Fatshark, the developer and publisher of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, have announced the release of the next map update as a part of the Curse of Drachenfels storyline. This map is available right now and will automatically be downloaded on steam for users who have Vermintide 2 already installed.Inside the Enchanter's LairAfter making your way through the previous two maps, Old Haunts and Blood In Darkness, the party has finally reached the Castle Drachenfels where the Enchanter is waiting. Inside the Enchanter's Lair it seems that the enemy is ready and waiting for you, so beware.The Enchanter’s Lair is the third map in the Curse of the Drachenfels campaign, which is part of the Season 2 content roll out. The first and second Season content is free for all owners of Vermintide 2 owners and includes Daily and Weekly Quests for players to earn Shillings. This currency can be spent on cosmetics in-game. Shopkeeper Lohner has more cosmetics for players to purchase in the Emporium of Wonders.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As Sword Art Online anime fans probably know, the most recent season of SAO takes place in a completely different kind of virtual world, one that has no connection to the previous MMO games. Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris follows the anime’s progression into a whole new virtual world, a world where the AI are actually living beings with their own personalities and history. Anime characters Renly, Sheyta, and Sortiliena are all available as playable characters which can be recruited into your party. Hersyrain is an all-new character not from the anime that has been added to the game. New enemies, the Black Knight, Kayode, and the Mysterious Giant are also featured in the trailer as foes to vanquish. Team up to defeat your enemies and build bonds with your party members--you can even date them in game.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Naturally, monumental expectations accompany the first Half-Life game in 13 years, and for the iconic franchise's return to come in the form of a VR exclusive is undoubtedly bold. But at each step of the way, Half-Life: Alyx proves that almost everything the franchise did best is elevated by VR: the environmental puzzles that require a keen eye, the threat of a headcrab jumping for your face, the cryptic storytelling. The series' staples are as great as ever here, and in its most powerful moments, Half-Life: Alyx confidently shows you why it couldn't have been done any other way.What's a day in the life of Alyx Vance? In true Half-Life form, the entire game goes from morning to night in a single shot of first-person action in which you, as Alyx, trek through the undergrounds and abandoned zones of City 17. At first, it's to save your dad Eli Vance from the clutches of the Combine. However, you're subsequently led to uncover the nature of that massive floating structure that hovers over City 17, referred to as the Vault. With a cheeky sidekick Russell in your ear, and a trusty, prophetic Vortigaunt who comes in clutch, Alyx is more than prepared. A basic premise for sure, but the journey is thrilling, and the payoff is immense.There's a newfound intimacy captured in doing the things that Half-Life always asked of you. Because it's a VR game, the way you look at and process your surroundings fundamentally changes, thus making the solutions to environmental puzzles more of a personal accomplishment than before. Simply finding the right objects to progress was fine with a keyboard and mouse, but when it's your own hands turning valves, moving junk to find critical items, pulling levers, or hitting switches while turning your head to see the results of your actions, these become enticing gameplay mechanics rather than means for breaking up the pace. Without waypoints or objective markers to guide you, subtle visual cues and calculated level design lead you to the solutions, and progress feels earned because of that.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Half-Life: Alyx is out now on Steam, making it a particularly exciting time to shop for the best VR headset. The fact that this is Valve's first big VR game is only eclipsed by the fact that Alyx is the first entry in the Half-Life series since 2007. Because of that, interest in VR gaming has spiked considerably. Valve's own Index headset was restocked a little while ago, but if you place a new order now, you'll need to wait about eight weeks before your headset ships. Unfortunately, that's the case for most VR headsets these days, most of them being sold out at all retailers.Yes, the Valve Index is a popular VR headset, but it's not the only one out there. Each VR headset out there right now has unique qualities like high resolutions, AMOLED displays, or built-in speakers. Most also come with touch and motion controllers, VR headphones, and more. We know it can be an intimidating purchase if you're not already plugged into the VR gaming community. That's why we're on the case to help you figure out which of the best VR headsets is right for you, depending on your needs.Whether you're looking for a VR headset you can play anywhere, a high-end headset for the most immersive experience on your gaming PC, or something in between, there are plenty of options to choose from. While the early days of VR headsets had us choosing between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, more companies have entered the space. Valve stepped out on its own with the Index, Samsung created a Windows Mixed Reality headset with the Samsung HMD Odyssey+, and Sony released its PS4-only PlayStation VR.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

[UPDATE] Pokemon Go's Lugia Raid event has been canceled, developer Niantic has announced. The event was originally scheduled to run from March 24-31. Niantic has not yet announced if the Lugia Raid event will be rescheduled, but this is only the latest event to be suspended due to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. March's Community Day was similarly canceled, while the Safari Zone events scheduled to take place this month in St. Louis, Liverpool, and Philadelphia were postponed indefinitely.Out of safety concerns, Niantic has made it easier to play Pokemon Go from home. The developer has increased daily bonuses and made other changes to the game, including increasing the number of gifts you can open each day and introducing 1 PokeCoin bundles to the in-game store. You can read more about these changes on the Pokemon Go website. The original story follows.Cobalion has once again left Pokemon Go, but another Legendary Pokemon is set to return to the game very soon. Lugia, the cover monster from Pokemon Silver, will reappear in Raid Battles for a limited time starting tomorrow, March 24, and this time around, it'll know a special move.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

When you first start a new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there will be some areas you won't be able to get to right away. Once you get the vaulting pole from Blathers and can make your way across rivers, the last frontier is the land atop your cliffs. To scale both levels of these cliffs, you'll need a ladder; here's when and how to get it.You'll have to complete a few other tasks on your island before you can get the ladder, and the earliest you can get it is the third day you've been playing. First, you have to have completed Nook's Cranny; see our full Nook's Cranny unlock guide for the details. We also recommend starting the museum unlock process so you have access to the vaulting pole, as parts of your cliffs may be blocked off by rivers. On the day Nook's Cranny opens, go to the Resident Services tent. Tom Nook will ask you to select locations for three house plots, and as part of this, he'll give you the ladder DIY recipe. You need four wood, four hardwood, and four softwood to craft a ladder. In three weeks of playing, our ladders haven't broken yet, so they're either unbreakable or extremely durable.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Half-Life: Alyx isn't the first full-length virtual reality game and it didn't invent many of the key VR-based mechanics at its core, but if our review of the game is anything to go off of, it's certainly one of the most refined examples. Valve has, after all, been at the forefront of VR, with its development of the HTC Vive and The Lab back in 2016. GameSpot had the chance to chat with Valve level designer Dario Casali and programmer Kerry Davis about Half-Life: Alyx and all things VR--including some of the games that helped them shape how they approach VR."I had a level of excitement before I started [Half-Life: Alyx], just about VR in general," Casali told GameSpot. "I was a really big fan of Budget Cuts and I flew around the Earth several times in Google Earth."Budget Cuts is a stealth-action game from Neat Corporation. Casali cited the "full-featured interaction" players could have with the game's menacing robot antagonists and the sense of "presence" VR brings, and how both work together to raise the stakes for players, as inspirations.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Infinity Ward is dropping a bunch of new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare content across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. One of these free pieces of DLC is a brand-new map for Modern Warfare's multiplayer mode.Modern Warfare's newest map is Khandor Hideout, a medium-sized Syrkistan location that supports 6v6 squad play. It features long sightlines and compact interior spaces perfect for snipers, shotguns, and SMGs. Khandor Hideout goes live tomorrow, March 24 at 11 PM PT. You can check it out below.Be careful of snipers out there, man.Also new to Modern Warfare this week across all platforms is a brand-new Operator. Talon is the first-person shooter's newest DLC character and he comes with a dog companion to spice up your finishing move.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Along with a bunch of other additions across the Call of Duty franchise, developer Infinity Ward has detailed two brand-new modes coming to its on-the-go Call of Duty Mobile title.The first mode is Rapid Fire, a limited-time event that sees players earning Operator Skills and Scorestreaks at a much faster rate. In addition to this added firepower, Rapid Fire makes ammunition completely unlimited for those more inclined to spray and pray. Rapid Fire will be available until Thursday, March 26.Sticks and Stones is Call of Duty Mobile's second limited-time event. A classic game mode in the Call of Duty series, Sticks and Stones sees players duking it out with a limited loadout--typically a crossbow and throwing axe--to see who can score the most points. While every kill earns points, the axe also provides the devastating effect of resetting your victim's score when you kill them.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Activision is rolling out a slew of new Call of Duty content this week. Modern Warfare will receive a new map and Operator, who comes alongside two legendary blueprints (and a very good dog companion), while Call of Duty: Warzone is getting a handful of new weapons.Four new guns are coming to the standalone battle royale game starting tomorrow, March 24: the 725, MK2 Carbine, .50 GS, and EBR-14. The guns will be appear in common and uncommon rarities, and each have their own distinct strengths, so Activision advises equipping them in loadouts and seeing how they fare.The aforementioned new Operator, Talon, will also be playable in Warzone if you pick up the Talon bundle. The bundle includes two legendary blueprints, as well as two Battle Pass tier skips. You can read more about the Talon bundle on Activision's website.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

For those that find themselves stuck at home, socially distant from their friends and relatives, WWE has a new option to keep you entertained. The company has announced that the WWE Network is unlocking much of its video library for free for a limited time.In a press release from the company, WWE explained, "This unprecedented offering to WWE fans worldwide includes each epic installment to date of WrestleMania, plus, every Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series event; every NXT TakeOver and NXT UK TakeOver; and groundbreaking originals such as the entire WWE 24 docuseries, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions interview show, the recent five-episode hit, WWE Ruthless Aggression, and its 20-episode predecessor, The Monday Night War series."Additionally, recent episodes of Raw and Smackdown will be available, along with original series like WWE Untold and A Future WWE: The FCW Story. Live programming like the monthly pay per views, though, do not appear to be included in this option.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare are bringing back a DLC pack that benefits military veterans. Activision's Call of Duty Endowment charity, which helps place veterans in jobs after their military careers, has announced that the "Defender" DLC pack is coming back to the digital store because "in these difficult times, veterans need more help with employment than ever."The Defender pack includes 11 items in total, spread across multiplayer, Spec Ops, and Warzone. As when the pack was sold before, 100 percent of net proceeds will go to the Call of Duty Endowment.The Call of Duty Endowment "Defender" PackThe Defender Pack was previously available for Modern Warfare multiplayer, but this is the first time that players can bring this content into Warzone. Modern Warfare and Warzone share the same store. The Defender Pack costs $10 USD.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

As more and more people stay home and are looking for new things to do, the developer of The Lord of the Rings Online have announced they are expanding what's available to play for free.Through April 30, all quests, instances, and skirmishes are available for everyone to play for free. This also includes content previously locked behind paid expansion packs.Additionally, the special vendor who only appears during certain times, The Curator, is now coming back between March 26 and April 30. What's more, The Lord of the Rings Online is offering a 10% XP boost from March 26 to April 6. Finally, the Baggins' Birthday event is coming to The Lord of the Rings online March 26-April 6 as well.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Epic Games Store will continue to expand over the next few months, with several new titles due to arrive during spring. A new trailer showcasing the games that you'll be able to grab soon has been released, and you can watch it below to get a sneak peek at several titles.Although the trailer does not explicitly label these games as timed exclusives, it seems like a strong possibility that they will be, as these games do not have Steam pages.The games shown in the trailer are Dread Nautical, Control's first expansion (The Foundation), Industries of Titan, Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Diabotical, Saturnalia, Sludge Life, Among Trees, and Samurai Shodown. They're mostly smaller or indie titles, but based on the trailer above, it looks like a solid line-up. Epic Games has also released a synopsis for each title, so you can see if any of them appeal to you.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has led animation production company Titmouse--the company behind Metalocalypse and The Venture Bros.--to massively alter plans for its scheduled annual 5 Second Day animated short festival. After debuting a series of new shorts created by Titmouse employees in Los Angeles and New York, the company has been forced to cancel its Vancouver screening.All hope is not lost, though. While announcing the cancellation, Titmouse has revealed that it will, instead, screen all of the shorts during a Twitch livestream on Friday, March 27. "We always want to make sure the artists’ films are seen by an audience," Titmouse president and founder Chris Prynoski said in a statement. "when the challenges of this pandemic made it clear that our Vancouver screening was not going to be an option, I decided to beam it directly into the viewers' brains! I was told that technology does not yet exist, so we are streaming it on Twitch!"In all, over 145 shorts will be screened during the livestream, all of which will be shown uncensored. As such, they are intended for mature audiences (18+).Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com