PC gamers looking for solutions on the go now have their answer as Valve has announced the Steam Deck--a portable Steam-capable PC that will launch this December starting at $399. The announcement comes mere hours before the Nintendo Switch OLED preorders are set to begin.Steam Deck is a portable PC platform that features a 7-inch touchscreen, two thumbsticks with a D-pad, and a four-button control layout. The Steam Deck will play games from the user's Steam account using only the device itself with no streaming needed. A charging dock that can connect to external displays via HDMI or USB-C will be sold separately from the device, and you can also use other powered USB hubs if you have them already.We just announced Steam Deck, a powerful all-in-one handheld gaming PC that ships later this year. Get to know Steam Deck: how to test your game, make your game even better on Deck, request a developer kit, and more at https://t.co/bAnPKznYPy #SteamDeck pic.twitter.com/5dlvbhQXuE — Steamworks (@Steamworks) July 15, 2021Three models of the Steam Deck will be available from the start: a 64GB model for $399, a 256GB NVMe SSD for $529, and a 512GB NVMe SSD for $649. All three versions will come with a carrying case included, while the more expensive model includes perks like exclusive Steam Community profile bundles and, for the 512GB, anti-glare etched glass.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin's first free post-launch update is now live on Switch and PC. This update adds a new five-star Co-Op Expedition Quest called Palamute Den that will allow you to obtain a new monstie companion: the Palamute from Monster Hunter Rise.As Capcom notes on the official Monster Hunter website, you'll need to make some progress in Monster Hunter Stories 2 before you unlock Co-Op quests. You'll also need to use a Palamute Ticket in the game in order to embark on the Palamute Den Expedition Quest.Gallery After you've obtained a Palamute egg (apparently Canynes hatch from eggs in the Monster Hunter world), you can hatch it at the stables and add the Palamute to your monstie party. Its Kinship Skill is called Rising Axel, and it leaps into the air and delivers a devastating slash with a blade.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

PlayStation's president Jim Ryan has spoken about giving development teams the time they need to make great game--because PlayStation doesn't want mediocre titles. "We want the best," Ryan said of PlayStation's philosophy.Speaking to TMTPost, Ryan was asked how he stays patient with development teams when games can take years to create. He said giving teams the time they need will pay dividends down the road if the game in questions ends up being great. At the same time, however, there are business realities that are at play, too."It is better to wait and have a great game than to rush and have a game that is okay or quite good. Players only remember best games rather than OK games," he said. "If it is a best game, players may want a sequel, and they will also want to buy a sequel, but no one really cares about a game that is only OK. Of course, due to financial and product portfolio considerations, we will also give pressure to studios to deliver a certain product within the expected time. But in general, we don't want products that are OK, we want the best."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Warzone has just received its latest update as part of Season 4 Reloaded, and there are big changes coming. Below, we've provided a rundown and the full patch notes detailing everything that has been adjusted. Leading the charge are a huge list of weapon balance updates that are being done with the explicit goal of increasing the average time-to-kill, or TTK, in Warzone. Many of Call of Duty: Warzone's weapons will now do less damage from headshots and shots to the torso, while other weapons are receiving nerfs to their maximum damage output."The following changes are our first major step towards increasing the average Time-to-Kill within Warzone," developer Raven Software writes in the game's patch notes. "It is important to note these Weapon adjustments were not made in a vacuum. When evaluating an individual change, some may seem quite drastic, but they were made holistically and in a way that supported a lock-step increase in average TTK across multiple Weapon categories. Torso Multipliers were a considerable focus of these changes with how often they would act as a flat damage increase given how consistently that location could be hit. With reductions to these multipliers, we are placing a bigger emphasis on precision--a move which we feel is ultimately healthy for the game."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty's Season 4 Reloaded update for Black Ops Cold War's Zombies adds lots of new content with the launch of Mauer der Toten, including a handy robot ally named Klaus. Klaus can defend areas to protect you or access areas you can't on your own, but you'll need to first activate him--here's how.Before you can enlist Klaus for help, you'll need to both turn on the power and activate the Pack-a-Punch machine, and one part of Klaus' activation requires you to at least reach round 10.Cold War's elite enemy type the Krasny Soldat will spawn on round 10 every match. You need to kill the Krasny and pick up the Battery item that it drops.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Microsoft has suggested that it will bring back the much-maligned "office assistant" (aka Clippy the paperclip) from the old days of Microsoft Office, but Clippy won't do much talking this time. In a tweet, Microsoft said that it would replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy if the tweet got more than 20,000 likes. Currently, the tweet is sitting at nearly 150,000 likes.If you aren't familiar with Clippy, you aren't alone--the talkative paper clip was removed from Microsoft Office back in 2007. The googly-eyed mascot who just wanted to explain Microsoft Office to you was considered annoying by many users, and many Flash animations featuring the violent demise of Clippy were early hits on Flash portals like Newgrounds.If this gets 20k likes, we’ll replace the paperclip emoji in Microsoft 365 with Clippy. pic.twitter.com/6T8ziboguC — Microsoft (@Microsoft) July 14, 2021This isn't the first time that Microsoft has flirted with Clippy nostalgia. The software giant recently released some old-school themed backgrounds for Microsoft Teams, one of which featured a stylized Clippy. If you're a Microsoft 365 user, keep an eye out for that new paperclip emoji--but don't be surprised if he starts talking to you.Info from Gamespot.com

Publisher Bandai Namco has announced a brand-new Gundam game for PC called Gundam Evolution, a free-to-play 6v6 FPS that looks a lot like Overwatch. A closed beta is set for August 8-9, exclusively in Japan.Gundam Evolution features 12 mobile suits from across the Gundam franchise. This includes the RX-78-2 Gundam and MS-06 Zaku II from Mobile Suit Gundam, WD-M01 ∀ Gundam from Turn A Gundam, and ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbados from Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.Players can select their Gundam and compete in team-based 6v6 game modes, with each mobile suit having their own unique abilities and fighting styles. And much like Overwatch, players can swap between Gundams during the match. Check out the official announcement trailer below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Lawn Mowing Simulator, the game with a title that describes exactly what it is, will be released on August 10, publisher Curve Digital and developer Skyhook Games have announced.Lawn Mowing Simulator will be available that day across PC and Xbox consoles, priced at $30/€30/£25. A new trailer has debuted as well. Set to relaxing music and beautiful scenes of grass that needs to be cut, the trailer provides a good look at what to expect from what looks to be a very zen and chill game.Set in the British countryside, the title lets you ride all manner of licensed lawn mowers, and the big ones are there. Brands like Toro, SCAG, and STIGA are all represented and playable in the game.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Valve has revealed a new portable PC platform called Steam Deck, letting you take and play Steam games on the go with onboard storage rather than cloud streaming. Starting at $399 for the 64GB model and going to up to $649 for the 512GB version, the Steam Deck releases this December, and fortunately, you'll be able to reserve one for yourself starting tomorrow, July 16, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.How to preorder the Valve Steam DeckRather than traditional preorders, Valve is rolling out Steam Deck orders with a reservation system that will cost you $5 upfront. Once reservations open tomorrow, you can reserve the model of your choice for $5, and when inventory becomes available in December, Valve says customers will be notified in the order in which reservations were made. At that point, you'll then be prompted to make the full purchase. You'll only be able to purchase the Steam Deck model you reserved (no changes will be available in December), so choose wisely. Only one Steam Deck can be reserved and ordered per customer.When Steam Deck preorders open on Friday, you'll be able to reserve one through the link below. You can set an email reminder there as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In addition Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick--and of course Keanu Reeves--John Wick 4 sees the return of another major actor--Ian McShane as Winston. According to Deadline, McShane has finalized a deal with Lionsgate to return for the upcoming action movie that's being directed by Chad Stahelski."I couldn't be happier than to welcome Ian McShane back to John Wick: Chapter 4," Stahelski said. "He is not only an amazing actor but is an indispensable collaborator who has helped define the world of John Wick."Filming on John Wick 4 has already begun, and will continue in France, Germany, and Japan throughout the summer. Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, and Rina Sawayama are also set to star.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

HBO's The Last of US TV adaptation may have recently started filming, but it's also still filling out its cast. Deadline is reporting that Jeffrey Pierce (Bosch), Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), and Con O'Neill (Our Flag Means Death) are joining the post-apocalyptic fold.Particularly of note for fans of the original video game series is the addition of Pierce, who voiced Tommy in the games, but will reportedly "recur as a different character" named Perry, who is only being described as a rebel in a quarantine zone. Bartlett will guest as Frank, while O'Neill will play Bill--both are survivalists living in an isolated town. Writer Craig Mazin has said The Last of Us TV show will follow the story of the original game, so speculation will likely follow about how these roles might correspond with or contrast against the source material.In the games, players alternately take control of Joel and Ellie across a ravaged United States. Joel is a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl to safety, a task that grows more daunting and complicated deeper at every step.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Baldur's Gate 3 has received its fifth big patch during its time in early access, adding a plethora of quality-of-life changes to the growing RPG as well as some experimental features that may or may not make it into the final game.As detailed in last week's Panel from Hell, hosting by Larian Studios and partly through some entertaining LARPing, Patch 5 for Baldur's Gate 3 is more about mechanical fixes and additions over new content. That means no new class to play as well as no new story content, but there's some changes that will have an impact on your existing campaign. Camps, for example, now better represent the area you're in when you pitch your tents, which makes cutscenes there more believable. Larian is also introducing a new mechanic that differentiates between short and long rests and how that factors into combat.Combat has been tweaked, too, with the ability for companions to disarm enemies being added. This lets you get even weirder with engagements, letting you pilfer weapons off dead bodies or mess around with strategies where you're throwing weapons between party members during a fight. Larian says this patch also touches the AI for both enemies and party members, both of which should now make more logical decisions in the heat of the moment.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Space Jam: A New Legacy hits theaters and HBO Max on July 16, and director Malcolm D. Lee already has plans for another addition to the franchise--and who he'd love to add to the cast.Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Lee talked about how there are a lot of factors going into the making of a possible third entry but feels that it would have to live up to the legacy of what's been already set."I think the bar has been set so high in terms of the first one with this global iconic superstar in Michael Jordan, and now the same global iconic superstar in LeBron James, who transcends sports," Lee stated. "Who is that next person to put into that universe? And then you've got to find a script and story that's good enough to not repeat what's been done but will capture the spirit of it and keep it going."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty's Season 4 Reloaded update for Black Ops Cold War's Zombies adds the new round-based map Mauer der Toten, and one of the best parts of a new map is discovering all of Treyarch's fun Easter egg surprises. Mauer der Toten lets you get your boogie on with a fun disco bunny Easter egg that works similar to the Coffin Dance Easter eggs found on the Die Maschine and Firebase Z maps.There really aren't any prerequisites for completing this disco Easter egg, other than you just need to have certain areas of the map opened up. If you've already followed our guide to opening up the map to turn on the power and activate Pack-A-Punch, then you're going to be good to go for this quest. However, I'd recommend getting a Pack-A-Punch weapon before attempting this Easter egg, especially if playing solo. The zombies can become overwhelming for the final part of this quest.Find The Bunny PartsYou’ll need to collect a total of six plushie parts that assemble the Mystery Box rabbit from various locations around Mauer der Toten. The bunny pieces can be found in the following locations:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In August, Hulu is offering up plenty of reasons to stay at home with fresh content arriving throughout the month. This includes new movies, series, and classic catalog titles.Things are, appropriately for summer's final weeks, heating up on the streaming service and especially loaded up with exciting content in the last handful of days. August 26 alone has the Season 10 premiere of American Horror Story and Season 12 premiere of Archer. It's a big deal that both of those shows have been able to climb into double-digits of seasons, though the next batch of episodes for these series promise to be big events--AHS Season 10 promises to be about famous and infamous mythological creatures, whereas Archer Season 12 will explore the titular spy's return from a coma.On August 31, Steve Martin's Only Murders in the Building, a spoof of--and homage to--true-crime podcasts and its devoted fandoms will finally be out. Co-created and written by Martin and John Hoffman (The Larry Sanders Show, Northern Lights) and based on an idea by Martin, Only Murders in the Building is about three strangers (Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez) who live in the same NYC apartment building and also share an obsession with true-crime stories--specifically, podcasts--and suddenly find themselves investigating one. Based on a recent trailer, it should be silly and stupid and self-important in the way Martin's best work typically is.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com