What Do Pro Players Think of Hearthstone’s Huge New Changes?

Hearthstone's World Championship finished over the weekend (the VODs are here), and during the four day event I had the chance to catch up with justsaiyan, Bunnyhoppor, Ike and the winner of the whole thing – Hearthstone's new World Champion: Hunterace. I've already published their thoughts on Rise of Shadows and any nerfs they'd like to see, but I also asked them about the new Specialist format, the transition away from HCT to Masters and Grandmasters and more. Enjoy! (And for more on Hearthstone's esports plans for the rest of the year, check out my interview with Sam Braithwaite, the man heading it all up.)

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I Trashed the Sonic Movie Trailer And I Already Regret It

This morning the internet was greeted with the first official look at the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer - a real film where a human policeman befriends a near-nude talking CG animal who runs quickly - and unsurprisingly, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative. The events of today had been foretold for months now, as leaked promotional images, posters, and press kits, along with deliberately planned interviews and behind closed doors media events had already led the world to fear the worst: another bad video game movie had arrived. With our fears confirmed, we did what we always do on social media. We cracked our knuckles, hunched over our beer guts, and started pecking away at our phones and keyboards to tear this thing a new a$$hole.

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Assassin's Creed Odyssey Joke Is Officially... Nuts

An Assassin's Creed Odyssey joke has come full circle thanks to a mercenary Ubisoft recently introduced to the epic RPG.

Ubisoft announced today that a new mercenary is now available in Odyssey, known as Testiklos the Nut. That descriptor of his name is notable because Testiklos is actually the brother of a Spartan Olympic champion the player's protagonist meets during the course of Odyssey's campaign. That man's name is Testikles.

Testiklos the Nut

"Having been separated quite early in his life from his half-brother Testikles, his mood has been unstable ever since. He never felt as secure than with his own kin, so he deals with the separation by breaking things," Ubisoft's tweet reads.

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The Madden Curse Is Coming for Chiefs Fans

On this week's Xbox show, willl the Sonic the Hedgehog movie set video game movies back a decade or turn them into high art? Plus: Kansas City Chiefs fans have to reckon with the Madden Curse as the first details of Madden NFL 20 are announced, Games With Gold for May have been revealed, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or click here to grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring a rare, in-depth interview with Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot as he discusses the company's past, present, and next-gen future (yes, including Splinter Cell and its Xbox-centric history!).

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Black Ops 4’s Operation Spectre Rising Update Detailed

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's new Operation Spectre Rising update is now live on PlayStation 4, with PC and Xbox One releases likely to follow next week if past updates are any indication.

A press release describes Operation Spectre Rising as an "assassin-themed update" that brings new maps, new modes, a new specialist, and lots more – including changes to the Blackout battle royale mode and new cosmetics. Some content in this update is free, while other parts will require the paid Black Ops Pass to access.

Included for free is the new Assassin specialist, who has smoke grenades and a "Shadow Blade" that allows for targeted melee kills. Blackout's standard map has also been flooded by the Hydro Dam exploding, while the Zombies mode will get new weapons and challenges through the Operation Spectre Rising event. New Black Market cosmetics to unlock have also been added as part of the free update.

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Nintendo Pulls Game From eShop After Dev Reveals Hidden Code Editor

Nintendo pulled a game from the eShop on April 26 after it was known that creator of A Dark Room snuck in a code editor for players to use.

As reported by Eurogamer, developer Amir Rajan revealed one week after the game launched on Switch that he had included the coding easter egg within the game. Nintendo pulled the game from the eShop shortly after.

Rajan posted his announcement of the secret editor being hidden in the game, which is used through the programming language Ruby, and said it was meant for people to create apps through their Nintendo Switch.

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Wolfenstein 2 and Wargroove Headline May 2019 Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft announced new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in May 2019, including Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Wargroove, Lego Batman 3 and more.

Revealed on Xbox Wire, other games coming to Xbox Game Pass include the colony simulation game Surviving Mars, the adventure exploration game Tacoma, the sandbox-oriented MMORPG Black Desert, the sci-fi action-RPG The Surge, and the strategic RPG For the King, which Game Pass subscribers can get access to three days before its official release on Xbox One on May 10.

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Days Gone Update 1.06 Patch Notes

Days Gone Update 1.06 may cause some PS4s to crash.

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Fatalities Are The Soul of Mortal Kombat 11, But Not Because They're Gory

What do the words "Finish Him" mean to you? For most of us, the call brings to mind the thrill of victory, that telling sound, and some unspeakable violence. Heads uppercut off of shoulders. Bodies split down the middle. For the 27 years we've been playing Mortal Kombat, fatalities have been at the heart of what's drawn us to the series. The nature of that heart, however, has changed quite a bit. In 1992, Mortal Kombat's explicit but rudimentary depictions of violence were considered shocking, even vulgar. In 2019, the most popular TV show in America is among the goriest on the air. We aren't so easily shocked anymore. In Mortal Kombat 11, fatalities still find ways to excite us though; Not by grossing us out or pushing our buttons, as most people assume, but by being clever, funny, and, as always, giving us a way to gloat that's far more satisfying than the sassiest emote. As Mortal Kombat's bloody crown jewels, Fatalities cleverly surprise and delight, while giving us a uniquely satisfying chance to revel in victory.

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The Internet's Most Popular Borderlands 3 Questions

We took a look around, from search queries to Twitter to online forums, to attempt to answer the most common questions about Borderlands 3.

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Time Stories Plays like Batman Meets Quantum Leap

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People Are Dissecting Details From Leaked Borderlands 3 Footage

A 26-second long clip of what appears to be Borderlands 3 has been discovered by eagle-eyed gamers on Twitch.

User vestan uploaded the clip to ResetEra, and it has since done the rounds on various other forums. Allegedly the footage was found on a Gearbox Twitch channel that was testing Borderlands 3's new Echocast feature, and re-uploaded after the original video was taken down.

The clip itself features very little in terms of traditional gameplay, but what it does show informs us of several new details. The UI shows off the fact that weapons now have multiple firing modes that can be swapped between using the d-pad. In the case of the gun being used in the clip, that relates to rate of fire, but a weapon found in a chest can change between fire and radiation elements. Radiation is a new element, and could possibly replace the previous games' slag.

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Red Dead Online Open Target Races Now Available for Xbox One

Xbox One users are now able to play Open Target Races in Red Dead Online, along with receiving exclusive bonuses for the week.

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Watch Borderlands 3's Gameplay Reveal to Earn Free In-Game Loot

The Borderlands 3 Gameplay Reveal Event is in just a couple days, and fans around the world will be able to unlock in-game loot for the upcoming title with the Official Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch extension.

The event will take place on May 1 at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST and hundreds of streamers from around the world will be trying out the sequel to 2012's Borderlands 2 and showcasing gameplay for the first time.

As fans of the series watch these streams on Twitch, they will be able to enable the Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch extension by clicking on the small Vault symbol on the bottom of each stream.

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Here's Every Camp in Days Gone and the Best Ones to Invest In

There are a lot of camps in Days Gone. These are the best ones.

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Latest Mortal Kombat 11 Patch Fixes Difficulty, Includes Free Currency

Be sure to claim your free rewards before heading back into the nerfed Towers of Time in Mortal Kombat 11.

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Xbox Games With Gold May 2019 Free Games Announced

The May 2019 Xbox Games with Gold free games lineup has been announced.

Revealed by Microsoft, next month's lineup features Marooners, The Golf Club 2019, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon and Comic Jumper.

Here are the timeframes for when you can download these titles:

• Marooners - Xbox One (May 1-31)

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Best PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro Deals and Bundles This Week

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The Latest Days Gone Update Addresses Audio Bugs, Save Issues, and More

Here are the full patch notes for Days Gone Update 1.05.

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Mortal Kombat 11: Don't Miss These Krypt Key Item Locations

Unlock even more areas of Mortal Kombat 11's Krypt with the locations of these Key Items.

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How to Get 2,150 Apex Legends Coins for 99p

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Updated: Mortal Kombat 11 Cheats, Secrets, and Easter Eggs

All of the secrets of the Krypt, secret characters, and Easter eggs discovered in Mortal Kombat 11.

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Days Gone Update 1.05 Patch Notes

See what changes come with Days Gone version 1.05.

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How to Get 2,150 Apex Legends Coins for 99p

Find out how to get 2,150 Apex Legends Coins for 99p, 4,350 for £17.99, 6700 for £34.99 and 11,500 for £64.99.

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How to Find and Take On Hordes in Days Gone

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Which Cards Do Pro Hearthstone Players Want Nerfed?

Hearthstone's World Championship is coming to a conclusion in Taipei right now (you can watch the stream here), and over the last couple of days I've had the chance to catch up with a few of the 16 players that came to compete for a share of the USD $1 million prize pool. For this feature, I asked justsaiyan, Bunnyhoppor, Hunterace and Ike about the latest expansion, Rise of Shadows, as well as whether there are any problematic cards right now that they'd like to see nerfed.

What do you think of Rise of Shadows as a set?

justsaiyan. (Photo by Blizzard Ent.)

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Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND DLC Reportedly Announced

Shortly after the release of Kingdom Hearts 3's first free DLC, word of paid DLC has come from a recent Kingdom Hearts concert in Tokyo, Japan.

Twitter user YanilynGaming reportedly attended the concert and confirmed that Kingdom Hearts franchise director confirmed a bit of paid, and free DLC, on the way. The paid DLC is known as Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND. According to Yanilyn, the paid aspect will include an additional scenario known as ReMIND, as well as a "Limit Episode + Boss," a new Secret Episode plus a boss, and an English voiceover option for the Japanese version of the game.

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How to Complete the Avengers: Endgame Challenges in Fortnite

Get control of Thanos and deal damage using the mythical Avengers weapons in Fortnite's Endgame challenges.

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Mortal Kombat 11 Krypt: How to Unlock Everything

Our guide to the Krypt and its many secrets comes equipped with maps, secrets, and key items listed in every nook and cranny.

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Up at Noon: Avengers: Endgame Bathroom Hacks, DC Villain Movies and Mortal Kombat Klassic

Up at Noon is back with some relaxed, goofy, informative (?) weekend content on IGN as the second episode of our newly rebooted weekly comedy variety show is here to make your Saturdays suck less!

This week on the show!

• Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie in the world and it's also one of the longest, so we're teaching you how to pee during the movie without having to get out of your seat. That's right: we've devised a plan to allow you to go #1 without missing a second of the #1 movie in the world.

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Mortal Kombat 11: How to Farm Soul Fragments

Find out how to best accumulate the Soul Fragment currency to get lots of treasures in Mortal Kombat 11's Krypt.

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Get Every SteamWorld Treasure Chest with These Maps

We've found every chest and marked them on maps for you to find.

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Copeland or Tucker? Here's Who to Give That Drug Stash to in Days Gone

Here's how to handle the first major decision in Days Gone: give the drug stash to Copeland or Tucker?

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First Impressions: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey in Labo VR

It's been less than a month since Nintendo unleashed their Labo VR headset upon the skeptical world, and the response has been quite a bit better than expected. Days prior to the launch of their newest cardboard craftables, Nintendo made the surprise announcement that Switch best-sellers The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey would both receive VR compatibility via free software updates in the near future. That time has come, and the results are making my head spin.

Barf of the Wild

The Zelda series is known for its memorable locations and sprawling overworlds, and Breath of the Wild is certainly the most massive. I was excited to gaze upon the beauty of Hyrule in all directions and perhaps get a new perspective on a puzzles or two through my Labo VR headset. As I moved my head back and forth and up and down, taking in the view and adjusting to the new motion controls, I was immediately met with a wave of motion sickness. This was a surprise, as I hadn't had any issues with nausea during my initial dozen hours Nintendo DIY VR headset.

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How to Get the Most out of Days Gone

Sure, Days Gone has some problems (as detailed in our Days Gone review), but that doesn't mean it can't be a fun ride. It's a slow build-up, but if you know what to do first and what to focus on, you can get up to speed and get the most out of Days Gone, fast.

Here are the tips and strategies you should know before diving into the Freaker fest that is Days Gone.

Best Skills to Unlock First

Deacon St. John starts out as a relatively average joe without any great abilities. To feel like you can actually take on the numerous Freakers and Hordes out in the Oregon wilderness, you'll nee to level up and earn skills. We recommend these two first:

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Mortal Kombat 11 Complete Fatalities List

Every button combo for every character in one, easy list.

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Days Gone: How to Store Guns

Buying and storing guns isn't so straightforward in Days Gone. Here's how to do both.

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Risk of Rain 2 Early Access Review

Responsive third-person shooting, fun four-player co-op, and the promise of attaining roguelike godhood with distinctly flavorful items make it dangerously easy to play "just one more game" of Risk of Rain 2. There's a lot to do even now in early access, like chase down game-changing unlocks and Easter eggs across the continuity of multiple runs, even if there are a few rough edges like online stability. I'm enamored with what's already here, and am left eagerly awaiting what comes next for one my favorite co-op surprises this year.

Risk of Rain 2's basic formula is straightforward and instantly gratifying: you and a team of up to three others crash onto the surface of a planet's pleasantly stylized environment and fight your way through an unending onslaught of ever-more-challenging enemies to earn loot. Some of the rarest items, like the Brilliant Behemoth that adds an explosion to every attack, provide transformative effects that can take a build from great to straight-up-busted, in the most satisfying way. And, since there's no limit on how many of a given item you can collect, the absurdity of what you're able to luck into is both ridiculous and supremely fun.

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Everything in the Avengers Endgame Fortnite Crossover

Fortnite's latest limited-time mode is another crossover event with Marvel, this time promoting the epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame.

As dataminers predicted, Thanos returns in this latest mode, but this time brings his army of Chitauri warriors with him for a monumental battle. Also new is the addition of some iconic Avengers gear, including Captain America's shield, Thor's Stormbreaker ax, Iron Man's repulsor gauntlets, and Hawkeye's bow.

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Crunching Mortal Kombat 11's Microtransaction Numbers and NetherRealm's Comments

On Wednesday, IGN reported on a Reddit post in which a user laid out some math and alleged that if you were to buy every cosmetic skin in Mortal Kombat 11, it would cost $6,440. Our video was based on calculations by Reddit user AccomplishedPoet8, which was posted on the PS4 subreddit. However, shortly after, NetherRealm Creative Director Ed Boon responded on Twitter, saying: "LOL OMG! The $6440 story is complete bullshit! Where do these people get their information? The VAST VAST majority of MK11 skins are NOT for sale. That's not how NetherRealm makes games. You have to EARN them IN GAME. #FactCheckB4reporting."

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Borderlands 3: Don't Miss the Live Gameplay Reveal

2K and Gearbox will showcase Borderlands 3 in action on Wednesday, May 1, and you'll be able to watch the gameplay reveal live, right here on IGN.

To make sure you don't miss the big reveal, read on for a rundown of when and where you can get a first look at Borderlands 3 gameplay streamed live.

When to Watch

We'll kick things off on Wednesday, May 1 with a 30-minute preshow at 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET/5:30pm UK (Thursday, May 2 at 2:30am AET), which will be followed by the gameplay reveal at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm UK (May 2 at 3am AET).

Where to Watch

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Mortal Kombat 11: 9 Awesome Secrets You Shouldn't Miss

Find out how to perform a Mercy, seek out cameos in the Krypt, and solve some of the more devious puzzles in Mortal Kombat 11.

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Everything We Know About the Crystal Dynamics Avengers Game

Though it's been two years since The Avengers Project from developers Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal and publisher Square Enix was announced, it feels like updates on the game have been few and far between. Still, even though news has been infrequent, there's still quite a bit about this mysterious project we've been able to assemble.

Here's everything we know about the Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal Avengers game, from its initial announcement to who's working on the project.

The Announcement

In January 2017, Square Enix and Marvel announced a "multi-game partnership" that would begin with an Avengers game made by Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics and Deus Ex developer Eidos Montreal. At the time, it was due to be released in 2018, though this timeframe has since come and gone.

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Days Gone: How to Fast Travel and 20 Other Essential Tips

We've put together a big list of tips and tricks we wish we knew when starting Days Gone.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield Will 'Emphasize' Switch Handheld Mode

Pokemon Sword and Shield are being developed to "emphasize the fun of playing Nintendo Switch in handheld mode."

Revealed in a financial results briefing for the fiscal year ending March 2019, Nintendo says that last year's Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! were "designed to highlight the fun of Nintendo Switch in TV mode... by waving the controller at the TV screen to capture Pokémon."

The report went on to clarify that Nintendo is designing the games for both longtime fans and relative newcomers, saying "We want these games to be played not only by longtime Pokémon fans, but also by consumers whose first encounter with the series was on a dedicated video game platform with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!"

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League of Legends to Add Yuumi the Magical Cat, a Champion for Newcomers

League of Legends will soon be adding a new champion named Yuumi that is aimed at helping newcomers, and possibly best of all is that she is an incredibly cute magical cat.

What makes Yuumi unique and helpful for those new to LoL is that she can attach to allies so new players can focus on her abilities and learning the game while their ally does the rest.

She may be a magical cat, but she is super "squishy" and does best when she is attached to and assisting allies, as then she can only be targeted by towers.

Her Prowling Projectile summons a missile that deals magic damage, and if Yuumi casts it while Attached, it becomes a guided missile. She also has a healing spell called Zoomies, a Passive ability called Bop 'n' Block that shields both her and her attached ally, and the Final Chapter ability that launches seven waves that deal magic damage.

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Nintendo Switch Online Surpasses 9.8 Million Subscribers

Nintendo Switch Online is very, very close to reaching 10 million subscribers.

Revealed in a financial results briefing for the fiscal year ending March 2019, Nintendo reported that NSO subscriptions have exceeded 9.8 million accounts (excluding free trail memberships) after it went live last September. While we know this figure includes family memberships, it's unclear what the current breakdown of membership types are.

As it stands, NSO costs $4 for a one month subscription, $8 for three months, $20 for a year, and $35 for an annual Family Membership, which allows up to eight Nintendo Account holders to use the service on different systems. You can brush up on NSO's complete service description here, which includes cloud saves, online play, and a growing library of NES games. There's also some evidence that SNES games may be added in the future.

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Why Hearthstone Esports Was Overhauled for 2019

Hearthstone's World Championship is happening in Taipei right now (you can watch the stream here), with the 16 best players in the world competing for their share of a USD $1 million prize pool. It would be a gripping tournament for that reason alone, but it's a notable event on a number of other levels too. This tournament is the swansong for the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT), which has been replaced by Masters and Grandmasters, as well as for the Conquest format, which has been replaced by Specialist, where players bring a single class to tournaments. They're seismic shifts, and the landscape for the rest of 2019 looks completely different to anything we've seen before.

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Days Gone: Best Skills to Get First

We think these nine skills are essential to making your life easier in Days Gone.

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Madden NFL 20 Release Date, Cover Star Announced

Madden NFL 20 is coming to PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One on August 2, 2019.

EA Sports has also announced this year's cover star: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and 2018 NFL MVP and offensive player of the year Patrick Mahomes. Known for his record-setting first season as a starter, Mahomes became the only quarterback in history to throw for over 5,000 yards in one season both in college and the NFL, and the third quarterback to throw at least 50 touchdown passes in a single season.

 

"The last year has been life-changing for me and landing the cover of Madden NFL 20 is both a huge honor and a dream come true as a lifelong Madden fan. To also get the opportunity to impact the experience in the new Face of the Franchise: QB1 by providing input on the gameplay is something I never expected," said Mahomes. "I played Madden with my dad when I was a kid, and this is definitely a full circle moment for me."

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Mortal Kombat 11 Switch Review

On a fundamental level, Mortal Kombat 11's Switch port is totally fine. It runs at a relatively consistent 60 frames per second, both in docked and handheld modes; (almost) every mode present in the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC versions are accounted for; and even though a ton of sacrifices were made on the visual side to make it run on Nintendo's substantially less powerful hardware, few if any of them affect the actual fighting gameplay. That being said, there are numerous absolutely puzzling differences between the Switch version and its more powerful brethren, leading to a port that is in many ways better than expected, but at the same time, worse than it should be.

Before we dive in, make sure to read my Mortal Kombat 11 review for the console versions to get an idea of what it's like at its best, because this review will largely focus on the technical differences between those and the Switch version.

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Mortal Kombat 11: How to Farm Koins

Find out how to best accumulate wealth in Mortal Kombat 11 and open Krypt Chests with our guide to farming Koins.

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Smash Bros. Custom Stages Are Getting Pretty Crazy

Weeelcoooome to NVC, IGN's Nintendo podcast! I'm temporarily taking over as host this week (for the first time!) as we talk about SteamWorld Quest, Mortal Kombat 11 on Switch, and some of the craziest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate custom stages we've seen so far! We'll also be taking look at recent news – with a message from the FUTURE! – talking about some games we've been playing recently, and taking YOUR questions during Question Block!

Here are some topic timecodes for your convenience:

• 00:00:01 - Hello!
• 00:01:50 - SteamWorld Quest is out! Let's talk about it.

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Apex Legends Devs Address Update Plans, Tease Season 2 Content

Respawn Entertainment has addressed its plans for future updates to Apex Legends, teasing what's to come in Season 2.

Revealed in an EA blog post by executive producer Drew McCoy, Respawn is "100% committed to the long-term growth of Apex Legends" and has so far had to "react and direct resources to play whack-a-mole with lots of unexpected issues."

The team's plan moving forward is to prioritize fixing slow server performance that can occur at the beginning of matches, addressing some audio issues, dealing with cheaters, and resolving hit registration issues.

As far as new content is concerned, McCoy clarified that season launches will begin with a new battle pass, a new Legend, "something new for the meta," and more. Instead of consistent weekly updates, Respawn will focus on "large, meaningful changes to the game that have lasting impact" that align with a seasonal release cadence as opposed to surprise drops. The team will, however, address exploits, balance changes, bug fixes and more throughout each season.

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Marvel's Iron Man VR Dev on Crafting an Original Tony Stark Story

Marvel's Iron Man VR debuted during Sony's first State of Play this year, marking the second Marvel Games PS4 exclusive, following the hugely successful Marvel's Spider-Man. Developer Camouflaj has worked on the upcoming PlayStation VR title for more than two years, before Insomniac's webhead adventure took off, though, and for much of that process, one of the biggest concerns was whether the high-profile game would leak.

"I swear to god, I'd wake up every morning, one eye on Twitter

, 'It didn't leak, right,'" Iron Man VR director Ryan Payton told IGN during a recent interview on our weekly PlayStation show, Beyond!, which you can watch below.

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The Best PC Games to Play Right Now

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Fortnite Week 9 Challenges: Dance Map and Reboot Van Locations

The ninth week of Season 8 is here and we have a map for the dance between ice sculptures, dinosaurs, and hotsprings as well as the every reboot van location.

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Persona 5 Scramble Announced for Switch and PS4

Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers, a musou spinoff of the mainline Persona series, has been announced for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Announced during the Persona Super Live 2019 concert via a brief Japanese trailer, Persona 5 Scramble is being created as a collaboration between Atlus and Koei Tecmo's Omega Force team, known for its work on the Dynasty Warriors series. According to Persona Central, it's being labeled as the first action RPG in the Persona series.

While little is known about the game, the trailer clearly shows Persona 5 Scramble as a musou game, where Joker fights against large hordes of enemies all at once. The game currently has no official release date, though an official website has gone live.

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Days Gone Review

Days Gone kicks off relatively simply: you play as a biker riding through an open-world zombie post-apocalypse, seeking answers around his dead wife and smashing enemy faces in with crunchy, weighty melee weapons. Sometimes, there are spectacular hordes of them. So far, so straightforward. Yet through its 60-odd-hour ride, Days Gone loses its focus with repetitive missions, a meandering and thematically unsatisfying storyline, and an excess of bugs and busywork. When you slow down for a minute or two, these issues combine with a dreary, uninteresting open world and add up to an uneven and mostly toothless zombie experience.

For a gruff biker dude traveling through a zombie-infested (okay, they're technically virus-infected humans called Freakers, but functionally the same thing) Oregon, Deacon St. John is an endearingly gentle and sweet-natured protagonist. His gruff charm and unassuming 'I ain't no leader' demeanor is mostly well voiced by Sam Witwer (AKA Darth Maul on Star Wars: The Clone Wars), aside from moments where he inexplicably yells during stealth missions and an occasional tendency to over-act in more frantic sequences.

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Fortnite X Avengers: Endgame Event Goes Live Today

Epic Games has announced Fortnite: Endgame, the Avengers crossover event that launches today.

After days of teasing, a new trailer shows Thanos and his army of Chitauri walking across the Fortnite map, before a team of Fortnite characters turn up and take out one of the Titan's troops with Captain America's shield. The squad can be seen wielding Hawkeye's bow, Thor's Stormbreaker axe, and Iron Man's repulsor gauntlets.

The update's patch notes describes the event as a fight against Thanos and his army, who are tracking down the six Infinity Stones. Players are divided into two teams - Team Thanos and Team Heroes - and the mode supports respawning until specific conditions are met.

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Mario Kart Tour Closed Beta Announced for Android

Nintendo is now accepting applications for the closed beta test of Mario Kart Tour on Android devices ahead of its release this Summer.

Android owners can sign up for the Mario Kart Tour closed beta by clicking here between April 23 and May 7 at 7:59pm PT/10:59pm ET. Nintendo does warn, however, that the number of participants will be limited and the lucky few may be chosen randomly if too many people sign up.

The closed beta is currently scheduled to run in Japan and the U.S. from May 22, 2019 through June 4, 2019 and Nintendo cautions these dates may change without any warning.

As of this writing, there is no word on if or when an iOS closed beta may happen, but fans can rest easy knowing the full game will arrive those devices.

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Imperator: Rome Review

Tackling the tumultuous years of the Roman Republic's rise to power in a grand strategy game is no easy task, but Imperator: Rome proves Paradox is definitely up to it. This is a game built on columns of interesting internal politics, a fun and involved warfare system, and an enormous and detailed map stretching from Ireland to India with strategic elements that make previous Paradox games look downright archaic. I can't give nearly as much praise to the interface or the mechanics for tribal nations, unfortunately, but Imperator still may set a new standard for historical grand strategy.

Imperator's real-time historical sandbox gameplay is probably most comparable to Europa Universalis 4 at its heart, but it weaves in strong ideas from many of Paradox's other games as well: population units from Victoria, characters and traits from Crusader Kings, and army automation from Hearts of Iron. There is a lot to keep track of, even for a Paradox game, to the point where it can feel a bit messy. But Crusader Kings 2 remains my favorite strategy game ever partly because it's messy; Imperator feels like a return to a messier age of Paradox games, which is honestly refreshing in a way – except that the interface doesn't keep up with the times.

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Guessing the PS5's Price

BEYOND!

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano and (temporarily by) Seth Macy to discuss more PS5 news, Kingdom Hearts 3's Critical Mode update, March NPD results, and more.

Jonathon is also joined mid-episode by Camouflaj's Ryan Payton to discuss the making of Marvel's Iron Man VR.

Timecodes:

• 2:20 - News Crunch
• 47:50 - Marvel's Iron Man VR Interview with Ryan Payton
• 1:08:15 - NPD March Results!
• 1:14:51 - Memory Card
• 1:18:20 - What We're Playing/Outro

Download or listen to the show on these platforms:

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Mortal Kombat 11 Has a Really Cool Story Mode

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week we're discussing Mortal Kombat 11, Square Enix's hot new E3 slot, Castlevania, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

Listen on:

Apple Podcasts

YouTube

Spotify

Stitcher

 

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Super Mario Maker 2 Release Date Announced

Nintendo of America has announced the release date for Super Mario Maker 2.

The follow-up to 2015's Super Mario Maker will launch on June 28th, 2019.

Developing...

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The 11 Worst Mortal Kombat Characters of All Time

Some amazing characters have appeared in the MK universe over the years... these are not them.

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The Next Call of Duty May Have Just Been Revealed in the Strangest Way

Several NFL and college football players attended a private Activision event to test out the new Call of Duty, and may have revealed the title of the 2019 game.

The event, which has been attached to the hashtag on social media as #CallofDutyPartner, shows various 2019 NFL draft prospects such as WR Riley Ridley and WR N'Keal Harry, along with NFL players from the Tennessee Titans, including WR Tajae Sharpe and CB Logan Ryan, attending the event.

A video was uploaded to Reddit from one of the players' Instagrams, and was slowed down with subtitles added, that may have shared the newest title while playing the upcoming game.

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Blizzard Announces New ‘Workshop' Mode for Overwatch

Blizzard Entertainment has announced the Workshop for Overwatch, a mode that expands customization features available to players in the game browser.

Announced through the official Overwatch website, the Workshop is a "simplified game scripting system that expands the customization features available in the Game Browser." The Workshop will be available through Overwatch's public test region (PTR) server.

On top of already established Overwatch game modes, players can create a script and add rules and unique play conditions to their games. These rules include (but certainly aren't limited to) movement speed, abilities, damage and healing mechanics, displaying text under certain conditions and more. One specific theoritical mode described was Molten Floor, where a hero will catch fire if they're on the ground, necessitating players to frequently jump and look for objects to move across.

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Days Gone Free DLC Confirmed, New Difficulty Mode Coming in June

With Days Gone only being a couple days away, Bend Studio has begun talking about the free DLC that will give players a new difficulty mode, new challenges, and much more this June.

Announced on the PlayStation Blog, game director Jeff Ross explains that this DLC will include the 'Survival' difficulty mode that will challenge Days Gone players with "increased difficulty settings, no fast travel or Survival Vision, and an immersive HUD that removes maps and indicators from the gameplay screen."

The goal of this new mode was to immerse players even further and really "ratchet up the tension to make this the definitive survival experience."

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World War Z Review

Some of my favorite gaming moments stem from co-op sessions with friends, and the chaos that can ensue when all your careful plans start to go awry. World War Z is a competent but basic shooter that seems designed to foster those sorts of memorable moments, and that is surely its greatest strength. It's a good venue for a group of four friends to get together, topple massive zombie hordes, maybe save a few survivors here and there, and laugh about it when the results roll in. There's nothing revolutionary or even that remarkable about World War Z, but the formula it follows is proven to be fun.

Comparisons between World War Z and the Left 4 Dead series are more than justified – unavoidable, even, as Valve's decade-old series is still revered today for its fast-paced action and ability to throw dozens of raving zombies at you at once. Ever since, there's been a certain set of guidelines one looks for when dealing with co-op zombie shooters. World War Z neatly checks every box on that list while upping the amount of zombies that can be on screen at a time considerably.

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Someone Beat Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Using Donkey Kong Bongos

While most have a hard enough time getting through Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with a standard controller, one daring individual managed to beat the game using Donkey Kong Bongos.

ATwerkinYoshi, known for using bizarre controllers in his gaming runs, posted a video of him beating Sekiro's final boss using two sets of DK Bongos on Reddit. His DK Bongo run reportedly took 10 hours, with 131 total resurrections and 31 deaths at the hands of the game's final boss.

At the beginning of this rhythmic run, ATWerkinYoshi posted a series of images on Imgur showing his DK Bongo Sekiro setup. He modified the bongos to work with the game, with one pair largely acting as his directional inputs and the other mostly used for attacks and parrying. He had to sacrifice camera controls in order to make the setup work, which he claims made seeing above or below him difficult, though considering he managed to beat the entire game this way, it appears to have paid off.

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Starlink: Battle for Atlas Coming to PC next Week

Ubisoft announced today that Starlink: Battle for Atlas' anticipated Crimson Moon update will go live on April 30, alongside a surprise PC release on the same day and previously announced paid DLC for new Star Fox content on the Nintendo Switch version.

The Crimson Moon update will add new pilots, ships, weapons, and story missions to Starlink. It will also include a new coliseum combat mode with rankings and leaderboards, and as well new one and two-player racing tracks. More information can be found here, including details on paint jobs for your ships.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Thinblood Disciplines Revealed

Paradox Interactive has revealed more information about the background and disciplines for Thinbloods in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, which the player will begin the game as.

Thinbloods are a second-class group of vampires who have abilities that are weaker than the "great clans." Though players will begin as a newly embraced Thinblood, they will eventually have the choice to join one of these five "full-blooded Kindred clans.

Paradox has released an animated trailer that you can see below that gives a glimpse of some of the lore and powers the Thinbloods possess, with further clans being revealed in the coming weeks.

Thinbloods may be a recent and weaker strain of vampires, but Seattle's leadership has been "uncharacteristically tolerant" of them. Seattle recently became under Camarilla control, and while Thinbloods still have the opportunity to "navigate their way into the higher circles of vampire society," they are rarely shown the same level of respect as the full-blood clan members.

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Cheaper Nintendo Switch to Launch by June, According to Report

Update 4/24: A new report indicates that Nintendo will launch a new, cheaper version of Nintendo Switch by the end of June, with a "modest" upgrade to the existing model allegedly coming later this year.

In a financial report by Bloomberg, a small excerpt suggests the cheaper Switch model is coming very soon. An outright "more powerful version" is allegedly not in the works, though details on this claim are sparse. Whether this alludes to a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X-like hardware boost, or simply a series of hardware redesigns akin to the DS Lite remains to be seen. The report is based on claims from two unnamed sources.

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Fortnite Devs Working 70-Hours Weeks According to New Report

Staff at Epic Games are working in a state of constant crunch in order to maintain Fortnite and its games-as-a-service structure, according to a new report.

A lengthy feature from Polygon, based on interviews with several sources from within the company, explains how all departments - from production to customer service - have been trapped in a seemingly endless work cycle since the battle royale become the world's most popular game.

"I work an average 70 hours a week," one source revealed. "There's probably at least 50 or even 100 other people at Epic working those hours. I know people who pull 100-hour weeks."

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How Healthy is Hearthstone Right Now According to Blizzard?

On the eve of Hearthstone's World Championship – and a mere two weeks after the release of Rise of Shadows and the Standard rotation – I caught up with Lead Final Designer Dean Ayala to chat about how the current meta looks from Team 5's perspective, the discussion around Elysiana, the rise of Nomi Priest and whether Darkest Hour is a problem in Wild.

IGN: Let's start off focusing on Standard. How has the launch been from your perspective? Are things as expected? How's the meta looking?

Dean Ayala: In terms of the decks that people are playing, I'd say that we're very happy. I mean, rotation always carries with it a lot of change; there are very few decks that aren't affected by three expansions going away and another one coming in. So there's very few decks that didn't change very much. Hunter has a deck that's maybe the closest to what it was, but even that, there's ten cards missing.

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Dragon's Dogma Classes Tips and Builds

Everything you need to know about classes in Dragon's Dogma on the Nintendo Switch.

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Minecraft's Biggest Update, Village & Pillage, Out Today

Minecraft's biggest update, Village & Pillage, is now available and brings with it Pillagers and their Beasts, over 10 new Villagers, and even a Crossbow.

Available on PC, Xbox One, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch with the Bedrock Edition and on PC with the Java Edition, the list of additions is substantial and includes everything from a new Wandering Trader to Raids with these new Pillagers to to Villager Trading to bug fixes and so much more.

Another bit of exciting news for those playing the Java Edition is that Pandas are finally available after being only available on the Bedrock Edition since last December.

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The Division 2 the Best-Selling Game of March 2019

Last month's NPD (National Purchase Diary) report was released today, highlighting the top-selling games of March 2019 and the year so far.

Topping the charts this past March was Tom Clancy's The Division 2 as the best-selling game across all platforms, and the sixth largest launch month for a Ubisoft release. The runner-up for the top spot went to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with MLB '19: The Show and Devil May Cry 5 trailing behind it in third and fourth place.

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Super Mario Maker 2 Preorder Guide for Nintendo Switch

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The Force Seems Strong With Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Our Xbox crew gives our impressions of the just-released Mortal Kombat 11, discusses Respawn's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and why we're optimistic about it, speculates on the motive behind the return of a Call of Duty co-creator after a six-year retirement, and more! Plus: how much next-gen will Microsoft talk at E3?

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or click here to grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring a rare, in-depth interview with Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot as he discusses the company's past, present, and next-gen future (yes, including Splinter Cell and its Xbox-centric history!).

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What We Want From the Next Fortnite/Avengers Crossover

Yesterday, Epic teased a new crossover event between Fortnite and Avengers: Endgame. We got another hint today featuring Thor's Stormbreaker axe, indicating that we'll likely be getting weapon and gear packs that are based on famous items from the MCU.

While that in and of itself sounds like a cool addition, it got us thinking about what else we might want to see in Fortnite's next Avengers invasion.

The Infinity Snap

A hero-based squad mode where each player selects one MCU superhero and they either become that hero or gain that hero's power(s) and abilities to use during the game. The first half of the match would be more of a scavenger hunt, as the Infinity Guantlet is hidden somewhere on the map - when equipped, the player who found it can snap to kill half of the players, greatly reducing the number of enemy combatants. But it's got to be an even half, meaning two players from each team - including their own.

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Bloodborne: The Board Game Hits Kickstarter Goal in Under 20 Minutes

Bloodborne: The Board Game, which is based on the PlayStation 4 title by FromSoftware, has reached its Kickstarter goal of $200,000 in less than 20 minutes.

As of this writing, the Kickstarter is currently sitting at $588,317 with 21 days to go in its campaign. Considering it is already successfully funded - in 17 minutes to be exact - those who back this project can expect to receive the game around May 2020.

Designed by Michael Shinall and Eric M. Lang, Bloodborne: The Board Game will allow one to four Hunters (players) the chance to explore Yharnam in a whole new way, although still with the same terrors, beasts, monsters, and more of the PS4 title, including the Cleric Beast, Vicar Amelia, Father Gascoigne and the Blood-Starved Beast.

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Tamarin: Adorable Adventure Game From Classic Rare Devs Announced

Independent developer Chameleon Games, filled with veterans from Rare's "golden era" of game development, is announcing Tamarin, a third-person, action-adventure game featuring an agile monkey set in Nordic scenery.

Tamarin is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 and PC this summer, and "channels the energy of 3D platformer classics and explorative Metroidvania shooters." The game revolves around pollution and destruction from ever-expanding insects that forces the monkey to fight for his family's survival.

Described as an interconnected 3D world with primate platforming and bug-splattering shooter action, Tamarin lets players journey into northern wilderness through forests, fjords and mountains. Players will encounter mysterious electrical fireflies, a secret underground world of dancing ants, innocent birds that need rescuing and more in an attempt to restore the tamarins' once idyllic natural habitat.

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The Elder Scrolls: Blades Early Access Review

If you listed out everything that Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series is best known for, you'd probably include things like an open world, freeform character development, hundreds of NPCs with interesting backstories, and the freedom to go anywhere and do anything at any time. The Elder Scrolls: Blades unfortunately has none of those things. It's a decent mobile RPG, but not a very good Elder Scrolls game, and it's loaded with obtrusive microtransactions.

Blades feels like a collection of typical mobile game mechanics with a shallow coating of Elder Scrolls paint. It's got the signature beauty in its world design and at first glance could be mistaken for sections in Oblivion or even Skyrim, but it lacks any of the depth that made those games so special.

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Mortal Kombat 11: How to Perform a Mercy Finisher

Looking to spare or humiliate your opponent in Mortal Kombat 11? See how to perform a Mercy and keep the fight going.

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25% Off Weapons at Fences in Red Dead Online This Week

Red Dead Online will offer 25% off weapons at all fences this week, along with the discount on horse care items and all saddles.

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Mortal Kombat 11: Improvements 'Koming' to Towers of Time and Krypt Rewards

Following complaints of the "super hard Towers of Time" and "rewards/economy" issues of the Krypt in Mortal Kombat 11, Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios have reassured its fans that fixes will be arriving in the near future.

Ed Boon took to Twitter with a "MK11 PSA" to let fans of Mortal Kombat 11 know that NetherRealm has heard their complaints regarding the Krypt and Towers of Time and is "hoping/expecting" that fixes to these game modes will be arriving in a time frame that is "more like HOURS than days."

In our review of Mortal Kombat 11, we praised the game but said that the Towers of Time are where MK11's "biggest problems lie," with some fights being "actively un-fun to play" due to certain modifiers that make challenges more frustrating than fun.

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Spider-Man PS4 Had to Unmake Its Manhattan Open-World to Keep Running

In the opening sequence of Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, Insomniac Games had to come up with some creative solutions to make the inside of Fiske Tower bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

Revealed during Insomniac's GDC 2019 tech postmortem and subsequently posted on Twitter, Insomniac senior engine programmer Elan Ruskin shared a video showing how the developer managed to fit a larger interior inside of a smaller exterior while keeping all of Manhattan intact.

As it turns out, they didn't.

Also from our #GDC19 tech postmortem: the transition into Fisk Tower in #SpiderManPS4's intro mission. The interior space is much larger than the exterior envelope, and too big to hold in memory at the same time as Manhattan. So we use some careful camerawork to hide the swap! pic.twitter.com/Ur53ZSVGr8

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Anthem Update 1.1.0 Finally Lets You Change Gear Mid-Mission

Anthem Update 1.1.0 is now live, bringing with it the ability to change gear mid-mission, select contracts from the start of an expedition screen and more.

Revealed through official BioWare patch notes, Anthem players can now access the Forge during missions, strongholds and freeplay, meaning you no longer have to return to Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay to change gear. Additionally, players no longer need to return to Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay to select contracts or launch a new mission: these can now be done from the start and end of the expedition screen, respectively.

The Sunken Cell stronghold is now available to all players who have completed the main story, and three new universal masterwork components have been added: the extended sniper magazine for additional specialized storage for enhanced sniper rifle ammunition, rapid hollow points for additional specialized ammo storage for machine pistols and autocannons, and the extended special arms magazine adds specialized ammo storage for heavy pistols and grenade launchers. All of these increase damage by 30 percent.

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Square Enix Announces Its E3 2019 Press Conference Date, Time

Square Enix has announced its plans for E3 2019 and has revealed that it will be hosting a "special broadcast" on Monday, June 10 at 6pm PT/9pm ET to showcase an "exciting line up of titles."

Square Enix took to Twitter to share the news of how they will be kicking off E3 2019 this year, but didn't give any indication of what exactly they would be showing.

An interesting note, however, is that they are taking the time slot that has been previously held by PlayStation, which follows the news that Sony would not be appearing at E3 this year.

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Rage 2's Killer New Vehicles, Abilities, and Upgrades

April continues to charge forward, which means we've got another exclusive look at Rage 2 as part of this month's IGN First! This time, I sat down with id Software Studio Director Tim Willits as he goes deep into how its skill trees and upgrade systems work. Watch the video above for a first look at all the customization it offers.

If you're hungry for even more, we've got loads of coverage from this month, including 11 minutes of Rage 2 gameplay, a breakdown of the enemy factions you'll be fighting, and a look at how Rage has evolved since the original. We've also got a full Rage 2 preview after spending a few hours in its wasteland that you can watch below.

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SteamWorld Quest Review

Despite being full of cards, SteamWorld Quest doesn't feel like a card game. As the first RPG in the SteamWorld series (the excellent SteamWorld Dig 2 being the previous entry), it bears far more resemblance to a game like Final Fantasy than Hearthstone or Gwent. Instead of letting its deck-building mechanics take over entirely, they instead give SteamWorld Quest one of the most flexible and fun turn-based RPG combat systems I've played with in a long time.

Steam World Quest tells the charming tale of a group of ragtag fantasy robots out to save the world from an evil army, rising to the threat before them despite their inexperience. It's not exactly a unique premise (except for the robot part, I suppose), but the twists and turns it takes along the way make it stand out in interesting ways, and the big bad behind it all is a compelling one to fight. The story digs into larger themes about heroism and growing up with some nicely written dialogue that's never long enough to drag the action down, and can even be genuinely funny or touching at times.

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How to Get 2,150 Apex Legends Coins for 99p

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Mortal Kombat 11: How Loot Boxes Work in the Krypt

Don't spend your hard-earned Koins, Hearts, and Soul Fragments without learning how the Krypt works in Mortal Kombat 11.

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Mortal Kombat 11: List of Fatalities and How to Perform Them

See our list of all the Fatalities you can perform in Mortal Kombat 11 to score maximum carnage.

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Rage 2: All of Our Exclusive Gameplay, Impressions, and More!

April's IGN First game is Rage 2! We're gearing up for the first-person shooter sequel's launch by diving deep into a number of the game's systems and facets ahead of its May 14 release date.

This page will serve as a continually updated hub of everything we're doing all month long. Take a look at the list below and catch up on anything you've missed!

The BFG 9000 Headlines 11 Minutes of New Rage 2 Gameplay

The Hilarious New 'Everything vs. Me' Trailer

Breaking Down Rage 2's Deadly Factions

How Rage Has Evolved

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It's Not Too Late to Preorder Mortal Kombat 11 and Lock In Shao Kahn

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Kingdom Hearts 3 Update Adds Critical Mode Tomorrow

Square Enix released Kingdom Hearts 3 with a notable omission earlier this year — the more challenging Critical Mode difficulty that longtime fans have loved playing. But now, Kingdom Hearts 3 players will get the chance to do just that this week.

Kingdom Hearts 3 franchise director Tetsuya Nomura announced via a tweet that Kingdom Hearts 3's Critical Mode will arrive on April 23 (PT). Nomura nor Square Enix offered an exact timeframe tomorrow for the Critical Mode update, as well as whether anything additional will be included in the update.

"Greetings, it's been a while since I last posted," the tweet read. "Spring is here, and I hope everyone is doing well. #KingdomHearts III's long-awaited Critical Mode is available as a free update tomorrow (PT). We've changed things up from the previous games, so I hope you enjoy - Nomura"

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Fortnite Teases Another Avengers Crossover

Epic Games is teasing yet another Fortnite and Avengers crossover, scheduled to drop just before Endgame is released later this week.

This news was revealed though the official Fortnite Twitter account with the caption "Whatever it takes." Though it's unclear exactly what the Avengers content is, the tweet is accompanied by the image of a character holding Captain America's classic vibranium shield. Whatever it is, expect something big to happen the day before Endgame comes to theaters in America: April 25.

Whatever it takes.

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Mortal Kombat 11 Review

When it was first introduced a staggering 27 years ago, Mortal Kombat always had that reputation of being "That fighting game where you rip people's heads off." Known more for its gore and violence than its gameplay. Things have changed since then with MK9 and MKX bringing the quality of gameplay up to meet the quality of violence. That upward trend continues with Mortal Kombat 11, which is not only the best Mortal Kombat has ever been, it's also arguably Netherrealm's best game yet. This is one of the most fully featured fighting games you can buy, with both single- and multiplayer modes that will last both casual and hardcore audiences a long, long time.

Mortal Kombat's defining quality among 2D fighters is that its combat centers around two punch buttons, two kick buttons, and a block button. This is actually more unique than it sounds. While other 2D fighters typically have some combination of light, medium, and/or heavy attacks, with weaker attacks linking into stronger attacks, Mortal Kombat has no such concept. Instead, MK employs a "dial-a-combo" system that requires knowledge of very specific button combinations in order to build a combo. It's definitely not a super-accessible combat system for newcomers, but fortunately, Mortal Kombat 11 comes with one of the best fighting game tutorials I've ever played. It covers everything from basic fundamentals all the way to the most advanced techniques such as frame traps, jailing, and block strings, all while highlighting key concepts and clear instructions on how to implement these techniques.

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How to Defeat Every Cuphead Boss and Master Every Level

Here's how to take on every level and boss Cuphead throws your way.

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Riding With Red Dead Online Role Players Was My Best Ever Multiplayer Experience

The last time I rode into Valentine in Red Dead Online I was shot, tied up, stabbed, and shot again. Some days that's life in Rockstar's Wild West wonderland, where the atmosphere's magnificent but the murder indiscriminate.

I tend to spend most of my time in Red Dead Online alone against the world; hunting, fishing, and simply surviving inside the simulation. Sometimes I can saunter into towns solo without incident but, unfortunately, things regularly go south faster than a stork strapped to a scramjet. That's the risk you run riding alone.

Today, however, is different. Today, I'm not alone.

"We tend to ride in two-by-two formation just because it makes a bigger impression when we ride into town," explains DirtyWorka, president of the PS4 charter of the Reaper Lords, a GTA Online MC club that has since mostly migrated to Red Dead Online. "We won't shoot at anybody unless they raise a weapon in our direction."

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God of War Documentary, Raising Kratos Announced by Sony

On the one-year anniversary of 2018's Game of the Year – God of War – Sony announced an upcoming documentary that follows the creation of the game.

The documentary titled, Raising Kratos, was announced in a trailer featuring game director for God of War, Cory Barlog; the team at Santa Monica Studio; along with the actors who portrayed the main characters in the game, such as Kratos, Atreus, and Freya.

"It's only fitting on the one-year Anniversary, we're excited to share this peak behind the curtain of God of War's very own Santa Monica Studio with a trailer for our upcoming film, Raising Kratos," a post on the PlayStation blog said. "This full-length feature documentary, coming very soon to PlayStation YouTube, is an exploration into the massive undertaking it took to change the course of the God of War franchise."

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Joker's Final Smash Crashing Some Switches

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's latest DLC character, Joker from Persona 5, is freezing player's Nintendo Switches when they use his Final Smash to end a Classic Mode match.

This issue was confirmed by IGN's own Zachary Ryan, as his Switch froze three times when finishing a Classic Mode match with Joker's Final Smash. There are also many other examples, including a Reddit thread posted by CubingVainGlory, that show the freeze happening.

It appears this glitch is only occurring in Classic Mode and only with Joker, and does not appear to impact any other aspect of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as of this writing.

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Up At Noon: Bad N64 Games On Switch, Suda51's Airplane Poops, and Our Crash Bandicoot Theory

Hey! Here's the very first episode of the all-new, fully-rebooted, flavor-blasted, industrial strength Up At Noon! In case you missed the announcement here along with our totally insane teaser trailer, we've taken some time to retool the show after tons of demand to bring it back. From celebrity and game developer interviews to lists, unboxings, and nonsense, Up at Noon has long been a cornerstone of IGN and we're ecstatic to have it return.

How have we retooled it? Well, this time around we're taking over weekends on IGN, which is probably the best time of the week to actually wake up at noon. We've upped the production value a bunch, too! It's also no longer live, and now exists primarily as a bunch of silly bite-sized segments that will be going up every weekend all across the internet, which we'll also be stitching them together into a proper variety show exclusively on IGN, which is what this is! You'll also be able to watch break-out clips from the show on IGN's YouTube channel every weekend! So grab a huge bowl of sugary cereal (or a healthier breakfast or whatever) and think of it as adult Nickelodeon or a live-action Saturday morning cartoon.

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Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster Walkthrough

A complete guide to get through Final Fantasy X-2, now out for the Nintendo Switch!

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Hearthstone: Why Next Week’s World Championship Will Be One of a Kind

Next week, 16 of the best Hearthstone players in the world are heading to Taipei for the Hearthstone Championship Tour (HCT) Finals. Running from April 25 - 28 (local time), the tournament is the culmination of a full year (and then some) of fierce competition, but it's going to be so much more than that. This year will be the most unique competition Hearthstone has ever seen, and I absolutely can't wait.

For a big chunk of the player base, the most exciting part of this year's World Championship is probably the fact that it's taking place after the Standard rotation. What does that mean? Well, when the first set of cards in a new calendar year hits the game, three old sets rotate out. This means 135 new cards come in and 400+ old cards go out. It's a huge shake-up because a lot of the existing strategies rely heavily on those 400+ cards, so are lost altogether or drastically re-worked, while a whole lot of new archetypes emerge. It also means that the new set has a big impact, because it's a larger percentage of the overall card pool than the expansions later in the year.

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Top 10 Best-Selling Video Games of All Time

Games have always existed in a numbers-obsessed industry. Sega vs. Nintendo defined a generation in the '90s, while today's more mild console wars and monthly NPD reports keep sales figures at the forefront of games-related discussion. With such a persistent emphasis on performance, one of the industry's biggest questions has always been, What are the best-selling video games of all time?

To answer this question, we set out to compile the most accurate list possible, digging through financial reports, news stories, interviews, and more. The result is the following list of the ten best-selling video games of all time, as of March 2019.

(Notes: We've counted pack-in games toward sales totals, considering all ten games on this list were, at one point, bundled with a console. Free downloads are not counted as sales, therefore excluding games like Fortnite and League of Legends.)

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Every IGN Mortal Kombat Review

Mortal Kombat has been gruesomely dismembering fighters since 1992 – four years before IGN was around. With the impending launch of Mortal Kombat 11 (which, shockingly, is not actually the 11th Mortal Kombat game) we're looking back over all 30 reviews IGN has published. Interestingly, the series contains such a wide range of games that it's one of the few that's earned almost every score in the book, except the very highest and lowest available.

Which MK games stand out to you as the best and worst?

Dan Stapleton is IGN's Reviews Editor. You can follow him on Twitter to hear gaming rants and lots of random old-school Simpsons references.

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How to Parry in Cuphead and Other Tips and Tricks

Here's how to parry in Cuphead and every other tip and trick you'll need to master this game.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Joker Challenger Pack DLC Review

If there's one thing that's become readily apparent with DLC guest fighters appearing in the Super Smash Bros. series, it's the unreal amount of care and detail put into making them feel right at home in Nintendo's fighting game. Persona 5's Joker is no exception.

The first of the five planned Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Challenger Packs, which are available for $6 individually or $25 for all five, Joker may seem like an odd duck at first, given that his native JRPG isn't even available on the Switch (for now?). But between the flashy fighting thief and his bombastic stage, the choice is a surprisingly fitting one. And even if you aren't familiar with Persona 5, its signature slick design is present and eye-catching in almost every aspect of the Joker content.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Joker Gameplay Tips

How to unlock Joker, and everything you need to know about the Persona character's kit.

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Don't Miss IGN's Mortal Kombat 11 Live Esports Showdown

In anticipation for the impending launch of Mortal Kombat 11, we're hosting a special Esports Showdown event, presented by WB Games, that you can watch live on Monday, April 22, right here on IGN.

The event will feature WWE Superstars Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, Aleister Black, and Zelina Vega as they test their might in NetherRealm's bloody and brutal new fighting game. Kinda Funny's Greg Miller and The Titan Games' Alex 'Goldenboy' Mendez will be your hosts for the evening as you enter the ring, see the game in all its glory, and meet your favorite WWE Superstars.

Kofi Kingston may be the reigning IGN Esports Champion, but will he be able to retain the title with new contenders entering the arena? On top of that, legendary pro fighting gamers HoneyBee and SonicFox will square up for a revenge match you won't want to miss, so read on for a complete guide on when and where to watch the event.

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Prepare for The Doomsday Scenario Finale in GTA Online

Earn double GTA$ and RP this week in GTA Online through Contact Missions and The Doomsday Scenario Final.

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Top 25 Nintendo Switch Games - Spring 2019 Update

Good news, everyone! It's that time of year: Spring. But also, time for the NVC crew to sit down, duke it out, and figure out which games make our Top 25 Nintendo Switch list for Spring 2019. Twice a year, we cram into a room and debate each other on what games should be added, taken off of, or moved on our list so that you, the reader, can enjoy the best that the Nintendo Switch has to offer. These are our recommendations based on what we've played, how much we enjoyed it, or whether or not it's a better experience elsewhere. Let's take a look:

25. Guacamelee 2

New to our Top 25 list!

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