Author: Trafficblast

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has revealed the finalists for the 24th annual D.I.C.E. Awards, which will take place virtually on April 8.

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II leads the way with 11 nominations, followed by Ghost of Tsushima with 10. Hades, IGN’s pick for 2020 Game of the Year, is up for 8 awards.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• The Last of Us Part II
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Spiritfarer

 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• The Last of Us Part II
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps

 

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Eivor, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Zagreus, Hades
• Abby, The Last of Us Part II
• Ellie, The Last of Us Part II
• Miles, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

 

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Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Carrion
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Little Orpheus
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• The Pathless

 

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• Dreams
• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Last of Us Part II
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure

 

Outstanding Achievement in Story

• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• The Last of Us Part II

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Outstanding Technical Achievement

• Dreams
• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Last of Us Part II
• Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
• Microsoft Flight Simulator

 

Action Game of the Year

• Doom Eternal
• Hades
• Half-Life: Alyx
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Nioh 2

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Adventure Game of the Year

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• The Last of Us Part II
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps

 

Family Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Astro’s Playroom
• Dreams
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure

 

Fighting Game of the Year

• EA Sports UFC 4
• Granblue Fantasy Versus
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
• Them’s Fightin’ Herds

 

Racing Game of the Year

• Dirt 5
• F1 2020
• Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

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Role-Playing Game of the Year

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Persona 5 Royal
• Wasteland 3
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 

Sports Game of the Year

• EA Sports FIFA 21
• MLB The Show 20
• NBA 2K21
• PGA Tour 2K21
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• Crusader Kings III
• Desperados III
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Monster Train
• Per Aspera

 

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

• Half-Life: Alyx
• Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
• Museum of Other Realities
• Paper Beast
• Tempest

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Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Down the Rabbit Hole
• Half-Life: Alyx
• Paper Beast
• The Room VR: Dark Matter
• The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

 

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

• Coffee Talk
• Hades
• If Found…
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• Noita

 

Mobile Game of the Year

• HoloVista
• Legends of Runeterra
• Little Orpheus
• Song of Bloom
• South of the Circle

 

Online Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Tetris Effect: Connected

 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Half-Life: Alyx
• The Last of Us Part II
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

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Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Half-Life: Alyx
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• The Last of Us Part II

 

Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• The Last of Us Part II

 

Last year, Untitled Goose Game took home the D.I.C.E. Game of the Year award. For more, you can check out IGN’s complete selection of 2020 award winners.

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Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN’s weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been delayed to 2022.

Nacon, the new publisher, announced the news on Twitter, confirming the company’s involvement alongside developer Daedalic.

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“We are forming a fellowship with @Daedalic to publish The Lord of the Rings: Gollum,” Nacon’s tweet reads. “The game will be released in 2022 on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC. More news to come in the future.”

We are forming a fellowship with @Daedalic to publish The Lord of the Rings™: Gollum™.

The game will be released in 2022 on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC.

More news to come in the future. pic.twitter.com/gpdClPVaok

— Nacon (@Nacon) January 26, 2021

The game’s 2021 release window was first announced in 2019. This is the first major word we’ve gotten since last August, when Gollum’s developers spoke to IGN about the game’s stealth mechanics and branching narrative.

The Gollum-focused adventure will blend Prince of Persia’s parkour with stealth mechanics. Lead game designer Martin Wilkes told IGN that players will mostly sneak around levels but will also be tasked with taking down some enemies.

“The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour,” Wilkes said to IGN last year. “If you want a reference you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning not combat.”

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is one of many Lord of the Rings projects in development right now. Amazon is working on a TV series taking place thousands of years before The Hobbit. Additionally, never-before-seen Middle-earth writings from J.R.R. Tolkien are being released in a new book in June.

Lord of the Rings actors and artists also recently came together to support a fundraiser to buy the house where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and some of The Lord of the Rings. The fundraiser would turn the house into a Tolkien sanctuary but hasn’t reached its goal yet.

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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who is very, very excited for all of this Lord of the Rings stuff. Please don’t be like The Hobbit movies.

Yesterday on the Good Game, Nice Try podcast, late night icon Conan O’Brien joined hosts Sonja Reid and Aaron Bleyaert to give his “incredibly unfair and invalid” opinion on Innersloth’s smash-hit Among Us. His verdict: it’s not a good game.

Bleyaert posed the question of how O’Brien felt about Among Us to sort of test the waters and get the conversation flowing. O’Brien was quick to jump on the opportunity, as he loves to tick off gamers. “As everyone knows, I don’t know a lot about games, and I’m not good at games,” O’Brien said. “But I love having a lot of opinions about games and sharing those with people in the legitimate gaming world, thus infuriating them.”

Once Beyaert revealed the game in question, O’Brien excitedly told his companions on the show that he had heard of the game because it’s one of his son’s favorites. He went on to (jokingly) admit that he tends to space out when his children talk about video games or their feelings, so he had no real concept of the game other than its name and the fact that his son received a crocheted crewmate (or Blip Blop, as O’Brien calls them) from the game for his birthday.

Despite his very apparent lack of knowledge, O’Brien still took a shot at summarizing what he thinks Among Us might be. “My guess is it’s a bunch of crocheted blip blops and blurp beeps that live together, and whoever’s yarn holds up for the longest time is the winner,” he guessed. After Reid explained how the game actually worked, O’Brien came to the realization that he’s actually played before, on a tablet during one of his kids’ socially distanced hangouts. Though he was clueless as the imposter, he managed to impress his offspring with his kills. And for O’Brien, that’s a knock against the game.

“It’s like our presidential election,” O’Brien said. “Any game where an idiot can jump in just willy-nilly and suddenly rocket to the top and triumph, that’s a problem with the game!” He went on to decide in his final verdict that Among Us is, in fact, a bad game due to his immediate success. So it looks like we won’t have to worry about this late night legend popping up as the imposter in anyone’s lobby anytime soon.

One thing that can be inferred from the figures, which isn’t really surprising, is that Xbox didn’t ship as many Series X|S consoles as they did Xbox One’s in the same timeframe.
This has been reflected in global sell through data too. Mainly due to production it seems.

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 26, 2021

The murder mystery in Hitman 3‘s second mission, set in Dartmoor, England, is a standout portion of the game. If you solve the mystery, it gives you some unique opportunities to deal with Alexa Carlisle, your assassination target during the mission. It can also help you get ahold of the Arthur Edwards file you’re searching for, which is your second objective in Dartmoor.

There are multiple ways to “solve” the mystery, however, depending on what information you uncover in Thornbridge Manor. You can find the actual culprit and turn them in to Alexa, or provide other solutions, including framing someone who’s not responsible. To get those solutions, however, you need to have enough evidence to back up your theory and give a convincing speech when you report your findings. That means finding lots of clues. To solve the murder mystery, you’ll need to knock out the private detective who arrives at Thornbridge at the same time Agent 47 does, and steal his clothes to make your disguise.

We’ve run down all three possible solutions to the murder mystery plot, how to earn them, and what opportunities they provide for you in the guide below. Be sure to check out the rest of our Hitman 3 guide coverage, as well as our full review. And if you need more help in Dartmoor, check out our complete guide for finding all the murder mystery clues, and our guide for finding all the mansion’s hidden rooms.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our Hitman 3 guides, and to read our Hitman 3 review.

Find The Murderer

The most straightforward solution to the case is the one provided by the Means, Motive and Opportunity Story Mission, but you’ll still need to uncover a lot of clues to access it. Here’s everything you need to do.

Search Zachary’s Room

There are six clues to find in Zachary’s room. Note that some clues have to be scanned with your camera; if you’re having trouble locating them, look for the Camera icon on your map or minimap.

1. Zachary Carlisle’s Body (Camera Scan)
2. Nightstand Whiskey Bottle (Camera Scan) — right side of the bed when standing at the foot.
3. Zachary’s laptop — near the window to the left of Zachary’s bed
4. Suicide Note (Camera Scan) — on the table under a window to the left of Zachary’s bed
5. Hidden Room — pull the interactive book on the bookshelf on the wall, to the right of Zachary’s bed
6. Mansion floor plan — inside the hidden room near the two-way mirror

Search Emma And Gregory’s Room

On the second floor, find the room that Emma and Gregory are staying in near the Library. If you don’t have a key, you can get in by climbing out the window in the bathroom and shimmying around the outside of the building to reach the room’s balcony. Inside, you need to locate four clues:

1. Bulldog cane — beside the fireplace, right next to the door (take this item with you, as you’ll need it later)
2. Greenhouse keychain — right next to the folding screen beside the fireplace, on the side closest to the bed
3. Muddy Shoes (Camera Scan) — to the left of the fireplace
4. Letter from Emma’s Mother — on the nightstand on the right side of the bed

Check The Sitting Room Terrace

Head outside, just north of the sitting room, and check the stairs. With your camera, you’ll find some muddy footprints you can scan with your camera.

Search The Greenhouse

Now head outside to the north of the manor, to the greenhouse at the back of the grounds. Without the key, you’ll need another way to get in; either wait for Emma to head out to the greenhouse after the family meeting and let her open the door for you, or grab the crowbar from behind the greenhouse and use that to pop open the door.

Inside, you need to check for two clues, although you’ll unlock one just by looking around.

1. Broken Lab Equipment
2. Poison Dosage Table (Camera Scan) — on the table beside the lab equipment

Accuse The Murderer

If you’ve found everything you need for this solution, Diana Burnwood will tell you over the radio that you’ve got enough evidence. Find Fernsby to present your discoveries to Alexa Carlisle. Accuse the real murderer to complete the A Matter of Justice Challenge. You can ask for the Arthur Edwards file as payment; afterward, Alexa will head out to the balcony, where you can easily shove her off. If you don’t, she’ll continue to go about her business throughout the mansion, so you can follow her and pick her off somewhere else.

Blame The Butler

It’s possible to frame someone else for the murder if you find the right clues. You can determine that Fernsby didn’t do it, but with the right information, you can convince Alexa that he’s responsible.

Search Zachary’s Room

For this solution, you need information about both Zachary and Fernsby in order to concoct a story that makes sense. You’ll need the six clues listed above to advance.

Search Fernsby’s Office

Next, you’ll need dirt on Fernsby, but getting into his office requires either a tool or a key. The easiest way in is to grab the crowbar from behind the greenhouse, as mentioned in the last solution. There’s no one near enough to his office that you’ll be heard breaking in. You need three clues from the room (and you can find the Thornbridge Master Key inside as well):

1. Fernsby’s List — on the desk
2. Zachary’s Half-Burned Diary — in the fireplace
3. Mr. Fernsby’s Pills — on the windowsill

With this information, you should be able to accuse Fernsby of murdering Zachary, unlocking the A Matter of Loyalty Challenge. Completing the mystery with this solution can get you the Arthur Edwards file as a reward, while also giving you a special opportunity to complete your assassination–by letting the real murderer do it for you.

Another Death in the Family

To complete the Another Death in the Family Challenge, head into the Greenhouse. Find a wrench (there’s one in the garden near the fountain) and use it to repair the Poison-Making Equipment you find there. That’ll give the real murderer the opportunity to make more poison to use on Alexa. From here, all you have to do is sit back and wait for the murderer to strike again.

Claim Zachary Committed Suicide

The third and final solution to the mystery has you implicating Zachary in his own death. To do this, you have to find some extra bits of information that are off the beaten path. However, this path has the added benefit of making eliminating Alexa Carlisle very easy.

Search Zachary’s Room

As always, you’ll need the info from Zachary’s room in order to get the investigation going.

Search Fernsby’s Office

Next, you’ll need the burned journal from Fernsby’s fireplace, which, paired with the suicide note, starts to give you some plausible evidence for Zachary’s suicide.

Search Emma and Gregory’s Room

You need just one item from Emma and Gregory’s room–the English bulldog cane. You’ll find it leaning up against the fireplace.

Find The Letter In The Library Hidden Room

Finally, head to the second story of the Library with the cane in-hand in the corner of the room nearest Emma and Gregory’s room, you’ll find a small switch on the floor. Use the cane on it to activate a hidden door that leads into another secret room. Inside, grab Montgomery’s Long-Lost Letter off a stack of books. That should be enough evidence for the suicide theory.

Another Suicide

Return to Fernsby and set up your meeting with Alexa Carlisle. If you tell her that Zachary committed suicide, she’ll become despondent about the whole situation. This presents you with a unique kill. Once you have your payment from Alexa, she’ll head out to the balcony and take care of your contract herself. At that point, you’re free to exit the mission.

Ahead of Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem’s debut on February 2, Respawn has dropped a brand-new trailer to show fans what they can expect.

The trailer focuses mostly on Apex’s newest legend: Walter Fitzroy, AKA Fuse. He’s an Australian hot head with an eyepatch and a penchant for breaking the rules. According to the trailer he was “born into a world ruled by chaos, and he thrived in the mayhem.” It seems that’s only going to continue as the The Champion of Salvo enters the ring. With his penchant for explosions, chaos, and Aussie accent, he’s a bit reminiscent of Overwatch’s Junkrat, though their playstyles look to be completely different.

Season 8 will also be introducing a new battle pass, a new weapon, and gold magazines in an attempt to continue expanding Apex’s lore and meta. The new addition to your artillery in The Outlands is the 30-30 Repeater lever-action rifle, which looks like it can either fire of a series of weaker shots, or be slowly charged for a more powerful blast.

To check out Fuse and all the other changes coming to Apex, login for Season 8 and see if you can win the fight for fame and glory in The Outlands.

Life simulator The Sims 4 has received the new $10 Paranormal Stuff Pack for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S that adds another vocation, a new home for the Sims to live in, and various roommates all centered around the occult.

The pack is available to purchase from Microsoft, Origin, PlayStation, and Steam stores. Of course, players will need the base Sims 4 game to access the Paranormal Stuff content. Below is a rundown of everything players need to know about The Sim 4’s latest DLC offering.

The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff Pack Release Date, Trailer

The Paranormal Stuff Pack is available now for everyone to purchase. It retails for $10 USD on the Microsoft, Origin, PlayStation, and Steam stores, though those with active EA Play memberships can save 10% on the expansion, as well as all other The Sims 4 content. Developer Maxis and publisher EA shared a reveal trailer showcasing what players can expect from the Paranormal Stuff Pack, which includes new gameplay mechanics and items.

The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff Pack Items

While what exactly is stuffed inside the Paranormal Stuff Pack hasn’t been specified, the above reveal trailer suggests that the expansion will contain the usual fare like accessories and clothing. On top of these, however, players can also build haunted houses and interact with the various ghostly apparitions that roam the halls of the newly constructed homes.

Gallery

The Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff Pack New Vocation, Gameplay Mechanics

The pack also introduces the Paranormal Investigator vocation, which lets players turn into a medium to communicate with the troubled apparations. There is also the new séance gameplay mechanic players can take advantage of to talk to spirits. In doing so, players can meet a variety of ghosts, from Claude René Duplantier Guidry to Bonehilda the skeletal maid.

The Paranormal Stuff Pack joins a long list of The Sims 4 expansions, including a big December update that added more skin tones and other customization items geared toward better representation for darker skin.

Kevin Hart has officially joined the cast of the Borderlands movie.

Hart has been cast as Roland, a character from the first two Borderlands games and The Pre-Sequel. The press release announcing Hart’s casting only references that Roland is an “ex-soldier turned mercenary” which lines up with the character’s backstory in the game.

In the games, Roland was honorably discharged from the military unit, Crimson Lance, and turned to a life of loot-hunting with the help of shotguns, turrets, and assault rifles.

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Hart will star in the movie with Cate Blanchett as the thief-siren Lilith. The movie will be directed by Hostel director, Eli Roth. Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford is an executive producer on the movie.

“I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin,” Roth said in a press release. “Borderlands is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”

Hart is best known for his stand-up comedy, but has led the box office with multiple action-comedy movies over the past decade, including the Jumanji movies. Hart also appeared in the Ride Along franchise with Ice Cube and Central Intelligence with Dwayne Johnson.

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The Borderlands movie will be written by Craig Mazin, who recently wrote HBO’s critically-acclaimed Chernobyl miniseries. Mazin is currently developing a Last of Us miniseries for HBO as well.

The press release also announces the Borderlands franchise has surpassed 66 million units sold worldwide. Borderlands 2 is the biggest game in the franchise with 24 million copies sold. The most recent title, 2019’s Borderlands 3, has sold over 11 million units.

Here is a list of every video game that is currently being adapted as a movie. That list includes the Uncharted movie, which was just delayed into 2022.

Roth has also said that he wants to put Borderlands cosplayers in the movie as a way to honor the fans.

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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN. If Claptrap is in this movie, then I’ll go see one of the other dozen video game movies that will be in theaters.