Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade releases exclusively on PS5 in only a few months, and Square Enix has released an expanded version of its previous announcement video showing off the visual enhancements. We also get to see more of the new features, including a robust photo mode. The biggest immediate improvement you can see is the lighting, which adds a sense of life to scenes that--while still impressive on PS4--didn’t give characters’ faces or the environment the same subtle shadows. It also allows you to better see the details on the models, such as Barret’s forehead wrinkles. When walking in the slums of Midgar, the light seems to leak through from a space in the metal structure above, making the world beyond seem much more inviting.Textures have received a makeover that also benefits from the lighting, but beyond that, they also show much more detail. It was an area the original PS4 game could sometimes fall flat--literally--with main characters’ super-detailed models standing next to pretty primitive walls and doors.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nier: Automata has been available on Steam for more than four years, launching almost simultaneously with the PS4 version, but the game's recent inclusion on Xbox Game Pass for PC has drawn controversy. It appears to be a far superior version compared to the Steam release, with little explanation given for why there isn't parity. Steam customers aren't too happy about this, and they've taken to review-bombing the Steam page in frustration.Though Nier: Automata's total review average still sits at "very positive" on Steam, recent reviews have been much more negative. They call out the poor quality of the PC port that has been available on Steam--players have even created their own modes to simply fix it--when a much better version was released on Game Pass for PC. Some of the players advocate for newcomers to just get it from the Microsoft Store, while others are pushing for Square Enix to release the same fixes on Steam.What were those fixes? Port developer QLOC said the Xbox Game Pass for PC version includes HDR support, 4K UI textures, FidelityFX, and borderless video settings. According to Eurogamer, the last of those fixes addresses a resolution issue that had been affecting the PC version since launch. A mod released shortly after the game's initial launch called "Fix Automata Resolution" addressed that resolution issue as well as stuttering during cutscenes. If you do have the Steam version, you may want to try the mod before jumping to the Xbox Game Pass for PC release.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Last of Us show in development for HBO is based on the original PS3 game--at least for its first season--but fans shouldn’t expect to know exactly what happens. In fact, there are certain parts where it will differ pretty significantly from the original material. Just what those parts are is, of course, still a secret. Speaking to IGN during SXSW 2021, Neil Druckmann, who wrote and served as creative director for both games and is executive producing the show, said the action level will be toned down on the show. It’s less necessary when there are no mechanics to teach, allowing the writers to spend more time focused on the drama between the characters. Additionally, there will be points where events are completely different from the game.“Some of my favorite episodes so far have deviated greatly from the story, and I can’t wait for people to see them,” he added.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The final stop on the road to Wrestlemania has come and gone. WWE Fastlane offered one final chance to shake up the championship bouts already set for next month's Wrestlemania. And lit seems like that might actually have happened for some of the expected matches on the next show.WWE Fastlane 2021 took place at the Thunderdome, which emanated from the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was the last pay-per-view event at the Thunderdome before WWE heads to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida next month for Wrestlemania. It remains to be seen what the company will do for the pay-per-views that follow.If you missed the show but still want to watch ti, why not do so with WWE superstars? You can check out WWE's official watch-along below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Resident Evil series’ first reboot movie officially has a title--Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. If you’re a fan of the original few games and were hoping to see some of your favorites like Leon and Chris instead of wholly original characters, it looks like you’re in luck.The film’s title was shared with IGN during a SXSW online interview, and director Johannes Roberts will be including elements and characters from the first two games. These include some famous locations like the police station and the mansion in Raccoon City, but it’s not clear how the two-month time difference between the two games will factor in. Another game, Resident Evil 3, takes place concurrently with the second one, but from Jill Valentine’s perspective.Kaya Scodelario, perhaps best known from her work in the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film, will play Claire Redfield, while her brother Chris will be played by Robbie Amell. Veteran character actor Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers, Angels and the Outfield) will play scientist William Birkin, while big bad Wesker will be Tom Hopper of The Umbrella Academy fame. It seems he just can’t escape Umbrella.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

One the most recognizable versions of Tetris can be found on the original NES, but it lacks some of the features we now consider standard for the puzzle game. One of the biggest omissions is “hard drop,” which lets you save precious time by instantly slamming a piece into position without waiting for it to fall, and programmer Stephen Sherratt took it upon himself to get the feature working in the classic NES version, complete with a "ghost" piece for guidance. As he explained on his website Grid Bugs, Sherratt decided to add two related features to the NES Tetris game. The first is the hard drop itself, accomplished by pressing up on the directional pad like it’s done in most other Tetris games. The second modification he made added an outline of the currently controlled piece to wherever it was set to land, making the hard drop more accurate. Again, this is a feature seen in pretty much all modern Tetris games such as Tetris 99 and Tetris Effect. In the challenge video below, one player even hard dropped every single piece he got in Tetris 99.Sherratt made use of a program using the Rust programming language and, combined with his own NES emulator, it made it easier for him to experiment with changes. He had to write instructions for the outlined “ghost piece,” for instance, so it appeared in the correct spot based on how many movements it would take before the real piece collided with something.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's crashing issues have not been permanently solved yet, but the development team at Ubisoft does have a temporary solution. A new hotfix has removed certain items and quests that are contributing to the problem. However, it should let you experience Ravensthorpe without getting "desynchronized."We’re deploying a server-side hotfix to address a rise in crashing near Ravensthorpe. Settlement decorations will be temporarily removed and Ostara Festival quests involving decorations will not be completable. Thanks for your patience as our team releases a permanent fix soon! pic.twitter.com/gYG7O8dvF3 — Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) March 20, 2021Settlement decorations appear to be behind the crashes, so those have been removed from the game, as have quests for the Ostara Festival that involve those items. Once the permanent fix is out, these should be back in the game, but you'll have to wait a bit. Ubisoft set a window of "sometime next week" for the larger, permanent fix.It's an issue that has only been in the game for a brief period--at least to this degree--so if you've taken more than a few days off from playing Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you likely haven't even noticed it. Prior to this, the game did have some technical issues, like characters' mouths not moving when they spoke or legs not moving when they ran, but crashing seemed to be relatively infrequent. In my own experience, I had one crash in more than 50 hours, and it came as I tried to fast travel away from Ravensthorpe.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A few days, ago, the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow was made available in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone, but this was accidental. It wasn't supposed to actually release until later this season, and Activision has removed the weapon from both games. It's also issuing refunds to those who grabbed it during this brief period.Activision shared the news on its official support Twitter page, saying the bundle that included the weapon will be returned to the store at "a later date," along with an associated challenge. Just when this will be isn't clear, so it's possible the weapon went online well before it was supposed to.An issue with the R1 Shadowhunter weapon appearing earlier than planned in Warzone and Black Ops Cold War has been resolved.Refunds are planned for players who purchased the bundle while it was live in the Store, and the bundle and in-game challenge will return at a later date. — Activision Support (@ATVIAssist) March 18, 2021Prior to it being removed, the weapon was available for stealth-minded players. It fired silent crossbow bolts, letting you take out targets without alerting others in the area. This would be especially useful in Warzone, where alerting others to your position is often the difference between life and death. Getting the weapon in Cold War, at least during the initial accidental release, was possible by getting a series of the One Shot, One Kill in 15 games, so players who have been playing for months will likely be able to get it fairly quickly when it comes back.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

You never want to be attacked by a ninja in your gaming chair without a weapon to defend yourself. Lenovo has the solution for that with a very-limited katana-equipped gaming chair. No longer will you have to worry, as you'll be able to parry your attacker while getting Play of the Game as Winston. Well, that's provided you actually win one of the chairs.Only available to five lucky people in a drawing through Lenovo in Japan, the "Devil's Blade" chair features a replica katana along with a sheath, as well as a backing design based on the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. It's a customized version of an existing chair and Lenovo doesn't have any plans to sell it once the giveaway has completed. That's probably for the best, lest too many people become katana masters."While you played Overwatch, I studied the blade." It has a nice ring to it.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Fall Guys is adding more than just new costumes and stages for the start of Season 4; it's also introducing Squads mode, and the new team-based option will let even the clumsiest players stay in the game if their teammates are able to keep it together.Speaking to IGN, lead game designer Joe Walsh (far cooler than the Eagles lead guitarist), said that if one player is eliminated during a round, they'll still be able to come back if their teammates perform well enough. It isn't necessarily about just dying first, but scoring the lowest as a team. A points system will determine who did the worst, which should also make it so being simply the best player doesn't necessarily mean your team will be the best.You'll also be more encouraged to sabotage other players, especially if you have more people left as you're approaching the finish in a Final Round. Two players can sacrifice themselves to knock out the other team while the remaining player cruises to victory, for instance.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Video games can run on pretty much anything these days, including a font. Yes, why choose Calibri when you can choose a fully playable take on Pokemon, instead?. We don't know why someone decided to do this, but the results are marvelous and very, very strange.Fontemon is available to play for free in your web browser, but you can also install it on your computer's word processor, an image editor, a code editor, and basically anywhere else that allows for fonts. From the web font player version, all you have to do is starting typing and the introduction sequence will begin. If you want to go back, you can delete text you've written and jump to an earlier point. Holding down the space bar also works to just keep the game moving.Just like at the beginning of each Pokemon game, you can select a starter monster, requiring you to hit a specific key, and then you're automatically sent to the first gym and begin a battle against the leader. Again, you use specific keys here to give your monster commands, but, at least in our game, things started to get very weird at this point. We don't want to spoil anything, but Fontemon isn't what it appears to be at first glance. Check out a video demonstrating the game from River's Educational Channel below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Anyone who comes away from Yakuza: Like a Dragon will have a strong impression of lead character Kasuga Ichiban. Love him or not, he drives the tone and perspective for an earnest story about living on the margins, loyalty to loved ones, and just being an adult trying to make something of themselves. He's quite a far cry from the stoic, but lovable Kazuma Kiryu who we grew to know and love through seven previous entries in the series--and I think that speaks to developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's ability to create layered, expressive characters who drive its dramatic, hilarious, yet sobering stories.Masayoshi Yokoyama, chief producer and writer, has been at the forefront of Yakuza's storytelling, and I was able to exchange with him via email through a translator to dissect what went into Yakuza: Like a Dragon in particular. As with any game, a slew of factors go into its creation, and he provided insight into the move to making an RPG, conveying new narrative themes, and what the future holds for the Yakuza franchise. (Hint: It may not come as much of a surprise, but there is another Yakuza game currently in development.)The following interview was edited for clarity and readability--it also contains spoilers for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, so beware.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Ever since the Fortnite Zero Crisis Finale debuted with the launch of Fortnite Season 6, fans have been wondering who is voicing The Foundation. It appears that wrestling and acting superstar The Rock might be behind the microphone. Epic Games has remained tight-lipped on it, and since this is Fortnite, it seemed unlikely that the answer wouldn't be special. Now fans have accumulated a pile of evidence that convincingly suggests it's in fact Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson behind that metallic suit of armor.Epic won't share who voiced the Foundation with me, and that's really interesting - because they have never hesitated to share voice talent before. Not once.Clearly the Foundation's voice actor is important to the lore. — ben (@bnwkr) March 18, 2021Most compelling is an Instagram video posted by The Rock himself on March 16, the day of the Zero Crisis Finale. In it, he talks somewhat vaguely about the day being "big" in a "certain world and in a certain culture" that is connected to his own. He says the hard work he's done has all been to "strengthen, evolve, and grow the force known as...the foundation" before delivering his signature raised eyebrow. Donald Mustard, Epic Games' CCO, even liked the Instagram video.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Gotham Knights, a spinoff of the Batman series starring a younger roster of characters, has been delayed in 2022. Warner Bros. shared the news on Twitter today, confirming it will not hit before the end of the year, as previously announced. The delay is due to a need for additional development time, although WB did not get into specifics or attribute the move to COVID-19, as has been the case with numerous other delays."We are giving the game more time to deliver the best possible experience for players. We look forward to showcasing more of the game in the coming months," Warner Bros. said in the statement.pic.twitter.com/O1U4T0gK3u — Gotham Knights (@GothamKnights) March 19, 2021This is the second high-profile WB game to be delayed to 2022, as WB previously shifted the open-world Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy to next year as well. In the case of Gotham Knights and Hogwarts Legacy, WB did not mention the pandemic having an impact on development.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The long-running Female Force comics series, which "offers a broad examination of strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture," has announced it will be releasing an edition dedicated to singer Dolly Parton on March 31. Written by Michael Frizell (Tribute: Rush Limbaugh, Female Force: Sheryl Sandberg) and with art by Ramon Salas, the comic will be available both digitally and in print on multiple platforms."Writing about Dolly was a joy," said Frizell in a statement accompanying the announcement. "I'm thrilled with the expressive way the artist visualized the pages… her creativity, philanthropy, and humanity are legendary."DOLLY PARTON LIFE STORY FEATURED IN NEW COMIC BOOK. “Female Force: #DollyParton ” will be release on March 31st as part of #WomensHistoryMonth On @amazonbooks Soft Cover: https://t.co/cqdbFVDiWxHard Cover: https://t.co/JwGmVkzZwN#comicsbook #Jolene #biography #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/jbnqDePpjA — TidalWave Comics (@TidalWaveProd) March 18, 2021Even if you aren't a country music fan, chances are it crossed your radar last year when Parton donated $1 million to help fund research efforts and vaccines for COVID-19. Dr. Naji Abumrad told The Washington Post, "Without a doubt in my mind, her funding made the research toward the vaccine go 10 times faster than it would be without it." Parton didn't wait long into the pandemic to make the donation, either--as she tweeted on April 1, 2020: "I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com