Category: Video Games

Forza Horizon 4 Will be Delisted From Digital Stores in December

Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital stores on December 15, meaning it and additional content will no longer available for purhcase on the Microsoft Store and Steam, Playground Games announced today.

Playground Games attributed the decision to delist Forza Horizon 4 to “licensing and agreements with our partners,” referring to the franchise’s complex array of car and music deals. Forza Horizon 3 was previously delisted in 2020.

As part of the run-up to delisting, Playground Games revealed its final roadmap for Forza Horizon 4, confirming that the final series will begin July 25 and end on August 22. After that, it will no longer be possible to access the playlist screen and fans will be taken to the Festival Site instead.

Developing….

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Shadow Of The Erdtree mod resets the difficulty to Elden Ring levels and gets rid of Scadutree fragments

Elden Ring‘s Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC yet hovers at Mixed in the blood-encrusted annals of the Steam user review consensus. As Nic wrote earlier in the week, a portion of the negative feedback is aimed at the expansion’s difficulty, which is certainly a Thing To Hear after years of being told by kindly gamers that I only hand out low review scores because I can’t press the buttons in the right order.

As publishers Bandai Namco have sweetly observed, struggling players are perhaps forgetting that you can raise your overall power level by gathering Scadutree Fragments, a system of collectibles designed to ensure a tough challenge even for endgame players, while giving you the option of effectively rebalancing the expansion through exploration. The downside there, as a few people have pointed out, is that some players don’t want to hunt for collectibles before they can topple the bosses.

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Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD

Ghost-catching tomfoolery.

Would you believe it, there’s yet another major Switch release just on the horizon, with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD launching this week on 27th June 2024.

All told, it seems as though this one is exactly what you’d expect it to be: an HD upgrade of a 3DS game on Switch. As such, many fans have understandably questioned the game’s price tag when compared to something like Metroid Prime Remastered. Still, it seems like it might still be worth checking out if you’re after more Luigi’s Mansion.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Payday 3 Finally Getting ‘Offline Mode’ But It Requires Online to Play and Runs Worse Than Normal

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment is finally adding what it’s called an “offline mode” to the game but it requires an online connection to access and runs worse than normal.

As reported by VG247, Starbreeze claims to have finally addressed the “online only” criticism by adding what it’s dubbed the Solo Mode Beta.

The mode will be updated over time, seemingly to make it a legitimate offline mode at some point, but for now players must be connected to the internet to access it and they won’t receive progression rewards until they connect again. When will these updates come? “[Solo mode] will be improved once we improve this feature,” head of community and global brand director Almir Listo said in a developer update video.

You will still be required to start the game while online in Solo Mode, which will be improved once we improve this feature.

“It’s not our full vision for this feature,” he began. “For now, we’re setting it as a beta to see how it runs. We expect the performance to be affected since the parts normally frontloaded by our servers will now have to be run on your own hardware.

“It will work though, and you can get progression that will update you once you return online. You will still be required to start the game while online in Solo Mode, which will be improved once we improve this feature. For now though, we want to test that the features that went into this work work properly.”

The initial release of the Solo Mode Beta will be released as part of a greater patch to go alongside the Boys in Blue update, which adds a new playable character, weapons, and more on June 27, 2024.

Payday 3’s launch in September 2023 was somewhat of a disaster, plagued with server issues that forced then Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren to apologise. “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario — we should be able to do better,” he said (but has now left the company).

Almost a month after its launch and Starbreeze apologised again for its lack of communication, and then just a week later said sorry one more time for not delivering a promised patch and again going quiet. It said in January 2024 it was “well aware” fans weren’t satisfied.

Starbreeze boasted Payday 3 had 3.1 million players as of October 2, 2023, but this number has dwindled, at least on Steam, as many more players are currently playing Payday 2 than its sequel. According to SteamDB, Payday 3 has a 24-hour peak of just 565 compared to Payday 2’s 21,584, despite the latter launching over a decade ago.

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

Broke Signal Badlands is a pocket Fallout RPG for weird western dice-addled mystics

It’s hotter than the inside of a horse here, so what better time to play an RPG about driving randomly through the desert in search of enlightenment. The RPG in question is Broke Signal Badlands: A World of Desert Adventure, and yes, that’s a very upbeat subtitle for a game in which you can perish after getting your hand stuck in the door of an abandoned Fonts Museum, or while yanking cacti out of your foot. There are gunfights, too, with dice serving as bullets, but so far, I’ve only managed to die of pathetic human error and clumsiness. Consider me unenlightened, but enthused.

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PlayStation 5 Exclusive Stellar Blade Sells 1 Million Copies

PlayStation 5 action game Stellar Blade has sold more than one million copies, developer Shift Up has announced.

As reported by VGC, the studio hosted a Stellar Blade presentation where it revealed that estimates now suggested the game had sold upwards of the one million mark. That number may grow even more if Shift Up releases a PC version, something it is “currently looking at” but is unsure on as a result of a “contractual relationship,” likely with PlayStation owner Sony.

Shift Up also reiterated prior comments that it’s considering releasing more downloadable content and even a sequel to Stellar Blade. A photo mode coming in August, further outfits for protagonist Eve coming in October, and more are already announced for the game, though Shift Up did tease a big collaboration at the end of 2024.

The one million sales will likely make a sequel more likely, giving fans who enjoyed the game more hope, but an official announcement is likely still very far away as Stellar Blade only launched on April 26, 2024.

Its sci-fi action and adventure took inspiration from Alita: Battle Angel, 80s and 90s science fiction, and a taxi driver strike according to director Kim Hyung Tae. Its already enjoyed a handful of post-launch updates too, including one which added a boss challenge, new outfits, and more.

In our 7/10 review, IGN said: “Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its role playing game mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre.”

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

GTA Online: Bottom Dollar Bounties Update Out Now — Here’s What It Does

GTA Online’s big summer 2024 update, called Bottom Dollar Bounties, is out now across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC alongside the release of patch 1.69 for Grand Theft Auto 5.

Players assume the role of “the new lead dog” for Bottom Dollar Bail Enforcement, and work with notorious bounty hunter Maude Eccles’ daughter, junior assistant bounty hunter Jenette, to take down targets.

Elsewhere, LSPD officer Vincent Effenburger provides new off-the-books Dispatch Work. New rides include three new Law Enforcement vehicles, below, new Drift Tuning upgrades for select vehicles, as well as new tools and props in the Creator.

  • Declasse Impaler SZ Cruiser
  • Bravado Greenwood Cruiser
  • Bravado Dorado Cruiser

The other new vehicles are the Enus Paragon S (Sports), the Bollokan Envisage (Sports), the Übermacht Niobe (Sports), the Annis Euros X32 (Coupe), the Invetero Coquette D1 (Sports Classic) and the Declasse Yosemite 1500 (Off-Road).

Today’s update also brings increased base GTA$ payouts for many activities, including Open Wheel Races, Taxi Work, A Superyacht Life, Lowriders Missions, Operation Paper Trail, Casino Story Missions, Gerald’s Last Play, Madrazo’s Dispatch Services, Premium Deluxe Repo Work, and Project Overthrow. Solo players also benefit from an increased timer when taking on Gunrunning and Biker Sell Missions.

Rockstar teased further updates coming later this summer, including Martin Madrazo providing daily bounties. You’ll also be able to ride a Pegassi Pizza Boy scooter and help Pizza This… deliver pizzas around Los Santos. Expect an Independence Day event, a Halloween trip to North Yankton’s Ludendorff Cemetery, an “exciting new multi-stage head-to-head mode”, a new community Heist Challenge, and more coming to the game.

The GTA Online summer 2024 update comes amid increased excitement around GTA 6. So far Rockstar has dropped a solitary, record-breaking trailer for the game, due out fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Rockstar is yet to detail its plan for GTA 6’s version of GTA Online, or say what becomes of the existing GTA Online once GTA 6 comes out. Until then, however, GTA Online remains hugely popular, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars for parent company Take-Two each quarter.

GTA 5 Title Update 1.69 Patch Notes (PS5 / PS4 / Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / PC)

[June 25, 2024] – New Content in Grand Theft Auto Online

The Bottom Dollar Bounties update adds a new Bail Enforcement business property, new Dispatch Work in Freemode, new Vehicles, and a range of Creator additions as well as overall experience improvements.

Bail Enforcement Office

  • Purchasing this business provides new ways for players to earn money through bounty hunting
  • Bail Enforcement Office owners can hunt down new bounty targets, securing them alive to be processed or eliminated and delivered to the Los Santos County Coroner Office
  • Each day a Most Wanted target will be identified with a large bounty on their head. Three other standard targets will become available every hour.
  • Secured bounty targets are processed over time in the Bail Enforcement Office’s holding cell. Upon completion, cash will be added to the player’s wallet.
  • Bail Enforcement Office owners can purchase Agents that can be sent out to complete their own work, adding cash to the owner’s safe upon completion
    • Agents will also reduce the amount of time taken to process secured bounty targets
  • The Bail Enforcement Office can be customized with a range of styles and includes a bounty transporter van, which can be upgraded with Armor Plating and used in Freemode
  • This property comes with new Awards as well as Career Progress Challenges on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles

Dispatch Work

  • Players that own a Law Enforcement personal vehicle can access a new range of Freemode Dispatch Work provided by Vincent
  • While driving an owned Law Enforcement personal vehicle in Freemode, players can request Dispatch Work from Vincent directly or wait until Vincent contacts them
  • Players can find applicable Law Enforcement Vehicles on Warstock Cache & Carry
  • Dispatch Work cannot be accessed when part of an Organization or Motorcycle Club

Vehicles

Nine new vehicles have been added:

  • Enus Paragon S (Sports) – With Imani Tech
  • Bollokan Envisage (Sports) – With Imani Tech
  • Übermacht Niobe (Sports) – With HSW Upgrade (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
  • Annis Euros X32 (Coupe) – With HSW Upgrade (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
  • Invetero Coquette D1 (Sports Classic)
  • Declasse Yosemite 1500 (Off-Road)
  • Declasse Impaler SZ Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle
  • Bravado Dorado Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle
  • Bravado Greenwood Cruiser (Emergency) – Law Enforcement Vehicle

Three existing vehicles are also receiving custom Drift Tuning upgrades, these can be applied to personal vehicles inside the LS Car Meet:

  • Vulcar Nebula Turbo (Sports Classic)
    • This vehicle is again available for sale on the Southern San Andreas Super Autos website
  • Übermacht Cypher (Sports)
  • Übermacht Sentinel Widebody (Sports)

Economy Updates

Base GTA$ payout rates for the following content have been increased:

  • A Superyacht Life (Contact Missions)
  • Lamar’s Lowriders (Contact Missions)
  • Operation Paper Trail (Contact Missions)
  • Casino Story (Contact Missions)
  • Gerald’s Last Play (Contact Missions)
  • Madrazo Dispatch Services (Contact Missions)
  • Premium Deluxe Repo Work (Contact Missions)
  • Project Overthrow (Contact Missions)
  • Open Wheel Races (Races)
  • Taxi Work (Freemode)

Cosmetics

  • 150+ pieces of male clothing and accessories have been added to clothing stores
  • 200+ pieces of female clothing and accessories have been added to clothing stores

Experience Improvements

  • Several business Sell Missions have had their timers increased by 50% when launched solo:
    • All Biker businesses
    • Bunker business
  • The armor values of the Sparrow and RM-10 Bombushka have been increased by 50%
  • Players’ snack inventories are now fully restocked upon launching Contact missions and Heists from lobbies
  • The button prompts upon failing a mission have been updated
  • Drag Races can now be played over a series of rounds
  • Multiple texts and emails sent to players have been spaced out over longer periods of time or removed
  • Players can now move an owned Avenger between their Hangar and Facility storage via the Interaction Menu
  • The minimum player count required to launch the Assault on Cayo Perico mode has been increased from 4 to 8 players
  • An advanced options menu has been added to the Race Lobby Menu, containing many of the least used race options
  • The Music Locker Strobes section of the Interaction Menu has been moved to the Pause Menu
  • The Nightclub and Office Garage menus have been divided into separate sub menus when requesting vehicles from the Mechanic
  • The rank requirement for purchasing properties has been removed
  • A new starting grid option has been added when playing races in a series, sorting players based on their positions in the previous race
  • A link to the Community Guidelines has been added to the Welcome screen and other select alert screens
  • Custom Arena War vehicle names are now only visible to the local player

GTA+ Updates

The Vinewood Club App

  • GTA+ Members have access to a new phone app, which grants a range of features:
    • Claiming the earnings from owned business safes remotely
    • Purchasing ammo without paying a convenience charge
    • Requesting and purchasing Car Club vehicles has been moved to this app

The Vinewood Club Garage Vehicle Workshop

  • A Vehicle Workshop has been added to the Vinewood Club Garage, allowing players to modify their stored vehicles at an exclusive 10% discount

Creator Updates

Several updates have been added to the Creator as part of this update

Drag and Drift Race Creators

  • Players with an LS Car Meet membership can now create their own Drag and Drift races inside the Creator

General

  • Ambient weather options are now implemented when players take a photo for their created mode
  • The RUNE Zhaba is now available as an Off-Road vehicle option in the Creator

Race Creator

  • Additional units have been added to the Race Creator, these are placed scenarios that can consist of people and vehicles
    • People:
      • Race crowds of 1–5 people, previously only larger crowds were available
      • A photographer taking photos of the race
    • Vehicles:
      • Lowrider vehicle using hydraulics
      • A car doing a donut
      • A car doing a burnout
  • The existing race crowd units can now stand in a range of different poses
  • Race crowds can now be triggered to cheer and wave when a player gets close
  • When testing a Race, players can choose which checkpoint to start testing from
  • Flaming barrel props can now have their color changed
  • Players can now preview different audio tracks while in the Race Creator

Prop Additions

  • Additional small stunt track props have been added
  • Additional track smoothing props have been added
  • Road paddle props have been added

Fixes

The Bottom Dollar Bounties update brings a range of fixes to various issues

Game Stability and Performance

  • Fixed multiple crashes and issues affecting stability that occurred in GTAV

Matchmaking and Networking

  • Fixed multiple issues that affected network stability in GTA Online

Content

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in destroyed Signal Jammer collectibles being tracked incorrectly
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not unlocking the Skull Santa finish for the Special Carbine upon winning five games of Entourage (Festive Remix)
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to start Lowriders missions after completing them on a different character
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being unable to drop cargo during Special Cargo Sell Missions
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to progress after completing VIP Contract prep mission – Data Recovery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress through Casino Work – Best Laid Plans shortly after launching
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in unowned vehicles appearing in the personal vehicle space of Salvage Yards
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players having access to their owned weapons when playing Short Trips – Seed Capital
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in enemy blips not appearing during The McTony Robbery – Sonar Equipment mission
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to launch Tow Truck Service missions
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress when playing A Superyacht Life – Icebreaker
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in planes falling to the floor during Air Race countdowns
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in other players’ Kosatkas interfering with the Cargo Ship during The Cargo Ship Robbery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck in an air vent during The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid – Concealed Weapons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to swap inventories during The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid – Concealed Weapons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players respawning outside of the factory during The Cluckin’ Bell Raid – Scene of the Crime
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress through The Cayo Perico Heist Finale when the leader has died
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players transforming into a land vehicle during a flying section of Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players coming to an immediate stop upon passing a checkpoint during Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the race countdown not starting during Transform Races
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access the Interaction Menu during The Pacific Standard Job – Convoy
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to progress after leaving Mason’s apartment during Operation Paper Trail – Intelligence
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in P Moss taking off without players inside the Avenger during Operation Overthrow – Unconventional Warfare
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to finish The Podium Robbery – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to request personal vehicles during LSA Operation – Direct Action
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to lose their wanted level during The Doomsday Heist – Setup: Server Farm
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in hacking minigames being more difficult when playing on ultrawide screen setups
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Hao’s Special Works Time Trial not appearing for players that haven’t completed it
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to send photos to Pavel during The Cayo Perico Heist – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the mission not progressing after delivering the two lowriders back to Lamar during Lowriders – Peace Offerings
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in incorrect prompts to leave the Avenger appearing when entering an owned Thruster during Project Overthrow – Reporting for Duty
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to obtain the VIP pass during The Duggan Robbery – VIP Pass
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to send photos to Jamal during The Gangbanger Robbery – Scope Out
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players leaving their F-160 Raiju during Project Overthrow – On Parade
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to pick up snowballs during Snowball Fight Deathmatches
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when interacting with Street Dealers
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to complete Terrorbyte Client Job – Robbery in Progress
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in weapons given during Hot Swap Deathmatches not persisting when returning to Freemode

Properties

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in stolen vehicles disappearing after completing a successful Salvage Yard Robbery
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the roulette game inside The Diamond Casino getting stuck
  • Fixed an issue that resulted players’ Tow Truck disappearing from the Salvage Yard
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from entering an Auto Shop with no vehicle slots remaining
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in CEOs being unable to enter their Agency while an Executive Search is active
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players becoming stuck when attempting to enter a Nightclub in a vehicle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not entering their Acid Lab when selecting “enter with nearby friends and crew” inside the Freakshop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not sitting up from their Agency office chair
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to interact with the Drone Station inside Arcades
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck after interacting with the Shiny Wasabi Kitty Claw machine inside an Arcade
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Auto Shop 5% discount not being applied to Wheel Type and Wheel Color
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to mod personal vehicles inside their Auto Shop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in vehicles colliding with each other when multiple players were modding vehicles in the same Auto Shop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to leave their Motorcycle Club Clubhouse on a personal vehicle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to interact with the laptop inside their Bunker
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when leaving Hao’s Special Works inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players’ personal vehicles becoming invisible when leaving the Test Track inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players spawning far away when leaving the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in personal vehicle blips not appearing on the map when another player is test driving a vehicle inside the LS Car Meet
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to get a makeover inside the Spa of their Diamond Casino Penthouse
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to move while using the Place Decorations Menu inside their Diamond Casino Penthouse
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when attempting to enter their Diamond Casino Penthouse from Freemode
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Acid Lab not appearing inside the Freakshop
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Tow Truck not appearing inside the Salvage Yard after purchase
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unexpectedly kicked out when driving another player’s vehicle in the LS Car Meet Test Track
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being registered as a CEO or MC Leader after purchasing an Office or Motorcycle Clubhouse for the first time
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access their Nightclub PC

Vehicles

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in BMX bikes behaving differently when bunny hopping
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in incorrect speeds being displayed during Highest Speed Freemode Events
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to request their Avenger in Freemode
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Suspension mods not being available for the Karin Asterope GZ
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in custom license plates for vehicles claimed from the Salvage Yard not persisting
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players not being able to see the tracers of the F-160 Raiju’s cannons
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the camera clipping through the Avenger when modding a vehicle inside
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players with no owned garages losing their personal vehicle
  • The Declasse Impaler SZ’s vehicle class has been updated from Sedan to Muscle

Miscellaneous

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players losing ammo when joining a new session
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to change gears during Drag Races when using alternative control types
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to access the Cockpit Access settings for the Avenger in the Interaction Menu
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to swap outfits via the Interaction Menu when wearing full body outfits
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in event exclusive weapon liveries that had been previously earned being unavailable
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players gaining negative amounts of body armor when purchasing from Ammunation
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Snowball Launcher weapon being unusable when on a Motorcycle
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to use snacks or equip armor via the weapon wheel
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to add Stunt Races to a Playlist
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being able to see under the map when spectating a player in their Kosatka
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to use the default name “An Organization” when creating an Organization for the first time
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in SFX previews not playing when editing clips in the Rockstar Editor
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in TVs in owned apartments not showing anything

PlayStation Specific

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players being unable to accept invites to GTA Online after purchasing PlayStation Plus with GTAV running

Xbox Specific

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in the Xbox keyboard continuously appearing after editing an owned garage tooltip

PC Specific

  • Fixed numerous issues relating to stability and security

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S Only

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in GTA+ alerts triggering during a Race and bringing the player’s vehicle to a sudden stop.
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when moving vehicles via the Vehicle Organization Menu
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in GTA+ Members being unable to enter The Vinewood Club Garage with their personal vehicle when part of an Organization or Motorcycle Club

Creator

  • Fixed an issue that resulted in conflicting button inputs when using the Override Position Menu on PC
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Trap to Activate options under Arena props not being able to be toggled when placed
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Trailer Units being unable to be placed
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in players getting stuck when testing a King of the Hill mode

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.

‘Chaotic’ Management Sim ‘Let’s School’ Launches On Switch Next Month

School is in session.

PM Studios and Pathea have announced that the ‘chaotic and colourful’ management sim Let’s School will be launching for the Nintendo Switch on 16th July 2024.

With gameplay reminiscent of Theme Hospital and Two Point Campus, Let’s School sees you building your very own educational institution, with tasks involving the hiring (and firing) of teachers, creating curriculum, stylising your building with flora and decorations, and catching students before they accidentally set the school on fire.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD Review

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire may have been straight up busted at the box office, but thankfully there’s another spectre-stalking adventure to enjoy this year – albeit a very familiar one. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD – a remaster of the 2013 Nintendo 3DS original that was also known as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon in the US – has arrived on the Nintendo Switch looking better than ever, but almost entirely unchanged as far as its gleeful ghostbusting gameplay is concerned. It is therefore the best way to experience Luigi’s second foray into catching cheeky Caspers, but it’s no longer the best entry in the series since this Dark Moon-based adventure has subsequently been eclipsed by Luigi’s Mansion 3 in 2019.

Here’s what our reviewer said in her review of the 2013 original:

That sentiment still stands, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD remains an entertaining journey as spooky as it is silly, its dual-screen setup seamlessly smooshed into a single panel and sharpened to a visual standard that only just falls short of that of Luigi’s Mansion 3. The team at developer Tantalus, which was also responsible for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD in 2021, hasn’t merely boosted the resolution for this remaster, it’s also added noticeably more detailed textures, right down to the reflective sheen on suits of armour and the threads on Luigi’s dungarees. In addition, drastically enhanced lighting means this Switch version’s haunted dioramas have been given enough depth that I didn’t really mourn the absence of the original’s stereoscopic 3D. (Although to be fair, I’m not sure I even used stereoscopic 3D in the first place.)

It’s not likely to win any awards for best visual design in 2024, but compared to the 2013 original the difference is night and day. I remember Luigi’s Mansion 2 having a charismatic cast of characters and enjoyably spooky settings to explore, but it was a shock to revisit the 3DS original 11 years after it launched only to have my eyeballs assaulted by enough jagged edges to grate cheese with. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, however, has been polished up to a level that allows the playful nature of its phantom menaces and its many magnificently crafted corridors to really shine on screen.

The goofy ghost enemies are more dork souls than dark.

Those enemies and environments are still effectively the same as they were a decade ago, however. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD features no additional ghosts to bust, levels to search, or bosses to point your Poltergust 5000 at. None of Luigi’s moves from Luigi’s Mansion 3, like his plunger-powered suction shot or his ability to summon the Gummi Bear-like Gooigi, have been retrofitted into this adventure, which makes for a spook-hunting and puzzle-solving experience that preserves the clever level design of the 3DS original, yet one that noticeably lacks the expanded variety of interactions that the series’ third installment enjoyed.

It does, however, feature twin-stick controls similar to that of the third game. For whatever reason the original didn’t support the use of the Circle Pad Pro, the bulky Nintendo 3DS peripheral that added a second stick to the system while also making it much more likely to bust a seam in your trouser pocket. This meant that in Luigi’s Mansion 2 on 3DS, the taller Mario brother was stuck facing in one direction anytime you needed him to aim his flashlight or vacuum up a startled soul. That’s no longer the case in this remaster, which allows you to swivel Luigi’s aim around with the right stick. That definitely feels much more flexible and intuitive, and although the difficulty curve here remains pretty gentle – the goofy ghost enemies are more dork souls than dark – I was relieved to find that the control system never frustrated me like it did in the original.

I do wish more had been done to Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s multiplayer, however. Unlike Luigi’s Mansion 3, which allowed two people to play on the same system, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is strictly one player per console, whether you’re playing online or locally on a LAN. The multi-levelled multiplayer mode, Scarescraper (known as Thrill Tower in the original release), is still a lot of frantic, phantom-wrangling fun, but it’s the kind of fun I wish I could share with my kids without having to buy multiple additional Switches and copies of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD in order to enjoy. Sadly, there’s no split-screen support to be found here.

That said, I certainly still had a ghostbusting-ly good time for the dozen or so hours I spent with Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. While I prefer the sprawling, single structure of the third game’s hotel setting, I appreciate that the more compartmentalized levels of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s five distinct environments make it easier to narrow your search for any missed collectibles upon completing the main story. Plus, there are some fantastically phantasmic moments that I’d forgotten about in the decade since I first played it, from the wonderfully puzzle-heavy first boss fight with a supersized spider, to tumbling down a lengthy haunted staircase later on that feels akin to a more G-rated version of the climactic sequence from John Wick: Chapter 4.

Riven’s remake is out today and makes me feel weird – there’s still a demo, if you’re quick

Cyan Worlds’ remake of their 1997-released Myst sequel Riven launches today on Steam. Word on the reviewvine is that it’s jolly decent, offering free movement around a real-time 3D reinvention of the original point-and-clicker’s shimmering archipelago, with its many murals of crushed and scattered civilisations. There’s still a demo on Steam at the time of writing, a relic of long-ago Next Fest 2024. Demos tend to be removed once the game hits shelves, so I thought I’d rush you a quick post based on 30 minutes with the remake over lunch.

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