Category: Games

Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Crown Tundra expansion is now live, and Pokemon Go is celebrating the DLC’s release with some new content. Developer Niantic has announced that a few new Galarian Pokemon are now available in the game for a limited time, as are new Crown Tundra-inspired avatar items.

As previously teased, Galarian Ponyta has been added to Pokemon Go. You’ll be able to encounter the new Galarian form in Raid Battles, and if you have enough Ponyta Candy stored up, you can evolve it into Galarian Rapidash.

Galarian Farfetch’d is also appearing once again in the wild, and now you’re able to evolve it into Sirfetch’d. Unlike most other Pokemon, however, Galarian Farfetch’d doesn’t evolve via Candy; rather, you need to make 10 Excellent throws while Galarian Farfetch’d is set as your Buddy in order for it to evolve. These throws don’t need to be made consecutively, so your count won’t reset if you miss or swap Buddy Pokemon.

The aforementioned Pokemon spawns will only be available until 6 PM PT today, October 23, but you’ll still have a chance to get the new monsters after then. Niantic says that you’ll be able to hatch Galarian Ponyta and Galarian Farfetch’d from 7 km following this event, so you’ll still have a chance to add them to your collection.

Additionally, Niantic has added a handful of new avatar items inspired by The Crown Tundra DLC to Pokemon Go’s style shop, including the signature Crown Tundra explorer uniform. These items are available for free, so you won’t need to spend any PokeCoins to claim them. You can read more on the official Pokemon Go website.

Crown Tundra is the second of Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s two planned expansions, and it introduces a lot of new content to the Switch Pokemon games, including many new and returning Pokemon, a new Wild Area to explore, and a new storyline. The DLC is bundled together with The Isle of Armor in the Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass. If you have the pass, here’s how to access the Crown Tundra in Sword and Shield.

In other Pokemon Go news, the game’s Halloween 2020 event kicks off today, October 23. This year’s celebration introduces more new Ghost Pokemon, including Galarian Yamask and costumed versions of Gengar and Sableye. Niantic has also outlined some of Pokemon Go’s November events.

It’s been a fine week for free updates to already great games. Ghost of Tsushima has added Legends so Cardy and Matt can be samurai together before joining Joe over in Verdansk to party with zombies, Billy the Puppet, Leatherface and all the other horror lads in Warzone. As well as that we tell you why you should be watching Taskmaster and The Trial of the Chicago 7 and reading/watching Dune if you’ve never got round to that.

There’s another new Endless Search format as well as more soundtrack and sandwich feedback.

Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: [email protected].

IGN UK Podcast #562: Juicy Tsushima Legends

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• IGN UK Podcast #561: Haunted Houses and Red Beef
• IGN UK Podcast #560: A Crispy Slice of Heaven
• IGN UK Podcast #559: The Manic Marsupial and Jesse’s Voice Changer
  
• IGN UK Podcast #558: Hades and Ham Sandwiches
• IGN UK Podcast #557: PS5’s Banquet of Delights

 

 

 

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Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Crown Tundra expansion has finally arrived. Like The Isle of Armor expansion, this DLC introduces a wealth of additional Pokemon and content to the games, including a brand-new area to explore: the eponymous Crown Tundra, an arctic region featuring its own storyline, cast, and wild Pokemon to catch.

As was the case with the Isle of Armor, the Crown Tundra is separate from Galar proper. You don’t need to clear the main storyline in Sword and Shield to be able to access it, but you will need to speak to a certain character to reach the new area and content. Here’s how to access the Crown Tundra.

How To Access The Crown Tundra

If you already own the Pokemon Sword or Shield Expansion Pass, fire up your copy of the game after installing the latest update and you’ll see a notification that you’ve received the Crown Pass. As you had to do to access the Isle of Armor, you’ll need to return to Wedgehurst Station and show the Crown Pass to the attendant near the gate to take a train to the Crown Tundra. Once you’ve visited the tundra the first time, you’ll be able to fast travel back to it from anywhere in Galar.

How To Purchase The Crown Tundra

Of course, before you can access the Crown Tundra and its new content, you’ll need to purchase the DLC. It’s bundled together along with The Isle of Armor in Sword and Shield’s Expansion Pass, which can be downloaded from the Switch eShop for $30 USD.

If you’ve yet to pick up the DLC, be aware that each version has its own corresponding Expansion Pass; if you have Pokemon Sword, for instance, you’ll need to specifically purchase the Pokemon Sword Expansion Pass. The underlying story and content is the same between both versions, but there are a handful of version-exclusive Pokemon in each game.

Files found in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s PC release suggest that Microsoft has investigated the potential of VR on Xbox Series X & S.

As spotted by WindowsCentral, Flight Sim forum user Cygnifick posted a series of filename strings that refer to the codename of the Xbox Series range, Scarlett.

Strings such as “Scarlett_VR” and “EDITION_Scarlett PublishedPackages_Scarlett.xml” suggest that Microsoft has, at the very least, been considering the implementation of VR on its next-gen consoles the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, for use with Microsoft Flight Simulator. It’s nothing concrete – perhaps Microsoft is testing the functionality internally.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming to the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in 2021, but Microsoft hasn’t said anything about VR support for its next-gen console range, which is why these strings are so interesting.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is already available on PC as of writing, with VR support on the way via the HP Reverb G2 “later this fall,” according to an Xbox blog post published in July. Compatibility with other HMDs will arrive later down the line. You can sign up for the VR Closed Beta on the Flight Simulator website here.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Metal Gear Solid left behind a lasting impression on many people who experienced the game when it first launched in 1998. Hideo Kojima’s critically acclaimed game has been celebrated since then with official merchandise and fan art, and now a stylish pair of Air Jordans are part of that long list of tributes.

Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts commissioned artist Bud Sanfillipo to customize a pair of shoes to celebrate Metal Gear Solid’s 22nd Anniversary. Sanfillipo was tasked with recreating the signature art style of series artist Yoji Shinkawa.

The end result is a pair of shoes that would leave any Genome soldier curious about who was leaving behind a stylish pair of footprints.

Vogt-Roberts has been working on a live-action Metal Gear Solid feature film since 2014: a project that he wants to keep as faithful to the source material as possible.

“I was able to say, ‘Let’s really think about whether we’re making the truest, most balls-to-the-wall Metal Gear version of this–the most Kojima version of this,” Vogt-Roberts said in a 2017 interview. “And even if that means we make it for a little bit less money, let’s make the version of this that’s true to what it is, fully committed to what Kojima’s voice is.'”

If you’re feeling nostalgic, Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance have recently resurfaced on PC via GOG, albeit as straight ports of the original games that were released many years ago.

The remastered Blade Runner adventure game was previously scheduled to release later this year, but with “later this year” quickly coming, developer Nightdive Studios isn’t ready to launch the game. In fact, it has run into technical issues that have delayed it to an unspecified future date.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Nightdive CEO Steven Kick blamed the delay on problems related to “old technology” and said the studio has not been able to locate the original source code or assets for the game. The source code was apparently lost decades ago after original studio Westwood was purchased by EA, and Nightdive has the more difficult task of reverse-engineering code in order to get Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition remastered.

To get the game running on all platforms, Nightdive is using its own engine and with code work apparently nearing completion, most efforts are on visual updates now. Kick added in the interview that the frame rate will likely be lowered to 30 FPS with a film grain placed over it in order to better achieve a cinematic style. Given the neo-noir nature of the original movie, this makes sense.

While Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition is still in the works, it could be a very long time, if ever, before we see another film. 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 was critically acclaimed but failed to break even at the box office. That hasn’t slowed down director Denis Villeneuve, who is currently working on Dune.

The future is looking more animated than ever. We’re partnering with four more studios to bring you the best in anime as NAZ, Science SARU, Studio Mir, and MAPPA join a line-up of heavy hitters including Production I.G, bones, Anime, Sublimation, and David Production. pic.twitter.com/mRqwdMqiib

— ⚰️😈 The NXorcist 👻🔪 (@NXOnNetflix) October 23, 2020