Typing Of The Dead Mod Preserves Yahoo Answers’ Greatest Moments

Yahoo Answers, the legendary user-based answering service, is shutting down permanently on May 4. That seemed to mean that many of its best answers would be lost to time, but a modder has chosen to keep Yahoo Answers’ greatest hits alive in an unexpected place: The Typing of the Dead.

Twitter user YahooAnswersTXT, who compiles the best Yahoo Answers questions and posts them on their account, collected 500 of the very greatest and used them in a custom dictionary for Typing of the Dead: Overkill. We have no idea why some of these questions were asked, but here are some of the very best:

  • What does Bigfoot want??
  • Is yamble a word?
  • GANGSTER GHOST?
  • I can’t stop sinning?

Yahoo Answers let users crowdsource answers to pretty much anything, but as you can see from these answers, they sometimes didn’t actually ask questions with answers at all. No one knows what Bigfoot wants. Two of the above aren’t even questions. But this one might be our favorite because of an answer it did receive.

Nothing has changed in a decade
Nothing has changed in a decade

You can install the RIP Yahoo Answers mod for yourself in the game via the Steam Workshop page.

Typing of the Dead is a spin-off of Sega’s House of the Dead series, using essentially the same structure but replacing the light-gun shooting gameplay with typing challenges. It was silly in 2001 when it came to North America and it’s silly now.

“Yamble” is not a word.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Epic Games Is Losing An Absurd Amount Of Money On Exclusive Games

Epic Games seems to understand that, given Steam’s massive user-base, the only way it can be a viable competitor is to have games that aren’t available on Valve’s service. Exclusivity deals with third-party companies cost money, and it looks like Epic Games is losing a huge amount of money to make those exclusives happen.

As spotted by PC Gamer, despite paying approximately $444 million for “minimum guarantees” on third-party games for the Epic Games Store in 2020, sales of all third-party games for the year amounted to about $265 million. Apple said that Epic Games lost about $181 million on the Epic Games Store in 2019, putting the total losses thus far at more than $300 million, should these figures be correct. Big games like Metro Exodus and Control were released first on EGS before coming to Steam later.

Apple used these figures in a statement as part of its lawsuit against Epic Games, pointing out that the service is unprofitable and is missing security features that Apple’s App Store includes. It pointed out that most of Epic Games’ Fortnite revenue is generated on platforms other than iOS, as well, which would seemingly mitigate the effect of the game not being available there anymore.

These loss numbers are still fairly small compared to Epic Games as a whole. The company was valued at more than $17 billion last August after securing additional funding. And despite being unavailable on iOS for months, Fortnite continues to thrive on other platforms.

The Epic Games v. Apple trial kicks off on May 3. The outcome could determine not only if Fortnite can return to Apple devices, but also if Apple can keep a monopoly over digital purchases on its platform.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Has Gone Gold Ahead Of May 14 Launch

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is set to release in just over a month, and the remastered trilogy’s project director Mac Walters has announced that it has gone gold. That means there is very little chance it’s going to get bumped from its May 14 release date.

Walters celebrated the occasion with a clip of several Mass Effect characters dancing, including meme legend Garrus Vakarian.

When a game “goes gold,” it essentially means that its code is finalized to the point where it can be put onto discs and shipped. However, because we live in an era of content updates and patches, it doesn’t really mean as much as it used to. BioWare could choose to replace huge amounts of the game’s code in the future if it wanted to change something, but it does still serve as a big milestone for developers who have been working on the project for months or years.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition bundles together the first three games with improvements to make them feel like one cohesive experience. The first game was criticized, in its original state, for lackluster combat, and this should no longer be an issue in the retooled version. It’s coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC, with optimizations for the newer systems rather than dedication next-gen versions. A fifth Mass Effect game is in development, as well, though it appears to be pretty early right now.

Another game that also went gold this week is Nier Replicant, which is also a retooled version of a past game. As with Mass Effect, the original Nier’s combat was surpassed by its sequel, and Nier Replicant will implement those ideas into the original game while retaining its story.

Fortnite Adds New Shop Section For Previously Vaulted Items

Fortnite has introduced thousands of characters, Back Blings, Emotes, and other cosmetics over the years, so it’s understandable that some items haven’t resurfaced in some time, especially when Epic is so often partnering with licensed properties like Marvel, Star Wars, and The Walking Dead. A new Shop section is now available and features previously vaulted items exclusively.

Each long-absent item in this new Fortnite Shop section has been unavailable for at least a year, and some of the deepest cuts go back to the earliest seasons of Chapter 1. Currently, the Vaulted A Year Or More section, as it’s called, includes the Mega Man-like Astro Assassin, masked heroes Taro and Nara, medics Triage Trooper and Field Surgeon, and more, alongside a range of corresponding accessories for several of them.

No Caption Provided

Even though this is something fans have long clamored for, Epic hasn’t said anything about the releases. Instead, these ultra-rare items all just arrived with the daily Shop update last night with little fanfare outside of the game’s community forums. Each item features the same timer revealing the cosmetics are scheduled to disappear with tonight’s shop update at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET. Whether they’ll be replaced with more rare cosmetics is not yet known.

If any of these Shop items have been on your wishlist, now’s your chance to get them. There’s no telling when they’ll come back around. Hopefully this means more of Fortnite’s missing-in-action cosmetics will make their long-awaited returns sometime soon.

Speaking of long-awaited cosmetics, there’s still no telling when The Foundation cosmetic will hit the Shop, but fans have seemingly determined that the masked man is played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Zack Snyder Unveils Army Of The Dead Poster Ahead Of New Trailer

Sometimes you just gotta get that money. And sometimes, there are zombies in between you and that money. That’s what Zack Snyder’s upcoming film, Army of the Dead, is all about. The director released a new poster today, ahead of a new trailer set to drop on Tuesday, April 13.

The tweet and poster both come on the heels of a special preview event Snyder and publisher Netflix put together to promote the film. The movie tells the story of a group of mercenaries raiding a casino in a zombie-infested Las Vegas. The event has since ended, but you can still catch the VOD over on the Netflix Twitch channel. Viewers were asked to crack a code to register for the Tuesday event. The video goes on for about an hour and features security cameras overlooking different parts of a casino–presumably the one that mercenaries are breaking into in the film. The video itself isn’t terribly eventful. Zombies wander around, and occasionally a dumb human in a hazmat suit or with a camera wanders in and gets eaten.

Before Zack Snyder was known for his “cut” of Justice League and making Batman say a swear, one of his big breakout films was his remake of Dawn of the Dead. He wanted to make a second zombie movie, and Army of the Dead was announced in 2007. It never happened due to financing issues, and then Snyder got busy bringing DC Comics’ biggest characters to life in movies like Watchmen and Justice League. Army of the Dead officially began filming in 2019 when Netflix picked up the movie rights from Warner Bros. Now, Army of the Dead is set to finally see the light of day when it hits Netflix on May 21, 2021.

Army of the Dead stars Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children), as well as Ana de la Reguera(Eastbound & Down), Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead), Theo Rossi (Luke Cage), and Tig Notaro (Star Trek: Discovery). Snyder directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold.

With this movie releasing on May 21 and Zack Snyder’s Justice League just a few weeks ago, that makes two Snyder projects hitting streaming services in two months. Zack Snyder must be a busy guy.

Turns Out Diablo 2 Is Still Really Good (Resurrected Alpha Impressions)

Please don’t be mad at me, I haven’t played Diablo 2 since middle school. And at that time, my friends (who were also high-level StarCraft and Warcraft players) basically carried me through most of the experience and the Lord of Destruction expansion. However, Diablo 2 showed me the satisfaction you can get out of a good hack-and-slash RPG, tearing through mobs (often with friends), using different classes and builds, and being smart about how to handle the tougher encounters.

After spending some time with the technical alpha, I now see how Diablo 2 Resurrected delivers that exact experience all over again. It really is Diablo 2 with a fresh coat of HD paint, running without a hitch on modern systems. It plays identically to the original game and preserves that experience one-to-one, but with a few quality-of-life improvements and some major visual enhancements that don’t affect the core gameplay systems. This is essentially what Blizzard did with StarCraft Remastered back in 2017–the same iconic game looking real fresh.

And just like StarCraft Remastered, Diablo 2 Resurrected lets you swap between the visual styles instantly with a keystroke. Both graphical modes run simultaneously, and switching between them is seamless. While it’s not much more than a novelty to scratch that nostalgic itch, seeing the original sprites and choppy animations in a 4:3 aspect ratio helps you appreciate the work that’s been done with this remaster. Revamped assets, high-definition textures, and modernized visual effects like lighting, shadows, and particle effects still maintain the true look and feel of Diablo 2 and use the proper 16:9 widescreen format.

One of the more important, but minor improvements comes with the cleaner user interface. Navigating your inventory, character screen, and skill tree is just a bit easier to parse with this redesign and the HD brush-up is certainly easier on the eyes.

Gallery

You can see the UI revamp between the original Diablo 2 and the Resurrected remaster.

Overall, this game is all about its dark, brooding atmosphere that intimidates you along the loot grind and demon-slaying journey, and that’s not lost in Resurrected.

As I’m playing through it again in a single-player local campaign (multiplayer is not available in the technical alpha), the ins-and-outs of playing Sorceress are starting to come back. Again, I’m looking up the different builds that are made possible by Diablo 2’s simple yet diverse skill trees. As I crawl through crypts of Rogue Monastery and the Maggot Lair beneath Aranoch, I’m working towards that Fireball-Frozen Orb build that worked so well some 20 years ago and getting back up to speed on how to control mobs and manage my mana pool. Admittedly, Diablo 2 is a repetitive game, and in 2021, that much is readily apparent. But when the gameplay systems are as tight and satisfying as they are in Diablo 2, running through its series of dungeons is still a ton of fun.

Another thing that’s potentially great for newcomers and veterans alike is the ability to respec your character as many times as you want, free of charge. One aspect of the original Diablo 2 experience was understanding how to build your character from the outset and having to live with some of the mistakes you may have made, unless you use one of the few ways to respecialize your skills. A patch late in Diablo 2’s lifespan granted a respec in the early hours, but there was also a more convoluted way to earn a respec.

It'll take a while to get back up to speed with Diablo 2 if you haven't played in a while.
It’ll take a while to get back up to speed with Diablo 2 if you haven’t played in a while.

Some may argue that unlimited respecs isn’t in the true spirit of the game. However, this being a remaster where the overall point is to deliver the core experience rather than punish you for what’s an antiquated system, I’m not going to complain about it. It’s not going to affect the in-the-moment thrills and challenges we remember most about Diablo 2.

Diablo 2 was incredibly influential, setting a new bar for action-RPGs on PC and became one of Blizzard’s key pillars–it’s quite clear as to why when many of the game’s timeless qualities shine through. But whether or not you prefer the streamlining that was done for Diablo 3’s gameplay systems, you have to admit that the series has evolved in significant ways when you take off the rose-tinted glasses Things like the tedious inventory management, the somewhat basic level design, and the tiresome trek of getting your gear back if you die have shown their age, of course. And as integral as the stamina system is for how you approach combat situations, it is rather an annoyance from an exploration standpoint. Diablo 2 Resurrected has been a great time, but having it is also important for seeing the genre’s growth.

I’m still very early in this nostalgia rush of a playthrough, but aside from early server issues during the first hour of the alpha being live, Diablo 2 Resurrected is shaping up to be a damn fine game, because, well, it’s Diablo 2 reimagined. It very much gives me that “this is what it looked like to me back in the day” vibe, and it’s a cool feeling when I can switch the visuals to see just how wrong I was.

Gallery

Side-by-side, you can see just how much Diablo 2 Resurrected improves the visual quality.

I don’t know if I’m down to struggle through Act IV or Baal runs on Hell difficulty in the year 2021–I got a lot of games in my backlog as is. But if that’s something you want to relive, or even play through for the first time, Diablo 2 Resurrected is showing all the signs that it’s going to preserve that unique RPG that many of us remember fondly. So far, it’s exactly as advertised, and I’m excited to see how the multiplayer experience will hold up in this remaster.

Diablo 2 Resurrected is scheduled to launch sometime this year on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch. Blizzard has a beta phase planned before launch as well, so more people will be able to get a chance to try this remaster.

Now Playing: Diablo 2 Resurrected – 18 Minutes of Sorceress Gameplay

How Awful Can You Be In Disco Elysium?

Disco Elysium

First Released Oct 15, 2019

released

  • iOS (iPhone/iPad)
  • Macintosh
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • PlayStation 5
  • Stadia
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X

Disco Elysium is a groundbreaking open world role playing game. You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city block to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.

Stay On Target With The Wearable Star Wars Black Series Wedge Antilles Helmet from Hasbro Pulse

When watching Star Wars for the first time, it’s easy to imagine yourself in so many roles–Jedi, smuggler, bounty hunter, fighter pilot, princess–but tough to pick just one. Hasbro is making it easier than ever to pick with their newest Black Series helmet, the Star Wars: The Black Series Wedge Antilles Battle Simulation Helmet.

Wedge Antilles is one of the few characters from the original trilogy that lived through the whole series, participating in some of the biggest battles and piloting iconic ships. He went on to star in a long-running series of Star Wars books published under what is now the Star Wars Legends banner, and continues to pop up in the new canon Star Wars novels as well, like the Aftermath trilogy.

The Wedge Antilles Battle Simulation Helmet is modeled after the legendary pilot’s from the films. The wearable helmet offers interior padding, electronic lights, and sound effects. There are three speakers inside the helmet to create, according to the official press release, an “immersive surround battle simulation experience while synchronized LED lights inside the visor simulate blaster fire from enemy vehicles.”

No Caption Provided

Also inside the helmet is a switch that lets you choose between a simulation of piloting Wedge’s X-Wing at the Battle of Yavin, or the Snowspeeder he piloted at the Battle of Hoth. Of course, Hasbro’s use of the word ‘simulation’ here is rather tenuous. There’s no on-screen display or anything, so you’d better be looking at least at a paused image from a Star Wars battle when you flip the simulation switch.

The helmet will go for $99.99 when it hits shelves sometime in June 2021. You can order it right now through the official Hasbro Pulse site. If you’re more of a Jedi type than a pilot, though, make sure you keep an eye on the “real” Lightsaber that Disney is making.

Now Playing: Star Wars: Squadrons Multiplayer Killing Spree With An A-Wing