Now we all know that most of the multiplayer done in gaming is bad, so I'll sum it up for ya, but I'll have to give a take on both the Goods and the Bads of Multiplayer Transactions. 

Of course I have to go with the awful hate that goes on with your typical 12 year old gamer, but most of what gaming is today, is nothing but online interactions! No split screen either! The joyful gaming that made a 4-player match awesome and memorable! Gone out of our hands! We are forced to play with that stupid ass kid that no one will try to kick or vote kick (For you PC Gamers). Will our children ever see and play the awesome split-screen multiplayer matches that marked us as kids with that awesome 007 64 game? 

Most people say that our generation of gaming will end with us destroying what was awesome back then and create something new with what we already have. Online matches can be fun, but some are just repetitive and just... Well, hard! With all those awesome players that take this match as serious as a FIFA fan on crack! STOP IT WITH THE HEADSHOTS!!!!

Well. now to the "Good" topic that was so anticipated for. Now a lot of people love, and I mean, LOVE getting to know people that they met on CS: GO or CoD. My cousin met his wife when he played Halo 2 for the entire day! Meeting people might be the half of what's cool, but a lot of my friends are either from Canada, England or Japan, and I met them all on a single match of Team Death Match on Gears of War 2. 

And that's the thing, I met them from either half way around the world or a country above me! You can meet any now a days. People from across the world can meet all at once by just playing a match of Slayer or King of the Hill. As bad as it sounds, actual terrorists contacted each other by playing CoD Black Ops 2. Reason why the network was temporarily taken down in early 2015. 

The one thing that haunt gaming as a whole is that the multiplayer option can be forced on you. Titanfall is of those games that hit us big. A triple A game can become one of Indie's finest sellers on Steam. You can't say Team Fortress 2 is a triple A game because it's a what I like to call a mini game: a game of which you play for the sake of fun instead it being based on story or plot. As soon as one of gaming's funnest factors became what it is now, people are worrying about the next generation that may happen... God the humanity of what could come...Zelda Tri-Force Heroes became such a game... The pain it brought when I saw it...

Now what can even this out? Another good to even the bad. What is it? Oh! Besides the friends, besides the people across the world, there is triumph in each match you complete. The teamwork you brought after defeat the infamous Blue Team. The score you got on Death Match. Everything in each match that you can achieve makes you feel good! Yes! I finally won a match in TF2! Finally! I killed my player in CoD! It's just an awesome feeling to get when you finally achieve a goal you could pass in the past or even for days after doing it.  

What you think of what I had to say? I know there's a lot of things that make you mad or happy in today's multiplayer gaming and I know I might have missed a few or more. Wait... Are you going to answer me this time?

And 'til next time...

Play More Games!

Now, I know there's a lot of hate on this DLC, and I can see why. I mean, what were we expecting from a $10 DLC? An entire world? If that were the case, it would have been $30 to $25 tops. 

Now to the review, the DLC gives the option to build your own robot (Obviously), a few locations to dungeon claw on, and a new story mission. To say, that's all good for me, I mean the game became lacking after meeting a few locations and finishing a lot of quests, so I'm glad they did this! I mean it's not much, but at least they are showing us what can be done. 

The robot building is a bit annoying if you don't have the material, but it's just fun! How much can be built in the game is just awesome! It's as if they got the weapons moding and the base building were put  together and mashed it into one. I mean you can choice a voice for the robot and just customize it to the fear or cuteness of the voice. But for some reason, they mention that there can be personalities in the robots, but they don't utilize it as a custom creation option. Way to tease us Bethesda!

And what's great is that they put in a new raider. Doesn't sound much, but the same raider keeps getting old, and they are a bit too week to fight sometimes. The new raiders, The Rust Devils, are a lot harder than the average raider with a stick. They have lasers, can go higher than level 60, and when you encounter a legendary, you're going to need a Mini Nuke.

And of course there is some new weapons and armor that come with them, they have the parts of scrapped robots that are a stronger than the standard metal armor... Yes I read that off the loading screen... But besides the armor, there are a few new weapons like the Assaultron's head that blasts a beam stronger than your average laser, but can give the user radiation damage, a Mr. Handy Buzz Saw Arm, Assaultron Blade and not to forget the Tesla Rifle.

And even Tesla Power Armor! Me encanta esta armadura!

Now to finish this, lets talk about the story mission. 

To say, there was a lot of lore that was explored in this, and I had to say, they strayed away from the New Vegas game when they talked about the Robobrains. The game explored how the Robobrains worked and how the hell does the brain have to do with the robot!? 

And it just tries to make you dig deep on what the hell is happening and why it's happening. Now to the story, the DLC mission line is fun, and I would have to say you would have to get at least an expert hacking skill because there's going to be a lot of that in the long run. And make sure your health is large because there will be many legendary enemies, and remember what I said about the Rust Devils. 

And not to spoil anything, the main boss fight is a bit typical, but it reminds you of the fun and memorable boss fights in the past. I mean The Mechanist throws all he's got at you! Good thing there wasn't a sentry robot in his stash...

Now of course there are some glitches that are in this DLC, like if you have almost full storage, the DLC will not appear until you clean your hard drive. The enemies thinking you're not there. That guy you killed is still alive. And don't get me started on the crafting. I mean I got to build every robot I wanted even though it said I couldn't build it! I mean every robot. I built a Mrs. Handy for Codsworth, an Assualtron to protect Sanctuary, and 5 Sentry Bots for each settlement on my map. And I don't think that many people will encounter this. 

Oh! And the boss fight I was talking about has a glitch, and it's not cool. You finish off every bot and you have nothing else to do, you wait for The Mechanist to stop attacking you with teslas and explosive barrels. Nothing happens! I had to start way back from the beginning of the fight and died 4 times over and finally defeated The Mechanist. 

Now this was what I thought of the DLC. What did you think of the game's newest DLC that may give an example of what may come next in the other DLC's? I just can't wait for those two awesome DLC's... I hope there will be more, too!

Well, as usual...

Play More Games!

If you're about to create your own horror or you're just wondering what make a horror game, here's some of the basics of what can make a good survival horror. From what you dislike about that creepy child to why does that look like a necromorph, this is 5 ingredients for making a good survival horror. 

5. Distortion

When you play a simple horror like Condemned or Amnesia, you can see things as misleading, that stack of books looked like a monster, the lamp's shadow looked like something ominous. It's like a trick jumpscare. If you didn't know, all horror flix and games have this ingredient. 

4. False Innocence

In many games, children, one of the most unexpecting killer, can be the most fearsome and creepiest ghost/monster. But that's just a small example of what can be unexpecting. Mannequins are one that can snatch you when you're not looking, doctors are a man's worst surgeon in a haunted hospital and even toys such as dolls can be offensive. Anything that can that can't be seen as a creepy entity, is most likely to be put in a horror conflict. 

3. Loneliness

One of the main keys to a horror is to feel alone. Loneliness is a feeling that can trend fear on the bravest man when exposed to such horrors in games.

Games like Condemned, F.E.A.R., or even Resident Evil have this to make you feel outnumbered or without anyone to help you accomplish escaping the hell hole you fell in. Sometimes it makes you question if you're still alive or if this is just all in your character's mind. 

2. Powerless

One thing you don't want to be in a fight is being powerless, no weapons, no protection, or the monster chasing you is just plain unkillable! This factor is one of the most utilized concepts in horror games. The feeling that you have when you have to run instead of protect yourself is more terrifying experience than meeting the monster!

Games like Dead Space or Alien Isolation has this as you were trained to fight the huge monster after everything you had weaponized or can be used as a weapon was taken from you or just plain useless against him. 

1. The Drive

In every horror, there is some kind of drive you need to keep playing; to survive from the horde to live longer, find your wife and escape the city, find out what and why you're here, there just has to be something to keep you from leaving the game on your backlog.

Games like Soma or Amnesia had you asking why were you there and how the hell did you get there? There has to be something to keep you playing. From why is the monster here, to where is my family could be great combinations to create a survival horror.

Did I miss anything? What makes your skin crawl in horror games? Well, I hope it's not about FNaF, because that game makes me angry!

'Til next time...

Play More Games!

I always look for more in a game, but what I usually do is ask for a game I want to play. From a game that can win 5 Game of the Year awards to a concept that may define the meaning of this generation or the next, I count down the 10 best gaming concepts that need to be used for once!

10. Vampires!

A concept used in the olden days, We need another game that you play as a dark creature of the night to kill to quench his bloodlust or prove the villagers that there is a heart in a soulless vessel. Since the dawning of Twilight, all ideas of such a game be developed was scrapped or just rethought of. I mean, the story of Rayne still lives on, but we miss the games she was in. 

9. Theft

I know there are games that have you sneak and steal for the fun, but they aren't a good example of what can happen. I want to see some utilize this concept in a rare way. Either in VR or even in modern gaming. Make the game in a more modern era where you'd have to do more than just run away when they have guns. Make it even more than what I expect, make it like a Jewel Heist to put more suspense on my behalf.

8. You Don't Have to Shoot

If you ever played SWAT, then you know what I'm talking about. In SWAT, you had to arrest the offenders, if they attack with lethal force, you had permission to shoot to kill. I haven't seen a game like that since then. I mean there's Rainbow Six: Siege, but they don't utilize the concept of a real SWAT team or a real American Law Enforcement. This would lead you to believe that meeting an offender that would kill, would be surprising or just hard! 

7. For the Sake of Adventure!

I know there is a game coming out with the same concept called No Man's Sky, but I know that not many would like to take this concept willingly unless it's an awesome new world. I really want to see what a person can with this idea, with worlds already created, like Tamriel (Elder Scrolls) or even Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings). I know that there might be dangers in this type of world, but I want to see the world in a perspective of a traveler or be the Lewis and Clark of Tamriel! Sounds like a boring concept, but such an idea can have you dwell in the depths of the world's beauty.

6. Become the Elite

I know that in Halo 2, you play as the Arbiter and that was awesome, but you see the game in a heretic's eyes. I want to play as the Elite that doesn't see the Covenant as a false community, a concept already told in books, but never in a game. I want to see the story before the Spartans were made. To see what Reach was like in the hateful eyes of a cold blooded Elite. 

5. In the Great War

I know this may go off roots with the game's genre and style, but always wanted to see what everything was like in the great war in Alaska and China. To play out the role of an American soldier wearing the T-50 Power Armor for the first time and drive out the Chinese from Alaska. A short story already told, but never shown. Someone in Bethesda, try to make this happen and not make it like Point Acherage. 

4. Egypt Empire  Vs. Roman Empire

There are many stories of which that talk of the Egyptians and the Romans, but I would like to see someone in the gaming industry try to take those stories and put them either in a story driven game, or a game in the style of Chivalry. I have my own ideas, but I would like to see what people would do with the concept.

3. Other Superheroes

There has been some talk going on that the Arkham series is old and we are waiting to see other heroes take it's spot. I agree with that. Arkham Knight was a bit of a bore and felt as if I was playing the same game. I would love to see a game that would be based on either famous or unknown heroes like Spawn or Shadow Hawk, maybe even a game based on the Sin City comic book franchise. Please, Telltale, Bethesda, 2K, anyone try to take this idea! I want to see the heroes rise!

2. One of the Nine Divines

After seeing the success of Fallout Shelter, I believe they can do more than a Vault Simulator. I always loved playing Civilization and games that make you as the god of these people, so I want to see this concept go to one of my favorite franchises, Elder Scrolls. Be either the Daedric Princes or one of the Nine Divines that are worshipped by the people of Tamriel. I've seen games that tread this concept pretty far by allowing you to not let your followers poop causing them to be constipated.

1. Become the Demon

Games like Overlord gave me a lot of fun. What sucks it that the concept is no longer used. I want to see a game where you are the Demon tormenting the residents or on a rampage in the city. If you ever watched Grandma's Boy and you remember that game they made called Demonic, then you know what I'm talking about. 

I would like to be on the evil side once more since Overlord isn't backwards compatible on the Xbox. 

Did you like my list? Well, I hope the developers do something with these ideas because...

And as usual...

Play More Games!

What I loved in The Last of Us games were how realistic they were. I know some of you might say that the Zombie concept is getting old, but you haven't really been getting the real thing. As some of you PlayStation nerds know, The Last of Us had a story that was both an adventurous ride and a heart-wrenching path. 

Beside the great AI and mechanics, the game gave you guilt when fighting an enemy. Some would plead for mercy, some would try to flee. That made me and most players hesitant to even finish them off. I really miss that in a Zombie Apocalypse game. Now they make you hate the enemy and have you kill anyone without feeling sorry for them. 

Dying Light is a good example. The game made you hate Rais and his goons, but the stories that could been explored about the goons would been better either told by word or by note. I mean there has to be some heart in some of them, right? Well, I wanted to find notes in Rais' palace from his goons saying they only joined the gang to provide food for their family or they wanted to have protection from the outbreak, things like that. 

In The Last of Us, there were notes that explained why those jerks of raiders didn't really want to kill everyone, they just wanted to keep the military from coming into the city. There were notes that told you what happened to the corpse holding. There were even notes on what the hell was a ration card was! I will be comparing The Last of Us with a lot of things, because that game was such a perfect game with the right concept. 

Although, most people may say that the game was a bit too much in one place, but if you ever were in a tragedy, things seem to get worse and worse by the minute it started. All I can say is that the game treads the realistic path that games tend to stray away from. 

I know there are a lot of survival games that have some zombies in it, but I would like to see some take on the legacy of The Last of Us. I want to see a game that treads on reality of zombies to another game with a different story and more compelling characters like Ellie and Joel. 

I would even like to see some realistic mechanics in games like DayZ or H1Z1 where there are friendlies and there are enemies. Kind of like a faction system, so no one can start killing any random player that cross the god damn road!

Anyways, there is a lot that the game developers can do for the game, but as many know, the players and gamers are tired of the zombie concept. Well, I hope something comes out of the idea. And 'til next time...

Play More Games!

Two more games have been confirmed for Xbox One backward compatibility. Take on demons and steal some jewels today.

First up is Doom 3: BFG Edition. If you’re hungry for more monster killing after the Doom 4 beta, now’s a great time to jump back into the previous entry.

The other, Monaco, is a cooperative heist game. You and friends take on distinct roles with different skills to get in, get the goods, and get out.

For the full list of backward compatible games, visit Major Nelson’s website.

While many role-playing games feature matrimony in some fashion, the way it’s presented in Dark Souls III is a decidedly darker way to express tying the knot. Warning, there are tons of spoilers ahead. Don’t read this unless you’re ready to unearth some big secrets involving multiple questlines.

Still here? Great. Getting married in Dark Souls III ties in directly to the game’s most hidden ending – The Usurpation of Fire. We’ll break down what you need to do step by step so you don’t miss a critical choice at the right moment – it can be surprisingly easy to do and lock you out of the ending until your next playthrough or new game+(++, +++, etc.)

The first thing you want to do is to prepare the Yoel and Yuria questline. Here’s how you do it. Immediately after killing Vordt in the High Wall of Lothric, take the gargoyle ferry over to the undead settlement. Instead of approaching the gates and moving into the zone, take a hard left in the area where the dogs are let loose on the hapless hollows trying to get in the settlement. You hear a voice in a sea of what appears to be dead Londor pilgrims. One of them isn’t quite dead yet. His name is Yoel, and you just have to talk to him a few times to get him to go take up residence at your Firelink Shrine.

Once he’s there, he offers the player his powers. The important thing is an ability to “draw out your true strength” that will give your player a dark sigil at the cost of a “free” level up. You need to activate this ability 5 times before you hit the catacombs level in order to have Yoel die properly (he will die anyway, but if you want to do this right you need to tax him 5 times). There are ways to remove the dark sigil and associated hollowing on death, but if you want to get the ending, you cannot take these things off for the duration of this playthrough. You may be puzzled as to how to get Yoel to give you more free levels to get your tally to five, and to do that you need to die. Find a bonfire near a cliff or something and just die to increase your hollowing stat – it’s best to get yourself to five as soon as possible so you don’t forget and accidentally go too far in the game before Yoel perishes.

Okay, so you taxed Yoel to five. Great. Leave the Firelink Shrine and come back, and Yoel should be dead. Near his hangout will be Yuria, who sells a variety of special goods and will also get you started on the next part of the chain when the time comes. Make sure to talk to her and make friends.

The next critical part of our quest involves two characters you will meet on the Road of Sacrifice, Anri and Horace. Anri’s sex is dependent on the player – if you’re male, Anri will be female. If you’re female, Anri will be male. Be sure to make your proper introductions when you see them near the bonfire. After chatting with them, head to the Cathedral of the Deep and take out the Deacons of the Deep Boss.

Go back to Firelink and talk to the two of them again before proceeding to Farron Keep, Abyss Watchers, and the catcacombs. Inside the catacombs, find Anri before heading into the second area – she will be looking for Horace. The first time you see her, tell her you haven’t seen him.

Continuing through the zone, you will come upon Anri again. She still will not have found Horace. Stop right here – do not proceed to High Lord Wolnir, the boss of the catacombs. Instead, break the rope suspension bridge and head down to Smouldering Lake. You can cheese the Demon boss in the way by pulling him up the steps, he’s a big dummy and will leash down as soon as he hits the top steps. Once you get to the lake itself, hang a hard right hugging the wall and keep rolling to dodge the ballista bolts. You come to a small alcove here where Horace will be. He’s gone mad, and will attack you. It’s an easy fight, finish him off and then port back to the catacombs bonfire to proceed along the path to talk to Anri again. Tell her you found Horace, he’s down in the lake. She will be happy to hear this and now you can leave and go take on the catacombs boss.

Head back to Firelink and talk to Yuria. She will tell you of her plans to wed you to Anri, for after all a leader of hollows must wed. She will imply some rather sinister dealings are in place to make this happen. They are!

In Boreal Valley, proceed through the level until you come to the bonfire at the Church of Yorshka. Anri will be resting near the wall. Talk to her a few times. This will be the last time you talk to him/her before your upcoming ceremony. Interestingly enough, if you want to take the quest in a different direction and save your beloved Anri from your marriage, you can find his/her kidnapper located among the statues inside the church, hidden with the chameleon spell. Now since we are actually trying to wed him/her in this guide, don’t do it, but you can kill the kidnapper and end the cycle here – it will also really piss Yuria off and she’ll leave. You are free to gently punch or otherwise activate the hidden pilgrim to have a chat though, just don’t kill it.

After you have slain the Pontiff boss, return to Yuria at Firelink. She will tell you that your partner is ready and the ceremony is ready to begin. Head to the area right before the twisting staircase to Anor Londo, which leads into the chamber where the ceremony will take place (an area that is normally an illusory wall will be open). Talk to the pilgrim waiting outside to receive your “wedding ring”, a ceremonial sword. Head down into the chamber and you see Anri laying motionless (hopefully lifeless based on what’s about to happen) with her head covered. Well, it’s time to get married. Click X to get married on Anri and you will plunge the sword into his/her head. Yeah, it’s a non-traditional ceremony, don’t judge those Londo folks.

Speak to Yuria after you complete the wedding and you will be all set to achieve the Usurpation of Fire ending after you move on to complete the game when you defeat the Soul of Cinder.

This week features mechs, horror, and more! A lot more, because we kind of maybe got busy last week and weren't able to post Blog Herding. That just means more sweet, sweet blogs for all of you to read! 

Community Blogs For March 31 – April 13:  

Flash of Brilliance: Why DC's The Flash Deserves His Own Video Game 
MightyMagikarp is correct: Flash needs to be in a game he can call his own. As a fan of him in cartoons, comics, and the hit TV show, I can say with confidence that if done right, this could be the next great superhero game. This blog is a long read, but stick with it.  

Managing College And Video Games 
GerardoExber has a dilemma when it comes to college and playing video games, but he's done well to complete quite a few. I've beaten two, and only because I'm back in the video game writing game. The next games he plans to tick off his to-do list are some great ones (I actually beat one of them!), so he shouldn't have a problem staying motivated!  

Fossil Echo: An Interview With Game Director Phil Crifo 
Blogger Rebekah Lang puts on her reporting hat to bring us this in-depth interview. The chat touches on topics like what it's like to reach greenlight status on Steam, and what inspired this 2D adventure platformer. It's worth a read for those interested in the story behind the games they play.  

5 Ingredients for Making a Good Survival Horror 
Blogger StarterPack enjoys frightful fun, and I can tell by his list that he knows horror. I mean, just reading through the "ingredients" is giving me chills. The Resident Evil series could look to this to turn things around.  

When An Image And A Game Don't Align 
Rebekah Lang caught me with her headline, and she doesn't disappoint in her dissection of Saturday Morning RPG and its false advertising, so to speak. The blog reminds me of when I was younger and would buy a game based on its slick box art. It didn't take me too long to stop that.  

Top Ten Xenoblade Chronicles Tracks 
The headline really says it all: TheDarkestLink writes about the best tunes in the JRPG series. Xenoblade was really on his brain this past week, so why not share some well orchestrated tunes? I'm certainly not complaining.  

"Damsels" of Zelda 101: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 
Haley Shipley writes that, "Not only does this game feature some of the most powerful and complex women in the entire franchise, but it has positive gender representation overall." If you haven't been reading her series on women in The Legend of Zelda series, this is a great place to start.  

My Thoughts On Final Fantasy XV Uncovered And The Platinum Demo 
Justin Mikos does not like the new XV demo, especially the combat found within. For a game that has looked so promising, this does not bode well. This is a longer blog with lots to sift through and take away, so give it a read.  

Community Reviews:  

Quantum Break Review – A Worthy Rental 
Edwinjoe450 gives the latest flavor of the gaming-scape a solid 8, backing up his reason for the high score while also being honest about its shortcomings. From what I've heard, this game does seem to be something gamers should at least try.  

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Review: An Unexpected Legendary Adventure 
This game was not on my radar before I read Refle's review. The game, receiving a 9 out of 10, sounds like a more traditional JRPG, but don't let that scare you away. I've avoided the genre when it comes to games that aren't Persona or bring name recognition, but that would seem to be unwise in this case.  

Xenoblade Chronicles X Review – Gaining the World, Losing the Magic 
The latest in the Xenoblade series has been out for quite some time, but that didn't stop TheDarkestLink from reviewing this massive game. The blog is set up well, and even though the game is described as flawed, it has mechs. 

Review and Thoughts: Undertale and Time Lines 
Writergirl2394 wasn't sure about reviewing this game, explaining how everyone should go into it blindly. So instead of reviewing it in the traditional sense, she writes about timelines. It's a seriously deep look into an absolutely great game.  

Community Writing Challenge:  

With the rumors of Kratos visiting the Norse gods (the best ones), which mythologies or religions deserve to be feature in video games more? I'd like to see more Norse gods in games, or even more with some Shinto leanings. But what about you?  

Community Playdate:   

This week's playdate game will be Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the Nintendo 3DS. We'll be playing on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CST. Newcomers and veterans are welcome. Please leave your Friend Code in the comments if you haven't played with us before. We'll keep players updated throughout the play session via the comments below.  

I hope you enjoy the blogs! Please contact me via my Game Informer page or on Twitter at @LouisGarcia12 with any blog news or playdate suggestions.  

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is going into closed beta on April 22. Today, EA and DICE revealed what we can expect from it.

Beta codes will be going out on April 22 and 23. The test will conclude on April 26.

Those that are selected to participate will be able to test out story missions, side activities, and social features. The leaderboards will be supported by a website and mobile app that allow you to keep tabs on your friends.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst will support “echoes” (otherwise known as “ghosts” in racing games) that let you see how your peers moved through a challenge. Narratively, these are tied into “The Beat,” a meta-system used by runners to communicate and navigate.

Players can also create their own challenges and share with friends. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst will be out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, on May 24.

A week ago we were finally able to get some hands-on time with Gears of War 4's multiplayer (about two hours' worth of time to be precise) and also got to hear some of The Coalition’s long-term plans for the multiplayer component. You can watch footage of me wrecking and getting wrecked here if you want to get straight to that, but here are some of the big takeaways from my time with the game and what The Coalition told us about its plans.

The new Dodgeball mode is ridiculously fun.

I was able to play both team deathmatch and a new mode called Dodgeball with other players during the session. Dodgeball is a variant of team deathmatch where once you’re killed you’re out of the game for good…unless one of your teammates kills an opponent. If that happens, you’re brought back into the game. If there are several people dead on a team, they’ll be placed in a queue, with each kill bringing back the person at the front of the respawn line .

It’s a tense, exciting game where victory never feels like a sure thing, even when it’s one player versus five. We had matches that lasted several seconds and one that went on until the game timer ran down just because the back and forth was so vicious and constantly changing.  When the playtest wrapped up, I found myself wishing I could play even more Dodgeball matches.

All the DLC maps will be free – but there’s a catch.

During the presentation before the playtest, The Coalition ran down its plans for what it was bringing to Gears of War 4's multiplayer. Among the most interesting details is how the developer is approaching DLC. 10 maps will be available at launch with additional maps releasing every month post-launch for free. However, to avoid overwhelming new players, maps will rotate out of public playlists. To play the maps that have been rotated out on private servers, players will need to purchase that map. Only the host of the game actually has to buy the map, so every other player connecting to that particular game won’t have to purchase it as well.

Gears of War 4 has its sights set on the eSports scene, but wants to welcome casual players as well.

The Coalition talked about how it was going to try and strike a balance between appealing to both competitive and casual players. With Gears of War Ultimate Edition and the development of its multiplayer, The Coalition reached out to streamers, casters, and players for feedback on what the developer could do to make the game more watchable. A revised spectator system, which gives players a large amount of camera options, is something that sprung from this feedback.

There’s also a revised ranking system as well as bot options that will allow players to work with humans cooperatively against a team of A.I. opponents. Experience earned during these matches against the A.I. is applied to the player’s online profile so that, according to The Coalition, they will feel like they’re making some sort of progress beyond just practicing.

The game's main competitive mode will be revealed soon.

The Coalition briefly mentioned a new mode called Escalation, but didn’t delve too much into what it's about except to say that it would be the game’s “premiere competitive mode” and that it was designed with eSports in mind. More details about Escalation will be revealed at PAX East (which starts on April 22).

You can play the multiplayer beta as early as next week.

Itching to get a taste of Gears of War 4's multiplayer for yourself? You’ll be able to very soon. The beta opens up on April 18 for people who own and have played Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (either the Xbox One or Windows 10 edition) prior to April 11. On April 25, anyone who has an Xbox Live Gold account will have access to the beta until it ends.

For more of our Gears of War 4 coverage be sure to check out our hub by clicking on the banner below.

In September, we reported on a Mass Effect-themed amusement park attraction coming this year. Today we get our first look at it by way of teaser trailer.

Mass Effect: New Earth is set to open at Santa Clara, California’s Great America theme park this spring. Great America claims it will feature the world’s largest 3D LED screen.

Can't wait for #MassEffectNewEarth to launch. Created with @EA, it has the world's largest #3D LED screen. pic.twitter.com/9MMWVFps5e

— CA Great America (@CAGreatAmerica) April 7, 2016

The “4D Holographic Journey” will be housed in the newly renovated Action Theatre. A specific launch date for the attraction has not been announced.

[Source: California Great America on Twitter]

Fallout 4’s retro-futuristic sports car, the Chryslus Rocket ’69, will soon join the roster of playable vehicles for Forza fans on Xbox One. Starting today, codes for the car will be sent to Xbox Live members who have played either Fallout 4 or Forza Motorsport 6 on Xbox One.

Codes will be sent out in an Xbox Live message and may take up to seven days to appear. Players who buy Forza or Fallout between now and the end of the month will receive a code for the slick red racer beginning in early May. 

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Last year a Fallout-themed Ford F100 was featured in Forza. The Chryslus Rocket ’69 was announced with no specific date. 

The Chryslus Rocket ’69, better known as the "Cherry Bomb" to Fallout fans, is advertised as the “first car to break the sound barrier.” Dilapidated and destroyed shells of the coupe can be found peppering the Boston Commonwealth.

Read our review of Forza Motorsport 6 here. For more Fallout 4, check out our guide on the newly revamped Survival Mode. 

The SNES is arguably one of the best consoles ever to have been released. It was the birthplace of many important franchises and continued the legacy of even more.

With the New 3DS and New 3DS XL capable of handling Super Nintendo games, we have a chance to return to some of those gems. Three are available starting today.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past brought the series back from the precipice it was teetering on with The Adventure of Link. A return to the top-down view and the haunting parallel Dark World make this a must-play for anyone even remotely interested in the series.

Super Metroid took the core concepts of the NES original and Game Boy follow-up and made them fresh. The addition of an inventory screen and an improved save system cemented the franchise’s place in Nintendo’s history.

Finally, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest sees Diddy on a quest to save Donkey Kong from K. Rool. All three of these are available on 3DS eShop today for $7.99.

These three join Donkey Kong Country, Earthbound, F-Zero, Pilotwings, Super Mario Kart, and Super Mario World on New 3DS.

Whether you prefer to take hostages or free them, you can do it at no cost for a few days. Ubisoft is making Rainbow Six Siege available for free this weekend on Steam.

The free weekend is live now, and runs through Sunday, April 17, at 1 p.m. Pacific / 4 p.m. Eastern. If you like what you see, you can grab the game at a 33 percent discount for the standard edition ($40.19) or 40 percent off for the Gold version that includes the season pass ($53.99).

Those offers end on Monday, April 18. For more on Rainbow Six Siege, check out our review.

Creative Assembly released its newest trailer for Total War: Warhammer today. The video features a tour of the many different regions of the Old World, where the game is set.

The trailer includes new footage of the campaign map and many new battlefield environments. The human Empire, Bretonnia, the mountain holds of the Dwarves, the marshes of Sylvania, and many others are all covered in the descriptive video. See it for yourself below.

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A series of "Battle Briefing" videos are scheduled to follow this trailer on the Total War YouTube channel in the coming weeks. Total War: Warhammer launches May 24 on PC and Mac, and you can read about its plans for free DLC here.

Publisher Nicalis, best known for its gruelingly difficult 2D platformers 1001 Spikes and Cave Story, is bringing another retro-inspired sidescroller to the table. Creepy Castle is a cutesy sidescrolling RPG that hides a deep conspiracy under its surface.

Developer Dopterra funded Creepy Castle with a successful Kickstarter in 2014, and has announced that the pixelated title will be making its way to PC, Mac, and Linux this summer. Creepy Castle follows Moth (who, unsurprisingly, is a moth) as he uncovers mysteries traversing a spooky, stonewalled castle. You'll find tomes that give insight to the world's lore in between duels with a variety of enemies and bosses.  

The pixel-art is colored with a limited palette that meets somewhere in between the visual styles of the NES and MSX computer system. Battles unfold through numerous turn-based mini-games in a similar way to 2015's hit indie-RPG Undertale. According to a video posted on the developer's YouTube account, characters from Five Nights at Freddy's, Shovel Knight, and Super Meat Boy will make cameo appearances in Creepy Castle.

Keep an eye out for Creepy Castle this summer, and make sure to check out our Kickstarter Compendium to track notable games that have gone through the crowdfunding service. You can also follow Creepy Castle's updates on development at Dopterra's blog here. To see what other plans Nicalis has in store for the near future, click here. 

At today's CinemaCon in Las Vegas, 20th Century Fox confirmed that Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller will return for Deadpool 2.

This year's dirty-joke-filled Deadpool movie broke records, including earning more than $750 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing R-rated film to date. News had previously surfaced that a sequel was in the works, but today marks the official confirmation from Fox about Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds' return. In addition to these two, Fox also confirmed that the entire creative team will be returning for the sequel. No release date has been announced just yet.

For more on Deadpool, you can read our review of the Deadpool video game from 2013 here. Be sure to also read our feature about which comic book heroes we believe deserve to star in their own game, and in light of Deadpool's knack of breaking the fourth wall, check out our top 10 fourth wall breaking moments in video games.

[Source: Variety]

Speedrunner Darbian can complete Nintendo’s classic platformer in the amount of time it normally takes to heat a TV dinner, and you can watch the impressive triumph right here.

I remember the day when I could finally complete Super Mario Bros. in one afternoon; I felt pretty accomplished. Darbian recently completed a Super Mario Bros. Any% run (meaning its not a 100% run, so he could use the warp zones and skip levels) that was less than five minutes long, which puts everyone else's completion time to shame. Darbian played on a real NES, so there are not computer tricks here, but there are a number of impressive close calls.

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Darbian isn't that much faster than the previous record of 4:57.627, but you can watch that run here to see what he did differently. For more on speedrunning, check out our guided tour of how to complete Super Metroid in no time flat.

Bravely Default harkened back to the classic era of JRPGs, for better and worse. A wonderfully diverse selection of job classes and the novel Brave/Default system breathed new life into the turn-based battles, but the adventure was dragged down by its abysmal exposition and a repetitive campaign that required playing through the main story five times in order to reach a satisfying conclusion. Bravely Second only manages to shore up some of its predecessor's problems, but the rich combat continues to shine.

Bravely Second takes place a few years after the events of the first game, in a newly united Luxendarc. Agnes, now pope of the Crystal Orthodoxy, has brokered an alliance with the religious order's long-warring rival, the Duchy of Eternia. Before the treaty can be signed, however, a mysterious new villain named Kaiser Oblivion kidnaps Agnes and declares his intent to destroy the world. Returning heroes Tiz and Edea Lee team up with two new characters to save the day: Magnolia, a monster-hunting warrior from the moon, and Yew, Agnes' happy-go-lucky bodyguard who failed to protect her the first time around.

Unfortunately, the opening hours of the new quartet's journey are a real drag. Grinding your way through random encounters is required almost immediately thanks to a few cheap boss battles, and without side missions to earn new jobs at this stage, you're stuck using basic attacks and guzzling potions for health. I enjoyed very little of my first six hours or so with the game, as I burned through tutorials and became reacquainted with the world and characters.

Once Bravely Second started introducing new job classes, however, I quickly fell back in love with the combat. The ability to mix and match a primary skill set, a secondary skill set, and a sprinkling of random support skills for each character allows you to design the party of your dreams, while also experimenting with new builds whenever you see fit. Assembling a crew of beastly warriors and wizards and then steamrolling your way through fights never gets old, and kept me interested in progressing even when the story did not.

Thanks to Bravely Second's victory streak mechanic, thumping underpowered foes is also lucrative. This new system allows players to queue up multiple waves of enemies during random encounters, which doles out massive cash, XP, and job point bonuses at the end of the match. The streak ends if your enemies are alive to take their first turn, and figuring out how to game – or outright break – the system is half the fun (hint: Rangers and red mages go well together). The victory streaks drastically hasten the grind for higher levels and new abilities, alleviating one of the major faults of the first game.

Instead, the biggest grind in Bravely Second is the story. Quests still require you to backtrack all over the map only to listen to inane conversations that drag on for far too long. I don't mind the series' tongue-in-cheek humor, but it constantly undermines the drama. It's hard to take all the betrayal and tragic backstories seriously when Yew is constantly proclaiming that the next battle will be his "coup de gravy." The side quests are even more absurd. Each one puts you in the middle of a conflict between two characters sporting new job classes, then forces you to choose between them. You only receive the job of the character you defeat in battle, which creates a discord between where you want the story to go and which job you want to add to your roster. I would have loved to help the reformed thief protect the water supply of his poor, desert-dwelling brethren from an unscrupulous red mage, but I also wanted his Mug ability to relieve bosses of their high-end items, so down he went. After a few side quests, you realize that your decisions don't actually matter from a narrative standpoint (everything always works out), so you're free to pursue the jobs that interest you most.

As with Bravely Default, a mid-game event in Bravely Second resets the world, tasking you with completing all the missions a second time. That you only have to play through everything twice instead of five times may seem like little consolation, but the return trip is a drastically abbreviated and slightly enhanced experience. Most side quests allow you to skip past the boring dungeons and get to the boss fights quicker, and the new choice format allows you to fight a different opponent and gain a new job (unless you make the same choice again for some reason). You also run into new and tougher enemies during random encounters, and are privy to some new conversations (which still aren't really worth your time). The mid-story reset is still a lame way to extend an already lengthy game, but everything comes together with a satisfying run of final bosses that are challenging without being cheap. As dumb as the story is, I couldn't help but smile at where all the characters end up.

Even with 60+ hours' worth of gameplay, some parts of Bravely Second's skeleton are still surprisingly bare. The dungeons offer little more than a few treasure chests and basic switch puzzles, and a surprising number of environments – both dungeons and cities – are recycled from the first game. At the same time, the story is bloated with sappy and often pointless conversations. While trying, these shortcomings did little to dampen my enthusiasm for creating the perfect party and charging them into battle. The Bravely series is still in need of a deft editor, but the combat systems reign supreme.

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