Category: Video Games

Anime Last Stand Update Adds New Units, Lag Fixes, and a Legend Stage

Anime Last Stand developer Boss Studio is back with the Fate/Stay Night Inspired update, which adds a new Legend Stage, six new units, major lag fixes, and more to the Roblox tower defense experience.

The latest update and its patch notes made its way to Roblox players yesterday. It’s yet another update that comes with new content to mull over, but the most substantial change lies with the adjustments to the battle pass. The team says players will now receive “much better rewards” with the pass, which also now consists of 100 tiers to complete.

Anime Last Stand’s latest update also comes with three new units – King of Heroes (Celestial), Archer of Red (Mythic), and Rogue Lancer (Mythic) – as well as three new evolutions – King of Heroes (Sword of Rupture), Archer of Red (Bladeworks), and King Pendragon (Alter). There’s also a new Ryuudou Temple Legend Stage, which, when completed, rewards players with a chance to obtain the King of Heroes unit.

In addition to the new content included with the Fate/Stay Night Inspired update come various stability improvements and bug fixes. Boss Studio says players can now enjoy “HUGE lag fixes” that will minimize risk of black screens across the Roblox experience and crashes for those on mobile.

Anime Last Stand fans were able to check out the previous update when it launched just last week on December 5. While it also brought more general balance adjustments and bug fixes, its focus was on the new Tournament game mode. It’s currently unclear when the next update will arrive. In the meantime, you can check out all of the active Anime Last Stand codes here.

You can see everything included in the Fate/Stay Night update in the patch notes below.

Anime Last Stand Fate/Stay Night update patch notes

Additions

  • ALS Rewrite + Battle pass rework
    • HUGE lag fixes, no more black screens, no more mobile crashing!
    • The battle pass now consists of 100 tiers, with much better rewards.
  • New Legend Stage
    • New “Ryuudou Temple” legend stage. Complete this new challenge for a chance of obtaining the “King of Heroes” unit. Alongside the unit, you can also obtain some of the evo materials for the new units.
  • 3 New Units
    • King of Heroes (Celestial) [ Legend Stage ]
    • Archer of Red (Mythic) [ Banner 3 ]
    • Rogue Lancer (Mythic) [ Battle Pass ]
  • 3 New Evolutions
    • King of Heroes (Sword of Rupture)
    • Archer of Red (Bladeworks)
    • King Pendragon (Alter)
  • New Lobbies
    • World 1 and World 2 have received brand new lobbies.

Features

  • Emotes
    • Obtain emotes from the new reworked battle pass or the new bundle. Equip them from the new “Emotes” icon. Use “G” to open the emote menu.
  • Ability Descriptions
    • The highly suggested Ability Descriptions have been added to ALS. You can now view all the information about a unit’s ability and what it does.
  • World Skipper
    • ALS is introducing World Skipper (Story Skipper). You can now get done with the new story modes much faster by skipping the first 5 acts of a story.

QoL

  • Rarity selection in index
    • You can now toggle what rarity you want to see in the unit index. Easier to browse and less lag!
  • Seamless retry toggleable
    • You are now able to toggle seamless retry on and off in the settings while in a game.
  • Hide other’s units
    • A new setting that allows you to disable other’s unit followers whilst in the lobby for less lag!

Rebalances

  • Nerfs
    • Apprentice Kay (Madness) – Damage slightly decreased.
    • Fused Kai (Full Power) – Passive damage % gain cap reduced (30% -> 10%), removed fear passive.
    • Fused Warrior (Blue) – Damage slightly decreased
    • SunWoo (Winter) – Damage decreased
    • Nightmare Zuffy (Hami) – Damage slightly decreased
    • Gray (Full Power) – Passive nerfed from 100% crit damage -> 60% crit damage, damage for upgrades 8-10 nerfed.
    • Braly (LSSJ) – Passive cap reduced (300% -> 150%)
  • Buffs
    • The True Cursed King – Final upgrade DPS buffed, World Cutting Slash nuke damage buffed to 10B damage and Malevolent Shrine TOTAL nuke damage buffed to 50B.
    • Dark Captain (Magic Zone) – Damage heavily buffed, now has Pressure passive.
    • Wind Prince: Damage heavily buffed, now has Slow passive.
    • Pride (The One) – Final upgrade DPS buffed.
    • Ninel (Spirit): Damage heavily buffed.
    • Ichiko (Moonless Sky) – Final upgrade DPS buffed.

Asuta (Half Devil) – Completely rebalanced, now has Hemorrhage + Stun, DPS heavily increased, range slightly increased.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Blade Ball Receives a New Battle Pass Alongside Version 6.6 Update

Blade Ball is one of the most exciting experiences on the Roblox platform, and it’s only going to keep getting better from here. Alongside a massive new update for the game, it’s also bringing a new Battle Pass to keep players in the game for the foreseeable future.

This new update, which went live on December 7, 2024, brings several interesting new tweaks to the familiar Blade Ball formula that we know and love. And the Christmas-themed Battle Pass is bound to be a winner for anyone who is into the holiday spirit.

All Blade Ball Patch Notes for Version 6.6

Below, you’ll find all of the new additions to Blade Ball with the Version 6.6 update. This information was found directly on the Blade Ball Discord channel:

  • 50 Player Winter Royale… BUT with 2 balls!
  • 50-player Battle Royale game mode, accessed through the server selector.
  • The storm will have different phases doing more damage as the game goes on, as well as increasing in speed.
  • LTM Crate
  • Winter Royale Pack
  • Leaderboard Rewards

Christmas Battlepass

  • New Ability, and lots of awesome rewards!
  • 60 Tiers of Rewards + Expansions
  • NEW Quests
  • Battlepass Crate
  • Battlepass Shop

Dual Candycane Blaster + Emote + Finisher!

  • Ability Spin

New Ability [Fracture!]

  • One big slice cuts the ball into 2, each going to different opponents. When the extra ball eliminates someone, it will then disappear.
  • [UPG1] + Lower cooldown & +10% speed buff

Christmas Calendar

  • You will be able to claim new daily rewards every day starting December 7 to December 25 (19 days)
  • Daily Login Streak Rewards

Miscellaneous

  • Winter has arrived! Christmas map decorations are now on every map
  • Patched autoparry
  • Bounty nerf
  • 48 Swords
  • 24 Explosions
  • 22 Emotes

Christmas Cheer and Games Galore on Blade Ball

The addition of a new Limited-Time Battle Royale mode is extremely exciting, as well as all of the holiday cheer that is available to be experienced now. Anyone that is even remotely in the holiday spirit should be jumping in to see what new rewards are available to be earned in Blade Ball.

If you’re looking to keep up with all of the upcoming updates for your favorite Roblox experience, make sure to follow the official Blade Ball X account, their YouTube Channel for additional behind-the-scenes looks at content, and join the official Discord Server for extra goodies.

Shaun Cichacki is a Freelance Contributor with IGN, covering features, guides, and news. When he isn’t writing about games, he’s likely diving into the latest indie, the biggest AAA games, or pampering his extensive collection of retro games. You can find him on social media on Bluesky @shauncichacki.bsky.social

Mini Review: Victory Heat Rally (Switch) – Great Looks, But Can’t Quite Make The Podium

Scaled back ambition.

When Victory Heat Rally first appeared on Kickstarter back in 2020, the game appeared set to pay homage to Sega’s wonderful Super Scaler range of arcade games from the 1980s. In the four years that have followed between that Kickstarter launch and this Switch release, something appears to have been lost along the way.

Rather than the Kickstarter trailer’s segmented rollercoaster-like tracks, which immediately conjured up memories of Seger’s brilliant arcade racer Power Drift, instead the tracks in Victory Heat Rally look a lot more like the typical 3D environments expected from a modern racing game, albeit with cel shading designed to deliberately make them look more basic.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Overwatch 2 x Avatar: The Last Airbender Collab Brings the Four Elements to Life

Overwatch 2 x Avatar: The Last Airbender Collab Brings the Four Elements to Life

  • Chelsea Leah, Blizzard Editorial

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Hero Image

Prepare to bend the elements and battle like never before! From December 17 to December 30, Overwatch 2 is teaming up with Avatar: The Last Airbender in a legendary crossover event that promises to thrill both Overwatch fans and Avatar enthusiasts alike. This limited-time collaboration merges the iconic world of the Four Nations with your favorite Overwatch heroes, creating a lineup of elemental cosmetics and challenges that celebrate unity, resilience, and the unstoppable power of teamwork.   

Overwatch 2 players will have the chance to channel the essence of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air through stunning character skins inspired by the unforgettable heroes of Avatar. Get ready to fight alongside your team just like Team Avatar, as these skins perfectly capture the spirit of bending.  

Here’s the roster and what they bring to the battlefront:

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Zenyatta as Aang: The spiritual harmony of the Air Nomads comes alive through Zenyatta, who now embodies Aang, the Avatar himself. With his serene strength and ultimate goal of peace, Zenyatta as Aang is your ultimate ally in bringing balance to every fight.  

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Mei as Katara: The wisdom and fluidity of the Water Tribe are reflected in Mei’s Katara skin. Unlock this cosmetic by completing special in-game challenges. Whether freezing enemies in their tracks or leading your team to victory, Mei as Katara will always fight with the waterbender’s calm determination.  

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Genji as Zuko: Harness the unrelenting fire of the Fire Nation with Genji as Zuko. This fierce skin captures Zuko’s resilience and undeniable skill. Genji’s speed and deadly precision paired with Zuko’s fiery spirit make this a must-have for your collection.  

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Orisa as Appa: Appa fans, rejoice! Orisa brings the loyal guardian of Team Avatar to life in the most lovable way possible. With her hulking presence and steadfast armor, she’s the ultimate protector your team can count on. Don’t forget to shout “yip yip!” as you carry your teammates to victory.  

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Kiriko as Suki: Honoring the unyielding leadership and strength of the Kyoshi Warriors, Kiriko’s Suki skin is all about loyalty, skill, and teamwork. Lead your team with confidence, just as Suki would.  

Overwatch 2 Avatar Collab Art

Venture as Toph: Become an unshakable force of nature with Venture sporting Toph’s earthbending persona. This cosmetic highlights Toph’s raw strength and unflinching determination, showing enemies that you mean business (especially if they don’t see it coming).  

The Overwatch 2 art team had a blast while creating these skins. “As big fans, it was tough to choose which characters to create skins for,” says art director Dion Rogers. “But we immediately knew Orisa would be Appa, Aang’s sky bison. This skin helped us blend Overwatch’s futuristic elements with Avatar’s mystical/eastern designs. Though we joked about temporarily increasing her size, we kept her in-game scale unchanged.”

He goes on to the difficulty is choosing a hero perfect for one of Avatar’s most famous characters: “For Aang, we considered a few other heroes, including Illari due to her ultimate resembling the “Avatar State,” but ultimately chose Zenyatta as Aang, fitting well with his Transcendence ability.”  

The Overwatch 2 x Avatar collaboration is packed with goodies, from special unlockable rewards to one-of-a-kind cosmetics. This is your opportunity to embody the Avatar universe while dominating the Overwatch battlefields.  

  • Unlock and Earn skins, such as Mei as Katara by completing exclusive challenges in-game.  
  • Collect Elemental-Themed Cosmetics, capturing the magic of iconic moments and characters from Avatar.  
  • Battle Like the Gaang, bringing harmony and strength to every match. 

Each game is an opportunity to channel your inner bender, master the elements, and prove to your enemies why teamwork matters.  

Mark your calendars! This crossover event will only be available from December 17 to December 30 in Overwatch 2. Whether you’re an avid Avatar fan or simply love collecting skins, this is your chance to celebrate two legendary universes coming together.  

Are you ready to summon the power of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air? Assemble your team and Fight like Team Avatar and protect the Overwatch world with elemental strength and precision. It’s your time to bend the elements and claim victory!


Overwatch® 2

Overwatch® 2

Blizzard Entertainment

☆☆☆☆☆
2029
★★★★★

Get it now
Xbox One X Enhanced
Xbox Game Pass

Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl featuring new heroes and maps, different ways to play, and unique cosmetics! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch’s 40 distinct heroes. Team up with friends, take them into battle across 25+ futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.

Overwatch 2 – Season 14: Hazard

Get ready for an explosive season as we introduce Hazard, the new Scottish tank hero, embodying the spirit of anarchy for the greater good. Then test your skills with a unique blend of past and present in the 6v6 Role Queue event, where teamwork and synergy shine within the 2-2-2 setup. Master the elements with an Overwatch 2 x Avatar: The Last Airbender collab event, celebrating unity, resilience, and the power within. Plus, prepare to wield the hammer of Gods as Mythic Thor Reinhardt and earn up to five Legendary skins with the Premium Battle Pass. Packed with nostalgia, customization, and radical gameplay, Season 14 has everything you need to dominate in style!

The Overwatch League™ Token will no longer be purchasable after December 9, 2024. The OWL shop will remain open until at least December 2025, with limited inventory purchasable with players’ remaining OWL token balances.

The post Overwatch 2 x Avatar: The Last Airbender Collab Brings the Four Elements to Life appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Come join us for our Game Awards 2024 liveblog

Tonight is The Game Awards 2024, the first since Geoff Keighley killed E3 and consumed its heart in front of a group of screaming schoolchildren. Just saying, this had better be good, Geoff, especially after the 2023 show’s “embarrassing” shooing-off of developers whose acceptance speeches cut into that valuable trailer showcase time.

Who will need to please wrap it up this time? Which games will be revealed? Will there be a musical number to top last year’s Herald of Darkness performance? (That was fun, actually, fair play on that one.) You can find out right along with us, as we once again fire up the RPS liveblog-o-tron to report all the developments as they happen. Even the ones that happen at 3:45am, when I’ll be desperately trying not to collapse into my keyboard like a felled tree.

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Marvel Rivals review: it’s like Overwatch, if Overwatch was overcomplex and frequented Comic Con

At first I thought Marvel Rivals was basically rebranded Overwatch, in the way it’s a free-to-play PVP hero shooter. And in some ways, it is. Fights are like if you took a MOBA and forced both teams to bash heads constantly. Success lies in picking off Spider-Man or Squirrel Girl or Marcus Fenix so as they wait to respawn, you hop on the big area that needs capturing. Or you push the cart while tanky Hulk absorbs bullets with his biceps and John Marvel snipes from afar.

The more I played Rivals, though, the more it hit me that it’s specifically a messier, more complex Overwatch. A hero shooter with a surprising amount of polish and charm, sure, but also one that slides off my brain like water off Birdman’s back. I understand why it’s supremely popular at the moment and yet, I really don’t.

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Score Super Mario RPG for Just $30 as Part of Best Buy’s 12 Days of Gaming

Best Buy is keeping the gaming deals rolling past Black Friday and Cyber Monday with its delightful 12 Days of Gaming sale event. Today’s deal is a real treat for Nintendo fans, as you can get Super Mario RPG for just $30 right now. However, this deal on Super Mario RPG only lasts for today, so if you’ve had your eye on it you’ll want to act fast to add it to your collection.

Best Buy’s 12 Days of Gaming: Get Super Mario RPG for $30

Super Mario RPG is well worth adding to your collection of Nintendo Switch games. If you’re still on the fence, have a read through our Super Mario RPG review. IGN’s Tom Marks said it’s “considered a classic for a reason, and this wonderfully faithful remake makes it easy for anyone who missed it in the SNES era to see why.”

This isn’t the only gaming deal that’s caught our eye recently, either. Both PlayStation and Xbox are also enjoying a variety of excellent game deals at the moment. In our roundups of the best PlayStation deals and the best Xbox deals you can see some of our favorites, including a $20 discount on Dragon Age: The Veilguard for Xbox Series X and Helldivers 2 for PS5 down to just $25 for Amazon Prime members.

Our overall roundup of the best video game deals features even more discounts for Nintendo Switch – like a nice deal at the moment on The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom at Woot – alongside some great PC game deals. In regard to the latter, you can also take advantage of a little discount right now on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for PC at Fanatical. It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year for gaming deals.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Japanese Charts: FANTASIAN Sneaks Into The Top 10 As Mario Party Rolls Another Winner

Lucky dice.

Well, this is becoming something of a trend, isn’t it? After retaking the throne last week, Super Mario Party Jamboree has stuck around at the top of the Japanese charts in Famitsu‘s latest look.

In fact, the top three are unchanged this week, with Jamboree, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe all maintaining their spots on the podium. Echoes of Wisdom has popped back into the top 10 this time around, which is always nice to see, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership has moved up a spot to land in fifth.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Pokémon TCG Pocket Reveals Mew-Led Set Coming Next Week and 60 Million Download Milestone

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has revealed its next set is a Themed Booster Pack centred around Mew called Mythical Island, and it arrives December 17.

Developer Creatures Inc. revealed the new set with a trailer, below, alongside word the digital trading card game has now been downloaded more than 60 million times.

Mythical Island will be a smaller set compared to the only other available so far, Genetic Apex, featuring more than 80 cards including five ex, five Trainers, and at least two new Immersive Cards. Only a few specifics have been revealed so far, but both Mew ex and Aerodactyl ex will feature alongside new versions of currently available Pokémon and brand new ones too.

Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived October 30 and is a certified hit for Creatures Inc. and The Pokémon Company, having earned an estimated $200 million in its first month. It follows the standard mobile and free to play game model, flooding players with rewards in the opening few days before soon drying up, with spending real world money the only real way to re-experience that early thrill.

Completing Genetic Apex, the first set of cards which totals 226 officially but also contains 60 rare alternate art cards, will take players not spending money around two years according to one estimate, while those looking to make it rain can wrap up the collection after dropping around $1,500.

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

Total War: Warhammer’s Rich Aldridge on roleplaying, iteration, and lessons from nearly a decade on strategy’s most ambitious series

In more ways than one, today’s Total War: Warhammer 3 expansion marks a milestone for game director Rich Aldridge and his team at Creative Assembly. Omens Of Destruction’s three headline legendary lords each bring new campaigns and units for their respective factions, but it’s the fourth lord – a Khorne champion free to all players – that I imagine Aldridge will end up remembering the most fondly.

When Total War: Warhammer released back in 2016, it shipped with eight legendary lords – famous characters from Games Workshop’s fantasy setting that here act as faction leaders. The number grew steadily and, in terms of announcement order at least, today’s addition of Arbaal The Undefeated marks the series’ 100th. That’s a hundred campaigns, a hundred joint efforts of game design, animation, art, writing and voice work.

Aldridge has never been shy about the team’s ambition for the series to eventually offer up each unit from every Fantasy Battle 6th edition army book (“The goal is to do everything, right?”). But ambition is one thing, and considering the fraught conditions at Creative Assembly and parent company Sega over the past few years, it’s not just the addition of the 100th lord that feels like something to celebrate. It’s taken time, effort, and a siesmic shift in update frequency, but Total War: Warhammer III is in the best place it’s ever been.

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