Solasta: Crown of the Magisteris a Kickstarter-funded tactical RPG looking to bring the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop RPG experience to the PC. The game is officially licensed to use the 5.1 edition Systems Reference Document. The first act of Solasta is now on Steam Early Access, bringing players ten hours of gameplay and a level cap of six.
The story so far is pretty standard fantasy fare. It is by no means appropriate for young children, but it isn’t a dark, edgy adventure either. The dialogue is decent. There is room for improvement so far as the pacing feels a bit clipped at times.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister offers one of the most faithful recreations of the tabletop RPG experiences on the PC. It’s just short of actually breaking out your favourite rulebooks with friends over Roll20 or Tabletop Simulator. The game openly rolls every single attack, check, and save players would expect from a D&D session, and dice animations are featured prominently in the game’s UI.
Solasta offers one of the best implementations of rest and travel from the D&D rules. It fully embraces the need for consistent long rests by faithfully following the game’s prepared spell limits and liberally adding places for long rests throughout the levels. The pacing allows players to be generous with their limited use skills while still encouraging a certain degree of care. The travel system is represented by movement between major maps. Ranger bonuses, travel time, and ambushes are all replicated in the game, but done in a quick enough way that it never feels like it is bogging down the pace of the game.
Character creation and customization is a major part of Solasta. Players have the choice of populating their party of four with a handful of premade characters or creating their own custom characters. Six classes from D&D are in Solasta. Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Rogue, Ranger, and Wizard cover all the main playstyles; however, there are some notable omissions. A free DLC adding the Sorcerer class is planned after the game launches in full. Fans of Barbarians, Bards, Druids, Monks, and Warlocks will be disappointed to know those classes are not in the plans.
The character creator is very thorough. I like that the system not only tells players what their character will be able to do out of the gate, but also provides a thorough, but manageable preview of what their character will also be able to do in the future. The background choices are slightly different than D&D. Players choose four words based on their background and alignment to sketch out a personality that likely affects available dialogue choices in game. Each character contributes a potential response based on their background and personality as conversations in game are with the entire party. It’s a refreshing change from the standard RPG method that groups everything into a positive, neutral, or negative dialogue from a single character.
With all the customization options, Solasta does a good job of getting lazy players into the action quickly. There are enough premade characters to form a party right away. Options for automatic allocations for level ups and spell slots are available. While the results will never be as good as a proper min/max job, the results are usable.
Combat is excellent. The first few fights of the game are easy, but I found the difficulty ramped up nicely. Overall, the game is on the higher end of the difficulty spectrum, requiring players to leverage every possible advantage they can find in the D20 rule set. Making use of lighting, ambushes, rest, and limited use abilities are all necessary if players want to get out alive.
The controls are decent. There are some keybinds, but the emphasis is heavily on the mouse. I did find the game wasn’t the best at dealing with moving the characters and attacking with one mouse click. Sometimes the positioning was the worst possible option, and a few times nothing happened. The most reliable method was simply moving characters and then attacking separately. The game also can’t deal with multiple units stacked on the same square due to sleep or some other knocked out status effect. Additionally, the UI is a bit chunky looking with all the boxes, but it manages to stay out of the way during combat.
Solasta’s art style is classic fantasy with a clean semi-realistic look. The graphics themselves are dated looking though. The environment looks good, but the character models are not sharp. The animations are passable, but they tend to look wooden.
The audio experience is decent. The soundtrack is enjoyable, and the sound effects are solid. The voice acting is on par with smaller independent titles. The main characters aren’t bad enough to be in a B-movie, but it’s nowhere near an AAA performance either. On the other hand, the actors for smaller roles are rough.
It’s a shame Solasta: Crown of the Magister hit Steam Early Access around the same time as Baldur’s Gate 3. The two will inevitably be compared, and there is always the risk Solasta will be overlooked simply because it’s not the shiniest toy on the block. However, Solasta makes a compelling case by carving out its own niche. For tabletop RPG fans looking for a video game that’s close to the actual thing, Solasta is already worth a look this early in the development cycle.
CELEBRATE THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OFTHE KING OF FIGHTERS ALLSTARJUST IN TIME FOR THE HALLOWEEN SEASON
New Guild Raid, Halloween-Themed Characters and Events, and Platinum-Level Battle Cards Introduced in Anniversary Update
LOS ANGELES – October 29, 2020 – Since Netmarble officially launched its mobile action role-playing game (RPG) THE KING OF FIGHTERS ALLSTAR in October 2019, the game has grown leaps and bounds as players battle their way through its unique story and relive the historic events of THE KING OF FIGHTERS. To celebrate the first year of the game, an all-new ‘Anniversary’ trailer listing off key player statistics can be found here
Some notable statistics from the game’s first year of service include:
Over 177 million fighters collected across players worldwide
Over 38.4 trillion in-game gold earned from global players
Over 2.93 billion total AP spent by fans around the world
Over 42.5 million hours played from all supported territories
As part of today’s anniversary update, Netmarble is also unleashing a horde of Halloween-themed updates and content for players to dive into. This includes:
Guild Raid – Guild members can now enter special ‘Guild Dungeons’ and can work together to defeat epic Raid bosses to earn Imprint Stones, Skill Cards, EXP Capsules, and more in the process
Halloween Content:
The all-new Halloween Gatecrasher Alice, an ALLSTAR variant of Alice, is available to collect in the game’s Summon Box
A Halloween Rush Dungeon has been added, where players can earn Halloween Night Mary and Halloween Night Mary Special Cards upon completion
A Halloween Super Mission is now available, where players can collect Halloween Night Xiangfei, EXP Capsules, and Gold upon completion
The latest ‘Team Relay Dungeon’ Zombie Road is here, allowing players at Rank 40 and above to fight an epic Halloween-themed boss with up to five teams of fighters for Gold, Rubies, and more!
A Halloween Check-In Event has been added, with Skill Level-Up Card rewards
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ALLSTAR boasts fast-paced fighting action as players battle through waves of enemies, giant bosses, and rival fighter teams. The excitement is paired with cutting edge graphics, bold colors, and lightning-fast animations. In addition, this game features all of KOF’s classic fighters from ’94 to XIV, with more than 130 fighters available to collect, along with more to come with seasonal events, collaborations with popular IP such as TEKKEN 7 and SAMURAI SHODOWN, and additional content updates for players to enjoy.
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ALLSTAR is available to download on Google Play and the App Store in more than 175 countries and comes with support for English, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Thai, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and German languages.
Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a top developer and publisher pushing the boundaries of the mobile gaming experience with highly innovative games including Lineage 2: Revolution, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Blade&Soul Revolution and MARVEL Future Fight. As a parent company of Kabam, and a major shareholder of Jam City and Big Hit Entertainment, Netmarble strives to entertain audiences around the world with a variety of mobile games based on its powerful franchises and collaborations with IP holders worldwide. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Launches Today to Fill Everyone’s Halloween with Chills and Thrills
Playing Horror is better than Watching Horror; Immerse Yourself in the Dire Dilemmas, Terrifying Thrills, and the Odd Death or Two in the Next Chapter of Super Massive Games’ The Dark Pictures Anthology Series
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (October 30, 2020) – Leading interactive entertainment company BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. and Supermassive Games have released The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope in the Americas for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PCs via STEAM®. Additionally, both entries of The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan and Little Hope, will be compatible with PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
Players will be taken from 1692 to the present day, as they plunge into the dark universe of The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope for a narrative adventure where they’ll play one of the five characters in an eerie story including a performance from actor Will Poulter(Midsommar, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). Similar to the first game in The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan, Little Hope is designed to be replayable with multiple storylines, paths, and endings. Each decision players make during their adventure will matter and can have serious repercussions on who survives or meets their demise by the end of the game.
“The Dark Pictures Anthology series strives to present players with immersive storytelling and consequential gameplay that is truly one-of-a-kind,” said Kristeen Laut, Brand Manager at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “With Little Hope launching right before Halloween, we look forward to players making the game and its multiplayer experience a part of their Halloween activities, coming together online with friends to share a frightful adventure.”
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN®, GALAGA®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, and ACE COMBAT®. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL Z®, and ONE PIECE®. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS.
Walnut Creek, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2020) – Publisher Modus Games and developer We Create Stuff (Nightmare House 2) today released a story teaser trailer offering a new glimpse at the reality-bending phenomena at the heart of In Sound Mind, the psychological horror game reaching PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC in 2021.
The trailer joins protagonist Desmond, a psychologist working to understand the eerie events he’s witnessing within the once-quiet town of Milton Haven. Desmond’s search for answers leads him to revisit his deceased patients’ archived sessions, but these tapes present vivid, surreal mysteries of their own. See Desmond’s inexplicable visions firsthand by viewing the trailer here:
Halloween-ready horror fans can review In Sound Mind’s first tape for themselves by downloading the game’s free Steam demo today. This glimpse at the game’s early moments is a perfect example of how it blurs the lines between reality and unimaginable terror: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1119980/In_Sound_Mind/
In Sound Mind is a first-person horror experience which pits players against the unpredictable dangers stirring within memories. Created by the team behind the legendary Nightmare House 2 mod, In Sound Mind twists seemingly simple recollections into shocking encounters with terrifying threats, unbelievable scenes, and a mysterious talking cat for good measure.
About Modus Games Modus Games is one of the fastest-growing video game publishers in the world. The label prides itself on providing AAA publishing services to talented independent developers across the globe. Modus Studios Brazil is a full-service development studio supporting creators of inspired interactive entertainment. For more information, visit www.modusgames.com.
About We Create Stuff Founded in 2007, We Create Stuff is an award-winning indie game studio. The team previously created the hit horror series Nightmare House and popular puzzlers such as Portal: The Flash Version, with levels later acquired by Valve.
Citing the new Cyberpunk 2077 release date, EVERSPACE™ 2 will be launching into Steam Early Access January, 2021
Hamburg, Germany – October 30, 2020 – ROCKFISH Games has announced in their latest Kickstarter update that the Steam Early Access launch of their highly anticipated upcoming space looter shooter EVERSPACE 2 is being delayed to January.
“Porting the original EVERSPACE to last-gen consoles was quite a challenge for us back in the day, so we can only imagine what a challenge it must be to bring a massive title like Cyberpunk 2077 to Xbox One and PlayStation 4,” says Michael Schade, CEO & co-founder of ROCKFISH Games. “Unfortunately, this is also a major blow for any other game that was scheduled during that week. We know from our community that there is quite an audience overlap between the two titles, so we decided to get out of the way and push back our release to January. We are aware that EVERSPACE 2 fans will be unhappy, but competing with the arguably most anticipated video game in history is just not a good idea. To give this a positive spin, we’ve decided to send out pre-release keys with closed Beta access to all eligible Kickstarter backers on November 2nd, so they can play the first 10ish hours of EVERSPACE 2 a month earlier. Furthermore, we also plan to give away 200 additional Beta pre-release keys good for the closed beta only through media partners and our weekly community streams to ease the pain for a few lucky space pilots.”
To help tide the EVERSPACE 2™ community over the holiday season, The ROCKFISH Games team has decided to send out pre-release keys for the closed beta to all Kickstarter backers who pledged on the Just A Digital Copy, Please and higher.
This news was announced alongside an early look at the Gunship class of heavy fighters and a sneak peek at plans for the all-new crafting system.
As in any looter shooter, defeating enemies and completing quests will provide rewards that aren’t always what a player is seeking for their ideal build. The new crafting system comes into play to produce valuable equipment also from collected lower-level items. Primary weapons, secondary weapons, and ship modules can be improved, and players will be able to collect rare blueprints for epic weapons and equipment over the course of the game.
In addition, ROCKFISH Games presents the first details about the Gunship, a heavy, armed to the teeth heavy fighter subclass with a devastating 360 ° targeting automated turret as its ultimate special ability.
The team plans to add this new ship class and crafting to EVERSPACE 2™ for the Early Access launch in January 2021.
The ROCKFISH Games team will give further insights into the crafting system and show off an early look at the Gunship during their Dev Livestream on October 30, 2020. The livestream can be followed from 8pm – 10pm CEST on the ROCKFISH Games Channel on Twitch and YouTube.
EVERSPACE 2™ can be wishlisted on Steam and a free demo on Steam is currently available.
About ROCKFISH Games GmbH
ROCKFISH Games is a 100% independent game studio specializing in high-quality Unreal Engine 4 action video games for PC and consoles. Industry veterans Michael Schade and Christian Lohr founded ROCKFISH Games to create a new breed of adrenalin-filled adventures for space shooter fans through their acclaimed EVERSPACE™ IP. After spending over 20 years as joint entrepreneurs in the 3D graphics and mobile gaming space, Schade and Lohr built ROCKFISH Games from the ground up alongside a small team of veteran developers to the current studio of 25 cherry-picked developers and community experts from across the industry.
Using Kickstarter as a platform to build a new community in 2015, ROCKFISH Games reached a runaway success with EVERSPACE™, which has sold over 1.5 million copies on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation since release. Building on these successes and propelled by yet another wildly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2019, ROCKFISH Games is dedicated to crafting a next-gen open-world space shooter experience driven by quality storytelling to delight space action affectionados in their upcoming title, EVERSPACE™ 2.
LET LOOSE AND RACE THE WORLD IN ALL-NEW DIRT 5™ GAMEPLAY LAUNCH TRAILER
Feel the Vibe as Official Soundtrack Album Launches Today Across Digital Music Platforms
Codemasters® showcases its first full all-action DIRT 5™ gameplay trailer to celebrate the game’s launch from 6 November. The whistle-stop tour around the world in 60 seconds reveals death-defying jumps in the Italian marble mines, through to treacherous ice driving in Nepal, and everything in between. DIRT 5 is a full-throttle racing experience with over 70 routes across 10 locations and 13 vehicle classes. The fast and frenetic trailer can be viewed here.
DIRT 5 delivers breath-taking wheel-to-wheel pack racing on multiple surfaces including rugged terrain, harsh desert sands, snow, ice, tarmac, and more. Weather conditions change in a heartbeat, cars flip and crash as the action heats up, and players must keep their wits about them to stay in the race. With a variety of game modes including Career, Arcade, Time Trial and Multiplayer games, DIRT 5 is an adrenaline rush from start to finish. DIRT 5 also introduces split-screen which can be played offline in co-op and competitive modes for up to four players.
For those who crave variety, the trailer ends on the new Playgrounds feature. Create, share and discover custom arenas across three event types; Gate Crasher, Smash Attack and Gymkhana. All published Playgrounds are hosted online with a global leaderboard, allowing players around the world to upload an arena and post their best score.
Today also marks the launch of the DIRT 5 Official Soundtrack album, available to stream and download across all major digital music platforms. Featuring global icons including The Killers and The Chemical Brothers, the 18-track album features seven exclusive songs from the freshest talent. The full soundtrack, which also features in-game, includes:
High Contrast – Griffin (exclusive)
Noisy – Tourist (exclusive)
Prospa – Feel It 92 (exclusive)
Koko – Silly With It (exclusive)
Broken Witt Rebels – Take It (exclusive)
Sea Girls – Accident Waiting To Happen (exclusive)
“DIRT 5 is a celebration of speed, set on some of the toughest terrains in the most stunning global locations,” said Robert Karp, DIRT 5 Development Director at Codemasters. “From bustling cities to sprawling off-road destinations, it’s time to let loose and put your foot to the floor. Whether battling through Career, voiced by Troy Baker and Nolan North, competing with friends on the couch or creating the ultimate Playground, there is something for all race fans to enjoy.”
DIRT 5 is coming to PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X, and PC (via Steam) on Friday 6 November. The Xbox Series X|S version is available worldwide on 10 November. PlayStation® 5 version launches in North America, Australia and New Zealand on 12 November and the rest of the world on 19 November. A Google Stadia version will launch in early 2021.
Players who purchase DIRT 5 Amplified Edition will receive exclusive content and three days early access*. The game supports Xbox Smart Delivery and PlayStation’s free upgrade when players switch to an Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5**.
* Three days early access only available for PlayStation® 4, Xbox One and PC releases
** Discless consoles require a digital entitlement to upgrade
# ENDS #
ABOUT CODEMASTERS:
Codemasters (AIM:CDM) is an award-winning British video game developer and publisher with over 30 years of heritage. The company specialises in high-quality racing games including DiRT, GRID, and the BAFTA award-winning official F1® series of videogames.
In November 2019 Codemasters acquired Slightly Mad Studios, creators and developers of award-winning IP including the Project CARS franchise.
For more information on Codemasters’ product portfolio, please visit www.codemasters.com. Join in the conversation with @codemasters on Twitter or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/codemasters.
A new character and additional content will be available from November 10
Lesquin, 29 October 2020 – NACON and Eko Software are pleased to announce that Warhammer: Chaosbane will be available on next-generation consoles with the Slayer Edition. The first hack-and-slash available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation®5, this edition includes the most complete version of the game with all DLC packs (12 in total), all the updates, among them Keela, the Tower of Chaos and a 4K 60FPS visual experience. A new character, Jurgen Haider the Witch Hunter and additional content will also be available on November 10 for the Xbox Series X|S and PC, then from the 12 and 19 November on PlayStation®5 according to the date of availability of the console in each country.
See the first images of Jurgen Haider in the new trailer below.
See a Broll video of Warhammer Chaosbane recorded on Xbox Series X below.
Wearing the distinctive hat and long coat of his order, the Witch Hunter’s skilled use of two weapons makes him particularly formidable: in close combat with his sword and from a distance with his pistol. He wanders the roads of the Old World to purge it of Chaos. This inquisitor draws his power directly from his faith in Sigmar, and he becomes judge and executioner when he cleanses the heresy and Chaos he exposes.
As well as the introduction of this new character, there is also a free patch that adds improvements for new players and fans of the first hour of the game. The two hubs of Act 1 and Act 2 have been expanded. The area around the camp of Act 2 has also been enhanced with new enemies to fight. There is also a new area – the cemetery – which adds a new environment and a larger bestiary. This includes new enemies, including Daemon Princes, Skullcrushers (mounted and on foot), a Chaos Warrior and new cultists.
The new Witch Hunter character is part of the Slayer Edition on the new consoles and available as DLC for current-generation consoles. The patch with improved environments, new area and bestiary is free for everyone on all platforms.
The first hack-and-slash set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world, Warhammer: Chaosbanethrusts players into the heart of the Old World, a continent scarred by the Great War Against Chaos – a bloody conflict that has ravaged the Empire of Man. You can play as a Human, High Elf, Wood Elf, Dwarf, Dwarf Engineer or Witch Hunter as you explore the iconic areas of the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world, which has captivated millions of fans worldwide.
Warhammer Chaosbane is available on PC Steam, Xbox One and PlayStation®4.
The new character and additional content patch will be available on November 10 on these platforms.
The new character and additional content patch will be part of the Slayer Edition of Warhammer Chaosbane from November 10, 2020 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®4, PC Steam, and on PlayStation®5 from the 12 or 19 November, according to the date of availability of the console in each country.
About NACON NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game market. By bringing together its 8 development studios, the publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 20 years of expertise at the service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens NACON’s position in the market, enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages and achieve its ambition to become one of the world’s leading players in gaming. https://corporate.nacongaming.com/
About Games Workshop Games Workshop® Group PLC (LSE:GAW.L), based in Nottingham, UK, produces the best fantasy miniatures in the world. Games Workshop designs, manufactures, retails, and distributes its range of Warhammer®: Age of Sigmar® and Warhammer® 40,000® games, miniature soldiers, novels and model kits through 507 of its own stores (branded Games Workshop® or Warhammer®), the www.games-workshop.com web store and independent retail channels in more than 50 countries worldwide. More information about Games Workshop and its other, related, brands and product ranges (including our publishing division ‘Black Library’ and our special resin miniatures studio ‘Forge World’) can be found at www.games-workshop.com.
About Eko Software Established in 1999, Eko Software is an independent game developer and publisher based in Paris – France. Eko Software is developing games on all major gaming platforms (consoles – PC – Smart TVs). Mainly focused on development and content creation, the company develops games for top publishers or creates new IPs that are published in partnership with worlwide publishers or self-published through digital distribution channels. IPs created by Eko include Aqua Panic!, Wanted Corp., SPRay, and How to Survive. For more information on Eko Software and its products please visit www.ekosystem.com.
Plus Reports of a UFO Hauled Off to Fort Zancudo, Double Rewards on Alien Survivals and More
As Halloween season hits fever pitch this week,things are out-of-this-world unusual in GTA Online. Alongside all the Halloween-themed vehicles, masks and more returning, both detailed below and found throughout the streets and alleys of Los Santos, there are still reports of hikers ingesting peyote plants and undergoing transformational spirit quests in the heights of the Tataviam Mountains.
Double Rewards on Alien Survivals + Business Battle Bonuses Wrap your creepy humanoid feelers around a futuristic laser weapon and batten down against the armed earthlings for as long as possible – Alien Survivals are paying out double to all players this week.
Meanwhile, there are whispers that a downed unidentified flying object has been hauled off to Fort Zancudo for testing. Most of the information is redacted, but the basics are simple: work together in this new Business Battle to take out the Merryweather agents and then haul whatever extraterrestrial gear you can grab to Omega’s shack, ASAP.
This and all other Business Battles are paying out double this week, so it’ll be worth your while. Plus, just to sweeten the pot: win any Event Business Battle this week and you’ll get the Cultstoppers Tee as an added bonus.
Double Rewards in Gruesome Adversary Modes In keeping with the Halloween spirit, players can take home double rewards when it comes to all of the bloodiest, most gruesome Adversary Modes, including the Halloween Bunker Series, Slasher, Slashers, Lost vs. Damned, Condemned, Come Out to Play and Beast vs. Slasher.
Free Terrifying Tees and More Play GTA Online anytime this week to receive the Butchery and Other Hobbies Tee, the Knife After Dark Tee, and the Orange Dot Tech Mask – all free of charge. There’s no better way to tell someone you don’t know that you harbor antisocial tendencies than by rocking murder merch.
On the Podium This Week: The Albany Fränken Stange Swing by the lobby of The Diamond Casino & Resort to give the Lucky Wheel its daily spin and walk away with GTA$, clothing, mystery prizes and so much more. This week’s top prize is the Albany Fränken Stange decked out in the Blazing Death livery, a morbid ride that could scare any road safety instructor into an early grave.
Discounts Save money where it counts this week by taking advantage of seasonal discounts on grim vehicles like the Romero Hearse, Albany Lurcher and LCC Sanctus, plus 40% off Facilities and half off Nightmare Upgrades on several Arena War vehicles. Read below for the complete list.
Facilities – 40% off:
Paleto Bay
Mount Gordo
Sandy Shores
Zancudo River
Grand Senora Desert
Lago Zancudo
Route 68
RON Alternates Wind Farm
Land Act Reservoir
Facility Modifications/Add-Ons – 25% off:
Style
Graphics
Orbital Cannon
Security Room
Lounge
Sleeping Quarters
Vehicles:
Albany Lurcher – 30% off
Chariot Romero Hearse – 30% off
LCC Sanctus – 30% off
Arena Nightmare Upgrades – 50% off:
MTL Nightmare Cerberus
Declasse Nightmare Brutus
HVY Nightmare Scarab
Vapid Nightmare Imperator
Annis Nightmare ZR380
PRIME GAMING BENEFITS
GTA Online players who successfully connect their Rockstar Games Social Club account with Prime Gaming will receive GTA$200K for playing any time this week, plus:
Free Vespucci Canals Nightclub location
60% off of the flying Imponte Deluxo
Prime Gaming members who link their Amazon account to their Rockstar Games Social Club account get a one-time GTA$1,000,000 bonus deposited to their Maze Bank Accounts within 72 hours of doing so.
If you previously had a Twitch account linked you will need to reclaim your benefits at Prime Gaming to ensure access to all future benefits. See here for more details.
Borderlands® 3 Ultimate Edition, Arms Race Gameplay, Final Form Cosmetics, and More Revealed on The Borderlands Show
Today’s episode of The Borderlands Show featured two brand new editions and detailed more exciting content coming to Season Pass 2, launching November 10
The latest episode of The Borderlands Show was jam-packed with exciting Borderlands 3 news, including the announcement of Borderlands 3® Ultimate Edition, the reveal of four radically re-envisioned Vault Hunter models, and the first look at gameplay for the brand new Arms Race that launches November 10 as part of the Designer’s Cut add-on, which can be purchased alone or as part of Season Pass 2.
Framed as a reality show hosted by Borderlands 2 Vault Hunters Axton and Salvador, Arms Race offers a roguelike experience that’s fast-paced, challenging, and consistently remixed by randomized elements. You’re stripped of all your gear, passive abilities, and Actions Skills and dropped into a new zone where you’ll have to get loot or die trying. The action takes place throughout the Stormblind Complex: an expansive, decommissioned DAHL military base set on a wintry island in a previously hidden corner of Pandora.
As soon as you drop onto the island, you’re racing against the clock to grab the best gear you can and get it to an extraction point before you’re obliterated by an encroaching storm. If you hope to extract the very best Legendary loot that drops exclusively in Arms Race, you’ll need to gear up and face off against Heavyweight Harker, the final boss of the Stormblind Complex. You can resurrect fallen co-op allies at designated respawn points, but if no one’s around to revive you, your Arms Race run is over and any loot you failed to extract is gone forever.
By putting the focus squarely on guns and gameplay, Arms Race makes every loot drop meaningful and exciting. It also levels the playing field so Vaults Hunters of all experience levels can drop in together and feel equally challenged (and rewarded). To learn more about Arms Race and to see the first footage of this new mode in action, check out this blog.
Arms Race, as well as a new set of Skill Trees, will be included in the Designer’s Cut add-on. Designer’s Cut requires a copy of Borderlands 3 to play and can be purchased individually or as part of Season Pass 2. Season Pass 2 will include two all-new downloadable content add-ons – Designer’s Cut and Director’s Cut – and will be available for purchase starting November 10 across PC, Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / Series S. The Designer’s Cut add-on also launches on November 10, while Director’s Cut – which includes additional missions, end-game content, and behind-the-scenes extras– is planned for release in spring of next year.
Today’s episode of The Borderlands Show also featured another reveal: the Multiverse Final Form cosmetics packs. Unlike any previous cosmetics add-on, these packs provide fourentirely new character models, one for each Vault Hunter. The Final Forms depict how each character might’ve turned out in an alternate universe where they never became a Vault Hunter. These new cosmetics can be mixed and matched with other Bodies and Heads as desired and can also be paired with all existing skins.
Like Arms Race, the Multiverse Final Form cosmetics packs will be available as part of Season Pass 2, though you can also pick up these packs if you purchase the brand new Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition, which delivers the quintessential Borderlands 3 experience. Ultimate Edition grants you access to the award-winning base game, multiple bonus cosmetic packs, and both the original Season Pass and Season Pass2, which combined offer six exceptional content add-ons.
The slick Final Form models are also included in Borderlands 3Next-Level Edition, a new console-only version that includes the base game and the Multiverse Final Form cosmetics packs. Finally, as a thank you to everyone who has maximized their mayhem thus far, the Multiverse Final Form cosmetic packs will be granted to all players who own Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition or the original Season Pass, with no additional purchase necessary.
Both Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition and Borderlands 3 Next-Level Edition will be available for purchase starting November 10. Ultimate Edition is coming to PC, Stadia, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / Series S, while Next-Level Edition will release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / Series S.
And don’t forget, Borderlands 3’s next-gen upgrade will be available day-and-date alongside Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles. The next-gen version of the game will be playable at launch on the Xbox Series X / Series S on November 10, as well as on the PlayStation 5 when it launches on November 12. All players who own or purchase both a copy of the game and a next-gen console will be able to download the upgrade within the same console family for free. Players that own a physical disc of Borderlands 3 will need the Xbox Series X or standard PlayStation 5 console model that includes a disc drive to take advantage of this feature.
Borderlands 3is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
Introducing The W: First-Ever WNBA MyPLAYER Experience in NBA 2K21 for Next-Gen
Build a WNBA Star in The W and Take Over the League
With the launch of PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S right around the corner, 2K is excited to unveil a new feature coming exclusively to the next-gen version of NBA 2K21.
Greatly expanding on the WNBA experience introduced last year, The W is the first-ever WNBA MyPLAYER experience for the NBA 2K franchise. Players will be able to create their own fully customizable WNBA player and take her through a pro career featuring all 12 WNBA teams and the league’s brightest stars including Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Diana Taurasi.
https://youtu.be/J_l13Cltpw4
“We’re really proud to continue our great partnership with the WNBA and introduce players to The W,” stated Visual Concepts senior producer Felicia Steenhouse. “Being able to recognize yourself both on and off the court is incredibly important to us. The W helps us elevate women’s basketball and highlights the starpower of the WNBA.”
Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker added: “Creating your own player to take over the league is one of the many reasons why people love to play NBA 2K. I’m so excited to see the 2K team elevate the WNBA experience with The W. This will be a great way to introduce the next generation to women’s basketball and showcase our league.”
Players who want to experience the thrill of competition can also go head-to-head in The W Online, featuring intense 3v3 MyPLAYER competition set on a beautiful new court exclusive to the game mode. Another first for the franchise – players can now sit in both the GM and commissioner’s chair in MyWNBA, where they can drive the growth of all 12 WNBA teams and the entire league!
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true update without the reveal of new WNBA player ratings for NBA 2K21! Fans of the WNBA will want to stay-tuned to NBA 2K social channels today to see which of their favourite stars moved up or down. At the top is Breanna Stewart, whose 95 rating establishes her as the best player in the league.
To learn more about the W head to the latest Courtside Report which is also detailed below.
For more information on the next-gen version of NBA 2K21, be sure to check out the developer gameplay video and Courtside Reports covering next-gen fundamentals, movement and impact engine, and MyPLAYER Builder and AI. In addition, fans will soon get an in-depth look of the biggest expansion of NBA 2K’s online basketball community feature: the experience formerly known as The Neighbourhood.
The next-gen version of NBA 2K21 will be released on November 10 for Xbox Series X|S globally and on November 12 for PlayStation 5.
NBA 2K21 NEXT-GEN THE W AND MYWNBA COURTSIDE REPORT
Hello everyone! Felicia Steenhouse, Senior Producer for NBA 2K21 here, and I’m excited to talk about WNBA today! First and foremost, I want to thank the dedicated fans out there still playing through WNBA Seasons, writing up wish lists, reviews, and reaching out on social media pushing us for more. You were certainly on our minds during those tough late nights, inspiring us to keep pushing. I can’t express how grateful we are as a team for your participation and feedback. While this Courtside Report is all about the WNBA and The W, I actually want to start with an addition for those fans who enjoyed last year’s WNBA Season mode. You’re going to love this.
Fully customizable. Multi-season. WNBA Franchise mode. This is MyWNBA!
As soon as we were done with NBA 2K20, we knew right away what our first goal for NBA 2K21 would be and got to work on building that foundation for league control and progression for the WNBA. You now have the sandbox to go and create the league of your dreams. Control all 12 teams, or take your favorite team from the lottery to championship rings over as many seasons as it takes.
When I say fully customizable, this is what I mean:
Create a league of your own. From rules, to finances, CBA, draft, and everything in between. Use 2K presets for a different experience, or download shared settings from the community.
Skip the season altogether and get straight to the playoffs in Playoff mode.
Want to play with friends? Got you covered with Online Leagues.
Turn on role playing elements to experience the WNBA from a GM’s perspective.
For experienced players, up the difficulty and compete on the leaderboard.
Once you find yourself immersed in your sandbox, save and upload your custom configuration so you can share what you built with the community!
We want to hear from you. Get your hands dirty in our MyWNBA sandbox and let us know how you are playing. Where are you having fun and where are you looking for more? We want to hear it all so we can grow this experience together.
Now, I hope you didn’t think we stopped at our brand new MyWNBA experience. We have so much more to share today…
Welcome to The W
One of our main design goals for The W was to allow you to experience the career of a WNBA player, both on and off the court. The women of the WNBA are more than athletes and are defining professional sports as we know it in real-time. Do you have what it takes to lead this league into a new era?
Building your MyPLAYER
The first thing you’ll do when creating your WNBA MyPLAYER is pick your player’s head. Import your Face Scan from the mobile app or chose from one of our 30 base heads (that you can completely customize) to form into your likeness.
After this, you’ll then get to one of the most important early decisions when creating a WNBA MyPLAYER – determining your player type.
A noteworthy aspect of this mode is that your player progression is triggered solely through playing games. Because of this, picking your Player Type will be one of the most important early decisions you make in the game, as it’ll determine your MyPLAYER’s initial attributes and those when the player progresses from Progression Level 1 all the way up to Level 10.
Here’s a breakdown of the Player Types:
2-Way Playmaker. PG & SG eligible.
Good at ball-handling and passing. Good at defending the perimeter.
2-Way Point Forward. SF & PF eligible.
Good at ball-handling and passing. Good at perimeter and interior defense (SF perimeter, PF interior).
Slashing Playmaker. PG, & SG eligible.
Good at ball-handling, passing and finishing near the rim.
Slashing Point Forward. SF & PF.
Good at ball-handling, passing and finishing near the rim.
Inside-Out Playmaker. PG, & SF eligible.
Good at 3’s, finishing inside, ball-handling and finishing near the rim.
Inside-Out Point Forward. SF & PF eligible.
Good at 3’s, finishing inside, ball-handling and finishing near the rim.
2-Way Slasher. PG, SG, & SF eligible.
Good perimeter defender who is also good at ball-handling and finishing near the rim.
2-Way Slashing Four. PF eligible.
Good perimeter/interior defender who is also good at ball-handling and finishing near the rim.
2-Way Slashing Five. C eligible.
Good interior defender who is also good at ball-handling and finishing near the rim.
3&D Point. PG, SG, & SF eligible.
Good perimeter defender who is also good at shooting 3’s
3-Level Scorer. All positions eligible.
Can score inside, mid-range, and beyond the arc.
Offensive Threat. PG, SG, & SF eligible.
Good at all things offense – scoring inside, medium range and 3pt as well as ball-handling and passing.
Good at ball-handling, passing and shooting mid-range shots.
Post Scorer. PF & C eligible.
Great at scoring with their back to the basket.
Lockdown Defender. PG, SG, SF, & PF eligible.
Great all-around defender. The PG-SF are mostly perimeter. PF is mostly interior.
Defensive Anchor. C eligible.
Great interior defender (blocks, interior defense).
Paint Beast. SF, PF, & C eligible.
Good at scoring inside, interior defending and rebounding.
Once you’ve picked your Player Type, you will then get to pick your Body Settings. Height, Weight, and Wingspan will all affect your MyPLAYER’s attributes from the starting point to the Level 10 maximum.
And the last thing that you’ll be choosing is your MyPLAYER’s Primary and Secondary Takeover. As your player gets hot, these will fill up, first your primary and then your secondary. If you wait for both to fill up, then you can activate them both at the same time. You can learn more about the Takeover feature in our Courtside Report #3
WNBA Player On & Off the Court
As touched upon in the intro, we felt it was important to let players experience what it means to be a WNBA player on and off the court. In order to do this, we built the mode on the foundation of a set of different pillars that track the progress of your MyPLAYER and the league.
The core progression is tracked through the following – Player Progression, Player Popularity, WNBA Popularity, Player Wealth, and Teammate Chemistry.
After you play your first game, now on your off day, you will notice you have three events to choose from. What you choose here depends on how you want to progress your career in The W. What’s important to you? Growing the league? Securing money now? Setting yourself up for a career after basketball? Or maybe you just want to try a little of everything. Every choice you make, you will see one of your five career pillars change, and with each level progressed across those five pillars you’ll receive in-game rewards as you go.
Progression
Progression is basically just how good your MyPLAYER is at playing the game of basketball. The primary way to level up your MyPLAYER is by earning MyPOINTS by playing and performing well in games. Like all career pillars, you can also participate in various off-court events during the regular season and later in the offseason that will help improve your MyPLAYER’s basketball skills, which also allows you to unlock and upgrade badges.
In addition to boosting your attributes and gaining badges, leveling up your Progression will also unlock new animations, the Jumpshot Creator, the ability to influence your team’s free agent and trade targets, your team’s minutes and rotations, and even jersey numbers.
Popularity
This one should be pretty clear – it’s how popular your MyPLAYER is and tracks how many fans you have at any given moment. You can earn fans by making highlight plays in games like and-1s, buzzer beaters, clutch chasedown blocks on star players, and so on. Participating in off-court events that are designed to promote your personal fame will help you grow your star power even more.
The main goal in increasing your player’s popularity will be to earn endorsements, which earns you more money as well as game day shoes from the brand partnership you earn. These include Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, New Balance, and Converse.
WNBA Popularity
As a WNBA player, it benefits you to help the league become more popular. You will have an opportunity to help grow the league, if you choose to, by doing various off-court jobs designed to help increase the overall popularity of the entire league.
When you do this, the league will evolve and there’ll be more National TV games that you can play in, which earns more personal fans than non-nationally televised games. It also produces increases to player salaries that will positively impact your wealth, which has benefits that we’ll get to…well, right now!
Player Wealth
Hey, let’s be honest, there is a little satisfaction in earning that paycheck. This career pillar tracks the growth of your player’s bank account; it includes money earned with your WNBA salary that gets paid out by playing WNBA games and from doing various jobs off the court.
Now let me drop a teaser here. Progressing your wealth will unlock exclusive gear to wear when competing in The W Online…more on that to come!
Teammate Chemistry
The last of the career pillars where we track your MyPLAYER’s progress is with Teammate Chemistry. This gauges how well you play with and get along with your teammates. You can increase this with a good in-game teammate grade or by spending time with your teammates on off-days. You’ll have to balance this with improving your own skills or popularity, that of the leagues, and increasing that number in your bank account.
Having a high Teammate Chemistry level will have some important game impacts, such as unlocking the Secondary Takeover (that we talked about in the MyPLAYER creation section above). It also unlocks the Team Takeover feature and the new feature of ‘Control All On-Court Players’ – that lets you play The W with full 5-player control like in Play Now instead of locked to your MyPLAYER. Furthermore, you can also unlock Accessories like armbands, socks, headbands, etc, that you can wear both in WNBA games and in The W Online.
Off-day and Offseason Jobs
What you choose to do off the court matters a lot in this mode and that’s where these off-day and offseason jobs come into play. This is where we get into the flavor of the WNBA. A lot of research went into defining what players do off the court and we had a lot of fun translating that into the game. I hope even the die-hard WNBA fans will find something new here.
What makes this league so amazing is the diversity of its players. The ways in which they market themselves, each other, and the league itself is varied and unique. Going over our research on what players do off the court that contribute to those five pillars we discussed above, we categorized these into five groups – Coach, Entrepreneur, Global Icon, Fashion Icon, and Influencer.
Coach: Think Kristi Toliver here. These jobs center on improving your knowledge and abilities in the game of basketball. Doing these will be beneficial mostly to your MyPLAYER’s Progression and sometimes Teammate Chemistry.
Entrepreneur: à la Jessica Breland. Learn how to run your own business and become better at making money. Doing these jobs will, of course, be most impactful to your player’s Wealth.
Global Icon: Basketball has worldwide appeal. These jobs are focused on reaching an international audience – both for your personal Popularity and the WNBA Popularity. We had Diana Taurasi in mind for this one.
Fashion Icon: Did someone say Liz Cambage? Fashion matters in sports and is an important part of the lives of fans and players. Doing fashion icon jobs will help your own Popularity and often give a boost to your Wealth.
Influencer: Just like Breanna Stewart or Candace Parker, athletes are influencers and the jobs in this category will help you influence your fans and gain new ones along the way.
As an added bonus, as you progress in these jobs, you’ll gain WNBA players as contacts who will send you texts to help you out along the way. To start your career you will hear from Nneka Ogwumike to help get you moving in the right direction.
The W Online
Ok, so what exactly is The W Online? Simply put, The W Online is a 3v3 multiplayer experience (exclusive to The W) where you can take your homegrown MyPLAYER and compete against other players and their MyPLAYERs. Once in the game, you will find yourself in arguably the most beautiful location to play in the game. If you want to see next gen visuals; this is the place to be.
Games played in The W Online will earn you MyPOINTS toward your player’s progression, but this is also where you get to show out. These street rules games to 21 are a stage to showcase your MyPLAYER. As you are progressing in your career, you are unlocking animations and exclusive clothing items for this experience. Once you unlock that coveted level 10 gear, The W Online is the place to go to show the world you’ve reached the pinnacle of your profession!
Closing Thoughts
YOU ultimately make our game what it is, and this year we have greatly expanded the ‘you’s who are represented in our game. There are so many new ways to play with the WNBA in NBA 2K21! I can’t wait to hear about how you shape the league in The W, see your highlights in The W Online, download your custom rosters and scenarios, and see what you are able to build with MyWNBA!
Before I let you go, I want to give a quick shout out to the best development team in the world. The talent and resolve of everyone at VC continuously blows me away. While we are very proud of what we were able to accomplish together, we are always thirsty for more. There are new, never-before taken paths ahead of us. This is a journey we are honored and excited to be taking with you. Now it’s time to see where you take the WNBA in NBA 2K21! Do you have it in you?
