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Open-world games are insanely fun. They explore the player’s creativity more than linear-level games and also immerse players in a living breathing world to play in. The only thing that would make a singleplayer open-world experience better is if this world can be shared with others. This creates a fun hub where players can get lost together in everything the world has to offer. Heists in GTA Online are definitely more fun with friends than doing them solo in the singleplayer campaign, slaying dragons is more fulfilling with a party in Elder Scrolls Online than sieging them solo in Skyrim, and taking down enemy hordes is simply just more fun with a team dynamic than a lone wolf run....

Video games have a unique benefit over film and TV in that, over the course of dozens of hours of gameplay, they can tell long stories. From 100+ hour-long JRPGs to more experimental narratives like Death Stranding, video games — especially those in long-running franchises — can string a story along for as long as it remains profitable. However, not all game franchises always make it to the finish line, and sometimes a franchise has to end before it reaches its conclusion....

The Sega Saturn is, unfortunately, frequently ignored, especially compared to the Dreamcast and Genesis. This could be in part due to there being no mainline Sonic game appearing on the console, mismanagement from Sega of America, or the fact that it was a 2D powerhouse in an industry that was shifting towards 3D. Either way, the Saturn doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. There were many great titles on the system, many of which remain exclusive to this day....

It’s safe to say that the PlayStation 3 didn’t have the smoothest start to life during the buildup to its November 2006 release. Sony’s console had numerous delays, was excessively expensive, and frustrated gamers with its lack of PS2 disc compatibility. Because of this, Sony handed an audience of gamers to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and they struggled to regain the faith of many until their excellent PS4 launch. The poor marketing of the console was a great shame, as it could be retrospectively argued that the PS3’s hardware was underappreciated....

A lot of media takes time and patience to truly appreciate, and video games are no different. In fact, they can be even harder to get into due to their increased length. You can finish a film in one sitting and a song is only a few minutes, but even the shortest games tend to be between six and ten hours. It is worse when you do not know whether the time investment will pay off....

The Metal Gear series is one of gaming’s longest and most beloved, as well as one of the first to ever introduce a stealth as the main mechanic. That’s all well and good, but the series is also known for something else, being absolutely crazy with its story. At this point, the kind of abstract and insane storytelling is what the series’ lead developer, Hideo Kojima, is known for. While his style of storytelling has definitely earned him a solid following in the gaming world, it has its problems, mainly that it leads to a lot of confusing moments and plot holes....

Overwatch may be a simple game that’s general enough on the surface, but like any Blizzard game it’s full of fun Easter eggs, interesting mechanics lesser-known to the players, and even amusing bugs that developers have yet to fix. Even three years after its release the game and its content continues to surprise us and there might even be things that you don’t even know about. So that’s what we’re addressing here today: 10 things that you most likely still didn’t know you could do in Overwatch....

Netflix has had many hit series that will fascinate fans of the fantasy genre, young viewers, or both of them. Most recently, it has introduced a new show that drew a lot of attention. Fate: The Winx Saga created a beautiful but also dangerous world full of faeries and people with extraordinary powers. Its heroine Bloom has to navigate her new world, which is fun to watch. However, if one has already watched all the six episodes of the first season and is looking for more, there are alternatives to Fate: The Winx Saga on Netflix....

E3 2018 has come and gone and, with it, we received a lot of announcements regarding games that developers and companies have in the pipeline for the foreseeable. On top of your standard Assassin’s Creed, Anthem, and other AAA multi-platform games, there were several console exclusive games that were shown off. These are the titles that each console maker will use to try and push their system over the others....

Following WWE 2K20’s critical mauling and fan backlash, a reception that was more than justified, 2K Sports will be skipping the next iteration of the annual series to focus on quality control. As a (sort of) replacement for WWE 2K21, WWE 2K Battlegrounds has been announced, a brawler that adds a touch of arcadey mayhem to pro wrestling. Unlike the simulation-based recent WWE games, Battlegrounds is over-the-top, cartoonish, and does not take itself seriously....

In our look at the best Super Nintendo RPGs ever, we mentioned that the SNES is arguably the greatest RPG console in video game history. Well, if there is a console that makes that discussion an argument, it would have to be the PlayStation One. With a lot of help from Square, Sony quickly established the PlayStation as not just the home of incredible RPG experiences but as a console that was capable of effectively convincing people who previously had no real interest in RPGs that they absolutely needed to devote 50+ hours of their life to the next gaming epic....

The vast world of Animal Crossing features tons of adorable animal villagers that all have their own little personalities and unique styles. However, there are a few villagers that stand out from the rest. Most villagers don’t have any default clothes that they maintain on their character model when changing into a new set of clothes, as well as any headgear. Agent S sports a bit of a different look from her other animal friends and there’s a bit of lore that explains her unique appearance....

While Batman: Arkham Origins may still be months away, fans have suspected for some time that the dark knight wouldn’t be the only comic book character made available to players. Rumors of a playable Robin being featured in the game have been surfacing, but thanks to a leak from an online retailer, the mystery may be over. This time around, pre-ordering a copy of Batman: Arkham Origins won’t be earning fans a chance to play as Catwoman in the game’s campaign - or any of Batman’s allies or sidekicks, for that matter....

While it wouldn’t be entirely fair to say that the Battlefield franchise has run out of ideas, there’s no denying that the first person military shooter genre is wearing rather thin. There’s only so many times a game can take players to the desert, the tundra, or the Pacific theater before things starting feeling like old hat. Luckily for Battlefield 4, a decidedly self-aware approach to post-release content has helped the game avoid some of those admittedly valid criticisms....

Activision seems awfully proud of itself this morning, announcing in a press release that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Destiny are the two best selling console games of the year in North America. Activision claims that Advanced Warfare’s numbers for November alone put it ahead of every other title released since January. Their new IP from developer Bungie, Destiny, is said to have taken the #2 spot. Activision also noted that its Skylanders franchise is #1 in sales among all kids’ titles, based on retail sell-through....

It’s only February, and already 2014 has been, and will be, a big year for Candy Crush Saga publisher King. Not two months ago, the company was recently granted a trademark for the term “candy” with regards to video game software, and just this week the company further detailed plans for an IPO (initial public offering). As part of their IPO, King was forced to offer compelling evidence to potential investors as to why their company will be worth the investment....

If there is one thing that the most dedicated of Halo fans are passionate about, it’s story. But with the greatest armed conflict in the history of the human race now brought to an end, what’s left for Master Chief? That’s the question that will drive the next trilogy of games, starting with this November’s Halo 4. Thanks to a few fans with some time on their hands, we may have an idea of the events that Halo 4 will focus on, pulled from the game’s script itself....

When you turn on Netflix’s new teen romance, Heartstopper, you’ll notice a lot of innocent teenage bliss throughout the eight-episode first season. The adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels is about four hours of young love set inside a world that feels like a dream to many in the LGBTQ+ community. Protagonists Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) are the definition of opposites attract. Nick is the star of the school rugby team....

Over the years, Valve has built their reputation on knowing how to keep secrets - even going so far as to mislead fans to drive the point home: the future of franchises like Left 4 Dead, Half-Life and Portal are known only to them. But it now seems that the dogged determination of fans has finally won out, at least in the case of Left 4 Dead 3. After fans touring Valve’s offices snapped a photo of an open work station that included references to both Left 4 Dead 3 and Source Engine 2 - long rumored to be in development - it seems the reports have been corroborated, and it’s only a matter of time until the company makes an official announcement....

Yesterday we shared the details for this weekend’s N7 Bounty multiplayer event (Operation Shieldwall), one that’s rather easy, but one that highlights how the online community for Mass Effect 3 has dwindled considerably in the last month or so. In our discussion of the event we expected that it was partially designed to prepare players for the next batch of multiplayer DLC: content that was rumored, then teased by BioWare, then accidentally confirmed by a Sony website....