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Evolve, the 4v1, Hunters vs. Monster title from Turtle Rock Studios, is slowly trying to make its way into the realm of e-sports. As evident in past gameplay videos released before the game’s launch, a few quotes from 2K’s DB Sinclair, who commented and criticized the moves of the players, as well as suggested what should be done next. In order to offer such commentary in an entertaining way, though, viewers, as well as the commentator, need access to the perspectives of each of the hunters and monster - something Evolve, in its current form, is unable to provide....

Turn 10 Studios’ Dan Greenawalt has had a rough few weeks. While his company successfully survived the launch of Forza Motorsport 5, the first next-gen racing game for the Xbox One, the reception for that game was less than stellar. And since that time, Greenawalt and his fellow team members have been doing a fair amount of damage control. While Forza 5 itself is a solid game, and has been receiving mostly favorable review scores from critics, the backlash surrounding the title stems from its use of heavy use of microtransactions....

It’s hard to believe it was ten years ago that Grand Theft Auto 3 redefined open-world gaming. This month, Rockstar is celebrating the 10th anniversary of GTA 3 with an awesome limited edition collectable figure and the announcement about the mobile version of one of the most influential and controversial games ever made. There are many modern titles that are just as controversial if not more so than GTA 3 (see: God of War 3) though this game is one that sticks in the minds of the mainstream public - mainly due to the fact that players can request the services of a “lady of the evening” and then use their vehicles to reclaim their cash....

This morning at PAX Prime Halo Fest 343 Industries held a panel to talk to their fans more about the Halo franchise and didn’t escape without dropping some news on their current project, Halo 4. The biggest announcement was the name of the series: The Reclaimer Trilogy. As you may know, 343 Guilty Spark, a character in the Halo series often refers to Master Chief as ‘The Reclaimer’ so it seems 343 Industries has decidedly locked Master Chief into the title role of the next three games of the Halo franchise....

LittleBigPlanet Karting, one of the worst kept gaming secrets this year, has officially been revealed. Ever since images of the game leaked via twitter early last month, PlayStation 3 owners have been waiting for the day when Sony would get around to making the big announcement. Well, the big day is finally here, and if the new trailer for LittleBigPlanet Karting is any indication, kart racing enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to....

Like the Three Musketeers, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One works much better when teamwork is involved. All one simply need do is get together three of their closest friends, put them into one of four characters from Insomniac Games’ platforming series, and shoot, jump, swing, and vacuum their way to victory. It’s a simple concept, the multiplayer party game, but never has it been done in quite the way that All 4 One does it....

In a post-Goat Simulator world, anything is possible. This can be both a boon and a hindrance depending on how you look at it. For some, the sheer silliness of the recent influx of “simulator” titles is an endless source of entertainment but for others, the intentionally broken gameplay is an affront to the medium. No matter how you saw the genre last week, it’s all likely to change today with Rock Simulator 2014....

Nobody needs to be told just how hard it is to launch and sustain a successful multiplayer title these days. When you’re entering into the genre that is dominated by a handful of properties and companies, that task gets even more difficult. But the masters of singleplayer narratives over at BioWare know that even if the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic goes as well as possible, the fan base will only remain if they’re sold a service, not a product....

While many had hoped that 2014 would be an upward trending year in terms of game and console sales, for every positive piece of news (PS4 and Xbox One sales numbers) there seems to be some bad. Earlier this year we brought word that BioShock developer Irrational Games was paring down its outfit and laying off most of its staff, and now comes word that another big studio has let some employees go....

The launch of next-gen consoles slowly coming over the horizon is full of unknowns, but one thing’s for sure: Titanfall will be taking up an entire spotlight on its own. The new brainchild of Respawn Entertainment - led by one of the minds behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - was unveiled to stunned audiences at E3 2013, and hasn’t looked back since. That first gameplay reveal offered a futuristic look at Mech combat, but seemed to share DNA with Activision’s reigning king of online multiplayer....

If someone were to start talking about big box releases for video games, one might assume they were talking about PC games. Big box PC games was a common term in the height of the 80s and 90s and usually meant those releases were packed with extra goodies for gamers, from stickers to maps to even guides. They weren’t special editions like console games see today; they were just boxes that included cool items for those who purchased them....

In 2016, Dan Trachtenberg’s 10 Cloverfield Lane hit theaters, earning rave reviews and pulling in over $100 million at the worldwide box office. While the film clearly pays homage to a variety of similar films, Trachtenberg has recently revealed that the movie also takes inspiration from three major video games as well. Speaking during IGN’s Watch From Home Theater presentation, where Trachtenberg provided live commentary for 10 Cloverfield Lane, the director revealed some of the film’s video game influences....

Fallout 4 is a great game that enables players to explore the wasteland wielding all sorts of powerful weapons. There are few feelings as epic as fighting a Deathclaw with a suit of power armor and players get to experience that in the first side quest. But for all it does right, there are also a lot of things it comes up short on or logical fails that are too blatant to ignore....

Breath of the Wild has officially elevated The Legend of Zelda to an entirely new level that most gamers never expected to see. The open world of Hyrule is a blast to explore and there are so many callbacks to previous games to discover. It’s a welcome breath of fresh air for the franchise and players loved it so much that Nintendo is going to crank out an official sequel in the near future....

Fire Emblem: Heroes is a free to play mobile spin off of the Fire Emblem series. Heroes features characters from every core entry of the Fire Emblem franchise as well as characters from spins-offs such as Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and regularly receives updates and new characters. Despite having been released in 2017, there are still a great deal of key characters from across the Fire Emblem series who have yet to be included in the game....

While it seems like Microsoft has been apart of the gaming industry forever, the Xbox One is only their third console. Their first console was the Xbox original which came out in 2001. Though the move to console manufacturer seemed like an odd move, Microsoft actually assisted Sega with the Dreamcast’s online capabilities. The original Xbox faired well against the Gamecube but was no match for Sony’s PlayStation 2. With many exclusive games, the original Xbox is still worth owning today but there are some games that slipped between the cracks....

For many people growing up in the early 2000s, playing video games took up a lot of their time. Whether it was a heavily story-driven game or a game that required grinding to reach a certain point, there were plenty of long games to soak in. The PlayStation 2 had plenty of games that players could delve into for hours on end. From action RPGs to simulation games, the console was filled with games that kept players’ hands glued to the controller....

Bravely Default 2 is beloved for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest for many fans is its old-school JRPG style. Unlike many modern entries of the genre, this game plays like classic Final Fantasy games with a much higher difficulty, deeper customization, and an incredibly long initial campaign. Whether you’re starting the game for the first time, or trying to perfect your New Game Plus runs, you’ll very likely be making some common mistakes if you try playing it like an average JRPG....

Pokémon are fascinating creatures who by no means live a utopian world. Every Pokémon has the potential to live side-by-side with a trainer, but in many cases, bizarre Pokémon blur the lines between normality and abnormality. Garbodor is an example of a Pokémon made up of trash. Only the most crazed trainer could love a Garbodor. With a name made up of the words “garbage” and odor," this is one Pokémon you might want to stay clear of....

Though the Pokemon world was created with a younger audience in mind and as the key demographic, it is important to note that there are several elements of the series that seem as though they were intended for more mature fans. The Pokemon universe does not believe in coddling children. Ten-year-olds are sent to fend for themselves while training their creatures, after all! In the spirit of exploring the darker themes that permeate the Pokemon world, here are ten Pokemon backstories that are much darker than we expected them to be....