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Atlas Fallen has plenty of good ideas, but none of them are done particularly well. Later this year, a new soulslike adventure called Lords of the Fallen will be released. You might recognize that title if you were playing soulslike games in 2014, since a completely different Lords of the Fallen was released then. While the Lords of the Fallen (2023) still has CI Games working on the publisher side of things, Deck13 Interactive, the studio behind Lords of the Fallen (2014), isn’t involved with the new project. So what has Deck13 been doing? Well, after the similarly souls-inspired games The Surge and The Surge 2, Deck13 has created the not-so-soulsy Atlas Fallen. While still an action role-playing game, Atlas Fallen sees players traversing an open-world environment while doing their best to fight colossal beasts with the combat system you’d expect to see in a spectacle fighter like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Sadly, Deck13’s new idea is underbaked in a lot of ways. After a completely unnecessary opening moment that teaches you the basic controls, you use a completely unnecessary character creator to make a hero that will be completely covered in armor for the overwhelming majority of your playthrough. Sure, their face is automatically uncovered when talking to NPCs, but the camera is locked behind you when these conversations play out and your face is completely covered by armor in cutscenes. Every character you speak to throughout the entirety of Atlas Fallen has a whole lot of nothing to say. Then, once your custom character who you’ll never see again has been made, you are pulled into a bafflingly long-winded intro that seems to be doing all it can to make the part where you can play the actual game as far away as possible. Rather than just letting you jump into things, you have to endure awful dialogue delivered through poorly-executed voice acting. Every character you speak to throughout the entirety of Atlas Fallen has a whole lot of nothing to say. They’ll do one of two things: repeat information you already know but in different words like they copy and pasted the info into a thesaurus, or word vomit a bunch of information about the land of Atlas or the plot that fails to give the player any reason to care about what’s going on. I’ve seen better worldbuilding from toddlers with Duplo bricks. Harsh as this all sounds, when the game finally set me loose to actually play the game (following a second tutorial on the basic controls for some reason) I was enjoying myself! The combat is flashy, and it’s fun to try and stay in the air as long as possible using careful management of one’s air dashes. Add the fact that there is an enormous number of special moves to unlock and use in different combinations, and I was beginning to think that there was plenty of fun to be found in making different move sets. Unfortunately, I didn’t find that to be the case. The game’s combat is much too shallow for a number of reasons. Unlike a true spectacle fighter like Bayonetta, your move set doesn’t evolve throughout the entire game. Sure, there are those unlockable abilities but they are often light variations of one another. Even worse, a fair number of the abilities I found wouldn’t work half of the time. One move, for example, was supposed to lock onto an enemy and dash into them for a small burst of damage. It had literally no effect more than half of the time. It would get me right next to a foe, sure, but they’d take no damage at all before pummeling me into the sand. Fights against late-game foes with a lot of moving parts felt like total chores that devolved into relying too much on the game’s parry mechanic. Special abilities, your basic move set, and the attacks of enemies all have horribly inconsistent and poorly-communicated hitboxes as well. I could be on top of a monster’s head thanks to some air dashing, and their low sweeping tail would still knock me far away. Fights against late-game foes with a lot of moving parts felt like total chores that devolved into relying too much on the game’s parry mechanic. A mechanic which, to be fair, had some neat ideas tied to it. Successfully parrying a larger creature a certain number of times causes them to freeze completely, but attacking completely frozen creatures only worked if the game felt like it wanted me to have fun. Rarely did the game think this should be the case, as my attacks regularly had zero effect on frozen baddies. In addition to wonky hit detection and lackluster abilities, the combat system got harder to endure over time because of its momentum system. Much like parrying, it’s a good idea on paper! As you hit foes, your momentum bar, composed of three chunks, starts to fill. When one chunk is full, your basic attacks become bigger and do more damage. Simultaneously, you take more damage. It’s a great idea to make the player think more about risk and reward and how they’d like to navigate a fight. Add in the fact that one or several chunks can be spent on a large, shattering, ultimate attack and there’s plenty to focus on during fights. Yet, the game later introduces enemy attacks that can drain your momentum bar. Too often these attacks were enormous, sweeping, horribly telegraphed, and overall too frequent. To make this even worse, these momentum-robbing blows also deal damage to your health bar. Whether it’s a side quest or a main quest, you go back and forth and back and forth until the game eventually ends. The idea of an occasional assault that would make you lose momentum is a good idea! Swarming the player in swaths of the things so that they feel like they’re fighting the bar on the bottom of the screen rather than the giant monsters? Not such a great idea. If you’re not putting up with the combat system that’s as shallow as a kiddie pool, Atlas Fallen has you sand-surfing all over an enormous map. Whether it’s a side quest or a main quest, you go back and forth and back and forth until the game eventually ends. Completing the main story took me a little over ten hours, but it felt three times as long. Toward the end, I was on way too many main quests that seemed engineered specifically to waste my time and artificially lengthen the game. Easily more than half of my gameplay in Atlas Fallen consisted of nothing more than holding the left stick forward for several long minutes at a time. On the one hand, the world was nice to look at. Good lighting, nice textures, and plenty of strong environmental design that made finding points of interest happen much more organically than your average open-world game. On the other hand, each time I found something to do in the open world it was either a glitchy fight against one of the severely limited number of enemies or a puzzle that interrupted my endlessly boring traversal with more endlessly boring traversal. The reward for these activities? Abilities that might not work or a useless treasure. The more time I spent with Atlas Fallen, the more its cracks became harder to ignore. Its combat system is sorely lacking, the story is entirely uninteresting and poorly told, and the whole experience has an unpolished quality to it. Perhaps Deck13 ought to give the soulslike thing another go. Pros: Visually interesting world Combat is flashy Cons: Combat is too shallow Bugs and inconsistent hitboxes abound Story is empty and uninteresting Game’s runtime feels padded out Poor quest design that includes a lot of boring traversal Score: 4/10 Reviewer played on Xbox Series X Atlas Fallen is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S

Like Elden Ring did last year, Baldur’s Gate 3 stands out bereft of live-service elements to execute a clear creative vision. BG3 is a lovingly crafted game made by an incredibly dedicated and passionate team deadest on making the best choice-driven RPG ever. Six years of dedicated development and three years in early access has paid off; suffice to say, BG3 is easily the best choice-driven RPG I have played, and probably one of the best RPGs of all time. BG3 is easily the best choice-driven RPG I have played and one of the best RPGs of all time. Based in the Forgotten Realms universe (the world of Dungeons & Dragons for the uninitiated), BG3 is a lavishly produced CRPG with an incredible cast of characters, a complex story, and incredible gameplay freedom. You start out as an adventurer who has been caught by Mind Flayers, D&D’s Cthulhu-like race of psychic squid aberrations. They infect people with “tadpoles,” little parasites inserted through the eye that will eventually transform the victim into one of their own. To your surprise, something has delayed this transformation, and much larger forces are at work in the world of BG3. Larian Studios has given players unparalleled options in creating your character. While they give you the option to start as “origin” characters, which are the set party members you run into along the way, you also have the freedom to create a custom hero. Admittedly, I was disappointed at the absence of non-human types like Kenku, Tabaxi, and Tortles. Other than that, the character creator is nearly peerless in creating unique and memorable player characters that look fantastic. The consistency and quality of BG3 is frequently astounding. Once you have your class and character set, you drop into the amazing world of BG3. What is so incredible about BG3 is the consistency and quality of the writing. Every character feels realistic, and I never ran into the typically annoying characters that plague so many other games with quippy dialogue and cringe-inducing voice acting (looking at you, basically every JRPG). It shows that Larian Studios has put so much time and effort into every line. This is bolstered by phenomenal voice acting, where, once again, I didn’t run into a single line that felt off or misread. The consistency and quality of BG3 is frequently astounding. I imagine that BG3 must have been an absolute nightmare to develop, and the amount of player freedom is unparalleled. Mass Effect, The Witcher, The Elder Scrolls; none of these titles can hold a candle to the freedom Larian Studios allows players in BG3. Kill anyone, steal anything, approach quests in almost any fashion. I finished off major bosses by sneaking up and pushing them off cliffs, used necromancy to interrogate dead quest-givers to complete missed questlines, and convinced villains to off-themselves; the freedom is astounding. What is equally impressive is the sheer quantity and quality of the content on offer. BG3 is easily a 100-hour experience, but every quest feels hand-crafted, and there are no “fetch 10 pelts for me” moments or grindy, repetitive side-content. The world of BG3 is comparably small to the sprawling open worlds of its contemporaries, with acts focused on individual zones that usually feature a few major locations. These zones are filled with rich stories and tons of depth, all killer; no filler is an applicable term here. Gone is the bloat that plagues so many of BG3’s contemporaries. Elements interact; blood and water can conduct electricity, grease can spread fire, every object has tangible physics, and creativity is rewarded at every turn. Combat offers even more freedom than the story, with every attack having weight and physical impact on the world. Elements interact; blood and water can conduct electricity, grease can spread fire, every object has tangible physics, and creativity is rewarded at every turn. D&D 5E’s ruleset is painstakingly recreated, and the game’s systems are a joy to engage with. It can be challenging to understand at first, but players will quickly get the hang of it, and a generous, quick save system allows for all the save-scumming you could ever want. BG3 doesn’t just deliver on writing, voice acting, and combat. The music and visuals are of equal quality, and the world of Faerûn is a sight to behold. Textures hold up to scrutiny despite having the ability to zoom in and out at will, and the scope and quality of assets are impressive to behold. The soundtrack fits perfectly, with the game molding its main theme to fit different tones and scenarios. Every part of Larian Studios magnum opus shows the same level of care and creativity. BG3 is a highwater mark for choice-driven RPGs and the new standard to which basically every other major RPG will be compared. I feel bad for Starfield at this point and for game developers in general. Larian Studios has set the bar incredibly high. Still, I hope other publishers will see it as an example to let developers have time and creative freedom to make incredible games without all the bloated live service and microtransaction bullshit. Also, you can play this game in four-player online co-op or even split-screen locally on a single PC, and in this day and age, that may be one of the most impressive features in BG3. If you love RPGs, you owe it to yourself to play this game. Pros: Deep, engaging, and reactive combat Incredible writing Fantastic Music Wonderful Voice Acting Great Characterization Unparalleled Player Freedom Beautiful Visuals Cons: Some minor technical issues Score: 10/10 Reviewer played the game on PC Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now on Microsoft Windows and will be available on PlayStation 5, and macOS on September 6th.

I feel like I have to make a “We will remember that” joke here. Telltale Games, the company that made such hits as The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, has had a bit of a turbulent history over the years. However, that company and its assets were all purchased back in 2018 by a new company looking to continue its legacy. LCG Entertainment, Inc, known better as Telltale Games now, is full steam ahead with its business dealings. Today, they announced a new acquisition, Flavourworks. Flavourworks is probably best known for their game Erica, an interactive thriller on PC, PlayStation, and iOS. The game mixes live-action acting with interactive choices that affect the story as it unravels. While it may seem like something Netflix already did with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, it’s the technology that powers it all that is most important to Telltale. TouchVideo is a tech created and developed by Flavourworks, which allows you to reach out and touch the answers to questions on the screen. Seeing as Telltale games tend to be all about choices, this acquisition is a pairing made for each other. Jamie Ottilie is the CEO at the new Telltale Games and spoke more in-depth about the TouchVideo tech and what that could mean for their company going forward. “Fans today want to interact with their favorite IPs more deeply, and interactive narratives are a really immersive way to do that,” said Ottilie. “At the same time, people want to access their games from wherever they are, regardless of device or platform. "Flavourworks’ technology and interactive video expertise will enable us to efficiently create story-based games and reach more people through streaming and new platforms. We’re excited about what it could mean for our portfolio of games.” Telltale recently dropped the episodic The Expanse: A Telltale Series, the first game to come out of the new Telltale. They’re also known to be working on the long-anticipated The Wolf Among Us 2, now coming in 2024 instead of its original 2023 promise.

The event is BYOC and is from August 10th to 13th in Grapevine, Texas. QuakeCon is such a staple of gaming events, imprinted within the industry itself, that it’s almost easy to forget that it has happened every year for the past two and a half decades. This year, QuakeCon decided to look back at its roots. Instead of big, fancy presentations, they’re putting a hard focus on gaming itself. The BYOC, or “Bring Your Own Computer”, mentality lets people set up shop to play their favorite games over the 4-day weekend. There is no exhibitor hall and no general admission. You had to pre-register to attend. But, it is 2023, meaning that those that can’t make their way to the Lone Star State can join the fun on stream. There are plenty of stream events going on. You can watch the streams from their BYOC floor on both YouTube and Twitch. As for the schedule, they’re only offering the first day of events right now. Future days could hold some surprises doing it that way. All of the times are in Central Time, so set your clocks correctly if you’re watching. QuakeCon 2023 Thursday Schedule: 12 PM - Welcome to QuakeCon 2023 12:30 PM - Slayers Club Live w/ ID Software Part I 1:30 PM - QuakeCon Quiz-a-thon (+ puppies!) 2 PM - Cooking at QuakeCon 2:30 PM - ESO x QuakeCon 2023 Trial Run High Score Competition 4 PM - QuakeCon Dirty Keyboard Contest - In partnership with Steelseries 5 PM - AMD x Robytech Speed Build: Are You Ready? 5:30 PM - Slayers Club Live w/ ID Software Part II Whether you’re going to the event itself or watching from the comfort of your own home, ID Software fans are always in for a treat every year during QuakeCon. If any more announcements happen, we’ll update here. In the meantime, play your favorite ID Software or Bethesda game in honor of this yearly tradition. I’m going with Quake Champions myself.

With the tragic passing of Lance Reddick, Bungie had to recast this important character to keep him going. Back in March, we lost beloved actor Lance Reddick. It was both heartbreaking and tragic. Bungie, while paying their respects to the actor, finally has taken steps to move on. For those unaware, Reddick voiced Commander Zavala in the Destiny series of video games for English releases. Zavala, and by extension Reddick, have always played an important role in Destiny and Destiny 2. Many fans of his knew him from other films, shows, and animation as well. Rick and Morty fans would know him as Alan Rails, and he’s appeared in Ducktales, The Legend of Vox Machina, and recently in live-action as Albert Wesker in the recent Resident Evil series. The good news is that Bungie announced, today, a new voice for Commander Zavala that will feel right at home: Keith David. David is a prolific actor spanning several decades. He’s also voiced multiple characters on Rick and Morty, as well as the Saint’s Row franchise. Halo fans will instantly recognize him as The Arbiter’s voice as well. But, he’s been in movies and shows long before that like The Thing and Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. Earlier today, Bungie put out the official news on their own blog. They assured fans that Reddick’s existing likes will “remain untouched for the upcoming release”. “I am honored to continue the great work of Lance Reddick as Zavala” Keith David is quoted in Bungie’s news. “Lance captured the character's sense of integrity so wonderfully. It is my intention to continue that work.” As mentioned, Bungie has worked with David before during their run as the Halo creators and developers for several years. Knowing that Zavala is in capable hands is reassuring for fans of the franchise while offering a great amount of respect to the history of the character and those that have played him in the past. recognize

AEW: Fight Forever can learn from the past and evolve a shaky debut into championship-worthy sequels. All Elite Wrestling hoped for a high-flying debut video game. The recent AEW: Fight Forever missed the target — largely due to the clunky gameplay generally expected of new fighting games and plenty of missing staples. Some wrestlers require the help of savvy veterans to get better. Fortunately, there is no shortage of successful wrestling games from the past several decades. Many of those have great features available for AEW to learn from to make their future games better. Future iterations should include a free-roaming story mode. Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth allowed players to roam everywhere, from boiler rooms to bars, in search of new friends and foes. The sandbox style immerses gamers into a world that feels molded by fun choices. AEW: Fight Forever’s point-and-click menu system, on the other hand, reeks of staleness. Storylines feel forced. This series could also learn from the recent fighting game Street Fighter 6 and its open-world "World Tour" mode. Like other sports and wrestling games, they should have a GM Mode All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan writes major storylines and books, as well as many of the outcomes, while actively managing talent and being AEW’s public leader. His motivation remains simple: live out a boyhood fantasy of being the boss of body slammers. The GM Mode of Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006 turned that dream into a virtual reality for those who don’t have enough money to fill every wrestling ring in the world. Fans and critics hailed the mode’s return in WWE 2K22. AEW’s presentation caters to hardcore wrestling fans who’d love the opportunity to “run the show”. Where are all the multiplayer tournaments? Where fighting games go, tournaments should always follow. AEW held numerous tournaments that played a large role in shaping the company’s early history. In fact, every competitor’s win/loss record factors into every championship contender ranking. Within AEW: Fight Forever, a tournament mode doesn’t exist or even get mentioned within the storyline. This puzzling omission cheapens the video game’s authenticity to the real show. Having bragging rights over buddies at parties too is a large part of the DNA of wrestling games. As with free-roam, wrestling games should allow backstage fighting Most fans watch wrestling for the wackiness. WCW: Backstage Assault encouraged throwing everything — including the kitchen sink — at opponents. WWE’s Smackdown! vs. Raw series escalated chaos into attempted homicides. The real AEW’s booking favors backstage attacks as a way to build tension between performers. Allowing fights to occur outside the ring doubles the fun for players. For those who’d rather strike the garbage man with the can, rather than peacefully roll it to the curb, there would be something for everyone. AEW: Fight Forever could stand to add outside Legends The only legend in AEW: Fight Forever to never be a roster member is Owen Hart — AEW holds an annual tournament in his honor. WWE negotiates exclusive contracts to secure exclusive rights with many icons. However, there are countless legends that are able to appear anywhere. Independent contractor status behooves AEW to bring some of these names into future games. For instance, the promotion built a strong connection with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Furthermore, AEW embraces the gory style of wrestling that WWE shields its performers from. These factors position AEW to easily snag more past superstars for a much stronger, more-recognizable roster. Doing so appeals to older fans that likely feel left out currently. It's 2023. We should be able to customize the Submission system in a wrestling game. WWE Day of Reckoning 2 unveiled an innovative submission system where players could choose four different options for a hold’s effect. Taunt submissions halted the sufferer’s momentum. Rest holds recharged the applicant’s stamina. Draining submissions applied the opposite effect on the opponent. Regular submissions damaged opponents to set up the finishing blow. The system mimicked the psychology of real-life matches. Nobody adopted this robust mechanic from the GameCube-exclusive cult classic. So, it is free for AEW’s taking, allowing many to enjoy it for the very first time. Let special guest referees ruin matches! Nothing tests a wrestling fan more than seeing your wrestler's known friend be the ref or a bout between two pals. The joy of help and pain, when a supposed friend issues a fast three-count on a pin against you, lasts for years. Guest referees are so common in wrestling that it should just be part of any game based on it. AEW could make many new memories with this twist on standard matches. AEW should have a Gauntlet Mode You’d think a game titled AEW: Fight Forever would love the idea of wrestling endlessly. However, there are no marathon/gauntlet matches in this game. Several entries of the Smackdown! series branded survival matches with infinite opponents as “Slobber Knocker Mode”. And, as you can assume, they were always a blast to play. WWE Smackdown!: Here Comes the Pain marketed gauntlets as a main feature. Most critics and fans debate between that game and WWF No Mercy being the best wrestling game ever created. AEW should take notes. A staple missing from AEW Fight Forever: Cage Matches Every longtime wrestling fan feels the thrill of a cage match preventing the bad guy from getting out of a fair fight! Cages started torturing virtual villains in 1991’s WWF WrestleFest. Wrestling’s steel standby has appeared in almost every major wrestling game ever since. Perhaps due to tricky game coding, AEW: Fight Forever bucked tradition by not making the match type an option at all. AEW shouldn’t slam the steel door shut on a cage match mode next time. Complete Entrance Animations First impressions matter just as much in the virtual world as they do in real life. AEW: Fight Forever developer Yuke’s developed decent animations for partial entrances. However, the abrupt cuts on the stage heighten the clunky, unfinished feel of this game. Fully fleshed entrances polish the presentation and shouldn’t be seen as “too extra” in 2023. Final Thoughts In fairness, AEW: Fight Forever leans its full weight into arcadey fun. Most problems owe themselves to this game being a debut. But, with several decades of content to learn from, the game has a long way to go. Implementing successful features of the past would spice up future helpings of alternative wrestling action!

Over the years, AMD has made it really easy to own its hardware. With the age of ease and accessibility making life that much easier, these types of how-tos may eventually be unnecessary. However, we understand that sometimes you just don't know where to go. If you own an AMD-power machine at all, you're going to need their Adrenalin software installed to handle drivers and their updates. Some of these steps may be unnecessary for you if you bought your computer pre-owned. We'll make sure to give you a heads-up if it's likely that you can skip a step. This guide is for computers that have either an AMD graphics card (GPU) or AMD processor (CPU) installed. Gamers, for instance, tend to have slightly higher-range computers and it's important to keep your equipment up-to-date for newer games to work without a hitch. For much older equipment, this guide may not work as the technology may not be supported or may be out of date entirely. However, the majority of CPUs and GPUs should work. 1. Make sure the AMD hardware is installed correctly first. If you're buying your computer pre-made, don't worry as much about this step. If you get to a later step and the computer cannot find the AMD hardware, come back to Step 1. For desktops: If the CPU is the problem, make sure you install it, apply thermal paste, and get whatever cooling onto it that your PC uses. Your Windows PC likely already has the driver for this installed, if it turns on. Also for desktop users: If the problem lies with the graphics card, make sure it is installed into the proper port. Most graphics cards also use an additional cord (either 4 or 6 prongs) from the power supply to run, plugged in on the side of it. 2. Download the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Head to the official AMD website, https://www.amd.com. Up at the top, you'll see "Resources & Support". If you roll your mouse over it, it'll drop down a bunch of options. The first tab to drop down will say "Downloads". The second column says "Radeon Graphics & AMD Chipsets". Under that, click "Drivers". This is where you need to know the model of your AMD equipment. You're going to find the "family" of your model and choose it. For instance, if your graphics card is the AMD Radeon RX 580, you'll find the "Radeon 500 Series". If you don't know the exact model of your hardware, you'll need to utilize the Auto-Detect tool from AMD, run it to tell you what you own, and download the Adrenalin Edition afterward. After choosing your model, you need to choose if you're running Windows 10 or 11, and then hit Download. Once you choose your model, it'll prompt you to download the software. When you're ready for the next step, run the software. 3. Follow the AMD Driver installation wizard. The installation is relatively small. If you want to change where the software lives within your computer, you can do it first. It doesn't take much space at all, but you can double-check that you have the room. Otherwise, just hit "Install". Sit back. This may take some time. Don't run any videos or run games during the installation process. Your monitors may blink during this time. If this is the first time installing the drivers on this computer, it may require you to restart it afterward to continue. Congratulations! Your AMD drivers are now properly installed. 4. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition to check for driver updates. Once the software is installed, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition should exist on the right-side part of your Start Menu now. This can be turned off on Windows PCs. Or, you can leave it be. The software will have a tiny exclamation mark "!" on the logo if it needs to be updated. Open the software and it will generally tell you automatically if you need to update the driver. As you can see in this picture, an update is available. You'll click the Install button, click "Yes" to the Windows pop-up that will ask if you want to run the software. Another Adrenalin pop-up will show up, AMD may ask if it may collect data from your install. Choose "Allow" or "Don't allow" and hit Install. If it's just a normal update, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Once it's done, you'll need to restart your computer. Do so, and you're done here. You can choose to just hit "Finish" and restart later. But, the changes and updates won't finish up in the background until you do. If you're updating for a game, make sure to restart now instead. Just make sure to check for updates every so often. They do a lot of tweaks and patches as new games and software become available over time.

The fighting game tournament, EVO 2023, brought a ton of news and DLC from various franchises. EVO, the big fighting game tournament, happens every year in Las Vegas. This year’s EVO 2023 happened over the last weekend. As always, that means there are a ton of news bits for the FGC community to talk about today. We decided to round up all of the tasty morsels from EVO here. So, let’s get into it! EVO 2023 News Quick Access: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content is coming to Street Fighter 6 A.K.I and alternate costumes also coming to SF6 Killer Instinct gets a 10th-anniversary update Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising coming November 30th Mortal Kombat 1 gets official Banished trailer, more fighters Johnny and a major update coming to Guilty Gear Strive Raven and Azucena are confirmed for Tekken 8 The King of Fighters 13 Global Match gets a November 16th release date The King of Fighters XV gets a couple of new characters, Duo Lon and Najd Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves officially announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content is coming to Street Fighter 6 Starting off with the absolute banger from the news, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is getting a ton of crossover content with the recently released Street Fighter 6. SF6 players are looking at some awesome new content from this collaboration. Starting August 8th (yea, tomorrow), you can grab TMNT themed gear and emotes, as well as new titles, TMNT stamps, in-game device wallpapers, and camera frames for Photo Mode. You’ll also be able to turn your World Tour and Battle Hub custom avatar into any of the four turtles. Oh, and did we mention that it all comes out tomorrow, August 8th? Cowabunga, dude. A.K.I and alternate costumes also coming to SF6 Well, A.K.I. is terrifying. Coined as a “maniacal poison aficionado”, she is absolutely a psychopath. While her teaser trailer doesn’t show off any gameplay details of how she moves, the trailer makes her feel like her movements are not unlike Voldo from the Soul Calibur games. A.K.I. will be part of Year 1 of content and will release in Autumn 2023. In addition to A.K.I., new alternate costumes were teased for Juri, Marisa, Guile, and Dee Jay. Maris and Dee Jay have some sick new threads. Juri gets a onesie as a set of pajamas. Guile’s outfit, if I can reach here, feels super loosely inspired by his friend, Charlie Nash. With bangs in the face and a vest, it feels like a much more realistic take on the super anime-esque style of his late friend. No release date for the alternate costumes is available yet. But, they’re likely pretty soon. Killer Instinct gets a 10th-anniversary update Does anyone remember the Xbox-exclusive Killer Instinct that came out a decade ago? Microsoft had utilized their already-long-time purchase of Rare to develop a new version of their infamous fighting game franchise. It wasn’t a bad game. But, it fell under the radar against other FGC heavy hitters. It still has a pretty big cult following to this day. For those looking to pick it up, it’s on Game Pass. But, the 10th-anniversary update is coming later this year. Considering the game hasn’t had an update since 2018, this is a welcome offering. The update will work as a “balance update, improved matchmaking, and 4K support for Series X|S”. No official date was announced. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising coming November 30th Cygames’ popular Granblue Fantasy series does include some fighting games. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising got some big announcements during EVO 2023. The game will launch on November 30th and come in multiple options. Sure, you can grab the standard and digital deluxe options. But, there will be a free edition as well. The Free edition offers 4 characters, part 1 of the story, online play, lobby access, and “Grand Bruise Legends!”, a Fall Guys-minigame-esque lobby system. Oh, and a beta is coming, slated for Fall 2023. Mortal Kombat 1 gets official Banished trailer, more fighters EVO is nothing but fighting games. But, one of the kings of the FGC is Mortal Kombat. You can’t have your fighting game tournament without at least a mention. NetherRealm Studios took over for a bit to show off the Banished trailer for their upcoming Mortal Kombat 1. It showcased a handful of new characters and story elements. Fan-favorite Reptile seems to have new motivations and capabilities, being fleshed out as a shapeshifting lizard fighter. One second he’s a humanoid fighter, the next, he’s rolling you like an alligator. Additionally, Havik and Ashrash join the fray in the trailer. Considering all of these are characters that haven’t had much love in recent years, “banished” really is an apt word for them. Johnny and a major update coming to Guilty Gear Strive Johnny was introduced during a new trailer for Guilty Gear Strive as a season 3 DLC character. He’s basically a stereotypical cowboy on Tinder in every way. Thick accent? Yep. Is a gambler part of his personality? Yep. Shirtless with abs? Double yep. Johnny will arrive as part of the season DLC on August 24, 2023. Raven and Azucena are in confirmed for Tekken 8 Tekken is one of those series that the story doesn’t have to always make sense. But, we love it nonetheless. Raven, the United Nations-employed ninja, returns, alongside newcomer Azucena. Raven was replaced in recent games by his master. They share similar traits as ninjas. If it’s a stereotypical ninja thing, they both do it. Raven himself is back for Tekken 8. To say that Azucena “likes” coffee would be an understatement. She’s a dancer from Peru and nearly every line she says in her trailer is about how coffee is the best drink in the world. She also fights like she’s hyped up on caffeine, with quick and rhythmic movements. She dances while she fights. No word on a release date for Tekken 8 yet, though. The King of Fighters 13 Global Match gets a November 16th release date The King of Fighters 13 has been out for well over a decade now. But, a new version, Global Match, will feature rollback netcode and an entirely “overhauled” online functionality. KOF XIII GM will release on November 16th, 2023. The King of Fighters XV gets a couple new characters, Duo Lon and Najd During EVO 2023, a new trailer debuted, showcasing both a returning character and a newcomer for KOF XV. The new character, Najd, is due tomorrow, August 8th. Duo Lon, on the other hand, returns to the franchise, originally premiering in KOF 2003. He can be grabbed this Autumn 2023. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves officially announced Not much is known yet about Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. But, the trailer highlights two important qualities that the upcoming game will have: Rock Howard and Terry Bogard. More information will be detailed for City of Wolves in the future. For now, that’s all we get.

When considering a new mouse and comparing specifications, one of the most common specifications that you’ll encounter is the DPI, or dots per linear inch, a common way to measure mouse sensitivity. It’s not always immediately clear how DPI can impact gaming mouse performance, and your experience using it. What is DPI? DPI stands for dots per inch, referring to how a computer mouse measures physical distance. The more technically accurate phrase is actually CPI, or counts per inch, as dots are not actually used as part of the process. However, DPI is the abbreviation you’re more likely to encounter when comparing options, so we’ll be using that going forward. DPI specifically refers to the measurement of the speed at which a mouse cursor moves on-screen, in relation to the distance a user is moving the mouse. For example, if you were to move your mouse an inch to the right with a low DPI, and then move your mouse an inch to the right with a higher DPI, the cursor on-screen would move further in the second example, despite the distance covered by the mouse’s sensor being the same. To be clear, DPI is a measurement of that physical relationship only, and is not representative of the mouse’s precision, or the accuracy of the sensor. The higher the DPI, the faster the cursor moves and the more sensitive it feels. Pretty simple, right? There's a little more to it. DPI and Sensitivity DPI and sensitivity are often correlated in our minds. For many users, increasing a mouse’s DPI appears to make the mouse more sensitive. However, these are different measurements. DPI is a product of the physical parameters of the mouse’s hardware. Sensitivity is usually dictated by software—usually an operating system like Windows. You can have low DPI and high sensitivity, and vice versa. For most purposes, cranking up the sensitivity on a low-DPI mouse isn’t an ideal solution. When the software sensitivity is asked to compensate for a low-DPI hardware, users may encounter herky-jerky performance when zoomed in on a target, or making detailed edits in a design program. Why High DPI? When researching computer mice you’ll sometimes find a higher DPI (often 10,000 and above) marketed as a desirable attribute. Though a higher DPI can potentially result in slightly lower accuracy, to the average user it will have a negligible impact. Having the option of using a higher DPI is usually worth it. For example, a higher DPI might come in handy if you’re working on a high-resolution display. Moving your mouse from one side to the other with a low DPI will take longer. If you’re making this movement many times a day, a higher DPI could save you time and effort, improve ergonomics, and meaningfully impact your workflow. However, if you’re doing something that requires higher accuracy—such as drawing in a design program with a mouse—a lower DPI might be a better fit as it allows for finer and more precise movement. DPI and Gaming DPI also has a substantial impact on PC gaming performance, which is why the DPI specification is often featured front-and-center on gaming mice product pages. When playing a first person shooter with high DPI settings, your targeting reticle will move across the screen faster, and requires smaller movements from your hand. This can be great for whipping around quickly, or dragging your sights from one side of your display to the other in less time. This can be hugely beneficial, especially in games where speed is important, or if you’re gaming on a higher resolution display. A high DPI is not always ideal in gaming, though. In some situations, a lower DPI might be preferable. In an RTS where meticulous unit selection is an important part of a strategy, or in a first person shooter when using a zoomed-in weapon. Having to move the mouse further results in better accuracy because you have more space in which to find the right place to click. With that said, how does someone choose between a high DPI or lower DPI mouse? Fortunately, you usually don’t have to choose. Best of Both Worlds Most modern mice, and especially gaming mice, allow you to change your DPI with the click of a button. Many have a physical button on the body of the mouse specifically for cycling through DPI profiles. Each setting has visual indicators so you can tell at a glance what your DPI settings are. There are distinct advantages to being able to switch DPI on the fly. For example, consider the popular Corsair M65 RGB ELITE gaming mouse, which has a fairly high maximum DPI of 18,000. With the press of a button you can cycle through DPI profiles until you find the right settings for you— from 18,000, down to 100 DPI, which is probably too low for most people. By cycling between the highest and lowest settings you can find the perfect DPI for however you are using your mouse in that moment. You can cycle through DPI settings in-game, which can be useful in first person shooters when switching weapons. Having a mouse with a higher DPI maximum limit is beneficial because it allows you to access a broader spectrum of settings. Is there an ideal DPI number? Not really. It depends on your preference, and what you’re using your mouse to do. The entire purpose of an adjustable DPI is to allow for the user to find the settings that work for them. There’s no one setting that works for everyone, which is why it’s great to have options. More to Learn Now that you have a sense of what DPI is, you can select a gaming mouse that has the features you’re looking for. There are other features to consider as well, such as your grip style, mouse weight, the switches in the mouse, as well as the mousepad you’re using to play, but learning about DPI is a great place to start.

The world needs arcade-style football games, and Wild Card Football promises to fill the void left by the discontinuation of the NFL Blitz franchise a decade ago. The game is set to launch Oct. 10 and pre-orders come with four legendary offensive weapons unlocked: Dan Marino, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, and Walter Payton. Designed to for pickup and play action, Wild Card Football features extreme 7-on-7 action with plenty of bombastic style and energy. Most importantly, they secured the NFLPA license which means you can play with the likeness of real players from every era of pro football. Judging by the trailer, Wild Card Football brings the fast-paced violence and rule breaking that made Blitz so fun—plus on-field booby traps, obstacles, and other surprises. Players can unlock 150 “Wild Cards” skills like invisibility, momentary skills boosts, and other razzle-dazzle out of the cartoon violence playbook. The game is developed by Saber Interactive, the same studio that created the popular NBA Playgrounds series, so it's safe to expect the same brand of tight and responsive gameplay and humorous pop culture references. Note that you won’t see your favorite NFL team logos or names without an NFL license. But you will be able to build your dream franchise with the players you unlock while advancing through the game. Personally, I'm excited to pick Colin Kaepernick to throw down against Joe Burrow and Tom Brady in online head-to-head mode. Wild Card Football releases on Oct. 10, 2023, for PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

No, seriously. The Transformers games have gotta be here somewhere. Probably. Update 8/3/2023: Hasbro has issued an apology to Activision over alleging that they lost the games. “To clarify, comments that suggest Transformers games have been lost were made in error,” Hasbro’s official statement reads. "We apologise to Activision and regret any confusion – they’ve been great partners, and we look forward to future opportunities to work together.” Nothing in the statement says that it isn't necessarily true. But, they're sorry that they said the quiet part out loud. Maybe one day Microsoft will get those games onto Game Pass for Hasbro. Original Story: There have been quite a few Transformers games made over the years. Activision made a good handful back in the days of the Xbox 360. But, allegedly, Activision may have misplaced them. Hasbro’s team was doing an interview over on Transformers World about their new Game Edition lineup of toys and let out some frustrating news about the state of previous Transformers games. “Sadly,” the Hasbro team admitted, “apparently Activision’s not sure what hard drives they’re on in their building. When a company eats a company that eats a company things get lost, and that’s very frustrating.” There are multiple games that come to mind during this discussion. Transformers: Devastation, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, and Transformers: War for Cybertron are all well-made games in digital format that have just been lost to time. Unfortunately, we also recently reported on the Video Game History Foundation’s recent study as well. 87% of older games are entirely unavailable nowadays. It appears that they may all just be in a storage box somewhere in Activision’s mom’s attic. The problem here is knowing that these games exist and haven’t been available for play for years. Xbox had already made them backwards compatible. But, you have to have the physical disk for that. They agreed with Transformer World that the games that the Gamer Edition toys were based on would have been great to re-release. But, they have hopes that they’ll eventually be playable again. Hasbro offered a solution, now that Microsoft is going full steam ahead on the purchase of Activision Blizzard. They should rummage through the archives and drop it on Xbox and PC Game Pass. “Hope is that now that the deal is moving forward with Microsoft and Xbox,” the Hasbro team thinks, “that they’ll go through all of the archives and every hard drive to find it all, because it’s an easy Game Pass add.” The Transformers Gamer Edition toys are currently available in participating stores. But, the games they’re based on? Maybe we’ll see them one day on Game Pass. Maybe we won’t. We’d make a joke about the entire story being “more than meets the eye”. But, this is just a case of lost media that everyone hopes will be found eventually. You can read all about Hasbro’s additional thoughts on video games, toys, and more over at their interview with Transformers World.

The Nostromo is also a new map for Dead By Daylight. A new teaser trailer for Dead By Daylight hit the internet this week. It appears that the Alien from, well, Alien, is coming to the game next. The Xenomorph (as they’re generally called outside of video games) briefly appears in the teaser. Prior to that, it shows off the infamous Nostromo ship from the first Alien movie. At the end of the trailer, the Alien screams and jump-scares at the screen. There could be a more stealthy aspect to this villain when it releases. Most villains, controlled by other players, wander around and hunt down the protagonists. But, they’re generally out and about, easy to find if you’re looking. Villains that have shown up in Dead By Daylight include Ghost Face, Michael Myers, and Leatherface. They’re all about showiness and being in your face, sometimes with a chainsaw. Freddy Krueger, on the other hand, added mechanics like the dream world, to change how you played. The Alien movie had a sense of the unknown that came with it. The dread of knowing something was there that you can’t see easily became a hard-to-miss motif throughout the early movies. Dead By Daylight could take this approach. But, the teaser doesn’t spoil anything about gameplay or additional details. The most recent DLC for Dead by Daylight was Nicolas Cage. Not a character he’s played in the past. Just Nic himself. If there’s any currently available DLC to buy, it’s obviously Nic Cage. As this will be the 34th DLC for Dead By Daylight, the crossovers get pretty wild. Nowadays, you can play as Ash Williams from the Evil Dead films, team up with Bill from Left 4 Dead and Jill Valentine from Resident Evil to face off against the Demogorgon from Stranger Things. Basically, Dead by Daylight is the Super Smash Bros Ultimate of horror. Everyone is here. The Alien DLC for Dead By Daylight doesn’t currently have a release date. But, based on the previous DLC released, expect it pretty soon.