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Nintendo is about to amp up Earthbound and Mother-related content this year, official Mother socials confirm. Anyone who grew up in the golden age of Nintendo knows about Earthbound. Earthbound, known as the Mother franchise in Japan, has had a cult following for 30 years as of 2024. So, the official Mother social media account announced that they’re planning to celebrate. Over the weekend, the official Mother post on X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, stated that they are “preparing various plans” for the celebration when translated. The website linked in their post elaborates on this as well. Here is the post, translated from the original Japanese (seen above): Happy new year! 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of MOTHER2. We are preparing various plans, so Let's enjoy this year together. Nice to meet you! They kept the post vague and mysterious, which is pretty on-brand for Nintendo’s Japanese posts. But, what could it all mean? Making for a great headline for early 2024, this news could be anything from Nintendo just putting out some Mother and Earthbound branded goodies on My Nintendo rewards to an official English translation and distribution of Mother 3. Or, anything in between. The official website mentions collaborations in 2024, so it's possible that we could see a Mother 2-themed Tetris 99 stage or Splatoon Splatfest. But, it's possibly also collaborations with other companies, such as for clothing or stationary. Back in 2022, Nintendo released both Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings, Mother 2 and the original Mother respectively, for the Nintendo Switch Online platform. Many people got their start in the Earthbound world through meeting the baseball bat-wielding, psychic Ness in the original Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64. Little did many people know, Earthbound was actually the sequel to an old Nintendo Entertainment System game, Mother (nowadays known as Earthbound Beginnings). However, it was the release of Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance in 2006 that gets a lot of attention to this day. The game never got an official release here in the West or an official English translation. It’s been lost to time. It’s very plausible, as part of a Mother-related celebration, that it could get the Star Fox 2 treatment, finally giving it the release it deserves. Star Fox 2 was a game that was nearly complete and canceled for the SNES, never to be released… until it was. It finally found its way to the Super NES Classic Edition mini console in 2017 and Nintendo Switch Online in 2019. Mother 3 has precedent to work from! While speculation is harmless, the festivities are likely minimal, and any news will probably be simple. Honestly, I hope to see a Mr. Saturn pencil topper. The official website mentions measuring sticks, so perhaps we’ll see an official Mother 2 ruler? The excitement for school supplies is boiling over! We’ll find out sometime this year what we can expect, probably from a summer Nintendo Direct. The original release of Mother 2 was August 27th, 1994, so we have a bit of time to keep speculating. Maybe the Nintendo Switch 2 will be out by then.

Does the dog die in Arizona Sunshine 2? I'll never tell! Arizona Sunshine 2 is the first (of likely many) VR reviews I’ve ever tackled. While I’ve personally written plenty of reviews, I fired up my Meta Quest 3 and decided to jump right in. Arizona Sunshine 2 checks some boxes for me on paper. I love first-person shooters, I’m a big fan of German Shepherd dogs, and I’ve been looking for a fully-fleshed-out experience for the new Quest 3. Did Arizona Sunshine 2 accomplish all that and then some? Well, let's dive in. No man is an island In Arizona Sunshine 2, you play as an unnamed zombie apocalypse survivor. In this one, the zombies are called “Freds”. Our hero has been on his own for a bit when we first jump into the game. The start was a little jarring because it certainly took me a bit to get the hang of the controls without much of a tutorial. After initial target practice, our hero muses briefly about using the gun to end his loneliness before a bunch of freds come wandering in and a helicopter comes crashing in. After trying to save the pilot and learning that the sole survivor is the trained German Shepherd on board. You bond with the dog and the real fun starts. If there was anything that Arizona Sunshine 2 does that is unique in the Zombie Shooter genre, it has to be Buddy the Dog. Buddy serves as a companion for most of the adventure, taking out freds for you, grabbing ammo, and just being a generally good boy overall. Our hero finds solace in having something around him that isn’t trying to kill him. In a way, it’s a little adorable. Our hero soon learns that the military believes they can make a cure by capturing "Patient Zero" and using them to manufacture the cure. Our hero considers this knowledge an opportunity not just to save the day, but instead be linked back up civilization. From this point forward, finding patient zero and getting rescued is a mad dash. Of course, it isn’t an easy trip though, with all those freds along the way. Bringing guns to the bite fight. One of the first things I learned about Arizona Sunshine 2 is that there is never any shortage of weapons and ways to kill freds. Sure, freds pose a real threat, with a few hits able to cut your adventure short, but our nameless hero and Buddy can wreck shop if your aim is on point. Most freds can be dropped with a well-placed shot to the head. Those who don’t go down with one shot can at least be stunned, usually, and the beefy ones can be tied up with Buddy, allowing you to finish them off easily. Looking back, I make it sound like you can casually stroll around, killing freds, but it’s much more complicated. Freds can be alerted to noise, so the louder your guns, the more you will need them. Some more powerful guns can compensate for a center-mass shot, but you’ll have much more to worry about. One thing I especially enjoyed while killing freds was that each gun required a unique reload method. I ran a sawed-off shotgun and a silenced pistol for a little bit. It was a blast to try to thin out a fred herd with careful shots with my pistol and then rely on Buddy and the shotgun to thin out any freds alerted. Reloading guns is a mini-game in itself. Most handguns have you ejecting the clip, putting a new one in, and then racking the slide. Revolvers have you dumping your bullets, reloading with a loader, and then flicking your wrist to get the cylinder back in. Shotguns mostly are breach loading, so you have to put shells in on their own and snap the barrel back up. Larger weapons, such as rifles, and specialty weapons (like grenade launchers and flame throwers) can't be reloaded quickly either. With 3 available weapons (and 2 holsters on Buddy), keeping a smart weapon selection on you is invaluable. For those times when you can reload fast enough to keep a handful of quick freds away that are rushing you down, you can also keep up to 2 melee weapons on you. There are both bludgeoning and cutting weapons. I’m unsure if it was my imagination, but the bludgeoning weapons tended to smash heads or knock down freds. Cutting weapons seemed to be able to lop off heads and limbs. After cutting off an arm or two, I could also use the appendage to play fetch with Buddy; what a good boy! Buddy is the coup de gras to your arsenal outside of craftable weapons. Buddy can fetch your guns and ammo, take down Freds, and maul them to re-death. You can use your controller to sic him on freds while you keep a safe distance. While there are some impervious freds, Buddy can help remove their armor so you can access all those soft juicy bits. Overall, Arizona Sunshine 2 would be a lot less fun without Buddy. Fred’s dead, baby Killing freds is easily the most fun in Arizona Sunshine 2. I finished the main campaign in under ten hours, with about 80% of that time being spent cutting down the undead. The other part of the game was finding new weapons, looking for unique collectibles, and stocking up on ammo for the next significant encounter. Those less tense moments allowed more time to flesh out the world and our hero’s loneliness. At one point, he remarks about missing smelling stranger’s farts and is excited later when Buddy farts on him. At another point in the game, I found a pair of sunglasses that the hero remarked looked like a pair his mom owned. He then mused out loud that she was probably on a tropical island, soaking up the sun without knowing what he was going through. I took this as these shades might have been hers, and his delusion covered pain. Some of the more quiet moments also have puzzles to solve. Were they necessarily hard? No, they were not. Were they a nice break after a hectic run of fending off freds and doing my best not to get eaten? You better believe it! It also allowed me to play with guns and find setups I enjoyed. There is also a hoard mode that I spent about an hour fiddling around in. It seemed more like an afterthought, as there is one map, and wasn’t super fun. Sure, it was straightforward fred slaughter, but it wasn’t satisfying in single-player or with a group. Especially since the more people I played with, the more they seemed to serve as a distraction while fending off waves of the undead. Sounds of the dead One thing that stood out to me while playing Arizona Sunshine is the audio for the game. Generally speaking, most music is a light ambiance that swells in moments of combat or also helps warn when a significant encounter is coming. I can tell you that the second-most harrowing moment in the game is when I shoot a fred, just to start hearing music begin to build. It was a certified “Oh no!” moment every time. On top of that, the top pants-soiling moment easily belongs to every moment I thought I was deftly killing freds, only to hear the wheezing of an angry fred directly behind me. Overall, for my first VR game, Arizona Sunshine 2 impressed me with the sound design. Guns sounded impressive for the most part. The satisfying squelch of a melee weapon getting lodged in a head just to burst into a crunchy shower of viscera never got old, either. I was bothered quite often when Buddy would whine or whimper. Not because it sounded terrible, but because he doesn’t sound much different from my old German Shepherds. It immensely enhanced the realism to hear him growl at sneakier threats or bark wildly as we dealt with waves of shambling dead. Does Arizona Sunshine 2 do enough to stand on its own? As my first real VR game that I’ve sat through from start to finish, I enjoyed Arizona Sunshine 2. While it was fun, it’s also worth pointing out that there are considerable drawbacks too. The cost of Arizona Sunshine 2 is pretty hefty. At $60, you could get a lot more game for your money. In fact, I was surprised at the abrupt ending and lack of replayability in this era of more expensive but longer-lasting games. I can’t wholly recommend this at full price. Some technical issues plagued my playthrough as well. Anytime climbing puzzles were in the game, I had a constant issue where my vision turned black. It seemingly has something to do with my height. I’d end up falling or having to start over as I essentially was blinded. I fiddled with settings and options to no avail but then found that when I started recording climbing sequences internally, it stopped happening. That meant I had to switch on the Meta recording option whenever I saw the telltale signs of a pending climb. The story was well written and had a reasonably unexpected twist that started slowly and then came at me hard. The quips from our hero, though, were anywhere from somewhat funny to downright cringe. Yeah, I chuckled when he waxed poetic about an airport not being the same without a TSA agent caressing his penis with the back of their hand, but the constant yapping and lowbrow jokes eventually wore me down. By the time I reached the end of the game, our hero's last line got me groaning and taking off my headset. There were probably a few expletives, too. Arizona Sunshine 2 final verdict I don’t think that Arizona Sunshine 2 is a bad game, and if it were a little cheaper, I’d say this is probably a must-have game for any VR enthusiast. It has a lot of great ideas that are executed well, but then it seems to fall into tired tropes and cliche gameplay elements that make it feel more like “just a VR game” than a fully fleshed-out game. As the game is new and the original Arizona Sunshine was a VR staple, I expect more content as time passes. For now, if you want a solid VR experience, Arizona Sunshine 2 fits that bill, but it’s a standard product at a premium price.

Insert surprised Kirk (but as Astarion) gif here. Seriously, who’s surprised that GameCrate would choose Baldur’s Gate 3 as our Game of the Year pick? We gave it a perfect 10 when it came out. It won a ton of awards at The Game Awards this year (and was nominated for even more). But, what made Baldur’s Gate 3 so great? As a Dungeon Master for the majority of my life, I feel that it’s got to be the accuracy of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the real Dungeons and Dragons that sets it apart from the rest of the contenders. I have around 100 hours into this game, personally, so I definitely can see the charm. I originally wanted to write this article in the third person, keep it clean, and give some bullet points on what the original GameCrate reviewer thought of the game back in August. But, then, I considered that I may have a unique thought process about Baldur’s Gate 3, having played a vast number of DnD games in my youth (Who are we kidding? My adulthood as well.) and having run more campaigns at a table than I can count. So, what can be said that hasn’t been said about this fantastic game already? Baldur’s Gate 3, if you haven’t been paying attention, is a game set in the fantastical world of Dungeons and Dragons. Larian Studios, the folks behind the ever-popular Divinity franchise, were given the opportunity of a lifetime… and they checked every box on the list along the way. We’ve been seeing a lot of love for the tabletop game in recent years across media, such as being a big part of the hugely popular Stranger Things Netflix show. We even got a well-received Dungeons and Dragons theatrical movie in 2023 that introduced the world of Forgotten Realms and Faerun (the world and continent that most DnD takes place in) easily to the most casual fans. However, with an insane amount of dialogue options, endings, and ways to play the game, there has never been a more Dungeons and Dragons video game than BG3 to date. A Dungeon Master's take on Baldur's Gate 3 I’m what the DnD community calls a “Forever Dungeon Master”. As a Forever DM, I never really get to turn my brain off, let someone else tell the story, and just enjoy playing. A good DM is a guide, getting others to the story beats, but lets them choose their path to get there. Baldur’s Gate 3, on what appears to be the same hand, never once made me feel like I wasn’t in control of my own destiny, even with a clear intended story focus. Sure, some things are inevitable in a DnD campaign, if your DM has a planned story set out. But, Baldur’s Gate 3 always lets you get to that plot point any way you see fit. Sometimes, I found myself going straight to the mark (often by accident) and, other times, I took a path of most resistance and found myself across the map doing side quests. The game feels exactly how Dungeons and Dragons should feel, especially with the bantering between companions, the humor, the violence, and how well things can tie together. When you do anything, you even roll a customizable 20-sided die that can be changed based on various milestones. Anyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons on tabletop will tell you how important your dice are and Larian Studios understood the assignment. What's not to love about Baldur's Gate 3? It’d be impossible to talk about how good the game is without talking about the community surrounding it. I’ve been a games journalist for over a decade and a half and I’ve never seen a more tight-knit, friendly, welcoming community for a game. While we all may not agree on who the best companion to romance is (it’s Lae’zel), a game community has never felt so warm. This community even won a Game Award this year for cultivating such a fine group of people. As mentioned, I’ve played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons games growing up. From Eye of the Beholder to Neverwinter Nights to the original Bioware-developed Baldur’s Gate games, most of them were great but lacked a certain freedom that the actual tabletop game offers. A personal favorite, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, took the Diablo 2 approach to gameplay and made it within the DnD world of Forgotten Realms. But, it was linear as well. While we prepare for the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons in 2024, Baldur’s Gate 3 just absolutely hit the spot for both hardcore and casual fans alike. Even after winning the year, they continue to make the game better and give options for more ways to play it. It's no wonder it is everyone's go-to win for 2023. We all hope to see more Larian Studios-run Baldur’s Gate games in the future and they just may be that year’s Game of the Year too.

Rockman Pinball? You have my attention. Update 12/29/2023: As it turns out, both Rockman EXE games are actually the full versions! It was found, after some additional tinkering, that the Java emulators unexpectedly bypassed the subscription checks and players were able to continue past the expected cutoff points. Some extra elbow grease also unlocked the rest of the Rockman 1 port, making that fully playable as well, including the Roll mode! The team working on this also noted the microSD card includes the rest of Rockman DASH, Rockman Tennis and Rockman Diver among other encrypted materials. So, there could be more updates to come! The original article has been updated with this new information. Original Story: Remember what cell phone games were like before smartphones? Probably not, save for the occasional classic game ports like Snake or Tetris. Some of the sickos out there, myself included, had some deeper cuts and weirder software featuring modern and classic gaming icons in our collections. In Japan, “feature phone” games were much more popular, and the occasional “weird” ports like Final Fantasy, Double Dragon, or, in this case, Mega Man, were a big deal. Look no further than the infamous “lost” piece of the Final Fantasy VII Compilation, Before Crisis, for a big example. Capcom was a huge part of the feature phone market alongside Square Enix, and that meant a variety of Mega Man-themed games were made. In North America, we got a small taste with ports of NES titles and the occasional oddity like Mega Man Rush Marine. Japan got wild stuff like Rockman Pinball, bespoke entries in the Rockman EXE (Battle Network) series, and even a spinoff of Rockman DASH (Mega Man Legends). Considering 87% of classic games are lost to time, serious game preservationists have been working overtime, and several of those titles have been dumped from an old phone to be made playable with emulators. Some of them are demos or only one level for now, as some games were subscription-based. But, as this piece on Rockman Corner detailing everything notes, even those small workarounds are huge steps forward in this corner of the emulation scene. The games you can play are Rockman EXE: Phantom of Network (first three chapters), Rockman EXE: Legend of Network (first chapter), Rockman DASH: Great Adventure on 5 Islands (the fifth island), Rockman Pinball, Rockman GP, Rockman Bug Sweeper, and a trial for a distinct Rockman 1 port that includes Roll as a playable character. These games are playable due to a Java-based emulator with a heck of a UI. If you’re a youngster who has never seen a “dumbphone” before, well, you’re in for a time. Check out the Rockman Corner article for the full rundown on the work that had to be done to make this happen, and of course how to try these games for yourself!

FNAF has opened up the floodgates of mascot horror games getting movies. Mascot horror comes in a lot of forms. Most people think of games like Five Nights at Freddy’s or Garten of Banban. But, the genre is a lot broader than just costumed animatronics and monsters. Bendy and the Ink Machine, for instance, takes the genre in an entirely separate direction with its various popular characters. With the recent release of Five Nights at Freddy’s as a Blumhouse film (a solid adaptation with some flaws, if you ask us), video game horror movies are now coming and nothing is going to stop them. Joey Drew Studios (the game developer, not the in-universe animation studio) has partnered with Radar Pictures. Radar Pictures has been around since the 1980s, helping bring to life such classics as Jumanji, The Amityville Horror remake, and the entirety of the Riddick franchise. Considering that their filmography includes 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and both of the original Bill and Ted films, the movie seems to be in good hands. Bendy, for those unaware, is a game series that started with Bendy and the Ink Machine, highly inspired by games like Bioshock. In BatIM, players take the role of Henry, an employee of Joey Drew Studios, a twisted version of a classic cartoon studio. Bendy is Joey Drew Studios’ Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, and nearly just as old in their universe. He’s a little trickster demon who goes on short adventures with supporting characters such as Alice Angel. Innocent fun, right? While the story and lore get incredibly deep in the games, it comes down to the series antagonist, Joey Drew, partnering with the Gent Corporation (a company found throughout the games) to make the Ink Machine work for the studio. The Ink Machine is, as you guessed, powered by ink. It also prints full-bodied ink-based characters from 2D sketches. Oh, and it might also suck people into it and turn them into monsters within the ink world. But, details, details. Bendy co-creator theMeatly mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that not only is a movie coming, but multiple new games are in the works for the franchise as well. No real details about the Bendy movie are available yet as it was announced officially on Christmas Day 2023. But, based on the provided teaser image in the announcement, the sepia tone of the ink world looms over the entire shot, meaning that the game will likely focus on Henry, Drew’s old business partner and protagonist of the first game, as he is stuck inside the ink machine’s cartoon world.

It’s a Christmas miracle! Analogue Pockets can change screen colors now. Over the long holiday weekend, Analogue, the folks that bring some of the coolest, most colorful, retro-focused consoles, updated their Analogue Pocket consoles to firmware version 2.0. With it comes some really cool new features and capabilities going forward. While the firmware update has some help with video aspect ratios and support for the more SEGA-focused 8BitDo M30 2.4G dongle/controller in docked mode, the real additions are a little more visual. This update brings custom palette support with new APGB format palettes. Anyone who knows how the original Game Boy works knows that they were limited to that classic green. This new format allows different or more vibrant colors with a little bit of tinkering now. Instead of standard Game Boy green, you can get more creative with your colors. Since people have already got plenty of options out there, I’m going purple, personally. One thing that the modern Game Boy alternatives tend to offer is cleaner visuals than the original console. But, the Analogue Pocket is often used for recording or art, so you lose a little of the charm offered by the original handheld. It also works to get old Game Boy Color games to be specifically into the palette that it was intended to be for a much more authentic feel to each game. It's a small touch, but well worth it, if you're into that sort of thing. The new Analogue Pocket 2.0 update brings in some new modes to work with, such as “Original Display” mode (which is self-explanatory) and “CRT Trinitron Original Display” mode, which are unlocked automatically. Other modes have to be enabled by the individual software’s author, though. CRT Trinitron is perhaps the most exciting addition here. While you didn’t see CRT scanlines on the Game Boy, a lot of people (including myself) played Game Boy games on the Super Game Boy, a Super Nintendo cartridge that allowed you to play GB games directly from your SNES and television. This means that the scanlines were part of the nostalgia. There is a certain familiarity to seeing those lines on a retro game and a lot of people are happy to have it as an option again without running to their local flea market for an SNES and a Super Game Boy cart. If you own an Analogue Pocket, the firmware is available right from the official website, alongside the full list of release notes for 2.0. They added more than I mentioned here, so it’s worth checking out. Plus, it works on all Pocket models, including the currently out-of-stock transparent and glow-in-the-dark options.

Scanlines and resolution options were a big omission, especially for the PS1 game. When Konami released the first volume of its Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection, it had some problems. It could have been much worse of course, and the fixes from previous re-releases and new historical bonus content were a big plus. But games like the first Metal Gear Solid for the original PlayStation were missing some arguably crucial features. This week, the title was updated to version 1.4.0 on PC, addressing many of the seemingly missing game settings. These changes, which include both screen and audio settings depending on the individual game, are set to arrive on console platforms in January. The “delay” makes sense, as more hands are involved in console game updates, and those hands are likely on vacation. They should be, anyway. For Metal Gear Solid, the new screen settings include a toggle for the “smoothing” filter, which originally couldn’t be turned off. There’s a resolution setting that allows players to choose from “standard,” “pixel perfect,” and “16:9.” Finally, a “filter” option allows a scanline toggle, which tends to benefit games originally developed with CRT displays in mind. These screen options were also added for the Vol. 1 Bonus Content, which includes a pair of NES games. Every game in the set also received in-game audio volume settings, various Steam-specific controller and window settings, and a few bug fixes to round things out. A list of known issues was also provided in the patch notes, to show the audience Konami is aware of said issues and is still working on fixes. The landing may have been a little rough around the edges, but at least this shows the publisher is on the ball. You can check out the full patch notes on the official website.

War never changes, but Fallout 76 has gotten better year after year. Bethesda announced on their blog this week that Fallout 76 is getting bigger in multiple ways. Not only are they expanding the game more with their upcoming roadmap for 2024, but they announced that the once barren wasteland has had over 17 million players at this point. The newest addition brought players to Atlantic City with the Atlantic City - Boardwalk Paradise update. This opened up a whole new area to explore, including casinos and hotels. But, the devs at Bethesda aren’t done with taking us through an irradiated New Jersey. Coming Spring 2024, Atlantic City - America’s Playground will offer new missions, more explorable areas, and a face-off with the Jersey Devil, New Jersey’s favorite cryptid. Along with the Mothman and the Flatwoods monster hanging out in the base game, as well as the Jersey Devil on the horizon, Fallout has a long history of including America’s best cryptids in their games. In addition to the expanding Atlantic City, Bethesda also announced that the map is expanding as well, southward, into the “wooded heartland” of Shenandoah. With the bigger map, you’ll be able to find a new quest line, factions, and rewards. They’re also planning on putting way more focus on seasonal events in 2024. They will be run way more frequently going forward, alongside Season 15: The Big Score. They made sure to plug the upcoming Fallout series coming to Amazon in Spring 2024 as well, which could potentially tease some crossover events within Fallout 76 alongside the show. Or, it was just brand synergy. You can never tell what may pop up in Appalachia’s wilds. With all of the Fallout 76 hype this week, it’s easy to forget that Bethesda is planning to release an Indiana Jones game, which will get a full reveal in 2024, too. Aside from any additional content that Starfield may have incoming, they have their hands full for a while.

Some post-DLC DLC Pokemon content, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Epilogue, is on the way to wrap things up neatly. Last week, what was assumed to be the final piece of post-launch content was launched for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But today, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company had a little surprise for the fans and non-dataminers. A new DLC was announced, a sort of final piece of the story that does require the current DLC to experience. It’s called Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Epilogue and is set to launch on January 11, 2024. There’s even a 14:00 UTC stamp ready to roll (that’s 6 am PT/9 am ET for us)! A small trailer was released alongside the announcement, which you can check out right here via social media: As noted in the trailer, there are two requirements players must meet in order to access The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. First, they must complete “a certain postgame event” in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet base game. Then, they need to complete the stories of both current DLC additions, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. We don’t know a ton about the story yet, but the social media post above does state, “a new adventure in the Land of Kitakami awaits!” Kitakami is the setting for The Indigo Disk, so it looks like the epilogue is continuing the story right where the DLC leaves off, at least geographically speaking. Unfortunately, for some Pokémon fans, this isn’t exactly news. When The Indigo Disk launched earlier this month on December 14, the epilogue was patched into Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as well. So the datamining community was all over this content existing already. But that kind of thing is a niche within a niche, so there are plenty of fans out there (even on social media!) who are excited about the news. If you haven't yet grabbed Pokémon Scarlet or Violet, it comes in several varieties nowadays. We recommend grabbing both games in the double pack, which can be found in both physical and digital forms. but, if you need Pokémon Scarlet or Violet separately, you might as well get the The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC built-in while you're at it. Disclaimer: GameCrate may earn a small commission when a purchase is made on Amazon.

A simple mistake that could have had wild repercussions went undiscovered for over two decades. Some wild stuff came out of the retro gaming vault today. It turns out that a big, commercially-released video game based on a massive IP had a hidden “cheat code” that would’ve blown the door open for piracy on the PlayStation. Fortunately for Sony, nobody discovered it when it was relevant. The game in question is Alien Resurrection, a PS1 game/movie tie-in that is over 20 years old. This secret was revealed by a member of the game’s development team, Martin Piper, to YouTuber/game developer MVG. Using a secret buried under multiple layers of button combinations, Alien Resurrection becomes a de facto boot disc that allows users to run backups without any additional modding. If you have a PlayStation (or PSOne model) and a copy of Alien Resurrection, here’s how to use this ridiculous, probably unintended “feature.” The only external variable needed is a way to hold the console’s tray open, which is pretty simple regardless of which model you’re using. Here's a breakdown of how to do it yourself: In the game’s options menu, press Circle, Left, Right, Circle, Up, then R2. This enables an actual cheat menu. Once again in the options menu, press R1, Down, R1, Right, L1, Up, L2, then Square. A sound effect will notify a successful input. This expands the cheat menu to include a level select. The final options menu code is Left, Up, Right, Down, Right, Up, Left, Square, Triangle, Square, Triangle, and L1. Again, listen to the sound effect. MVG describes it as a “bonk.” In the cheat menu, set level select to Level 6, Section 1. Then hold L1 and press X. Keep L1 held and the game disc should stop spinning. Swap in a burnt/backup disc, then hold Square and Triangle along with L1. Let all the buttons go, and the new disc should boot if you did everything right. This “feature” was never disclosed to Sony upon submission. According to Piper and MVG, the code was implemented to test technology to see if disc swapping was possible without a power reset. Alien Resurrection was going to be a multi-disc game at one point. The boot code seems to have been left in as a mistake, as a majority of the team didn’t know about it, which explains the lack of reporting. Too late now! One of the initial codes was discovered as seen on The Cutting Room Floor, but the actual function was unknown. It’s hard to imagine the implications if such a thing was discovered when it could have really made an impact, but at this point, it’s simply an incredibly fascinating reveal.

In LEGO Fortnite, you can build Rome (or Japan or a Medieval kingdom) in a day, by yourself, with toy bricks. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Epic Games has not only added an official LEGO mode to their ever-expanding game, but LEGO Fortnite is an entirely new gameplay mode to gain new interest in gamers who don’t necessarily care about “battle royale” style games. During Fortnite’s recent Big Bang event, the game has been adding some new official modes. Rocket League developer Psyonix made the high-octane racing mode Rocket Racing, Harmonix brought their Rock Band franchise in as Fortnite Festival and Epic Games teamed up with LEGO to make a full sandbox survival game in the style of the infamous bricks. Where Rocket Racing is definitely my favorite of the new additions, LEGO Fortnite is probably the most expansive of the three new modes. The insanity of this is compounded when you find out that all of the modes are entirely free to play. But, what is LEGO Fortnite? Anyone familiar with games like Minecraft, RUST, DayZ, or The Forest is going to feel right at home in LEGO Fortnite. This open-world mode drops you onto a LEGO island and tells you to survive. It harkens back to Fortnite’s early years, long before the battle royale mode was added. The original (what is now known as) Fortnite: Save the World had players gather supplies during the day and fortify their base from the undead at night. Gameplay LEGO Fortnite is exactly this, but you have a lot more to explore. Build everything from entire shacks for yourself and other NPCs for putting a bed all the way down to the smallest decorations. When you head into Fortnite’s main menu, you want to start by checking your locker for your LEGO-fied options. Most licensed outfits are, sadly, not compatible with the new mode. But, well over 1,200 classic Fortnite skins were translated into minifig form. Plus, it seems that all new or upcoming skins, including licensed ones, get a LEGO version for free. Looking at the shop at the time of writing, all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and April O’Neil) were available to play in both Battle Royale and LEGO Fortnite. Gather and process various types of wood or stone to make new types of items and buildings. Protect yourself with different weapons, drink smoothies to get buffs, and prepare yourself for the nighttime. Once night falls, huddle up with your NPC villagers who join you over time or other players that you’ve invited into your world. The skeletons will attack, relentlessly, until daybreak. At least you’ll never have a shortage of bones and nearly destroyed pickaxes from them. During the day (or night, if you’re crazy enough), explore the vast biome options and head down into a nearby cave. Plenty of new resources and materials can be found within, but the enemies are much harder to kill. Watch out for scorpions, trust me. All of that is great on its own, but we’re talking about a free LEGO mode of a game that’s been dedicated to quick-match battle royale for years. How deep can it really get? I was really surprised to find that I’d sunk nearly 8 hours into LEGO Fortnite in a day without even trying or getting far at all. There are two world options: Sandbox and Survival. Sandbox mode is for those just looking to build, without the usual resource requirements like X amount of wood or stone. By default, this mode doesn’t offer enemies, hunger, or temperature issues (which is useful in the colder biomes). Just like in other games of the genre, inventory gets stored in your backpack, which limits your space and need for more chests in your village. But, with Sandbox mode, you don’t have as much that is needed to be stored due to resources being unnecessary. In my survival world, I'm building a Japanese shrine, complete with full shrine towers. But, there are a ton of options and no limits. I also accidentally created a The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-esque flying contraption that flew me to a far-off area of the map in the icy mountains, where I collided with a tree and the machine broke into a million LEGO bricks. I had to make a new one to fly back to my village. Survival mode, on the other hand, offers a more traditional survival game experience. It gives some basic lessons at the beginning and then sets you free. While both options have pros and cons, they each have toggles to change how hard or easy of a time you’ll have. You can even turn “elimination” (i.e. death) on and off for both modes if you’re having a tough time and just want to relax. During setup for a new world, you can also choose to override a world seed to make your experience identical to another world’s starting point. Final Verdict After playing the LEGO Fortnite mode for longer than I care to admit, I’m really impressed with how much content you get for free in it. It’s easy to make comparisons to Minecraft, especially with the blocky nature of LEGO and the Sandbox option resembling Creative mode in the classic mining game. However, I’d argue that the entire LEGO Fortnite mode shares a lot of DNA with more modern survival games, like Sons of the Forest, in how mechanics and building structures work. My only qualms were the lack of direction for those new to the genre. They give some very basic tutorials in Survival, but once you’re set free to do as you need, there isn’t a lot to go by and it’s easy to get lost if you get too far from your main base and village. In Sandbox, you don't even get that much. You need to know how to do the basics, at the least, if you head there. I wish enemies could be toggled not just as on and off, but in difficulty level as well. There have been multiple times where all of the enemies in a cave were super easy to defeat and then a single scorpion sneaks up and takes me down in two quick hits in Survival mode. I’m fine with difficulty in a game, but cheap kills really are frustrating when I have to hoof it back to the depth of a dark cave without any inventory or light. If you’re an avid survival game player, you’re going to love the Survival mode. But, if you need a more relaxing experience, there are so many toggles to work with and make it as cozy as you want. This also is likely for those looking to make crazy builds not unlike the Creative mode in the main Fortnite experience. Fortnite, and all three new modes, are free and on every platform you can imagine: macOS (with some luck), Epic Games Store on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Android, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

From streaming to native gaming, these controllers legitimize mobile. Even in 2023, I still see the same detriments applied to playing games on mobile platforms. Chief among them are the buttons, such as the virtual gamepad eating up screen real estate in Resident Evil 4 on iOS. But the reality is this is a solved issue, with controller support across myriad mobile platforms better than ever. And I don’t just mean using Bluetooth to connect your DualSense or Xbox pads and then buying a mount or something equally clumsy. The market for controllers made explicitly for mobile gaming has only grown better and better, hitting an arguable peak point in 2023. Several brands have entered the arena, and as we close in on the holidays, some clear standouts have emerged. So check ‘em out! Here are some of the best controllers you can get for mobile gaming. GameSir G8 Galileo While GameSir is one of the silliest brand names out there, there’s no denying how this company has stepped up to the plate in recent years. The Galileo has tons of cool and top-shelf features, such as Hall Effect sticks and triggers, and an adjustable USB-C connection made to accommodate wear, tear, and different-sized devices. You can even detach the faceplates for customization efforts. (Retail Price: $79.99) Backbone This thing is a modern classic; one of the devices in this space that kickstarted a mobile controlling arms race. These controllers just work. Snap your phone in, and thanks to a software-based approach, games just work. An included app helps you organize your content and discover new controller-compatible games, and if you’re a PlayStation fan, the officially branded alternative feels like a miniaturized DualSense. (Retail Price: $99.99) Turtle Beach Atom The two controllers above use direct connections, but controllers like the Atom here use Bluetooth for wireless connection and then utilize magnets to secure your phone. The two halves also snap together when not in use, making for an incredible pocket or bag-friendly storage mode. Bluetooth may raise questions about latency, but the tradeoff is a much higher convenience factor. (Retail Price: $59.95) Riot PWR For our last controller, we’re looking at something more traditional. Riot PWR is a full-size, traditional controller based on the Xbox model, with a mount and cable for a direct connection. It’s light, easy to use, and adjustable for a variety of comfort needs. While the specific use case here is the most specific, it meets those needs perfectly. (Retail price: $69.99) Disclaimer: GameCrate may earn a small commission when a purchase is made on Amazon.