Author: Trafficblast

Despite the shaky reception game streaming service GeForce Now has received since its launch on February 4, Nvidia is doubling down on efforts to improve its library before the full launch in June. In a new post, Nvidia has confirmed support from Ubisoft, Epic, Bungie, and Bandai Namco, while warning that some games will be removed before the commercial launch.

From the start GeForce Now has had issues with a number of publishers. Activision removed all its games from the service just one week after launch, and Bethesda removed “most” of its games shortly after. 2K also removed its games, while The Long Dark was removed after being added without the developer’s permission.

“As we approach a paid service, some publishers may choose to remove games before the trial period ends,” Nvidia’s general manager Phil Eisler explained after 2K requested to remove their games from the server. “Ultimately, they maintain control over their content and decide whether the game you purchase includes streaming on GeForce Now. Meanwhile, others will bring games back as they continue to realize GeForce Now’s value.”

As the June commercial release draws closer, it seems Nvidia is anticipating more games leaving the service, but it’s also looking to add more titles before this date. All the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games are now available on GeForce Now, joining other Ubisoft titles like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, For Honor, and Watch Dogs. Ubisoft has previously confirmed its support for the service.

New games will be added in in batches through the end of May, with Nvidia saying these will be larger as they near the commercial release date in June. You can check for updates on the GeForce forums as games are added. Yet as new games are added, others will be removed before GeForce Now is launched as a paid service.

On April 24, GeForce Now will be removing all games from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios, Codemasters, and Klei Entertainment. These include the Batman Arkham series, all the Lego games, the F1 racing series, and Don’t Starve, among others. “We hope they’ll return in the future,” the Nvidia blog post adds.

GeForce Now is one of a number of game streaming services springing up, including Microsoft’s Project xCloud and Google Stadia.

The AirPods Pro (Apple’s only truly wireless earphones with active noise cancellation) is discounted by 10% off, but it’s going to expire very soon. Dell is also offering 10% off every Alienware gaming PC and it stacks with instant discounts. Finally, grab Celeste, my favorite game for the Nintendo Switch, for only $4.99 at the eShop. All that and more below.

10% Off Apple AirPods Pro, Now $224.99

Add to cart to see this price

This is the lowest price ever, even lower than on Black Friday, and it ends very soon. These are truly wireless AirPods with built-in active noise cancellation and despite that that they actually have longer play time on a single charge than the vanilla AirPods. Other features include three sets of silicone tips for customized fit, a sweat and water resistant outer shell, and a wireless charging case that can provide an additional 24 hours of battery life.

• Get it at Verizon Wireless for $224.99 (add to cart to see price)

Celeste for Nintendo Switch for $4.99

This game normally sells for $19.99. I thought I was getting a great deal at $9.99, but technically this deal is even 50% cheaper than that. I’m generally not a very big platformer fan and yet I loved this game enough to die 6,899 times in order to get all the strawberries in the game (I’m not a very skilled gamer). In fact I’ve racked more hours on this game than any other Switch indie game in my library. Get it now before the price goes back up.

• Get it at the Nintendo eShop for $4.99
• Towerfall is also $4.99

New Alienware Aurora R9 AMD Ryzen 7 3700X AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming Desktop PC for $1044

Use code “LCS10OFF”

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the Intel vs AMD CPU war, AMD has been giving Intel a run for its money with its flagship processors. The new AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor is comparable to the Intel Core i7-9700, both in terms of gaming and workstation performance. It’s paired with an RX 5700 XT video card, which is on par with the RTX 2070. If you want to upgrade the RAM or hard drive, I’d suggest doing it on your own. You’ll save money, and the Aurora R9 allows for toolless access without voiding your warranty.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1044
  

Alienware Aurora R8 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC for $1359

Use code “LCS10OFF”

Use code “LCS10OFF”

This gaming PC boasts a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor and the newest RTX 2080 SUPER video card. It’s about 10% more powerful than the non-SUPER model and considerably more powerful than the GTX 1080 Ti. If you want to upgrade the RAM and hard drive, I’d suggest doing it on your own to save money. Like the new R9 chassis, the R8 features easy toolless entry. Swapping components doesn’t void the warranty.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1359

Alienware Aurora R8 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 2TB HDD for $1503

Use code “LCS10OFF”

For those of you who would rather have a PC preinstalled with all the RAM and storage you’ll ever need, this model has 16GB RAM and dual drive storage for only $144 more.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1503

Alienware m15 R2 15″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H RTX 2060 Gaming Laptop for $1349.99

Use code “LCS10OFF”

The “R2” is the latest redesign of the very well rated m15 laptop. It still weighs under 5 pounds (4.8lbs) and is a vast improvement over the older bulkier Alienware laptops of the past. The RTX 2060 is slightly faster than the previous GTX 1070 video card. This laptop is outfitted with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. I’d also recommend upgrading the monitor to a 144Hz 9ms capable panel if you plan to play FPS games.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1349.99

Alienware m17 R1 17″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H RTX 2060 Gaming Laptop for $1349.99

Use code “LCS10OFF”

The m17 was the first Alienware 17″ laptop to weigh in at under 6 pounds (it’s about 5.8lbs). It’s already fully equipped out of the box with a 9th gen Intel Core i7 6-core processor, RTX 2060 graphics, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1349.99

Alienware m17 R1 17″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H RTX 2070 Gaming Laptop for $1619.99

Use code “LCS10OFF”

The model has been upgraded with dual 512GB of SSD storage (1TB total) and a more powerful RTX 2070 Max-Q video card. The RTX 2070 is almost as powerful as last year’s GTX 1080 (the previous mobile GPU champ) and will crush any game at 1080p. This is a good laptop to get if you plan on using it for VR or gaming on a higher res external monitor.

• Use code “LCS10OFF” to get it at Dell for $1619.99

Out August 1: Preorder the New LEGO Super Mario Starter Kit Bundle with Bonus Super Mushroom Expansion Set for $59.99

Use code “FSMARIO” to get Free Shipping

This is the only way to preorder this super popular LEGO Mario kit since it’s sold out at the LEGO Shop. This isn’t just any ordinary LEGO set. Mario has color sensors, plus LCD screens in his eyes, mouth and belly to display over 100 different instant reactions to movement. Also included is a speaker that plays iconic sounds and music from the video game. Set up different courses and have Mario run through the track to collect virtual coins.

• Preorder it from Zavvi for $59.99 (NOW OUT OF STOCK)

Out April 23: 54% Off Your XCOM: Chimera Squad Expansion Pre-Purchase, Now $9.20

This XCOM 2 expansion normally sells for $19.99 but you can save 54% off by pre-purchasing it through Green Man Gaming. It installs from the Steam client. XCOM Chimera Squad is a big DLC with a new storyline that takes place years after the end of the year. You also get new races with unique abilities at your disposal and new gameplay mechanics like interleaved turns, revamped tactical combat system, coordinated breach mode, and more.

• Preorder it at Green Man Gaming for $9.20

Oculus Rift VR Headset (Factory Refurb) at the Oculus Store for $299 (Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx)

Includes 6 Month Oculus Warranty

The Oculus Store has refurbished Oculus Rift VR headsets and they are clearing them out at a great price, $100 less than the Oculus Quest and Rift S. This is the only way to get an Oculus Rift with warranty. I bought my Oculus Rift headset over 3 years ago and still use it to this day. I’ve never had the urge to upgrade to the newer VR headsets, especially at their ridiculous price points. The original Oculus Rift controller is, in my opinion, still the best controller for Beat Saber because it is the lightest and least bulky compared to the rest (even the Rift S controller). It also has exceptional tracking, even with only two sensors. Also, the higher resolution on the newer VR headsets requires an even more demanding computer. My GTX 1070 equipped PC can run the Rift perfectly well, but may not suffice for a VR headset with nearly double the pixel count. Half-Life: Alyx is also compatible with the Oculus Rift.

• Get it from the Oculus Store for $299

The First IPS Monitor With 1ms and 240Hz and G-SYNC: Alienware AW2521HF 25″ 1080p Gaming Monitor for $384.99

This is a new monitor from Dell. The major upgrade for this one compared to last year’s model is the switch over from a TN panel to an IPS panel. In fact, this is the only IPS monitor that Dell makes that has 1ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate, specs that are normally reserved for TN panels. An IPS monitor is superior because it has wider viewing angles and better color.

This AMD FreeSync monitor is also certified NVIDIA “G-Sync Compatible”. That basically means people with GeForce cards can take advantage of the built-in adaptive sync capabilities of the monitor without paying an arm and a leg for a G-Sync monitor. it also futureproofs you, in case you want to swap over to an AMD video card.

• Get it at Dell for $394.99

$100 Off Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription

Take advantage of your free time at home and learn another language! Save 33% off lifetime access to all of Rosetta Stone’s language learning courses. Unlike Babbel, the other big language learning course, Rosetta Stone includes Asian languages like Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee so you can test the waters before you decide to commit.

• Get a Lifetime Subscription at Rosetta Stone for $199
• Get it with Free KeepSolid VPN Subscription for the same price at StackSocial

Save 73% Off 1-Year IPVanish VPN Plan

IPVanish is offering  73% off its 1 year VPN plan, dropping the price to $39. That’s only $3.25 a month for a service that provides some great benefits. VPN is the first and easiest step to making your internet activity a bit more anonymous. VPN is also a great way to “trick” a host site into thinking you’re in another part of the world. That’s great for watching region-locked content from streaming services like Netflix. IPVanish boasts a very user-friendly interface, doesn’t hog resources, and has a zero-log policy. We also gave it a great review.

• Get IPVanish VPN for $3.25 Per Month

Online Learning Course Bundles from Stack Social

Want to be more productive at home? Stack Social has plenty of practical courses that can kick start your career. For under $40 per bundle you get dozens of hours of online instruction in programming, game creation, video production, ethical hacking, and more… all from the safety of your home.

• Learn to Code in 2020
• Become a Python Coder
• Build Your Own Android Apps
• Develop Your Own Games
• School of Game Design Lifetime Membership
• Ethical Hacking 101
• Essential Videography Skills
• Change Your Background Without a Green Screen

1 Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 (Includes Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass)

May work for both NEW and EXPIRED accounts

This price is reserved for new and expired accounts. Game Pass Ultimate is basically Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass combined into one membership. You even get access to Game Pass for PC. Normally you’d be paying $14.99 for one month, but Amazon is offering an additional month for free. Game Pass gives you access to tons of high profile games like Kingdom Hearts 3, NBA 2K20, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Gears 5, Forza Horizon 3, The Outer Worlds, Grand Theft Auto 5, State of Decay, and more.

• Get it at the Microsoft Store for $1

ComiXology Free Trial Extended to 60 Days

This sponsored deal is brought to you by ComiXology

The ComiXology trial period is normally 30 days.  ComiXology is Amazon’s digital comic platform and is the largest digital retailer of American comics. The site hosts 20,000 digital comics, graphic novels, and manga from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and more. Here’s your chance to access all of it, totally free, for 30 60 days. If you’re an avid comic reader, you might want to consider continuing on afterwards, since it’s only $5.99/month. You can even sign in with your Amazon account.

• Get a 60-Day Free Trial to ComiXology

3 Months of Amazon Music Unlimited for Free

This deal only works for new Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers, but you don’t have to be a Prime member. Normally you’d be paying $9.99/month for this service (or $7.99/mo for Prime members). Amazon Music Unlimited works alot like the paid ad-free versions of Spotify or Pandora. Get access to millions of songs and playlists that you can stream anywhere.

• Get 3 Free Months of Amazon Music Unlimited

New Licensed Castlevania Apparel at the IGN Store

Do you enjoy Netflix’s original Castlevania animated series? If so, the IGN Store has added a host of officially licensed Castlevania apparel. Sign up for our newsletter and get a 20% off coupon code. Alternatively, save 10% off using coupon code “igndeals10“.

• Check out Castlevania Graphic Tees at the IGN Store
• Animal Crossing Tees
• The Legend of Zelda Tees
• Stranger Things Tees
• Ghostbusters Tees
• Marvel Tees
• DC Tees

______________________________

Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends 25% of his pay on stuff he posts.

The latest sports league to take its games virtual is the English Premier League, the highest level of English football. The new ePremier League Invitational tournament will pit the Premier League’s 20 teams against each other in FIFA 20, with each team represented by a player or a celebrity.

The players representing their teams in the esports tournament include Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Todd Cantwell (Norwich City), Ryan Fredericks (West Ham United), Diogo Jota (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), and Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace). Manchester United will be represented by musician Tom Grennan, a fan of the club who once trained to be a professional footballer. You can check the full draw here.

While the matches will be broadcast on all the usual online streaming platforms, the tournament’s final rounds will also help fill out Sky Sports’ broadcast schedule, in a time where most live sports have been cancelled.

You can watch the games online on the Premier League website or app, as well as its YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. If you want to watch on Twitch, it will be hosted on the Sky Sports Twitch channel.

Like other esports tournaments involving high-profile athletes, such as the NBA Players Tournament or the NHL 20 competition between two of the NHL’s greatest players, the ePL Invitational will raise money for a COVID-19 related cause–in this case, the UK’s National Health Service.

The tournament kicks off on April 21, with four matches running per day until April 24. The semi-finals and grand final will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK on Saturday, April 25.

In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, you’ll discover early on that some of the most powerful attacks your party can perform are Limit Breaks. You can unleash these special techniques after your Limit Break gauge fills up from taking enough damage or frequently staggering enemies. Each party member starts with a single Limit Break to lay down devastating damage with, but it’s possible to get more! Below, we breakdown how to get more Limit Breaks.

Where To Get More Limit Breaks

You don’t get access to new Limit Break techniques until you reach Wall Market during Chapter 9. After clearing the Corneo Coliseum section of the story, you can go back to the battle arena and spend time tackling extra events–a couple of which yield new Limit Breaks as rewards upon completing them. Your first go-around through the Corneo Coliseum’s challenges can net you Limit Breaks for Cloud and Aerith. Upon revisiting the Wall Market during Chapter 14, you’ll get another set of challenges to nab some for Tifa and Barret.

The series of challenges care called X Character Vs. Wild Animals, and it forces you to use only one character against a gauntlet of enemies. There are four in total, each associated with a member of your party. Completing one earns your that particular character’s second Limit Break. With melee characters like Cloud or Tifa, the challenge is pretty easy to complete, but when you take it on as Aerith or Barret, it becomes a bit more tricky. Keep focused, and you should earn those Limit Breaks in no time.

Due to story reasons, we recommend getting Aerith’s Limit Break during Chapter 9, as this is the only oppurtunity you can get it without using the Chapter Select options you unlock after beating the game. We won’t say anything more!

How To Assign New Limit Breaks

Once you get your hands on another Limit Break for a character, you can assign it to them via the Battle Settings. You can only equip one Limit Break per character at a time, so make sure you’re taking tactical considerations across the team to accommodate the impact assigning a new one may bring.

What To Consider When Assigning Limit Breaks

As you can imagine, each character’s Limit Breaks only reinforce and cater to their specific strengths and weaknesses in battle. When it comes to which Limit Breaks to assign across your party, you’ll generally want to go all-in on one offensive strategy (like focus on Stagger) or diversify your selection to give yourself more options.

It’s worth noting

The choice over which Limit Breaks to assign is mostly about comfort and what works for you. Be keen to experiment along the way, and you’ll naturally fall onto a strategy that suits you best. For more insight on specific character Limit Breaks, look to the section below.

Every Limit Break And What They Do

Below you can find a listing of each Limit Break, what they do, and what to consider when generally using them.

Cloud’s Limit Breaks

As the primary damage dealer, Cloud’s Limit Breaks offer devastating close-ranged melee damage. His Limit Breaks are focused on a single enemy, so you’ll want to use them either when an enemy is staggered, or if you’re looking to inflict some serious damage to help close the gap during a fierce boss battle.

Cross Slash — Damage your foe while making an ominous symbol with your slashes.

Ascension — Focus on a single enemy and deliver several powerful strikes. Significantly increases stagger.

Tifa’s Limit Breaks

Like Cloud, Tifa’s Limit Breaks also inflict devastating close-ranged melee damage. However, her Dolphin Flurry can hurt multiple foes if they’re at a semi-close range of who you’re targeting specifically. Tifa is the Stagger queen, so any Limit Breaks you throw out with her should always be in service of pressuring and eventually demolishing a staggered enemy.

Somersault — Launch an enemy into the air with a Sangan-style swift kick.

Dolphin Flurry — Unleash an unrelenting stream of acrobatic attacks. Significantly increases stagger.

Barret’s Limit Breaks

Barret Limit Breaks are geared towards his strengths as a ranged fighter, allowing him to inflict severe damage from afar. While you might be tempted to use them on a single foe, Barret’s Limit Breaks can be of a better use when shot with consideration of enemy groups. Fire in the Hole is a great all-around way to deal decent damage against multiple enemies, while Catastrophe can do more substantial damage to groups if shot from just the right angle.

Fire in the Hole — Shoot an orb of energy that creates a large explosion.

Catastrophe — Marshal all your strength and channel it into a concentrated beam of energy. Significantly increases stagger.

Aerith’s Limit Breaks

As the primary healer and spellcaster, it’s smart to choose a Limit Break for Aerith that you feel best supports your party in a pinch. If healing all your characters at once gives you a better sense of security, you’re better off keeping Healing Wind assigned. With Planet’s Protection, the nullified damage defensive buff on party members does provide an opportunity for your party to keep piling on the pressure even when close to death–you just need to make sure Aerith is bombarding the party with healing spells.

Healing Wind — Summon a soothing breeze to restore a moderate amount of HP to all party members.

Planet’s Protection — Entreat the planet’s favor to nullify physical damage dealt to all party members.

Doom Eternal‘s soundtrack did not launch alongside the game in March. It was delayed, and it only just released the week of April 20. Fans who bought the collector’s edition can now listen to the music, but it’s been discovered that something is not quite right with it.

Twitter user thatACDCguy outlined all the issues with the soundtrack in a Twitter thread. But the long and short of it is that the mix is not what it should be. “The instruments are all fighting each other, & thus the mix sounds very poor as a result,” the user said.

The game’s composer, Mick Gordon, says on Twitter that someone else mixed the majority of the soundtrack’s songs. Gordon only mixed “Meathook,” “Command and Control” and others, and just a “small handful” of the more than two-dozen songs on the OST.

This is all a big shame because Gordon’s heavy metal music is a defining feature of Doom Eternal. For those who want to listen to the OST at home or at the gym, they’re left with a sub-par experience, and that’s too bad.

The official Doom Discord channel recently posted an update in response to the Doom Eternal OST drama, telling members that it’s “absolutely understandable” that people are upset about the soundtrack. However, the moderators urged people to “remain civil” and to “stay within reasonable boundaries of healthy debate.”

The Doom Eternal OST will be available for everyone on digital channels and streaming services in the coming weeks. In other news, Doom Eternal’s next DLC season is out now, and it includes a hipster demon.

The next update for Super Mario Maker 2 will be its last one, and the good news is it’s a big one–and it’s completely free. The update launches on April 22 for the Switch exclusive, and it introduces an ambitious-sounding “World Maker” mode, in addition to more items to use to create unique levels.

The World Maker mode allows players to string their user-created levels together from a starting point to an end-battle in the castle. In essence, Nintendo is giving you the ability to make a small-scale Mario game, as up to eight worlds featuring a maximum of 40 courses can be put together.

The new Mario Maker 2 update will also introduce new enemies–Koopalings, Phantom, and Mechakoopas. These should help level-creators make even more menacing maps.

More power-ups are included in the Mario Maker 2 update as well, including the mushroom from Super Mario Bros. 2. Obtaining this item will not only make Mario appear with his look from the 1988 game, but it will also let you pick up and toss items and enemies just as you could in the original. The frog suit from Super Mario Bros. 3 is also included in the update, along with the Power Balloon, the Super Acorn, and the Boomerang Flower.

Check out the Twitter video above to see the new Mario Maker 2 content in action.

In conjunction with this update, Nintendo is adding two new characters to the free-to-play Mario Kart Tour mobile game. Builder Mario and Builder Toad will be released in the mobile racing game for a limited time, between 11 PM PT on April 21 through 10:59 PM on May 5.

Super Mario Maker 2 scored an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review. Check out our full Mario Maker 2 review to get more details.