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Square Enix’s big role-playing game Final Fantasy XV is coming to PC on March 6, but you won’t have to wait that long to check out the newest edition of the title. A free demo for Final Fantasy XV will launch on PC through Steam, Origin, and the Microsoft Store on February 26. The demo spans the full first chapter, including the tutorial and multiple quests.

In a blog post, Square Enix said the demo is also a way for players to find out how well the game runs on their rig and test out the game’s various graphics options. Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XV’s PC requirements back in January–see them here. Square Enix already released a benchmark tool to help you evaluate your PC’s ability to run the game.

In other news, people who buy Final Fantasy XV for PC on Steam by the end of April will receive the Half-Life Pack. This comes with a Gordon Freeman costume, including his famous crowbar, which you can use as a weapon in the RPG.

March 6 is a big day for Final Fantasy XV, as it’s also the date that the game’s Royal Edition comes to PS4 and Xbox One. As announced previously, this comes with the base game, the four major DLC packs from the season pass, and new DLC launching with the PC edition.

Final Fantasy XV was originally released in November 2016 for PS4 and Xbox One. It was a commercial and critical success, but despite that, game director Hajime Tabata has told fans not to expect a full sequel starring Noctis and his friends again.

The PlayStation Network, the online service that powers PlayStation products, is running into some problems right now. The PSN’s official Status page shows that “Gaming And Social” elements of the service are experiencing some hiccups currently.

“You may have some difficulty launching games, applications, or online features,” reads a line from the page. “Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.”

The service interruption is affecting PlayStation 4 alone, the page says. All other PSN services, including Account Management, PlayStation Now, PlayStation Vue, PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Music, are working normally, the support page says.

We’ll report back with more details on this latest PSN service interruption as new details become available. It is unclear how widespread the issues may be or how long the interruption will last. As always, your mileage may vary. Keep checking back for more.

Rhode Island state representative Robert Nardolillo has proposed legislation in the Ocean State that seeks to add an extra tax on violent video games. In a news release this week, the Republican lawmaker said the funds from this tax would go towards mental health and counselling resources. This legislation would put an additional 10 percent sales tax on video games sold in Rhode Island that carry an M-for-Mature or higher rating from the ESRB.

Rhode Island’s sales tax rate is 7 percent, meaning $60 games actually cost $64.20. With the extra 10 percent, an M-rated game like Grand Theft Auto V would cost $70.20. That’s a good amount extra. Nardolillo says the revenue from this tax would be put into a “special account” to be dispersed to school districts for the purposes of funding counselling, mental health programs, and “other conflict resolution activities.”

“Our goal is to make every school in Rhode Island a safe and calm place for students to learn,” Nardolillo said in a news release. “By offering children resources to manage their aggression today, we can ensure a more peaceful tomorrow.”

Nardolillo’s proposed legislation comes just days after the horrific high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. In the wake of the tragedy, President Trump said he’s heard people say “the level of violence in video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts.”

Nardolillo went on to say, without citing any specific study or data, that “there is evidence that children exposed to violent video games at a young age tend to act more aggressively than those who are not.” He added: “This bill would give schools the additional resources needed to help students deal with that aggression in a positive way.”

Some argue there is assuredly a link between playing violent video games and increased levels of aggressive behaviour, while others maintain that games themselves don’t cause violence, but are rather one prominent risk factor for violent real-world behaviour.

This is not the first time a politician has called for an excise tax on specific video games. After the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a lawmaker from the state proposed a similar tax in 2013. Also that year, a state representative from Missouri proposed a sales tax on games rated M and above. In both cases, the funds would have gone towards mental health programs. However, the bills never became law.

Blizzard today released a cryptic teaser for Overwatch that some believe could be in reference to a new hero named “Emre Sarioglu.” The teaser takes the form of a declassified After-Action report for something called “Operation White Dome.”

As explained in the text below, Operation White Dome took place on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey and involved captain Ana Amari (a current Overwatch character) being deployed to “deal with a remaining pocket of omnic resistance.” Also on this excursion were Overwatch characters Reinhardt, Torbjorn, and “Private First Class Emre Sariogulu.” That last name is the most notable one, it seems, as it could be a new Overwatch character.

Overwatch launched back in 2016 with a roster of 21 characters, with five more coming after launch. Moira, the newest post-release hero, was added to the game in November 2017.

Overwatch’s Lunar New Year event, Year of the Dog, is currently underway until March 5. This year’s event includes many new skins, emotes, and more for the game’s loot boxes, as well as changes to the Capture the Flag mode, a new competitive mode, and a new map called Ayutthaya.

Super Mario Odyssey‘s presentation is undeniably charming. The upcoming adventure is brimming with vibrant visuals that’ll likely cement a smile on your face.

Aside from its colorful environments, one of the game’s most delightful aspects are the optional outfits Mario can wear. From outfits that are themed around the worlds you visit to ones that are direct homages to Mario’s history, there’s an abundance of fun costumes to throw on.

In time for Super Mario Odyssey‘s new content update, we’ve gathered all the new outfits that are included in it. To give you a look at all the new outfits as well as all of the outfits in the base game, we’ve gathered them all here.

Click ahead to take a look, and be sure to check back often as we update this feature with even more DLC outfits. If you’re curious how to find some of the best of what you see in this feature, check out our guide on how to get the best costumes.

Super Mario Odyssey is out now for Nintendo Switch. It’s the latest installment of Nintendo’s tenured franchise starring the lovable Italian plumber. You once again control Mario as he works to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. But this time around, he has the help of a new hat sidekick named Cappy, who he can throw at certain objects or enemies to temporarily possess them and use their unique abilities.

Check out our full review of Super Mario Odyssey, and for more about the game, check out our roundup article containing features, gameplay videos, and everything you need to know about Super Mario Odyssey. You can also check out our roundup containing tips, guides, and things we wish we knew.

This weekend marks the end of Call of Duty: WWII‘s Resistance event, and as such it’s the last weekend to get double character, Division, and weapon XP. This weekend also marks the launch of the game’s next update, which rebalances several weapons and changes the speed of aiming down sights for many guns.

Sledgehammer detailed the patch on Reddit today, and it is highlighted by significant changes to ADS speeds. Most interestingly, the Kar98K and M1903 sniper rifles will have their ADS speeds decreased in order to slightly reduce the effectiveness of quickscoping. LMGs, SMGs, and Rifles, meanwhile, will all have their base ADS speeds increased. SMGs gets an additional boost to the speed of aiming down sights immediately after sprinting, a tweak that’s meant to better delineate between the weapon classes.

As for other weapon balance changes, the MP-40 will get some attention, having its recoil improved so that it’s more competitive with the PPSh-41. The SVT-40 also gets better recoil but an increased hip-fire spread, both meant to bring it in line with the M1 Garand. You can read all of the weapon changes below.

The update is scheduled for launch tomorrow on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. In other news, you can currently play Call of Duty: WWII’s multiplayer for free on PC. In addition, its first expansion, The Resistance, will be released on PS4 next week.

Patch Notes

ADS TRANSITION TIMES/ADS FROM SPRINT TIMES/ADS SPRINT OUT TIMES:

SMGs

• Buffed base ADS times and buffed ADS in from sprint times (ADS sprint out times match ADS from sprint times).

Rifles

• Buffed base ADS transition times, but not ADS from sprint times/ADS sprint out times, in an effort to maintain a difference between the SMG and AR class playstyles.

Snipers: Kar98k and M1903

• Nerfed ADS transition times (a slight quickscoping nerf).

LMGs

• Buffed base ADS times

Note: Base ADS times for SMGs are faster than Rifles, and Rifles are faster than LMGs. In other words, there is now more of a distinction between class playstyles.

WEAPONS:

MP-40

• Buffed recoil in an effort to have a more competitive SMG on par with the PPSh-41.

FG-42

• Nerfed fire rate so that the damage output is more in line with other weapons in its class.

SVT-40

• Buffed recoil in an effort to make it more manageable to shoot down range and give a better contrast to the M1 Garand.
• Nerfed hip spread to match the M1 Garand’s in an effort to decrease the ability to quickly kill opponents at closer ranges.

M1A1

• Buffed fire rate in an effort to make it a more competitive choice amongst the other rifles (still slightly slower than the Gewehr 43).

Gewehr 43

• Buffed fire rate in an effort to make it a more competitive choice amongst the other rifles (still slightly faster than M1A1).
• Buffed recoil (closer to that of M1A1).
• Buffed clip size to be 12 rounds per clip instead of 10.

M30 Luftwaffe Drilling

• Buffed damage per pellet to be on par with the recent Sawed-Off Shotgun changes so that this shotgun now has a more automatic 2-shot kill and a slightly more forgiving one-shot kill.
• Buffed shotgun damage range, so that it’s now more feasible to finish off an opponent who didn’t die from a rifle bullet.
• Buffed ADS spread to allow for greater accuracy when shooting enemies that are outside of the obvious shotgun range (while ADS).

Toggle Action

• Buffed clip size to be 8 shots per clip instead of 6 in an effort to allow players to have more success with this weapon.
• Nerfed ADS spread to be on par with other shotguns (besides the M30).

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds got a couple of new cosmetic crates today, and both of them add some pretty distinctive clothing for you to dress up your character in. You can buy the Militia and Fever crates starting now, although the Fever crate requires you to also buy an Early Bird key. In addition, both crates contain items that drop at particularly low frequencies, but the Militia crate takes the prize for holding the rarest item.

The name of the Fever crate refers to dance fever, because it includes a whole bunch of ’70s- and ’80s-inspired clothing options. If you snag one of these boxes, you’ll receive anything from a mesh polo shirt to a cropped corset to loafers with socks. According to the drop rates published in the patch notes, the cropped corset and zest checkered shirt are the rarest items.

The Militia crate, meanwhile, can award a handful of different combat-themed items along with some other clothes. It has the possibility of granting a cowboy hat, a long-sleeved turtleneck, a utility belt, and others. The rarest item by far is the military skirt, which has a microscopic .00064% chance of dropping.

You can snag the Fever crate with in-game Battle Points and open it with an Early Bird key, which costs real money. The Militia crate, meanwhile, will drop 40% of the time when purchasing one of the random boxes with in-game currency.

In other news, developer PUBG Corp. confirmed recently that a new map is scheduled for release by July. There’s not much known yet about the map, but you can read more about what the studio’s got planned for PUBG here.

A biopic about the wonderful man who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is in the works at Fox Searchlight, the studio behind movies like Juno and Slumdog Millionaire. The movie, which is titled Flamin’ Hot, will follow the life of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos inventor Richard Montanez, who was a janitor at Frito-Lay before creating the snack and amassing untold wealth.

According to Variety, which was the first to report the news today, multiple studios were vying to pick up the movie before Fox Searchlight ultimately sealed the deal. Montanez is the son of an immigrant and worked on farms picking grapes in southern California. He later got a job as a janitor at Cheetos manufacturer Frito-Lay, and during his time cleaning toilets there in the ’70s, he came up with the idea for a new variety of Cheetos.

The script for Flamin’ Hot is being written by Lewis Colick (October Sky, Ladder 49), with Montanez helping out. Devon Franklin, a Hollywood producer and spiritual coach, is producing.

According to Fox News, Montanez got the idea for a hot variety of Cheetos while he was eating a cup of corn. “I see the corn man adding butter, cheese, and chile to the corn and thought, ‘What if I add chile to a Cheeto?'” he recalled.

According to the report, Montanez bolted into his mother’s kitchen and whipped up some spices for a test version of the snack. He apparently called the president of Frito-Lay to propose his new flavour and was given two weeks to prepare a presentation. The president apparently loved the idea, and the Flamin’ Hot variety is now among Frito-Lay’s best-selling products worldwide. Montanez is currently an executive at PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay.

There is no word as of yet about who will play Montanez in the film or who may direct. A release date is also not available at this time, but we’ll be sure to report back with more on all the delectable details as they are announced.