Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a massive game with a mostly straightforward structure. Throughout its 40-plus hour playtime, you'll go from dungeon to dungeon, completing some side-missions along the way, while pushing the story forward and rarely looking back. If you allow yourself to be swept up in the momentum of your mission to liberate Midgar, it can be easy to miss valuable collectibles accidentally. Some of the most important is Materia, which are colored orbs you can equip to characters to beef up their base attack skills by providing them spells, abilities, and summons.You're not going to want to bypass all the useful Materia you can collect throughout your journey. Below, we've detailed the easiest ones to miss, which includes info on what they do and how to find them. With this guide, you'll be able to find Materia like Revival, Elemental, HP Up, Magnify, and more. Be sure to check back often as we update this feature with even more essential Materia you might've missed. For more about Materia, you should also read our Materia loadout guide about how to build the proper set for your party. Otherwise, read our FF7 Remake review.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

One of the many quirks to island life in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that balloons carrying presents will periodically float overhead. These balloon gifts can contain a variety of items, from crafting materials to bells to rare DIY recipes, and you can even farm balloons to get the gifts you want--provided you have some patience. While there's no specific way to get balloons to spawn on your island, there are specific times and locations they'll spawn. Below we detail where and when you can look for balloons, what you can expect to get from them, and more.For more Animal Crossing tips, be sure to check out our lists of all the fish and bugs you can catch in the game. For even more advanced tips, check out our full turnip stalk market guide and our guide to terraforming.Balloon Basics: How To Pop BalloonsAs you go about your business you may see a balloon floating by--or you might hear it first, since balloons have a windy sort of sound to them. When you encounter a balloon, pull out your slingshot--which you can craft yourself or buy at Nook's Cranny--line yourself up underneath the balloon, and shoot. If your aim is correct, the balloon will pop and the gift will fall to the ground.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Good News Gaming is back and our mission to highlight uplifting news stories you might have missed continues. Social isolation can be tricky, but if you look in the right places you'll find there's plenty to keep the spirits up and the smiles wide. Things like cool initiatives that developers are undertaking to improve the world, daft memes that folks are creating, and generally just fun things people are doing in games to make us smile.We're here to point you to the right places and, this week, we take a look at how playing Borderlands 3 can help real-world medical research thanks to Borderlands Science. One man has decided Dark Souls III isn't challenging enough as is and modded his Ring Fit controller for it--squat to swig Estus sounds like a nightmare.We've also got a handy-dandy list of free games that you can grab right now, including Uncharted 4 and access to Google Stadia for free. Plus, there's a look at some of the incredible and creative things people are making in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

There's a ton of interest around Valorant, the character-based tactical shooter from Riot Games (developers of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics). It set Twitch streaming viewership records with 34 million hours watched in a single day and, at one point, reached a peak concurrent of 1.7 million viewers.Whether or not it's from the thirst for beta access, Valorant is gaining notoriety by combining aspects of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch. For those who haven't dug into its systems or haven't even had a chance to play, here's our basic rundown so you can get a full picture of what Valorant is about.Agents Are The Real HeroesThe "heroes" in Valorant are called Agents and there are five to start off with an additional five to unlock, which you get from simply playing the game and earning XP on your account. Each player chooses who to play as throughout an entire match, and only one of each Agent is allowed per team.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

In the opening of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife, a mercenary and former member of an elite private military group called SOLDIER, takes on a job with an eco-terrorist cell named Avalanche. Their mission is to blow up a reactor that siphons Mako, the lifeblood of the planet, and uses it to power the sprawling industrial metropolis Midgar. The group infiltrates, braves resistance from Shinra Electric Company's forces, and sets off an explosion that renders the reactor inoperable.In the 1997 original, what followed was a hop, skip, and jump through a few sections of the city back to Sector 7, and the safety of Avalanche's hideout. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, having carried out the mission, you're asked to walk the streets in the aftermath and witness the harrowing consequences of your actions. The sector lies in ruin, fires rage, buildings are crumbling, and the heartbreaking human cost is laid bare.A somber violin plays as you walk Midgar's streets, with each pull of the bow across strings tugging at your conscience and stirring the heart, asking you to question whether you're doing the right thing. The cries of confused children echo, people fall to their knees attempting to grapple with the magnitude of what has happened, and citizens decry this so-called group of freedom fighters you've joined just to make a quick buck.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

A new event has begun in Pokemon Go. The game's spring celebration is now live until April 16, and it introduces a couple of new springtime Pokemon to catch, as well as a new Shiny.During the spring event, Pokemon like Exeggcute, Chansey, Mareep, Marill, and Torchic will appear in the wild more often than normal. You'll also have a chance to find Shiny Exeggcute, as well as two special Pokemon: Buneary wearing a flower crown and Pikachu wearing a flower hat.In addition to the increased wild spawns, you're more likely to hatch Pichu, Togepi, Tyrogue, Chingling, Happiny, Munchlax, and Riolu from 2 km eggs. Any Pichu and Togepi that you hatch will likewise be wearing flower crowns. Niantic has also rolled out a special set of event Field Research tasks that lead to encounters with Alolan Exeggutor, Azumarill, and the rare Gen 5 Pokemon Audino.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

We've known for some months that a new Saints Row--presumably Saints Row 5--will be announced this year, but the announcement of a Saints Row 3 remaster left some fans wondering if that was all the hype was about. Not so, says Deep Silver, which clarified that a proper and new Saints Row entry is still in the works.In response to a fan expressing some disappointment about the remaster, the official Saints Row Twitter account explained that Volition is at work on a new Saints Row game, while the Saints Row 3 remaster is coming from another studio, Sperasoft. That suggests that plans to unveil the new Volition game are still on. Volition has developed all of the Saints Row games.It's unknown where the next Saints Row game would go. Saints Row 4 closed the book on the series in signature wild fashion, followed only by the DLC Gat Out of Hell. For a franchise known for one-upping itself it remains to be seen how it tops that. It received something of a side-reboot with Agents of Mayhem, which was set in the same universe, but that game got a less-than-stellar reception.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Capcom is preparing some new content for Resident Evil Resistance, the multiplayer mode included with Resident Evil 3 Remake, on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game will get new survivors and more as part of its content roadmap, which you can preview below.Brave survivors and sinister masterminds: Take a peek at our Resident Evil Resistance title roadmap.Jill Valentine will be available as a survivor starting April 17th, but rest assured that more content is coming over the next few months! pic.twitter.com/wxdWyBy7G4 — Resident Evil (@RE_Games) April 9, 2020The above sneak peek shows that RE3 Remake's Resistance multiplayer mode will see Jill Valentine, one of the playable characters in 1996's Resident Evil and 1999's Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, get added on April 17. Another survivor will join the game's roster in May, something is "under construction" in June, and even more content is coming to Resistance after these additions.Though she's not available yet, modder JimmyAndresRG has already created a mod for Jill. Over on Nexus Mods, you can download the Battlesuit Costume mod, which gives Jill the same suit she wore in 2009's Resident Evil 5. Check out some of the screens below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Superhero fans are having to wait a while for the next Marvel movie--Black Widow has been pushed from a May release until November, and The Eternals now won't appear until next year. But while this is disappointing, it does provide plenty of time to revisit all the movies so far in the MCU. And what better way to watch than with the directors? Following James Gunn's "Quarantine Watch Party" of Guardians of the Galaxy, Taika Waititi has announced that he will be taking part in an Instagram Live viewing of Thor: Ragnarok.Waititi will be watching the movie at 4 PM PT today, Thursday April 9, on Instagram Live. The director took to Instagram to announce his plans with typically self-deprecating humor. "I'll be talking about this movie while it plays in the background," he wrote. "Also I tricked at least one special guest to join (they aren't in the movie). It's going to be EPIC!!!(ally boring). Check in tomorrow morning for the start time (spoiler it's 4pm PST)." Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It's Week 8 of Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 8, and the second set of Skye's Adventure challenges is now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile. This week's missions run the gamut from searching chests at landmarks to hitting pistol headshots, but one of the more involved challenges asks you to fly a Choppa under the purple, red, and blue steel bridges. If you're not sure where those are, this guide will point you in the right direction.Where Are The Purple, Red, And Blue Steel Bridge Locations?There are several colored bridges around Fortnite's map, but this challenge asks you to specifically fly under the purple, red, and blue ones. The purple steel bridge can be found in grid square C6, north of Slurpy Swamp; the red steel bridge is south of Pleasant Park in grid square D3; and the blue steel bridge is east of Pleasant Park in E2. You can see where all three bridges are located on the map below, along with the other colored bridges.Fortnite steel bridge locations map Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Overwatch is getting a new hero next week, and it marks the last one until the release of Overwatch 2. The adaptable robot Echo, who joined the Public Test Realm on PC in March, will be coming to the main game across PC, PS4, Xbox Onm and Nintendo Switch on April 14.Echo is a Damage character, but she's built around the idea of versatility and able to adopt Tank and Support-like features on the fly. She's also one of the oldest characters, originally built for Blizzard's canceled project Titan which eventually became the foundation for Overwatch. Echo was first teased in the trailer that introduced Ashe, and it suggested the character had a long history with the Overwatch organization.Blizzard has promised that more Tank and Support characters are on the way too, but those will have to wait until after the launch of Overwatch 2. That game aims to expand the story with more single-player content, but the multiplayer modes will run concurrently and be updated together. It does not have a set release date yet.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds received a hotfix recently that aimed to address ongoing performance issues with the shooter, as well as introduce new effects for blood so that your super clean sniper shots look even better in-game. And while you can update it now, you might want to wait until some stability issues are solved.The hotfix, which went live yesterday, quickly started showing signs of issues a few hours later. Players were reporting frequent crashes, and developer PUBG Corporation confirmed it was aware of the problem. The issues were mostly resolved a few hours later, with the problems being pinned on the new blood effects introduced as part of the update.[PC] We have resolved an issue which temporarily caused an increase in game crashes after maintenance earlier today.Thank you for your patience.https://t.co/CLxg6Me9s8 — PUBG Support (@PUBG_Support) April 9, 2020As a result, PUGB Corp. decided to roll back the feature, in order to work on it further and not impact anyone wanting to play today. This means that the patch isn't much more than some performance optimizations and one small gameplay fix, with no estimated time of arrival for yanked blood effects.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Valorant doesn't exactly impress on the visual front. It's quite flat from a presentation standpoint and probably won't grab you at first sight, at least from what we've seen in its closed beta. But as a veteran Counter-Strike player who's poured several hours into Valorant's beta, I'm convinced that Riot Games (developer of League of Legends) is hitting all the right notes from a gameplay perspective with its first foray into the competitive FPS genre.At its core, Valorant is essentially a hero-shooter Counter-Strike, and borrows from CS in nearly every aspect. In a series of one-life-per-round bouts, you buy equipment at the start of each one before tactically fighting it out in a five-on-five demolition mode--one side attacks, one side defends. Even in map design, how weapons function, and the very strategies teams should implement to succeed, the influence is apparent. Hell, you even run faster with a knife equipped in place of a gun. My own skills and knowledge from years of CS have translated almost one-to-one in the Valorant beta, and I'm having a blast because of it. Even in team communication, random teammates and I have been using the identical terminology and callouts as we would in CS--long A, mid-to-B, heaven, window, and pit are a few of the shorthand terms that immediately tell me what I need to know.Admittedly, that may sound off-putting to newcomers with little experience in this regard. There are specific ways to play CSGO, and by extension, Valorant. While it may not be the most accessible shooter because of that, the general best practices are straightforward; don't run-and-gun, watch corners where enemies are expected, and work with your team. It has a tempered pace by nature.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Broadway may be closed, but that doesn't mean you are out of luck when it comes to hit musicals, even as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to lead to postponements and cancellations across the entertainment industry. Because of that, many films have come to digital release early and now some Broadway hits will be streamed live for free.Disney will present its Disney on Broadway concert as a live stream to raise money for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. The concert was originally recorded in November.The event, which will stream on Monday, April 13, and be hosted by Ryan McCartan. The Frozen star plays Hans in the Broadway production and will host the stream from his basement. Additionally, Broadway Cares is promising interviews with Disney on Broadway stars throughout the stream, all from their own homes.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Blizzard is closely monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with the company possibly canceling or postponing this year's BlizzCon because of it.The event's executive producer Saralyn Smith said in a statement that not only is it "too early to know" if BlizzCon 2020 can happen because of the increased social distancing mandates, but it will also likely be "a few months" before the company will have enough information to make an informed decision."As events around the world announce cancellations, postponements, or shifts to an online format in response to COVID-19, we're seeing questions about our plans for this year's BlizzCon and we want to provide a quick update," Smith wrote. "While we're all hopeful things will look better later in the year, the bottom line is that at this point it's too early to know whether BlizzCon 2020 will be feasible.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com