Gaming News

Our Favorite Xbox Games of 2022 – Unlocked 575

Our last episode of 2022 focuses on our personal favorite Xbox games of the year. From the biggest AAA blockbusters to the smallest under-the-radar indies, these are the nine games we enjoyed the most on our Xboxes in 2022. Plus: Microsoft's latest salvo in the ongoing battle against the regulators AND Sony in the quest to get the Activision-Blizzard acquisition approved manages to make Sony look bad...but also doesn't make Microsoft look so hot either. We're off next week but back for 2023 starting on Wednesday, January 4. Happy holidays! 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 our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all...

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Aussie Deals: Seriously Reduced Stocking Stuffers and the Hottest AAAs from Holiday Sales!

If you're the gift-giving sort at the tail end of any year, your clock's running out. Mind you, practically any situation can be salvaged. We're living in the age of digital goods, express posted physical things, and the convenience of blaming one's inconveniences on a non-existent courier. (Great excuse to have on standby—use it wisely, my friend.) Alternatively, maybe just order something today from the list I've assembled below. From personal experience, Amazon are pretty damn quick. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Expiring Deals From Yesterday Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring Deals From Yesterday Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Expiring Deals...

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High on Life is Xbox Game Pass' Biggest Third-Party Launch Ever

High on Life has officially become Xbox Game Pass' biggest launch of 2022, the biggest third-party Game Pass launch ever, and the biggest single-player game launch on Game Pass of all time. The news was shared on Xbox Wire, and it was confirmed that these stats were "measured in terms of engagement, based on the number of hours played in the first five days of release." High on Life was developed by Squanch Games, the studio founded by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland. Roiland also appears in the game as the voice of Kenny the gun and more. “This was our first time launching a game with Game Pass,” said Mike Fridley, Studio Director and COO of Squanch Games, “and we’ve been blown away by the response from the players who...

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Risk of Rain Returns Announced as a Remake With 'Tons of New Content'

Gearbox and Hopoo Games announced Risk of Rain Returns, a remake of the original 2013 Risk of Rain game, for release on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2023. It will be built from the ground up to have enhanced visuals and new content. “Risk of Rain Returns takes everything we learned making Risk of Rain 2 and applies it to the original we created back in our dorm room,” says Hopoo Games co-founder Duncan Drummond in a statement. “As we chart our future as developers, it was important to us that we look back on our early work. Risk of Rain Returns is a small token of our appreciation to this incredible community. We hope everyone is as excited about the future as we are.” Risk of Rain Returns has an updated codebase and the developers...

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The Witcher Omnibus Volume 2 Announced by Dark Horse Comics

The Witcher franchise has expanded into pretty much every medium at this point, and that includes comic books. Dark Horse's various Witcher series serve to further flesh out the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, and the publisher is making it easier to get caught up on those stories with the release of a second Witcher Omnibus. Check out the striking cover art for The Witcher Omnibus Volume 2 below: The Witcher Omnibus Volume 2 is a 300-page softcover collection that gathers together three of Dark Horse's most miniseries - The Witcher: Of Flesh and Flame, The Witcher: Fading Memories and The Witcher: Witch’s Lament. The book also includes the short story "The Witcher: Once Upon a Time in the Woods," which originally debuted in Dark...

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Best USB Wi-Fi Adapter 2022

Many of our favorite devices come with Wi-Fi built-in, meaning all we need is a password and a nearby router and we’re off to the races. Unfortunately, for many desktops (and SOME other devices), you’ll need to bring your own Wi-Fi. USB Wi-Fi adapters allow you to convert your favorite USB-enabled devices into internet-surfing machines. Whether you are building a gaming PC, or supplementing a motherboard that doesn’t have built in connectivity, USB Wi-Fi adapters are great, inexpensive devices to get moving online. Plug them in (maybe download and install a driver) and you’re ready to go. With support for a wide range of speeds, and USB 3.0 compatibility (which we recommend using for the best results), there is something for everyone...

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Fans Played Magic: The Gathering on the Floor of a Machine Girl Concert

Warning: The video embedded in this article contains flashing images. If you do anything weird in public I will see it and I will ask for an explanation. It was true when people started recording gigs with a 3DS, when people started wearing suits to see The Minions, and it’s true now that two people decided to play Magic: The Gathering on the floor of a Machine Girl concert. The video, which is circulating feeds on both TikTok and Twitter, shows American electronic music duo Machine Girl on stage performing while two Planeswalkers wage an epic battle within Wizards of the Coast’s iconic card game. "I ran into the guy I was playing against in the merch line before the show and he was showing off some cool custom MTG cards he brought...

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Dark Forces: Classic Star Wars Shooter Gets 4K Overhaul Thanks to Fan Remaster

A classic Star Wars shooter has received a substantial overhaul thanks to The Force Engine, a fan project three years in the making. Pitched as a complete rewrite of LucasArts' Jedi Engine from the 90s, The Force Engine is effectively a 4K remaster of the original Dark Forces intended to replace the DosBox emulator used by the Steam version. While it retains support for the original 320x200 resolution, it's possible to crank Dark Forces all the way up to 4K. It even includes support for ultrawide displays. In addition to the improved graphics, Dark Forces also adds a whole of modern conveniences including full mouselook, an aiming reticle, and a new save system. Naturally, all of these features can be disabled or simply ignored for...

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Epic Games Fined More Than $500 Million Over Fortnite's 'Unfair' Microtransaction Practices

Epic Games will have to pay $520 million over "design tricks...to dupe millions of players into making unintentional purchases" in Fortnite, the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] announced today. The fine stems from what the FTC calls two separate "record-breaking" settlements. One is a $275 million fine for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection [COPPA] rule, which imposes limitations on websites and online services directed to children under 13-years-old. Epic will also have to pay $245 million in refunds to customers over its "dark patterns." According to the FTC, Fortnite uses "privacy-invasive default settings" and "deceptive interfaces" that "tricked" players. "Protecting the public, and especially children, from...

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Pole Model: How Namco’s Pole Position Revolutionised Racing

Namco’s Pole Position is one of the most influential racing games ever made. It was a true trailblazer and an ’80s arcade titan. Four decades down the track, however, and the primitive buzz of its wailing engines has become a distant whimper. Indeed, its 40th anniversary just zipped by with barely a blip. And that’s just too bad, because before Out Run, before Ridge Racer – and before Hard Drivin’, Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and all the racers we consider the current kingpins of the driving genre today – there was Pole Position. In the very beginning, racing arcade games were electro-mechanical – similar in spirit to the video games that would later usurp them, but driven by physical components. Early examples like 1941’s...

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How Dead Space Aims to Redefine Survival Horror - IGN First

Dead Space returns in 2023 after a decade-long hiatus. But the remake will arrive to a landscape very different from the one it left; terror has become a big business, and once-niche survival horror games are now booming. Resident Evil has recaptured its glory, Silent Hill is returning from the grave, and numerous terrifying indies have captured the imagination of players and streamers across the globe. Where the original Dead Space was somewhat of a gamble for distinctly mainstream publisher EA back in 2008, the remake is practically a sure-fire hit in 2023. As part of this month’s Dead Space-focused IGN First, we sat down with members of EA Motive to explore how the original Dead Space changed survival horror, why the genre is so...

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The Witcher 3 Gets PC Hotfix to Address Next-Gen Update's Stability Issues

CD Projekt Red has released a hotfix for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on PC to address the issues created with the launch of its 4.0 next gen update. Brief patch notes on the game's Steam page state the fix "should improve overall stability and performance" and that CD Projekt Red is still "working on further improving the experience on all platforms". Though the patch notes don't get any more specific, PC users had reported significant frame rate drops, slow texture and model rendering, and various other issues with the long awaited next-gen update that arrived on December 14. CD Projekt Red global community director Marcin Momot also shared news of the hotfix on Twitter (above), revealing that it requires a 3GB update on Stem and a...

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Aussie Deals: Below $40 for FIFA 23, Horizon FW and Uncharted LoT, Up to 37% off Controllers and More!

Welcome to the last working week before Xmas. To those of you about to shop now, I salute you. You've opted for the Dark Souls version of gift procurement—tempted fate into casting you in some sort of hellish, real-life Jingle All the Way. Hopefully, the Turbo Man doll you need resides in the links I've prepared below. If not, maybe a less-than-ideal Booster doll substitute that won't disappoint the recipient too much. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays at ludicrous difficulties on YouTube...

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After Steam Deck, Valve Wants Another Shot at the Steam Controller

Initially released in 2015, Valve's Steam Controller was discontinued after four years. But after the Steam Deck's recent success, it's likely that Valve might revive the controller in the near future. In an interview with The Verge, Steam Deck designers Lawrence Yang and Pierre-Loup Griffais discussed the future of Valve's hardware. When asked about a possible second Steam Controller, Yang stated that the Valve team is hoping to make one. "Yeah, we want to make it happen," he said. "It's just a question of how and when." However, it seems that Valve's attention is focused on the Steam Deck for now. “I think it’s likely that we’ll explore that because it’s something we wanted as well," Yang continued. "Right now, we’re focusing on...

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Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for December 16-20

The galaxy's preeminent garage sale magnate, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further. Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians. We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP. Where Is Xûr Today? Xûr's...

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Dead Space: How a Single Scene Was Created - IGN First

The Dead Space remake is a faithful recreation of the 2008 sci-fi horror classic. Well, mostly faithful. EA Motive has seized the opportunity to improve on the original, and so some sequences play out differently than you remember. An early example is the moment in which protagonist Isaac Clarke watches a corpse transform into a necromorph for the first time. To find out how the new version of this sequence was created, we spoke to several members of the Dead Space team to explore their roles in bringing the moment to life. As with every individual moment in every video game, the final result is the product of people working together. This IGN First video reveals how multiple people across several different departments combined their...

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World of Warcraft Veteran Chris Metzen Rejoins Development Team

Blizzard has announced that Chris Metzen, a veteran Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo designer, has returned to the company as a creative advisor after several years away. In a post on the World of Warcraft website, Warcraft general manager John Hight said “It is with great joy that I announce Chris Metzen has joined the Warcraft Leadership Team as Creative Advisor. Chris’s focus initially will be on World of Warcraft, then his work will expand to other projects across this growing franchise. “Chris was one of the original team members working on the Warcraft universe back when it began in 1994, and we are so happy to be reuniting him with the world he helped create.” Metzen left Blizzard in 2016 after an almost 23-year career with...

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Horizon Multiplayer Game Confirmed By Guerrilla

Guerrilla has confirmed that it is working on a multiplayer game set in the Horizon universe, and that it will feature a brand new cast of characters and a new art style. In a job advertisement post on Twitter, the Amsterdam-based studio revealed that “a new internal team is developing a separate Online Project set in Horizon’s universe.” “Featuring a new cast of characters and a unique stylized look, friends will be able to explore the majestic milds of Horizon together,” it said. A rumour suggesting a multiplayer Horizon game surfaced earlier this year, but this is the first time that Guerrilla has confirmed such plans for the machine-hunting series. The job listings provide a little more context. The narrative designer for the...

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Street Fighter 6: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Fighting game fans rejoice: Street Fighter 6 is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on June 2, 2023. It will be available in two editions, with a starting price of $59.99. SF6, as it's lovingly known, is available to preorder at all the usual retailers (see it at Amazon). Below, we break down what comes in each edition, how much it costs, where it’s available, what preorder bonuses to expect, and more. Street Fighter 6 - Standard Edition PS5 Get it at Amazon - $59.99 Get it at Best Buy - $59.99 Get it at GameStop - $59.99 Get it at Walmart - $59.99 Get it at PS Store (digital) - $59.99 PS4 Get it at Amazon - $59.99 Get it at Best Buy - $59.99 Get it at GameStop - $59.99 Get it at Walmart - $59.99 Xbox Series X|S Get...

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High on Life Review

They say that tragedy + time = comedy, but in gaming the real tragedy is the amount of time we have to wait between quality comedy games. Thankfully, in the opening moments of High on Life, as my talking gun belittlingly whispered to me that I was doing a great job as I shot dancing aliens in the face, I got the feeling I’d struck gold. While it has bugs and performance hitches and occasionally frolics in unimpressive toilet humor, it largely succeeds at being the type of absurd space satire I’ve always wanted. Whether I was chatting with my shotgun about the merits of science and formulas, covering myself in alien poop to sneak into a secure facility, or inexplicably watching a full live-action movie from the ‘90s on nearby television...

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Death Stranding Movie in the Works From Kojima Productions and Barbarian's Hammerstone Studios

Hideo Kojima's Kojima Productions has partnered with Barbarian executive producer Alex Lebovici's Hammerstone Studios to develop and produce a movie based on Death Stranding. As reported by Deadline, the film is being fully financed by Hammerstone Studios and Kojima and Lebovici will serve as producers on the project. Kojima Productions US and Allan Ungar will take on the role of executive producers. “I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership with Hammerstone Studios,” said Kojima. “This is a pivotal moment for the franchise and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with them in bringing DEATH STRANDING to the big screen.” “We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to partner with brilliant and iconic...

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The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Includes a Wild Easter Egg Relating to Cyberpunk 2077's Biggest Mystery

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's next-gen update includes a bizarre Easter Egg relating to Cyberpunk 2077's biggest mystery. YouTuber xLetalis, who has discovered just about every other Easter Egg and secret hidden within The Witcher 3, posted a new video that outlines how to uncover the mystery and how it relates to a Cyberpunk 2077 secret that still has players scrambled more than two years after the game launched. The mystery - known as FF:06:B5 - revolves around a complicated set of numbers that appear within Cyberpunk's Night City. This particular number kicks things off as it's found on a statue worshipped by monks, and later connects to a handful of other numbers hidden throughout the city. CD Projekt Red has now seemingly...

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PlayStation Reveals 5 Japanese-Developed Launch Games for PS VR2

Sony has unveiled five Japanese-developed games including The Tale of Onogoro and Fantasvision 202X coming to the PlayStation VR2 at launch. Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, the games are the latest to join the PS VR2's launch line-up on February 22. The Tale of Onogoro is a cooperative action game that sees the player join forces with Hal, a shrine maiden who embarks on a journey to stop the five raging Kami living on Onogori Island. Teamwork is essential as the player must solve riddles and battle with Hal while sharing health. Fantavision 202X is a remake of the original PlayStation 2 game, bringing back the bright and colourful firework-themed puzzles in the world of virtual reality. Also coming on launch day is Altair Breaker...

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Resident Evil Village’s VR Mode Launches February 22 as Free DLC

Resident Evil Village's virtual reality mode will arrive as free DLC on February 22, the same day as the PlayStation VR2 launches. Anyone that owns the original version of Resident Evil Village on PlayStation 5 will therefore be able to download and play the update for free if they also own the PS VR2. The VR mode was first announced in June and will support the entire campaign of Resident Evil Village. "A deeper and more captivating adventure awaits with PlayStation VR2, as Ethan Winters’ journey takes full advantage of the headset’s advanced features," reads Capcom's official synopsis. "VR Mode utilizes the 4K HDR display, eye tracking, and 3D audio to make Resident Evil Village more realistic and intense than ever. "Soak in the...

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The Witcher 3's Next-Gen Changes Signal Good Things for Series’ Future

CD Projekt Red is back to over-delivering. Though its player trust took a hit following the turbulent launch of Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s free next-gen update is a return to form, with the effort put into improving an already amazing game signalling good things for the series’ future. What could’ve been a simple PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series port with spruced up graphics and a $20 price tag instead became a self-reflective mission for CD Projekt Red, as the developer went back to the drawing board to truly try and improve The Witcher 3. Anyone who bought the physical editions of The Witcher 2 or 3 in the past will remember the bundle of extra goodies they came with (such as soundtrack CDs and maps), and CD Projekt Red...

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High on Life Is a Blast – Unlocked 574

High on Life has arrived, and it closes out Xbox Game Pass's 2022 on a high note! We rave about Justin Roiland's comedy-FPS and discuss what we love about it. Plus: we share our frustration about Xbox's no-show at The Game Awards last week, and why we feel like it was the straw that broke the camel's back for many Xbox fans. 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 our interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase: 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...

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The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Chapter II - Retribution Review

When it comes to VR survival horror games, you can’t get much better than a nice handful of walker guts to make your mornings pass a bit more smoothly. At least, that’s how things work in this post-apocalyptic version of New Orleans, which serves as the setting for 2020’s exceptional The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and its brand-new sequel, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution. That’s a mouthful of a name, pun intended, and yet it’s less of a sequel in practice and more a perfectly serviceable standalone expansion to the original. Rather, it would be, if not for a series of sizeable and often game-breaking bugs that – when combined with the struggling computational power of the Meta Quest 2 – frequently make...

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Aussie Deals: Save $470 on Racing Sims, $760 off 2K Megahits, $660 off Sid Meier's Best and More!

The deals basically speak for themselves today, folks. Humble has hooked up with some AAA publishers and together they're offering you hundreds upon hundreds of dollarydoos off. Pick your poison and (hopefully) spend a week or two off work/school, decking your halls with these bounteous hauls. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Great Deals From Yesterday Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays at ludicrous difficulties on YouTube. Continue...

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's Next-Gen Update Causing Major Performance Issues for Some PC Players

Developer CD Projekt Red just pushed its next-gen update live for The Witcher 3, but the upgrade seems to be doing a bit more harm than good for some PC players. After today's free next-gen update, PC players are reporting significant frame rate drops and bizarre texture and model rendering throughout The Witcher 3. Posts over on The Witcher subreddit commonly reference hardware chugging along, but it doesn't seem like Geralt's adventure is simply fixed by expensive upgrades—plenty of users with high-end graphics cards report the same issues. Some frame rate woes include drops below 60fps on cards from NVIDIA's 30 Series, noting performance pre-update outpaced The Witcher 3's latest version. Those complaints appear relatively...

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Tesla Model X and S Get Full Steam Integration

The library of games that you can play while sitting in a parked motor vehicle just expanded massively, as Tesla Model X and S now have full Steam integration. In a tweet yesterday from the official Tesla account, we saw Cyberpunk 2077 running on a Tesla, as well as a user browsing the Steam library via a touchscreen. Release notes offer further details, suggesting that any game that's been verified for a Steam Deck will work on Tesla, and you can use cloud synchronization to pick up where you left off on other devices. That means there are over 6000 games compatible. Previously, Tesla has integrated games like 1991's Sonic the Hedghog, various classic Atari games, and Cuphead into Teslas, but it's been teasing more powerful games...

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