The Community Spotlight - 04/08/2017

Learn more about how you help the community raise money for charity RIGHT NOW!

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host this week! The releases just keep coming, and the community doesn't know what to make of it.

• ATTENTION! There's a new video feature on Giant Bomb called "Continue Watching!" Learn more about it over here.
• Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run VII Announcement Thread! The Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run is back, and this year is trying to raise money for Pencils of Promise's WASH Program! Learn more about it now!

Clip Of The Week

The Best of Film & 40s: Fast Five (By: @samcb)

YouTube took down samcb's best of Fast Five Film & 40s compilation video from earlier, so he went ahead and uploaded it to vidme. Here are the HILARIOUS results once again!

Mass Effect Andromeda is ArmA As Fuck (By: recca)

What happens when you mix Giant Bomb, DayZ, and Mass Effect: Andromeda? This video gives you a good idea of why Andromeda is "ArmA as fuck!"

Best Of Blogs

Zelda isn't know for its barrel rolls.

A Breath Of Fresh Air, And A __game I'm Wild About (By: @mooseymcman)

Check out MooseyMcMan's MASSIVE dissertation on Breath of the Wild, and why Moosey fell in love with the __game more than anticipated.

Horizon Zero Dawn Screenshot Memoir Part 2: Black & White (By: @bigevil1987)

Part 2 of bigevil1987's visually stunning picture travelogue through Horizon Zero Dawn is up! Read about his latest foray into the game.

Expectations, Patches, And Killing The Zeitgeist (By: @sweep)

Sweep uses the latest controversy surrounding Mass Effect: Andromeda to debate patches and troubling release window expectations.

All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-08 (By: @mento)

Mento's back with a defence of No Man's Sky, some April musings, and his recurring features The Top Shelf and Indie Game of the Week (which this time features Doki-Doki Universe).

Oh JRPG protagonists... when will you learn?

You Say It Best, When You Say Nothing At All (By: @kmfrob)

kmfrob discusses why he is avoiding dialogue and text heavy games as he grows older and his video game preferences mature.

Everything About Tales of Symphonia - Part I: In Defense of Lloyd Irving (By: @generic_username)

Generic_username has started a new blog series which provides a retrospective on Tales of Symphonia. He started it off by "defending" Lloyd Irving.

Join The Discussion

We will be hearing about this game for years to come.

Persona 5 Discussion Thread (By: @sagesebas)

Our official discussion thread for Persona 5 can be found here! Discuss the game which will most likely have the Giant Bomb in a tizzy for over a year.

Xbox Scorpio System Specs Discussion Thread (By: @mrcraggle)

What are your impressions of the Xbox Scorpio system specs? Is this the beast we were promised many months ago, or a bloated botch waiting to happen?

Mass Effect: Andromeda Patch 1.05 Discussion Thread (By: @cbk486)

Have any of you checked out the 1.05 patch for Mass Effect: Andromeda? Join our discussion about it and share if you think it noticeably improved your experience.

Do you have any desire to buy the Scorpio? Feel free to share!

Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition Discussion Thread (By: @glots)

Have you played around with Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition? Share your impressions and thoughts of the port job with the rest of the Giant Bomb community.

Least Favorite Type of Weapon (By: @acidbrandon18)

Which weapons are consistently your "least favorite" to use? Judging from this thread it appears to be the revolver and other guns which require "skill" to effectively use.

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds First Impressions Sharing Thread (By: @bassman2112)

bassman2112 welcomes you to share your impressions of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds on this game specific discussion thread.

How have you been snaking your way in Snake Pass?

Snake Pass Impressions Sharing Thread (By: @flashflood_29)

Do you have formative impressions of Snake Pass? Feel free to join our community discussion about it regardless of which platform you are playing it on.

Do You Buy Pre-Owned Games? [Poll Included] (By: @ioanasima)

Do you buy pre-owned games in 2017? Vote and discuss the matter in our community thread NOT endorsed in any way by GameStop.

Lovable Lists

Learn more about the "Iyashikei" genre.

My Favorite Rogue-likes/lites I've Played So Far (And Not So Favorites) (By: @capt_blakhelm)

Capt_Blakhelm took the time to list his favorite roguelikes and roguelites on this highly rewarding list worth checking out.

"Iyashikei" Games (By: @andysoryu)

AndySoryu is working to create a complete list of games which are "Iyashikei" in nature, which is a term used for anime and manga created with the specific purpose of having a healing or soothing effect on the audience. Check it out, and see if you can think of more examples!

Useful User Reviews

• @themist997's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review details why he thinks it is an excellent experience hindered by a few micro-flaws.
• @riostarwind's review for The Last Guardian details why he thinks it is a worthwhile journey for anyone, whether they be young or old.

Wonderful Wikis

It is honestly the most "pure fun" you can have in a shooter.

Bulletstorm

Just a friendly reminder that we are not providing the "Full Clip Edition" of Bulletstorm its own wiki page. Nonetheless, Bulletstorm proper has a wonderfully detailed wiki page.

Filed under:

Persona 5

Mass Effect: Andromeda

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Horizon Zero Dawn

Tales of Symphonia

Xbox One

Bulletstorm

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds

Snake Pass

Roguelike

The Last Guardian

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There Are Two New Shirts In The Store!

Hey, there are a couple of new shirts in the store! That is the point of this news story. I am informing you that there are two new shirts in the store! They are the Giant Bomb Collegiate tee-shirt, perfect for those lazy Monday morning keg parties, and the Old Games shirt, with which you can boast your allegiance to games that perhaps have a bit of a musty smell about them, but they’re fine! They’re fine; they’re just a bit long in the tooth. Why does that saying mean “old,” anyway? Last I checked teeth don’t get longer when you get old. No one has vampire fangs just because they’re 90. (But it’d be cooler if they did.)

Anyway, we’ve reorganized the store a bit, so each variant of the shirt is going to have its own URL now. It’s a bit more complicated but it’s going to help our store partners with some stuff, so...sorry! These are not pre-order sales; everything is ready to buy RIGHT NOW. Remember: if you don’t exercise your constitutionally-protected rights to buy stuff online, you might lose them. Kendall Jenner fought for you; will you disappoint her by not buying these shirts?

Have some URLS!

• Giant Bomb Collegiate Shirt - Black
• Giant Bomb Collegiate Shirt - Black Women’s
• Giant Bomb Collegiate Shirt - Grey
• Giant Bomb Collegiate Shirt - Grey Women’s
• Old Games Shirt
• Old Games Shirt - Women’s

As always, this warning about customs charges applies:

Customs charges

We have had a larger-than-usual number of reports of customs/tariffs charges being applied to Giant Bomb merchandise shipments to non-U.S. addresses. Usually these shipments will be held up at a customs office and require an additional payment to be released and shipped to the final destination. Unfortunately we cannot take responsibility for these charges and cannot issue refunds for them. If you live overseas, you may want to check with your customs office to see what amount of imported items will trigger these charges. Apologies!

And if you haven’t ordered anything in a while, we now offer Fedex International Mail Shipping, which has it’s own little warning, which I’m going to copy and paste because it’s like 7 PM on a Friday and I want to leave this office!

Your package was shipped via Fed-ex International mail service, which does not include tracking because FIMS shipping allows Fedex to group a number of packages in one big parcel to deliver to the country in question, at which point the local postal service will take over the final steps of delivery to your home. This greatly reduces the cost of shipping but unfortunately makes it impossible to provide tracking numbers for these shipments. Your package should arrive in 3-4 weeks.

As always, you can email orders at socialimprints.com if you have questions about an order, or support at giantbomb.com if you have any concerns about other stuff! Enjoy your life and things that make you happy! Good bye!

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Guest Column: Beating Tough Games, No Hands Required

The one and only Nickieroonie.

As one of the organizers behind the Giant Bomb Community Endurance Run gaming marathon, I’ve come into contact with many incredibly cool members of the GB community. Every year we seem to attract more and more people doing increasingly wacky things to raise money for charity by playing video games. And of all the unusual things I’ve seen and been a part of, the number one, must-watch event in recent marathons has been Nickieroonie’s segment.

Nickieroonie is a GB member hailing from Nova Scotia, and he’s participated in the GBCER since 2014. At first he played fairly normal games in a fairly normal way: a Ratchet and Clank marathon one year, an “Over the Shoulder” marathon of Resident Evil 4 and Alan Wake another. Then two years ago he switched things up. He decided to play through Super Meat Boy… with his feet. The following year, he stomped on Olmec in Spelunky. With GBCER7 rapidly approaching (May 5th -7th, y’all) I reached out to Nickieroonie to see how he happened upon this incredible and outlandish niche of gaming and what his plans were for this year.

Giant Bomb: First question, how long have you been gaming?

Nickieroonie: I've been playing video games since I was 3 or 4 years old. According to my brother, my first __game was FF2 (FFIV) on the SNES and my first enemy was a waterbug (which i think is named Amoeba or something in later versions).

GB: What ended up drawing you to hyper difficult platformers like Super Meat Boy and Spelunky?

N: As I've gotten older certain aspects of games have become played out, and while I still enjoy them, I'm lately more drawn to games with really good mechanics. For example, Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the best games ever, but there was a long time in my life that I thought that __game was really mediocre, and it's because that game has mediocre mechanics. The combat is just really shallow. Then I came back to it after watching people create their own mechanics via speedrunning. So I guess I find a lot of fun in the way a game plays, and SMB and Spelunky play extremely well.

GB: I can see that. I've kind of had a similar experience in my own gaming life. It eventually led me to speedrunning for a similar reason. Some of the games I used to love felt played out without that added restriction. Have you given speedrunning a shot?

N: Yes and no... I've never gotten a timer, set up splits, looked up routes or anything like that, but even since I was young I've always had fun beating games faster and faster. It's able to carry me through some games that I would otherwise find kind of boring. I played through the Darksiders series as fast as possible since it felt a little too familiar and it made the game more fun for me. I've definitely been interested in speedrunning something, but I'd want to fully commit, and I'd rather be doing other stuff before that.

GB: Like playing games with your feet?

N: Playing games with my feet has purely been for GBCER. It's very crampy and frustrating!

GB: How did you settle on that being a recurring feature of your GBCER experience?

N: I figure it's just something that draws attention, so I've been trying to do a new game each year since the first.

GB: So far you've beaten Super Meat Boy and Spelunky, no hands required. Did you require any special equipment to make that happen or do you just have very dexterous toes?

N: For Super Meat Boy I used "normal" equipment, keyboard and controller, although most people wouldn't be using both at the same time. For Spelunky I had to buy a USB device with 3 foot pedals. The Xbox controller just isn't designed to be used by feet. So even if you were a person who had extremely dexterous feet, I don't think you could really use that controller properly. Spelunky required a keyboard, 3 foot pedals, and the Xbox controller. Xbox controller for movement only, keyboard for the Action button and ropes, and pedals controlled jumping, whipping, and bombs. SMB is a much simpler game for controls, so it was just movement and jumping.

GB: With a setup that elaborate, did you get many opportunities to practice your foot runs before your live attempts?

N: Hmm, I actually didn't practice a ton for both games, probably 4-5 hours for SMB and 6-7 hours for Spelunky. But yeah, it was annoying to set up for practice.

GB: Wait...what?

N: I had the games set up in ways that I could control them with macro foot movements, so it was more down to understanding the games and less about pressing the buttons really fast.

GB: How much time do you think you put into SMB and Spelunky playing regularly?

N: About 100 hours of each.

GB: That explains how you managed to A+ so many SMB levels on your first foot attempt. You knew what to do long before you needed to execute with your feet. Which is still incredible, by the way.

N: Yeah! Games with really good mechanics are often not as hard as they seem. It's just about learning the game inside and out. That's why you get people who say "Dark Souls isn't actually that hard," etc.

GB: Was there any point where you doubted yourself during your runs?

N: I was pretty confident in SMB since the levels are always the same, and I knew there was only one level that may take me a long time. In Spelunky, I was confident I could do it, but I wasn't sure how long it would take since the levels are always different. Plus, fatigue can set in and I might make mistakes on a good set of levels. I actually didn't get the Spelunky run the first night I had scheduled to do it. So I said I'd come back fresh in the morning, and got it very soon that day.

GB: Do you play drums or some other activity that keeps your foot strength up? Because for as much as you mention fatigue and cramps, your breaking point is still much greater than most people's would be.

N: Hmm... Not really. Actually it's kind of funny because my feet cramp extremely easily. If I go swimming all of my toes cramp up. I think I only had one cramp during any of my runs.

GB: Swimming is more taxing than playing SMB?

N: Apparently!

GB: One last question about the older runs: What was going through your mind during the Olmec battle at the end of your Spelunky run? You made it so far, so fast, and then you seemed to tense up at the end.

N: I was trying my best to set up the room to make him fall into lava as safely as possible; but yeah, I was definitely psyching myself out. I had a parachute and climbing gloves. So I could have climbed the left wall after defeating the boss, moved across the top and hopped down safely. Instead, I just completely forgot about those options and tried to jump across the ropes, messed up, and was barely saved by the parachute. If not for the parachute, I would have taken fall damage and likely bounced into the lava. So part of me hesitating at the end was extreme carefulness, and part was me choking.

GB: So it was a bit of the old streamer's curse? Difficulty + audience = mistakes.

N: Yeah, not so much the audience since there wasn't much of one as it was early in the morning for most people. But just completing it for the event was making me nervous.

GB: Have you given any thought to what game you're playing this year?

N: I thought about Thumper, but I figured it might get a little boring to watch after the 1st level. Somebody suggested Ori and the Blind Forest, so I'm gonna try practicing that.

GB: If you want to learn the drums, Thumper might be a good backdoor way to learning kick pedal parts.

N: Yeah! I think I'd probably break some pedals playing that game.

GB: Especially with some of the weird time signatures towards the end of that game. Ori sounds like a good choice. Have you beaten it already?

N: I've beaten it once. Just a regular playthrough.

GB: So you wouldn't have as much experience, but the game isn't quite as punishing. Though you may have some trouble with menus.

N: Menus should be okay since there's not really any penalty for taking awhile. My biggest worry is the amount of buttons I need to press. Also there are some sequences in the game that need to be completed in one go. If you fail, you reset back to the start of the sequence.

GB: You know this can only end with you playing a game with a DDR pad, right? It's the only way to have enough buttons.

N: I've thought about a DDR pad! But it seems like a bad choice of controller since it's big and mostly requires 2 entire feet. Analog sticks only require 1 toe.

GB: To wrap this up, is there any advice you'd give to someone trying to follow in your (in this case, literal) footsteps?

N: I'd just say don't be afraid to play games in different ways. There's no correct way to play a game. And when you're feeling a little burnt out, it's always fun to try playing in different ways. Also, don't be intimidated by alternative playstyles. You can do it! Also obligatory GBCER7 shoutout.

GB: Final question, are you going to paint your toenails again as a donation incentive this year?

N: Yeah, absolutely.

GB: Perfect. Thank you for your time and I look forward to GBCER7, kicking off May 5th and running through May 7th!

N: No problem, thanks for the chat. I'm looking forward to GBCER7 too!

Filed under:

Super Meat Boy

Spelunky

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New Logo and Company Website

As you may very well have noticed, Jagex has a new company logo. You�ll see it on the RuneScape and Old School sites, and our all-new Jagex website.

This site is the place to go for up-to-the-minute information about Jagex as a company, our products, career opportunities and more. Do take a look!

The RuneScape Team

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Lunarfury Armour

Pick up a shimmering Lunarfury cosmetic override outfit until 23:59 UTC on 10th April.

Amass lunar spheres in the course of your Runecrafting training, in Daily Challenges, on Treasure Hunter, or by trading with other players.

Click on these to open the Lunarfury Armour interface, where you can spend spheres to craft any of six different outfit pieces and three two-handed weapons. You�ll get a chunk of Runecrafting XP each time you do so.

Once you�re wearing the cosmetic override pieces, you can train Mining or Runecrafting to fortify them (or use lunar crystals � bought with spheres or won on Treasure Hunter), eventually unlocking an improved, all-the-flashier version.

If you�ve collected all the first-tier pieces, you can use leftover spheres in to earn XP in Mining or Runecrafting � up to 10,000 spheres in each skill.

The currency items will become untradeable with the __game update on the 24th of April, and any unused ones will be cleaned up at 23:59 UTC the 5th of May.

---

Enjoy!

We hope you�re over the moon with this spectacular new outfit. Let us know what you think on the forums.

The RuneScape Team

---

What is Treasure Hunter?

Treasure Hunter is playable from within RuneScape, allowing players to use Keys to claim in-game items as prizes. These range from useful resources to rare weapons and exclusive gear.

Playing Treasure Hunter is simple - click the treasure chest icon that pops up when you log in. If you've not played before, just follow the on-screen guide.

Everyone gets at least one Key per day, and RuneScape members get two. You can earn more Keys while playing the game, or stock up by redeeming Bonds.

If you'd like more, you can also buy Keys on the website, or by clicking 'Buy Keys' within the Treasure Hunter interface in-game.

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Dev Diaries: Bank Rework Episode 1

You may have seen our Dev Diaries series take on the colossus that is the Mining and Smithing Rework in previous weeks. Well, that's taking a break until January � and between Christmas and New Year, we've got something equally as exciting to share: plans for the Bank Rework.

Mods Kelpie and Timbo join us to share their thoughts and ideas on the update you voted as your most desired of 2017.

Check out the Dev Blog if you haven't already � in this episode we'll be going into more detail on the likes of placeholders, more bank tabs, Diango, the user interface � and loads more.

As ever, we're looking for your feedback on our suggestions. Head to our forums, Reddit, and use #DevDiaries on Twitter to share your thoughts, join in the conversation, and have your say on our plans.

Watch on, and enjoy.

The RuneScape Team

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Microsoft's Design-Your-Own Xbox One Controllers Staying Exclusive To US And Canada For Now

Launched in 2016, Microsoft's Xbox Design Lab store is pretty cool. It lets you customize an Xbox One controller's color setup to your liking and even add a name or a message. There are 8 million potential combinations, Microsoft says. But the design-your-own controllers are only available in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada. It looks like it's staying that way for the foreseeable future.

Asked on Twitter if the Xbox Design Lab was coming to the UK, Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg said fans there should get comfortable. Although Microsoft has heard the feedback about bringing the store to other markets, it's not going to happen, at least not yet.

"Not at this time unfortunately," he said. "[The] team has heard the feedback from fans who want in more markets."

Last year, Microsoft said the Xbox Design Lab would launch in other regions in 2017, though it remains to be seen if this is still the case.

Xbox Design Lab controllers are priced at $80 ($20 above the standard price), while adding a custom laser-engraving costs $10 extra, bringing the price up to $90.

You can choose the color of the controller's bumpers, triggers, D-pad, thumbsticks, ABXY buttons, and view and menu buttons, among other things. The personalized message can be up to 16 characters in length.

If you live in the US, you can go to the Xbox Design Lab website to make your own controller now.

In other Xbox Design Lab news, Greenberg recently shared the story of a person who proposed by personalizing a controller to say, "Mandy, marry me?" She said yes.

Microsoft is the only platform-holder with an official design-your-own controller program.

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Dead Rising 4's Crazy Preorder DLC Weapons Available For Everyone To Buy Tomorrow

The DLC that Capcom made available to people who preordered Dead Rising 4 will be available for everyone to buy starting on April 4, the publisher has announced.

This DLC included a number of weapons such as a candy cane cross bow, a snowman helmet, and an ugly sweater, and giant green fists, as well as a motorcycle called a "Slicecycle."

These items will be available to buy for $2 each from Dead Rising 4's digital stores on April 4 (via DualShockers). You can click through the images in the gallery below to see all five of them.

Also launching on April 4 is the new single-player Dead Rising 4 DLC, "Frank Rising," which covers the events of an outbreak in Willamette where Frank becomes infected. The DLC costs $10.

After Frank Rising, Capcom will launch another expansion called "Super Ultra Dead Rising 4 Mini Golf," which is a wacky-looking mini golf mode featuring power-ups and zombies. In addition to playing on your own, there's four-player online multiplayer and local, turn-based co-op.

Dead Rising 4 released for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC in December, followed by a Steam release just recently. A free update arrived at the end of January with new content alongside a free trial version on Xbox One.

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Batman: Arkham VR No Longer PS4-Exclusive, New Trailer Released

Batman: Arkham VR, the first-person Dark Knight experience that was until now PSVR-exclusive, is coming to rival VR headsets Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The new versions will launch on April 25, a little over six months after the game launched on PlayStation 4.

"Bringing Batman to VR was a very rewarding experience for us," said Sefton Hill, creative director at Rocksteady. "The Dark Knight has always been an incredible character to work with due to his psychological depth, so it’s really exciting to use this immersive medium to delve deeper into his psyche than ever before. We’re thrilled that PC players can finally wear the cowl for themselves and take on the role of the world’s greatest detective with the addition of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift versions."

To celebrate the news, Rocksteady has released a new trailer. Take a look for yourself below.

Publisher Warner Bros. has confirmed that the new versions will be compatible with both Oculus Touch and the Vive controllers. The game will also support standard gamepads on PC, including the Steam controller, Dualshock 4, and Xbox One controller.

Batman: Arkham VR was one of the PlayStation Store's most-downloaded games of 2016, only beaten to the top of the VR chart by Job Simulator. We enjoyed the virtual reality experience here at GameSpot: critic Tamoor Hussain awarded it a 7/10. For more, check out our full Batman: Arkham VR review.

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Sega Launches New Teaser Site, Possibly Related To Bayonetta

Sega appears to be teasing something. The developer and publisher has launched a new teaser site that features a countdown clock that ends in seven days, three hours, and five minutes, as of this writing.

People on Reddit believe the teaser may be related to the Bayonetta series, as the character's foot can be seen in the dimly lit background on the teaser page.

The header for the teaser site only says, "Coming Soon."

On April Fool's Day (April 1), Sega released an 8-bit version of Bayonetta for free on Steam; you can grab the game right here.

The last entry in the mainline Bayonetta series was 2014's Bayonetta 2, which was exclusive to the Wii U. Both entries in the franchise have been made by Japanese studio PlatinumGames. The studio's new RPG Scalebound was recently canceled.

Last year at E3, designer Hideki Kamiya said he has been thinking "a lot" about Bayonetta 3.

"We've talked a lot about it internally at the company and I've written some outlines for what the game would be. And I feel really confident it would be cool if we got the chance to make it," he said.

What are you hoping to see Sega's countdown clock reveal? Let us know in the comments below!

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Agents Of Mayhem Release Date Announced, New Trailer Channels Knight Rider And A-Team

Volition, the developer behind the Saint's Row series, has released a new trailer for its next game, Agents of Mayhem. Publisher Deep Silver has also announced the game will released on August 15 in the US and August 18 in Europe.

The trailer provides a look at some over-the-top action, which looks to be in the same vein as Saint's Row: The Third and Saint's Row 4. The setup for all this is the game takes place in a distant future in which "the only hope for governments and global corporations ... are a group of corporately funded super agents called the Agents of Mayhem."

It seems the Agents of Mayhem are all about saving the world by destroying most of it. The trailer leans into the A-Team vibe by using the music from the classic TV series and there's also a nod to Knight Rider too.

Players take control of a squad of three agents, each of which have their own unique skills. All of the heroes aren't exactly "good," according to the initial report. Naturally, there will be an plenty of different guns, gadgets, and abilities to experiment with.

Agents of Mayhem will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is not in the works for Nintendo Switch. Asked about a possible Switch port on Twitter, Volition said, "There are no current plans to release on Switch."

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PS4-Exclusive Spider-Man Game Is Releasing In 2017, Says Marvel

Insomniac Games' PlayStation 4-exclusive Spider-Man title will be released in 2017, according to Ryan Penagos, vice president and executive editor of Marvel Digital Media.

In a livestream, which was captured by Reddit user GamingSince95, Penagos was talking about Marvel's recent video game output and said "there's even more on the horizon for 2017 like Spider-Man coming to PlayStation 4 and Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC."

Insomniac's Spider-Man title was announced during E3 2016 but as of yet Insomniac, Sony, and Marvel have not officially announced a release date for the game.

Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have partnered for Spider-Man: Homecoming, a new movie which is set to hit cinemas in July. Insomniac's game isn't tied into this movie, but would no doubt benefit from being released this year. However, as previously stated, an official release date has not yet been specified for the game.

Spider-Man the game casts players as the iconic web-slinger in a completely original story. It takes place at a time when Peter Parker is "experienced" and "more masterful at fighting crime" in New York.

"From traversing with parkour and utilizing the environment, to new combat and blockbuster set pieces, it's Spider-Man unlike any you've played before," reads a line from the game's description.

Spider-Man, which is a working title for the PlayStation 4 game, is the first licensed game Insomniac has ever made. It is known most for the Ratchet and Clank series.

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All The EA/Origin Access Free Games

Electronic Arts' Xbox One subscription service, EA Access, launched in August 2014 with four free games, including FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4. Since then, EA has added over 30 more and launched a version of the service on PC called Origin Access.

We've now rounded up all the freebies into lists, which you can see below. We will update this post in the days, weeks, and years ahead when more games are added. EA has vowed never to remove any games from the "Vault" of freebies. "I think one of the key things is that once a game goes into the Vault it stays there, it's not going to be taken out, that's a commitment we've made," Peter Moore said.

No version of EA Access is available on PlayStation 4. According to Sony, the service does not offer the kind of value PlayStation fans have come to expect. That being said, Sony maintains that it is open to having a dialogue with EA about how it might be able to bring EA Access to PS4 someday.

In addition to free games, EA/Origin Access members can __play some games (but not all) ahead of launch; most of the time, subscribers get a five-day headstart. Another benefit is that subscribers save 10 percent on all EA digital content, which knocks down the price of a $60 game to $54.

The service costs $5/month or $30/year.

EA Access Free Games (As of April 3, 2017)

New and upcoming games are bolded

• Battlefield 3 (released on January 20)
• Battlefield 4
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (released on January 20)
• Battlefield Hardline
• Bejeweled 2
• Bejeweled 3
• Dead Space
• Dead Space Ignition (coming in 2017)
• Dragon Age: Inqusition
• EA Sports UFC
• EA Sports UFC 2
• Feeding Frenzy
• Feeding Frenzy 2
• FIFA 14
• FIFA 15
• FIFA 16
• Heavy Weapon
• Madden NFL 15
• Madden NFL 16
• Madden NFL 17 (released on February 24)
• Madden NFL 25
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• Mass Effect 3
• Mirror's Edge
• Mirror's Edge Catalyst
• NBA Live 15
• NBA Live 16
• NHL 15
• NHL 16
• NHL 17 (added March 28, 2017)
• Need for Speed
• Need for Speed Rivals
• Peggle 2
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
• Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
• Rory McIlroy PGA Tour
• Skate 3 (released on February 13)
• SSX
• Star Wars Battlefront
• Titanfall
• Unravel
• Zuma
• Zuma's Revenge (released on March 30)

Origin Access Free Games (As of April 3, 2017)

• Aragami (added February 16)
• The Banner Saga
• Battlefield 3
• Battlefield 4
• Battlefield Hardline
• Crysis
• Crysis 2
• Crysis 3
• Crusader: No Regret
• Crusader: No Remorse
• Dead Space
• Dead Space 2
• Dead Space 3
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Dragon Age 2
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Dungeons of Dredmore
• FIFA 15
• FIFA 16
• Furi (added February 16)
• Jade Empire
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• Mass Effect 3
• Medal of Honor Allied Assault
• Mini Metro
• Mirror's Edge
• Need For Speed
• Need For Speed Rivals
• Peggle
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
• Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
• The Saboteur (added February 16)
• Sim City
• Sim City 2000
• The Sims 3
• This War of Mine
• Titanfall
• Torchlight II
• Trine
• Trine 2: Complete Story
• Unravel

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Play Dishonored 2's First Few Levels For Free With A Trial Coming This Week

In lieu of a standard demo, Dishonored 2 will soon receive a free trial letting players sample the early portion of the game.

The trial launches this Thursday, April 6, on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It provides full access to the game's first three missions--a decent-sized chunk of the game--and lets you __play as either of the two playable characters, Emily and Corvo.

Should you __play the trial and then decide to purchase the full game, your save data will carry over, allowing you to pick up your progress from where you left off.

When it arrives on Thursday, you'll find the demo on the game's respective Steam, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store pages. For an idea of what to expect, check out GameSpot's Dishonored 2 review.

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Overwatch Is Teasing Something For Next Week

Overwatch developer Blizzard is teasing a reveal for April 11. The official @PlayOverwatch account tweeted the below video today, April 3.

Initiating archive declassification…
Mission files unlock: April 11
RETWEET to confirm. pic.twitter.com/GUvthyskCm

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 3, 2017

It is unclear what the Tweet is hinting at. One possibility could be a message projected on the screen seen in the video. The message reads, "King's Row uprising entering into record seven years ago. Security clearance required: confidential." The in-game map King's Row reportedly had aesthetic changes made in Overwatch's public test realm server alongside a recent update, though these were not noted in any update notes.

Blizzard has a history of teasing character reveals and in-game events. A bunch of teases appeared to hint the game's latest character would be Doomfist, though that hero ended up being Orisa.

In other Overwatch news, game director Jeff Kaplan has said the game could get a map editor one day. "We are extremely open-minded about releasing a map editor for Overwatch someday," he said. "But because Overwatch was made with a brand new engine, this is not a small task or one which can happen any time soon."

Continued support is partly why we love Overwatch here at GameSpot--we awarded it our Game of the Year for 2016.

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PSA: Nintendo Switch Servers Are Down For Maintenance Right Now

Having trouble getting online with your Nintendo Switch right now? It's not a problem on your end. Currently all network services are offline as part of a round of server maintenance.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause," Nintendo said on its support site.

The maintenance began at 1 PM PT today, April 3, and ends at 6 PM PT. This maintenance period is for Nintendo Switch, as well as Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS.

More downtime is planned for later this week. Some network services for Switch, Wii U, and 3DS--including online __play and rankings--will be unavailable on April 5. This downtime is scheduled to run April 5 at 6:45 PM PT through 8 PM PT that same day.

In other Switch news, retailers in Australia have received new shipments of the hard-to-find console. In other parts of the world, including the US, the hybrid console remains elusive.

For more on the Switch, check out GameSpot's review of the hardware.

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Gemstone Dragons | Documentary Airs 9th April

Gemstone Dragons are ready and ripe for the slaying in RuneScape today. Face off against three varieties of these fearsome beasts, and pick up resplendent new gemstone armour.

We'll also be airing the RuneScape Documentary at the weekend - see the live streaming section for full details!

---

How to Start

Enter the gemstone cavern beneath Shilo Village

Requirements

95+ Slayer

Shilo Village (quest)

Hard Karamja Tasks

Killing without a Slayer assignment requires dragonstone, onyx or hydrix as payment

Head down beneath Shilo Village and find the new gemstone cavern, its entrance manned by Kelhar.

If you have a gemstone dragons Slayer assignment from Kuradal or Morvran, he�ll let you right through. Otherwise, you�ll need to pay a fee in uncut dragonstone (2 kills per gem), onyx (400) or hydrix (4000) to enter and slay the dragons therein.

Slayer levels required are 95 for dragonstone dragons, 98 for onyx dragons and no less than 101 for hydrix dragons.

To reach this lofty level before Menaphos, you�ll need a boost. A great option is the new wilder pie, which requires 90 Cooking to make, and requires an uncooked wild pie and ground dragonstone. It boosts Ranged by 5 and Slayer by 6, and the Slayer boost will not deplete for 6 minutes after the pie is eaten, meaning more time to grapple with the biggest beasts of the herd.

Rewards

As well as valuable gem drops, the dragons can drop pieces of the new T80 hybrid gemstone armour.

The three dragon types drop specific pieces of the armour:

• Dragonstone - boots & gloves
• Onyx - legs & head
• Hydrix - body

The gemstone armour can be attuned to one of the effects of the enchanted bolts (dragonstone, onyx, hydrix) by charging the armour with uncut gems. Each gem gives a certain amount of charges:

• Dragonstone - 10 charges
• Onyx - 100 charges
• Hydrix - 1000 charges

These allow you to benefit from the special effects of those bolts whatever your gear and fighting style.

---

Enjoy!

Fight hard for fun and profit � we�ll see you there!

The RuneScape Team

---

In Other News

See the patch notes for further details of today�s updates.

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Menaphos Library Competition - Your Writing In Game

In the Golden City of Menaphos lies a huge library filled with books. Amid those ancient tomes could be one written by you!

We would like to invite you to write short texts that we can add to this amazing in-game library; a very rare chance to add content directly to the game. They could be almost anything � a piece of fiction, some undiscovered lore or the ranting prophecies of a dangerous seer. It is up to you to decide.

We'll be taking short submissions of up to 250 words at competitions@jagex.com until Monday 17th April and choosing our favourites from those we receive and adding them to the library of the Golden City.

Discuss the competition on its dedicated thread. You can also read the Terms and conditions for all our competitions.

---

Live Streams this Week

Each week we live stream Q&As, in-game events and more. Watch our streams and find a full streaming schedule over on our Twitch channel.

Check our YouTube channel, too, for all of our previous streams, including all our Patch Notes videos, and Dev Diaries.

RuneScape Documentary: 15 Years of Adventure | Sunday 9th April | 17:30 __game Time

Get those nostalgia goggles on this weekend � we'll be airing our feature-length documentary, RuneScape: 15 Years of Adventure, live on Twitch and YouTube this Sunday, from 17:30 UTC.

Tune in for exclusive interviews with some of RuneScape's biggest stars (and a few surprises!), and to find out what really happened behind the scenes in some of the biggest moments in RuneScape�s long history.

Community time with Mod Shauny | Friday, April 7th | 20:00 Game Time

Mod Shauny will be back and showcasing some of the updates you've got to look forward to next week.

PvM with Mod Lee | Sunday April 9th | 18:00 Game Time

Get your weekly dose of PvM goodness with Mod Lee � don't miss it!

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The Community Spotlight - 04/01/2017

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host this week. Before anyone asks, no, there is nothing on this Community Spotlight to tie into the blight known only as "April Fool's Day." The last thing anyone needs is ANOTHER attempt to ride off the coattails of desperate attempts to get free advertising on a failed national holiday. In terms of the community, things have certainly been active. Many of you are still reeling from the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and more are filled with anticipation regarding the release of Persona 5. So without further ado, let's go over the couple of housekeeping we have for this week:

• There's a new (easier) method to subscribe to Premium podcasts! Learn all about it now.
• 7 years ago this week, Marino, mracoon, and I became Giant Bomb moderators. That's roughly 47,034,988 plagiarism warnings.

Giant Bomb Galleria

BANNER - Film & 40's Illustrated (By: @humanity)

Remember to thank Humanity for creating this AWESOME Film & 40's inspired artwork! Now I need to ask, are you a cop? You have to tell me if you are.

Clips Of The Week

Giant Bomb Alliance In The Clan Accession Ceremony (By: @rapid)

The Giant Bomb community Warframe clan, Giant Bomb Heavy INC, participated in the game's Clan Accession Ceremony. Remember you can join the community Warframe clan any time.

Best Of Blogs

It can't all be as bad as some of you say.

Sweep's Big Old Destiny 2 Wishlist (By: @sweep)

Sweep rides on the coattails of the recent Destiny 2 trailer and wrote a blog listing his wishlist for the sequel to everyone's favorite loot-grind-shooter.

2017: Already a Banner Year (By: @shivoa)

Shivoa uses a smattering of recent or upcoming releases to defend his belief that 2017 will go down in the record books as a banner year for games.

Rediscovering Play (By: @majormitch)

MajorMitch uses Breath of the Wild as a segue to a discussion on the importance of "play" in video games, and how Breath of the Wild effectively uses "play."

I Live, I Die. I Live Again!... I Died Again (Fresh Bloodborne Player) (By: @fetchfox)

fetchfox gave Bloodborne a shot for the first time, and you can read about his first impressions of what he played in the game's first handful of hours.

The Silhouette And The Screens: The Themes Of Inside (By: @gamer_152)

Check out Gamer_152's blog to learn more on how Inside removes "control" to its benefit.

Gamer_152 wrote another reflective essay on Inside. This time it's about the game's commentary on player control over the events of the game.

Horizon Zero Dawn Screenshot Memoir Part 1 (By: @bigevil1987)

bigevil1987 has started a new "Screenshot Memoir" for Horizon: Zero Dawn! Check it out and enjoy the ins and outs of his experience with it.

On Fable III and What it’s Like to Wear the Crown (By: @darth_navster)

Darth_Navster gave Fable III a shot and shares why he was taken aback and enthralled by its quirky nation-building mechanics.

Adventure Afterlife 20 Years Of Adventure Games - Part 5 1996 (By: @azuresama)

I will also admit to kind of liking Star Fox Assault.

azuresama's latest blog is a retrospective on her favorite old-school adventure games from 1996 which range from the Broken Sword franchise to Blazing Dragons.

A Treasured Memory Of Star Fox Assault (I Know That Sounds Impossible) (By: @generic_username)

Generic_username shares his many treasured memories playing Star Fox Assault, even though he recognizes the __game to be entirely mediocre.

What's Automata With You? [WIP] (By: @mindbullet)

MindBullet spent a good amount of time with NieR: Automata and shares why the gameplay is not gelling with him and is his least favorite part of the game.

I don't think anyone predicted I would actually LIKE Final Fantasy X

Fighting Final Fantasy X Parts 14-25: Am I In Love, Or Is This Just The "Honeymoon Period?" (By: @zombiepie)

ZombiePie wrote a 7,000-word blog post about his second foray into Final Fantasy X because he is desperately trying to fill an empty void in his life.

All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-01 (By: @mento)

Mento's back with new editions of The Top Shelf and Indie __game of the Week (this time looking at inclusive cyberpunk adventure Read Only Memories). He also waxes lyrical about the current value of bad games, and his time with the Indie 3D platformer Ginger: Beyond the Crystal.

Join The Discussion

THIS GUY!

Mass Effect: Andromeda Story and Ending Discussion Thread [SPOILERS!] (By: @quipido)

We now have an ending and story discussion thread for Mass Effect: Andromeda! Feel free to participate if you have been itching to talk about spoilers.

MLB The Show 17 Discussion Thread (By: @willyod)

Have you been playing around with MLB The Show 17? Talk about Sony's latest baseball simulator with the rest of the Giant Bomb Community!

What Games Do You Expect Or Hope To See At This Year's E3? (By: @jec03)

Oh no....

What games do you expect or hope to see at this year's E3? Share and discuss your picks, and join the community in predicting what the big surprise of the event will be.

Dark Souls III DLC, The Ringed City, Discussion Thread (By: @jiggajoe14)

How have you been enjoying The Ringed City DLC for Dark Souls III? Are there any bosses or encounters giving you trouble? Gripe about it over here!

Breath of the Wild Patch Discussion Thread (By: @thizzle7xu)

What are your early impressions of the patch for Breath of the Wild? Are you still having framerate issues? Join our community discussion about it over here.

Picture provided by GB user Sakr

New Photo Mode in Warframe Sharing Thread (By: @mrcraggle)

The GB Warframe community welcomes you to share what you have managed to take using the game's new photo mode.

Lovable Lists

Personal Favorites (By: @mabaseslums)

MabaseSlums is working on a list of his personal favorite games of all time, and you can see what they are over here.

Useful User Reviews

• @andrew2696 shares his mostly positive adventures in Mass Effect: Andromeda on his review for the game.
• Discover why @lazyaza thinks NieR: Automata is a "truly inspiring masterpiece" on his extensive review.
• @moonlightmoth's review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildextrapolates why she thinks it represents an effective end point to the series.
• @bassman2112's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End review articulates why he's split when it comes to the game's mechanics and story.

Wonderful Wikis

It's finally here!

Persona 5

Do you know anything about Shin Megami Tensei games, because I sure as Hell don't! Anyway, here's the Giant Bomb wiki page for Persona 5!

Filed under:

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Destiny 2

Bloodborne

Horizon Zero Dawn

Fable III

Broken Sword

Blazing Dragons

NieR: Automata

Final Fantasy X

Read Only Memories

Ginger: Beyond the Crystal

MLB The Show 17

E3 2017

Dark Souls III

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Warframe

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

Persona 5

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