Author: Trafficblast

Another remake of a cult-classic game is about to make its way to modern consoles. Based on the 2005 action-adventure game, Destroy All Humans will release July 28 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. The game is available to pre-order now with several editions and pre-order bonuses available, including an extremely pricey collector’s edition clearly aimed at longtime fans of the series.

Destroy All Humans is an open-world game set during the 1950s and parodies Cold War-era alien films. The game follows an alien named Crypto, who is part of a race known as the Furons who clone themselves to continue existing. The game opens with Crypto being sent to harvest human brain stems, which contain precious Furon DNA (due to a previous clash between Furon warriors and humans in ancient times) that’s crucial to preserving his species. Crypto is also searching for his predecessor, Sporidium 136, who crash-landed on Earth years prior; now, the humans have him as well as Furon technology. As Crypto, you’ll burn cities to the ground with your mighty Death Ray, use your Abducto Beam to toss around tanks, crush a farmer under his own cow using psychokinetic powers, and much more. Generally, you’re just causing chaos.

The original game earned a 7.5/10 in GameSpot’s Destroy All Humans review, which praised its embrace of cheesy sci-fi themes and awesome dialogue. “You take on the role of a comically murderous alien on a mission of domination and destruction against humanity. It isn’t all just blasters and explosions, however, as the game takes a decidedly tongue-in-cheek stance on the subject matter, modeling itself after the good-natured cheesiness of 1950s-era B-grade science fiction,” wrote Alex Navarro. “Flying saucers, death rays, mysterious G-men, government conspiracies, and lots of anal probing are the order of the day here. And while the gameplay doesn’t really do anything especially remarkable, and the adventure is unfortunately quite short, Destroy All Humans shows such enthusiasm for its thematic inspiration that you can’t help but at least appreciate what it tries to do.”

Whether you’re a fan of the original or looking for something new to play this summer, Destroy All Humans is sure to satisfy any fantasies about what it’d be like to crush human civilization using strange and powerful alien technology. Check out everything you need to know about pre-ordering Destroy All Humans below.

Destroy All Humans pre-order bonuses

Anyone who pre-orders the Destroy All Humans remake will get 48-hour early access before launch and receive a Crypto skin pack for free, letting you dress Crypto up as an evil clown, Elvis, and more.

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Pre-order Destroy All Humans standard edition | $40

If you just want the base game, you can pre-order Destroy All Humans’ standard edition, which is $40 for consoles and $30 for PC, and get the above pre-order bonuses. While available in most physical and digital formats, Destroy All Humans isn’t up for pre-order on the PlayStation Store.

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Pre-order Destroy All Humans DNA Collector’s edition | $150

Normally the collector’s edition of a game is its most expensive version, but the Destroy All Humans DNA Collector’s edition is far from your priciest option (that said, it’ll still cost you $150). The DNA Collector’s Edition includes:

• Base game and Crypto skin pack
• Crypto ‘N’ Cow figurine (approx. 9 inches)
• Keychain
• Six lithographs
• Eye-popping anti-stress toy
• Premium box

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Pre-order Destroy All Humans Crypto-137 edition | $400

The Destroy All Humans Crypto-137 Edition might be the most expensive version of a game we’ve seen in a long time. It’s a full $100 more than the SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom F.U.N. Edition that recently blew us away and far more expensive than the collector’s editions for AAA games like Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk 2077.

The Crypto-137 Edition is listed at a whopping $400 and notably includes a Crypto figurine that stands at around 23 inches tall. You’ll also get a Crypto backpack that makes it look like the alien is clinging to your shoulders. Aside from that, you’ll get everything included with the Collector’s edition. Here’s a full list of everything:

• Base game and Crypto skin pack
• Crypto-137 figurine (approx. 23 inches)
• Crypto backpack
• Keychain
• Six lithographs
• Eye-popping anti-stress toy
• Premium box

The next operation for Rainbow Six Siege is coming, and Ubisoft has teased its two new operators ahead of the official announcement. Operation Steel Wave will get a full reveal on May 18 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, but Ubisoft has provided us with the first tease of the two new operators.

The teaser shows both of the operators–the defender, Melusi, explains her philosophy of how force is used by predators, and then the attacker, Ace, confidently boasts of his ability to find you no matter where you might be.

This follows another teaser, delivered via Morse Code, which said “SOS” (and also, apparently mistakenly, “IOS”). That’s the classic distress signal, which fits right in with Ubisoft’s recent bio page for the two characters. According to it, Ace is a paramedic who went to work search-and-rescue operations for the UN. Melusi is an anti-poaching operative with surveillance expertise.

Rainbow Six Siege is one of 11 titles that have sold more than 10 million copies this generation, and a likely candidate to be ported to the next-gen. It also was recently re-reviewed at GameSpot, joining the list of games we’ve given a 10/10 score.

“Rainbow Six Siege has always been a game about making tactical decisions and dealing with their consequences, but with every new year of operators and changes, the options have been refined and increased to make for firefights that are as engaging as they are unpredictable,” Mat Paget wrote in GameSpot’s updated Rainbow Six Siege review. “Learning the various operators and how to breach or protect a room with them can be a slow crawl, but Siege makes it easy to understand what your mistakes are, thanks in part to seeing both sides of every match. It rewards patience, persistence, and teamwork, and over the past four years, Siege has not only become Ubisoft’s crown jewel of multiplayer action but also one of the best first-person shooters ever made.”

If you appreciate the comedy in Rick and Morty, chances are you’d enjoy the writing in Trover Saves the Universe, a buddy comedy game from the mind of Justin Roiland. It’s almost one year old at this point, but if you haven’t checked it out, you can save a nice chunk of change right now during Trover Saves the Universe’s anniversary sale. At the moment, you can grab Trover Saves the Universe on Nintendo Switch and PC (as part of Epic’s Mega sale) for $18, which is a 40% savings.

The Epic Games Store deal is especially good, because Epic is currently offering $10 off coupons when you buy a game $15 or more. You can snag Trover Saves the Universe for $8 with the coupon, and then you’ll get a new coupon to use on another game in the Mega sale. You can even get a $10 off coupon by claiming Grand Theft Auto V, which is free right now as part of Epic’s free games program.

Based on the wording of the anniversary announcement, it sounds like Trover will be discounted on other platforms–probably PS4 and Xbox One–later this month. Squanch Games will also be hosting community challenges for fans on its Discord and Twitter channels next week, while giveaways are planned for the week of May 25 on the game’s social channels.

It should be noted that Trover Saves the Universe was designed with VR in mind. The camera angles and interactions are a tad awkward outside of VR, though the off-the-walls story is enjoyable nonetheless. If you pick Trover up at the Epic Games Store, you can also play it on VR headsets including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or Valve Index. It’s available on PSVR as well, so we’ll have to wait and see if the PS4 version gets discounted, too.

Best game deals this week

Trover Save the Universe stars a bonkers purple alien named Trover–who is voiced by Roiland in the style of Morty–and you, a poor sap who had your dogs taken by a monster named Glorkon. Together, you have to save the universe, of course. It’s essentially a bright, colorful platformer with crude jokes and plenty of outlandish comments from Trover and the rest of the beings you encounter.

It earned a 7/10 in GameSpot’s Trover Saves the Universe review, with critic Justin Clark praising the character and world design, the hilarious story, while knocking it for its relatively simplistic platforming and combat.

Trover Saves the Universe — $18 ($30)

Blizzard is issuing a new update to Diablo 3 in the public test realm (PTR) to put the next update through its paces before it becomes widely available. The 2.6.9 patch will begin its two-week testing phase on Thursday, May 21. Those who participate in the test will be able to check out some new gear for Demon Hunter and Necromancer, with some special items to help speed you on your way.

The main draw of the patch is the two near gear sets, one for Demon Hunter and one for Necromancer. The Demon Hunter set is called Gear of Dreadlands, and if you manage to collect all six pieces, your primary skills do 10,000% more damage. Necromancer gets the Masquerade of Burning Carnival, which gives you a 3300% Bone Spear damage buff every time you consume a corpse.

Both classes also get a bunch of new other buffs and adjustments, and there are some skill changes for both Necromancer and Witch Doctor.

As usual, Blizzard recommends that you pick one particular specialty to assure you have time to really kick the tires. As an example, if you’re a Wizard player, Blizzard recommends you check out whatever changes would impact Blizzard so that your feedback can be tailored to your expertise. The company also recommends stocking up on Puzzle Rings and Bovine Bardiches before it starts.

You can check out the full patch notes below.

Diablo 3 Patch 2.6.9 Notes

Seasons

• The elements have deemed you worthy. With you as their champion, the burning hells will face the Trials of Tempests!
  • Your character will occasionally (every 2 minutes) channel an elemental power which unleashes into the environment for a limited time:
    • Meteors rain from the skies around you.
    • Breathe lightning.
    • A wall of flame engulfs everything.
    • Release twisters of pure energy.
    • Crush your foes under the weight of rolling snowballs.
• Two unique new rewards, a portrait frame and a pet, will be granted to players who complete the Season 21 Journey.

Items

Demon Hunter

• New Demon Hunter Set: Gears of Dreadlands
  • 2-Piece Bonus
    • Gain a Momentum stack when attacking with a Primary skill. Each Momentum stack lasts 2 seconds at a maximum duration of 10 seconds. Your Primary skills deal 10% more damage per stack of Momentum.
  • 4-Piece Bonus
    • Casting Strafe against enemies will automatically shoot your last used primary skill, and also give 60% damage reduction while strafing and for 5 seconds after. While casting Strafe, you move faster per stack of Momentum.
  • 6-Piece Bonus
    • Your primary skills deal 10000% more damage
• Leonine Bow of Hashir
  • Bolas have a 30% 100% chance on explosion to pull in all enemies within 24 yards, and also deal 100-150% increased damage.
• Emimei’s Duffel
  • Bolas now explode instantly and deal 150-175% increased damage.
• The Ninth Cirri Satchel
  • Hungering Arrow has 20-25% is guaranteed to pierce and also deals 450-600% increased damage.
• Odyssey’s End
  • Enemies snared by your Entangling Shots take 20-25% 100-150% increased damage from all sources.
• Hunter’s Wrath
  • Your primary skills attack 30% faster and deal 45-60% 150-200% increased damage.
• Holy Point Shot
  • Impale throws 2 additional knives and deals 75-100% increased damage.

Necromancer

• New Necromancer Set: Masquerade of Burning Carnival
  • 2-Piece Bonus
    • Your Simulacrums no longer take damage, gains all runes, and its cooldown is refreshed when you die.
  • 4-Piece Bonus
    • While you have a Simulacrum, damage is reduced by 50%. Damage you take is split with your Simulacrums as well.
  • 6-Piece Bonus
    • Your Bone Spear deals 10,000% increased damage. Simulacrums gain triple this bonus.
• Grasps of Essence
  • When an exploded corpse damages at least one enemy, Your Corpse Explosion deals 75-100%150-200% increased damage for 6 seconds, stacking up to 5 times.
• Haunted Visions
  • Simulacrum now drains 5%1% of your maximum life every second and lasts twice as long forever. They can now duplicate Grim Scythe instead of Skeletal Mage.
• Razeth’s Volition
  • Skeletal Mage gains the effect of the Gift of Death and Singularity runes. You gain 35-50% damage reduction if your Essence is not full.
• Jesseth Arms
  • 2-Piece Set Bonus: While your skeletons are commanded to attack a target, you deal 400% increased damage.
• Grace of Inarius
  • 4-Piece Set Bonus: Bone Armor grants an additional 2%3% damage reduction per enemy hit.
• Pestilence Master’s Shroud
  • 6-Piece Set Bonus: Each corpse you consume grants you an Empowered Bone Spear charge that increases the damage of your next Bone Spear by 3300%. In addition, Corpse Lance and Corpse Explosion damage is increased by 1650%3300%.

Crusader

• Shield of Fury
  • This effect may stack up to 2010 times.

General

• Stone of Jordan
  • Added power: All elemental damage bonuses to skills are now equal to your highest elemental bonus to skills.
• Reaper’s Wraps
  • Added a 2-second internal cooldown to the Health globe effect.
• Mantle of Channeling
  • Now works with the Necromancer’s Siphon Blood.
• Convention of Elements
  • Added “non-static” to the wording of the legendary power’s description. The functionality is unchanged

Skill Changes

• Necromancer
  • Final Service
    • No longer consumes pets.
  • Bone Prison
    • Simulacrums now benefit from this passive skill.
  • Serration
    • Simulacrums now benefit from this passive skill.
  • Corpse Explosion
    • Damage increased from 350% to 1050%.
• Witch Doctor
  • Spirit Barrage
    • The Spectres from the Phantasm rune no longer benefit from pet bonuses.

Bug Fixes

• General
  • Fixed a rare issue where players could enter a locked party and become unable to enter games or change game settings
• Necromancer
  • Fixed an issue where Skeletal Mages were not attacking certain creatures

Bungie is dropping more and more details about its plans for Destiny 2‘s next content year, including how it means to change the progression of its weapons and armor. Starting in the fall season, Destiny 2 gear will come with a power cap that effectively gives them a lifespan, dictating how long you can use them–and when you’ll have to move on to something else.

The changes are detailed in the developer’s This Week at Bungie blog post, which runs down how weapons and armor will be shifted starting in Season 12 this fall. The gist is that weapons and armor pieces at the legendary level, which compose most of a player’s go-to equipment, will come with a new stat: a maximum Power level. That maximum will be whatever Destiny 2’s Power cap will be three seasons into the future, effectively marking the end of that equipment’s usefulness for endgame activities.

It’s an alteration to how gear works that effectively means you’ll need to farm up new armor and weapons every so often, instead of just relying on your favorite (or best) pieces indefinitely. Destiny 2 determines your character’s overall lethality and damage resistance as an average of the “Power” level of each piece of armor you equip, and you’re able to cannibalize new gear with higher stats to raise the level of your older, better gear with the game’s Infusion system. That allows you to increase the levels of your favorite gear so you use it in higher-level activities, such as Raids.

Bungie raises the Power cap in Destiny 2 periodically, requiring you to play to get better gear and increase your character’s overall strength to handle endgame activities. But an ongoing problem, according to director Luke Smith, is that Bungie is constantly adding new weapons and armor to the game, but players don’t necessarily need or use them when they already have what’s considered “best.”

Once the new changes are in place, you’ll only be able to infuse gear up to its set maximum Power level, which will match the Power cap three seasons after the item is first released. After that, the Power cap will keep going up, but you’ll need new gear to match it, effectively retiring the old stuff. Bungie says that should encourage players to try new guns and armor and experiment with new character builds, instead of just sitting on the same old gear they’ve been playing with for years.

We’ll start to see the new system in play next season, when weapons and armor get the new Maximum Power stat, but the actual changes won’t go into effect until Season 12 and the start of Destiny 2’s Year 4. It’ll start to have effects pretty soon, though–everything from before Shadowkeep will have its max Power level set to the Season 11 Power cap, which means it’ll start to be obsolete in the fall with Season 12. Everything from Shadowkeep forward will be viable for a full year from when it was released, so Season of Dawn gear will last until the Winter 2020 season, Season of the Worthy gear will be good until Spring 2021, and Season 11 gear will last until Summer 2021.

The good news is, Exotics are exempt from this new change–they won’t get a max Power cap. Armor and weapons from the Last Wish and Garden of Salvation raids also get an exemption to make them last longer than most other legendary gear. But for everything else, the timer of planned obsolescence is about to start.