Open-world zombie adventure Days Gone might not technically feature any zombies, but at least the discourse around a potential sequel is constantly reanimating. Via Xitter, the original game’s creative director John Garvin has encouraged fans to “never say never” about a Days Gone 2, while reminding us that a full outline for the game had already been completed prior to his departure from developers Bend Studio in 2020.
Even with the caveat of “I’m not holding my breath”, Garvin’s take is an altogether more hopeful one that that of fellow Bend alumni and Days Gone game director Jeff Ross, who in May tweeXed a collage of popular PlayStation characters – sans his own post-apocalyptic motorcycling hero, Deacon St. John. “A lot of people still ask me if there will ever be a Days Gone sequel, so I submit this poster as evidence it will never happen”, Ross wrote, along with an apparent pop at Sony Interactive execs (including Hermen Hulst, co-CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) for never being “fans” of the game.
The Super Monkey Ball franchise has experienced its fair share of peaks and troughs over the years. The first two GameCube titles knocked it out of the park, providing a plethora of content from the addictive maze-like main stages to the incredible minigames. Since then, however, the series has seemingly been unable to reach the same heights, either content to take one step forward and two steps back, or otherwise completely fumbling the (monkey) ball altogether.
After Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania instilled a smidgen of confidence with its commendable restoration of Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, Sega is back with a brand-new entry in the form of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. However, in keeping with franchise tradition, it’s yet another game that just can’t quite hit the home run, combining a solid single-player experience with a bunch of multiplayer modes that, frankly, aren’t worth the price of admission or the time investment.
The wait is nearly over. Coming to Xbox Series X|S this fall, Squirrel With a Gun is the nutty sandbox shooter and puzzle platformer that you didn’t know you needed. And joining the squirrel revolution has never been easier with this handy weapon training guide. Your first mission is to get your paws on a gun. Use your valuable acorns to unlock new weapons found throughout the world or steal one from an enemy agent. But watch your ammo—if you run out, find a reload circle or hold onto the automatic reload tool you can find throughout the world to get you out of a tight spot.
Be sure to try your paw at all 7 weapon types. Each one offers a unique advantage in combat and platforming.
Squirrel With a… 9mm Pistol
The 9mm semi-automatic pistol will be the first gun available to you. It’s a classic for eliminating enemies one-by-one, or boosting mid-air jumps up to 4 times. Pro tip: Fingers tired from all that shooting? Perform a takedown and watch the Squirrel unload the entire magazine for you.
Squirrel With an… SMG
The SMG inflicts less damage than the pistol, but its fully automatic feature aids in swiftly taking down enemies. Emptying the entire magazine during a midair jump acts as a makeshift jetpack to boost you up to those hard-to-reach places. A great pick for going on acorn hunts. Pro tip: Use this trick to get to the roof of the haunted house, nabbing the golden acorn on the chimney.
Squirrel With a… Shotgun
The double-barreled shotgun excels in close-combat, causing a ragdoll effect for epic takedown opportunities. Use its powerful recoil for long-distance travel. Pro tip: Equip the shotgun as you cruise around in your RC car to boost your car to top speed.
Squirrel With a… Six-Shooter
For the cowsquirrel wannabe, pick up a six-shooter for an especially flashy takedown. Fire all 6 shots to boost your jump. Pro tip: Earn your very own cowsquirrel hat by finding Wild Will and using the six-shooter to complete a secret objective for him.
Squirrel With a… Grenade Launcher
A much more powerful six-shooter, the grenade launcher dominates at crowd control and explosive gunplay. But beware of its short range and tricky aiming. The gun jump fires straight down, launching you far but causing significant damage. Pro tip: You’ll need to suit up properly to resist explosive damage. Find the bomb suit in a secret underground cave.
Squirrel With a… Rocket Launcher
For the arsenal expert, grab a rocket launcher for large enemy takedowns or handling groups of agents. Like the grenade launcher, reserve the gun jump for when you’re in a blast-resistant suit. Pro tip: When an enemy fires a rocket at you, try to hitch a ride on it right back at them.
Squirrel With a… Sniper Rifle
Post up on a squirrely vantage point with the semi-automatic sniper rifle to take out enemies long distance. Even the sniper rifle performs an epic takedown on enemies, even if they’re far away. When platforming, utilize the sniper gun jump for an extreme vertical boost. Its powerful kickback can even knock down nearby baddies. Pro tip: Take down a certain boss from above by finding the sniper rifle up in the scaffolding and aiming for weak spots.
Choose your weapon wisely and when a gun isn’t handy, try to get creative. Throw a grenade, brick, bottle, football, cake, or whatever is around that you can get your paws on to take down the enemy and earn those nuts at any cost.
War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment has apologized after using the explosion from the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in key art for the World War 2 massively multiplayer online game.
A forum post from community manager magazine2 said Gaijin “accidentally” used the explosion as it was part of a reference pack used by its artists. The explosion, which killed all seven crew members of the Space Shuttle Challenger when the spacecraft broke apart 73 seconds after take-off, had a fairly distinct shape and was thus recognized by War Thunder players when used in the key art.
“Hey guys, we have accidentally used the explosion from the Challenger disaster in one of our key art images,” magazine2 said. “Please accept our sincere apologies for this. The picture was part of an aerial explosion reference pack used by our artists and the context was lost.
We have accidentally used the explosion from the Challenger disaster in one of our key art images. Please accept our sincere apologies for this.
“We’ll be altering this artwork as soon as we can and will take measures to ensure that this doesn’t repeat again in the future.” Gaijin didn’t say what these changes would be and the image is still available on official channels.
This isn’t the first time controversy pertaining to real world events has surrounded War Thunder, though it’s usually in hot water due to real military documents leaking through its forums.
Documents related to the M2A2 Bradley Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle were posted on the forums in December 2023, for example, and while not legally classified, still contained in-depth details the military considers sensitive.
I have recently moved to an area that’s surrounded by forest, or at least, by swathes of greenery that feel like forests when you’re far enough inside them, even if they don’t meet whatever quantifiable definition is currently in vogue. My dreams are ablaze with scenes of sunlight percolating through shifting layers of beech and oak, with visions of dirt paths winding through bramble. Now, here comes Engraving to transform all those dreams into nightmares.
Square Enix has asked Final Fantasy 14 players not to spoil the highly anticipated Dawntrail expansion upon its early access launch on June 28, 2024.
A blog post from Square Enix outlined the early access period, which begins at 2am Pacific / 5am Eastern / 10am UK and is available to anyone who preorders Dawntrail, but closed with a message asking players to be considerate to those waiting for the full launch.
“During the early access period, there will be no restrictions on what content you can discuss, post, or stream while following the Material Usage License Agreement,” Square Enix said, making clear spoilers will be out in the wild.
“However, we ask that early access users please be considerate and do their best to avoid posting spoiler-related content as there are those players who may start at the official launch or play at their own pace.”
That was a reference to Shadow of the Erdtree, which came out on June 21. “We figured everybody would be interested in playing the Elden Ring DLC… I’ll give you one week!”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Among Elden RingShadow Of The Erdtree‘s more fearsome bosses is the Dancing Lion, a festive prancing terror inspired by Chinese Lion dances. Looking at it, you might expect this costumed nuisance to be another grafted abomination, its layers of papier-mache, binbags and repurposed carpets hiding a rippling quilt of flesh and bone, perhaps a real lion that has been shaved and stitched to its theatrical double. The truth is more appalling still: it’s just two guys in a lion suit. They aren’t even sewn together mouth to backside, like in the Human Centipede. Way to bait-and-switch, From!
A new report from Gfinity eSports has suggested that retailer GAME will soon be ending in-store sales of physical games and hardware.
According to sources close to GAME, the firm will instead operate a ‘pre-order only’ policy regarding its in-store stock. This means that if you want to head into your local GAME store to pick up the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom or Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, you’ll need to ensure you’ve either pre-ordered a copy first or purchased online for delivery to the store.
One of the developers of Steam and Xbox hit Palworld has teased the release of a PlayStation version.
Pocketpair community chief Bucky tweeted adding blue-colored hearts to Palworld’s existing black (PC), green (Xbox), and white (Mac) hearts. Blue is, of course, the color of PlayStation branding. With this context, a PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 release now seems likely.
🖤💚🤍Palworld🤍💚🖤
I want to add more hearts, but not sure what colour would fit…hmm…how about….
Player numbers have tailed off in the last half year, but the addition of a PS5 version would certainly provide Palworld with a shot in the arm. Whether Nintendo would greenlight a release on Switch is another matter entirely, of course.
Meanwhile, Palworld gets a major new update this week, called Sakurajima. It increases the level cap, adds new Pals, a new raid, a new faction and boss, and a whole new island. This update also comes with Xbox-dedicated servers, something the game had conspicuously lacked up to this point.
IGN’s Palworld early access review returned an 8/10. We said: “Palworld may crib quite a bit from Pokémon’s homework, but deep survival mechanics and a hilarious attitude make it hard to put down – even in early access.”
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.
Despite an overwhelmingly strong reception with critics, Shadow Of The Erdtree is currently sitting at a ‘mixed’ review rating on Steam, with nay-sayers citing performance issues and overbearing enemy design. The Elden Ring DLC is currently metacritic’s highest rated expansion of all time at 95, beating out the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Blood And Wine’s 92. However, roughly a third of the 41,000 user reviews on Steam are negative.
