Month: May 2020

Earlier this week, Square Enix had a great JRPG bundle on Steam for $50 that benefitted charity. While the Stay Home and Play JRPG Collection is no longer available, a new Square Enix bundle has taken its place. To say the bundle is fantastic would be an understatement. It’s honestly one of the best values we’ve seen. The Square Enix Eidos Anthology costs $39.24 and contains a staggering 54 games that are valued at $784.80. Like the JRPG bundle, all Square Enix revenue will be donated to food banks and charities in North America and Europe.

If you like Tomb Raider, this bundle is worth it for the Lara Croft-starring games alone. You get 14 Tomb Raider games, including Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, and older titles like Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Anniversary. The entire Deus Ex franchise is also featured in the bundle, including the stellar Deus Ex: Manking Divided.

Other prominently-featured Square Enix franchises include Thief, Legacy of Kain, Kane and Lynch, and Just Cause (the first three games). You’ll also snag one-off titles like Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition and the underrated action-adventure Mini Ninjas.

While the collection focuses heavily on action games, it also has some narrative-focused adventures like Life is Strange, Goetia, and The Turing Test.

The Square Enix Eidos Anthology is an extremely cost efficient way to stock up on Steam games. Given the fact many of us are spending more time at home, it’s the perfect time for this truly fantastic bundle, and it’s even more worthwhile knowing that your money is going to a great cause. You can see the full list of games below. It’s unclear how long the bundle will be up for grabs, but considering the last Square Enix Steam bundle only lasted a few days, you should buy it as soon as possible. While this bundle is one of the best gaming deals around, if you’re looking for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One game discounts, there are plenty to be found in our best digital game deals roundup.

Sqaure Enix Eidos Anthology | $39.24 ($784.80)

• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Just Cause 3
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Life is Strange: Complete Season
• Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
• Tomb Raider (2013)
• Tomb Raider I
• Tomb Raider II
• Tomb Raider III
• Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation
• Tomb Raider V Chronicles
• Tomb Raider VI: The Angel of Darkness
• Tomb Raider Legend
• Tomb Raider Anniversary
• Tomb Raider Underworld
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
• Just Cause
• Just Cause 2
• Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
• Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut
• Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
• Deus Ex: Invisible War
• Deus Ex: The Fall
• Thief
• Thief: Deadly Shadows
• Thief II: The Metal Age
• Thief Gold
• Battlestations: Pacific
• Battlestations: Midway
• Project Snowblind
• Mini Ninjas
• Order of War
• Flora’s Fruit Farm
• Supreme Commander 2
• Conflict: Desert Storm
• Conflict: Denied Ops
• Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
• Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
• Legacy of Kain: Defiance
• Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
• Dungeon Siege
• Dungeon Siege II
• Dungeon Siege III
• Anachronox
• Pandemonium
• Deathtrap Dungeon
• Daikatana
• Omikron: The Nomad Soul
• Goetia
• Hitman GO: Definitive Edition
• Lara Croft GO
• The Turing Test

Developer Infinity Ward has announced that a new Call of Duty playlist update for Modern Warfare and Warzone makes some adjustments to both games. The biggest change of the bunch comes on the Warzone side, where the developer is re-adding helicopters to the battle royale game on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Helicopters were recently removed from Warzone due to a player exploit that was affecting game balance. Many were encountering a bug where some Warzone players were able to glitch the airborne vehicles under the map to get free kills. It’s unclear if Infinity Ward has addressed the issue.

Also in Warzone, Infinity Ward has swapped Solos for the brand-new Stimulus Solos. According to Charlie Intel, Stimulus Solos disables The Gulag, meaning the only way you can respawn is by spending your money. Each player will start with 4500 in cash, and you drop 50 percent of it when you die. Additionally, respawning is disabled in the second to last circle.

Elsewhere in the playlist update, Modern Warfare’s Shipment 24/7 has been adjusted to become Shipment 10v10. Also, 3v3 Gunfight (Knives Only) has been added to the multiplayer moshpit.

Infinity Ward and co-developer Raven Software recently rolled out an update for both Modern Warfare and Warzone on all platforms. The patch, which made adjustments to “help prevent vehicle exploits,” nerfed the .357 revolver, tweaked “all smoke challenges” to make them a little easier, and more.

The Guardian Games are winding down in Destiny 2, but there’s still time to earn laurels and medals to grab yourself a new Exotic machine gun through the weekend. Xur can help–he’s got a new slate of Exotics on offer this weekend, including a gun that remains handy in Crucible and should prove useful in next week’s Iron Banner. Here’s what Xur is offering and where you can find him.

Head to Nessus to find Xur this week, aboard Calus’s barge in the Watcher’s Grave area. For his weapon, Xur is offering Hard Light. Hunters can pick up the Gwisin Vest chest armor; for Titans, there’s the Hallowfire Heart chest armor; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Apotheosis Veil helmet.

Xur Location

Start at the Watcher’s Grave transmat zone, then hop on your sparrow and head north. You’ll see Calus’s golden barge before long. Drive up underneath and use the stone to climb aboard, then look for Xur on the edge of the deck on the left side.

Xur Exotic Items

This week, Xur is selling Hard Light, an auto rifle that has been dominating the Crucible and Trials of Osiris throughout the season. Though Hard Light recently got nerfed to reduce its extreme lethality, it’s still a solid option in the Crucible and getting a lot of usage. If you’re not a fan of that options, Xur also sells an Exotic engram that will decrypt into an Exotic you don’t already own. He also has the Five of Swords challenge card, which lets you enable modifiers for Nightfall Strikes.

• Exotic Engram — 97 legendary shards
• Hard Light — 29 legendary shards
• Gwisin Vest — 23 legendary shards
• Hallowfire Heart — 23 legendary shards
• Apotheosis Veil — 23 legendary shards
• Five of Swords — free

Hard Light (Auto Rifle)

Hard Light is a fast-firing auto rifle that has excelled in the Crucible. Though it got nerfed to add damage falloff to the gun, it still gets less falloff at range than a lot of other, similar guns. Hard Light’s bullets can ricochet off surfaces and get a (recently nerfed) damage bonus when they do, so bouncing Hard Light rounds around corners can be pretty lethal. On the PvE side, Hard Light is great in a number of situations because you can change its elemental affinity, allowing you to blast through enemy shields with ease.

Gwisin Vest (Hunter)

If you’re a Hunter using the Spectral Blades Super ability, you’re definitely going to want Gwisin Vest. When you use Spectral Blades, the chest armor gives you additional Super energy when you land kills and then go back into stealth mode. That can make it very effective in extending your Super for racking up kills in the Crucible.

Stats:

• Mobility: 12
• Resilience: 7
• Recovery: 6
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 12
• Strength: 6
• Total: 49

Hallowfire Heart (Titan)

Hallowfire Heart seems to pop up a lot in Xur’s inventory, but that might just be a sign that you should grab it if you haven’t. It’s a solid Exotic option in any situation if you’re a Titan who favors Solar abilities. The chest armor gives you speedier Solar ability charging when you’re wearing it, and those bonuses increase even more if your Super is fully charged. If you don’t have another Super you use regularly in the Crucible, you could do worse than Hallowfire Heart.

Stats:

• Mobility: 8
• Resilience: 7
• Recovery: 10
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 12
• Strength: 6
• Total: 49

Apotheosis Veil (Warlock)

Apotheosis Veil is a great Exotic choice for Warlocks who like roaming Supers. When you’ve got the helmet on, activating your Super gives you a ton of benefits, instantly recharging all of your abilities and your health. Your teammates also get speedier ability charging when you’re wearing the helmet.

Stats:

• Mobility: 10
• Resilience: 7
• Recovery: 7
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 16
• Strength: 6
• Total: 52

Bandai Namco’s upcoming action-RPG, Scarlet Nexus, is not an Xbox Series X exclusive despite making an appearance during Microsoft’s recent Inside Xbox livestream. The publisher has announced that the anime action game will also launch on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One.

As of right now, however, Scarlet Nexus’ official website only lists the Xbox family of systems as its intended launch platforms. Additionally, no release date has been confirmed as of yet.

Scarlet Nexus is an action-RPG where you play as Yuito Sumeragi, an Other Suppression Force (OSF) member gifted with powerful psycho-kinesis abilities, who helps curb the assault of mutated humanoids called Others. The game–which shares a lot of thematic DNA with Mob Psycho 100–is being spearheaded by members of the studio’s acclaimed Tales Of series, particularly developers of 2008’s Tales of Vesperia.

While Scarlet Nexus is headed to other platforms, Bandai Namco did confirm that it will make use of Microsoft’s Smart Delivery service. This means that if you buy the game on Xbox One, you get to upgrade it to the Xbox Series X version at no extra cost. We’ve rounded up a list of every confirmed game to use Smart Delivery so far.

Doom Eternal’s story is not yet over, as id Software have already announced plans for story DLC in the near future. Although there’s still no title or release date to speak of, the first two screenshots teasing the narrative content give some indication as to where the Doomslayer is headed to next.

The two images, shared on Twitter, show two very different new areas not present in Eternal’s main story. The first looks very similar to Urdak, Eternal’s version of Heaven, bit with a less pristine sheen to it compared to how it appeared in Eternal. The second is a massive man-made structure out at sea, and it’s unclear whether this is yet another UAC facility overridden with demonic enemies.

This Doom Eternal DLC will be missing one component from both the 2016 reboot of Doom and its sequel. Composer Mick Gordon will not be returning to lend his musical talents to the additional content, following disagreements with id Software that resulted in some strange mixing to Eternal’s OST. This led to executive producer Marty Straton telling the studio’s side of the story, which confirmed that Gordon would not be coming back.

Doom Eternal successfully delivered on living up to the bar set by its earlier reboot. In our 8/10 Doom Eternal review, critic Phil Hornshaw praised the changes to the game’s frenetic shooting, saying, “Its combat is just as quick and chaotic, but requires you to constantly analyze everything that’s happening in order to come out victorious. Once you get the hang of the rhythm of Doom Eternal, it’ll make you feel like a demon-slaying savant.”

If you’ve played Final Fantasy XIV previously and fallen off the game since then, you can currently dive back in for free for a limited time. To encourage people to revisit Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix is offering up to eight days of free playtime for people who have previously purchased and registered Final Fantasy XIV. To be eligible, your account must have been inactive for at least 30 days, and it must be set as inactive during the free play period.

Unfortunately, there’s not much time left to take advantage of the offer, but if you start playing this weekend, you’ll still have time to make full use of the free period. The campaign kicked off April 14 and will run until May 17 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. Once you log in, you have eight days to play the game for free–after that, you’ll have to purchase a subscription to FFXIV to keep playing. It’s also important to note you can only log in on platforms your account is registered to. For more details on the free login campaign and eligibility, see the offer page at Square Enix.

Of course, for players new to the game, there’s also a free trial period that lets you play up to level 35, but eventually, you’ll have to get a subscription to keep playing FFXIV. The standard membership costs $12 for your first month; after that, it costs $15 a month for 30 days, $14 a month for 90 days, and $13 a month if you opt for a year-long subscription. But if you’re not ready to commit, you can also buy 60-day time cards at Amazon for $30 each.

With so many people stuck inside with more time than usual on their hands, it’s really an ideal time to revisit FFXIV. In GameSpot’s Shadowbringers review, the latest FFXIV expansion earned a “superb” 9/10 for its well-paced narrative full of heart and efficient storytelling, expertly crafted dungeons, and more. “For a story that starts with a laser focus on your character’s motivations and misgivings, it tells a tale that ends up being the biggest and the best that Final Fantasy XIV has ever told,” wrote critic Ginny Woo. “Equal parts redemption, vengeance, cruelty, and sassy Elezen, Shadowbringers promises a hell of a lot when you take your first steps into Norvrandt and delivers a truly spectacular finish even if it stumbles a little along the way.”

h/t Cheap Ass Gamer

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week we’re talking about the latest Inside Xbox, Cyberjunk 2077, Mortal Kombat 11, Robocop, Nintendo Switch catching up to PS4, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

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Respawn has finally detailed how Quests, the new mode coming to Apex Legends in Season 5: Fortune’s Favor, will work. Though Quests is primarily a PvE mode, it will incorporate the PvP side of Respawn’s battle royale game.

Season 5’s questline is called The Broken Ghost. Each week of Season 5, new weekly Hunts will unlock–you can tackle them solo or as a squad. These Hunts are PvE missions that will see you go up against AI-controlled enemies and escape Titanfall-style in a drop ship at the end.

To participate in a weekly Hunt, you’ll need five treasure packs. Treasure packs are found randomly in the PvP side of Apex Legends–Trios, Duos, Ranked, and limited-time modes–and you can only pick up one a day. So you’ll need to play Apex Legends at least five days each week in order to play the new weekly Hunt when it comes out. Or just begin stockpiling treasure packs with those extra two days your afforded each week.

These treasure packs benefit you beyond Quests mode as well. Each one contains in-game rewards, such as Crafting Metals, battle pass XP, or Apex Packs. If you miss out on treasure packs, you can buy them with in-game currency. However, you can only buy them retroactively, not proactively. So if it’s 10 days into Season 5 and you only have two treasure packs, then you can only buy seven more–one for each of the days you missed. You technically still have time on that tenth day to earn treasure pack 10. Each treasure pack will cost 25 Apex Coins ($0.25 USD).

If a friend has unlocked a weekly hunt, you can play with them, but if you haven’t found the five treasure packs for yourself, then you won’t get the reward for completing the mission. There are nine weekly Hunts, so you’ll need to find 45 treasure packs in Season 5 to earn all of the new rewards. These rewards include weapon charms as well as new chapters in the story of The Broken Ghost.

In a blog post, Respawn writes that The Broken Ghost will see the lives of the legends outside the Apex Games. “Alliances will be formed, friendships will be tested, vendettas will be born, and when the dust settles, nothing will be the same again in a mystery that has far-reaching consequences for them all,” Respawn writes.

Additionally, completing a weekly Hunt will net you one of the nine pieces of a mysterious artifact–you can actually see them in the Season 5 gameplay trailer. “Recover all nine pieces of the relic to unlock even more rewards, dive into the past, and uncover a secret that the Outlands might not be ready for,” Respawn writes.

Apex Legends Season 5: Fortune’s Favor begins on May 12, adding Loba as a playable character and seeing Kings Canyon partially destroyed in brand-new map changes.