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Believe it or not, the kids call it the “Disney+” model. To the delight of TV purists, Disney’s major streaming venture Disney+ has returned to the weekly episodic schedule, and was rewarded with massive, sustained weekly buzz for shows like The Mandalorian and WandaVision. Now that the weekly release model seems not only viable, but essential again, it must be protected at all costs. Which is why it pains me to admit that Marvel’s second Disney+ effort, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, should probably not be a weekly show....

This Falcon and the Winter Soldier review contains spoilers. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 When we last left our patriotic heroes, Captain America’s replacement, John Walker, had just publicly chopped a man to death with his shield. Between this and the way Mysterio edited footage to make Spider-Man look like a mass murderer, it’s a really bad time for Avengers replacements. There’s probably footage of Valkyrie biting someone’s face off to fulfill the trifecta....

Tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons can be an incredibly daunting experience for new players. I’ve played dozens of “rules-lite” and one-sheet RPGs that are intended to be an easier way to get the uninitiated into role-playing. While simplified mechanics and less structured play certainly ease the learning curve, the biggest barrier to entry for a lot of players, regardless of the game system being used, is still the creative performance....

One of Xbox’s biggest secrets for the Xbox Series X is a game being developed by the new studio The Initiative. The Initiative was first revealed at E3 2018, a studio based in Santa Monica under the banner of Xbox Game Studios. But little was said about the studio’s plans or projects beyond that it’s ambitious. A new leak, however, may reveal the first details about The Initiative’s mysterious project....

“If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment… I would do it all over again.” I know you would, Joel, but when it comes to The Last of Us, I’m not sure if I could. I’m a huge fan of Naughty Dog’s games. The company itself, not so much - the culture of crunch can’t be ignored, and I think the company could produce even better games than it already does if devs were given more time rather than more work....

The Last of Us 2 has been a long time coming, and its lengthy development cycle has seen delays, bubbling controversies over workplace crunch culture at Naughty Dog, and a huge uproar over leaked spoilers that director Neil Druckmann recently said may have be partially falsified. Now the game is just over a week away from serving as one of the PlayStation 4’s last major blockbusters, and the official launch trailer has been posted to the PlayStation YouTube account....

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us turned out to be a huge success when it released back in 2013, being broadly praised by critics and selling millions in the process. However, it’s now been revealed that the team working on the game were far from sure that the title would be a hit while it was in development. Speaking to Wil Wheaton in PlayStation’s latest Conversations with Creators video, co-director Bruce Straley states that he ’thought it was going to tank’....

I don’t think there is any musical instrument in the world quite as sombre as a plugged-in guitar with no accompaniment. I don’t mean a guitar played through a Boss distortion pedal, mind. I’m talking about an electric guitar that is amplified but still gentle - something like the guitar from the intro to Cat Power’s Metal Heart. There’s a kind of effortless humanity to this music. It is gorgeously melodic, but it’s wanting and unpredictable - not because the notes are hard to follow, but because it’s difficult to be anywhere outside of the current moment....

Darth Vader is seen by Star Wars fans as one of the strongest Sith Lords ever to roam the galaxy. And they’re right, for the most part. Throughout the histories of Star Wars Legend and Canon, there have been a few individuals to exist who are stronger than Darth Vader. There’s also been many who have claimed to be more powerful than Vader, who in reality, aren’t. Once the prize Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader was born out of hate, jealousy, rage, selfishness, and ego....

Now that DICE and Electronic Arts have officially put out the reveal trailer for the forthcoming science fiction shooter Star Wars Battlefront 2, the companies are prepared to begin unpacking some of the details that are going to be included in the game’s campaign mode. Although the trailer itself didn’t provide much concrete information about the title’s single player features beyond the reveal of what its protagonist looks like and where the story will fit within the film franchise’s timeline, the game’s official website has filled in some of the plot details about what’s to come in its solo mode....

EA has given some early details of what players can expect from the upcoming sequel to last year’s Star Wars Battlefront, and it seems that the game will go beyond the original trilogy. Star Wars Battlefront was an enormous financial success for EA, even if some fans felt is fell short of its predecessors. Now, the publisher has revealed one of the ways that its sequel is going to be ‘bigger and better’ than DICE’s first attempt at the property....

DICE announces the inclusion of a brand new feature to Star Wars Battlefront’s The Battle of Jakku DLC with the addition of a large-scale 40-player mode. According to a statement made by the developers at DICE, not only will Star Wars Battlefront’s forthcoming Episode 7-inspired The Battle of Jakku DLC have a new map, but it is also set to contain a fresh 40-player mode called Turning Point. Turning Point’s gameplay is focused on players taking on the role of Rebels to locate Empire bases in order to take control of them....

There is simply no denying how fantastic Jedi: Fallen Order is. As selfish as it may be, fans are understandably frothing at the mouth for a sequel and the continuation of the phenomenal story and the journeys of the brilliant characters. However, the gameplay and combat cannot go unrecognized. It is an incredibly smooth and enjoyable game to play for any type of fan, and the range of Force powers are a joy to master....

Eric Barone’s Stardew Valley is an indie darling that has retained a large following in-part thanks to consistent updates. In fact, the creator recently teased new content coming in Stardew Valley’s 1.5 update like usable benches and swimming ducks. But that doesn’t mean players are not interested in adding their own spin on the farming/life simulator. A Stardew Valley fan named FastestBoi created the “Legendary Movies” mod that adds Joker (2019) and The Godfather (1972) as options in Pelican Town’s movie theater — a late-game area that can be unlocked after completing the Community Center....

Our quick take SteelSeries Aerox 5 Wireless - 5.0 / 5 A more comfortable mouse IP54-rated AquaBarrier shell with dust, dirt and water ingress resistance Ergonomic 9-button programmable layout Up/down flick switch design 74g lightweight frame A brilliant balance of specs TrueMove Air precision optical gaming sensor 18,000 CPI, 400 IPS, 40G acceleration and tilt tracking Quantum 2.0 Wireless, Bluetooth 5.0 and USB-C Next-gen Golden Micro IP54 Switches Battery woes? Claims of 180 hours of continuous play (over Bluetooth) Fast charging - 40 hours battery in 15 mins Three-zone RGB 3 RGB zones Customisable lighting To recap The SteelSeries Aerox 5 is interesting for a number of reasons, but, for us, the highlights are the comfortable shape, the button layout, the reasonably lightweight design and the action....

Beam Team Games made Stranded Deep available for early access back in 2015, and at long last, the stranded island survival game has been updated to include an end game scenario. On Sunday, update 0.74.00 dropped for Stranded Deep, bringing with it a huge number of bug fixes and a big world map which is twice as large as those generated by the previous stable build (0.70.02). Islands no longer generate in a perfect 5x5 grid, and now have the room to be a bit more randomized....

Stray may be a fairly small and short game, but it’s packed with secrets, collectibles, and sidequests that you can easily miss if you don’t take the time to explore your surroundings. Even if you do take the time to explore Stray’s lovely cyberpunk world, though, you’ll likely still have a hard time locating every piece of collectible sheet music in the game. That’s a shame because the quest to find all of the sheet music in Stray really is an adventure worth embarking upon....

It’s fair to say that Duke Nukem Forever hasn’t enjoyed the most privileged of existences. With 14 years of stalled development time and a heap of unflattering reviews upon release, you wouldn’t be alone in wondering why Gearbox Software decided to pick-up the game. Now it appears the decision has been vindicated, at least financially, for the developer and the games long suffering publisher Take-Two Interactive. Speaking during an earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick declared that, despite poor reception from gamers and critics, the game was projected to achieve a profit for company....

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has one of the strongest legacies for licensed properties in video games. The legacy largely built 30 years ago with the original sprite-based Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat ’em up arcade games. And 30 years later, it’s still a recipe for success. With that in mind, publisher Dotemu has now announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge from developer Tribute Games, a new nostalgia-rich beat ’em in development for PC and consoles....

Our quick take Tekken 7 - 4.0 / 5 Tekken 7 Review: The Best 3D Fighter Of 2017? Tekken 7 Review: Street Fighter Goes 3D To recap Tekken 7 is among the best 3D fighters on the market right now. It offers a varied cast of fighters with a wide range of styles to master, it works on a cosmetic and technical level, and whilst it may not offer as much of a single-player experience as Injustice 2, it at least offers one of the most complete, satisfying fighting products out there at the moment....