Deal Alert: Save $550 on Microsoft Surface Laptops Today Only

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Today only, Best Buy is running a sale on first-gen Microsoft Surface Laptops that drops prices by $550. That’s a whole lot of money to save, so if you’re in the market for a new laptop, you’ll want to take a look at these deals.

Surface Laptops are generally considered among the top portable PCs on the market. All of the models below are light, sleek, and easy to carry to class, work, or the coffee shop. That said, they’re also powerful enough to run your apps and do any standard computing task. They’re safer than many other computers because they come equipped with Windows 10 S. They also feature full touchscreen functionality and a battery that can last all day.

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Why Did a First-Time Game Developer Turn Down 12 Publishers?

Wlad Marhulets seems to be one of those people who’s just good at everything. He’s traditionally made his living as a composer, writing everything from clarinet concertos to the score for an upcoming VR film about Eminem (I don’t know either). You’d think he’d be happy with the several awards he’s won for that work but, in 2015, he decided to try something new in his spare time, a little creative hobby project. “I downloaded Unity and learned a little bit of coding and 3D modeling”, he tells me over email. “A month later I had a little demo – it was 2-3 minutes of gameplay maybe, it was barely playable.”

What he’d created was the first version of Darq, a horror-soaked puzzle-platformer about a boy who becomes aware that he’s inside his own nightmare, and uses the fluidity of lucid dreaming to get out. After a friend urged him to create a trailer and upload it to the now-defunct Steam Greenlight, it became one of the top 10 most upvoted games on the service (of almost 2,000) within two weeks. Articles were written, social media discussion was had, and Marhulets made the fairly radical decision to turn Darq into his full-time job.

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Fortnite Cross-Play on Switch No Longer Supported with Xbox One, PS4

Epic Games revealed in their V8.10 patch notes that Fortnite on Nintendo Switch will no longer have cross-play support with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users.

Switch cross-play will now be restricted to mobile players, including iOS and Android devices, with Xbox One and PS4 players still having the support.

“We expect an on-average better per-game experience for both mobile and Switch players,” the patch notes said.

Nintendo Life reports the decision could be due to hardware limitations from Switch players to those on PC or other consoles, as Switch offers only 30 FPS where as Xbox One and PS4 are at 60 FPS.

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New Black Ops 4 St. Patrick’s Day Update Is Now Live On PS4

Activision has announced a two week-long St. Patrick’s Day-themed celebration for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The event is already live for PS4 and will continue until March 26. Activision hasn’t yet announced dates for Xbox One or PC, other than to say–in a blog post–that information would be coming soon.

The new event, called Shamrock & Awe–which returns from Call of Duty: WWII–adds new content to Blackout, Zombies, and Multiplayer mode in Black Ops 4, as well as St. Patrick’s Day-themed goodies in the Black Market. Also, simply logging into Black Ops 4 during the event will unlock the “Precious” gesture and a new animated calling card for free.

In Blackout, the battle royale has undergone a few green-colored updates. All smoke–whether from grenades or supply drops–is now colored green, as are the eyes of the zombies scattered throughout the map. The foliage on the map has entered spring, with flowers blooming and brown leaves becoming green again. Hidden caches of bronze pots have been hidden throughout Blackout’s map as well. And if you’re looking for something to hunt other than enemy players and zombies, following the noisy jingle of dancing Leprechauns will allow you to track the little imps down. Finding and destroying them before your enemies do will reward you with “a wide variety of goodies.”

Shamrock & Awe makes less severe changes in Zombies and Multiplayer. For the former, you can now find and use the Homunculus transformation, and certain zombies now have a “distinctly different hue around their sunken eyeballs.” Defeating these zombies offers a mysterious reward. In Multiplayer, Fracture has returned with a new name, Stockpile, and enemies now drop shamrocks–as opposed to dog tags–that need to be collected in order to win.

If you’re looking for even more St. Patrick’s Day goodies, you can head to the Black Market and buy the Shamrock Bundle. The limited-time bundle includes ten item crates, the “Glorious Day” gesture, St. Patrick’s Day-themed warpaint, and the “Luck of the Irish” jump pack–which gives you a new wingsuit to use.

Black Ops 4 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. As stated before, Shamrock & Awe is currently only live on PS4, but the celebration is coming to other systems eventually.

Pokemon Go’s First Legendary Lunch Hour Event Is Today

Niantic is holding a new type of event in Pokemon Go today. The inaugural Legendary Lunch Hour kicks off at 12 PM local time and runs for one hour, during which time there will be an increased number of Raid Battles occurring in the game.

Niantic calls the Legendary Lunch Hour event an “experiment” to give more players a chance to participate in the game during work or school hours. The developer is inviting feedback from fans to further fine tune the event and make it one that players “can enjoy every week.”

The Legendary Lunch Hour isn’t the only event happening in Pokemon Go this week. Beginning March 15, the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza will return for a special Raid Weekend, giving players their first chance to capture it in nearly a year. The Raid Weekend kicks off at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET and runs until the same time on Monday, March 18.

The following week, Niantic will hold this month’s Pokemon Go Community Day. The event takes place on Saturday, March 23, and features increased spawns of Treecko, one of the three starter Pokemon from Ruby and Sapphire. Players will also be able to hatch Eggs at a quarter of their usual distance during the event.

Earlier this month, a new Legendary–Dialga–made its debut in Pokemon Go. The Temporal Pokemon will appear in Raid Battles until March 28. Niantic also recently introduced the long-awaited Smeargle to the game alongside Pokemon Go’s new AR photo mode.

Daily Deals: Big Sale on Dell 144Hz, 240Hz, FreeSync, and GSYNC Gaming Monitors

Welcome to IGN’s Daily Deals, your source for the best deals on the stuff you actually want to buy. If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

We bring you the best deals we’ve found today on video games, hardware, electronics, and a bunch of random stuff too.Check them out here or like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the latest deals.

mariodayMario Day Deal – Nintendo Switch and Mario Game for $329.99

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Grab a 4K TV on Sale to Prepare for Halo: Reach in 4K

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

Yesterday Microsoft announced it’s bringing Halo: The Master Chief Collection to PC, and as an added bonus, Halo: Reach will be added to the collection on both Xbox One and the upcoming PC version.

With the addition of Halo: Reach comes upgraded graphics. The game looked amazing on Xbox 360, but for the Xbox One and PC release, it’s getting updated graphics and a 4K, 60 fps, HDR overhaul. If you are one of the very correct people who believe Halo: Reach is actually the best Halo game (at least the campaign), this is incredibly exciting news. If you haven’t upgraded your TV, now is a fantastic time. Amazon has some great 4K sets on sale, and the Xbox One X has some incredible deals, as well.

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Dead Cells Update “Rise Of The Giants” Release Date Announced

Dead Cells has been receiving a steady stream of updates, adding features like custom runs and overhauling major systems based on player feedback. Developer Motion Twin has now announced its first big free expansion, Rise of the Giants, will arrive on PC on March 28. Console release dates haven’t been announced.

The major addition is an entirely new area to explore. To access the new area, you’ll have to have bested the tough-as-nails action game at least once. That will grant you access to the Cavern, a new area with new traps and enemies, lava pools, and a new boss.

The DLC adds a lot more besides the new area, though. It will include a new skinning system with 50 outfits, giving you more loot to collect from blueprints dropped by enemies and bosses. It also adds three new skills, including a flying pet and a scroll that reveals a current map. It also brings 10 more weapons, like the Giant Killer, Boi Axe, and Thunder Shield. The Prisoner’s Quarters will include a new Specialist Shop where you can buy Hunter’s Grenades, along with skins and a new map. Finally, it will add a hidden level, with a completely new ending for those who can defeat the hidden boss.

Though the update hasn’t hit yet, Motion Twin has already released the patch notes so you can read and prepare yourself. Dead Cells was named one of our best games of 2018.

Twin Peaks Is A Dream Inside Laura Palmer’s Head | Fan Theories

Much more than most TV series, Twin Peaks is very much all about your personal interpretation. Not unlike the original two-season run or the follow-up movie, Fire Walk With Me, the recent third season–Twin Peaks: The Return–was not concerned with over-explaining itself. Its ending, in particular, was less than conclusive in an especially Lynchian way.

As such, Twin Peaks is ripe for fans to theorize about things. Whether on an episode-by-episode basis or by looking at the bigger picture, the Twin Peaks community is filled with wild ideas about what’s going on with Judy, Bob, Laura Palmer, Agent Cooper, Phillip Jeffries, that creepy kid with the mask, and everything else.

The Return includes multiple hints at the possibility of things being a dream: Cooper and Jeffries both explicitly say we’re in a dream, for instance. Given the surreal nature of the show, that explanation could very well make sense. In the latest episode of Fan Theories, which you can watch above, we dive into this concept and explore the thought process behind it and all the evidence.

What do you make of this possibility? Do you have your explanation for what’s going on in Twin Peaks and where Cooper and Laura end up? Has Cole simply had one too many Monica Bellucci dreams? Let us know in the comments below

The Division 2 Release Date & Server Launch Times

Much like BioWare’s Anthem, Ubisoft’s new loot-focused shooter, The Division 2, will release at different times depending on which version of the game you pre-order. Although its release date is officially set for March 15, you can actually play several days earlier, and if you go through Uplay, you can get access to the game at different times too. Provided you meet the requirements, you may have had access for several days now, as the game is live around the world for many. Read on for the full breakdown of unlock times.

If you pre-order the standard version of The Division 2, the game will be available worldwide for Xbox One and PS4 on Friday, March 15 at 12 AM local time–therefore Australia and New Zealand get access first and North and South America are last. With Uplay on PC, The Division 2 will be playable on Thursday, March 14 at 10 PM PT, which is March 15 at 1 AM ET. The Uplay playable time is 11 PM in the UK on March 14 and 12 AM in Australia on March 15. So only in certain regions does Uplay give you early access. A breakdown of the times is listed below.

The Division 2 Standard Edition Start Times

  • Xbox One and PS4
    • March 15 at 12 AM local time
  • Uplay/PC
    • March 14 at 10 PM PT
    • March 15 at 1 AM ET
    • March 14 at 11 PM UK
    • March 14 at 12 AM AU

No Caption Provided

If you pre-order the Gold or Ultimate Edition of The Division 2, you can already begin playing. Worldwide, these two editions launched Tuesday, March 12 at 12 AM local time when you pre-order the Xbox One or PS4 versions, which once again gives certain countries earlier access than others. Through Uplay, The Division 2 Gold and Ultimate Editions are playable March 11 at 10 PM PT, March 12 at 1 AM ET, March 11 at 11 PM in the UK, and March 12 at 12 AM in Australia. A breakdown of the times is listed below.

The Division 2 Gold And Ultimate Edition Start Times

  • Xbox One and PS4
    • March 12 at 12 AM local time
  • Uplay/PC
    • March 11 at 10 PM PT
    • March 12 at 1 AM ET
    • March 11 at 11 PM UK
    • March 12 at 12 AM AU

No Caption Provided

Despite the game releasing in certain countries much earlier than others, the servers for The Division 2 didn’t go live until March 12 at 12 AM local time. So even though the game launches in certain countries on March 11–like the Gold and Ultimate Editions in the UK–you weren’t able to play it until midnight that night. If you want a specific time for your region, you can find all the listed times on The Division 2’s website.

The Division 2 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Originally planned for Steam, the PC version of the game will now be launching through the Epic Games Store.

While we don’t yet have a full review, you can read our Division 2 early review impressions based on an early portion of what’s shaping up to be a very large game. In it, Edmond Tran writes, “‘Encouraging’ is generally how I feel about The Division 2 at this point in time. It’s got a fantastic sense of place and progression, and the combat scenarios and skills continue to be interesting. There’s a lot of love, especially among the minor improvements–the small design decisions that make the act of finding and equipping loot so snappy and convenient, or the smart integration of per-mission multiplayer matchmaking that even lets you call upon other players in the middle of a mission. I haven’t personally hit any server issues or major bugs, just some humorous oddities, like a floating iPad entertaining two excited children.”