Author: Trafficblast

The team behind SnowRunner, Saber Interactive, has been releasing a number of trailers for their sequel to Spintires: MudRunner in the lead up to the release.

Usually simulator games like this don’t bother with any kind of story, instead focusing on the realism of whichever simulation they are playing out. Here, it seems that Saber Interactive has decided to add a new level of seriousness to the genre.

The trailer seems to be paying homage to the truck drivers around the world, who get the job done no matter what. However, the melodramatic tones and voice over feel a little too similar, instead coming off as a Death Stranding tribute video. Even the font is the same.

The two games share the idea of deliveries being of the highest importance, so it makes sense that SnowRunner would take some inspiration from the Kojima game, though whether or not the fate of the world will be determined by the driver in SnowRunner has yet to be determined.

SnowRunner is set to be released on April 28 on the Epic Games Store, Xbox One, and PS4.

With the current NHL season suspended, two of the greatest ice hockey players of all time are coming together to give fans a special treat. Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin will compete in NHL 20 as part of contest billed as “The Great One vs. The Great Eight Showcase.”

The format will be a best-of-three tournament, and it will stream live on the Washington Capitals’ Twitch channel. The event begins at 8 PM on Wednesday, April 22, according to The Washington Post.

During the event, viewers will be invited to doante to the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and the Edmonton Food Bank to raise money for coronavirus relief.

Gretzky, who retired in 1999, holds numerous NHL records, including most goals overall (894) and most goals in one season (92), among many, many more.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, currently plays for the Washington Capitals and is one of the league’s best players and most prolific goal-scorers. At 34 years old, he is currently No. 8 on the all-time goals list with 706, and no one expects him to retire soon. Ovechkin was one pace to pass 50 goals in the current NHL season before the league shut down due to the global pandemic.

As for the virtual match-up, Gretzky got the idea after watching a video that Ovechkin posted to Instagram showing the athlete playing NHL 20 with his son on his lap. Gretzky then spoke with the Capitals vice president of communications about setting up a showdown.

“There’s been so much talk about the goal record, so there’s a nice link between Alex and myself,” Gretzky told the Washington Post. “I thought we could do something that people could watch and help raise money for those who need it.”

Both Gretzky and Overchkin will play NHL 20 in the tournament as part of a team. Professional NHL gamer John “JohnWayne” Casagranda, who finished second in the NHL World Gaming Championship in 2019, will play with Ovechkin, while Gretzky is bringing his 19-year-old son to help out on his side.

Gretzky acknowledged to the Post that he and Ovechkin are obviously better at real-life hockey, but that’s not the point. “It’s more about the ability to help people that are less fortunate and for fans to enjoy a night of us not looking very talented at what we’re doing.”

Grand Theft Auto V has a new weekly update available for GTA Online on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. This week, from April 16 to 22, there are major savings to be had on vehicles and upgrades, as well as bonus GTA$ and XP for Contract Missions and Keep the Pace challenges. There’s even some freebies up for grabs.

Right now, you can save big on Benny’s Custom Vehicle Upgrades. Savings of 70% are being offered on upgrades across the following range of vehicles:

• Bravado Banshee (900R)
• Albany Buccaneer (Custom)
• Vapid Chino (Custom)
• Principe Diabolus (Custom)
• Pfister Comet (Retro Custom)
• Annis Elegy RH8 (Retro Custom)
• Willard Faction (Custom/Custom Donk)
• Pegassi FCR 1000 (Custom)
• Progen Itali GTB (Custom)
• Declasse Moonbeam (Custom)
• Truffade Nero (Custom)
• Albany Primo (Custom)
• Declasse Sabre Turbo (Custom)
• Vapid Slamvan (Custom)
• Dewbauchee Specter (Custom)
• Karin Sultan (RS)
• Declasse Tornado (Custom)
• Dundreary Virgo Classic (Custom)
• Declasse Voodoo (Custom)

In other vehicle discount news, you can get the Overflod Tyrant at a 40% discount, 60% off the Pegassi Zentorno, and 50% off green tire smoke. The Oceleot Ardent is discounted by 60%, and the Mammoth Hydra by 40%. Furthermore, Twitch Prime members can get 80% off the Buckingham Luxor and Buckingham Luxor Deluxe planes.

There are major bonuses on Contract Missions and Keep the Pace challenges, too. Contract Missions are paying double GTA$ and RP, whereas Keep the Pace is offering triple. Bikers are offering double cash for Weed Business Sales, while Biker Business Resupplies are half-price. Weed businesses, upgrades, and supplies are also half off.

Some freebies are up for grabs too. Jump in before April 22 you’ll nab the Annis JPN and Bravado tees for free, as well as the white graphic smoking jacket, so you can strut around Los Santos in style. You also have a shot at winning the Ocelot Pariah at the Diamond Casino & Resort–have a spin on the Lucky Wheel before April 22 and you might walk out with it.

In other GTA news, voice actor Ned Luke, who plays Michael in the campaign, has warned against buying in to any rumors about GTA 6. In a strange Easter egg, a car from GTA Online also popped up in an episode of Better Call Saul recently.

XCOM: Chimera Squad takes place after the events of XCOM 2, with the story not designed as a direct sequel to the series, but instead taking a new standalone approach in order to attract new players to the series.

With Squad in the title, it’s no surprise that the game will be more character driven, with Firaxis releasing a number of short character trailers on characters who will make up the Chimera Squad. Each character has a motivation and story to tell, with the events of the previous XCOM games having taken something from each of them.

These characters seem to each have a designated role and new abilities. It’s still unclear if there will be more characters on the squad, or if these four will be it.

Previously, XCOM games had you choose your own soldiers to train up and command on the battlefield, with more soldiers to the side in case of any injuries or casualties. This time around it seems that the emphasis is more on the characters themselves, each one has their own motivation for being a part of the Squad and will most likely have some impact on how the story plays out.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is scheduled to release for PC on April 24. Firaxis has said that there are “no current plans” to port the game to consoles.

Nintendo’s stock price has just hit a 52-week high, showing the company’s current financial strength despite the fact that it’s very hard to buy a Switch right now. As tweeted by Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad, Nintendo’s stock price is currently at the highest it has been over the last 52 weeks.

In fact, the stock price is as high as it was in March 2018, which was a previous record price for the Switch era of the company. It peaked on April 16, 2020 at 47,100 yen (approx. $437).

The enormous success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is credited as a major reason for this stock rise. The game has been a sales sensation, and one of the best selling games on the console. While shipments of the console have been suspended in Japan, and its handheld mode might seem less important now that everyone is stuck indoors, it has remained extremely popular.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is not the only big recent success on Switch, as Ring Fit Adventure has also seen stock shortages.

Nintendo is expected to give an overview of recent business in its next earnings report on May 7, 2020, which should give us some further insight into how the Switch and Animal Crossing are performing.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s Chapter 13 shakes up your team once again, putting you through your combat paces with a different group of fighters than you’re probably used to. We’ve got all the information you need to make it through, while also claiming all the Materia, collectibles, weapons, and secrets along the way. Check out our full walkthrough below.

Check out the rest of our Final Fantasy 7 Remake guides so you don’t miss a single secret or collectible. You can also read our FF7 Remake review.

Chapter 13 Walkthrough: A Broken World

You’ll start by navigating through wreckage near Evergreen Park. Keep moving until you reach Wall Market. Follow Barret up to the north. You can enter the narrow alley just north and east of the Item Shop to open a chest with a Moogle Medal that was previously blocked.

As you head north toward Sector 5, the road will fork. Cut over to the left into the concrete building to find a Star Pendant accessory inside a chest.

When you reach Aerith’s house, before leaving, check upstairs in Aerith’s room to find a chest that contains a Mythical Amulet accessory.

Head back south toward Sector 6 and take Aerith’s shortcut into the Collapsed Expressway. When you’re diverted through a narrow passageway by a blockage in the tunnel, look for a chest that contains a mega-potion. Keep going until you hit a defunct subway tunnel with graffiti on the walls; look in the doorway right when you enter the passage to find a chest with a Heavy-Duty Bracer armor.

Keep moving down the tunnel, fighting through some bandits, until you can cross onto the other tracks on the north side. Head up north and east to find a chest with an ether inside.

After fighting Beck’s crew one more time, check the left side of the tunnel ahead for a chest with an orb of gravity inside. You’ll soon come to Evergreen Park; talk to the Item Store owner beside the bridge to buy the On Our Way Music Disc. You can also get the Big Bertha weapon for Barret from the Weapon Store owner.

Things are pretty straightforward as you head through Sector 7.

Shinra Underground Test Site

Follow the hallway forward through some battles. You can hold down the Square button to unload on the Shinra crates up on the shelves above Barret, allowing you to snag a bunch of items. At the end of the hall, you’ll find a blocked door. Keep going down the hall, past the fallen rubble, to find a chest with 2,000 gil inside.

At the top of the stairs, turn left and shoot the crane to drop the pathway ahead. You’ll be able to cross to a chest with two hi-potions inside.

Keep moving up to the Researcher’s Access area, you’ll enter a tunnel that loops down to the south. Instead, turn and head north, blasting through a barrier to access a chest. Inside is a Healing Carcanet accessory.

Ahead, you’ll reunite with Tifa, then run up against three giant ventilation fans blocking the way. Go through the one on the right to find some crates to smash and the one on the left to get to a chest with an ether inside. The middle fan is the path forward. Once you’re through, shoot the door on the cage on the right to get to an Ice Materia; inside the one on the left is a chest with a turbo-ether. Right up the stairs, blow open the door of another cage on the right to find a Warding Materia.

Keep ascending to Underground Test Site – B1, where you’ll hit a breakroom. At the vending machine you can purchase the Main Theme of FFVII Music Disc.

Boss Fight: Failed Experiment

The first portion of the fight sees you flooded by enemies called Unknown Entities. These guys are pretty weak generally, but can be a problem if they come after you in big numbers. Use attacks that take down lots of guys quickly: Barret’s Maximum Fury is great because he’ll blast an enemy until it’s dead, then pick a new target and keep going, until his ATB is expended. Use the attack with two full charges and you can shoot down lots of Unknown Entities in one go. They’re also weak to Ice spells in particular, so bring Ice Materia and Shiva to help you diversify your attacks. It’s good practice to equip Barret with an Elemental Materia and Ice on his weapon, so he can more quickly take down Unknown Entities.

Keep fighting off the Unknown Entities until Barret yells for Tifa to go close the vent. When that happens, take control and head to the staircase as quickly as possible to advance the fight to its next phase, when the Failed Experiment appears. With Tifa on the upper level, use Chi Traps and Starshower attacks to quickly clear out the smaller enemies. Run toward the wall, because the Failed Experiment will start wrecking the walkway while you’re on it.

You’ll now have your team separated, with Tifa dealing with small enemies and Barret stuck closer to the big guy. You want to use Tifa to kill the smaller enemies and try to get the Failed Experiment’s attention, while Barret focuses his fire on the “Appendage” target on the Failed Experiment’s back. Maximum Fury, Focused Shot, and Overcharge are good for dealing a lot of damage to the weak point. At the same time, keep Barret on the move to avoid the Toxic Volley attack, which will afflict you with Poison.

Once you rip through the Appendage, the fight will progress with the walkway where Tifa is positioned getting destroyed, bringing her back down with Barret. Now the Failed Experiment will get serious, using the Claim ability to pick up the smaller minion enemies, and the Fling attack to literally throw them at you. Use the cargo containers and other debris around the room as cover to avoid getting walloped, and keep knocking out the little guys as much as you can.

You also need to keep an eye out for one of the Unknown Entity enemies starting to cast Thundaga. When that happens, immediately prioritize that target and kill the enemy before it can cast the spell. Otherwise, the Failed Experiment will get charged up with lightning, giving it the ability to throw electrified enemies at you, or to use a Plasma attack that sends blasts of energy coursing through the entire battlefield that can seriously mess up your day.

Keep hitting the Appendage as much as you can with Barret’s gunfire and with Ice spells with one character while the other mops up other enemies as much as possible to keep the battlefield manageable. Once you do enough damage, you’ll expose the Failed Experiment’s weak point; pour on the damage even more with Focused Shots and Focused Strikes to stagger it. Take full advantage of your best abilities and Ice spells to put the hurt on it. Repeat the process from there, being sure to keep your team healthy and to keep eliminating Unknown Entities (they’ll probably have barriers up now that make them immune to magic, so gun them down quick) until the boss falls.

Your reward for winning the fight is a new set of gloves for Tifa: the Mythril Claws weapon.

Minecraft Nvidia RTX, which brings an incredible visual upgrade to the world of Minecraft, is available now in open beta. If you have the necessary hardware and want to experience Minecraft on PC with the best graphics ever possible, here’s how to get in on it.

What you need to do depends on whether or not you’re already in the Minecraft Windows 10 Beta. If you’re not, here’s what you need to do, as per the Minecraft Help Center:

1. Install the Xbox Insider Hub app on your PC (it is available for free in the Windows Store)
2. Inside the app, click on the open box icon in the sidebar on the left
3. On the Insider content screen, you will see a beta available for Minecraft for Windows 10. Click on the Minecraft for Windows 10 beta
4. Click the “Join” button at the bottom of the screen
5. On the following pop-up you will see three radio buttons- one will be for Minecraft RTX Beta, one for Minecraft Beta, one for Unenroll. Choose Minecraft RTX Beta, then click Done.
6. If you have automatic updates on from the Windows Store, Minecraft will automatically update to the latest RTX beta build available.

If you’re already in that beta, it’s actually a little more complicated–but not by much. Here are the steps.

1. Open the Xbox Insider Hub app
2. Inside the app, click on the open box icon in the sidebar on the left
3. On the Insider content screen, you will just see one Minecraft for Win 10 Beta offering under Joined. Click on it.
4. In this screen, click on Manage.
5. In the Manage screen, you will have a radio button that will allow you to choose to enroll in the RTX Beta or to Unenroll from the beta program entirely. Select the RTX beta & click on the Done button to the left
6. You may need to uninstall Minecraft and reinstall it from the store in order to download the RTX beta. Please back up any worlds you wish you keep before uninstalling as otherwise the worlds will be deleted when you uninstall the game. Minecraft saved worlds can be found in %LOCALAPPDATA%PackagesMicrosoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalStategamescom.mojangminecraftWorlds – each folder within the minecraftWorlds folder is a world. Please save it somewhere on your PC that is not within the Minecraft directory. You can also export worlds directly from Minecraft to your PC’s desktop.

The Minecraft Marketplace is now full of creator-built worlds designed to show off ray tracing, so as long as you have a GPU that supports DirectX ray tracing you’ll be good to go.

If you want to test out your own worlds, or bring a world from the beta into regular Minecraft, here’s how to import and export them:

Import

1. From the Minecraft start screen, click “PLAY”
2. Click the arrow icon next to the “Create New” button on the Worlds screen
3. Find the .mcworld file and select it to import.

Export

1. From the Minecraft start screen, click “PLAY”
2. In the Worlds screen, scroll to find the world you wish to export.
3. Click on the pencil icon next to the world you want to export.
4. In the Edit screen, click on the “Game” button located under the words “Edit Settings”
5. Scroll down through the options on the right side of the menu, and then click “Export World” at the bottom of the list
6. Save the world to your location of choice. The exported .mcworld file can be placed anywhere (network drive, USB, etc.) to provide maximum flexibility.

The Minecraft Help Center has a full FAQ, so if you’re at a loss, check in there. If you want to dig in, the Nvidia Game Ready Driver is tuned to offer the best performance for Minecraft RTX.

Does pineapple belong on pizza? It’s a question that people have obsessed over and debated for a long time. Now, Master Chief has weighed in on the hot-button topic.

Steve Downes, who voices Master Chief, shared his thoughts on the subject in a new video for Cameo. In short, pineapple on pizza advocates”You’ve asked me to say that pineapple belongs on pizza, that it’s delicious, and invented in Canada. And Hawaiian pizza is my favorite food on the Citadel. But I have to be honest with you, that goes against everything I hold dear,” he said. “I think pineapple on pizza is an abomination. However, if it’s OK with you, I guess it’ll have to be OK for me. Finish the fight, and easy on the pineapple.”

Downes is donating all of his Cameo proceeds to COVID-19 relief, so this gag is doing some real good beyond a simple joke. The money is going to Project C.U.R.E., which focuses on strengthening health systems in under-resourced countries and is currently working on obtaining safety equipment like masks and gloves to health workers across America.

Downes returns as Master Chief in Halo Infinite. It is unclear if the COVID-19 outbreak will affect Halo Infinite‘s launch on the Xbox Series X later this year, but Microsoft is stressing that neither the game nor the console will be delayed.