The best day in elementary school was when your whole class went into the computer lab and instead of using some boring science or math program, you got to play The Oregon Trail. The educational game has seen many iterations and has been around for decades, and MinnMax founder (and former Game Informer video producer) Ben Hanson has produced a documentary examining its unusual origins. You can watch the entire thing right here.Trailheads: The Oregon Trail is a free YouTube documentary that examines the game's Minnesota roots, including how it was initially created in college by the three-person team of Bill Heinemann, Paul Dillenberger, and Don Rawitsch and donated to the state's MECC organization.You've almost certainly played some version of The Oregon Trail if you live in the United States, as it has been a staple in schools for years and dates back in one form or another to 1971. It gained particular popularity on the Apple II computer and you can even get a handheld version that resembles that computer. It's the full version of the game, too, with hunting and other mini-games left intact. Be careful, or you'll die of dysentary. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Megaera, one of Hades' earliest bosses, stood before me for the first time. I had done a handful of runs through the underworldly roguelike but had never made it far. I was determined to change that with this run. I used all of my focus to dash, dodge, and dance around her until both our health bars were nearly depleted. I made one final swing to finish her off. Finally, I had won.The high of victory wouldn't last long though--I died shortly after that boss fight and returned to the House of Hades. But I was surprised to find Megaera waiting for me in the lounge."The next time we fight, you better finish me off," she said in an encounter I hadn't experienced before. I'd run into similar situations in other roguelikes, where I fought a new boss in Slay the Spire or Dead Cells, but had never been rewarded for failing.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge includes an area called Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities where you can create your own lightsaber based on one from the films, and the Disney attraction is expanding to video games, as well. In 2021, you'll be able to purchase Cal Kestis' lightsaber from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.Artwork for Cal Kestis' lightsaberThe first video game lightsaber to be available at Galaxy's Edge, Cal Kestis' lightsaber was damaged late in the game's storyline, and it appears the version available for purchase will reflect this. It will be joined by Count Dooku's curved fencing-style saber this fall, and you'll also get to customize sabers with Ahsoka Tano's hilts and blades from The Clone Wars series.What's interesting about the Cal Kestis saber is that it wasn't limited to a set design. As you progress through the Fallen Order story and collect more items and unlockables, you can change nearly everything on the lightsaber. This includes the hilt as well as the color itself, and this can be swapped at will to change things up. Of course, in Star Wars lore, this isn't actually possible, as the color is tied to the crystal placed inside. You can even switch between having it work as a standard saber, a Maul-style double-bladed saber, or a split saber for dual-wielding. The different configurations suit certain enemies better.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Jeremy Hunter has been performing incredible covers of popular songs reimagined as third-wave ska tunes for the last few years, and we've seen several video game references and nods on their YouTube channel Skatune Network. Hunter's latest project is a full covers album devoted to Toby Fox's Undertale, and the first song is available for all checkered Vans-wearing, upbeat-loving Undertale fans everywhere.Skatune Network's new album cover artFeaturing 10 reimagined versions of tracks from Undertale, the record is called "Despite Everything, It's Still You," and includes a number of collaborations. Patrick from the J-Music Ensemble, which combines J-pop with jazz, is among the musicians Hunter brought on to complete the project.The first single from the record is "Determination," which charges forward from the first beat with a bouncy mix of brass, bass licks, and drums. Hunter plays most of the instruments on the song, with Max Boiko of the VGM Collective playing trumpet and Elwood Bond behind the drums. Boiko even adds a little jazzy flair with a trumpet solo, backed up by Hunter's tenor saxophone.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

EA was supposed to release NHL 21 during this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, but complications due to COVID-19 led to a delay. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup weeks ago, and as a result, ice hockey has escaped the wider public sports consciousness as other leagues take hold. But NHL 21 is a compelling reason to care about hockey again, as this year's game delivers a major improvement to the story mode, adds a flashy new arcade-style mode in HUT Rush, and makes the on-the-ice gameplay better than ever thanks to a series of new skill moves that let you play with more style.Be A Pro 2.0The biggest new addition for NHL 21 is the expanded and improved Be A Pro. After NHL 20 delivered basically no updates on the career-focused mode, NHL 21 offers a huge step forward thanks to a cinematic-style campaign of sorts, where you create a character and guide them through their career, beginning in either Europe or the Canadian Hockey League and competing for a spot in the NHL. The story beats play out through non-voiced dialogue sequences and cutscenes with coaches, media, and teammates. The main choices you make come from the Team or Star paths, and both have pros and cons to consider as you weigh your options to shape your career in the way you want to.As an example, my agent called me to ask if I wanted to attend a charity event for a wildlife protection company. I chose the "Team" response, and my brand rating improved because the simulation suggested my fans would see this as a sports star being humble and genuine. However, choosing this option came with a negative effect, too, as my agent told me it was a noble choice but I should also plan for my life after hockey and try to make as much money in my prime as possible. I enjoyed the struggle of making these choices, and I found myself choosing one option and then loading a previous save to see how things would have played out differently. The choices you have to make can be real head-scratchers and they generally seem believable and taken from real-world headlines. But while the conversation system and cutscenes are generally enjoyable and a step up from the past iterations of Be A Pro, they are at times very cheesy and contrived, so the conversations and their impact don't always resonate.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

NPD Group has revealed the US sales results for September 2020, which saw another month of growth for the gaming industry. Consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories saw a 10% increase when compared to a year ago, with sales reaching $4.3 billion. Mobile spending, hardware, and accessories also saw growth within the time period.The top-selling game of the month was Marvel's Avengers from publisher Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics. Launch month dollar sales of Marvel's Avengers were the second-highest for any superhero game in US history, right behind Marvel's Spider-Man.Marvel's Avengers is so far the seventh-best-selling game of 2020, although it has experienced a significant drop-off in audience numbers since launch, which Square Enix is confident can be reversed with new patches and DLC.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Microsoft is significantly extending the warranty for the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, in light of some users encountering hardware issues. Microsoft says it's only a "small percentage" of users encountering issues, but has extended the warranty to a full year from the previous 90 days.According to the Xbox Support site, the warranty extension applies to all Elite 2 controllers shipped since it launched in November 2019. Also, any repairs made outside the previous warranty window will be refunded by October 31, 2020.The support page doesn't specify what issues prompted the move, other than to say that some have been experiencing "mechanical issues." This follows some mechanical issues with the first Elite controller. Microsoft told Windows Central upon launch that it was aware some users were experiencing issues and were "actively investigating with our engineering teams." This also comes amid a class-action lawsuit regarding drifting joysticks, with an amended complaint filed on October 2.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Marvel's Avengers has been successful, at least in terms of initial sales, for publisher Square Enix thus far. However, the game has seen its player-counts falling and criticism for bugs and lack of endgame content--and we don't mean the movie. Because developer Crystal Dynamics is working to address the game's issues, the next-gen versions for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PS5 have been delayed to 2021.Crystal Dynamics said it wants to deliver a "next-gen experience showcasing all that this game is meant to be" in a blog post announcing the decision. You will still be able to play the PS4 or Xbox One versions on the new systems and can experience better frame rates and faster loading times, and your progress will also carry over. Once the next-gen-specific versions are released, it will be a free upgrade.Several changes requested by fans are being worked into future updates, as well. These include a ping system, the ability to replay the Reassemble campaign, a high-contrast mode, hero icon visibility adjustments, mission reward clarity, and better enemy attack indicators. PC stability is also being worked on, with GPUs apparently being the source of many crashes thus far.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Marvel's Avengers is slated to get a growing roster of heroes, but the start of that expansion has been pushed back a bit. The first new character, Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye, will no longer be coming this month.Crystal Dynamics announced the delay in a blog post detailing various changes to its roadmap. It refers to this as a "slight delay," but didn't give a new release target for the new character. "Moving forward, we intend to have a fixed, predictable patching cycle to ensure all new content meets both our and your high standards and has time for extensive internal testing," the post reads. "We know fans are hungry for new content, but delivering a fun experience is our priority. With this in mind, we’ve decided to push Kate Bishop’s Operation launch back a bit, out of October. We’re sorry for this slight delay, but we are dedicated as a team to quality first."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Following the release of five Star Wars movies in just four years, things have now slowed down for the franchise. There's no news of another movie, and production is yet to start on the upcoming Obi-Wan and Cassian Andor shows. Luckily, fans have the second season of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian to look forward to next month. Now star Pedro Pascal and showrunner Jon Favreau have spoken about the future of the series, and whether we will ever see a big-screen version.In an interview with Variety, Pascal admitted that while the show's stunning visuals would look great at the theater, he was cautious about changing what makes The Mandalorian so good. "I think that the work is so beautiful that I would love for that to be held by a big screen experience," he said. "But it seems to work so well [on TV] that also I'm not sure it’s something that I would want corrupted by any kind of change, you know? I mean, I certainly know that the challenge can be met. It's not like these people don't have the experience. If anybody can do it, they can!"Favreau stated that the media landscape has shifted so much that the difference between movies and streaming was no longer an obvious one. "The line is blurring now," he said. "Things that you would have only seen in the movie theater, you're seeing on streaming, and I think it could go the other way as well. We're definitely open to [a movie], and excited to see where the story leads us and have that flexibility--because there's no rulebook now."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

What a difference a week can make. Whereas just a handful of days ago director Patty Jenkins was holding firm on her hopes that Wonder Woman 1984 would open in theaters on Christmas rather than streaming services--its sixth release date, half coming before COVID-19--she is now immediately acknowledging how unpredictable everything is during the coronavirus pandemic.Speaking with Variety, Wonder Woman 1984's Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian) said, "As far as movie releases are concerned, and the tremendous way that the industry is having to improvise around these circumstances, nothing is surprising. We're all getting used to things shifting day-to-day, hour-to-hour, you know? That's what we're all dealing with."Jenkins, in the same story, also spoke about the lack of control she is feeling about the movie, which was originally supposed to be released November 1, 2019.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Retro-console maker Analogue has made some great FPGA-based consoles over the past three years, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. The company has revealed the Analogue Duo, its take on the classic NEC console, the TurboDuo (or PC Duo Engine R in Japan and France). The original console let you play both HuCard and CD-ROM games, and Analogue plans to release a console that does that and more.The Analogue Duo releases in 2021 and is the company's first console with a disc drive. It's compatible with almost every NEC game format, including TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, and SuperGrafx HuCards as well as TurboGrafx, PC Engine, and Super Arcade CD-ROMs.Analogue Duo$200Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is one of the biggest holiday games, so naturally there's some merch you can preorder in addition to the game. Titan Books is publishing an official art book and prequel novel, both of which can be preordered at Amazon right now. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - The Art of the Game releases November 17, while Miles Morales - Wings of Fury arrives November 10. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - The Art of the Game $40 The 192-page hardcover art book is filled with concept art from Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It's available to preorder for $40 at Amazon. Art books regularly receive pretty nice discounts ahead of their release. If you order now, you'll get the book for the lowest price offered up until launch thanks to Amazon's preorder price guarantee. See at Amazon Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wings of Fury $14.40 (was $16) Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wings of Fury is the official prequel novel for the upcoming PS5/PS4 game. Wings of Fury follows Miles as he's learning to be Spider-Man. The story will see Miles go up against Vulture in an adventure that will lead up to the start of the game. See at Amazon Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales releases November 12 as a PS5 launch title. It will also be available on PS4. If you're picking up a PS5, you may want to opt for the Ultimate edition, which comes with a remastered version of Marvel's Spider-Man. For details on bonuses and more, make sure to check out our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales preorder guide.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has reached a new milestone in its development lifecycle, as Ubisoft's latest game in the long-running series of historical assassins has gone gold. Scheduled for a November release date, Ubisoft took to Twitter to reveal the news and uploaded an image of a pair of Viking axes resting on an ornate engraving of the word "gold."In the gaming industry, going gold means that the base game is ready to be pressed onto a disc and shipped out to stores across the globe. A studio will then spend the remaining time between then and the launch of the game ironing out any lingering bugs and preparing a day-one patch. It also means that a game is likely to meet its release date deadline and no more delays are expected.Officially revealed on April 30 in a livestream event, the development of Assassin's Creed Valhalla wasn't all smooth sailing. Creative director Ashraf Ismail stepped down from his role amid allegations of misconduct, while Ubisoft also faced accusations of fostering a toxic workplace environment.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In a new clip for Season 3 of Netflix's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, the veteran late-night host asks Robert Downey Jr. about his time playing Iron Man. Specifically, Letterman is curious to hear about the Iron Man helmet: "When that thing clamps onto your head, is that thing really there? Or is it not really there?" The answer might surprise you--check out the full clip below.Downey recalls those early, still somewhat uncertain days of comic-book movies--the first Iron Man was released in 2008, still a full year before Marvel Entertainment was acquired by The Walt Disney Company. As such, Downey tells Letterman, "Initially, everything was really there. They wanted to spend as little as they could on CG replacement, so I remember this helmet went on… and it slammed closed, and I couldn't see anything, and then these LED lights went on and it was like The Manchurian Candidate… I was absolutely blinded."Those humble origins in Iron Man makes it all the more impressive that the many comic-book movies that followed eventually resulted in Avengers: Endgame becoming the top-grossing movie of all time (if you take reported revenue numbers at face value). Earlier this year, Downey said he has no plans or desire to play Iron Man again.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com