Sony has announced February’s free PlayStation Plus games for subscribers, and there are three games on the way. These will be EA Sports UFC 4, Planet Coaster: Console Edition, and Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure. All three will be available starting Tuesday, February 1 with the first PlayStation Store refresh of the month.
February 2022’s free PS Plus games have been announced
Developing…
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Reviews for Pokemon Legends: Arceus have gone live, and across multiple outlets, the general consensus is that Game Freak’s latest title is a refreshing twist on the classic catch ’em all formula. While it may not be the best Pokemon game–like no other game before–Pokemon Legends: Arceus overcomes some admittedly clumsy first steps to pave the way for the future of the series with some clever gameplay ideas.
Critics have touched on how the mechanics for catching Pokemon are more engaging than ever, the world feels lively, and the battle system overhaul makes combat more exciting. Some of the criticism for the game has focused on its technical limitations, as Game Freak’s sandbox appears to be pushing the Switch’s hardware to its very limits.
“Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a significant reimagining of what makes a Pokemon game, with an exciting level of flexibility that’s only slightly hampered by a slow early-game grind,” Steve Watts wrote in his Pokemon Legends: Arceus review.
Game: Pokemon Legends: ArceusPlatforms: Nintendo SwitchDeveloper: Game FreakRelease Date: January 28Price: $60
For more, head to GameSpot sister site Metacritic to get a deeper look at the critical consensus for Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
“Some of the new ideas in Arceus have rough edges, and it’s slow to start before you get access to many environments and mounts. This is an awkward first step, and it was a big adjustment for me, a longtime fan of the series, to make. Once Pokemon Legends: Arceus finds its stride, though, it’s the most daring and inventive the series has been in years, breaking apart the staid core and creating something new and exciting from its pieces.” — Steve Watts [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends is the breath of fresh air the series has needed for so long. It may not have been apparent from the trailers, but this is one of the most entertaining, engaging and engrossing games in the entire history of the Pokemon series, and is highly recommended to both long-time fans and complete newcomers.” — Chris Scullion [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends Arceus is a must-play game for fans of the franchise. Not only is it the very best Pokemon game yet, but it elegantly takes the formula and flips it on its head, creating a unique new challenge that fans will love. With the nods to the anime and Pokemon games abound, Arceus feels very much like a love letter from Game Freak.” — Nic Bunce [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of Game Freak learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredible, exciting direction. With its emphasis on extremely rewarding exploration, addictive catching mechanics, a fine roster of Pokemon and a genuine sense of scale that’s unlike anything in the series, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is quite simply one of the greatest Pokemon games ever made.” — Jordan Middler [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends: Arceus may only dabble in mechanics and formulas nearly every other role-playing game has mastered, but Game Freak succeeds here far more than it stumbles. Combined with a unique ingredient–the most successful franchise of all time, beloved by hundreds of millions–the developer proves Pokémon works as a modern RPG and that future installments could potentially outmatch other games in the genre.” — Tom Caswell [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a departure from the prototypical Pokemon formula, abandoning or reinventing old features in order to offer something new and unique. While it leaves a bit to be desired from a technical standpoint, there’s just so much to enjoy. A clever overhaul to the battle system, improvements to exploration, and a story that dives deep into franchise lore makes Pokemon Legends: Arceus an experience that will appeal to longtime fans, as well as those who may have grown tired of the series’ reliance on the status quo.” — Donovan Erskine [Full review]
“Pokemon Legends: Arceus threads the needle and somehow finds a brilliant balance between old and new, between tradition and upheaval. It’s the 3D Pokemon adventure that I imagined back in the 90s that never came. It’s fresh. It feels new, exciting, and like a powerful new beginning for the series. Technical shortcomings and minor frustrations can’t take away what this game achieves elsewhere; it’s the best main-series Pokemon game in a long, long time.” — Alex Donaldson [Full review]
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First announced as part of NVIDIA’s CES 2022 presentation, the company’s new GeForce RTX 3050 desktop video card is finally rolling out to retailers this month. The low-end video card is being positioned to round out the bottom of NVIDIA’s product stack, offering a modern, Ampere-based video card for a more entry-level market. All of this comes as PC video card market still in chaos due to a combination of the chip crunch and crypto miner demand, so any additional cards are most welcome – and likely to be sucked up rather quickly, even at a MSRP of $249 (and higher).
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A fan-made Resident Evil 4 remaster has been in the works for eight years, and a new trailer for the finished project is out. Created by Cris Morales and Albert Marin–two guys with day jobs who “absolutely love Resident Evil 4”–the unofficial RE4 HD Project will feature heavily improved graphics and textures.
As stated on the project website’s FAQ, the effort to modernize RE4’s graphics was true dedication. Marin actually ventured out to gather, photograph, and source the real-life visual references in RE4. In the creators’ own words, they scaled up each texture “up to 8-16 times the original resolution (in most cases) and redrawing/remaking from there.”
The RE4 HD Project will be free to download on February 2 and is compatible with the 2014 RE4 Ultimate HD edition, which is available on Steam for any interested players.
RE4 was originally released in 2005 and is one of the most popular titles in the RE franchise. It’s largely thought to have revitalized the RE series, and without it, we wouldn’t have the acclaimed Resident Evil Village.
GameSpot scored RE4 9.6/10, and reviewer Greg Kasavin commented in his Resident Evil 4 Review, “RE4 is an amazing achievement in a variety of ways, especially in how its inspired, state-of-the-art cinematic presentation works so well with its relentlessly exciting, white-knuckle action, all of which is wrapped up in a decidedly lengthy adventure chock-full of hidden secrets and bonus extras.”
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The recent big gaming buyouts–including Take-Two’s proposed acquisition of Zynga for $12.7 billion and Microsoft’s impending $68.7 billion deal for Activision Blizzard–have spurred some analysts to believe that other major acquisitions could be on the table.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes analysts outlining their thoughts on potential acquisition targets, including Electronic Arts. Analysts at the research firm Enders said Sony might see EA as “likely to be the favorite” for an acquisition. The piece mentions how EA currently has a market cap of around $37 billion, so Sony might look to buy Ubisoft or Take-Two for a “far cheaper” price.
Another research company, Handler, said Disney might look to purchase EA. “A great way for Disney to build upon its digital future and for [CEO] Bob Chapek to step outside Bob Iger’s shadow would be to buy EA,” Handler said. “Combining EA Sports with ESPN could create a lot of unique opportunities, like a real sports metaverse.”
Handler went on to say that Disney has an existential question to consider: “Does Disney want to be old or new media? Video games is a $200 billion global industry and growing.”
The piece also cites Clay Griffin of MoffetNathanson, who told THR that gaming companies overall are attractive candidates these days for acquisitions given the growth in gaming overall. Not only that, but big tech companies with deep pockets might want to scoop up gaming publishers as part of the rush to create a metaverse.
“It’s not an unreasonable position to claim that game publishers are attractive M&A candidates for big tech companies that have the financial brawn to make the metaverse happen, but perhaps don’t have ready-made IP or core competency in producing gaming content that will be required for mass market acceptance,” Griffin said.
This is all purely speculative for now, but for Sony in particular, many are wondering how the company may respond to Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard, if it needs to at all. Sony’s stock price took a huge hit after Microsoft’s deal for Activision Blizzard was announced, knocking $20 billion off Sony’s market cap.
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The group of QA developers seeking to form a union at Call of Duty studio Raven Software and management at parent company Activision Blizzard could not come to terms. The developers are now planning to petition the National Labor Relations Board in the US for approval.
“We, the supermajority of workers at Raven QA, are proud to be confidently filing our petition with the NLRB for our union election,” the Game Workers Alliance group said on Twitter. “We are deeply disappointed that Raven Software and Activision Blizzard refused to uplift workers rights by choosing to not voluntarily recognize our union in spite of our supermajority support.”
“This was an opportunity for Activision Blizzard to show a real commitment setting new and improved standards for workers. Instead, Activision Blizzard has chosen to make a rushed restructuring announcement to try and hinder our right to organize. Once again, when management is given a choice, they always seem to take the low road,” the group added. “However, we are proud to file with the NLRB as we enjoy supermajority support for our union and know that together, we will gain the formal legal recognition we have earned.”
For its part, Activision Blizzard said in a statement to GameSpot, “We deeply respect the rights of all employees to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union. We carefully reviewed and considered the CWA initial request last week and tried to find a mutually acceptable solution with the CWA that would have led to an expedited election process. Unfortunately, the parties could not reach an agreement.”
A spokesperson for Activision Blizzard went on to say that it understands the union group will file a petition with the NLRB, and if that happens, the publisher said it will “respond formally to that petition promptly.”
“The most important thing to the company is that each eligible employee has the opportunity to have their voice heard and their individual vote counted, and we think all employees at Raven should have a say in this decision,” Activision Blizzard said.
The publisher also offered some background on the changes it’s made at Raven Software in the past couple of years. This includes raising minimum compensation for QA staff by 41%, extending paid time off, and giving workers and their significant others additional medical benefits. Additionally, more than 60% of temporary QA staff at Raven was recently converted to full-time, Activision Blizzard said.
QA developers at Raven went on strike in early December in protest of job cuts. This move was part of a wider restructuring, Activision Blizzard management said at the time.
“Activision Publishing is growing its overall investment in its development and operations resources,” a spokesperson said. “We are converting approximately 500 temporary workers to full-time employees in the coming months. Unfortunately, as part of this change, we also have notified 20 temporary workers across studios that their contracts would not be extended.”
The strike ended this week. A group of about three-dozen QA staff at Raven are now pushing to form a worker’s union. The union, the Game Workers Alliance, is calling for transparency from management regarding decisions that will affect the working lives of employees and for managers to work towards “realistic timelines and development plans” to help avoid “crunch.” This is the industry term for extended periods of overtime.”Crunch is not healthy for any product, worker, or company,” the group said.
The organization added that quality assurance testers at Raven “deserve respect, appropriate compensation, and career development opportunities.”
“Quality Assurance is currently an undervalued discipline in the games and software industries. We strive to foster work environments where Quality Assurance Testers are respected and compensated for our essential role in the development process,” the group said.
The Game Workers Alliance also holds a principle focused around diversity. “All voices deserve to be heard. Empowering underrepresented voices is key to fostering a truly creative and successful work environment,” it said.
Activision Blizzard management responded to the announcement of the union by saying in a statement, “While we believe that a direct relationship between the company and its team members delivers the strongest workforce opportunities, we deeply respect the rights of all employees under the law to make their own decisions about whether or not to join a union.”
Raven also recently announced organizational changes to its development structure. Raven’s QA developers will now work directly with other teams such as animation, art, design, audio, production, and engineering. Activision’s full statement is below.
“Today, Raven Software shared an organizational update that continues the work the studio began in November which will transition Quality Assurance teams to work directly alongside Animation, Art, Design, Audio, Production and Engineering teams within Raven. This change will enhance the collaborative work our teams do to support our games and players and make the opportunities for our talented QA staff even stronger.
“This is the next step in a process that has been carefully considered and in the works for some time, and this structure brings Raven into alignment with the best practices of other prominent Activision studios. It is also a milestone in our broader plan to integrate QA more into the development process as our teams strive to deliver best in class coordination in real-time, live service operations.”
The trade group CWA reacted to Raven’s organization shift, saying it is “nothing more than a tactic to thwart Raven QA workers who are exercising their right to organize.” Activision has more than 10,000 employees worldwide, with the proposed union covering about three-dozen.
Another factor at play here is that Raven Software, along with every other Activision Blizzard studio and franchise, is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. Just how Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard might affect unionization efforts and the future of the Call of Duty series remains to be seen. For what it’s worth, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the Call of Duty series will continue to be published on PlayStation, similar to how Microsoft’s Minecraft series is released on competing platforms.
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With over 20 million Spartans suited up and ready for combat, Halo Infinite has officially become the series’ biggest launch ever. 343 Studios, the developer behind the iconic series, took to Twitter to celebrate the milestone earlier today, writing, “Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the next step in this great journey.”
With over 20 million Spartans joining us so far, we’re thrilled to announce that #HaloInfinite is the biggest launch in Halo franchise history!
Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the next step in this great journey. pic.twitter.com/d4EIsvWYVr
— Halo (@Halo) January 25, 2022
Microsoft first shared the big news during its quarterly earnings meeting on January 25, where it revealed record-breaking profits across the company. According to Microsoft, the company as a whole thrived this past holiday season, with Xbox services revenue up 10% during October through December and Xbox hardware revenue up 4%. It comes as no surprise that these numbers are largely impacted by the release of Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, both of which have led to increased Xbox Series X sales and Game Pass subscriptions.
News of Microsoft’s accomplishment comes shortly after the company made headlines last week by announcing it will be purchasing Activision Blizzard, the company behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and Candy Crush. The $70 billion dollar deal came as quite the shock to the games industry, and has raised many questions as to how this purchase affects the industry at large, as well as the ongoing investigations, strikes, and allegations against Activision Blizzard.
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Microsoft reported earnings on Tuesday, announcing that its Xbox division posted revenue of $16.28 billion for the calendar year 2021. It was Xbox’s best year of all time based on revenue.
The positive momentum comes after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax/Bethesda, and the company’s fortunes are poised to presumably grow even stronger with its proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard.
Gaming revenue overall rose for Xbox, including hardware and software. Revenue from content and services during the year rose 8.8% to $12.6 billion, thanks in part to growth in Game Pass (which now has 25 million subscribers) and first-party game sales (Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite were two of Microsoft’s biggest 2021 games).
Third-party game sales slid, however, which impacted results, Microsoft said. Check out more stats from analyst Daniel Ahmad’s recap of Microsoft’s earnings report below.
Microsoft’s Gaming division (Xbox) reported revenue of $16.28 billion for the 2021 calendar year:
– Best calendar year on record, beating previous high of 2020
– Total gaming revenue up 17.7% YoY
– Content & Services revenue up 8.8% YoY
– Hardware revenue up 63.3% YoY pic.twitter.com/84MkOsnMkG
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 25, 2022
Content & Services revenue was $12.6 billion, up 8.8% YoY.
– Content & Services continues to be a key driver. Increased digital product mix.
– Game Pass + First Party title sales up YoY
– Decline in third party title sales
Content & Services = 77% of revenue pic.twitter.com/ArQsX4ywjp
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 25, 2022
As mentioned, Microsoft’s Xbox division is set to grow much larger if the company’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard goes through. Should that happen, Microsoft will own and operate juggernauts like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Candy Crush, among others.
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Sure, you might be able to play the latest Grand Theft Auto on PC and a whopping three generations of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but what if you want the power to explore the mean streets of Los Santos in the palm of your hands? While Grand Theft Auto V might not be coming to Switch anytime soon, German physicist Sebastian Staacks has managed to port it over to the next best thing: the original Game Boy.
Here is how I stream video and even play GTA5 on my unmodified #gameboy.
Video: https://t.co/Gai3pasEJm
Blog: https://t.co/9YrKTwmgSu#nintendo #retrogaming
— Sebastian Staacks (@diconx) January 13, 2022
As first reported by GamesRadar, Staacks has managed to make Grand Theft Auto V run on the 1989 handheld console using a Wi-Fi cartridge and a pretty time consuming process–the details of which he explains on his blog. In short, however, Staacks discovered a way to render the game on his PlayStation then stream it to his Game Boy via Wi-Fi. So, while the Game Boy isn’t technically running the game, the physicist says he’s still effectively found a way to play it on the retro console.
Sure, finding a way to stream a video game from one console to another might not seem all that impressive by today’s standards, but considering the Game Boy’s limitations, Staack’s work is actually quite an achievement. For starters, not only was it a matter of figuring out how to stream Grand Theft Auto V to the Game Boy, Staacks also had to remap images from the game and piece them together as packages of pixels in order to get the HD title to function on the Game Boy’s 160×144 resolution screen.
Ultimately, the workaround Staacks created allows him to stream any video from a PC to his Game Boy at 20fps. And while this might not be the ideal way to play your favorite next-gen games, it certainly is an impressive one.
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Wordle has taken over the internet in a way no one saw coming. When the new year arrived, suddenly everyone was playing Wordle daily, doing their best to think up the best first words in Wordle that may hold the key to each day’s success. We too have caught the Wordle bug, and it’s led us to try and think of new words and Wordle strategies that may help keep those streaks alive and that winning percentage pristine. With that in mind, here are what we consider to be the best starting words for Wordle, along with some key strategies from some of our avid players on staff.
If you prefer a list of the best first words for Wordle, we recommend starting any given day with these. If you’d rather hear directly from some of our Wordle-obsessed editors, be sure to check out their more specific strategies below. The key is often to quickly find vowels or common consonants that belong in each day’s word. From that starting point, we’ve identified these words as some of the very best first words for Wordle:
ReactAdieuSiredTearsAloneAriseAboutAtoneIrateSnareCreamPaintWorseSauceAnimeProwlRoastDrapeMedia
My go-to strategy with Wordle is two-pronged: Concentrate on the vowels and then narrow it down with the most common consonants. I’ll start with a vowel-heavy word like ADIEU, which usually identifies at least one letter (two if I’m lucky). Based on that first try, I’ll then try and find a word that incorporates consonants like T, S, and R on the second line, and if I’m feeling particularly smart, I’ll try and fit in the vowel O somewhere as well. This strategy usually leads me to a solution by line 4 (85% of my wins in the last two weeks have been at 4), although it has led me astray once (damn you TIGER). — Randy Ramsay
I’ve loved word games for just about as long as I’ve been able to string words together, so a lot of what I pull from when I strategize in Wordle is the undisputed classic among them: Scrabble. Scrabble assigns point values to letters based on how commonly they appear in the English language, with the lowest-scoring letters being the most popular. If, like me, you’ve invested far too much time into that game, try to think of which letters have the lowest value and make sure you can squeeze ‘em in your first guess. I tend to find “ATONE” and “IRATE” are good first tries–you manage to check the puzzle for three vowels and a couple of commonly used letters in locations they typically appear in. Another tip: think in pairs as you continue. If you know an “h” is the second letter, try getting both an “s” and a “c” in your next guess, since they commonly go in front of “h.” — Jessica Howard
The premise is simple, and that’s helped make Wordle a viral sensation.
When I first started playing Wordle, I was all over the place. I would repeatedly try letters I knew weren’t there, and it took me a solid week to remember that letters could be repeated (seriously, Wordle needs some kind of indicator for repeated letters). As a seasoned player going on three weeks now, I’ve finally got my strategy. I start with ARISE, a solid word that knocks out three vowels and two common consonants. I aim to get vowels placed as quickly as possible because for some reason my brain can work around those foundations easier than consonants. I don’t understand why either, but since I’ve implemented that strategy, I typically guess the word in three or four goes and haven’t missed a single one. — Lucy James
My advice is at odds with what you’d probably expect: Don’t stress too much about it. I’m eager to guess the day’s word in as few tries as possible, but I’m mindful of not turning Wordle into a chore by trying to min/max my way to that goal. While I do try to think of words with vowels and more common letters (I stay away from X, Z, and Q), I try a different word every day and just go with the flow. I initially lamented that Wordle doesn’t let you go back and replay old puzzles, but I’ve quickly grown fond of its one-per-day-and-that’s-it structure. Over-aggressive tweeting from fellow players aside, it’s remained a relaxing treat by not taking it too seriously or worrying about using the perfect word right from the get-go. — Chris Pereira
My approach to Wordle, and many of life’s big challenges, started by looking to a group of people that I have often sought guidance and advice from, and believe to be enlightened thinkers that are unmatched by any other scholars. As expected, they gave me exactly what I was looking for: a versatile starting word that, thus far, has yielded excellent results. Of course, I am talking about the legendary Staten Island-based hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and, naturally, the word I always begin with is C.R.E.A.M. As we all know, track eight on Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) posits that “cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all.” Time has proven this adage correct, but within the context of Wordle, CREAM also gets the solution. Dollar, dollar bills y’all. –Tamoor Hussain
If all else fails and you think your current strategy just doesn’t work no matter what, you could always go the route of this devoted player:
I do FARTS because if the word is ever FARTS and I get it on the first try it will be the best day of my life.
— Ryan McComb (@ryan__mccomb) January 3, 2022
Good luck with your next puzzle, fellow Wordle nerds!
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