These Xbox One Controllers Are on Another Level

Having the right controller in your hands is a critical step towards gaming domination. Microsoft’s own Xbox One controllers are excellent and always a safe purchase, but the days of all third-party Xbox controllers being cheap monstrosities only fit for your little brother are over. You can easily find third-party Xbox One controllers that offer comfort, quality, customization, and more, often at a lower price than the official Microsoft peripherals.

Better yet, the best Xbox One controllers will also work perfectly with your gaming PC, and if you have the Xbox One controller wireless PC adapter, you don’t even need a USB cable. Using a controller to play PC games might sound crazy, but there are just some titles that work better with it than mouse and keyboard. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

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Sword & Shield’s Mysterious New Pokemon Is A Farfetch’d Evolution

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As teased, The Pokemon Company has revealed the identity of Pokemon Sword and Shied‘s mysterious new Pokemon. The company shared a brief trailer today that revolves entirely around a new regional evolution of Farfetch’d called Sirfetch’d.

As its name suggests, Sirfetch’d appears to be based on a knight, and it is exclusive to Pokemon Sword. The leek it carries around as a Farfetch’d has turned into a lance and shield, which it attacks with during battle. It also appears to have a stern demeanor, as befitting a knight; in the trailer, Sirfetch’d looks humorously unamused when its trainer tries to play with it and even smacks the trainer with its lance. You can get a look at the new Pokemon below.

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The Pokemon Company shared a few more details about Sirfetch’d in a press release. It appears that Farfetch’d from the Galar region are able to evolve into the Pokemon “after experiencing many battles.” As we previously learned, Sirfetch’d is a pure Fighting-type and has the Steadfast Ability, which increases its speed after flinching. It is also able to learn an exclusive new move called Meteor Assault, which unleashes a powerful attack with its lance but leaves it unable to move the following turn.

Farfetch’d isn’t the only older Pokemon to receive a new, region-exclusive evolution in Pokemon Sword and Shield. The Galarian form of Linoone is able to evolve into a brand-new Pokemon named Obstagoon, which bears a striking resemblance to Kiss singer Gene Simmons. Weezing also has a great new Galarian form that has smokestacks that look like top hats. You can check out all the new Gen 8 Pokemon revealed so far in our gallery.

Pokemon Sword and Shield launch for Nintendo Switch on November 15, just a few days after Nintendo releases a special Pokemon edition Switch Lite. If you’re interested in picking up the titles, be sure to check out our Pokemon Sword and Shield pre-order guide.

This Goofy Mutant Just Made the X-Men Immortal

Hey, X-Men fans. Remember Goldballs, the mutant superhero with the power to shoot golden, bouncy balls out of his chest? It turns out he’s one of the most important mutants in the entire Marvel Universe.

Read on to find out how House of X #5 just redeemed Goldballs and delivered another massive twist that reshapes the X-Men franchise as we know it.

Warning: this article contains full spoilers for House of X #5!

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Pixio PX5 Hayabusa 240Hz Monitor Review

The world at large is finally catching up to something gamers have known for years⁠—Esports is the real deal. Thanks to the high production value of Blizzard and Riot tournaments, big networks like ESPN are seeing its legitimacy and getting into the mix. It takes a good deal of talent to play at that level, but it also takes a good gaming monitor that doesn’t hold you back. The Pixio PX5 (See it at Amazon) aims to be that monitor. With a 240Hz max refresh rate, 1ms response time, low input lag, and FreeSync support, the PX5 makes a great case to be the 240Hz gaming monitor for anyone that wants to be competitive.

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Out Tomorrow: It’s Not Too Late to Preorder SEGA Genesis Mini

The SEGA Genesis Mini is nearly upon us, and some lucky people have already picked them up from over-anxious retailers putting them on store shelves ahead of the official Genesis Mini September 19 release date. There’s still time to grab one for yourself and even get it tomorrow if you opt for next-day shipping.

Where to Buy SEGA Genesis Mini

You can order the SEGA Genesis Mini right now and have it delivered tomorrow, but only if you’re quick about it. Prime members can select next-day shipping from Amazon, and depending on where you live, you might be able to get it delivered from Walmart, too. You can also choose to just pick it up in-store at your nearest Walmart. Next-day shipping from Best Buy isn’t nearly as kind, so your best option there would be to pick it up directly from your closest Best Buy location. Same with GameStop.

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Modern Warfare: PS4 Players Will Have A “Day One Advantage”

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Although “most” of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s post-release DLC will launch on all platforms at the same time, Sony’s exclusivity deal with Activision is continuing in some form. Activision has confirmed that PS4 players “will have an exciting Day 1 advantage” in Modern Warfare. That’s all Activision had to say on the matter, so fans can only guess for now what that may mean.

More details will be announced “soon,” Activision said.

Activision and Sony have had an exclusivity deal for Call of Duty for years now, with new content releasing first on PlayStation. That’s changing somewhat this year, as “most” of the game’s after-launch content will be available on all systems simultaneously as part of developer Infinity Ward’s intention to keep the playerbase connected. This is especially important now, apparently, because Modern Warfare supports cross-play between competing consoles and PC.

Here is Activision’s full statement on its partnership with Sony for Call of Duty content:

“Call of Duty is excited to continue its partnership with PlayStation, including last weekend’s PS4 debut of the Modern Warfare Open Beta as well as the recent PS4 exclusive 2v2 Alpha. But the best is yet to come. For the very first time in our partnership with PlayStation, PS4 players will have an exciting Day 1 advantage. More details on how Call of Duty will continue to support PlayStation as the best place to play Modern Warfare will be rolled out soon.”

Activision will test the cross-play functionality with the next Modern Warfare beta that begins this weekend. Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Modern Warfare Is Making A Huge Change To How DLC Maps Are Released

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Activision has confirmed that most of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s post-release content, including DLC maps, will be released on all platforms at the same time. That is a big deal for Call of Duty, as CharlieIntel reminds us, this will be the first time in more than a decade that neither PlayStation nor Xbox gets a head start on content releases.

In a statement, Activision said the developers have “worked to ensure that content will be released in a way that enables all players to continue to seamlessly play together.”

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Activision said that “most” of Modern Warfare’s post-release DLC–which includes new maps, modes, and Spec-Ops missions–will “release simultaneously across all platforms.”

That’s all Activision had to say on the subject, but the company said it will share more details on Modern Warfare’s post-release DLC strategy in the weeks ahead.

In May, marketing material from Sony–not Activision–stated that new content for Modern Warfare would release first on PS4. The content was said to be exclusive to PS4 for seven days. This may still be true, as Activision said in its announcement this week that “PS4 players will have an exciting Day 1 advantage,” though this was not specified at all. Activision’s statement mentions that “most,” but not all of Modern Warfare’s post-release DLC will launch on all platforms together at the same time, which leaves some wiggle room to still put out some PlayStation-exclusive content.

In another huge change for Call of Duty, the game will support cross-play between competing systems. Activision will test the cross-play functionality with the next Modern Warfare beta that begins this weekend.

And in yet another massive update, Activision is releasing Modern Warfare’s DLC maps for free. This is also part of the company’s effort to keep the playerbase together, and it follows the free map DLC strategy already implemented in other major shooter series like Halo and Battlefield.

Call of Duty’s post-release DLC was initially released as a timed-exclusive for Xbox consoles before Sony swooped in and took it away. The companies pay Activision for the right to release content early on their systems to create a scenario where one platform or the other is seen as the place to play.

The new Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Anthem Makes A Big Change To How Future Content Will Be Released

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Anthem is changing up how it releases future content. Developer BioWare has confirmed that it is ditching the previously announced “Acts” release schedule in favor of seasonal updates.

As described before Anthem’s release in February, BioWare planned for the game’s Acts to introduce new locations and features that roll out over time. The latest of these Acts culminated in the Cataclysm event that’s going on now. It’s coming to an end soon, and BioWare is now telling fans to expect seasonal updates in the future. BioWare’s Chad Robertson explained that BioWare is moving to this structure so that it can address some of the “core issues” people are experiencing.

“We hear your concerns on core issues in Anthem and are acting on it,” he said. “Those systems require a more thorough review and re-working versus quick fixes. We’ve got a team working on that now, and early results are promising. In order to address these long-range plans, we are moving away from the Acts structure for updates. Instead, we have additional seasonal updates planned for this year that we think players will enjoy.”

“These events will deliver challenges and chases similar to what you’ve seen, and are built around some fun themes we’re bringing to the game.”

Robertson said BioWare is making this disclosure as part of its effort to be more transparent and honest with fans about the work that’s required to “make Anthem better.”

“We also want to ensure we’re backing up our words with a great game you can play,” Robertson said. “So I don’t have any news today to share about the long-term changes we are bringing to Anthem. What I can say is that we will continue to engage with you, our community, through PTS when we can show you what is coming.”

Anthem is the 5th best-selling game of 2019 so far in the United States, according to NPD. It only trails The Division 2, Madden NFL 20, Kingdom Hearts III, and Mortal Kombat 11.

Presumably in a bid to get more people playing it, EA added Anthem to the free game catalog on EA Access and Origin Access earlier this month. The game’s lead producer, Ben Irving, left the team in August. Upon his exit, he said he believed Anthem has a bright future ahead of it.