, this is absolutely the best PS5 deal available before Black Friday officially kicks off.

If you don’t need the PS5, Modern Warfare 3 is also down to £61.99 at Amazon right now for PS5 and Xbox. We’re expecting to see a lot more deals like this in the coming weeks and throughout November, so stick with IGN or follow @IGNUKDeals on Twitter/X for even more Black Friday updates.

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