Gaming News

EA Sports FC 24 Title Update 3 Out Now — Here’s What It Does

EA Sports has released the first big post-launch patch for FC 24 and it makes some significant changes to gameplay. The long list of patch notes is below, but it’s worth picking out a few highlights. The Pinged Pass and Pinged Pass+ PlayStyles are nerfed slightly, as is jockey turning speed when moving at slower speeds. There are big changes to the referee logic, which players have criticised. And here’s a fun one: “In some cases, goalkeepers did not celebrate passionately in some scenes after making a significant save.” Come on keepers, let everyone know how much it all means to you! Here are the EA Sports FC 24 Title Update 3 patch notes in full: Ultimate Team Addressed the following issues: On rare occasions, players could...

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Save Hundreds on Multi-Game Humble Bundles, Cheapest CoD Modern Warfare 3 Prices, and More

Now that we've survived Hump Day combined with Amazon's latest Prime Sales event, let's get right back to our regularly scheduled bargain hunts. I've got you a mix of cheap preorders on big name 2023 titles and dirt cheap yesteryear gems. It's also probably time to start thinking about EOY gifts, so maybe score some stuff while you can and squirrel it away early. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware - XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC, PS3,X360) 2012. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch Hardware Watch How much to make the switch to Switch? Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Hardware Watch Slay your pile of shame. Back to top Exciting Bargains...

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Xbox Game Pass Will Level Up in 2024 – Unlocked 616

Some Forza Motorsport vs. Gran Turismo 7 talk kicks off the show before we talk about Halo Infinite's new Season 5 content, discuss how Xbox Game Pass looks set to level up in 2024 with the addition of Activision-Blizzard games, lament the recent layoffs at Telltale, and more. Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out my recent Alan Wake 2 preview! For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review. Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Review in Progress - Open Beta Impressions

Call of Duty is a known quantity in many ways at this point. The era, specific weapons, and flavor-of-the-year gimmicks might change, but as we round out two decades of annual iterations, it’s not hard to guess what the next one will bring. So it’s no surprise that after playing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer open beta on PlayStation 5 for a good chunk of the weekend, the feeling I came away with was largely, “oh yeah, this is just more Call of Duty.” That doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun, and I still have a whole lot more left to see in the final version, but so far it feels modern in name alone. The first thing I noticed when booting up Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer was how washed out everything looked. I thought...

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Assassin's Creed Mirage Player Count Is 'in Line' With Origins and Odyssey's Launches, Ubisoft Says

Ubisoft has revealed some details about the debut of Assassin's Creed Mirage, saying its player count is "in line" with the previous launches like Assassin's Creed Origins and Odyssey. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Ubisoft released a statement thanking players for their support for the new release and that the developer's "back to the roots experience" has paid off. "With the number of players being in line with past successful launches such as Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, we are humbled by the positive reception," Ubisoft wrote. The company also says Mirage is the biggest new-generation launch game in terms of unit sales in Ubisoft's history. The revelation is not entirely...

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EA Sports FC Tactical Is a Turn-Based Strategy Game Coming to Mobile

The FIFA franchise may have only just been rebranded as EA Sports FC 24 but it's already expanding with a turn-based strategy game coming to mobile called EA Sports FC Tactical. Arriving in early 2024, Tactical will feature "interactive simulation" and give players access to more than 5,000 authentic football stars from more than ten leagues such as the Premier League, LALIGA EA SPORTS, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and Serie A. This isn't to be confused with EA Sports FC Mobile, however, which was a free update to FIFA Mobile. "EA Sports FC Tactical embraces strategic gameplay to create an all-new football experience that immerses players in the world’s game like never before,” said EA Sports FC senior vice president and general manager Nick...

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Why Total War: PHARAOH Is a Fresh Trip to Ancient Egypt

For over 20 years, the Total War franchise has been a leader in the world of turn-based strategy, real-time tactics, and resource management video games. Total War has taken fans around the world and throughout time with games like Shogun: Total War, Rome: Total War, and A Total War SAGA: TROY, and to other universes in games like Total War: WARHAMMER and its two sequels. Now, Creative Assembly Sofia is taking fans to ancient Egypt with Total War:PHARAOH and we’re here to break down the biggest reasons why it’s a trip RTS fans won’t want to miss. Total War: PHARAOH releases on October 11, 2023, on PC, and the game takes place during the 12th century BC as Egypt and other great civilisations face the looming threat of the Bronze Age...

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PlayStation Plus Game Catalog Additions for October 2023 Revealed

Sony has revealed the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for October 2023 and it's a full-on spookapalooza. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 15 games are joining the library: 11 in the Games Catalogue available to Extra and Premium members and four in the Classic Games Catalogue only available to Premium members. Though many of the titles bring scares to the service just in time for halloween on October 17, perhaps the biggest game this month is Batman-based co-op action game Gotham Knights. Smash hit Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is also on offer though, bringing what IGN called a "masterpiece" to Extra and Premium members. PlayStation Plus Games Catalog Additions for October 2023 Gotham Knights...

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Tekken 8 Hands-On Preview: Return of the King (of the Iron First) – IGN First

“The tastiest drink in the world is coffee, or nothing!” says Azucena, Tekken’s newest character, when she runs into Lili. “I’ll teach you of the majesty that is tea!” Lili shoots back. It’s a dialogue exchange that only happens when these two characters go head-to-head, and in this case, it’s appropriate. Tekken producer Michael Murray is drinking coffee and playing Azucena. I’m drinking tea and playing Lili. Michael destroys me. I don’t often play Lili, and Michael is, unsurprisingly, a very good Tekken player. But even though I lost that match, I was having an absolute blast. We were laughing, complimenting strong moments in each other’s play, sharing surprise at certain interactions, and generally having a great time. Naturally, I...

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Blizzard Locks Overwatch 2’s Hotly Anticipated Diablo 4 Skins Behind $40 Bundle, Sparking Backlash

Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard has come under fire for locking eye-catching Diablo 4 skins behind a $40 bundle. Launched yesterday, the Lilith skin for Moira and the Inarius skin for Pharah are both part of the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7. Lilith and Inarius are main characters from Blizzard’s action role-playing game Diablo 4 — Lilith the demonic mother of Sanctuary and antagonist of the game, Inarius a fallen angel who ostensibly defends humanity. Both these Diablo 4 skins, which Blizzard leaned on to promote the recently launched Season 7, Rise of Darkness, are exclusively sold through the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7. There is no other way to get the skins than forking out real-world...

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Valve Drops Support for Counter-Strike 2 on Mac, Citing Low Number of Players

Valve has discontinued support for Counter-Strike 2 on Mac after forcing an upgrade from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that broke the game on the platform. Counter-Strike 2 replaced CS:GO when it launched last month with an update for all players, including those on Mac. However, this update made the original game as well as CS2 unplayable on Mac because of a lack of support from Valve. Now, Valve has announced that it has no plans for a Mac version of Counter-Strike 2, ending years of support for Counter-Strike on the platform. Defending the decision in a post on Steam, Valve said Counter-Strike 2 “represents the largest technical leap in CS history, and our goal is to continue to develop Counter-Strike for years to come”...

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The Lamplighters League a 'Big Disappointment' for Paradox as It Confirms $22 Million Write-Down

Paradox Interactive has called The Lamplighters League a "big disappointment" as the company has been forced to record a $22 million write-down. Revealed on the company's website, the write-down of 248 million Swedish Krona, or roughly $22.7 million, is essentially Paradox admitting it won't make its money back on The Lamplighters League. "The Lamplighters League is a fun game with many strengths. Even though we see cautiously positive player numbers in subscription services, the commercial reception has been too weak, which is frankly a big disappointment," said Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester. Game projects are by their nature always risky, but at the end of the day we haven’t performed at the level we should. "Game projects are by...

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Epic Bans Rocket League Item Trading, Community Calls for Boycott as Thousands Sign Petition

The Rocket League community is up in arms over a controversial decision to remove item trading. Publisher Epic Games and developer Psyonix announced their intention to remove player-to-player trading from the popular car football game on December 5 at 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern / 12midnight UK, insisting the decision had to do with bringing Rocket League in-line with its wider policy around item shops. “We’re making this change to align with Epic’s overall approach to game cosmetics and item shop policies, where items aren’t tradable, transferrable, or sellable,” a statement from the ‘Psyonix Team’ read. “This opens up future plans for some Rocket League vehicles to come to other Epic games over time, supporting cross-game...

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Blizzard Reveals Five-Point Plan to Overhaul Diablo 4's Uniques, Resistances, and More for Season 2

With Diablo IV Season 2 just around the corner, Blizzard's developers have once again gotten together for a campfire chat to detail some of the major planned changes coming to Season of Blood. They are part of what Blizzard is calling its "five-point strategy" to "focus on addressing player feedback and making systemic improvements." You can find the full patch notes here. Designers Adam Jackson and Charles Dunn joined community lead Adam Fletcher to discuss the changes coming to Patch 1.2.0, including updates to the elemental resistances, damage buckets, and elemental resistances. Blizzard also says it will also seek to address feedback around unique items, which have been controversial since Diablo IV released earlier this year...

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Intel Finally Releases the Arc A580, a Year After Announcing It

Over two years ago, Intel announced it was entering the GPU market to take on Nvidia and AMD, and while Intel is still finding its footing, it has now introduced another graphics card in its Arc series. Intel revealed the Arc A580 GPU, a budgeted desktop graphics card retailing for $179. The Arc A580 features 24 Xe cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory despite an attractive price, making this, on paper, an attractive GPU. Tom's Hardware points out the Arc A580 is a faster card price-wise, but the closest equivalent performance-wise is AMD's Radeon RX 6600. The A580 is "generally" the faster card, but the RX 6600 does fare better in rasterization or converting a vector-based image or object into a raster or bitmap format. More interestingly...

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The Last of Us Part 1 Gets a Big Discount For Prime Day

The Last of Us franchise has become one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history, spanning two incredible games and a TV show starring the daddy of the internet himself, Pedro Pascal. If you've never played the games before, then now is a great chance to play a recently optimized for PS5 version of TLOU Part I. As part of October Prime Day, this game is down to just $45.99. For reference, if you grab it after Prime Day finishes, you'll be looking at just about $70 for it. So yeah, move now for an absolute bargain. Even More PS5 Video Game Deals for Prime Day The Last of Us Part I isn't the only PS5 game on sale right now though. There's also been a bunch of other discounts you absolutely need to check out right now. Take a...

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Assassin's Creed Mirage Features a Cat With an Assassin's Creed Branded Nose

One Assassin's Creed Mirage Easter egg is a little on the nose, literally, as Ubisoft actually added an Assassin's Creed branded cat into the game. As reported by Eurogamer, Reddit user suckashelfboi101 posted a screenshot of protagonist Basim holding a big fluffy cat with markings resembling the pointy Assassin's Creed logo on its nose. "Is this cat's face supposed to looks like the Assassin emblem or what because it’s all I can see," they said. "Maybe something the developers put in for fun?" According to fan account Scholars of the Creed on Twitter, the inclusion wasn't just coincidence or a bit of fun but instead a tribute to one Assassin's Creed fan's cat. A comment from one Facebook user shared an image of what was allegedly...

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Fortnite Update 26.30 Adds Alan Wake, Michael Myers, and Jack Skellington Outfits

Epic Games' latest update for battle royale Fortnite adds a number of Halloween-themed outfits including an eye-catching Alan Wake skin. Alan Wake, who’s set to star in Remedy’s aptly named Alan Wake 2 later in October, will be available in Fortnite’s Item Shop during the Fortnitemares 2023 event, Epic said in a blog post. The image below shows the the Alan Wake outfit, plus more Waking Nightmare set items that’ll be in the Shop. Epic also released a teaser trailer for the event which shows off Alan Wake gameplay. We’re getting John Wick vibes from this! Meanwhile, Disney’s Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King from Tim Burton’s 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas, has an outfit coming. This includes the Santa Jack alt Style...

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Total War: Pharaoh Review

The most impressive part of Total War: Pharaoh isn't the beautifully-detailed map of the Nile Valley, the exciting Late Bronze Age setting, or the striking interface that looks like it was copied straight off of a tomb wall in the Valley of Kings. It's the fact that Creative Assembly Sophia has pulled me right back into a fairly traditional, historical Total War and made it feel like a fresh experience, even when I've been playing this series for over 20 years now. It has some rough edges, especially the further you get from the heart of Egypt. But that little bit of sand in my sandals is easy to endure when Pharaoh is at its best. Egypt itself is really the star of Total War: Pharaoh, and whether you're on the campaign or the battle...

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Cyberpunk 2077 Gets a Huge Discount for October Prime Day in the UK

Have you been able to keep up with all the deals so far today? Prime Day is always mayhem (in a good way) over here and we're fantastically lucky to be able to have two of them this year. We know that when these bumper sales events roll around you're going to want to see the best gaming deals going right now. And we don't like to disappoint. One of the most talked about games in recent years, Cyberpunk 2077, is available for just under £15 on both Playstation and Xbox this October Prime Day. Now is the perfect time to get your hands on a copy, with the Phantom Liberty expansion coming out just a few weeks ago. October Prime Day: Grab Cyberpunk 2077 for a Steal If you've been waiting for Cyberpunk to be on sale to grab it, well...

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Beta Sparks Vociferous SBMM Debate Once Again

The long-running debate about Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) has once again sparked into life after the recent PlayStation-exclusive Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 beta. SBMM is a system designed to put players in lobbies made up of similarly-skilled players. “SBMM” usually trends across social media when a new Call of duty game comes out, with players on either side of the debate offering their take on why it’ll either kill that year’s Call of Duty or why it’s good for online play. Disgruntled players sometimes try to combat SBMM by deliberately losing in a bid to matchmake against lower-skilled players in subsequent lobbies. It's a tactic called 'reverse boosting', and it seems some people who played the Modern Warfare 3 beta over...

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Ubisoft’s Call of Duty Rival XDefiant Delayed Indefinitely

Ubisoft has delayed XDefiant indefinitely after a series of playtests unearthed issues the development team wants to work to improve before launch. Ubisoft had hoped to release the game in October. A recent Public Test Session (PTS) revealed “inconsistencies” in the game experience that need to be addressed prior to the release of XDefiant’s preseason, a statement published to Twitter read. XDefiant is Ubisoft’s answer to Call of Duty, and taps into nostalgia for the classic Call of Duty feel. It focuses on fast-paced gunplay and objective-driven modes, and has features such as a classic mini-map and lobbies that stay together after a match. XDefiant is in the works at Ubisoft San Francisco, with Mark Rubin as director and...

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Indie Game Roundup – October 2023

October’s indie games are absolutely stacked. Seriously, the list this month is longer than usual because whittling it down anymore was causing us the kind of psychological pain you’d normally only endure when your two-year-old discovers the Baby Shark videos and throws a tantrum whenever the video ends. Is that good parenting? Maybe! Is it […] The post Indie Game Roundup – October 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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Cricket 24 Review

Between the launches of Major League Cricket in the United States and the Women’s Premier League in India, and Ben Stokes’ Bazballing Brits putting bums on seats in the Test arena, the past couple of years has been an exciting period of expansion and evolution for the sport of cricket in all of its forms – well, except for one. Cricket 24, the latest video game version of the most beer-friendly of summer sports from developer Big Ant Studios, finds itself stuck in the past like a handlebar moustache on an Aussie fast bowler – offering a brand of bat-on-ball gameplay that’s almost indistinguishable from the now two-year-old Cricket 22. A sprinkling of new and only partially implemented player licences, slight visual improvements, and the...

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Minecraft Players Trying to Stop Mob Vote With Propaganda Posters and More Than 220,000 Signatures

Since 2016, Mojang has been hosting an annual mob vote that lets players choose the next creature it adds to Minecraft. In recent years, though, players have grown increasingly unhappy with the tradition, and this year they've taken to "unionizing" to express their disappointment. Last Thursday, the team behind Minecraft revealed 2023's mob vote and its three options: a crab that drops claws that can boost a player's reach when placing blocks, an armadillo that drops scutes which can be crafted into wolf armor, and a penguin that boosts the speed of nearby boats. However, quite a few players have become disillusioned with the idea of a company as large as Mojang scrapping two of these already fleshed out ideas to focus on adding only...

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Activision Blizzard Shares Xbox Game Pass Plans, Leaves Door Open for Diablo IV on Game Pass in 2024

Activision Blizzard has given the first glimpse of their plans for Xbox Game Pass once the Microsoft deal has closed, saying they expect to start bringing their games to the service next year. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to close this Friday. Even still, in a statement on X/Twitter today, the company said not to expect titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Diablo IV to hit Game Pass this year. "As we continue to work toward regulatory approval of the Microsoft deal, we’ve been getting some questions whether our upcoming and recently launched games will be available via Game Pass," says the statement. "While we do not have plans to put Modern Warfare III or Diablo IV into Game Pass this year...

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The Best Aussie Amazon Prime Day 2 2023 Deals

Welcome back, shoppers, to the sequel to 2023's Amazon Prime Day—Amazon Prime Day 2. It's one of the biggest events this side of Boxing Day, to the point where it deserves a subtitle like ": Prime Harder" or possibly ": The Savening". Awful ideas aside, I've created an evolving list of excellent discounts that you should definitely bookmark and return to throughout this relatively short event. You've got until the end of October 11th to snag a bargain. One important note before we get to the best picks on Amazon devices, games, controllers, monitors, wireless headphones, SSDs, and much, much more. To take advantage of most of these deals, you're going to want to (freely) sign up for Amazon Prime. Additional incentive: said...

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Halo Infinite Season 5 Brings New Arena Maps and the Return of a Halo 4 Game Mode

Halo Infinite Season 5 is arriving just in time for the multiplayer's second anniversary and it's bringing a whole lot of new content and quality-of-life updates for players to sink their teeth into. The new season, Reckoning, is bringing new maps, modes, and a new battle pass with Flood-themed cosmetics when it launches on Oct. 18. Reckoning's biggest adds are its two Arena Maps, which are both completely new. Forbidden is a straight-forward, symmetrical map that prioritizes short and mid-range combat while Prism is set in the same mines where the Covenant harvests crystals for The Needler, one of the Halo franchise's most iconic weapons. It's also strewn with environmental hazards and old mining equipment and seems well-suited for...

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Gritty Action RPG, ASTRA: Knights of Veda, To Be Featured During Steam Next Fest (October 9th-16th)

ASTRA: Knights of Veda is a brand new 2D action RPG that was just announced by publisher HYBE IM and developer FLINT will participate in this year’s Steam Next Fest from October 9-16. The story-driven title was introduced at gamescom 2023 to over 2,000 players for limited playtesting, but now a full demo will be featured for all to try during Steam’s event. While you may not have heard of HYBE and its subsidiary HYBE IM before, the company is best known as a global entertainment lifestyle company. This is their first venture into game publishing. ASTRA: Knights of Veda is a 2D side-scroll type game with modern elements that promises engaging, real-time tactical combat against gargantuan beasts and relentless undead as well as 200...

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Game Reviews and The Impossible Problem of Bugs

When I reviewed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor back in April, I gave it a 9 after playing through its campaign on PlayStation 5 without major issues… only to wake up the next day to hear horror stories of the PC version performing terribly. (This gave me flashbacks to when the same thing happened with Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015). The same month, Luke Reilly had to hit Redfall hard in his review with a score of 4 after numerous bugs drained the lifeblood out of what was already not a great time. At a glance, this certainly could give the appearance of reviewers being inconsistent: why does one game with a reputation for bugs get raked over the coals while another “gets a pass?” Like so many other things it’s not nearly that simple, and to a...

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