Commandos Origins looks like a solid and satisfying return for the legendary tactics series

My earliest memory of the Commandos series of tactical stealth games was my dad bringing home a box copy of the original. “The missions take months. Months!” his mate had told him. Get less shit mates, thought I, for I had already played it elsewhere, and knew that the missions took mere minutes if you put the game on easy then rushed your objectives, bonking nazis along the way. I did not rush the new Steam demo for Kalypso’s revival, Commandos: Origins, but it’s still doable inside half an hour. I had expected a little more, but what’s here has certainly given me some optimism that the full game might well be worth sinking – if not months – at least more time than it takes to wildly lunge at a few nazis en route to your objective.

‘Sonic X Shadow Generations X Chao’ Manga Announced, Here’s A First Look

Join Sonic and Shadow Chao on a “special journey”.

SEGA has announced it will be releasing a new manga on 18th October which documents Sonic Chao and Shadow Chao on a special journey.

It’s officially titled Sonic X Shadow Generations X Chao and will be written by fan favourite Ian Flynn, with lines by Misa Shion and colours by Min Ho Kim. No other information has been shared beyond this, but we do have an illustration to go with this announcement:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Switch Online’s Expansion Pack Promises “Excitement” In 2025

“Stay tuned to find out”.

Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack tier got off to a slow start with a handful of Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and DLC releases, but it’s steadily grown over time. We’re now in the third year of this higher priced tier and it’s sent out an email informing fans to “stay tuned” for what’s to come in 2025.

Although there are no specific details to share just yet, here’s exactly what Nintendo had to say (thanks, GoNintendo):

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Random: Nintendo’s Museum Might Be Emulating SNES Games On Windows PC

It sure sounds like it…

In case you missed it, Nintendo recently opened a Museum in Japan and it’s filled with all sorts of displays featuring the company’s classic titles. For anyone who has been wondering how exactly Nintendo is showcasing these retro games in its museum, it seems it might be making use of emulation on Windows PC.

As highlighted by PC Gamer, an ‘X’ user known as ‘ChrisMack32’ shared a video of a Super Nintendo controller being disconnected (via USB) during a game of Super Mario World at the Museum, and you can reportedly hear the Windows USB disconnection sound play in the background.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Three Call of Duty Games, Including Black Ops 6, Are Coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming This Month

Microsoft announced on Monday that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) for Game Pass Ultimate members at launch, along with two other Call of Duty titles later this month.

Per Microsoft’s blog post, Black Ops 6 will begin rolling out on Xbox Cloud Gaming at 10am PT on October 25, the same day that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone will get cloud support for Game Pass Ultimate members. Microsoft points out in the blog post that it’s “a first for the Call of Duty franchise,” marking the first time a Call of Duty title has been available on Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Interestingly, Microsoft sold cloud gaming rights for Activision games to Ubisoft as a key measure to get the acquisition through the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Therefore, it wasn’t a guarantee that Black Ops 6 would be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Other big Activision Blizzard King titles, including Diablo 4, still aren’t on Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Those looking to play the three Call of Duty games via the cloud will need to a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, and they’ll be available on consoles, PCs, mobile devices, select Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Meta Quest devices. “This opens up even more ways to play Black Ops 6 starting on day one at launch,” Ashley McKissick, Corporate Vice President, Gaming Experiences & Platforms at Microsoft, writes in the blog post.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S when it releases on October 25, and will be the first mainline Call of Duty game to hit Game Pass on Day One. In the meantime, check out our breakdown of all the big changes coming to multiplayer based on feedback to the beta.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Xbox Partner Preview Announced for This Week, Featuring Alan Wake 2 Expansion and More

Microsoft has announced its latest Xbox Partner Preview – what the company calls its “no-fluff, all-games broadcast” – for this coming Thursday, October 17.

Per Microsoft’s blog post on Monday, the broadcast will show off games from Remedy Entertainment, Sega, 505 Games, and more. It’ll include a mix of new and upcoming games, featuring more than a dozen fresh trailers and clocking in at around 25 minutes.

Delving into more specifics, the broadcast will also feature a look at Alan Wake II’s next expansion, The Lake House, aheads of its release sometime this month. Other highlights include “an action-packed new trailer for Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a peek at multiple bosses in dark-fantasy action game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, multiple world premieres, and other great titles coming to Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and Game Pass.”

The stream will kick off at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK and, per usual, will be available to watch on Xbox’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Microsoft has been holding Partner Previews here and there, with the last one taking place back in March. That broadcast spent roughly 30 minutes showing off games like Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Creatures of Ava, Frontpunk 2, and more, along with a number of announcements. Microsoft also featured plenty of third-party games during its big Xbox Showcase in June.

In other Xbox-related news, it was announced on Monday that Rare boss Craig Duncan will be the new head of Xbox Games Studios, replacing Alan Hartman after he retires in November.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Amazon knocks $650 off the Samsung 49″ Odyssey G9 OLED curved gaming monitor

Looking for a new gaming monitor? I don’t mean to tempt you, but this is one hell of a deal. Beating its most recent Black Friday pricing ($1179) by over $200, the Samsung 49″ Odyssey G93SC Series OLED Curved Gaming Monitor is now down to $949 at Amazon. That’s $650 off its original list price, and one of the best deals of the year so far.

Monastery Stealth Game ‘The Stone Of Madness’ Plots A January Release

From the team behind Blasphemous.

The Stone of Madness, the upcoming RTS adventure from Teku Studios and The Game Kitchen, has already bagged a release date.

The Spanish monastery-set stealth adventure was re-revealed at Gamescom 2024, four years after Teku Studios originally announced the title. But now the game is set to launch on Switch and other consoles on 28th January 2024.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The most obnoxious shooter you vaguely remember has returned in 420BlazeIt 2

Cast your mind back ten years. Done? Good, you survived the hideous form of time travel known as long-term memory. Now, do you see a horrendous first-person shooter anywhere back there, full of memes and intentionally terrible font choices? Congratulations, you may have remembered 420BlazeIt, a freakish eyesore of a game developed during a 7-day game jam by one of the people behind Crossy Road, of all things. It briefly did the YouTuber rounds, back when YouTube was not yet the anxiety-inducing ad factory it is today.

Now I’m going to ask you to come back to the present. But prepare for a bit of a shock – there’s a sequel coming to that bong huffing shooter. 420BlazeIt 2 has been announced for some months, but now there’s a demo you can play too.

Category: Xbox Partner Preview

October 14, 2024

Xbox Partner Preview: See the Latest Games From Our Incredible Partners This Week

Joe Skrebels, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief

We’re thrilled to announce the next Xbox Partner Preview – our no-fluff, all-games broadcast – is coming this Thursday, October 17. In the latest installment, we’ll feature a mix of new and upcoming games for you from incredible partners like Remedy Entertainment, Sega, 505 Games, and many more, with over a dozen new trailers over the course of around 25 minutes.

During Xbox Partner Preview, you’ll get a first look at gameplay from Alan Wake II’s next expansion, The Lake House, an action-packed new trailer for Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a peek at multiple bosses in dark-fantasy action game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, multiple world premieres, and other great titles coming to Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and Game Pass.

As always, Xbox Partner Preview is all about sharing exciting games news from our talented partners across the globe: you’ll get new game reveals, release date announcements, and fresh new gameplay from upcoming games. And to sweeten the deal, during the broadcast, Xbox Wire will post exclusive behind-the-scenes stories about select titles shown.

This event will be broadcast digitally on Thursday, October 17, at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK across our Xbox channels on YouTube and Twitch. Read on for all the details you need to know in advance:

Q&A

What time does Xbox Partner Preview begin? Thursday, October 17, at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK.

How do I watch? Xbox Partner Preview will be available through a variety of outlets:

Please note, YouTube.com/Xbox will be in 4K at 60fps, while all other channels will be 1080p / 60fps.

Is the event available in languages other than English? We will be providing live subtitle support in the following languages: Arabic (MSA), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Czech, French, Canadian French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish and Turkish.

Aside from going directly to a regional Xbox channel, you’ll be able to find 30+ languages at YouTube.com/Xbox in the days following the show. Just click the gear icon in the lower righthand corner of the primary stream to choose the language of your choice.

Is the show going to be Accessible to those with low/no hearing or low/no vision? There will be a version of the show with Audio Descriptions (AD) in English on the Xbox YouTube channel, and American Sign Language (ASL) on Xbox’s YouTube channel and the /XboxASL Twitch channel. The /XboxOn YouTube channel will also carry a British Sign Language (BSL) feed.

I’m not going to be able to watch, where can I find out what was announced? A full show recap will go live immediately following the end of Xbox Partner Preview. As announcements roll out during the broadcast, the Xbox Wire team will be publishing exclusive blog posts about select titles right here on Xbox Wire (including localized versions in Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, LATAM Spanish, and Japanese).

Co-streamer and content creator notes for the Xbox Partner Preview: We at Xbox greatly appreciate any co-stream efforts and aim to ensure you have a smooth experience if you choose to do so. However, due to forces beyond our control, we cannot guarantee that glitches or disruptions by bots and other automated software won’t interfere with your co-stream. For those planning to create post-show breakdowns of Xbox Partner Preview in the form of Video on Demand (VOD) coverage, we recommend you do not use any audio containing copyrighted music to avoid any action by automated bots, and to also consult the terms of service for your service provider.

We can’t wait for you to join us on Thursday for the next Xbox Partner Preview! See you soon.

The post Xbox Partner Preview: See the Latest Games From Our Incredible Partners This Week appeared first on Xbox Wire.