Author: Trafficblast

Guilty Gear Strive Closed Beta – 7 Minutes Of Faust Gameplay

Guilty Gear Strive had a small closed beta over the weekend and we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it to check everything out, including our first time with hands on the newly designed Faust!

We recorded a few of our first matches against the CPU since the beta wasn’t fully live yet, to show off some of his new and changed moveset. Strives new systems are interesting to be sure, but the game is as fast, loud, and beautiful as you would expect.

Guilty Gear Strive’s CBT runs from April 16th until the 19th. The game will be available on Playstation 4 sometime later in 2020.

Nvidia’s RTX Voice Uses AI To Make Your Streaming Audio Better

It’s a good week to own one of Nvidia’s RTX graphics cards, especially with the ray-tracing showcase that is Minecraft RTX going into open beta. The RTX range and its AI computing capabilities can be used for a lot more than just games though, and RTX Voice is a good example of that.

In beta now, RTX Voice is a new plugin that leverages the AI processing power of the RTX line to accurately remove background noise from any microphone recordings. This can be something as subtle as your keyboard strokes to more prominent ambient noise present in your computing space. While useful for streaming games, RTX Voice is also compatible with productivity and video conferencing software, making it more broadly appealing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plugin creates a virtual audio device in Windows that can then be set as your primary input device. RTX Voice processes the audio from your microphone and removes noise in real time, injecting it into whatever app points to the new virtual source. While apps like Discord, OBS, and XSplit work with the plugin already, Nvidia says compatibility with Slack, Zoom, and more is possible. They’re supported for now, but might still have a few issues.

For RTX Voice to work, you need an RTX GPU of course (the cheapest of which is an RTX 2060.) From there you’ll need to have driver 410.18 or newer and download the official plugin from Nvidia. A short setup process later, which is well-documented on Nvidia’s website, and you’re good to go.

If you’re looking for more ways to spice up your Zoom meetings, check out a bunch of gaming and pop culture backgrounds you can grab for free here. And if you have an RTX card, you can download Minecraft RTX’s beta right now.

SDCC 2020: San Diego Comic-Con Has Been Cancelled

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is shutting down numerous annual events and postponing movies all over the globe, many have been wondering whether or not San Diego’s annual Comic-Con will meet that same fate. Now, Comic-Con International, the company behind the convention has announced that SDCC 2020 will be cancelled this year, returning in 2021.

“Comic-Con International (CCI) is officially cancelling the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con, marking the first time in 50 years that the show will not go on,” Comic-Con Museum said in a press release. “It is the right thing to do. Comic-Con wants to do all we can to fight the spread of this virus and support workers who are on the front line, fighting this battle.”

CCI was monitoring the situation in California, with the hopes of the event happening, if by chance the pandemic had come to an end. “Recognizing that countless attendees save and plan for its conventions each year, and how many exhibitors and stakeholders rely upon its events for a major portion of their livelihood, they had hoped to delay this decision in anticipation that COVID-19 concerns might lessen by summer,” Comic-Con International (CCI) explained in a statement. “Continuous monitoring of health advisories and recent statements by the Governor of California have made it clear that it would not be safe to move forward with plans for this year.”

Recently, CCI also canceled Anaheim’s Wondercon event as well. Wondercon will return to the Anaheim Convention Center on March 26-28, 2021.

As to the many people who purchased badges, CCI announced that those will have the option to request a refund or transfer their badges for next year’s SDCC event. Within the next week, all badge holders will receive an email with instructions on how to do so.

Additionally, in the upcoming days, onPeak, Comic-Con’s hotel affiliate, will cancel all hotel reservations and will refund deposits made through the company. “There is no need for anyone who booked through onPeak to take any action, including trying to cancel their reservations online or contacting the company via phone as the process will be handled automatically. Those who booked rooms through onPeak will be notified when refunds have been completed.”

Comic-Con will return to the San Diego Convention Center July 22-25, 2021.

Now Playing: Marvel Studios Comic-Con 2019 Panel Reactions | SDCC 2019

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location And Exotic Items (April 17-22)

It’s another weekend in Destiny 2, which means the Trials of Osiris joins the last few days of this week’s Iron Banner event. And since next week marks the beginning of the Guardian Games, it’s a good opportunity to drop by Xur this weekend and buy some new Exotic weapons and armor. Here’s where to find him and what he’s selling.

Head to the Tower to find Xur this week, in the Hangar area. For his weapon, Xur is offering Coldheart. Hunters can pick up the Knucklehead Radar helmet; for Titans, there’s the Armamentarium chest armor; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Crown of Tempests helmet.

Xur Location

You’ll find Xur hanging out in the Tower. Travel to the central transmat zone, then head east into the Hangar section. As you enter, turn left and head up the stairs at the back of the area. You’ll find Xur on a catwalk overlooking the Last City below.

Check the north side of the Hangar in the Tower to find Xur.
Check the north side of the Hangar in the Tower to find Xur.

Xur Exotic Items

This week, Xur brings the powerful Exotic trace rifle Coldheart that’s good in a variety of situations, both for PvE and PvP. He also packs a handy Crucible helmet for Hunters and a must-have helmet for Warlocks who like the Stormtrance Super. If you’re not a fan of those 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
  • Coldheart — 29 legendary shards
  • Knucklehead Radar — 23 legendary shards
  • Armamentarium — 23 legendary shards
  • Crown of Tempests — 23 legendary shards
  • Five of Swords — free

Coldheart (Trace Rifle)

Coldheart is great no matter the battle situation, thanks to the exponential increase in damage it enjoys the longer you hold it on a target.
Coldheart is great no matter the battle situation, thanks to the exponential increase in damage it enjoys the longer you hold it on a target.

Coldheart’s power is in sustained fire. It fires a laser beam with a whole lot of range and which doesn’t lose any of its potency over distances, making it great for long-range fights in the Crucible. Holding the laser on a target increases the gun’s damage output, making Coldheart effective at taking out hordes of enemies in PvE or zapping Guardians in PvP.

Knucklehead Radar (Hunter)

Having better radar from Knucklehead Radar in the Crucible can help keep you alive.

Hunters can get a lot of utility out of Knucklehead Radar in the Crucible. The helmet maintains your radar even when you’re aiming down the sights of your gun, allowing you to see when people are sneaking up on you even as you’re fighting someone else. It also gives you enhanced radar when you crouch for even more situational awareness. If you’re the kind of person who likes as much battlefield intel as you can get, try Knucklehead in your next Iron Banner or Trials match.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 11
  • Resilience: 3
  • Recovery: 10
  • Discipline: 22
  • Intellect: 2
  • Strength: 2
  • Total: 50

Armamentarium (Titan)

Shaxx demands that you throw more grenades--Armamentarium can help.

Armamentarium is a pure and simple Exotic for Titans: It gives you a second grenade charge. As Shaxx suggests in Mayhem, you should be throwing more grenades–this is your opportunity.

Stats:

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

Crown of Tempests (Warlock)

The Crown of Tempests is great for popping your Stormtrance Super and killing a whole bunch of Guardians in the Crucible.

In both PvP and PvE, if you’re a Warlock who runs the Stormtrance Super, you’re going to want Crown of Tempests. The Exotic increases the duration of Stormtrance for every kill you rack up, which can allow you to wipe whole teams in the Crucible. Getting kills with your Arc abilities also increases their recharge rate, giving you grenades and melee attacks more quickly.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 13
  • Resilience: 6
  • Recovery: 7
  • Discipline: 6
  • Intellect: 12
  • Strength: 6
  • Total: 50

Now Playing: Destiny 2 – Season Of The Worthy Opening Cinematics

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Halo 2 Insider Testing Begins Today On PC

Earlier this week, 343 Industries announced that those part of the free Halo Insider program will be able to test Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC this week. That testing begins today.

343 ran similar tests before Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was made available on PC in March, so the release of Halo 2 may not be too far off. If you’re not part of the Halo Insider program, which lets you test upcoming Halo titles, you can sign up here.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available through Steam, Windows 10, and Xbox Game Pass for PC. Halo: Reach and Halo: Combat Evolved are currently included, with 343 planning to release the rest of the titles–Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4–throughout the year.

343 recently shared details on Halo 2: Anniversary’s upcoming release as part of The Master Chief Collection on PC, including an all-new challenge system, customization options, and more.

The next title in the series, Halo Infinite, is still planned to release on schedule, but Microsoft has warned that developers are facing new challenges and restraints due to COVID-19. Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Now Playing: Playing Halo: Combat Evolved On PC With You | GameSpot Community Fridays

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 30 Easter Eggs & References From The First Movie

Gritty, funny, heartfelt, and action-packed, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie opened in theaters on March 30, 1990. For a generation of TMNT fans, seeing Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael on the big screen was a childhood-defining experience.

Thirty years after its release, the movie holds up incredibly well. The jokes still land. And the costumes, which were created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, are still unrivaled; they hold up far better than the CGI Turtles from the 2014 reboot.

Here are 30 Easter Eggs, facts, and trivia about the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, which is currently available on Netflix.

Hitman Go Free To Download For A Limited Time

Developer Square Enix Montreal has announced that Hitman Go, the turn-based puzzler spin-off of the stealth-action franchise, is free to download on Android and iOS until April 23.

This comes not long after the studio gave away another entry in its Go series, Lara Croft Go. That spin-off was free to download from March 27 to April 2.

Originally released in 2014 for mobile devices, Hitman Go is a turn-based puzzler based on the Hitman franchise. In the game, you guide Agent 47 through a variety of grid-based levels presented as lines and nodes on a board. The levels start simple enough, with you first getting Agent 47 to a designated checkpoint without being seen by stationary enemies. But the levels become more complicated as you progress, tossing things like armed guards and equipable weapons at you.

Hitman Go also launched on Windows devices and Samsung Gear VR in 2015, as well as PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016 as a Definitive Edition.

We awarded the virtually reality version of the game a 6/10 in our 2016 Hitman Go VR review, saying, “Hitman Go VR feels unnecessary. It’s an excellent puzzle game, but it’s already available on a bunch of different platforms where it plays very well; the non-VR versions will be enough to enjoy everything Hitman Go has to offer.”

Now Playing: The GO Trilogy Stories – Part One: Hitman GO

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Resident Evil 3’s Resistance Mode Adds A New Mastermind In May

Resident Evil Resistance, the asynchronous multiplayer mode that released alongside Resident Evil 3, is introducing a new Mastermind in May. Antagonist Nicholai Ginovaef will join the roster for those who enjoy terrorising survivors with Tyrants, traps, and other nefarious means.

On the flip side, protagonist Jill Valentine, along with her trusty Samurai Edge and dodge, joins the ranks of survivors today. Capcom announced the news via Twitter with an updated roadmap for future content–with more scheduled to arrive in June and July onwards. Ginovaef will add to a Mastermind roster that also includes the likes of Alex Wesker and Annette Birkin.

In other Resistance news, Capcom recently announced that a patch is incoming with daily mission tweaks and more, after inviting feedback from fans.

Resistance is packaged as part of Resident Evil 3, which also hit a big sales milestone very quickly.

“As a remake, Resident Evil 3 not only falls short of honoring its source, but it also doesn’t quite stick the landing as a standalone horror experience,” Alessandro Fillari wrote in GameSpot’s Resident Evil 3 review. “Even without taking into account the original game, or its predecessor, RE3 struggles to keep up with its pace amid a clashing of elements from survival horror and standard action. While it has a strong start and gives its principal villain some great moments, this truncated retelling of the concluding game from the original Resident Evil trilogy doesn’t do it proper justice.”

Now Playing: Resident Evil 3 Video Review

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Watch Jurassic Park with Star Joseph Mazzello (Tim Murphy) – WFH Theater

Here at IGN, we’re always looking for new ways to bring our community together to embrace what we’re most passionate about. That’s why we launched Watch From Home Theater, a weekly live show where we unite some of your favorite IGN personalities and special celebrity guests to have a digital movie night together with you watching some of our favorite films of all time.

This Thursday, April 23rd at 5 p.m. PT, we’re watching Steven Spielberg’s iconic and ultimate thrill ride, Jurassic Park, with special guest and original cast member Joseph Mazzello, who played Tim Murphy! Since his breakout role as the dinosaur-loving preteen grandson of John Hammond, Mazzello has gone on to star in The Pacific, The Social Network, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and, most recently, as Queen bassist John Deacon in the Academy Award-winning Bohemian Rhapsody.

“While we all continue to sit tight and wait for these scary and uncertain times to eventually be behind us, my favorite way to escape the worry and pass the time has been by watching classic films, and in my completely unbiased opinion, Jurassic Park is one of the all time greats,” Mazzello told IGN. “I can’t wait to join together with other fans to celebrate this iconic film and share the stories, insight, and fond and funny memories I collected while playing ‘Tim Murphy.’ It’s gonna be a blast!”

Featuring Academy Award-winning visual effects and groundbreaking filmmaking that has been hailed as “a triumph of special effects artistry” by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, Jurassic Park is sheer movie-making magic that was 65 million years in the making. Taking audiences to an amazing yet dangerous theme park on a remote island where dinosaurs once again roam the earth and five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators, Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.

While we will be sharing some select scenes from the movie as part of IGN’s WFH Theater live stream, we encourage you to watch Jurassic Park along with us on your own devices for the full live commentary experience! Be sure to stay with us throughout the entire live stream as we’ll be giving away digital codes for the film as well as mystery disosaur prizes from Mattel. 

So grab your copy of the beloved 1993 Universal Pictures movie, and sync up with us. If you don’t already own the movie, Comcast customers can find Jurassic Park on the newly launched Peacock streaming service, or you also can stream Jurassic Park on TNT or TBS to watch online through your cable provider. You also can rent Jurassic Park on any of the digital platforms below:

Watch From Home Theater isn’t just a show or an opportunity to watch a movie; it’s a hangout with passionate people who share one thing in common — their love of film. Each week, we’ll invite our viewers to join in the conversation by dropping questions into the chat on whatever platform you’re watching for our host, Clint Gage, to ask our celebrity guest. With running commentaries that range from insightful to silly, each viewing will take on a life of its own based on each film.

If you missed our first episode, you can watch our live commentary of The Invisible Man with director Leigh Whannell below in its entirety!

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/25/watch-the-invisible-man-w-director-leigh-whannell-watch-from-home-theater”]

You can also watch our second episode, where we watched Night of the Living Dead with The Walking Dead EP and special makeup effects master Greg Nicotero:

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/watch-night-of-the-living-dead-w-the-walking-dead-ep-greg-nicotero”]

And check out our watch-along of Rogue One with writers Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz as well below:

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/star-wars-live-qa-rogue-one-sync-up-wgary-whitta-and-chris-weitz”]

Have any questions for us in the meantime? Drop them in the comments below and we’ll do our best to answer before showtime. We’re excited to watch with you!

The Best Cheap PC Games To Keep You From Going Stir-Crazy

If you are hungry for new experiences, and you don’t have a lot of cash to spend, I have excellent news. You can grab some truly incredible games for PC right now in the latest GOG sale.

All-time greats like BioShock Remastered and BioShock 2 Remastered are available for just $6.59 each, complete editions of great coop games like Overcooked and Overcooked 2 are available for up to 75% off, and a whole lot more.

Best Deal: BioShock Remastered for $6.59

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Beloved by many and widely considered to be one of the most memorable games of all time, BioShock has been remastered and looks better than ever.

This version supports 4K, full controller support, director’s commentary, challenge rooms, and more, and also comes with a copy of the original, unaltered BioShock. The pair are available for just $6.59 (down from $20), which is a steal no matter how you slice it.

BioShock 2 Remastered for $6.59

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Following BioShock was a tall order, but if you are looking for pure gameplay refinement to the first-person classic, BioShock 2 delivers in spades.

Return to Rapture for just $6.59 (down from $20) with BioShock 2 Remastered and get the unaltered BioShock 2 as well, alongside 4K support, The Protector Trials, and more.

Overcooked! 2: Gourmet Edition for $29.30

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There are few games which can deliver the pure, frantic joy of Overcooked! 2, and right now you can save 40% on what has become a modern classic (and staple in my home).

Play the base game and each of the four delightful DLC packs for just $29.30 total (down from $48.59) and give yourself countless hours of chaotic fun for up to four players (with both local and online coop).

Other Great Deals

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Brian Barnett writes wiki guides, deals posts, features, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).