Starfield's highly anticipated launch is just around the corner, poised for release in the upcoming weeks, and reviews will be flying in hot on August 31. Fans can't wait to get their hands on the game, and the good news is: you can play Starfield early if you choose your preorder wisely. In case you didn't catch the announcement during the Xbox Summer Showcase, those who opt for the Premium Edition of Starfield will enjoy the privilege of playing the game ahead of the official release by a remarkable five to six days.
How to Play Starfield Five Days Early
Preorders are now available for Starfield, and for those eager to dive into the game ahead of time by five to six days, the Starfield Premium Edition is the ideal choice. This...
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Thank your own personal deity — possibly Doshin the Giant — it's Friday. There's not much of a theme going on here today. Just insanely cheap things to keep you well stocked in explosions and XP grinding this weekend. In case I don't see you, stay safe, save often, and catch you Monday.
This Day in Gaming
Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) 2012. Sequel
Table of Contents
Nintendo Switch
PC
Xbox
PlayStation
Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch
Expiring Deals From Yesterday
Hardware Watch
How much to make the switch to Switch?
Back to top
Purchase Cheaply for PC
Expiring Deals From Yesterday
Hardware Watch
Slay your pile of shame.
Back to top
Exciting Bargains for Xbox...
Activision has fully taken the wraps off Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which it is billing as a "direct sequel" to 2022's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
In addition to loads of new information about the campaign, the return of Zombies, and classic maps, Activision also released a dozen new screenshots from across Modern Warfare III. You can check them out below.
Activision's release includes the first details on Zombies, which was previously confirmed for Modern Warfare III in a trailer tease. The new mode is described as an "all-new open world" in which players can team up to fight the Zombie hordes in the "largest Call of Duty zombies maps ever."
The new mode superficially resembles an updated version of Outbreak, a popular...
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (the 2023 edition, anyway) is set to release for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on November 10. Publisher Activision promises this latest in stallment in the long-running FPS franchise includes an exciting new campaign, lots of multiplayer maps, and the largest Zombies map ever. The game will be available in two separate editions, both of which are available to preorder now on all platforms.
Read on for the details.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Standard Edition)
PS5
Get it at Best Buy - $69.99
Get it at GameStop - $69.99
Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99
PS4 (includes PS5 copy)
Get it at Best Buy - $69.99
Get it at GameStop - $69.99
Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99
Xbox...
Yesterday, Larian Studios outlined its current roadmap for patches and hotfixes and rolled out its latest, Hotfix #4. But, after that hotfix started causing crashes, the studio quickly undid the move.
So today, there’s some good news: not only has Larian redeployed Hotfix #4, but it’s also vowed to learn from the experience and change the way it rolls out fixes in the future, it said in a new Steam post today.
As Larian originally explained, “a build error” caused new crashes with the implementation of Hotfix #4. However, once they rolled the hotfix back, “players who had downloaded hotfix 4 were unable to continue from their hotfix 4 saves once we had rolled back the patch,” Larian said in today’s post.
“While this is not ok...
Today we (and reviewers everywhere) take our first steps and/or giant leaps into Starfield, one of the biggest and most anticipated games in a year full of huge, highly anticipated games. If all goes according to plan I'll have a review to post for you on August 31 at 9am Pacific time – which, if you're counting down, is the day before it launches for those willing to shell out for for a fancy edition preorder, and a week before it launches on Game Pass on September 6.
This is, by all accounts, a massive game (including the great big 100GB+ download size that you can preload on Xbox starting today), but with nearly two weeks to spend roaming this unexplored region of space I'm feeling pretty confident about being able to see the...
Remedy has announced a 10-day delay for the hotly anticipated Alan Wake 2. It was due out October 17, but will now launch October 27.
In a statement, Remedy said October was packed with game launches and wanted to give players more space to play everything.
“October is an amazing month for game launches and we hope this date shift gives more space for everyone to enjoy their favorite games,” Remedy said.
Alan Wake 2 was set to launch the same week as Insomniac’s sure-to-be massive PlayStation exclusive Spider-Man 2. Back in 2010, launch sales of the first Alan Wake suffered due to launching in the same week as Rockstar’s behemoth Red Dead Redemption.
October 2023 also sees the launch of Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport, Ubisoft’s...
Tintin Returns in His Most Faithful Adaptation Yet: Tintin Reporter – Cigars of the Pharaoh Hands-On
It’s pretty surprising that it’s been over a decade since the iconic comic series, The Adventures of Tintin, has appeared in games – the goofy characters, larger-than-life adventures, and adorable sidekick dog seem like they’d make for the ultimate all-ages adventure game. But this is a missed opportunity that developer Pendulo Studios plans on correcting with its upcoming video game adaptation of the classic story: Cigars of the Pharaoh, and from the hour I played so far, it’s incredibly impressive just how faithful and enjoyable that adaptation is shaping up to be. Whether it’s the cartoonish and colorful environments, creative puzzles, or memorable minigames, this is definitely one for adventure game fans to keep a close eye on...
GameMill Entertainment and AMC have announced a new game in The Walking Dead universe called The Walking Dead: Destinies. It's a third-person, narrative-driven action-adventure game in which your choices can reshape the story of seasons 1-4 of the hit TV show. It's in development for all major platforms (PC via Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch).
You begin by playing as Rick Grimes and visit key locations from the show, such as the Greene farm, the prison, Woodbury, and Atlanta. GameMill promises that you'll be able to "weave your own path through serires' events" when you come to certain key choice moments that can determine who lives and who dies, with those choices potentially differing from how things played out on the...
Startup game development house Eon Rush Studios has announced its first game, which shares the name of the studio: Eon Rush. It's a co-op action RPG in which players "will battle across different eras of science-fiction and fantasy." It's in development for PC (via Steam).
Players must fight to destroy the Chronophage, a monster that consumes time itself and devours entire realms. An early-build demo will be available to play at Gamescom. Check out the announcement trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.
The Eon Rush developers, whose CVs include the Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Pokemon franchises, claim that "Eon Rush combines the best of endgame PvE and PvP thrills, skipping the filler and getting straight into...
You know those circus performers who contort their bodies in terrifying ways for our squeamish amusement? Blasphemous 2 is a lot like those gifted weirdos – impressive and mesmerizing in that “I just can’t look away” kind of way that’s best watched between the fingers covering your grimacing face. While this sequel definitely doesn’t break any ground in the world of 2D Metroidvanias that the original didn’t, the unique and fantastic art, music, style, and story make an otherwise orthodox adventure extremely memorable. An awesome new arsenal of weapons and an increased focus on platforming and light puzzles make this 14-hour odyssey a lot less repetitive than its predecessor, too.
From the jump, you’ll hack and slash your way through...
The creator of an eye-catching Grand Theft Auto 5 mod that promised a living, AI-powered story mode has admitted defeat after Take-Two hauled the mod offline.
Only this week IGN reported on the Sentient Streets mod, which lets players interact with over 30 AI-powered NPCs, each with a unique voice from AI text-to-speech and voice cloning website ElevenLabs. The mod is designed for players to have open-ended, voiced conversations with cult members, police officers, and civilians.
But its creator, Bloc, announced Take-Two had issued a copyright claim on their YouTube video showing off the mod and had the mod removed from NexusMods. Even Bloc’s account on Netlify, which was used to host the installation guide for the mod, was suspended...
Baldur’s Gate 3 modders continue to do good work, this time with the addition of WASD controls and camera tweaks.
On PC using a mouse and keyboard, Baldur’s Gate 3 provides a high perspective of the action from which you click on the part of the world you want your character to move to. Playing with a controller on PC, or on Steam Deck, changes the UI, controls, and shifts the camera perspective into action RPG territory, but mouse and keyboard players do not have this option.
As spotted by PC Gamer, modder Ch4nKyy added WASD movement to Baldur’s Gate 3. This, in combination with Ershin's Native Camera Tweaks mod, makes Baldur’s Gate 3 look and feel like playing a PC MMO. A video from YouTube channel dimetequiero shows how well it...
Hyenas is a “challenging” title, Sega has admitted. In a just-released transcript of a financial briefing held on August 1, Sega responded to a question asking for an update on Hyenas, the hero-based multiplayer shooter from Creative Assembly’s Alien Isolation team.
“We are unable to talk about this title because the details have not yet been announced at this time,” Sega said. “As this is a challenging title, we are striving to improve its quality towards the release on the front line of development. We are also making final adjustments to its business model in parallel.”
Hyenas, announced last summer, resurfaced on August 16 with a new gameplay trailer, below, showing chaotic, zero-G heist action. Hyenas is described as a...
If you’re planning to preload Starfield on PC, be warned: the game weighs in at just under 140 GB.
According to https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/p/9NTFM8RXLJF9/0017, the Windows PC version of Bethesda’s sci-fi role-playing game is approximately 139.84 GB. It’s a smaller install on Xbox Series X and S: 126.1 GB.
Starfield preloading begins today, August 17 on Xbox Series X and S, and Windows PC, well ahead of the official September 6 release date. But Steam users can’t preload until August 30. The Starfield Steam page still says players will need 125 GB of available storage space.
Starfield is perhaps the most anticipated video game release in recent memory and has therefore captured the attention of fans in some wild and...
Embracer Group has said the Lord of the Rings intellectual property (IP) is performing “well ahead” of the business plan it set out when it bought the franchise in 2022.
Money generated by Middle-earth Enterprises grew significantly after “strong” licensing revenue for The Lord of the Rings, Embracer said in its financial report for the three months ending June 30.
In June, Embracer stressed the importance of "exploiting Lord of the Rings in a very significant fashion" by turning it into “one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world”.
The comments came amid a costly restructure of the gargantuan game business, which announced plans to cancel in-development projects, shut studios, and lay off an unspecified number of staff.
In...
We're getting short-time for a number of big 2023 releases, folks. The moon-sized one on the horizon is obviously Starfield, Bethesda's first new IP in ages. There's also the giant-robot-sized Armored Core VI, From's first entry in said series since its Elden Ring GOTY showering. I, for one, am keen to see what all the success, learning (and presumably increased dev budget) will yield for this. I also want to just paint a huge bipedal machine in Eva Unit 01 colours and stomp fools into the dirt. That'd mech my day nicely.
This Day in Gaming
Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) 2012. Sequel
Table of Contents
Nintendo Switch
PC
Xbox
PlayStation
Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch
Expiring...
Big-time Xbox exclusive FPS STALKER 2 has a rumored release date that's coming up soon...but do we believe it? We discuss the rumor. Plus: we engage in a lengthy discussion about Xbox's new eight-strike behavior-enforcement system for Xbox Live, go over the great Xbox Game Pass lineup leading up to Starfield's release, 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 interview with Todd Howard, who discussed the realization of his vision for Starfield after eight years, how Red Dead Redemption 2 was something of an inspiration, what his future holds, and more!
For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our...
As the release date for Starfield draws near, Bethesda Game Studios recently held a Q&A on its Discord server where Starfield's Lead Quest Designer Will Shen and Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo answered 16 questions fans had about the upcoming sci-fi action RPG.
If you missed the Q&A session, IGN attended and found ten new things we learned during the Starfield developer Q&A, which you can check out below.
There Are Over 20 Companions in Starfield
Similar to previous Bethesda RPGs, Starfield will have companions you can recruit, but little is known about them so far. Fortunately, the developer Q&A confirmed that “over 20 named characters” can join you in your adventures.
While the names were not revealed, we did learn from the Q&A...
Larian Studios has revealed the preload times and release schedule for the PS5 version of Baldur’s Gate 3, ahead of its full PlayStation release on Sept. 6 early next month.
Per a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from Larian Studios, players who have payed for the $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be able to begin preloading the game on Aug. 31 starting at 16:00 UTC, and will be able to jump into the game at the same time on Sept. 2 courtesy of early access.
Meanwhile, those who have pre-ordered the $69.99 Standard Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be able to begin preloading starting at 16:00 UTC on Sept. 4, in preparation of the RPG’s full PS5 release on Sept. 6, once again at 16:00 UTC.
Back in July...
Shell Ultimate Road Trips encourages you to take photographs and share online using the hashtag #ShellRoadTrips.
There's more to Fortnite than battle royale quests, skins and emotes. Shell Ultimate Road Trips bring V-Power® NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline-fueled driving adventures to the Fortnite Creative building platform. Players can explore and take a break from surviving the shrinking storm to explore Shell island, which offers six exotic fan-made biomes to visit. Shell Ultimate Road Trips gives you the road trip experience without ever having to leave the comfort of air conditioning. Just use the Shell Island code 0314-6322-8548 to add the map to your playlist and hit the dusty trail.
Shell Ultimate Road Trips' biomes are designed by...
One of the key elements of any good soulslike is good enemy design. Imagine Demon's Souls without the Mind Flayers, Bloodborne without the vicious werewolves that roam the streets of Yhanam, Dark Souls without those wheel skeletons... I actually I did imagine that last one, and that actually sounds kind of nice. The point is, imposing beasties and nasties are at the heart of this genre, and Lords of the Fallen is full of horrific denizes that reside in both Axiom and Umbral. Wanna see? Look no further than down below as we break down a handful of enemies that you'll be facing up against in Lords of the Fallen.
Avowed
Laymen of the order, the next step for most pilgrims if they are successful in their efforts to join the Hallowed...
Our small group of survivors enters the medical room together. “I’ve never seen how the testing machine works,” I say to the others in the room, my words piped into their ears by proximity voice chat, “is it alright if I try it out?” One of the more experienced group members says, “Sure,” then another player hops onto the testing table.
I press the button to begin the test and the old-fashioned computer begins to process. When it’s finished, a giant “Infected!” warning appears on the screen, visible only to me. “It says he’s clean,” I lie, and the group begins to disperse. My Infected partner gets up from the table and each of us follows a different Innocent player from the room, ready to kill them as soon as we are out of earshot of...
Call of Duty fans are unearthing new information on Modern Warfare 3 via a secret mobile number, confirming a Zombies mode and remakes of classic Modern Warfare 2 maps.
Call of Duty YouTuber MrDalekJD tweeted to show how texting the word “zombies” to the number spotted in the Modern Warfare 3 reveal trailer sparks a reply with a zombie emoji and a link to a zombie audio file hosted on Activision’s website.
Modern Warfare 3 is the first Modern Warfare game to include Zombies mode as until now, developer Infinity Ward has focused on the Spec Ops mode for PvE, leaving Zombies to Treyarch’s Black Ops sub brand.
But in a post-Warzone world the Call of Duty sub brands have sort of mashed together, and with pretty much every...
It’s August and the only game I’ve consistently played is Baldur’s Gate 3. I can’t stop thinking about progressing in my multiple campaigns, unraveling new secrets and areas, and even determining which character best suits a specific conversation. And as someone who’s unsuccessfully tried numerous times to play tabletop D&D because of a lack of interest, I was initially apprehensive about playing the video game version. Thankfully I’ve never been more wrong.
I have three campaigns I’m currently running – a Storm Sorcerer obsessed with the arcane, a Paladin who ironically broke his oath merely 30 minutes into his adventures, and a charismatic Bard who is very eager to let Astarion continue to bite his neck. With every decision I make...
Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn has taken to Twitter to apologize to players for the standard of Bungie's poorly received August State of the Game post, and to outline changes coming to the live action multiplayer shooter.
“A few weeks ago we put out a State of the Game communication that wasn’t up to our standards for what you all expect of those kinds of communications,” said the Destiny 2 game director in a 16-minute Twitter (X) video addressing the Destiny community. “It didn’t provide the high level of vision that we normally provide, and really and truly a bunch of us were heads down working The Final Shape, and wern’t able to give it the care and love that we normally put into these kinds of communications.”
While some...
Starfield preloading begins well ahead of launch as Bethesda has revealed some players can download and install the game starting tomorrow, August 17.
A tweet from the developer (below) confirmed the previously rumoured date, with Xbox Series X and S, and Windows PC players able to preload Starfield on August 17 and Steam users able to preload on August 30.
This means players can have the epic sci-fi RPG ready to go the moment it launches fully on September 6. Assuring fans this release date is for real (after two delays to the game), Bethesda also confirmed Starfield has gone gold, meaning the launch version of the game is officially finished and ready for release day.
Starfield is perhaps the most anticipated video game release...
Nothing loves the history, spirit, and concept of territory-era professional wrestling like Mega Cat Studios’ WrestleQuest. Every line of dialogue and pixel of art pays effusive homage to the colorful grapplers of yesteryear that is borderline saccharine, but witty writing and some fun characters dilute all the sweetness and prevent it from becoming too much to bear. It’s also clear that WrestleQuest absolutely loves old-school, turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy, but in the case of the slow-paced combat, plodding dungeons, and basic usability features that haven’t kept pace with recent decades of game design, I wish it loved contemporary role-playing games a bit more.
You could also call Toy Story another heavy influence for...
Sony has revealed the games set to leave the PS Plus Extra Catalog over the next month.
As spotted by redditor NoLastNameForNow, eight games are flagged as leaving PS Plus on September 19, and one leaves August 31.
The eight leaving September 19 are:
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands – Standard Edition
Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs 2
Death end re;Quest 2
Deathloop
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Through the Darkest of Times
Nidhogg 2
Leaving on August 31 is Steep.
If you’re playing through any of the games on this list as part of the PS+ Extra catalog, now’s your warning they leave soon.
Meanwhile, Tekken 2 and other PlayStation classics can now finally be bought on PlayStation 5. As spotted by ResetEra user Bishop89, Tekken 2, Ridge Racer...
This year's Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the musical and military performance taking place in Scotland, featured Final Fantasy 7's anti-military opening mission theme.
As reported by Eurogamer, the performance featured the ironic rendition of composer Nobuo Uematsu's Opening - Bombing Mission, which is played in the original Final Fantasy 7 as the game's protagonists arrive to blow up an energy reactor.
The song is obviously anti-military, given the game is about fighting against the evil megacorporation Shinra and its military group Soldier. The clip was shared on Reddit by Roshi20, and while many in the comments expressed their excitement at hearing the iconic tune, the irony wasn't lost either.
"Military marching band playing...