Blizzard has released a brief preview for World of Warcraft's upcoming Nighthold raid
- By Ash
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With Patch 7.1.5 and World of Warcraft: Legion's third raid right around the corner, Blizzard has decided to do a bit of a preview showcasing the challenges that lie ahead. So if you're interested in learning more about the bosses that inhabit the Nighthold, and don't mind the slight spoilers that come with such revelations, head on over to the official blog.
Perhaps the most interesting piece of information there is that unlike most other raids that are designed to be as dreary and gloomy as possible, the Nighthold has been built from the ground up with the image of grand palace in mind - a rather stark contrast to the dreary gloominess of the Emerald Nightmare. Or as the developers themselves put it:
Ghost Recon Wildlands' recent trailer is a story about cats, laser pointers, and snipers
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When it comes to trailers the only ones I really care about are the ones that showcase long stretches of uncut gameplay, for obvious reasons, but there are occasionally some that catch my eye purely due to how different they are. The one I would like to show off today falls firmly in that second category because it doesn't dwell on the "super serious" aspects of Ghost Recon Wildlands, but instead focuses on a bit of dark comedy with cats, laser pointers, and a high-powered sniper rifle.
Before you dive in, however, its probably worth mentioning that the video has as many logical flaws as its run-time has seconds, so don't fry your brain trying to figure out why someone is sniping in broad daylight with an easily-visible laser sight. That glaring recommendation aside, here's the cat video you came for:
Awesome Games Done Quick, a charity orientated speedrunning marathon, is currently underway
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If you have a desire to watch your favorite games get absolutely demolished, all in the name of charity, you might want to tune into the Awesome Games Done Quick 2017 Twitch stream. And if you don't have time right now, don't worry as the whole event will last until January 15th, with each and every single run being updated to Youtube after the fact.
For those of you not familiar with the speedrunning scene and in need of a bit of an example to showcase what in the world this is even all about, I would recommend watching this year's Shovel Knight race. The gameplay is simple enough that you can always keep track of what's going on, while the commentary should keep you clued in on the "why" of things. So if you've got a bit of time to spare, give it a look. Here's the video:
Diablo 3's 20th anniversary patch has arrived with a brand new dungeon inspired by the original
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On the 31st of December the original Diablo reached 20 years of age, and in order to celebrate the venerable classic Blizzard has decided to do a variety of promotions across all of their games. Hearthstone added the Dark Wanderer Tavern Brawl, Overwatch added a bunch of new sprays, and perhaps most importantly, Diablo 3 added a brand new Diablo 1 inspired dungeon!
Its still mostly the same gameplay, but with a couple of twists to really amp up the nostalgia factor. First of all, the graphics have been downgraded in order to appear more pixelated and dark, while the camera has been greatly restricted in order to emulate how it worked back in the day. Your heroes are still able to use their full set of Diablo 3 abilities, but with no run option and much more rigid animations and sounds things should at least feel like they belong in Diablo 1.
But rather than simply blabber on and on about this new dungeon, allow me to instead show you the recently posted preview video. Have a look:
The Overwatch PTR has recently been updated with Roadhog, Ana, and D.Va nerfs
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If you were hoping beyond hope for the triple/quad tank meta to go away, you might just get your wish fulfilled in the next couple of weeks. In a recently updated PTR patch the Overwatch team has redesigned (read nerfed) Roadhog's hook, slightly nerfed Ana's grenade, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, significantly nerfed D.Va's durability despite buffing it the previous patch.
There's also a few more changes in there, things such as a minor Sombra buff and the new and improved chat wheel, so if you're interested in the brief version allow me to show you what's happening. On the other hand, if you want the full list of bug fixes and quality of life changes, you'll find the patch notes over here. Anyway, here's the most important stuff:
Mass Effect 2 is currently free on Origin
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Origin's "On the House" program has been going on for a while now, delivering free games every couple of months, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time they started right smack in the middle of a series. As you can probably guess from the title, its not the original Mass Effect that's currently on offer, but rather its action-orientated sequel!
Don't take that as a negative, however, as Mass Effect 2 is an excellent way to get into the series. Its fairly self-contained so you won't get confused by all of the lore, the shooting is greatly improved from the original, and in my humble opinion it contains the best cast of characters from any Bioware game so far. So if you're up for losing a couple dozen hours saving the galaxy alongside some of the most memorable crewmen out there, head on over to Origin.
Overwatch has recently been updated with a brand new Control map - Oasis
- By Ash
- in News
If you're like me and you've spent the past couple of days living comfortably under a rock, you may have missed a sneaky little Overwatch update. Rather than add a bunch of balance changes or cosmetics, Blizzard instead finally released the long-awaited fourth Control map - Oasis!
And for those of you wondering what Oasis might look like, you'll be happy to hear that Blizzard also released a brief preview video. On a slight side-note, I'd recommend turning up the sound a little bit before you dive in, because the Oasis soundtrack is pretty damn awesome! Anyway, here's the video: