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[Update]: Kingdom Hearts 4 has been announced alongside a realistic, modern-day setting.
The very first Kingdom Hearts game released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002, after which the series slowly started expanding to other platforms. Unfortunately, despite the series spanning nearly two decades at this point, none of the games ever made their way onto PC. That is, until today!
Better yet, not only has the Kingdom Hearts series just arrived onto PC, but it has done so through four collections featuring the entire main series, complementary episodes and even a short movie! So if you ever wanted to dive deep into the rich Kingdom Hearts world, you'll now be able to do just that... provided you can actually figure out which games to play in which order given that the titles might as well be randomly generated.
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[Update]: Crash Bandicoot 4 has now landed onto Steam, while a new game is likely to get announced on December 8th, 2022.
If you're looking to lose yourself in a good ol' fashioned action-platformer, I'm pleased to say I bring good news. A mere two weeks after the release of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Switch versions, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time has now also been unleashed onto PC!
You can get a pretty good idea of what Crash Bandicoot 4 brings to the table, as well as what this new and improved version even looks like, through the recently posted trailer below. Have a peek:
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[Update #2]: Total War: Rome Remastered has now launched alongside a somewhat mixed reception.
[Update]: The newly released gameplay preview shows off the impressive technical improvements.
In a reveal that has arrived pretty much out of nowhere, Creative Assembly has now announced that they are working with Feral Interactive on remastering one of the original classics - Rome: Total War! The new and improved Total War: Rome Remastered will bring with it all of the DLC already bundled in, access to both the remastered and original game, as well as a whole bunch of quality of life fixes and additions.
What all of that means in actual gameplay terms is that the visuals will be improved across the board, the in-game camera and controls will be getting a modern overhaul, while sixteen previously locked factions will become fully playable. And just to spice things up even further, you will also be able to recruit new Merchant agents in order to create trade routes or simply use your economic might to buy out rivals and incite unrest.
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[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's PvP mode will be 5v5 with only one tank per team!
[Update]: Overwatch's new Game Director Aaron Keller will be revealing some juicy Overwatch 2 PvP details on May 20, 2021!
Out of all the game modes in Overwatch, Assault (Hanamura, Temple of Anubis) is by far the least popular, and for good reason. Attacking on these maps can feel incredibly frustrating as you're marching through tiny chokes into a hailstorm of gunfire, over and over again until something finally breaks. But even then victory isn't guaranteed as highly mobile heroes like Wrecking Ball can repeatedly run back to the point in order to burn down the timer, thus making the whole ordeal even more tedious.
Things aren't much better if you're on the defensive side. The first point is designed in such a way that you're almost guaranteed to lose it since it takes you around 30 seconds to come back from spawn, while the second point requires constant vigilance as even a single mistake can result in a steamroll and a lost match. So while the maps themselves are beautiful, Assault as a game mode tends to be far more stressful than any of its counterparts, hence why two of its maps (Horizon Lunar Colony and Paris) are still banned from Competitive Play.
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[Update]: Dota 2's Patch 7.29 has brought in a new hero called Dawnbreaker and major map changes.
After being criticized for years and years about how insanely difficult it is to get into Dota 2 as a new player, Valve has finally decided to do something about it! As a part of the latest update they have added a set of brand new tutorials and helpful learning tools, significantly improved bots and dynamic in-game tips, as well as community-orientated features like new player chat and even a coaching system you can trigger mid-match.
However, as awesome as all of these additions are, they all pale in comparison to the what is likely the greatest change Dota 2 has ever done - smurfing is now a bannable offense! In other words, creating accounts in order to intentionally play against lower rated players to farm easy wins is now strictly prohibited. This not only makes for a better new player experience, but is also going to improve the quality of matches throughout most ranks as the system will no longer have to desperately try to compensate for players that are obviously far better than their stated rank.
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[Update #2]: New World has been delayed yet again, this time until September 28, 2021.
[Update]: Amazon has canceled their Lord of the Rings themed MMORPG.
Amazon's New World MMO has already been delayed time and time again, and so it should come as little surprise to hear that its release date has recently been pushed back yet again. Instead of launching in spring as previously announced, New World will be going live on August 31, 2021.
The reason, much like last time, is to ensure everything is fully completed and polished to a mirror sheen before the floodgates open and tens of thousands of players storm the servers. While personally the delays are getting a bit annoying at this point, it's definitely still the correct move given that new MMOs these days have to be stellar right out of the gate or they'll never get the momentum needed in order to carry on.
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[Update]: Monster Hunter Stories 2 has now arrived, and so far it's getting a pretty positive reception!
Unlike the usual Monster Hunter fare where you roam the land in search of monsters to slay, tails to chop and copious amounts of bugs to stuff down your pants, the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories 2 will be a more friendly, RPG-like spin-off. So instead of hunting down monsters for their spikey bits, you'll be allying with them, gaining their trust, and eventually even mounting classic ones like Rathalos.
If you're wondering how all of this looks like in action, allow me to share with you the most recent trailer. It's unfortunately a bit light on gameplay, but it should still clue you in quite quickly. Have a gander:
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[Update]: Burning Crusade Classic is launching on June 1st, and the pre-patch on May 18th!
If you've explored everything World of Warcraft Classic has to offer and you're now itching for 'new' and interesting challenges, I'm happy to say I bring some good news on that front. The 'soon' Blizzard was talking about throughout BlizzCon Online has now arrived, and with it the start of the Burning Crusade Classic beta!
Before you get too excited, it is important to mention that the beta is currently extremely limited, though Blizzard will be adding more players throughout the upcoming weeks and months. So if you haven't gotten your email just yet, don't despair as you'll have plenty of chances to get in and see what's up.
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After running into a whole bunch of problems and getting removed from PC storefronts time and time again, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse has now returned from the dead once more. Rather poetic, I must admit.
The new version of this oldschool Xbox action-adventure brings with it support for modern systems and resolutions up to 4K, plenty of bug fixes to make everything run as smoothly as possible, as well as controller support if you prefer to play it that way. And just to spice things up, there's also a bunch of achievements to collect, one of which merely asks you to get lost!
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[Update #2]: Gotham Knights' newest Nightwing & Red Hood preview is sadly looking quite janky.
[Update]: Gotham Knights has now been pinned for an October 25th, 2022 release date.
If you were hoping to get your hands on Gotham Knights, the open-world Batman spin-off featuring Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, I'm afraid I bring some bad news. According to the newest announcement, Gotham Knights has now been delayed until 2022.
"We are giving the game more time to deliver the best possible experience for players," reads the brief update. "Thank you to our amazing fans for your tremendous support of Gotham Knights. We look forward to showcasing more of the game in the coming months."