News:: The file size for NBA 2K18 on Switch is a technical foul

I feel like I'm playing a totally bent record on endless repeat. I can't even go a week without another report of a Switch game somehow screwing the pooch when it comes to storage. As found by NeoGAF users, NBA 2K18 is the latest culprit of Switch storage woes. According to the official Nintendo of America website, 2K18 will require a 5 GB save file, per save, that can only be stored on the Switch's internal memory.

This is in addition to the 16.1 GB software update that is required for both physical and digital purchases of the game. If you happen to opt for the digital copy, you'll also need to install an initial 6.8 GB worth of data before the update. This has led many to believe that 2K Games decided to put the main game on the smallest Switch game card possible while requiring users to deal with storage concerns on their own.

To make this doubly worse, a microSD card is required regardless of whether you have anything downloaded to your Switch or not. You cannot buy either version of the game without additional storage, I suppose to make way for each save file occupying around 20% of the console's built-in storage.

It would be easy to blame 2K entirely for this, but Nintendo also needs to share some of the shame. Why are users not allowed to back-up save data to an SD card? Why is there no option to upload save files to cloud storage? Why isn't there a premium model of the Switch available with more storage? At least you can actually upgrade the damn thing with bigger SD cards, but even then, making five saves in NBA 2K18 will completely fill you console and prevent you from creating another (an issue that could be mitigated by allowing back-ups!). Will future NBA 2K titles do the same thing?

I understand why Nintendo opted for only 32 GB of storage (it is Flash storage, which is basically an SSD and isn't cheap), but we aren't even out of the first year of the console's lifespan and the damn machine could be filled from casual gameplay. That is a huge concern that is going to turn off a lot of people come next year. Really, simple options could alleviate this, but I guess Nintendo just has to Nintendo.

Then again, 2K could have opted for a 32 GB card and solved this entire problem. That would fit the game, its update and a single save no problem. What the hell?!

NBA 2K18 Storage Space Information [Nintendo of America]

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News:: Review: Hiveswap: Act 1

I used to read a lot of webcomics, and one of my favorites was MS Paint Adventures, particularly the Problem Sleuth series. The comic is drawn and animated by Andrew Hussie, and has explored several different themes and genres over the years. The most recent and most popular comic series is Homestuck, which followed the adventures of several kids and literal internet trolls patterned after Howie Mandel's character in Little Monsters.

Back in 2012, midway through Homestuck's run, Hussie launched a Kickstarter for a game based on the settings and characters of the comic. It's been a long time coming, but Hiveswap: Act 1 has finally released. Was it worth the wait?

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News:: Heart Forth, Alicia slips to 2018

The promising metroidvania Heart Forth, Alicia won't make it out this year. Writing to backers on Kickstarter, designer Alonso Martin cited three reasons for the game's delay "well into 2018":

• "The first is the sheer amount of content and effort that a project of this size demands. We’re a small team working to bring a complex and ambitious game to life, and even as I've involved people I trust to expedite specific parts of development, in many ways this is still a single-man project that needs its due time to come together as intended."
• "The second reason is that the tools we use to make the game come with inherent limitations that we can't escape from, and which are part of our development cycle. Talking about tools, processes, or detailing our whole workflow is hardly exciting, but the takeaway is that sometimes these limitations require us to invest extra time on certain processes. While predicting when this will happen is not always possible, we've grown accustomed to these limitations, and we've become adept at mitigating them. Even then, they do add to the project's development time."
• "The third reason is that earlier this year I ran into a health episode that I took as a wake up call. Extended periods of sitting down and working unhealthy hours had taken a toll on my body, and I was warned that things would get serious if I didn't change course. I still continue working on HFA seven days a week, but under a reasonably healthier schedule. This necessary change of pace was also reflected in our timeline adjustments."

That last point alone would have sufficed.

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News:: The Jackbox Party Pack 4 gets a new trailer fashioned after HSN

The Jackbox games have been on a roll ever since the first release. Coming to almost every device possible, the latest entry in the series looks just as hilarious as the last three. In an effort to promote the new game, Jackbox Games has created a spoof trailer in the form of a Home Shopping Network show.

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News:: Why it took me 24 years to beat Secret of Mana

[Sometimes completing a game goes beyond beating the final boss, putting it back in the case, and moving on the to next project. Read along as kevlarmonkey guides us through the 24-year-long story of his experience with Secret of Mana, and how moving on from the game meant moving on from an old memory. - Wes]

A few days ago I finally finished something I started 24 years ago: I hooked up an old CRT, got out my SNES, and fired up a long-dormant save file on my Secret of Mana cartridge. Once I remembered (relearned) how to play, I finished the game, end credits and all, in under 45 minutes. It honestly took almost as long to find the game and set everything up as it did to finish it.

The save file was as close to final boss' door as you could get. It's kind of funny (I think) imagining the Dark Litch sitting around anxiously awaiting my entrance, and his subsequent beat down. My character (I named him Zero because I was a teenager, and edgy) was almost completely maxed out, as were his companions Jubei and Hanzo. (I had seen Ninja Scroll not long before, and was really interested in Japan, because as already indicated I was a teenager, and had been conditioned for over a decade to think ninjas were cool. Yes, I knew at the time Jubei was a boy's name, but like I said I was a teenager, and I thought it was cool.) They had max life, full supplies, the best weapons, and were trained in all magic with full meters. If anything, my party was over prepared. The question that I’m sure you are asking yourself is, "Why didn’t he finish this 23 years ago?" It's a question I don’t think I fully realized the answer to until I saw the end credits finish rolling.

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News:: Warframe will warrant another look with Plains of Eidolon

Warframe is going open world with its Plains of Eidolon expansion this year. Today brings our latest look at the people you'll meet, the places you'll go, and the twisted, towering threats you'll face.

This update should bring in new players and folks who tried Warframe a while back but moved on to something else. Digital Extremes is clearly in this for the long haul, and it has the playerbase to continue. I wonder what other open-ended "landscapes" we might see down the road.

Plains of Eidolon is slated for a fall release, so it shouldn't be too much longer now.

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News:: Whittle, don't grind

I have always been unrepentant in my love for video game grinding. Give me a billion meaningless tasks to do and, if I like the game enough, I will check them off one by one. We're not talking about collecting all the heart containers in any given Zelda. We're talking more pointless. We're talking grabbing all the flags/feathers/treasure chests/etc. in an Assassin's Creed.

For years, I've just accepted that I'm a weirdo. When all my friends say "Hahaha nah, fuck that," I'm the one who's willing to put in the time. I've always found it therapeutic to be able to inch my way toward an attainable goal. Percentage point by percentage point, I can see myself getting closer.

Now I have a more accurate term for this. Longtime MMO developer Laralyn McWilliams fired off a short tweet thread today that explains how whittling is the concept developers should aim for, not grinding. Here's the transcript of her tweets:

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News:: Bloggers Wanted: Schooled

Gather round boys and girls! School may be back in session, but you should still have a bit of time left to skirt your responsibilities and write some damn blogs!

In the true spirit of the classroom, this month’s Bloggers Wanted prompt is all about “things that video games have taught you.” Whether you want to write about a specific skillset you’ve acquired, love (or hate…) for a genre, game design, music composition, edutainment games, general life lessons, or even delve into more abstract territory…. As long as you’ve learned something, even if you didn’t realize it at the time, I want to fucking hear about it!

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News:: It's hard as hell to see during PUBG's foggy weather

During its September update, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds added a foggy weather variant to its 8x8 kilometer map. Unlike the pretty views afforded by the sunset weather effect, or the infrequent lightning strikes in the stormy version, PUBG's fog map drastically changes how you have to play to get that sweet, sweet chicken dinner.

The fog's pervasive and thick. It's difficult to see more than a few meters in front of you. The combination of abandoned cities and ever-present fog can turn a Battlegrounds match into something like a bizarro Silent Hill. You never really know where danger's going to come from, but at least in the battle royale game, it's another player killing you instead of some twisted monster.

Yesterday, Destructoid editors Steven Hansen and Brett "Mad Dog" Makedonski joined my squad to fight through the fog. It wasn't pretty, but we survived far longer than I thought we would. Check out the video for a taste of what to expect if you're stuck on Erangel when the fog rolls in. 

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News:: ‘PUBG’ has banned over 150,000 cheaters since March

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has become incredibly popular in the few months it has been available on Steam Early Access. In August, it overtook Dota 2 as the game with the most simultaneous players and by the start of this month it had sold over 10 million units. But along with those large -- and growing -- player numbers come a lot of cheaters.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Brendan Greene

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News:: Super Fancy Pants Adventure lands on Steam next week

Fancy Pants, Fancy Pants... oh my gosh, Fancy Pants! I had forgotten about these Flash platformers up until now, but they served me well as time-wasters years ago. Brad Borne is back this month with the long-awaited follow-up, Super Fancy Pants Adventure, which hits Steam on September 20.

Whether you remember the old games or not, this trailer will tell you everything you need to know.

"Over the years [Borne] has honed his craft, turning his Fancy Pants games into a worldwide phenomenon with over 100 million plays and becoming one of the top games of all time on Kongregate," notes the summary. "This newest version, Super Fancy Pants Adventure, is a culmination and a reimagining of the series into a full-fledged title."

Adventure has 56 levels and it's coming in at $10, which is right where I was expecting it to fall.

Super Fancy Pants Adventure [Steam]

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News:: Your Bad Movie Night Guide, Vol. 8: Miami Connection

Continuing to prove that there was no period better than the end of the '80s to deliver flicks that have stood the test of time and have remained bad, meet Miami Connection. It was bad then, bad in the '90s, and is just hilarious now. Terrible music? Yes. Bikinis. Absolutely. Ninjas … maybe! And scenes that should be what are called establishing shots that drag out into entire music videos for no reason whatsoever.

This movie may surprise you with not only its functionality, but its competency, at least for approximately 10 minutes. It opens with a fully, if not well-imagined, described action sequences that portrays a story, conveys it, and does so while not looking like amateur shooting. It's some time before some of the obvious tropes of bad movie filmmaking rear their ugly heads; for example, I'm not even sure I noticed terrible dialogue-dubbing until a half an hour in or more. But worry not, after that, it got much worse.

At heart, this is a tale of "central Florida's hottest club" where Dragon Sound has just replaced the local cover band. Dragon Sound, a boy band consisting of five male best friends who just so happen to be "black belts in taekwondo" in addition to shredding rock on electric guitars, believe in truth, justice, and honesty, as well as friendship for everyone. Yes, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia may have lifted the line from this movie (I won't rule it out). So when the old band tries to fight them for their turf, well, they try to peacefully resist, but you know how those '80s were. Bullies owned the '80s.

Tie in another plot line about a criminal group of ninjas presumably called The Foot that steal cocaine and cash from other criminals, and you've got the makings of a veritable story. Only, this is a bad movie, not a good one, so let's fuck that up by throwing in random taekwondo demonstrations that go on for 10 minutes at a time, terrible audio production, and random biker gangs with their passed-their-prime gang groupie "sheep" going topless for no reason whatsoever. 

Their are more pulled punches in this thing than in professional wrestling. It's especially funny when shots are supposed to be slow motion, or are about to go into slow motion, only the editing is terrible and they don't start the slow motion until after the actors are visibly pulling punches and kicks. The fight choreography is about as bad as you'll ever see—which is unfortunate because the 30 people or so they tricked into playing ninjas for this movie move convincingly! I'd believe they were actual ninjas! And clearly, a few of the principles know martial arts. Does it add an air of authenticity? Absolutely not. And whatever street cred it has is lost with outrageous chit chat that's just awful.

Characters evoke repeated worry about waking up their neighbors, so much so that they actually say, "Hey, what are you trying to do, wake the neighbors?" two or three times in the same conversation. Or characters get intensely focused on the arrival of mail and are creepily obsessing over mail and anyone else's particular interest in mail. (Bear in mind, email didn't exist, but this compulsion is still not excusable—it's way too prevalent, almost as if the writer or director had never received mail themself and getting a white envelop in the mailbox was akin to the arrival of Halley's Comet.)

What you have here, are some fundamentally good ideas, mildly talented individuals partaking in production, and zero ability to put it all together. Lucky us.

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News:: Brand new MX vs. ATV game has me in the mood for off-road racing

As my baseball coach used to say, sometimes you just need to get dirty. After slogging through a bunch of street racing games like Need For Speed, Forza, Ridge Racer, Test Drive it helped to take a break and play something like Motorstorm. There's not enough off-road games like that, but at least the MX vs. ATV series is still going, having announced its newest entry MX vs. ATV All Out.

Headed to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in "early 2018," All Out will feature "massive open worlds" and a free style mode where you "win with style and crazy stunts." THQ Nordic and Rainbow Studios allow you to customize your rider and vehicles, storing the latter in your own personal showroom. Multiplayer is two-player split-screen and up to 16 players online.

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News:: 8Bitdo's SNES-style controller is up for pre-order

I've yet to spring for an 8Bitdo gamepad but this one might prove too tempting to pass up.

The company has opened pre-orders for its Windows, Mac, Android, and Nintendo Switch compatible SN30 Pro Controller on Amazon, and I'm loving its form factor and functionality. The Super Nintendo controller is one of my all-time favorites, and this interpretation has clickable joysticks, rumble, motion controls, a rechargeable battery, and even home and screenshot buttons.

The main holdup? It's not shipping until December. The waiting game takes its toll.

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News:: Persona 4's Yosuke & Under Night's Linne confirmed for BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle

Two more fighters have been announced for ArcSys' upcoming fighter BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, which will see warriors from BlazBlue, Persona, Under Night In-Birth and RWBY do battle.

Showcased on an ArcSys live stream, Persona 4's Yosuke Hanamura will leap into the fray to join buddy Yu Narukami. This then was followed by the reveal of Under Night's petite ball of fury Linne, who will be flying the flag for her brand, alongside game brethren Hyde.

This brings the current roster up to seven combatants, with no doubt many more to be revealed in the lead-up to the game's eventual release, sometime in 2018. The announced characters can be seen in the brand new trailer below.

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News:: The Last of Us has a new PS4 Pro patch with more display options

Naughty Dog has expanded its PlayStation 4 Pro support for The Last of Us Remastered and Left Behind, providing more display options to better fit your preferences and your specific setup. There are also a pair of multiplayer fixes -- one for an aiming issue, and another for a smoke-bomb exploit.

"Starting today, PS4 Pro players will be able to select from new menu options and presets that provide additional configurations for resolution, framerate, and shadow quality. These new display settings options offer greater flexibility to PS4 Pro players connected to a 4K display, as well as traditional HD displays through supersampling." As a 1080p TV owner, that last word is the one I was hoping to see pop up again. Supersampling (and display options, in general) are real nice.

This is all good to know for the next time I play, which will probably be right before the sequel drops, whenever that might be. I missed out on the prior PS4 Pro patch -- the one that introduced some pesky new issues for certain setups -- so with this latest update, it should be smooth sailing.

The Last of Us Remastered - Patch 1.09 & The Last of Us Remastered: Left Behind Patch 1.03 [PlayStation]

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News:: Meet Klilyn in the latest Dragon Ball FighterZ intro video

As part of Bandai Namco's Smash Bros/Team Fortress 2 style introduction videos for already-announced characters, Klilyn [sic] shows of some of his signature moves such as Destructo Disc and falling down. That just leaves Gohan, Majin Buu, Cell, Android 18, and Android 16 for the announced characters (assuming they don't make videos for the various super saiyan aka slot-wasting forms).

He along with Tien and Yamcha are some of favorite characters, partially for being OG and a bit more creativity with them than just Super Saiyan N+1, even if they're just cannon fodder anymore.

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News:: Dragon's Crown is getting its own Manga series

Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement leak that fantasy action-RPG Dragon's Crown is likely headed to PS4, comes news that UDON Entertainment are publishing a manga based on the game's adventures.

Your favourite oddly-shaped heroes will be immortalised in print form, as the Dragon's Crown manga tells the story of their quest for honour, wealth, justice and more wealth, through the dungeons and catacombs of Hydeland.

The manga series, which is adapted and drawn by artist Yuztan (Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid), promises to capture the "hard hitting action, sexiness and silliness" of George Kamitani's original game.

Dragon's Crown: Volume 1 will be available in October, with a concluding volume to follow in 2018.

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News:: A whole lot more Overwatch is getting injected into Heroes of the Storm

So, I know this announcement is going to be divisive, but Heroes of the Storm is getting a lot more Overwatch crossovers. I know I know! Some of you are sick of the Overwatch craze being prioritized over other more iconic heroes (where is Mal'Ganis), but I personally feel like Overwatch has carved its name into the gaming history tablets at this point -- it's earned its place in Heroes, and I would be fine if every character crossed over

Okay, so with that disclaimer out of the way, here's the stuff that's coming: Ana, Junkrat, a new battleground framed around Volskaya Industries, and a Pachimari (that cute little mascot) quest. The battleground will feature a two-person mech that operates similarly to Cho'gall, and the quest involves a little pre-match minigame that provides minor rewards like portraits and emojis.

So yeah, either way you slice it, Heroes is still being supported, and in a big way with this event. Stay tuned for more info on the new characters in the near future.

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News:: 'Destiny 2' studio explains how a hate symbol made it into the game

Earlier this week, Destiny 2 developer Bungie announced that it had become aware of some armor in the game that looked a lot like a symbol used by white supremacists. The company apologized, noted that the symbols didn't represent its values and said the offending armor would be removed.

Via: Waypoint

Source: Bungie

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News:: Review: ARK: Survival Evolved

Initially ARK: Survival Evolved didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Not only did I forget I actually owned the game, but that I had played it as well during early access at some point. It got lost among a sea of other games of its ilk in a genre that I can only imagine is pretty much entirely saturated by now. So when I sat down to play it for review, I was curious if only because I was trying to piece together why I put it down in the first place.

After many exhausting hours of play, I remember. While I think ARK is probably one of the best examples of the what the genre is actually capable of and blows many of its clones completely out of the water, I left it thoroughly exhausted by the grind, and vowed not to touch another game of its kind for a very long while. At the same time, ARK can also be a pretty incredible experience for all its many flaws, so for as numb as I was by the end of it, it gave me plenty to look back on with approval.

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News:: The Xbox One will have 1080p GameDVR capture capabilities soon

The Xbox One built-in GameDVR function has been lagging behind for a while -- quite literally so, with its limitation of 720p. It was a sore spot for Microsoft given that Sony had already surpassed them on the PS4, but now they'll be brought up to their competitiors level with a new update.

Out now by way of the Xbox Insider's Program, you can upgrade your Xbox One firmware to reach 1080p30 capture capabilities (and opt to have capture footage save on an external drive for a massive session). Note that 60FPS still isn't in the equation, but it will be once the Xbox One X launches -- which can capture at 4K60 out of the box.

The console wars have been interesting this generation, seeing both Xbox and PS4 constantly one-up each other, but now they're even more hectic given that Nintendo has a legitimate competitor this time around in the Switch.

Xbox Insider [Xbox]

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News:: THQ Nordic's Biomutant is the latest game to have my full attention

There is so much happening in Biomutant that I'm at a loss for where to begin. Maybe calling it Jak and Daxter meets Devil May Cry meets Enslaved would be a good place to start. Or maybe a better jumping off point would be to mention that it's an open-world RPG with functionally limitless different ways to mutate the protagonist and his abilities.

Biomutant is a tough game to succinctly sum up but I'll try anyway. It's the story of a world-ruining environmental disaster, and an anthropomorphic raccoon thing and his robotic grasshopper sidekick's attempt to save everyone (or kill them all).

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News:: Sony releasing seemingly invisible Call of Duty: WWII PS4 console

Call of Duty: WWII launches this November, and what better way to play it than on a Limited Edition PS4 console, as announced by Sony on the EU Playstation blog yesterday. But as hard as I've searched, I can't find any pictures of it anywhere.

It's reported that the shiny new 1TB machine will come emblazoned with a camouflage design and is side-armed with a military green controller, which all sounds pretty cool. It also comes bundled with a copy of Activision's new first-person-shooter. It appears that the European edition of the bundle will also feature extra in-game content; the Zombies Pack, Divisions Pack and a Weapon Unlock Token.

Call of Duty: WWII, and the Limited Edition PS4, will be on sale from November 3, if you can find them.

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News:: New Square Enix countdown site teases items from NieR, Mana Series, Romancing SaGa

Square Enix bankrolls a ton of projects, so it's really hard to keep up. I mean Final Fantasy XV is practically its own studio at this point, augmented by a heap of mobile spinoff games, one of which just launched this week.

But they also pump out a ton of other mobile games, one of which will be this mystery project that they've already confirmed for iOS and Android. We'll know more on September 20 when the countdown site finishes, but for now, the landing page is teasing a ton of memorable items from various franchises, like NieR and Mana.

I mean, could it be a non-game armory type thing, to get people hyped for the new Secret of Mana remake and any and all things NieR? Maybe. My money is on another Gashapon thing (except I wouldn't put any money into Gashapon).

New Project [Square Enix]

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News:: Bag your very own Meowth at Build-A-Bear Workshop

Build-A-Bear Workshop, that store the middle classes go to for gifts when their rich relatives have a baby, is currently cross-promoting with Pokemon, allowing you to get your very own Meowth to snuggle up with on those cold nights.

The complete Meowth set, available online, gets you the little prick himself, along with a 6-in-1 sound chip, two cute hoodies and an exclusive Pokemon card. Traditionalists can also visit their local Build-a-Bear store in person to craft their own villainous sidekick. It is noted that the cool Team Rocket hoodie is only available to online customers though.

Meowth joins the Build-a-Bear Pokemon hall of fame, alongside previous characters Pikachu, Squirtle, Eevee and Charmander. I'm going to go and pick one up today, because it will be nice to have a friend.

Meowth Build-a-Bear set [Official site]

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