Dota 2's long-awaited Patch 7.31 will likely be launching in late February or early March
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[Update #2]: Dota 2's Update 7.31 has added the Primal Beast hero, reworked Techies and rebalanced all jungle creeps.
[Update]: It's official, Patch 7.31 will be launching on February 23, 2022!
With the meta now being firmly entrenched, at least on the ranked ladder, we're mostly stuck watching the same heroes and strategies get played over and over again. So while it might not be a bad one by any stretch, Dota 2's current patch is starting to feel a bit old in the tooth.
If you share that sentiment, you'll be quite happy to hear that a big meta shakeup is just around the corner! According to the most recent announcement, Dota 2's Patch 7.31 will be launching "soon after" the Dota Pro Circuit regional finals end.
Rainbow Six Siege's co-op focused spin-off Extraction has now been unleashed
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If you're a fan of Rainbow Six Siege's gameplay but don't feel quite so enthusiastic about the merciless PvP environment, you might be interested to hear that the co-op focused Rainbow Six Extraction has now arrived. Extraction brings with it a series of co-op focused missions where you and your fellow players will get to utilize a variety of operators, gadgets and weapons to defeat ever-evolving alien parasites. A bit of an unexpected twist for the Rainbow Six series, but certainly an interesting idea!
Since the focus in Extraction is firmly placed on the action, allow me to share with you one of the most recent gameplay previews. It should give you a pretty good idea of what the aliens are all about, how you can blast them to pieces, as well as whether Extraction is even your type of game. Have a peek:
The upcoming Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem now has a lengthy, shotgun-powered gameplay preview
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[Update]: Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem has now arrived, and so far it's looking like a shorter and slightly improved version of Serious Sam 4.
Developed by a group of Serious Sam modders under the newly formed Timelock Studio, the upcoming Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is a standalone expansion for Serious Sam 4. As you might expect, this means that Siberian Mayhem will bring with it hordes upon hordes of enemies to gun down, a variety of over-the-top weapons to do it with, as well as a bunch of massive maps to meander around in.
What all of this looks like in actual gameplay, however, that you can find out through the freshly posted and rather lengthy developer preview. Have a gander:
MTG Arena's Innistrad: Midnight Hunt & Crimson Vow double feature draft is coming on January 28th
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[Update #2]: MTG Arena's cyberpunk themed Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will be landing on February 10, 2022.
[Update]: MTG Arena's January update has now brought with it the Double Feature draft, as well as a whole bunch of bans and Alchemy-based balance changes.
If you're looking for something to help pass the time before Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty arrives in February, you might be interested to hear that the Innistrad Double Feature draft is set to launch on January 28th. As the name would imply, the Innistrad Double Feature draft will combine the werewolf-heavy Midnight Hunt set with the more vampire focused Crimson Vow for a bit of a unique draft experience.
Packs will contains one rare from each set (so two rares total), as well as an assortment of random cards from both sets. Considering how there is a great degree of synergy between some of the limited mechanics, especially with things like Blood tokens and Flashback cards, this should be a fairly high powered format and hopefully a much more balanced draft environment than either individual set.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, newest digital adaptation of the popular card game, has now arrived
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If you ever wanted to dive into Yu-Gi-Oh! and have as even of a playing field as possible, the freshly released Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is probably your best bet. It features a free-to-play system that lets you acquire a solid collection over time, over 10,000 unique cards to mess around with, a variety of game modes and events, and most importantly of all, it's still brand new so you can easily compete with the rest of the playerbase.
What all of this looks like in actual gameplay, that you can get a sneak peek at through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander:
The Closed Beta for Ubisoft's big The Settlers reboot has now officially begun
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[Update]: I have some bad news to deliver - The Settlers reboot has now been postponed due to negative beta feedback.
After many teasers and just as many delays, Ubisoft's big The Settlers reboot has now finally been pinned for a March 17, 2022 release date. If you would like to give it a try ahead of time and see if it's your kind of game, however, you'll also be pleased to hear that that Ubisoft is currently running a free Closed Beta!
The Closed Beta will last until 10am CET on January 24th, during which time you'll be able to play around with two of the factions (Elari & Maru) on two different Skirmish maps in both 1v1 and 2v2 game modes. Best of all, you'll be able to play with and against other players or AI, so regardless of your preference you should have a pretty good time.
Humankind's very first DLC has added six new African cultures, as well as new events and wonders
- By Ash
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Given the importance of unique cultures to Humankind's replayability, it should come as little surprise to hear that the very first DLC has focused almost entirely on adding new ones. To be more specific, the freshly released Cultures of Africa DLC brings with it six new cultures spread across six eras, as well as new events and wonders to further help spice things up.
As for which cultures have been added, and what sort of gameplay style they specialize in, that you can find out through the brief rundown below. Have a look: