The Simpsons Game first came out in autumn of the previous year. After much hype and talk from our friends and cousins, my brother and I stopped at nothing until we got our hands on it. The game follows the Simpson family - Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie - who learn they are part of a video game and are each given powers to beat Matt Groening, God, and even killer dolphins, in order to save Springfield....
As reported in Money.pl (thanks, Gamespot), the horror studio has sold enough copies of the slow-burn horror to recoup all development and marketing costs, even though it’s a Xbox Series X console exclusive and is available for “free” for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass. The horror game’s lack of combat and jumpscares has polarised critics and fans alike, but nonetheless, it’s the studio’s biggest and most ambitious project to date....
I’ve been playing it on PlayStation 5, and generally it works well. I haven’t noticed the frame-rate issues I’ve seen reported elsewhere, so presumably they really have been fixed. But I have come across the object interaction bug, which sometimes doesn’t register your interactions, or doesn’t quite trigger them. Pressing the button again usually rectifies the issue, so it’s sometimes annoying but rarely more. Loading times seem fine on PS5, though I wonder what they’re like on PS4, and I haven’t seen any other bugs, though I’m only early in the game (code arrived late)....
It is a right-handed mouse, and along with the 19 programmable buttons (which is what most MMO players will be after), you also get the benefit of the highly precise 16,000 DPI 5G Optical Sensor. As a wired mouse there’s virtually no latency either. Bargain! The three-in-one design of the quite sturdy Naga Trinity means it can be customised to suit anyone’s gameplay. It has four swappable side plates for 2, 7 and 12-button configurations that are super easy to flip out, but also hold well in place....
Arriving on the heels of EA’s frustratingly buggy My Wedding Stories expansion (which is still awaiting its previously promised fixes some three weeks after launch), Decor to the Max does exactly what its name implies, serving up a bite-sized blast of furniture items and decorating options specifically for those that like to go big with the bold patterns and signature pieces. EA is yet to explicitly detail everything that’ll be included in Decor to the Max on release next week, but it has shared an image alongside its announcement showcasing what I assume will be the bulk of inclusions given the usual scope of Kit packs....
“As of today, THQ Nordic (HandyGames not included) has 43 games in development. Thereof 26 still unannounced AFTER this showcase,” the broadcast confirmed at the end of the presentation. “Thank you for watching.” Moments later, though, the 26 is crossed out, and the text fades to the South Park Digital Studios logo - head to 55min and 11secs on the video below to see for yourself: Nothing else is shown - the logo is all we see - but someone - Randy Marsh, perhaps?...
The WD Black SN850 is also available with an integrated heatsink, but these models tend to be in shorter supply and cost significantly more. Thankfully, it’s easy and inexpensive to get an aftermarket heatsink if you’d like one - for example, if you’re heeding Sony’s recommendation for PS5 SSDs. And if you’re buying for your desktop PC, chances are that your motherboard already came with a heatsink or heat-spreader, so it’s not something you’ll need to worry about....
Streamer Rudeism, known for his weird and wonderful controllers and challenge run streams, has created a motion controller for Sifu as his latest project and streamed the results over the weekend. How does it work? He wears two gloves that have motion sensors and a stick in each hand for movement. Simply punching the air is enough for light attacks, with other motions used for heavy attacks and parries, and then picking up items and other interactions are done by clicking in the sticks....
Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed, as THQ is calling its latest remake, will be “developed from scratch” in Unreal Engine 4 by Black Forest Games, the studio behind the striking 2020 remake of the original Destroy All Humans. The sequel, if you’re unfamiliar, initially released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox back in 2006, serving up a second helping of comedic ET action charting the continuing adventures of Crypto as he rampages across the 1960s following the destruction of his mothership by the KGB - a chaotic journey that sees him soaking up (and blowing up) the sights in the US, UK, Soviet Union, Japan, and even to the moon....
We Are Football is from German studio Winning Streak Games. It was co-founded by Gerald Köhler, the creator of the On the Ball football manager series, which was a big hit in Germany in the early ’90s. The debut We Are Football trailer is below: THQ Nordic stressed that We Are Football is easy to grasp. “We Are Football offers you full control of every aspect of your club but remains as simple as a hoofed long ball,” reads the official blurb....
During last night’s PlayStation Showcase, Gearbox gave us our first look at Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, a fantasy-themed Borderlands spin-off. For those of you who need a refresher on Borderlands lore, Tiny Tina is a 13-year-old demolitions expert first introduced in Borderlands 2. Tina is mentally unstable after the death of her parents. Tina took a more prominent role in the hearts and minds of Borderlands fans when she featured as the narrator for Borderlands 2’s Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC, which received high praise from players....
That’s according to a new report by Newzoo, shared by Venturebeat. Chinese giant Tencent is at the top, with a revenue of $32.2bn. It’s followed by Sony ($18.2bn) and Apple ($15.3bn). Microsoft and Google round out the top five, with $12.9bn and $11.0bn in revenue respectively. Activision Blizzard and Nintendo are in joint eighth place with $8.1bn. Changes in revenue compared to the previous financial year aren’t huge, with Newzoo stating that acquisitions will likely be the biggest differentiator in driving growth....
Tunic was previously only available on Xbox consoles, PC and Mac, and was also a day one Xbox Game Pass title. If you’re not familiar with Tunic, it’s an indie game primarily developed by just one person, Andrew Shouldice, who was inspired by early Zelda games and their detailed manuals, particularly Zelda II - but don’t let that put you off. Tunic’s puzzles, even the late-game ones, are almost all solveable at the beginning of your adventure through its increasingly creepy environments, you just don’t have the knoweldge to solve them yet....
The scheme was exposed following the Twitch data leak that revealed the top earning streamers on the platform. As reported by Middle East Eye, a group of Turkish streamers with low follower numbers were generating large amounts of revenue through Bit donations. Viewers on Twitch can purchase Bits in bulk and then use them to cheer for their favourite streamers to show support, offering a donation in the process. Partnered and affiliate streamers receive one cent per Bit used to cheer for them....
A Stitch in Time is Two Point Hospital’s sixth major expansion - following on from Bigfoot, Pebberley Island, Close Encounters, Off the Grid, and Culture Shock - and gives time-travelling medical masterminds a chance to try their hand at hospital management across three distinct periods: the prehistoric era, the medieval era, and a far-flung sci-fi future. As with previous expansions, A Stitch in Time’s focus is on offering fans more of the base game’s enjoyable core management action, gently tweaking the existing formula, rather than delivering any major mechanical shake-ups....
Confirmation came just hours after footage of the game - reportedly taken from the first closed test of the team battle arena - was shared online. “So, we heard you heard…” Ubisoft tweeted, acknowledging that the leak was indeed real. “Introducing codename Project Q, a team battle arena letting players truly own the experience! The game is in early development and we will keep testing, so for now all you can do is register for upcoming tests....
Infinity appears to be the brainchild of Coté, whose new role as head of Ubisoft’s biggest franchise sees him looking to revamp the series into a series of blockbuster single-player games, a standalone multiplayer portion and smaller free experiences for fans - all of which will be accessible from Infinity. The platform will also serve as the new, dedicated home to Assassin’s Creed’s modern day story, which will progress separately to upcoming games Codename Red, set in feudal Japan, and Codename Hexe, which looks to be set in 16th century Europe....
Nathan Drake’s final foray into the world of treasure hunting made the transition to PC last week. But, despite the franchise’s undeniable popularity, it hasn’t seen the same numbers as its Sony compatriots on Steam. At the time of writing, the game’s highest concurrent player peak (via SteamDB) is 10,851. In comparison, Horizon Zero Dawn peaked with 56,557 players, while Marvel’s Spider-Man has a peak of 66,436 players and the PC release of God of War has a peak player count of 73,529....
The International was set to return with a live audience in Bucharest from 12th to 17th October. But covid case rates have soared recently, and the government this week announced new coronavirus restrictions. Romania has the second lowest vaccination rate in the European Union, just ahead of Bulgaria. Bucharest reached a record of 8.28 per thousand new infections over the past two weeks, among the country’s steepest rates. Valve said it will refund all ticket sales for The International 2021....
Activision confirmed this week that Vicarious Visions, the studio behind the superb Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and, most recently, the well-received Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, had been merged into Blizzard after collaborating together “for some time”. Bloomberg (paywall) reports Vicarious Visions has been working with Blizzard since 2020 on the Diablo franchise, including a planned remake of Diablo 2 potentially called Diablo 2: Resurrected. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the Diablo 2 remake was due to be developed by Blizzard’s Team 1 - the team that made the poorly received Warcraft 3: Reforged and, before that, MOBA flop Heroes of the Storm and real-time strategy game StarCraft 2....
