Star Wars Outlaws: 10 Minutes of Exclusive Gameplay – IGN First

This month’s IGN First is Star Wars Outlaws. We’ll be diving deep into Massive Entertainment’s open-world adventure into a galaxy far, far away throughout July, with new behind-the-scenes looks and features.

We’ve already explored how Massive brought the cinematic spectacle of Star Wars into an “open galaxy” setting, as well as introducing its crime syndicates, and now we’re thrilled to bring you a full mission of exclusive gameplay. Taking place on the classic desert planet of Tatooine, this expert mission takes Kay on a journey involving a Jawa and a Sarlacc pit as she journeys from the sand to the stars.

Stay tuned through the rest of the month to learn more about how Outlaws was made, and what you’ll be doing in the story set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi when it launches August 30th, 2024.

Simon Cardy knows better than to stand around the edge of Sarlacc pits. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap to continue killing Orcs in 2025 with new co-op thrills and roguelite progression

Back in 2011, Robot Entertainment released tower defender Orcs Must Die!, adding an exclamation mark to spark some urgency and also, irritate anybody who has to write about video games for a living, though not as much as the absolute maniacs behind Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. Evidently, players did not sufficiently meet their demand for wanton Orc-massacring, for Robot were forced to release two sequels, which I personally would have titled Orcs Must Die!! and Orcs Must Die!!! or perhaps Orcs Must Die!!?, to indicate a mounting existential crisis.

Now, Robot have stepped things up by announcing Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, a newly roguelite, four-player spin on the goblin-farming formula, whose subheading throws bumbling Orc murderers a bone by specifying that you might try building a trap of some kind, a deathtrap possibly. Please find below a suspiciously innocent trailer, which I promise you isn’t covering a wall of arrow launchers or similar.

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Nintendo Announces Emio – the Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club a Week After Eerie Teaser Trailer

Last week, Nintendo puzzled fans by uploading an unsettling and cryptic teaser trailer for an unannounced game. We no longer have to wonder what this game is, as the company revealed today that it is the latest entry in the Famicom Detective Club series, due out on August 29 for Nintendo Switch.

In a new video published on YouTube, Famicom Detective Club lead scenario writer and series creator Yoshio Sakamoto revealed he is the producer for the latest entry in the franchise in 30 years: Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. Sakamoto revealed that while the team was remaking the first two games, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, he felt Nintendo needed to continue the series beyond just those two entries.

“This is the first new Famicom Detective Club game in 30 years, and I was involved in everything,” Sakamoto explained. “[F]rom the foundations of the plot to small details of the script and cutscenes.”

In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, players control an assistant private investigator who is looking into the murder of a student who fell victim to Emio, the Smiling Man, according to the product listing on Nintendo’s official website. In addition to a brand-new story, Ayumi Tachibana, the protagonist from The Missing Heir, returns as a playable character in certain sections of the game.

Emio – The Smiling Man is the first new Famicom Detective Club game in over three decades, and follows the Switch remakes of the Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, both of which were announced and released in 2021 on Nintendo’s hybrid gaming console.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Flintlock: Siege Of Dawn review: a trim and sturdy Soulslite that’s best enjoyed in the air

I increasingly judge Souls-adjacent games not by the height of their bosses or the depth of their dungeons, but the cleverness of their shortcuts, and Flintlock: Siege Of Dawn has my favourite shortcuts in an age. Rather than just being routes around to the other side of a barred door – though there are plenty such Lordrannish loops to find in this game – they consist of aerial chains of magic, purple triangles that suck you toward them when you hold a button. They lend vigour to a branching, faux-Napoleonic world that might otherwise be a collection of atmospheric strolls between bonfire-equivalents and fights defined by taut resourcing systems. They’re idiot-proof grappling points from which you can launch yourself at another triangle, a ledgeful of upgrade materials, or a loitering musketeer who is in urgent need of a ground-pound.

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Deals: Now’s The Time To Upgrade Your Switch’s Micro SD Card

Great discounts on 1.5TB, 1TB and more.

As you’ll likely be aware if you’ve been anywhere near our home page over the last two days, Amazon’s Prime Day sale is now well underway. There are some tempting deals on Switch OLED consoles and all sorts of accessories, but we’d argue that the event’s microSD card deals are the ones you really shouldn’t be missing.

For the remainder of today only, you can grab microSD cards of any size for fantastic prices – there are even great deals on the Sandisk 1.5TB microSD card, which should eradicate any Switch storage woes for good. These prices are about as good as it gets, making now an absolutely perfect opportunity to expand your Switch’s storage.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Deadpool Designs the Cheekiest Xbox Controller

Deadpool Designs the Cheekiest Xbox Controller

In anticipation of Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” coming to theaters on July 26, Deadpool himself has teamed up with Xbox to design a custom Xbox Wireless Controller that everyone will want to get their hands on. Modeled after Deadpool’s much-discussed, perfectly rounded tush, the Deadpool-designed controller is available for one lucky fan to enter for a chance to win via a global sweepstakes alongside other custom Xbox hardware.

On July 22, the first 1,000 fans to purchase an Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Core from the Microsoft store will receive an exclusive Cable Guys Deadpool Controller Holder by EXG Pro to ‘enhance’ their gaming setup. Deadpool-themed controller holders are only available in North America and Canada and while supplies last.

The appropriately named “Cheeky Controller” channels Deadpool’s buns of steel in its firm (yet surprisingly comfortable) grip. Designed by the Merc with a Mouth himself, it also comes clad in the anti-hero’s instantly recognizable—and might we add, incredibly flattering—red and black tactical suit. Beginning today, fans aged 18+ around the world can enter for a chance to win by following Xbox on X and reposting the official Xbox sweepstakes post.

Gamers could also win custom Xbox hardware, including a custom Deadpool-inspired Xbox Series X and stand featuring foam versions of Deadpool’s trusty katanas, Bea and Arthur, and two Xbox Wireless Controllers. For further details, check out the official sweepstakes terms and conditions.

For additional content, fans can tune in to Twitch Xbox on July 22 for the official live broadcast from the “Deadpool & Wolverine” red carpet premiere. Fans won’t want to miss this star-studded event! Fans can win prizes that even Wolverine will be keen to sink his claws into.

About Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine”:

Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” delivers the ultimate, iconic, cinematic team-up throwdown on July 26.

Shawn Levy directs “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen.

Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, George Dewey, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers.

Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy. 

The post Deadpool Designs the Cheekiest Xbox Controller appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Hello Games Bringing Light No Fire Tech ‘Back From the Future’ for No Man’s Sky’s Worlds Part 1 Update, Sean Murray Says

Hello Games has revealed the next update for No Man’s Sky: Worlds Part 1.

This huge update for the now eight year old space game is its biggest since 2020’s Origins update and focuses on much-requested variety and major visual enhancements to the universe. These include fancy new water effects and even what looks like gameplay inspired by Helldivers 2’s community driven Galactic War.

In a new developer video, below, Hello Games’ development chief Sean Murray made a rare appearance to discuss the Worlds Part 1 update. Murray said the tech Hello Games has developed for its upcoming new game, Light No Fire, is now being incorporated into No Man’s Sky.

“Six months ago we announced Light No Fire,” Murray said. “It’s this crazy ambitious game and we’ve been working on it for years, and we’ve learnt so many things and it feels like we’re almost bringing this technology back from the future.”

On Worlds Part 1, Murray said Hello Games has completely refreshed the universe with new technology, new flora, new fauna, and new gameplay. “In No Man’s Sky what you see on screen is generated by the computer and we’re achieving a level of variety that just wasn’t possible before,” he said.

The English studio has developed new water technology that can create waves and reflections to make No Man’s Sky’s ocean planets “feel completely new.” Ships can now land on water, planets have wind patterns, and the waves are dynamic and react to the weather.

“Sometimes a storm hits and, you know, the waves rise, the clouds gather, you’ve got the atmospherics, the wind, all this technology comes together all at once and there’s nothing like it,” Murray said.

New surface volumetrics include rolling fog, rain, blizzards, and even sparks coming up from lava. There are new creatures across the new biomes, too.

Worlds Part 1 brings with it a new Expedition. Expeditions are timed events in which you embark on galactic trips from one specific point in the galaxy to another. They encompass several challenges and achievements exclusive to each named Expedition.

Murray said the new Expedition is inspired by Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic science fiction war movie Starship Troopers and is “something really different.” It takes players on a tour of new planets, with everyone battling together. Progress, Murray said, is community driven, with new “super cool” rewards. It sounds a bit like the Galactic War in Arrowhead’s smash hit co-op third-person shooter Helldivers 2, itself heavily inspired by Starship Troopers.

And finally, Murray teased there’s more to come from No Man’s Sky. “The update is called Worlds Part I because, I guess… there’s much more to come.”

No Man’s Sky launched in 2016 initially for PC and PlayStation 4 before coming out on Xbox One in 2018, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S in 2020. A Nintendo Switch version followed in 2022. Over the years, Hello Games has issued a long list of major updates, most recently Adrift.

Indeed, it’s a busy time for Hello Games, which alongside updates for No Man’s Sky is working on its next game, Light No Fire. It’s about adventure, building, survival and exploration together, set on a fantasy planet the size of Earth.

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.

Combine Prime Day with vouchers to get one of the best Steam Deck docks dirt cheap

Assuming you’ve already furnished your Steam Deck with a microSD card, your next stop on the accessories train should probably be a docking station. As luck would have it, Ugreen’s nifty 6-in-1 hub/stand combo is currently going extra-cheap, should you take up Amazon’s offer to stack a substantial Prime Day reduction with an additional voucher.

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Asphalt Legends Unite Transforms the Game – and Adds a Brand-New Mode!

Today is an exciting day for fans of the Asphalt series, as Asphalt Legends Unite comes to expand the legacy of Asphalt 9: Legends, which brings a slew of new features and finally breaks down the barriers by bringing cross-play for all platforms – it’s an update so big, so transformative that we changed the name of the whole game.

Cross-play will allow you to race against your friends, no matter what their choice of platform is, and deliver a truly global competitive experience for all. This is the first time we’re bringing cross-play for the main Asphalt series, so we also took the time to bring something truly innovative and exciting for our players: a brand-new co-op mode, Team Pursuit.

With Team Pursuit, players can race for the first time in a team-based game mode, taking the role of Syndicate Drivers or Security Agents. The new game mode will task the Security Team with taking out the Syndicate Drivers before the time expires. If they fail to perform 5 Takedowns before the time expires, then the Syndicate Drivers win and live to race another day.

Both teams will have to outdo each other, by either relying on team tactics or individual brilliance. It’s also a complete break from the norm, as racing towards the finish is not the goal anymore, which opens up a whole new dimension of play. Quick brakes to maneuver behind a chasing enemy are as valid a tactic as outracing your opponents.

It will be also one of the few occasions our players will have a chance to put themselves behind the wheel of our Security cars. These souped-up versions of their street legal counterparts also have a few new tricks hidden in their sleeves. All the Security cars will be fitted with a new Nitro Boost, specifically built to help ram your opposition into submission. Security Nitro will be significantly shorter but allow for a faster charging time and more aggressive use. With increased stats and a mean nitro, the Security team will be something to reckon with.

On the opposite corner, we’ll have the Syndicate Drivers, whose sole purpose is to use all their speed and guile to survive. A handpicked selection of rides will be available on free try, to take on the security team. Feel free to pick your favorite rides, as the Security team’s cars will automatically be adjusted to whatever cars the Syndicate will be using. But be warned… if you choose the fastest cars, so will the security team!

As a team, the Syndicate Drivers will also share a total of 5 lives. Although each driver will have a maximum of 2 lives each, if the Security team manages to make 5 takedowns it will be game over! It will be critical to coordinate with your teammates to make the best out of those chances.

The whole team is excited about unveiling our first co-op mode with our players, as this game mode has been floating around the studio as a concept for a few years now, and we even had some community motivation to help goad us on. Just as we were finalizing our plans for cross-platform, one of our content creators, Admega, approached us to set up his own event using a special version of our private lobbies for him to play with his community.

With some creative use of visual layers, he managed to conjure up a good old fashioned cops’n’robbers game mode during a live stream that everyone really enjoyed. Those infectious good vibes during the stream were the final push we needed to take the project from dream to reality. After all, we finally had all the final puzzle pieces in place, with cross-play, friends lists and parties all coming. This was the perfect storm, and we couldn’t miss the boat, so the entire team really put in the extra effort to bring this exciting new mode to our players early, and just to give us yet another reason why Asphalt Legends Unite will be something you won’t want to miss.

Being such a brand-new mode, we’ll also be paying close attention to our community, sharing in their first impressions and having a feel of how it plays out. For launch, we’ll want to make sure our matches and matchmaking feel as smooth and quick as possible, so players will be randomly assigned to either team, allowing them to get a quicker taste of the action. Queueing with friends and parties will be coming in a future update, so worry not, you’ll soon be able to rally your friends together for some Mayhem!

The release of Asphalt Legends Unite will still offer you plenty of chances to play with your friends. After all, the era of cross-platform also comes with a renewed focus on multiplayer, as not only will our Multiplayer mode come with a revamp but Unite will also bring friends lists and Private Lobbies. This means you’ll finally be able to figure out who’s the king of the track amongst your Xbox friend lists, with no excuses! You’ll be able to race any car in your garage, on the track of your choice, with no fuel involved and up to 8 players.

And to welcome all your new friends into the game, we’ll have a special welcome package you can claim just by logging in during our inaugural seasons. Now the real question is… would you rather hunt with the Security team or run with the Syndicate Drivers?

The post Asphalt Legends Unite Transforms the Game – and Adds a Brand-New Mode! appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Sega Takes Legal Action Against Social Media User For Harassment Toward Employee

Good on you, Sega.

Sega has announced that it has taken legal action against an individual committing consistent harassment against one of its employees (thanks, Automaton).

In a post on its Japanese corporate site, Sega explained that it had been in contact with the individual in question for some time, but after the harassment had not improved, the firm was forced to take legal action.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com