When you land on New Atlantis toward the very beginning ofStarfield, you’ll havethe opportunity to join the United Colonies faction. Part of that rigamarole involves a tiered (read: level-based) piloting exam, where you’ll face up to six waves of enemy ships.You only need to clear three waves to pass the exam, but if you continue onward and upward, you can earn more cash (credits, in terms of in-game currency) for your efforts....

Is death permanent in Helldivers 2? Helldivers 2satirizes military propaganda which often sends its recruits into deadly missions. Though being part of the military seems like a heroic action, it can result in human lives being treated like disposable tools. The gameplay inHelldivers 2sticks to this theme, and when you die, it doesn’t spell the end of a mission. A new Helldiver is simply deployed. Is it the same individual respawned, or is it a new person altogether?...

Respect the drip One of the principles of good character design is recognizability, and part of that is what a character is wearing. Can you tell which character it’s supposed to be just based on their outfit? Better yet, can you tell who they are based on one article of clothing? It’s not a coincidence that the most iconic pieces of clothing in video games also come from some of the best titles ever made....

For NES games, though [Update:During the direct, Nintendo posted the news about these d-pads to its Twitter account and a confusing bit of wording has come up. Apparently, these controllers will only be available to paying customers of Nintendo’s online service and for $60, to boot. That seems like missing a real opportunity.] After reiterating a bunch of info about Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo showed off a brand new gamepad for the Switch....

It’s Switch compatible I’ve yet to spring for an8Bitdo gamepadbut this one might prove too tempting to pass up. The company has opened pre-orders for its Windows, Mac, Android, and Nintendo Switch compatibleSN30 Pro Controlleron Amazon, and I’m loving its form factor and functionality. The Super Nintendo controller is one of my all-time favorites, and this interpretation has clickable joysticks, rumble, motion controls, a rechargeable battery, and even home and screenshot buttons....

Anime Realmshas a lot of solid meta Mythic-tier units. However, some units are even more powerful than them, and those are the Secret ones. Compared to other units that you summon on banners, there is no clear answer in-game on how to obtain Secret units. With that in mind, we prepared the followingAnime RealmsSecret Unitsguide. Table of Contents How to Get Rage Brulo in Anime Realms You can getBrulo, one of the strongest DPS units in the game,by rolling on any banner in the game after you reach player level 20....

No, not the 2017 Battlefront II Of April’s Games with Gold lineup, there’s a rogue one — a solo standout that kind of rises above the rest. It also sticks out because it’s the only true old-timer of the bunch, the one you have to go back a couple console generations to find. The rest of April’s Games with Gold are more forgettable. On the Xbox One side,Souls-like action RPGThe Technomanceris free for the entirety of April....

Me and my big mouth Atari has announced that they are publishing a version of their upcoming retro-pop indie game,Mr. Run and Jump, on anactual Atari 2600 cartridge.Pre-orders open July 31, and it’s expected to ship 3-4 months after that. WhenI recently coveredMr. Run and Jump’sannouncement, I mentioned that it originally started as a homebrew project before being expanded to a modern game. In that article, I opined that I’d rather play the original version....

Three games for ?15 ya dingus [Update: Different Cloth has putLilt LineandHelicoidup for freeuntil the campaign forLilt Line Too!ends on Satruday Oct 12th at 12:36pm EST. Tell ’em Freaky Constantina sent you.] [Update #2: Freaky Constantina has officially been added to the campaign. That’s scary.] Lilt Linehad a tough time grabbing people’s attention, largely because it’s a greatgame, and not necessarily a great thing to read about or look at in screenshot form....

Band of Bloggers returns! [When Fenriff left Destructoid for Syfy Games after TheScholarlyGamer, the fate of Band of Bloggers fell into question. Last week, I put out a call to see if anyone wanted to take up Fenriff’s mantle and Retrofraction answered! Let’s keep this homegrown community feature going! – Pixie] This month, we are reviving Band of Bloggers — a CBlog prompt formerly led by TheScholarlyGamer and Fenriff, who now write forSyfy Games....

How did your favourite fighter fare? This week sees the launch of Version 2.0 update for crossover anime fighterBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. The new update/expansion brings new characters and features to Arc System Works crossover title, as well as a huge list of balance tweaks,which are now available for perusal. Version 2.0 – which launches on all platforms November 21 – consists of a free update for all players, which adds new scenarios, fighting mechanics, an updated UI and other cool new content....

Space Patrol Nintendo Japan has released an “action overview” video of PlatinumGames’ upcoming anime adventureAstral Chain, which is headed exclusively to Switch this August. The 10-minute trailer includes plenty of hack ‘n’ slash action, as the narrators explains the concept ofAstral Chain’smechs, or “Legions”. Set against the backdrop of an inter-dimensional invasion,Astral Chainwill see players control two characters at once, a rookie Neuron officer and one of a range of Legions – living weapons capable of momentous damage – in an effort to fend off the attackers and save the planet....

WhileDestiny 2’sEpisode: Revenantis in its waning weeks, Bungie has a few tricks up its sleeve to see the content off, as several balance changes have hit the game ahead of the newPast is Prologue event. Oddly, the tweaks to general gameplay are pretty significant for the end of an Episode. Of course, these alterations will likely set the pace for the upcomingEpisode: Heresy, but you’re able to start taking advantage now....