Category: Gameinformer

Bethesda announced via Twitter today plans to provide Fallout Classic on PC for anyone who logged into Fallout 76 during 2018. Notably, the entitlement will apply to any player, including those who played on Xbox One and PS4. For those who wish to take advantage of the offer, Fallout Classic entitlement will begin in early January.

Fallout Classic is a collection of the early Fallout games that were made prior to Bethesda’s purchase of the franchise, including Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics. All three are widely considered to be classics, though the gameplay may feel antiquated for many players who are used to the faster pace and first-person perspective of the newer releases.

This entitlement program was originally in place for PC players who had pre-ordered Fallout 76. The expanded program that was tweeted about today means a larger audience will be able to take advantage of the offer. And for Bethesda, it may offer a small boost to sales of Fallout 76, which has struggled in its early weeks after release due to fan and critical backlash.

To learn more, check out our review of Fallout 76.

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It will likely be too late to arrive for most Christmas stocking stuffers, but some online and brick-and-mortar stores in North America have begun to sell the newest iteration of the Transformers brand. While some other series continue to appeal to the more dedicated retro collector’s market (check out the Siege figures that are also now beginning to go up for sale), the BotBots line is a decidedly kid-friendly option focused on very small Transformers disguised as household items.

The roughly 1-inch figures take the form of a variety of everyday items that turn into cute robots, and they’re grouped into different tribes themed around things you might buy at the store, like the electronic gadget disguises of the Techie Team, the school supplies of the Backpack Bunch, and even (unfortunately) the bathroom-themed Toilet Troop, among several other groups.

While the line is pretty squarely targeted at a younger audience, the simple transformations and inexpensive price point may end up drawing in some more dedicated collectors, especially because there are simply so many figures to snag. The new toy line has an interesting packaging strategy, as there are both five-figure and eight-figure packs that you can pick to get particular characters ($9.99 and $14.99, respectively), as well as blind single packs for $2.99, which is where you have a shot at some of the rarer figures in the initial 61-figure series.

Check out the gallery below for a look at the full line. 

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Need a fireplace to brighten your holiday gathering, but you just don’t have a hearth on hand? Sony has you covered, with a gorgeous fire to pull up to warm your family’s hearts. Nothing quite sets the tone for opening presents and celebrating togetherness like the burning husk of a derelict car, radiating warmth in the cold rain of a post-apocalyptic future.

We suspect there’s a lot of ways someone might take advantage of this holiday present from PlayStation. Maybe you set up a giant monitor next to the dinner table to accompany that meal your Dad spent all day making? Or turn the volume way, way up during the New Year’s party so you can hear the occasional shrieking terror that echoes in the baleful night?

Or perhaps you’re a real hardcore fan, and you’re ready to watch the whole thing from beginning to end to pick up that clever secret about the game that we’re sure is in there? We haven’t found it yet, but I suspect it’s just a matter of putting the 2-hour video on repeat a few times before someone earns internet fame for figuring out the remarkable easter egg. Don’t give up!

Happy holidays, everybody. May this be the only flaming wreck that is a part of your holiday festivities!

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Update: As part of the annual Jump Fest event, Bandai Namco has shown off a new trailer featuring Deku and Black Clover‘s Asta in action. You can find the original story below.

Bandai Namco released a story trailer today for Jump Force, their new crossover fighting game featuring heroes and villains from Japanese comic magazine Shonen Jump. After that trailer, they announced that Deku, the young protagonist from My Hero Academia, would be joining the fight for our quirk-less Earth as part of the base roster.

Deku is the main character in a mostly ensemble cast in both the manga and anime of My Hero Academia. Born without a superpower, or quirk, in a world where everyone has them in some type or another, Deku inherited a quirk from his Superman-like hero, All Might. Under All Might’s guidance, he started on a path to become a symbol of peace and justice for the world.

In Jump Force, Deku uses the same realistic artstyle that every character in the game has, but maintains the same character design from his series. That means his giant eyes are accompanied by realistically textured clothes and gloves, which is certainly a look. The game will also have character customization for your avatars, so if you want to dress your original character up in Deku’s clothes and use some of his moves, you’re covered.

Jump Force releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 15.

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Gunfire games, the ex-Vigil developers who created Darksiders III under THQ Nordic, released an update to the game that allows players to switch combat to what they have dubbed “Classic” style.

The new update, which prompts a choice when players start a new game or load up a save with the update installed, asks players to pick between Default and Classic modes. While default functions the same as the game has since launch, Classic is described as a mode similar to previous games.

The current method forces players to commit to their attacks in a manner similar to Dark Souls or Monster Hunter: World. Classic allows players to dodge during attacks, meaning you can start an attack without having to finish it, massively cutting down your vulnerability window. You can also use items instantly in Classic mode, making for a decidedly easier experience.

You can read our review of Darksiders III right here. If you’re trying to decide which combat mode to use, you can also read our argument for why Dark Souls fans shouldn’t overlook the game.

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In a weird bit of brand synergy, Funimation, an anime localization and licensing company wholly owned by Sony, has a deal going with Microsoft to release the first seasons of several shows for free on the Xbox One and Windows. All you have to do is click on them now and you own them for good.

There’s a couple of series you can check out right now. If you’re a Dragon Ball fan but haven’t checked out Super yet, you can dip your toes into Dragon Ball Super with the first season right here, which is about 13 episodes. If you don’t know the difference between a Goku and a Gohan, much less whatever a Piccolo might be, you can start with the first season of Dragon Ball Z for free right here.

You can also give My Hero Academia a try with 13 episodes of the Uncut version. It’s a good primer to introduce you to the world of quirks and Deku’s quest to become a symbol of peace for the populace at large. There’s Assassination Classroom, as well, which I quite enjoyed the manga of but can’t really speak to the animated version. It tells the story of a monster that has made a deal with the government to teach a high school class which is tasked with killing him before the end of the year.

Other options are Attack on Titan and Fairy Tail. The former will start you on a gritty tale about humanity attempting to survive a mass extinction event of carnivorous giants and the latter is about magicians going on adventures and battles in a mostly care-free world.

You can download all of this or some of it and watch at your leisure. May your holidays be as filled with Goku as the rest of the year was.

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Square Enix has released a trailer for Final Fantasy XIV’s 4.5 update, a precursor to next summer’s massive Stormbringers expansion. The update, which is scheduled for next month, has a number of big changes and readies players for the Blue Mage job class coming shortly after.

Take a look at the trailer for the update below.

The update is set to arrive on January 8, with the Blue Mages coming the following week. The new job class is a little more limited than a lot of players were like, emphasizing solo play as Blue Mages learn skills from enemy monsters throughout the game. When they hit level 50, the current level cap for the job class, players will have content called The Masked Carnivale to tide them over until Stormbringers.

With 4.5, players will also get their hands on a new instanced dungeon, a number of new cosmetics like emotes, mounts, minions, and hairstyles, new questlines for crafters and gatherers, a new raid dungeon, and a Golden Saucer overhaul. It should keep a lot of FFXIV’s fans busy for a little while.

You can check out more patch notes on the game’s official site.

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Microsoft has revealed its free Xbox Games With Gold lineup for January, and fans of challenging platformers should start warming up their thumbs now. Matt Makes Games’ indie hit Celeste headlines the free Xbox One offerings, and will be available for download starting on January 1.  Ben Reeves scored Celeste a 9, saying, “I never grew tired of even the basic platforming sections thanks to the tight controls and the wide variety of aerial maneuvers. Jumping across a bottomless pit and then dashing up to find purchase on the side of a narrow pillar is incredibly harrowing, and Celeste is filled to the brim with exciting moments.”

Starting on January 15, Xbox One owners can also download WRC 6 World Rally Championship. If you’ve never played a rally racing game, I recommend trying one out – they’re basically like a normal racing game, only you’re supposed to be on the brink of losing control and flying off the road at all times.

As for the Xbox 360 offerings, fans can pick up Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Jan 1), which scored excellently back in 2010, and Far Cry 2 (Jan 16), which has become a divisive classic for the series – just make sure you stock up on malaria shots before venturing out.

In the meantime, don’t forget that you can still grab Q.U.B.E. 2, Never Alone, and Mercenaries as part of December’s Games With Gold.

[Source: Xbox Wire]

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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is the Pokémon Go-like game that will take place in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that’s coming next year. We still don’t know exactly how it will play, but this tease and its accompanying video description (which you can see below) offers at least some insight into the game.

For more on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, head here.

Our Take
I love Pokémon Go. I love Harry Potter. I don’t know that I will play this game. I’m definitely more interested in the big, leaked Harry Potter game that is still shrouded in mystery. I just don’t know that I have the bandwidth to play Pokémon Go and Wizards Unite at the same time.

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When Valve first rolled out Artifact, they talked about a belief in immutability of the cards they release. They didn’t want to nerf, depower, or eliminate cards in the game, which meant that balancing had to take an extremely holistic view and think about every old card’s effect on a new card. In a very real sense, it also meant people would buy cards that could end up with different effects in the Steam marketplace, meaning that the game’s economy could also be in flux. Now, however, Valve is rethinking that idea.

In a new blog post, Valve explained their original reasoning and how they came to realize it was the wrong choice after taking player feedback.

“In the end, we struggled to see the benefits of immutability outweighing the numerous downsides,” Valve explained. “The average player mainly wants the game quality to be high above all other considerations. Players who focus a lot on deck building would prefer a more diverse and engaging meta to play around. While some card collectors enjoy having a small number of really valuable cards, many others are happier in a world where the full set value isn’t overly dominated by one or two cards.”

Because of the changes to the card balance, Valve is allowing a one-time card buyback exception for the next two weeks for cards that underwent changes. You can find the full list at the blog post link above, which also explains how to engage in the buyback.

For Valve to make that choice, they definitely had to do it early before the community grew too big or the economy grew too unwieldy. This might allow Artifact to be a bit more free-moving and reactive in general, which can only help the game from here.

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