Brody R Thompson, Author at Hard Drive

Indie Game ‘Terra Nil’ About Revitalizing Neglected Ecosystem Played in Most Disgusting Apartment You’ve Ever Seen

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Camden Brazile

ST. LOUIS — Upon the release of Devolver Digital’s new ‘reverse city builder’ Terra Nil, players everywhere have enjoyed revitalizing neglected ecosystems — many of them from the most disgusting apartments known to man.

“I love the serene, satisfying feeling of slowly rebuilding this destroyed landscape and making it beautiful. I just wade through the heaps of dirty laundry on my floor, swat away the Milky Way wrappers blocking my monitor, and start up the game,” said Terra Nil player Jacob Mayhew. “It’s really fun to clean this desolate wasteland bit by bit, all curled-up and cozy in my bed-frameless mattress lying right on my filthy shag carpet.”

Other prospective players are reportedly unable to play the game due to their dirty lifestyle.

“I had to just wishlist the game because the city is making me clear out my bedroom that they call a ‘massive fire-hazard that will cause imminent death,’” said Steam user Brian Phillipson. “I’m a simple guy; I love playing these cute, soothing games about cleaning things up, as long as it’s completely fictional and the cleaning provides me no actual benefit to my life or organization.”

“I may be surrounded by garbage,” the hoarder continued, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy over 100 hours logged in Unpacking.”

The game’s developers elaborated on what inspired the game’s basic gameplay loop.

“I went over to another game dev’s loft to brainstorm some new ideas, and before we could even start, he had to meticulously clean his entire room for both of us to even be able to sit down,” said creative director Evan Greenwood. “Watching him clear up his repulsive home gave me this weird calming feeling, as I saw him have to ration the little cleaning supplies and clean towels that he had to get the entire job done. I realized that would be the perfect feeling for a strategy indie game.”

At press time, sources reported that several Terra Nil players were struggling to boot up the game after being unable to find the application in their ruinously cluttered desktop page.

This article is sponsored by Devolver Digital. Yes, you should clean your room a little bit. BUT, once you do that, you can REWARD YOURSELF by grabbing Terra Nil on Steam and playing a whole bunch of that game. It’s fun!

Guy Complaining About Crime in NYC Clearly Talking About Spider-Man Game

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Kyle Duggan

LARCHMONT, N.Y. — A man who has spent months ranting about crime in New York City appears to be sourcing all of his anecdotes from Marvel’s Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, local sources confirmed.

“The other day when I was downtown, I saw a bunch of thugs standing outside of a shop talking about how they were gonna break in,” said Adam Sutton, who said he never leaves Westchester despite telling multiple stories that took place in the city. “I swear, the stuff you see these days makes you want to web a guy to the wall, just like those backpacks you see everywhere. Society has totally degenerated.”

Sutton’s co-worker Eric LaRiviere, who noted he has visited New York on several occasions but would never want to live there, said he eventually noticed inconsistencies in the stories.

“Right away, the idea of the NYPD having a network of towers that can automatically detect and report crime didn’t ring true to me,” said LaRiviere. “I was even more skeptical when he told me that he had hacked into the towers so that he could personally track crimes throughout the city. Finally, he started going on about a mad scientist with four robot arms on his back, and I connected the dots. He must not have played the Miles Morales expansion, though, because he never brings up arms deals or cyberattacks. It’s too bad. I liked that better than the base game.”

Native New Yorker Sal Tesoriero says that he knew Sutton’s claims were fabricated right away.

“Listen, I’ve lived in this city my whole life. It’d take more than some stories from a video game to fool me,” said Tesoriero. “Right away, he started talking about the Village, but he kept calling it ‘Green-wich.’ When I asked him what he was even doing there in the first place, he said he was trying to get a picture of something called the ‘Sanctum Sanctorum.’ I know this town like the back of my hand and I’ve never heard of that place.”

Just before press time, New York City mayor Eric Adams held a press conference to announce the immediate closure of 14 library branches. He stated the money saved would provide funding for the NYPD to inspect the trunk of every car in the city following rumors of a spate of kidnappings.

CoD Modern Warfare 2 Raid Guide: Atomgrad Ep 02 Walkthrough

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Noah Hunter

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has released its next Raid, Atomgrad EP. 02. Players will need to work together to complete the objectives, solve puzzles, and survive the onslaught of enemies to finish this Raid. Here is our Atomgrad EP 02 Raid guide to help you complete this raid in COD Modern Warfare 2.

If you need help getting started, be sure to check out our general raid guide to find out how to start raids in MW2!

Atomgrad EP 02 Raid Guide: Navigating the Silo

Right after the opening cutscene, you will spawn into the exact place where EP 01 of the Atomgrad Raid ended. You’ll need to head over to the ladder and climb upwards to the top of the silo. After reaching the top, jump over to the platform on your left and jump to hand off the ledge of the three platforms above your head. Once you’re up, proceed forwards with your weapons ready.

After recouping, you’ll need to proceed through the labyrinth of hallways that lie ahead. Be warned: enemies lurk throughout this area, so you’ll need to ensure your party is prepared and takes out each of the enemies lurking around. For this reason, it’s best that you fully explore each of the hallways and kill all of the enemies. If you choose not to, they can sneak up on you from behind in the next area of the raid.

To find the way out, look for the red arrows spray painted on the walls. These will generally lead you to where you need to go. At the end of the area, you will encounter a wall of pipes exhausting steam. This will slow you down, so make a break for it and burst forwards right after the pipes stop emitting anything.

Atomgrad EP 02 Raid Guide: How to Solve the Steam Puzzle

Once you reach the next floor, you will see a puzzle awaiting you. Before you can do anything, however, you’ll need to take down a Juggernaut. He will spawn in right next to the hallway you came out of along with other troops, so be sure to take him down to earn yourself a minigun! You’ll need to head over to the ladder and climb upwards to the top of the silo. When climbing, however, you will see that there is steam blocking your path upwards. In order to navigate past this, one player must stay behind to turn the valve just to the left of the ladder and platforms.

Once the steam is redirected, the player will need to jump from the ladder to the platforms and navigate to the left. Before they reach the top though, the valve must be turned again to redirect the steam once more. This will allow the player climbing to reach the very top and proceed onwards. Be sure to jump appropriately, as it is quite easy to miss the platform and fall off the edge of the floor entirely.

So, to recap:

Player 1 must climb the ladder to the top and wait for Player 2 to turn the valve at the bottom.
Once the valve is turned, P1 jumps over to the platforms and continues upwards.
Player 2 turns valve again to redirect the steam that blocks the final platform.
Player 1 navigates to the top platform and is finished.

This process will be repeated with Player 2 and 3, however, things will change once only one player remains at the bottom of the ladder. At this moment, Player 3 must follow the same steps as P1 and P2, except one of the players at the top will turn the valve at the final platform. This acts the same as the valve from below, but instead it will allow your final party member to move upwards and join the other two members.

Once everyone is up, crawl under the platform in front of you and squat to enter the circular opening past that. Proceeding through here, you will eventually drop into another level. Drop down and hang a right through the open door. Following the set of stairs, you will encounter the next puzzle! Before doing anything though, be sure to attack and kill the enemies that will be shooting at you across the long hallway.

How to Navigate the Vent Puzzle

Upon entering this room, you will encounter a control panel. To operate it, all members of your team must press one button each at the same time. There are three buttons in total, each laid out next to each other. Upon activating this, the closest vent on the left will pop open, followed by three more behind it. You will need to navigate across the vents, only one person on one vent at a time. If you have more than one person on any vent at any given time, the vent will close, and you will fall to your death.

After you navigate this first vent section, rappel upwards to the next section, which (surprise) contains a similar vent puzzle. The difference here is that the vents open differently and you must navigate through the across the corridor. After reaching the last vent on the left, jump to the right where the yellow pipe begins and you will be met with an open vent. After landing on this and jumping onto the yellow pipe, run to the top of the pipe and proceed throughout the rest of the vent obstacle course.

Once reaching the end of the vents, rendezvous with all of your team members at the blue door. From here, you’ll head into a room and jump down into a new tunnel to proceed further into the Silo. Be careful as you navigate this section though, as there are enemies awaiting you.

Along the way, you will encounter a room that serves as an armory. Here, there are ammo restocks, armor restocks, dozens of weapons, and plenty of molotovs and grenades. Use this as a chance to refuel and fill up your armor and ammo reserves. Additionally, why not grab a shotgun lying on the ground or a punching SMG hanging on the wall? Pick a weapon that suits you best if your current loadout isn’t cutting it.

The next room can be quite tricky, so enter as a unit and be prepared to take out the dozens of enemies awaiting you. After you enter and clear the first floor, use the paracord to ascend to the next platform.

Immediately after rising up, take cover behind a wall or pallet to eliminate the enemies that rain fire from above. These enemies can easily kill you if you aren’t being careful. When you’ve got the enemies taken care of, look for the ramp that has the red arrow on it and run along it to jump onto the above platform. Vault upwards a few times and get to the next floor.

Immediately upon arriving to this floor, there will be enemies shooting at you. You probably missed these earlier, so do take them down so they will not halt you from progressing. Whatever you do though, do not ascend upwards on the rope. There is a fire from above that will instantly fry you if you don’t take care of it first.

How to Put Out the Pipe Fire

To get the fire put out and start ascending, one of your party members needs to head to the right of the floor entrance. Here, you will find a valve similar to the ones found earlier in the mission.

This valve unfortunately does not permanently stop the fire, so you’ll need to time it perfectly with your ascent. With player 1 there to turn the valve, P2 and P3 are now able to ascend. The following steps are all you need to solve this puzzle:

Have Player 1 sit at the valve and Player 2 (or Player 3) underneath the cord ready to ascend.
P1 should turn out the valve and signal for P2 or P3 (whoever is ascending) to immediately press ascend.
Repeat for the remaining player (P2 or P3).
Once both players not at the valve are up, P1 needs to head to position themselves ready to ascend. There is a corresponding valve to stop the flames at the higher floor where P2 & P3 are.
One of the players above should turn the valve and signal for P1 to ascend.

It should be noted that the players ascending first must be ready to fight when above, as there are plenty of enemies ready to fight once you have ascended. They will be both on you side of the building and across the way, which will require an AR. Once all of your party is up, head to the door in the tunnel and take a left from there. You’ll then trigger the door to open.

After hitting the button and opening the door, plenty of enemies will be waiting to strike. This section has a main hallway with small hiding spots on your left and right. Be careful as you progress forwards and make sure to eliminate all of the enemies. At the end of the hall, jump down the chute to enter to the puzzle awaiting outside.

The Third Vent Puzzle: Modern Warfare 2 Atomgrad EP 02 Guide

The third vent puzzle is the longest one by far and can be quite tricky if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

Like the previous vent puzzles, head to the control panel first and have all members press one button at the same time. From there, navigate the vent puzzle as you did previously by only having one person on the vent at a time. For this puzzle especially, ensure you are working quickly as if you take too long the last person might not have enough time to complete the course. This course is in a ‘U’ shape.

After completing the course, the next section lies beyond the blue doors. Enter the doors and you will enter the flashlight section of the raid. Here, the entire area is pitch black and you’ll need to clear all the enemies. There will be various areas for you to drop down, which you will continue to do until you find a staircase to fall onto. Here, be prepared for a large wave of enemies that includes a Juggernaut.

It’s super easy to die here, so hide behind a pillar or in a room and peek your gun out to shoot. This will give your body the most protection possible from incoming fire. After knocking down the Juggernaut and friends, you’ll be able to enter the final resting area, which is another armory. Make sure to load up on plenty of ammo and armor.

How to Solve The Gas Puzzle – Atomgrad Ep 02 Modern Warfare 2 Guide

The final puzzle can be quite tricky. Each member will have a unique role, which means you’ll need to closely follow the guide below to ensure you complete this puzzle. You will be on a timer for this, so quickly work to move all three of your members in and out of the gas obstacle course. To give a quick overview, there are three different terminals. One of these controls the ventilation system, which will remove the gas. The second controls the fans, which will turn off the fans and allow someone to pass through them. Finally, the door control system opens up the door leading into the gas and the door leading out of the gas.

Before starting this puzzle, make sure to wipe out all of the enemies that will spawn in. These will come from above in most cases, while some will enter from the ground floor occasionally. Here are the steps to completing this puzzle:

Player 1 should head to the door leading into the gas. Player 2 should be at the door terminal. Finally, Player 3 should be at the gas terminal.
P3 needs to press the button to remove the gas from the chamber, and immediately after P2 needs to open the door. From here, P1 should run in and navigate as fast as possible through the course. At this time, P3 needs to run to the fan terminal.
Once P1 reaches the fans, P3 needs to activate the fan terminal.
After P1 moves through the fans and reaches the final door, P2 needs to activate the door terminal again for P1 to be able to access the final room.

At this point, P1 needs to clear all the enemies in the new room. There are a lot of them, but this player needs to finish them off before proceeding forward with the next player.

Once P1 is finished with the enemies, the player needs to move to the door terminal (back left of the room). P2 needs to move to the door before the gas chamber and P3 needs to be at the gas terminal.
P3 needs to activate the gas terminal, with P1 immediately opening the door for P2 afterwards. P3 moves to fan terminal now, while P1 remains at door terminal.
Once P2 is at fans, P3 needs to activate fan terminal.
At the end of the course, P1 needs to open the door one more time for P2 to escape.

After P2 is united with P1, the two players will need to knock out the plenty of enemies ready to spawn in. Once this is done, repeat the first process that initially happened with P3, who is still on the other side of the room before the gas chamber.

All three of you once united will have more enemies to deal with before you can progress to the escape portion of the mission. You’ll need to plant explosives to progress to this section, which will be done on this wall here.

After breaking this wall, it’s time to run! You’ll need to outrun the gas while plowing through the dozens of enemies in your way. Prioritize running over shooting but do shoot anyone in your way. Shooting too many enemies can cause the gas to catch up to you, which ends the raid in failure.

At the end of the hallway, you’ll see a prompt to close the airlock. Press this button and a cutscene will play, ending the raid! Depending on how you did in the raid, you’ll earn a reward that you can utilize in your locker.

That wraps up our Atomgrad EP 02 raid guide! Looking for help on EP 01 of the Atomgrad Raid? Check out our walkthrough here!

If Halo is a Warthog, Microsoft is the Team Killer Driving It Off a Cliff

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Samuel Moreno

To call the Halo franchise influential is an understatement. Not only did the original game ensure Microsoft and the Xbox were a success in the console gaming space, but it established many basic genre staples such as recharging health and teabagging. Subsequent entries cemented it as the most popular and best-selling Xbox-exclusive IP.

However, there’s no denying that the reputation has become a bit muddied over the last decade. It feels like most fans and their mothers will tell you Halo’s been on a harsh decline ever since 343 Industries took over, even though they’ve been managing Halo longer than its predecessor Bungie and released multiple financially-successful works. Halo’s history has become complicated by various factors and Microsoft certainly hasn’t done what it could to treat the franchise better.

I won’t argue that 343 Industries is completely free of blame. Halo: The Master Chief Collection was released in a broken state that took years to fix. Halo 5: Guardians launched without key features on top of a divisive campaign story. Halo Infinite seemed to start off in a decent state for a live-service game, but it soon became apparent that the team couldn’t keep up with the expected flow of content for six months, much less the purported 10 years. Most of these issues reek of poor management, and former employees corroborate that.

While it’s murky whether the management issues are purely from 343 Industries or is being bled into from Microsoft, we do know that the latter hasn’t provided the best foundation. Case and point is their scummy tactic of employing a lot of contractors and dropping them after 18 months so that they don’t have to hire them.

An article from Bloomberg estimated that half the studio was composed of rotating 18-month contractors. Contract work isn’t an anomaly in the games industry, but having so many limited time workers on a project with years of development time and poor management can easily lead to many of the issues with Halo Infinite. I won’t pretend I know everything, but between providing more workers with respectable wages or letting your biggest release come out underbaked, I’d assume the investment is better to prevent the latter from happening.

These shop prices certainly haven’t helped.

For fans, it’s confusing how mismanagement has remained a recurring problem. Halo isn’t just another Xbox franchise – it’s THE Xbox franchise and it’s kept that status among other growing exclusives. How can Microsoft not step in and course correct their flagship franchise?

The most simple answer would be that business is good! Why fix what’s still selling? As much as some will beg for the Bungie days from over a decade ago, many of those people have kept buying in with each new entry. It’s a bit like the Sonic cycle, only the games have been more successful and the fans shit on the developers more.

Halo Infinite was the only uncertain one because we don’t know the precise metrics Microsoft was looking to surpass for a partially F2P live-service game that’s fully offered through Xbox Game Pass. A recent interview with Xbox Game Studios’ CEO Phil Spencer seemed to suggest it only had a strong launch though. Evidently, not enough people bought the high priced cosmetics aside from the totally wallet-friendly $10 cat ear helmet bundles.

Microsoft obviously knew that there were issues since the project would end up being pushed back a year. As much as we wish people remembered Twitter’s favorite Shigeru Miyamoto quote, that single delay did look bad to many and you’d assume they would have kept a closer eye to make sure everything would be good to go for launch and beyond. If there’s anything worth intervening for it would be this! A Halo game can’t be subpar.

Yet, Halo Infinite absolutely was. The delayed title launched with far fewer maps than previous entries and featured only two stretched out seasons of content for the first year. A live-service version of your biggest brand that just so happens to be a first-person shooter should be a near-perfect recipe for success. It shouldn’t be fumbled worse than me playing Oddball.

Delays can be good. Delays helped Craig.

With such obvious issues, you’d think Microsoft would intervene. Maybe make some exceptions and properly hire people.

But that’s not the kind of choice they’d make because they’re more akin to the team-killing griefer trying to load up on betrayals, i.e. by laying off 10,000 employees. Unsurprisingly, 343 Industries also took a hit from the recent layoff wave. As much as they want to assure that the series is in good hands with the studio, it’s hard to believe it after they let go of people who want to contribute.

This leads us to the franchises’ future, which is as uncertain as whoever the hell the Endless are. Ongoing shakeups on the topside of the studio could lead to some improvements in the future. Reports that they’re switching to the universal Unreal Engine could also cut down on educating new staff.

However, it’s difficult to not feel uneasy. Is it time for another soft reboot? Would a new entry under the studio be accepted when so much horrible fan vitriol remains directed at the developers? Do any changes matter when Microsoft treats its flagship title and its employees with as much respect as the Halo TV show treated its characters? Will there be any respect left when the far more successful Call of Duty series is set to come under the Microsoft umbrella?

Before we decide how we feel about the next entry, maybe it’s time that we scrutinize Microsoft a little more. It’s also probably a good opportunity for the studio to finally rebrand itself away from a character that betrayed players twice.

Dry Bones Has Panic Attack at Xylophone Recital

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Kyle Duggan

ROGUEPORT — Noted Bowser minion Dry Bones experienced a frightening mental breakdown during a student’s performance at a local xylophone recital, sources in attendance confirmed.

“I had seen him earlier, before the show started. I guess his nephew had a showcase today,” said Paul Traverso, father of one of the recital’s performers. “I had totally forgotten he was here until this one kid played a wonky descending scale, and suddenly all hell broke loose. Dry Bones just started screaming and charged the stage. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but the guy totally lost it. I mean, he really fell to pieces.”

Security at the event had difficulty subduing the skeletal turtle, with one guard describing the incident as difficult and frustrating.

“It was a real struggle to hold him back,” said Curtis Rojas, an employee of Glitz Pit Security. “I could get him down to the floor pretty easily, but right when I thought he was finished, he would pull himself together and stand back up. It honestly felt a little unfair, like it was breaking some kind of unwritten rule about everything I’ve experienced in this career. Every other enemy I’ve encountered has just stayed defeated, so I don’t understand why things were different this time.”

A recorded livestream of the event revealed what Dry Bones was screaming while fighting security and attempting to mount the stage.

“You don’t know what it’s like!” shrieked the fleshless Koopa. “No one fucking knows! You all say, ‘What’s the matter, Dry Bones? What are you worried about? You can’t die!’ Well, you know what’s worse than death? Lying there helplessly while a chubby guy in overalls murders all of your friends! You just have to watch! And every single time it happens, you hear that sound! Why? Why would you teach a child to play that sound? I might be a horrific skeleton beast, but you’re the real monsters!”

Organizers of the event reported that the recital continued after Dry Bones had been removed, only to be interrupted again when Yoshi left the auditorium to take a phone call and Baby Mario started crying.

Just Like the Old Days: 11-Year-Old Relies on Steam to Survive

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Richard Circuit

BLOOMINGTON, Iowa — In a throwback to simpler times, local 11-year-old Bennie Fruppen has been relying entirely on Steam to stay alive.

“We tried to raise Bennie the modern way first. We fed him healthy food, clean water, made him go outside in the sun, that kind of thing. But he hated all of that. So eventually we just let him try living on Steam full-time. It’s been months now,” said father Thomas Fruppen, watching his son play Minecraft in a lightless room. “I gotta be honest, I don’t know how he does it.”

Historians have marveled at how successfully Fruppen mimics the societal norms of the 1800s.

“This child lives in the 21st century, but his entire existence is powered by the Steam Engine. He relies on it in his every waking moment, and without it he’d probably just wither away and die,” said Dr. Jerome Vega, professor of Victorian history at Harvard University. “See how he puts in 16+ hour days, using his tiny hands to work with wood and brick and steel, feeding the very machine that sustains him. He’s so incredibly dirty, cheeks sallow, hasn’t bathed in weeks, and if the stuff smeared on his skin isn’t coal, I’m not sure what it is. The accuracy is just remarkable.”

While critics claimed an 11-year-old shouldn’t live this way, Bennie Fruppen insisted that he was perfectly happy with his lifestyle.

“Ah got-a put in me work ev’ry day on this earf,” Fruppen said, before washing down his mouthful of Doritos with a chug of Red Bull. “Guess it’s just my lot in life.”

However, Fruppen was later rushed to the emergency room when it was revealed that he had a Twitch, which is a common symptom of childhood rickets.

Wish The Pokémon Company Was Still Making Sprite-Based Games? Let Me Show You Some Cool Pokémon Games

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Jacob VanGundy

Pokémon is the biggest media franchise in the world, looming over not just fellow video game icons like Mario but surpassing the godlike status of Mickey Mouse and his gang of animal friends. Growing from a set of Gameboy games the franchise has evolved into a multitude of anime, manga, movies, and of course every imaginable form of merchandise. Surely, with so much success the games must be universally beloved right?

Of course not. For many hardcore Pokémon fans, the franchise’s golden age was somewhere in the past. Of course, the fandom can’t agree on when exactly the franchise started going downhill. After the first generation? The Switch era? It’s all arbitrary, but my personal point of delineation is the switch from sprites to 3D models with Pokémon X & Y.

Don’t get me wrong I still play every new Pokémon game, but I bitch and moan the whole time like a real gamer. When I see the weirdly plastic monster designs and the lifeless open worlds I can’t help but imagine a world where The Pokémon Company had chosen to stick with sprites but continued to refine and experiment with the gameplay. A magical world where Pokémon looks and feels like the sprite era with all the modern features that make modern Pokémon games so much more user-friendly. Well, a fan-made version of that world exists in the form of ROM hacks.

For the uninitiated, a ROM hack is an edited version of an emulated game. These changes range from adding quality-of-life additions to a pre-existing game to using the original game’s assets to make something almost entirely new. There are hundreds of these ROM hacks for Pokémon games and whatever weirdly specific changes you’d make to Pokémon has likely been attempted in one of them. I’ve only dipped my toes into the world of ROM hacks but let me guide you through some of my favorites.

I was introduced to Pokémon ROM hacks through Pokémon Radical Red, a hack of Fire Red focused on updating the game and making it more challenging. It adds features from later games like mega evolutions, Pokémon up to generation 8, and the physical/special split. It also adds quality-of-life improvements like allowing you to use HMs without wasting a move slot. All of these improvements make the gameplay smoother which is needed because the game is also much more difficult with an updated AI, min-maxed enemies, and no items during boss battles.

My favorite ROM hack is also based on Fire Red and it’s Pokémon Unbound. While Radical Red feels like a vastly improved version of Fire Red, Unbound creates a new game using the original as a basis. It has most of the quality life improvements and additions from later games that Radical Red had attached to a new map with a new, surprisingly good, story. It scratched the itch of exploring a new Pokémon region with the old-school aesthetic and some truly innovative ideas like a robust quest system and unique combat modifiers in every gym making them feel special.

If you’re seeking something that shakes the pocket monsters themselves, Pokémon Fools Gold takes Pokémon Crystal and reimagines every single monster. There aren’t new Pokémon, instead, they take the monsters you know and change their type and moves. While it doesn’t have as many modernizations and quality-of-life changes as other ROM hacks its type-swapped gimmick is a fun way to shake up classic Pokémon and it comes with some fantastic custom sprites and Pokedex entries.

The last ROM hack I want to highlight is also the most radical departure from the source material: Pokémon Emerald Rogue. While the other hacks I’ve written about here follow the standard Pokémon structure, Emerald Rogue turns the game into a rogue-lite. Instead of a region, you’ll journey through a series of procedurally generated maps with randomized Pokémon, trainers, and items. In true rogue-lite fashion, you will frequently die and have to start over, with some ability to take specific Pokémon in as starters or gain access to better items. It’s a great way to shake up the Pokémon formula.

Pokémon ROM hacks are great if

You’re nostalgic for old-school Pokémon
You’re still kind of mad about Dexit
You’re willing to do a little digging to figure out what ROMs to get and how

Pokémon ROM hacks aren’t for you if:

You’re a console-only gamer
You don’t long for the days of sprite art
You think emulating old games is stealing

If you’re on the other side of this, and would rather have less Pokémon in 3D, you may be interested in Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee.

‘MultiVersus’ Taking the Summer Off to Figure Some Shit Out

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Mark Roebuck

LOS ANGELES — Developers at Player First Games have revealed that MultiVersus, its once popular fighting game that was released to the public last July, is taking the summer off to figure some shit out.

“Look, it’s not as simple as just keeping the game available to play for everyone that’s been playing so far,” said MultiVersus director Tony Huynh, while strapping luggage to the roof of his car. “It just needs some time away from the intense scrutiny a fighting game is subjected to, especially one that’s seen such a dip in players since its debut. We hope you enjoyed seasons one and two, and we appreciate everyone that paid for the battle pass, but we have to go up north and just like, chill out, you know? We’re all just gonna go rent a house up on a lake and figure out some shit. MultiVersus will be back. Eventually. Maybe. I don’t know. We all just need some time, man.”

Fans were surprised at the unexpected announcement regarding the game’s suddenly murky future.

“I get that MultiVersus was kind of the new cool kid for a minute and then the shine wore off,” said local teenager Dave Benton, who didn’t realize the game’s transition from early access to retail version would include an extended blackout period. “But that’s no excuse to run off into the woods for a while. You can’t do that to people. I might not have bought the ‘Founder’s Pack’ if I knew that said ‘Founders’ were gonna dip on me, not gonna lie.”

“It’s really depressing that my favorite game is going away right when I’ll be going on summer vacation,” he added. “I guess I’ll just fall in love or something.”

As of press time, MultiVersus, The Game Awards’ Fighting Game of the Year 2022, is slated to be released in early 2024, possibly earlier if they get their shit figured out.

GTA Online The Last Dose Guide: How to Start The Last Dose

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Obinna Tony-Francis Ochem

In an update for GTA Online, there has been an addition of content that will pique the interest of game players as they go through the process of playing the game. In GTA Online, there are five new Last Dose missions for players to complete the Los Santos Drug Wars storyline. Los Santos Drug Wars was split into two parts.

The content first dropped in December 2022 when fans got the first part known as, “The First Dose”, then it was followed by six missions that accompanied it to complete the game. Then, now in March, there is the second half of the new DLC, GTA Online‘s “The Last Dose”.

How to Start GTA Online The Last Dose Missions

To start The Last Dose, you must have completed the First Dose missions. So, if you are a new player who is yet to get into them, then it’s expected to visit Dax at the Freakshop, to begin with, the game. After all this is done, then you start the missions:

Last Dose Mission One – This is an Intervention
Last Dose Mission Two – Unusual Suspects
Last Dose Mission Three – FriedMind
Last Dose Mission Four – Checking In
Last Dose Mission Five– BDKD

In the game, there is a commonly known problem for players which includes the inability to receive calls from Dax or some general unresponsiveness, especially when moving to the first mission marker. If you face this problem, it’s ideal to switch to a new session or in some cases, reload the game and then hold on for a bit to wait for a call to arrive to start the new missions.

In conclusion, to start The Last Dose, complete all the available First Dose missions, then get a car and start driving around Los Santos. In the process, accept the call from Dax when it arrives and finally, meet up with Dax to start the Last Dose missions.

Looking for other GTA Online guides? Check out our guide to the best GTA Online businesses in 2023.

Like Pokémon But Feel Overwhelmed By The Current Amount Of Pokémon? Try Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Kevin Podas

Pokémon– there sure are a lot of them now, huh? With the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the count is officially at 1,015 collectible monsters– a far cry from the original 150 many of us grew up with. If you miss out on even a single generation of games, it can be daunting to catch up on catching ’em all. So whether you fell off after the DS games, or haven’t touched the series since it became an unstoppable phenomenon in the 90s, Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee are for you.

There’s been a lot of backlash around some of the newer iterations of Pokémon games. It’s very possible that Game Freak has bitten off more than it can chew. Most RPGs have pretty robust bestiaries, but nothing comes even close to Pokémon. With over a thousand unique monsters each with their own animations and movesets, it’s no wonder that the seams are starting to show.

I’ve played most of the games in the series, but even for someone like me, Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee were a breath of fresh air. The “Let’s Go” in the title is clearly capping inspiration from the craze that was/is Pokémon Go, and the game incorporates some of those mechanics in here, which may be the one hurdle that fans both new and old will have to overcome. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just different– catching Pokémon in this game isn’t like any other mainline games in the series.

Berries can make angry Pokémon more docile.

This new capture method can be a refreshing change of pace to not have to whittle down a Pokémon’s health, paralyze them, and catch them like usual. Though it does have its own frustrations that come along with it– lining up your Pokéball to throw it can be hit or miss at times, and if you have big baseball mitt hands like me, holding a single joycon to play the entire game can be a little cramping. Yes, even if you play in docked mode, you can only use a single joy con to play the entire game– you can’t use a pro controller or any other option. That is, unless you play the game portably, in which case you can just use the right control stick to aim. But given that this was the first mainline Pokémon game on a home console (or whatever you consider the Switch) I was more interested in playing on my nice HDTV and seeing the Kanto region really pop, so I put up with a bit of hand cramping in order to do so. But again, this won’t be a problem for everybody.

There are plenty of trainer battles to keep you busy enough with the grind though, which longtime fans will be instantly familiar with. And let me tell you, they are quite charming, and look a hell of a lot better than the empty hallways and voids that trainer battles took place in during Pokémon Sword and Shield. Backgrounds and scenery are exactly what they should look like, wherever you happen to make eye contact with an opponent and initiate battle. Speaking of, it’s exactly what you remember: four move slots, turn-based, type advantage battles. And if you’re like me, you already have the type chart saved on your phone to constantly refer to.

Most importantly though, the game pares down the Pokédex to only the original 150 (and a couple new ones) which recall memories of a bygone era, just with a fresh coat of paint. I had been wanting a game like this for some time, and Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee delivered. It may not be the big open world adventure that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are, but it’s nice to have a smaller and more refined experience– a recollection of when Pokémon had to prove itself to sell games, instead of just “here’s a new one, you know you want it.”

Don’t call it a remake, either– this is sort of a pseudo-remake, pseudo-sequel kind of thing. You don’t play as the original protagonists Red or Blue, but they do make appearances throughout the game, implying that this takes place in between the events of Pokémon Red and Blue, and Pokémon Gold and Silver. There are also several nods to more recent games in the series, including cameo appearances from a couple Pokémon Sun and Moon characters, as well as Alola regional variants being available in this game via trades with NPC characters.

Most importantly, you can recreate My Neighbor Totoro in this game.

The one negative thing this game does highlight from these simpler times is the unbalanced roster that was the original 150 Pokémon that “genwunners” hold in such high regard. It isn’t until you revisit this self-contained origin point that you realize “hey, there really aren’t that many ghost Pokémon in here.” Newer games may have an overwhelming amount of ‘Mons to catch, but they also have a lot more variety. The Alola variants in this game do help a bit with type diversity though, and don’t take away from the authenticity of that OG Pokémon feel. Alolan Marowak is a beast.

Still though, the game is surprisingly, and refreshingly, pretty challenging! If you’re tired of the hand-holding that some of the recent games tend to emphasize, this game’s difficulty will spike up at some point and not slow down, meaning Pokémon battles can be grueling affairs where you win by the skin of your Pikachu’s teeth. Gym leader victories feel truly earned once their last Pokémon faints and they hand over that damn Marsh Badge.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee might be for you if:

You’re intimidated by the insane amount of Pokémon there are now.
You’re a 90s kid and want a nostalgia fix without the jank that comes with older games.
You’re a completionist and want an obtainable goal.

They might not be for you if:

You’re ready to move on with your life and explore bigger regions with larger Pokédex capacities.
You have no nostalgia for the original games.
You prefer the easier difficulty of the newer Pokémon games.

You can get Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee on the Nintendo Switch. [lasso ref=”pokemon-lets-go-eevee-nintendo-switch” id=”23374″ link_id=”4053″]