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Meet The Villains In Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Hey there, true believers! We only have a couple weeks to go before swinging into Insomniac’s latest Spider-Man game, and we heard that a few baddies are already making trouble in Miles’ neighborhood. It’s up to you to stop them. But in order to defeat your enemy, you first need to know your enemy. My uncle Ben once told me that. So, with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Tinkerer and the energy company Roxxon, so we can see what makes those goons tick. Here is everything you need to know about the villains in Miles’ upcoming game.

Meet Roxxon: 

In the comics: First introduced in the ‘70s, Roxxon Energy Corporation is primarily an oil and gas company with offices around the world. One of the largest conglomerates on Earth, the company generates billions of dollars in profits each year. However, over the decades, Roxxon has been involved in all manner of morally-questionable business practices and outright criminal activity – usually centered on the exploitation of various energy-rich resources.

In the game: Roxxon has moved into Harlem and is currently testing a new form of “clean” energy called Nuform. The big face of the company in Insomniac’s game is Simon Krieger, the director of the Nuform project, who puts on a nice smile for the cameras but clearly harbors sinister intentions.

Roxxon’s special tech: Miles will fight several Roxxon security personnel throughout the game, and some of them have specialized tech designed to counter Miles’ spider abilities. For example, Roxxon has invented energy shields that can reflect and deflect Miles’ bioelectric venom attacks. The company also has specialized units equipped with goggles that allow them to see Miles’ heat signature when he’s camouflaged – effectively negating his invisibility power.

Insomninc’s thoughts: “They’re serving as a primary antagonist and they’re a threat to Harlem,” says creative director Brian Horton. “At first, they present themselves as this clean energy company coming in with a modern clean energy. They say they’re going to revitalize Harlem, and it all sounds great through Simon Krieger’s PR lens. But, there’s an insidious truth behind all of that.”

Meet The Tinkerer: 

In the comics: Phineas Mason was a brilliant engineer and inventor with the simple dream of owning a repair shop. However, Phineas slowly became obsessed with superhumans and eventually grew to hate them. Using his shop as a front, Phineas set up a criminal empire and bugged the offices of state officials. Using information he gained through this espionage, Phineas blackmailed several politicians. Over the years, the Tinkerer has grown ever more Machiavellian, and his ability to invent ever more outlandish technology knows no bounds.  

In the game: Insomniac took several liberties when adapting the Tinkerer into the game space. The biggest change is that the Tinkerer is now a young woman. However, Insomniac’s version of the character is still a brilliant inventor. In the game, she has invented a new technology called Programmable Matter, which is a tricky substance that can transform into any shape. This Tinkerer uses this Programmable Matter to create several weapons that will undoubtedly force Miles to think creatively in combat.

The Tinkerer’s motives: While Roxxon is clearly a malevolent force, the Tinkerer seems more nuanced. Spider-Man goes head-to-head with her at several points in the game, but the Tinker really has it out for Roxxon. Early in Miles’ journey, the Tinkerer leads a gang of criminals called The Underground on an assault on Roxxon. During the attack, The Underground manages to steal a canister of Roxxon’s Nuform energy. Throughout the game, The Underground will actively seek to hurt Roxxon, creating a two-sided war that Spider-Man gets caught up in.

Insomniac’s thoughts: “Tinker is one of the oldest Spider-Man villains,” Horton says. “He goes back really far into the earliest comics. At his core, he’s always been an inventor of weapons for other people. He’s never gotten into the middle of the fight. He’s a supplier. We wanted to update the Tinkerer for today, and make the Tinkerer more of a presence that we can put in the front lines. Making the Tinkerer a leader of this criminal organization, The Underground, seemed like a way that we could really evolve the character.”


There you have it, web-heads. That’s everything you need to know about Miles’ new villains, so get ready for the fight of your life. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales launches on November 12 for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. For more on the game be sure to stay tuned to our month-long cover story hub, which includes exclusive developer interviews and new gameplay footage.

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GI Show – Watch Dogs: Legion And The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Reviews

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Watch Dogs: Legion, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, and Ghostrunner. Then, we close the show with another fantastic round of community emails. It may sound simple, but it’s one great show! So please join Kim Wallace, Marcus Stewart, Blake Hester, Alex Stadnik, Alex Van Aken, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00

Watch Dogs: Legion: 00:02:00

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope: 00:18:33

Ghostrunner: 00:26:02

Modern Warfare Warzone: 00:31:59

Astro’s Playroom: 00:34:51

Super Mario Sunshine: 00:39:16

Jackbox Party Pack 7: 00:39:40

Introducing Alex Van Aken: 00:40:40

Community Emails: 00:47:45

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Join Game Informer And MinnMax For Extra Life 2020

Last year, we raised over $60,000 for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare during our Extra Life livestream. This year you can be a part of all the fun by watching or playing with us. 

Starting on November 7 at 8 a.m. CT, we’ll stream for 25 hours to raise money for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota! We’ll be playing a variety of wild games, auctioning off several game codes, and getting up to a bunch of hijinx. Donate right now for a good cause by clicking here! You can follow along and donate on GameInformer.com, YouTube, and Twitch.

Donate Here 

Schedule

Below is a rough outline of our schedule (in Central time) starting at 8am on Saturday morning. Let us know what you think of these options in the comments below!

Time Game
8:00 AM Pictionary (GI vs. MinnMax)
10:00 AM Jackbox Party Pack
12:00 AM Random Steam Games
2:00 PM Photomode Snap
3:00 PM Replay
5:00 PM Super Smash Bros.
6:00 PM Fall Guys 
7:00 PM Game Trivia (GI vs. MinnMax)
8:00 PM Jackbox Party Pack
9:00 PM Jackbox Party Pack
10:00 AM Phasmophobia
11:00 AM Among Us
12:00 AM Halo 1
1:00 AM Tabletop Simulator
3:00 AM Dreams
4:00 AM Script Reading (donors pick cast)
6:00 AM THPS (Leo vs. Blake)
7:00 AM Pictionary

Donate Here 

Get Involved

If you want to get involved and raise some money for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota, click here to join Game Informer’s Extra Life team or donate right now for a good cause. This year, we’re teaming up with a bunch of editors at MinnMax, and our goal this year is $40,000, and we need your support, so get ready to bug all of your friends about our stream. 

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Five Ways Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Is Optimized For PS5

If you haven’t been able to secure a PlayStation 5 preorder, or aren’t lucky enough to snag one during release, at least you’ll be able to play the PS4 version of Insomniac’s newest Spider-Man game. However, if you obsoletely need the best Spider-Man experience, you’ll want to play on a PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 5’s extra power allowed Insomniac to create a bigger, better game. To analyze this further, we asked the development team to detail five big reasons that Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PlayStation 5 will be the definitive version.

One: No loading screens:

“The PS5’s SSD obviously allows us to load the game faster. If you die or if you fast travel there are near-instant loads. It just fades down and then fades up. You just keep playing. We have no loading screens. It’s really impressive. In the PS4 version, we have loading screens and the subway transitions from the last game.” – creative director Brian Horton

Two: The world features a higher level of graphical fidelity: 

“We were able to take full advantage of all the features of the PlayStation 5, and one of those things was graphical fidelity. You’re going to see ray-traced reflections everywhere in the game on the PlayStation 5.” – creative director Brian Horton

“Visually, it’s striking. We have ray-traced reflections under ice and snow and wet streets at different times of day, and that changes when we have overcast skies … You’ll be able to see realistic holiday lighting reflecting off of ice and wet streets which looks awesome. In general, we have a more detailed city, more detailed characters, and more detailed particle systems.” – adds art director Gavin Golden

Three: The performances will seem more believable:

“There’s are a lot of different techniques that we can use that we weren’t previously able to. We have 4D scans for our characters so that’s a more complex rig where we have a large set of scan data based on performance capture that we have from our actors, which gives a more realistic and believable performance. Also, we have strand-based hair, which is a more detailed, more realistic rendering technique that we weren’t able to do before.” – art director Gavin Golden

Four: The action is smoother and more explosive:

“You’ll see a lot more destruction, a lot of improved particle systems and simulations that we just weren’t able to do before. Knowing the tools that we use more and knowing the new hardware, we’ve been able to target a cinematic level of disruption and action.” – art director Gavin Golden

“Being able to play in performance mode – so it’s at 60 FPS – we were able to see that our animations now have a nicer fidelity. It’s a lot smoother now. With that smoothness, we were better able to see how [our original animation designs] translates into the game. Playing on the PS5, Miles just glides across the screen, and it feels really good. It feels really smooth.” – senior animator James Hamm

Five: Combat is more immersive thanks to the PS5 controller:

“The haptic controller is next-level immersion. There is rumble on the PS4, but the haptics on the PS5 really allow bioelectric attacks to travel from one side of the controller to the other. And, it makes the web-swinging feel that much more visceral when there’s resistance on the trigger, as you feel the connection of the webs and then the tension as you swing through.” – creative director Brian Horton.

But the PlayStation 4 version is still a great time: 

“As a gameplay experience, the two versions should feel in parity. It’s not like one game feels much different than the other, but those enhancements that we’re talking about, really add up to make it feel like the definitive Spider-Man experience is on PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 4 version feels great and looks pretty, but it really is a binary difference when you play the PS5 version.”


Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales releases on November 12 for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. For more on the game be sure to stay tuned to our month-long cover story hub, which includes exclusive developer interviews and new gameplay footage.

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GI Spooktacular – Amnesia: Rebirth Review And The Best Horror Games Of The Generation

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Amnesia: Rebirth, NHL 21, and COD: Warzone’s The Haunting of Verdansk event. Then we get really spooky and try to pick the five scariest games of this generation. Next, we put together another fantastic round of community emails. Finally, we close the show with an interview with Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s senior localization producer Scott Strichart, who gets us excited for the next entry in the famed Yakuza series. So please join Blake Hester, Kim Wallace, Dan Tack, Liana Ruppert, Marcus Stewart, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Amnesia: Rebirth: 00:03:00
Call of Duty: Warzone: The Haunting of Verdansk Event: 00:09:53
Dragon Quest Tact: 00:15:01
NHL 21: 00:16:33
Introducing Marcus Stewart, GI’s Newest Editor: 00:20:45
The Best Horror Games Of The Generation: 00:23:30
Community Emails: 00:57:51
Yakuza: Like A Dragon Interview: 01:44:04

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Amnesia: Rebirth Review – The Fine Line Between Fear And Frustration

Publisher: Frictional Games
Developer: Frictional Games
Release:

Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Also on:
PC

After archeologist Tasi Trianon’s plane crashes in the Algerian desert, she sets off on a journey across the sweltering sands in search of help. However, Tasi quickly discovers that there are holes in her memory. As she slowly uncovers the remains of her fellow party, she puts together the pieces of her fragmented past. Tasi’s suppressed memories are almost as horrifying as the ghoulish creatures that now stalk her from the shadows. Tasi’s journey is one of the most intense experiences I’ve had in a long time. Unfortunately, Amnesia: Rebirth’s puzzle design is equally as terrifying.

Much like in Amnesia: The Dark Descent, light is your greatest tool. As you help Tasi search for safety, you wander through desert caves, ancient burial tombs, and mysterious archeological sites. Light bounces around bizarre rock formations in unsettling ways and strange creatures skitter around inside the walls, which never fails to send a shiver up my spine. Almost all of the environments are dimly lit, so your tiny lantern and whatever dwindling supply of matches you scavenge from the environment are a constant comfort.

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As you move through the darkness, Tasi’s fear levels rise. As they build, she begins to hear whispers in the dark. These voices are entirely fabricated, but they still make it hard to not run toward the light. When Tasi’s fear gets out of control, she begins to see flashes of grotesque images, which feel like cheap jump scares. Even so, they are incredibly effective at getting the heart racing. Whether I was exploring an abandoned oasis town or sneaking past a group of sleeping monsters, Amnesia: Rebirth continually produced one pulse-pounding sequence after the next. It doesn’t help that Tasi has no way to fight back; when you see an enemy, your two choices are run or hide. This powerlessness sent my own fear levels through the roof.  

Praising Amnesia: Rebirth as a horror experience is easy. As a game, however, it comes up short in a lot of areas. One of the biggest problems is its puzzles, which shake up the pacing and reset the tension, though they falter as standalone diversions. As I explored Amnesia: Rebirth’s world, the game was often unclear about my goals or the steps I needed to take to progress. For example, one puzzle asks you to attach the wheels to a cannon and then push it down a ramp to smash through a rotted floor. The game never clearly communicated that goal, so I spent nearly an hour exploring a completely different floor of the building. The environments are also so dim and maze-like that you can easily miss your target, even when you know what you’re looking for. I regularly looped through environments four or five times before I would stumble across whatever I needed to progress. Feeling trapped and wondering if the game had bugged out on me filled me with nearly as much anxiety as the creatures hunting me.

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Amnesia: Rebirth’s frustrating puzzles undercut its horror, but bizarrely, so do its monster encounters. Amnesia: Rebirth features several otherworldly creatures who stalk Tasi through a series of dank caverns, and these creatures scamper through the shadows in increasingly unnerving ways. But the deeper I progressed into the story, the more I felt like these monstrosities were pulling their punches. Enemies often turn away from your position at the last moment, are incredibly easy to outrun, and lose interest in you quickly. Even when you do get caught, the repercussions aren’t steep; Tasi wrestles with the creatures and then you see a cutscene of her running back to a safe space, which is usually just a few rooms back. There are no game-over screens and Tasi seemingly can’t die. That’s nice from a convenience perspective, but it takes some of the teeth out of the horror.

Even after I felt like I’d seen behind the curtain and knew how the machinery worked, I still moved timidly through Amnesia: Rebirth’s world, which is a testament to Frictional Games’ superb environmental design and sound work. Tasi Trianon’s journey is a surprisingly emotional rollercoaster, and I’m glad I saw that story to the end. The cave full of horrifying monsters I could deal with, but I never want to see those infuriating puzzles again.

Score: 7.5

Summary: Amnesia: Rebirth is incredibly intense, but its puzzle design is equally terrifying.

Concept: A woman crash-lands in the Algerian desert and has to outrun the monsters chasing her before she goes insane

Graphics: The eerie underground caves and otherworldly landscape are wonderfully realized, but the other humans and monsters you encounter could use a little more detail

Sound: Easily one of the best parts of the game; Rebirth’s haunting soundtrack and ambient effects do a spectacular job putting you on edge even when you’re clearly not in danger

Playability: Moving through the world is simple and easy, but interactive objects are sometimes obscured, and the puzzles can be obtuse

Entertainment: If you’re looking for a good scare, Amnesia: Rebirth delivers, but prepare to feel lost and confused along the way

Replay: Moderately Low

Click to Purchase

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The Ultimate Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Story Primer

Insomniac’s follow-up to its 2018 open-world superhero adventure is just around the corner. In this adventure Peter Parker takes backstage, giving Miles a chance to shine as the lead. In the 2018 release, Insomniac put a focus on narrative and told an incredibly human story about loss and standing up for what’s right. Miles’ game doesn’t look any different. Here is everything you need to know about Miles Morales’ story before playing the new game. Spoiler warning for Insomniac’s 2018 game.

The Setup

If you haven’t played Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018), you should probably play through that game before jumping into Miles Morales. For one, it’s a great game. Moreover, it introduces players to Miles, an Afro-Latino teenager who befriends Peter Parker and eventually gets bitten by a genetically modified spider, which grants Miles superhuman powers. The events of the 2018 game don’t focus heavily on Miles, but they do show us how he gained his powers and covers several important personal moments – such as the death of Miles’ father – which are bound to have lasting ramifications.

A Different Kind Of Miles 

Those who played the 2018 release know that Insomniac isn’t trying to retell well-worn comic stories; the company is excited to put its own twist on popular characters and comic moments. “We always start with the comics,” says Insomniac creative director Brian Horton. “That is sort of home base, to go back to the comics, go back to where it started. [VP and head of creative at Marvel Games’ Bill Roseman] always says, ‘Try stuff. Find ways to take these characters in new directions. As long as they don’t break, you can stretch them and twist them, and then it becomes interesting.’ So, there is an Insomniac flavor to this story.”

One big example of how Insomniac changed Miles’ backstory has to do with Miles’ father. In Insomniac’s universe, Miles’ father is an NYPD Officer named Jefferson Davis, who briefly teams up with Spider-Man (Peter) to investigate the criminal organization lead by Mister Negative. Unfortunately, Davis is later killed during a political rally. This never happened in the comics, but Insomniac wants to continue to explore the repercussions of this event and show how Miles has pressed forward after the death of his father.

“That changed the whole trajectory of Miles’ life, but Miles isn’t motivated by that death,” Horton says. “He’s motivated by different things. His mentor Peter Parker, he looks up to him. And he has his mom who is running for city council that he looks up to. He has a different sort of motivation to be a Spider-Man.”

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Hometown Heroics

In the comics, Miles was born and raised in the New York borough of Brooklyn. Insomniac is aware of this history, but for this game, the studio wanted to move the hero onto the island of Manhattan. At the beginning of Miles Morales’ game we learn that Miles’ mother, Rio, has transplanted them both to East Harlem, which is actually where Rio is from. Insomniac wanted to pay respect to the cultures in that area of the city and took a research trip to New York to survey several families in the neighborhood and gain a better understanding of the culture.

“Moving Miles to Harlem was very deliberate,” Horton says. “We wanted to give Miles a bit of a fish-out-of-water story where he’s learning how to be a Spider-Man on his own in a new place. Miles’ journey to learn Harlem also parallels the players’ journey of learning Harlem. We wanted to build that foundation of why Harlem is a great place for this story. It’s Rio’s childhood home, so she’s very familiar with it, and it is a blend of cultures. There’s a strong Puerto Rican population there. We wanted to show that mix of cultures. The vibe of that place is alive, and we wanted to make sure to represent that in the game.”

A Lonely Hero

Moving to Harlem has made Miles feel a little out of place, but his biggest stressor might be from the fact that he will soon be New York’s only Spider-Man. Early in the game, Peter Parker decides to accompany Mary Jane on a reporting trip to Symkaria – a small eastern European country within the Balkans (you’ll only find it on Marvel maps). This leaves Miles as New York’s only Spider-Man for a few weeks.

“Ultimately, [Miles] feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders,” Horton says. “He understands what it means. For the past year, he’s had training wheels on. He’s been with Peter. He’s done stuff with Peter, but now he’s on his own. He doesn’t have Peter to lean on. That is his challenge. ‘How can I do this alone? And will I need Peter’s support?’”

During this journey, Miles steps up and is tested as a hero. Players also have a chance to learn more about Miles. During our time with the game, we learned that Miles is a music enthusiast and that he has a love of sneakers. Those details will supposedly come through more as the story progresses. Ultimately, players will learn how Miles is different from Peter, and how he tackles problems a little differently from his mentor.

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Get Your Roxxon

A hero is nothing without a great villain. Traditionally, Spider-Man has some of the most iconic villains in the comic world, but Miles is still a young hero and his rogue’s gallery is still growing. One of the most iconic villains is probably Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis, aka the Prowler. However, Insomniac remained incredibly tight-lipped about whether or not the Prowler would appear in the game, but the studio acknowledged that the villainous organizations of Roxxon and the scoundrel known as the Tinkerer will both play important roles in this story.

“[Roxxon] serves as a primary antagonist, and they’re a threat to Harlem,” Horton says. “At first they present themselves as this clean energy company coming in with a modern, clean energy called Nuform. They’re going to revitalize Harlem, and it all sounds great through a PR lens, but there’s an insidious truth behind all of that and that’s what this story covers. What is the truth? What is it all really about? Meanwhile, the Underground is an organization [lead by the Tinkerer] who is actively seeking to take Roxxon down, so there is this two-sided war and Harlem is in the middle.”

In the comics, the Tinker has taken a few different forms, but he is probably best remembered as an old man who is skilled with building machines. In Insomniac’s universe, the Tinkerer is now a woman who dons neon-infused techno armor. We don’t know much more about the Tinkerer at this time, but as an aside, in the comics, Miles’ Uncle Aaron actually stole his technology to become the Prowler from that version of the Tinkerer. Again, this doesn’t mean the Prowler will be in the game, but it seems likely.

“At the core of the story Miles is trying to figure out what to do with his powers,” Horton says. “‘What kind of hero am I? What does it mean to be a hero?’ … This is Miles’ journey of discovering himself and embracing what’s unique about himself. It’s a coming of age story. When you go from youth to adulthood, you’re always trying to figure out who you are. That’s what this is about. We call it our coming of age superhero story.”

Insomniac impressed comic fans and newcomers alike with its first outing into the Marvel universe and we can’t wait to see how Miles Morales’ game comes together when it releases for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on November 12. Miles is a very different hero from Peter but he is no less deserving of the spotlight, and his personal story has the potential to be incredibly powerful.


Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales releases on November 12 for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. For more on the game be sure to stay tuned to our month-long cover story hub, which includes exclusive developer interviews and new gameplay footage.

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GI Show – Spider-Man: Miles Morales And Phasmophobia Impressions

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Phasmophobia, Torchlight III, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Then we take a deep dive into Game Informer’s newest cover story on Insomniac’s upcoming Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Finally, we close the show with another fantastic round of community emails. So please join Andrew Reiner, Matt Miller, Kim Wallace, Dan Tack, Blake Hester, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Introducing Blake Hester: 00:03:56
Phasmophobia: 00:08:38
World of Warcraft: 00:20:24
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory: 00:23:27
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 00:31:05
Spider-Man: Miles Morales: 00:37:19
Torchlight 3: 01:02:44
Community Emails: 01:10:25

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Meet The New Wall Crawler In Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

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Few comic characters have the opportunity to break as big as Miles Morales. Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man is one of the biggest characters in pop culture, so there was a real chance the Miles would get overshadowed by Peter’s lasting legacy. Instead, in less than ten years, Miles has risen to become a defining character in his own right and an important piece of the Marvel Universe. However, if you’re still relatively unfamiliar with Miles, we put together this handy overview. Here is everything you need to know about Miles Morales before playing Insomniac’s upcoming open-world superhero romp.

Character Creation

Miles Morales was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli in 2011 in the comic Ultimate Fallout #4. In interviews, Bendis has stated that he was inspired to create Miles when he saw Donald Glover in a Spider-Man outfit on an episode of NBC’s sitcom Community, which in turn was a nod to the online campaign to secure Glover an audition for the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man. For Miles’ new look, Pichelli designed a black and red consume, which paid homage to Peter Parker’s original design while still feeling fresh.

Miles debuted in Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics, which was an alternate reality version of Marvel’s main continuity. In that version of the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker had just died and Miles was positioned to take over the mantel of Spider-Man. Miles’ critical reception was largely positive and fan enthusiasm for the new character was huge. In fact, Miles proved to be so popular that when Marvel ended the Ultimate imprint in 2015, and killed off that entire universe, it spared Miles and transferred him over to mainline Marvel continuity, where he has settled in as an important member of the Spider-Man family.

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Fictional Character Bio

Morales was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the son of an African American father named Jefferson Davis and a Puerto Rican mother named Rio Morales. When Miles was young, Jefferson was a police officer and Rio worked as a nurse. Like Peter, Miles is very smart, and Miles was selected in a lottery to attend Brooklyn Visions Academy where he became best friends with a young Korean American named Ganke Lee. After Miles gained his spider powers, Ganke was the first person who Miles told.

During Miles’ junior year of high school, he was bitten by a genetically-modified spider created by Oscorp in an attempt to replicate Peter Parker’s extraordinary abelites (hey, this is comics). This spider bite grated Miles superhuman abilities similar – and yet slightly different – from those of Peter Parker (see Powers sidebar below).

“I feel like Miles is an avatar of teenage experience in a way that has advanced so much more than when Peter Parker was a teenager,” says Insomniac writer Evan Narcisse. “My shorthand for this basically is saying that I personally believe that Miles, as a teenager, is cooler than Peter Parker as a teenager. He dresses better than Peter did. He’s got friends. He’s got game – maybe its not good game but he can at least talk to someone he’s attracted to whereas Peter could barely manage that. I think he’s more connected to the world that surrounds him. Peter Parker early on was a very reactive kind of character. That’s part of how we understood teenagers back then, and I think we understand teenagers differently now. They’re their own people with their own concerns and ways of moving through the world.”

Unfortunately, Miles’ family has a dark and troubled history. Miles’ father and uncle were once career criminals. Jefferson eventually reformed and married Miles’ mother Rio. Unfortunately, Miles’ uncle Aaron remained on a dark path and eventually became the supervillain known as the Prowler. Miles and his uncle Aaron fought a number of times as Spider-Man and Prowler before they two learned of their secret identities.

Legacy

Miles comic history is too long to recount here, which is impressive given the fact that Miles was created less than ten years ago. There are comic characters who were created decades ago who haven’t had the same cultural impact. Miles star bloomed even larger after the release of the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which some consider the best superhero film ever made.

The same year as Into the Spider-Verse, Insomniac released its hit game based on Spider-Man. While that game focused on Peter’s adventures, the team at Insomniac was also excited by Miles and eager to work with the character. Now the studio is on the cusp of making Miles the star of his very own game. Spider-Man: Miles Morales picks up the story after Miles has been training with Peter for several months. However, when Peter tells Miles that he’ll be leaving town for a few weeks, Miles understands that he’ll be New York’s only Spider-Man, which is no small task. We can’t wait to see how Miles rises to this challenge just like he’s risen to assume all of the responsibilities that come with the name Spider-Man in the comics. Miles’ story has tugged on the heartstrings for years, and we can’t wait to see what the next decade brings.


Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales releases on November 12 for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. For more on the game be sure to stay tuned to our month-long cover story hub, which includes exclusive developer interviews and new gameplay footage.

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Five Favorite Moments From Six Hours With Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 

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November is stacked with several big-name releases that you could play for dozens upon dozens of hours. Ubisoft Montreal’s newest Assassin’s Creed is among those titles, but is it worth carving out space in your busy gaming schedule? Previously, we gave you a deep dive into the game after our extended hands-on session as well as 25 things you should know about the game. But if you’re still hungry for more details about this massive open-world historical adventure, here are five of my favorite moments from a recent gameplay session.  

One: Building A Homestead

The Assassin’s Creed series often provides players with some kind of home base, which you frequently return to and upgrade throughout your journey. Valhalla is no different. This time around, your homestead is a small town that you settle and continue to expand over time. As the game progresses, people will hear about your deeds and come to settle in your town. At first, these people set up tents but, using resources you collect in the game, you can build permanent housing for everyone. During my demo, I encountered one gentleman who set up a museum full of ancient Roman artifacts, a young family working on a fishery, and a tattooist who offered to restyle my character’s hair and tattoos. As you upgrade these houses, they reward you with additional bonuses and resources to aid you in your journey. For example, once you build a house for the cartographer, he will sell you maps that point to valuable treasures across England. 

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Two: Ancient Rap Battles

Not everyone you encounter in Valhalla is looking to fight with their fists; some people want a battle of wits. Flyting is a real ancient art of exchanging insults, which was often conducted in verse. In Valhalla, you’ll encounter people who challenge you to Flyt battles. During these sequences, you’ll be challenged to pick between several dialogue options that match in both rhythm and verse, with the ultimate goal of trying to insult your opponent. I found these Flyts to be a fun diversion from the usual raids, but a successful Flyt also awards you charisma points. The higher your charisma, the more dialogue options you’ll have available when you talk to people in the game, which could prove very useful. 

Three: Meeting Random Dummies

World Events are Valhalla’s approach to side quests. These random encounters give you a larger window into the everyday lives of the people of ninth century Britain. During one encounter I helped a couple of would-be Viking raiders break into their own house to save a cherished family heirloom. That quest ended in a twist that I don’t want to spoil here, but I’m glad I took the time to complete this side story, because it was a fun romp. World Events run the gamut from humorous to sad to horrifying, and they’re often pretty short, which makes them easy to digest. Basically, whenever you hear someone in the world making a lot of noise, it’s probably worth investigating. 

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Four: When Things Get Dicey

Minigames are often hit or miss, and let’s be honest, they’re often more miss than hit. Valhalla might be an exception. As you wander the world, you’ll encounter people who want to play a game of dice with you. This game, called Orlog, is played across several rounds. During each round, you roll the dice and then have the option to lock in certain rolls that either attack, defend, or call on godly favors, which are special abilities that can deal direct damage or even heal. Your ultimate goal is to attack your opponent and whittle away the pile of pebbles representing their health pool. Orlog is simple once you get the hang of it, but it’s also rich with strategy. I played a few rounds and walked away thinking it might be the first time since Gwent that I really could get into a game within a game.

Five: Strange Historical Humor 

Valhalla’s main story is full of assassinations and political intrigue, but your adventure could also be full of moments of lightheartedness. At one point, while exploring a large city, I encountered a strange woman inside an underground sewer who wanted viper eggs. After hunting down several snakes and stealing their unborn children, I brought the eggs back to the lady who munched on them and then proceeded to unleash a giant green fart. I know this sounds absurd (if not juvenal), but this really happened in the game and it was played for laughs. After I emerged from the sewers, I discovered that the guards and several passersby were disgusted by the mysterious green cloud and cleared out of the area in a humorous scene. I don’t know if other parts of the game get this weird, but I can’t wait to find out in a few weeks. 


Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is set to release on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 10 and to the PlayStation 5 on November 12. For more on the title, be sure to watch our New Gameplay Today video preview.

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Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Exclusive Screenshot Gallery

Insomniac’s Spider-Man was one of the best games of 2018 so we’re beyond excited for the follow-up title Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Miles’ adventure will see him growing into the role of Spider-Man. In the game, Peter Parker is out of town, leaving Miles to defend the city on his own. This is a big responsibility but one that we’re sure Miles is ready to face. We’ll have a lot of great stories over the course of the next month that detail how the game works and even show it in action, but to whet your appetite here is a collection of images from the game that show Miles in action. 

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GI Show – Hands-on Impressions Of Xbox Series X Console And Baldur’s Gate III

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Baldur’s Gate III, Genshin Impact, Star Wars: Squadrons, Watch Dogs: Legion, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, and not Hades. Next, we got our hands on a new Xbox Series X retail unit, so we share our thoughts on the new console, its controller, and how the new “suspend” feature works. Finally, we close the show with another fantastic round of community emails. So please join Dan Tack, Liana Ruppert, Jeff Cork, Brian Shea, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below:

Intro: 00:00:00
Baldur’s Gate III: 00:02:47
Genshin Impact: 00:17:55
Star Wars: Squardons: 00:31:03
Super Mario 64 DS: 00:37:29
Rule of Rose: 00:38:48
Xbox Series X Impressions: 00:41:51
Pikmin 3 Deluxe: 00:50:32
Community Emails: 00:54:44
Discussing CD Projekt Red and Crunch: 00:57:37

 

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GI Show – Review Impressions For Star Wars: Squadrons And Crash Bandicoot 4

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Star Wars: Squadrons, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, NHL 21, Path of Exile, and Hades. Next, we interview Intellivision Entertainment president Tommy Tallarico about his time in the industry writing video game music, hosting the TV show Electric Playground, and producing the upcoming Amico console. Finally, we close the show with another fantastic round of community emails and GI’s Meaningless Character rankings. So please join Andrew Reiner, Jeff Cork, Kim Wallace, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Star Wars: Squadrons: 00:02:25
NHL 21: 00:13:55
Hades: 00:19:36
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time: 00:22:11
Path of Exile: 00:28:00
Torchlight 3: 00:32:27
Tommy Tallarico Interview: 00:33:37
Community Emails: 01:05:18

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Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time Review – Precision Platforming

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Publisher: Activision
Developer: Toys for Bob
Release:


(PlayStation 4,
Xbox One,
PC),
(PlayStation 5,
Xbox Series X/S,
Switch)

Rating: Everyone 10+
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Also on:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC

The early Crash Bandicoot games of the ‘90s were partially experiments in how to navigate 3D space. Crash didn’t freely traverse an open world; he marched down tightly designed digital tunnels. The camera zoomed in and out of the action and panned around the character, which seemed novel at the time. However, Crash’s movement was limited in ways that seem restrictive by today’s standards. In some sense, Crash Bandicoot’s gameplay was a product of those limits of technology as much as it was any single creative vision. And yet, those limitations helped produce one of 1996’s most memorable platformers. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time proves the classic formula still works in 2020.

With Crash 4, developer Toys for Bob sends Crash and his sister Coco on an adventure through space and time. In one set of levels, I battled seahorse-like pirates while dodging cannon fire. In another, I bounced off dinosaur heads and over creeping lava flows. In yet another, I navigated a busy skyway, miles above a futuristic metropolis. Every level is full of wacky sights and sounds that made me smile, and I couldn’t wait to see where I was headed next.

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However, this experience is more about the journey than the destination, and Crash’s platforming remains faithful to his early adventures in ways both good and bad. On one hand, the controls are more responsive than ever, and I loved bounding from one precarious platform to the next while smashing crates full of Wumpa fruit. On the other hand, Crash 4’s precise platforming sequences demand practice. The thrill of mastering Crash 4’s most challenging levels is rewarding, but some of the deadliest pitfalls come out of the blue, which means you have to replay sections over and over again to memorize each level’s layout. A “modern” difficulty allows you to play with unlimited lives, which removes some of the sting, but distant checkpoints still tested my patience, as they forced me to routinely jumped through a familiar hoops in order to return to the platforming section that tripped me up.

While Crash’s platforming feels like it fell out of a time warp, this bandicoot does have a few new moves. Throughout his journey, Crash collects a handful of Quantum Masks that grant him new superpowered abilities. For example, one mask allows you to invert gravity so Crash can run along the ceiling, while another lets you transform into a spinning vortex that floats over large chasms. I especially liked the Kupuna-Wa mask, which slows time, so I could platform across falling objects and dodge fast-moving projectiles. These masks pop in and out of the game at predetermined times, so you can’t access them whenever you want, but I was always excited when one showed up. Even more, I’m impressed with how the Quantum Masks add new wrinkles to Crash’s classic gameplay in a way that feels true to the spirit of the franchise.

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In addition to the Quantum Masks, Crash and Coco are joined by a few unlikely cohorts, such as Doctor Neo Cortex, Dingodile, and Tawna. These new characters have their own unique movesets, which they display in a handful of dedicated levels scattered across the game. These special levels offer a refreshing change of pace. For example, Cortex can’t double jump, so his levels center on using a gun to transform enemies into spongy platforms that launch him into the air. However, my favorite newcomer is Tawna, an alternate-reality version of Crash’s love interest from the first game. Tawna comes equipped with a grappling hook that allows her to zip across massive gaps and smash crates from a distance, and I always jumped into her special levels the second I unlocked them.

In many ways, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time feels like a game that shouldn’t work. Single-player, mascot-driven, hardcore platformers are few and far between these days. Moreover, most franchises born in the mid-‘90s have had to continually reboot themselves to match the tastes of an ever-changing market. At its core, Crash 4 remains rooted to the old way of doing things, but that’s not a bad thing. The visuals are cleaner now and Crash has a few new gimmicks, but if you squint, Crash 4 looks like the same old platformer you’ve always loved. 

Score: 8.5

Summary: Now that Crash Bandicoot 4 has arrived on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Switch, read how the game’s challenging but fun platforming and entertaining new mask abilities make it a successful return to form.

Concept: A return to the unique brand of ‘90s platforming that put Crash Bandicoot on the map

Graphics: The vibrant, colorful visuals really pop, and enemy designs are goofy in a charming way

Sound: This energetic soundtrack is fun and upbeat, which is good since you’ll be listening to some tracks on loop for a long time

Playability: Controls are tight and precise, which is necessary given the pinpoint maneuvering required in some levels

Entertainment: Mastering Crash’s aerial acrobatics is highly rewarding, but the journey to get there is occasionally frustrating

Replay: Moderately High

Click to Purchase

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GI Show – Hades Review Discussion And Impressions On Microsoft’s Bethesda Buyout

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show we talk about a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Hades, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, The Sims 4, and Mafia: Definitive Edition. Next we talk with Robin and Rand Miller about how they had to hack their own computers while developing the ’90s megahit Myst. We also share our thoughts on Microsoft’s recent purchase of Bethesda Game Studios, which kicks off another fantastic round of community emails. So please join Jeff Cork, Dan Tack, Matt Miller, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Hades: 00:02:41
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: 00:20:59
The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu: 00:24:06
Hades Part 2: 00:26:19
Interview with Rand and Robyn Miller, Creators of Myst: 00:29:04
Mafia: Definitive Edition: 00:58:14
Community Emails: 01:02:31
Discussing Microsoft’s Bethesda Acquisition: 01:02:53

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GI Show – PS5 Showcase Impressions And Oculus Quest 2 Hands-On

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show we talk about a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Spelunky 2, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and Avengers. We also go hands-on with Oculus’ newest Quest 2 VR headset before breaking down and reacting to Sony’s recent PS5 Showcase. Finally, we end the show with another fantastic round of community emails and Meaningless Character Rankings. So please join Jeff Cork, Brian Shea, Jay Guisao, Liana Ruppert, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Super Mario 3D All-Stars: 00:01:14
Marvel’s Avengers Part 1: 00:07:15
Spelunky 2: 00:07:57
Bloodborne: 00:12:08
Marvel’s Avengers Part 2: 00:15:05
Oculus Quest 2: 00:18:36
Population: One: 00:22:16
PlayStation 5 Reveal: 00:23:54
Final Fantasy XVI: 00:24:41
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: 00:28:09
Hogwarts Legacy: 00:31:07
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War: 00:34:12
Resident Evil 8: 00:35:38
Deathloop: 00:36:04
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition: 00:36:21
Oddworld: Soulstorm: 00:37:23
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach: 00:37:45
Demon’s Souls: 00:39:56
Fortnite: 00:41:15
PlayStation 5 Price Discussion: 00:42:20
PlayStation Plus Collection: 00:43:25
PlayStation 5 Release Date Discussion: 00:45:52
God of War Ragnarok: 00:47:32
Community Emails: 00:50:59
Character Rankings: 01:19:47

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Oculus Quest 2 Review – The Future Of VR

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When the original Quest released in the middle of 2019, it seemed like a smart move for VR. Oculus’ portable headset wasn’t as powerful as headsets like the Rift, but it also didn’t need to remain tethered to a PC. The Quest gave you the freedom to play games anywhere you had room to move around, and its lack of cords was surprisingly freeing. Better still, some of VR’s best experiences – Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Job Simulator – prove that you don’t need a lot of horsepower to have a good time. As a result, sales of the Oculus Quest quickly outpaced all of Oculus’s other offerings.

It’s been nearly 18 months since the release of the first Quest and Oculus is ready to drop a hardware refresh that improves the headset in nearly every way. Sure, putting on the Quest 2 wasn’t as big a revelation as the first time I wore a headset without cords, but Oculus’ newest portable VR headset has me more excited for the future of VR than I’ve been in a long time.

As expected, the Quest 2 is more powerful than its first iteration. Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform, which is an incredibly powerful mobile chipset. This won’t run circles around your PC gaming rig, but games like Superhot VR, Ghost Giant, and Phantom: Covert Ops look super smooth on the new headset and run without a hitch. The other reason that games look better on the Quest 2 is its new display panel. This fast-switch LCD offers a resolution of 1832×1920 per eye, which is 50 percent more pixels than the original Quest. These new displays greatly reduce the graininess I usually notice from VR headsets, but I’d still prefer a wider field of view than what is on offer here. Like most modern headsets, the Quest 2 reduces your peripheral vision, so I still occasionally felt like I was peering through a periscope.

The Quest 2 is a bit more comfortable. Not only is the device 10 percent lighter than the previous model, but I had less trouble finding a comfortable fit thanks to the Quest 2’s redesigned face mask. This level of comfort extends to the new Touch controllers, which are slightly more ergonomic and now feature dedicated thumb rests. I often forgot I was even holding a controller while using these Touch controllers.

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However, you can ditch the controllers for some experiences, because Oculus’ experimental hand-tracking feature will soon come out of beta. Using simple hand gestures, you can navigate system menus and other dedicated applications, which is an incredibly novel, but the feature is extra sensitive to small hand movements, and I ultimately found it easier to navigate menus using a controller.

I don’t have a lot of negative things to say about the Quest 2, but I’d love to see a more robust battery in future iterations. I squeezed a little over 2 hours of playtime out of the Quest 2 before needing to plug it back in, which is comparable to the original, but I still felt cut short during some game sessions.

From a tech standpoint, the Oculus Quest 2 is a great step forward for VR, and I’d love to see more games take advantage of that new tech. Thankfully, any title that previously released for the original Quest will work seamlessly the Quest 2, so any game you already own will migrate over the new headset without a problem. At the same time, there aren’t any applications that run exclusively on the Quest 2, meaning there aren’t any games that make special use of the Quest 2’s speedier processors. While the Quest 2 is undoubtedly a powerful portable VR headset, you’ll still need to plug it into a PC using an Oculus Link cable to play more demanding titles like Stormlands, Half-Life: Alyx, or Respawn’s upcoming Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond.

If you’re in the market for a VR headset, the Quest 2 would be a smart choice. The device is sleek and it offers some of the cleanest visuals of any headset on the market. Sadly, there aren’t a lot of new games that take advantage of the Quest 2’s more powerful hardware, but this system makes every game already inside the Quest portfolio look better than ever. The virtual reality market continues to grow but hasn’t exploded as fast as some of us had hoped. I wouldn’t be surprised if that started to change with the Quest 2.


The Oculus Quest 2 will release on October 13 and cost $299 for the 64GB model or $399 for the 256GB model.

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New Resident Evil Village Trailer Tells An Ugly Fairy Tale

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Resident Evil Village is Capcom’s eighth official entry in its iconic survival horror series. The story follows the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and continues the story of Ethan Winters who tries to find some much-needed R&R by moving his wife into a secluded village. Unfortunately for Ethan that village is infested with all kinds of nasty monsters and other creatures you don’t want to live next to.  

The game’s newest trailer didn’t offer many new details on the game, but it did provide several new panoramic shots of the icy village you’ll be exploring and a few brief glimpses of the horrors that await you when Resident Evil Village releases sometime in 2021. 

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Ubisoft Developing Splinter Cell And Assassin’s Creed For VR

During Facebook’s recent Connect conference, Ubisoft announced that it is working to bring both the Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed franchises into virtual reality with two brand-new games designed specifically for Oculus devices.

The development of these two new titles is being led by Ubisoft’s Red Storm in collaboration with Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Dusseldorf, and Ubisoft Mumbai. Sadly, that’s all we know about these two exciting projects at the moment, but hopefully, we’ll learn more soon.

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Oculus Plans To Phase Out Rift Headsets Next Year

Oculus made a name for itself developing high-end VR headsets designed to work with a PC. The company’s Oculus Rift headset was officially released in 2016, and for a time that was Oculus’ main platform. However, over the years, Oculus’ standalone Quest headset has eclipsed the Rift in popularity, which is why Oculus has decided to phase out the Rift brand by the end of 2021.

At the same time, Oculus plans to continually support PC VR game development and deliver new VR experiences that require more powerful external hardware. Using an Oculus Link cable, players can connect their Oculus Quest or Quest 2 to an external PC, which is capable of running higher-end VR experiences that were originally designed with the Rift in mind.

This is a long way of saying, if you’re thinking of getting a new Oculus headset, you should probably just buy a Quest instead of a Rift.

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Oculus Quest 2 Releases This October For $299

If you still haven’t jumped onto the VR train, Oculus’ newest headset might finally tip you over the edge. The Oculus Quest 2 is set to release on October 13, starting at $299.

The Oculus Quest was Oculus’ first all-in-one headset, meaning you don’t need a PC or any other device to run the unit. It’s a solid piece of hardware and a great way to tap into VR experiences like Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, and Moss. The Quest was also a phenomenal success, so naturally, Oculus is working on a successor.

As expected, the Quest 2 is a bit more powerful than its first iteration and features a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2. Not only should games run better on the Quest 2 because each display panel is now a fast-switch LCD with a resolution of 1832×1920 per eye. If you’re not keeping track, that’s 50 percent more pixels than the original Quest. And, if you’re worried about comfort, the Quest 2 is actually 10 percent lighter than the previous model, and Oculus says that players can expect a battery life of around 2-3 hours.

The Quest 2’s Touch controllers have also gotten a slight redesign for better ergonomics and now feature a dedicated thumb rest. But you can ditch those controllers for some experiences. Oculus’ experimental hand-tracking feature will soon be coming out of beta, so you’ll be able to navigate system menus and other dedicated applications with just your hands.

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As with the original Quest, players can connect the Quest 2 to a PC using an Oculus Link cable to play more intense VR games, which were originally designed for headsets like the Rift. At the same time, the Quest 2 is completely compatible with previous Quest games, so anything you already own in your Oculus account will transfer over to the new system without a problem.

One potential downside is that Oculus Quest 2 owners will need to log into their system with a Facebook account going forward, which has raised some concern for many, giving Facebook’s track record for intrusive data collection and targeted advertising.

However, from a tech standpoint, the Oculus Quest 2 looks like a great step forward for VR, and the fact that it is launching $100 cheaper than the previous model might help the market grow. Stay tuned for our full review.


The Oculus Quest 2 will release on October 13 and cost $299 for the 64GB model or $399 for the 256GB model. Pre-orders are set to open up later today.

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GI Show – We Played Immortals Fenyx Rising And Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show we talk about a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: AvengersCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, Star Renegades, and the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake. Then we speak with voice actress Laura Bailey, who shares some behind-the-scenes details about her portrayal of Black Widow (Marvel’s Avengers) and Nadine Ross (Uncharted 4), among others. Finally, we end the show with another fantastic round of community emails and Meaningless Character Rankings. So please join Jeff Cork, Dan Tack, Kimberley Wallace, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Marvel’s Avengers: 00:02:41
Prince of Persia Remake: 00:20:00
Super Mario Odyssey: 00:20:48
Immortals Fenyx Rising: 00:23:18
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2: 00:31:11
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands: 00:34:46
Star Renegades: 00:35:40
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer: 00:38:14
Xbox Series X/S Announcements: 00:42:49
Laura Bailey Interview: 00:45:40
Community Emails: 01:16:01
Character Rankings: 01:38:14

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Ubisoft Remakes Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a legendary action/adventure game that made a big splash back in 2003. There series even served as a precursor to the Assassin’s Creed series. If you missed this classic adventure the first time around, you’ll be able to experience it with fresh eyes early next year.

During Ubisoft’s recent digital press conference, the publisher announced the return to this timeless classic with a remake that refreshes Sands of Time’s visuals while remaining faithful to its action and puzzle-like platforming. While the gameplay remains largely the same, the studio says that the camera, controls, and combat have been refined to match “today’s standards,” so hopefully, the camera will be less finicky. Finally, much like the original game, this remake includes the original Prince of Persia PC game that originally released in 1989.

Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Mumbai are handling this remake, which is Ubisoft’s first full-scale remake. “Ubisoft heard loud and clear the desire from the players to replay their favorite game,” says Ubisoft Pune’s game director Pierre-Sylvain Gires. “The remake was made to play on the nostalgia for the old players, but we wanted also to adapt the game for the new players who didn’t have the chance to play the original Sands of Time. So, alongside the graphical upgrades and sound upgrades, we also recorded new motion capture for the cinematics.”

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This remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is set to release on January 21 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and will cost $39.99. Ubisoft doesn’t plan to release specific versions of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but the game will be playable on those consoles via backwards-compatibility modes.

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GI Show – Early Review Impressions For Marvel’s Avengers And Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2

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In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show we talk about a handful of the games we’ve been playing recently, including: Avengers, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, Wasteland 3, and The Last Campfire. It’s a massive Playlist segment, so we don’t have time for much else. Fortunately, we make time for another fantastic round of community emails and Meaningless Character Rankings. So please join Brian Shea, Dan Tack, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @benjaminreeves to let me know what you think. You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Playlisten on SoundCloudstream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Our thanks to The Rapture Twins for The Game Informer Show’s intro song. You can hear more of their music at their website.


To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below.

Intro: 00:00:00
Marvel’s Avengers: 00:02:06
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2: 00:15:49
Wasteland 3: 00:24:22
Nexomon: Extinction: 00:28:53
The Last Campfire: 00:30:44
Littlewood: 00:36:03

Fortnite Update: 00:37:31
Bloodborne: 00:39:19
Kena: Bridge of Spirits: 00:43:34
Community Emails: 00:45:02
GI’s Meaningless Character Rankings: 01:12:55

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Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s Performance Mode Lets You Boost The Framerate

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Yesterday we got an extended look at Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, but news about Insomniac’s exciting action/platformer continues to trickle out. 

In an interview with Famitsu, Insomniac revealed that its upcoming PS5 game features a performance mode that boosts the framerate from 30fps to 60fps. Naturally this performance mode comes with a hit to visual quality, which haven’t been detailed yet. We’re used to seeing this kind of performance choice on the half step consoles like the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, but we expected that the next generation machines would do away with this kind of option – providing high performance alongside the best visuals. If Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is any indication, perhaps this kind of framerate/visual quality split is an ongoing feature that is here to stay. 

[Source: Famitsu via Destructoid]

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An Impressive Extended Look At Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

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During Gamescom 2020, Sony provided an extended look at Insomniac’s upcoming action/platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

This demo starts in an alien city when Ratchet and Clank pop out of a dimensional rift. The duo seems to be hunting down Dr. Nefarious when they get attacked by a group of hostile aliens. Insomniac’s use of Sony’s PS5 tech is impressive, as alien NPCs ran around in the background while Ratchet fends off a series of hostile foes and the camera seamlessly transitions between action and cutscenes. One big new mechanic is Ratchet’s Rift tether, which a

llows Ratchet to grab orange dimensional rifts and pull them open – effectively teleporting Ratchet across the level. In addition to these rifts, Ratchet and Clank will also fall through purple rifts, which transport them to other worlds, and all of this happens nearly instantaneously, which is incredibly impressive.

During this demo, we also got a look at a few of Ratchet’s new weapons. The Shatterbomb is a classic glove bomb that tosses out grenades. The Burst pistol is a – like it sounds – a pistol with burst fire. If you like getting close and personal, you might like The Enforcer, which looks like an electric shotgun. Finally, the Topiary Sprinkler is a device that drops onto the battlefield and sprays water on foes. However, this water will freeze enemies in place and cause them to start growing plants all over their bodies.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart looks great, so we can’t wait to play more. Fortunately, it is set to release during the PS5’s launch window. Unfortunately, we don’t know when that is just yet, so don’t hold your breath.