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It’s one thing for a game to launch with a few graphical issues here and there, but it’s another thing entirely when the visuals are affected by a post-launch update or patch. The word ‘ironic’ comes to mind when things like this happen, because patches are meant to fix the existing problems not create new ones. Games are never 100% perfect, of course, and it’s the developers that continue to update and fix their games post-launch that separate themselves from the rest; this includes how long it takes for the improvements to arrive....

Yesterday, we were given an enticing glimpse into the future of the Halo series with twin trailers for the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians. However, what we know now offers more questions than it does answers — one thing’s for sure, 343 Industries is going all-in with the series’ narrative as the studio attempts to put its own stamp on the hugely popular franchise. Each trailer follows the same pattern: we see one of the two protagonists from the game — Master Chief and Spartan Locke — approaching the injured body of the other while ranting about their mission....

Like it or not, the ending to Mass Effect 3 was seen as a massive disappointment to a large population of gamers. So much so that even an extended version of the endings couldn’t undo the damage BioWare had already done. However, now that there is some distance between us and Mass Effect 3’s ending(s), we can hopefully look at them objectively, or at least talk about them without sighing heavily....

Fans have been hungry for the first gameplay footage of Max Payne 3. What has Rockstar Games been doing to revitalize the urban noir shooter? We will soon find out as the developers have begun releasing a video series that talks about the game’s design and technology, beginning with how they’re creating a cutting edge shooter. One of the issues with third-person shooters is that they don’t always have tight controls....

The barrier for entry to create an indie video game has never been lower. Anyone with an internet connection can pick up a free development kit for Unity or Unreal Engine and hit the ground running. Although most of the major game creation programs offer fairly intuitive graphical interfaces at this point, users still need to have a solid understanding of coding and basic programming language to get things started. If you want to build a game, but don’t feel like signing up for a Comp Sci 101 class, then Microsoft’s Project Spark is the game for you....

Ever since the initial announcement three months ago, Harmonix has been delivering a steady stream of information in regards to Rock Band 4. Though plenty of gameplay-specific information was released, Harmonix has remained quiet on the actual release date, which fans estimated would be late 2015. Due to some premature online retail postings today, it now seems like Rock Band 4 will arrive on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 6th, sooner than most had anticipated....

The Last of Us: Left Behind isn’t just an important chapter of The Last of Us, it’s a great game in its own right. As a DLC prequel to the main game, Left Behind follows The Last of Us’ teenage protagonist, Ellie, and her best friend Riley as the two girls escape boarding school and explore an abandoned, post-apocalyptic shopping mall. While Left Behind contains a healthy serving of The Last of Us’ stealth-and-crafting-based action, the story is the real highlight....

Having amassed over $10 billion as of July 2012, World of Warcraft is the highest grossing video game of all time. Over the course of the game’s 10+ year lifespan, players have created more than 100 million World of Warcraft accounts, and in November 2014, the MMORPG boasted more than 10 million subscribers. For years, WoW has been the bar by which all other MMOs are measured. But now, more than a decade on, World of Warcraft is starting to show its age… at least a little....

Final Fantasy is one of the longest running and most successful video game franchises ever made. It’s responsible for some of the most loveable heroes & most memorable villains in gaming and has developed gameplay mechanics that would go on to shape the entire JRPG genre. Although the summon mechanic wasn’t introduced until the third entry in the series, the creatures themselves have been popping up since the very beginning....

The Resident Evil series debuted in 1996 with a game that is often considered one of the most influential horror games ever made. Even 25 years after its release, it still has the power to terrify gamers. However, the voice acting was considered absolutely horrendous. Voice acting in gaming was relatively new back then, but it’s the lines themselves that are the real issue. The ten lines of dialogue below show that the actors were not exactly given a quality script to work with when recording....

As games continue to evolve, their capacity to tell great stories expands. Over the last decade or so we’ve seen some of the absolute greatest stories told in the history of the gaming industry. While a game with a crazy twist is not a prerequisite for a great story, it’s hard to deny that mind-blowing plot developments that come out of nowhere leave a significant lasting impression, and go a long way in keeping a game stuck in one’s mind long after the credits roll....

There are a few hundred moves in the Pokémon world and almost a thousand Pokémon that can learn those moves. There’s an almost incomprehensible number of combinations between the moves and the creatures that learn them. Most of them make sense, of course, either because they make physiological sense, or because there is some sort of lore or elemental reasoning behind it. But, every so often, players discover a move that is absolutely nonsensical for a Pokémon to learn, either because it’s just not physically possible, or because it just won’t even work with the game mechanics....

Survival horror is a sub-genre of horror, but it takes up nearly the entirety of horror game titles. Survival horror is defined as action-adventure mixed with horror. Horror games like that include big names like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Dead Space, and many others. Horror games that are not survival horror can actually be a little rare to come by. These games are often more puzzle and narrative oriented....

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third title in the Dragon Age series and it launched to critical acclaim back in 2014. Because of its decision-making elements, where the story changes depending on the choices made by the player, Inquisition is a great game to replay more than once to really see all it has to offer. Additionally, there are plenty of secrets or easily missed quests and content, some of which fans didn’t discover for months....

What was the golden age of Squaresoft? Was it the Super Nintendo, or the original PlayStation generation? Both were incredible with some of the best games ever made. They are pretty much tied, but for now let’s begin with the PS1. Now a lot of these games, of course, were Final Fantasyrelated. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy Tactics are all 10/10 experiences. They are amazing, but what about the unsung heroes of this generation?...

Unlike other fighting games at the time, Midway’s Mortal Kombat made a mark for its motion capture actors and rather liberal use of blood and gore in its gameplay. As a result, Mortal Kombat differed greatly from other fighting game hits such as flashy Street Fighter. NetherRealm’s recent Mortal Kombat 11 proves that the MK franchise has come a long way since its 2D graphics days. However, the nostalgic mocap wouldn’t have made its leap to today’s realistic combat if it weren’t for Mortal Kombat’s “3D era....

For the first time in Destiny’s history, Guardians are now able to wield the power of the Darkness with the Beyond Light expansion. Not only did the expansion add a new Subclass archetype, but this update also brought with it tons of core changes to the game. Planets have been removed, Mods have seen a few changes, and the UI has seen a few changes. Combined with the radical shifts the Stasis Subclasses make to the game, there are a few things you should know before landing on Europa’s icy surface....

The Twisted Metal franchise is one of the PlayStation’s first big franchises. However, the vehicular combat game has long since passed its glory days. This has not stopped a television show from starting up, however. Whether this will actually ends up being made has yet to be seen, but writers have already been tapped to pen the script. With this news, we thought it a good time to look back on the franchise and find ten lesser known facts about it....

While nobody expected to see Yuffie Kisaragi in Final Fantasy VII Remake due to it taking place preceding her recruitment into the party, fans still missed her presence in the 2020 adventure. Fortunately, she is coming back this year, starring in her own DLC chapter as a part of the PS5 re-release, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. We just hope every Final Fantasy fan can find a PS5 before then. While waiting for the chapter’s June 10th release date, we decided to take a look at the character and find some facts about everyone’s favorite materia thief that even hardcore fans might have missed out on....

There’s a very good chance we’re going to read Midnight Sun, the companion novel to pop culture juggernaut Twilight that retells the first story in the Stephanie Meyer YA vampire series from Edward Cullen’s perspective. But we can enjoy something while also being critical of it, and the truth is: our culture deserves more, better vampire stories than what the Twilight saga has to offer. With that in mind, we’ve pooled our collective knowledge to recommend the following vampire stories that have more diverse and imaginative takes on the popular genre....