Category: Video Gaming

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts released their final gameplay trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor during Star Wars Celebration 2023 on Sunday, showcasing even more of young Jedi Cal Kestis’ proficiency with a lightsaber, the Force, wallrunning, and a speeder bike. If you’ve held out this long in raising your interest for Respawn’s sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, this new look at the game might just bring you to the light.

In addition to some very enjoyable looking gameplay — Cal does Force-throw a Scout Trooper into a TIE Fighter moving at full speed, after all — we get a peek at Coruscant, where Cal appears to be heading (right toward the Imperial Palace, no less) at some point in the story. At Star Wars Celebration, EA confirmed that the former capital of the Republic will be a planet that players can visit, though it won’t be one of the game’s fully open-world spaces.

Elsewhere, in terms of action, we see Cal facing down a Rancor; going one-on-one against an AT-ST; teaming up with Bode Akuna and Merrin in combat; slicing up some droidekas; and giving ol’ BD-1 a scolding after some reckless scanning.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be released April 28 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor has received its final trailer ahead of its launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC later this month.

Showing of a ton of gameplay footage alongside some new story cutscenes, set against an ominous yet hopeful monologue, the trailer was released during Star Wars Celebration 2023.

Cal Kestis is the main focus, and we see gameplay of him in a bunch of different fights. These include against Stormtroopers, Destroyer Droids from the prequel trilogy, and even a Rancor. We also see one gnarly scene where Cal throws a Scout trooper from a speeder straight into a TIE fighter.

Fans will get to experience all this for themselves when Jedi: Survivor launches on April 28, but those on PC will need to make space ahead of time for its colossal file size. The story follows Cal and the Mantis crew (who were shown of in a previous trailer) as they continue their fight against the empire.

Set five years after the original game, however, the team has slowed down a little and has settled on one planet. Building up a base of operations will be part of the gameplay loop in the sequel, though players will of course still travel to other planets, now with fast travel.

In our preview of the game, IGN said: Our “main takeaway from roughly five hours with the upcoming sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is that it felt like [we were] systematically crossing off the issues I had with Fallen Order.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Immortals of Aveum, the upcoming first-person magic shooter from EA and Ascendant Studios, is reportedly releasing in July.

Revealed back at The Game Awards, we haven’t really seen any of Immortals of Aveum since its teaser trailer, which just showed off a pre-rendered cinematic. Currently the game has a release window of 2023, which hasn’t gotten any more specific since the reveal. But according to dataminer billbil-kun, notable for numerous accurate leaks, the game will be launching July 20 (thanks, VGC).

Billbil-kun has become a reliable source for PlayStation Plus’ free games leaks over the past few months, so while this is just a rumour, it’s at least one that’s a bit more reliable than usual. Still, like with any rumour, better to be slightly apprehensive about it, especially considering we haven’t seen any gameplay for it.

Immortals of Aveum comes from new developer Ascendant Studios, made up of developers that worked on Dead Space and Call of Duty, as well as BAFTA and game of the year award-winning titles. According to a press release at the time, the game is a “groundbreaking new single-player, first-person magic shooter that delivers a visceral, cinematic campaign experience,” that’s “set in an original fantasy universe engulfed in magic, rife with conflict, and on the verge of oblivion.” It’s currently planned to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, another title finally moving on from the previous generation of consoles.

The game is also the next in EA’s Originals lineup, which previously focused on indies, though the reveal of Wild Hearts (Omega Force’s take on a Monster Hunter style game) last year opened that up to titles from bigger studios. EA hasn’t made it clear why the label shifted to support bigger developers, though most indie games aren’t exactly known for their money-making potential.

If you’re looking for some help with today’s Wordle (opens in new tab), you’ll find a hint for the daily puzzle just below, alongside a wealth of general tips, advice, and links to our helpful guides and archives too. Still stuck? No problem. The answer to the April 9 (659) game’s only a quick scroll or click away.

I had the pleasure of experiencing some smooth and steady Wordle-ing today. No glorious early win, no fraught guesses right at the end—just a steady stream of clues and confirmations that made today’s Wordle game a quiet bit of fun.

Wordle hint

A Wordle hint for Sunday, April 9

The developers of Ark have revised their plans for the release of Ark: Survival Ascended, an Unreal Engine 5 enhanced edition of their dinosaur survival sim. It will now cost $60 rather than the previously planned $50, is no longer bundled together with ARK 2, and will instead include the remasters of Ark: Survival Evolved’s several expansions – although most won’t be available at launch.

Studio Wildcard also went into more detail as to why this upgraded version is no longer a free update, and why they feel it’s necessary to shut down Ark: Survival Evolved’s official servers.

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An update on American McGee’s Alice: Asylum patreon project has revealed that EA won’t be taking on a sequel to the 2000 and 2011 Alice series, which creator McGee has been trying to get made for something like (opens in new tab) six years now (opens in new tab). McGee says EA is neither interested in funding the project itself nor licensing the Alice IP to McGee.

“They have ultimately decided to pass on the project based on an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal. On the question of licensing, they replied that “Alice” is an important part of EA’s overall game catalog, and selling or licensing it isn’t something they’re prepared to do right now,” said McGee in a post titled “End of the Adventure (opens in new tab)” on the Alice: Asylum Patreon project.

When most folks head to the theater to check out The Super Mario Bros. Movie, they’ll probably be expecting a funny and charming and very nice-looking animated movie. But what they might not expect is a pretty great action movie. And while there are plenty of extremely sick action sequences in the film, the peak is undeniably the Mad Max-esque Mario Kart chase on the Rainbow Road.

Warning: This article contains some spoilers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The Rainbow Road sequence comes about two thirds of the way into the film, after Mario and Peach have secured the help of the entire Kong family against Bowser. Everybody loads up in their kart of choice and hits the Rainbow Road–a shortcut to Bowser’s Dark Land.

But Bowser sees them coming and springs an ambush, and a wild chase ensues. And that comparison to Mad Max wasn’t just descriptive–this sequence is actually Fury Road-level good.

So when GameSpot sat down with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, we couldn’t help but pick their brains on how this incredible sequence came together.

“Well, we definitely had like a blockbuster approach to making this movie. To me, this is a movie that’s been like 40 years in the making, you know, and I’ve always considered Mario more of an action game,” Horvath said. “The characters look comedic, but the story is always high stakes, you gotta save the princess or save the world or whatever in the game. So we wanted to reflect that action sensibility.”

But that wasn’t always easy or intuitive, with “Michael and I coming from TV animation, where you have, like, no budget to do anything,” Horvath said, laughing.

Their solution? Bring in some of their favorite artists they knew from TV, “who are always probably a little held back by the restrictions of TV,” and “we worked really closely with them to just create, like, the craziest action sequences that we could.”

The Rainbow Road sequence being a case in point.

“There’s a shot on Rainbow Road that Michael was pitching for months, and I think you almost broke the studio,” Horvath said, referring to Micheal Jelenic, his directing partner on this film and on Teen Titans. “When that shot happened, it was so many different people involved in one single shot, but it turned out like–it’s iconic and beautiful.”

Both Horvath and Jelenic mentioned Unikitty creator Ed Skudder, who served as the Super Mario Bros. Movie’s head of story–that’s the person who’s in charge of the film’s storyboard artists–as being crucial to making the action not only work but shine. Jelenic specifically mentioned that Skudder spent a very long time working out that lengthy one-shot on the Rainbow Road.

“He is just as good as anybody at moving the camera,” Jelenic said. “And so even in the boards, the camera moves in just an incredible way. And he spent months doing that [on a single shot in the Rainbow Road sequence].”

“When you do that one-shot, it makes things exponentially more complicated, with animation and lighting and all these things. So it’s the resources and the talent and the dedication of everybody [that made it work],”Jelenic said.

“I think that sequence was the most challenging. Definitely technically the most challenging, you know,” Horvath said. “Like, the entire road is not like a solid element like a street that has an asphalt surface or something. It’s actually a visual effect because it’s always glowing and shimmering and there’s particle effects on it. So every single shot that’s in the Rainbow Road had to go through the visual effects department, which is super expensive and time consuming. So yeah, we were super ambitious with that whole sequence.”

But it was worth the effort, Horvath said.

“We knew it would be a standout moment in the movie if we really gave it our all. And yeah, the studio really got down with it, man. They backed us up.”

Which is good, Jelenic said, “because we were really worried about that sequence.”

“I think there were moments where it was like, ‘We’re we’re not sure about this. We’re not sure this is gonna work,’ But I think when everything sort of locked in the final place, in terms of lighting and comp and all that stuff, everyone’s like, ‘Yeah, this is definitely cool.’ So we were so lucky to have that support from the studio,” Jelenic said.

“There’s so many moments in this movie that, visually, I would put up against any live action superhero movie, or anything. The studio in France sort of just sort of set a new bar, I think when it comes to action adventure movies.”

Cook Serve Forever looks a lot like Vertigo Gaming’s previous Cook, Serve, Delicious! series, but it puts a new spin on urgent meal prep and has a whole new story and world. It also now has an early access release date, May 8th, and a development roadmap outlining the journey to 1.0.

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For the past several years, American McGee has been crowdfunding efforts to produce a third entry in his series of action-horror games inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Those efforts produced a 414 page design bible for “Alice: Asylum”, which McGee used to pitch the project to rights-holders Electronic Arts.

McGee says that Electronic Arts have decided to pass on the project. As such, McGee says he has “reached an endpoint with ‘Alice’ and with game production in general.”

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The Last Of Us Part 1 launched on PC a little over a week ago in a less than adequate state. It has been heavily criticised for bugs, crashes and performance issues in the days since, despite several patches.

Now there’s another new patch, 1.0.2.0, which Naughty Dog say “addresses some crashes, improves performance in some areas, and fixes several gameplay and UI issues including some animation, texture, and lighting bugs.”

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It’s hard to talk about modern video games without mentioning the influence of Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar’s iconic crime franchise has grown from a controversial PlayStation 1 classic to a universally recognised cultural behemoth, with its most recent entry, Grand Theft Auto 5, becoming the third best-selling game of all time.

However, the series didn’t grow into a landmark success overnight. Rockstar has been slowly building its iconic crime series for over two decades, creating hyper-immersive open worlds that players explore for years after their release. With over sixteen Grand Theft Auto games dropping since the franchise began in 1997, new players are probably wondering where to start. To help you get stuck in, we’ve listed every GTA game in chronological order so you can plot the best route through the timeline of this crime-riddled world.

Jump to:

The Grand Theft Auto Games in Chronological Order

There are a total of 16 games in the Grand Theft Auto series – eleven on home consoles, one on PC and four on handheld devices.

Before we dive into the list, it’s first worth noting an important detail about the overall continuity of Grand Theft Auto. As confirmed by Rockstar back in 2011, the GTA series is split into three unique timelines: the 2D timeline, the 3D timeline and the HD timeline. Although events in these timelines might be similar or even identical, Rockstar doesn’t consider all of them canon to each other. As such, we’ll separate the games into their respective universes.

The Grand Theft Auto 2D Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the 2D universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto: London 1961

The second expansion released for the original Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 is one of only two GTA releases to not hit a PlayStation console, with the DLC only available to PC players.

The mission pack acts as a prequel to Grand Theft Auto’s first expansion, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969. It follows a nameless criminal rising through the ranks of the London crime families by completing jobs for a mobster called Harold Cartwright.

2. Grand Theft Auto: London 1969

The first expansion for the original Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 marked the series’ first visit to London.

The tale follows a nameless British criminal who fights against various crime syndicates while building their legend on the city’s streets. These include Harold Cartwright’s gang, which the player joins forces with in Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, as well as a pair of sinister crime lords known as the Crisp Twins.

3. Grand Theft Auto

The first entry in the mainline series, Grand Theft Auto follows the adventures of a nameless protagonist as they make their mark on the criminal underworlds of three locations: Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City.

Set in 1997, the criminal’s adventures see them complete bank heists, assassinations and getaways, building their reputation while aiding various sinister gangs. Along the way, they meet a host of high-ranking criminals, including Robert Seragliano, El Burro and Uncle Fu.

4. Grand Theft Auto 2

The second mainline entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto 2 is arguably the biggest departure for the series to date. Shifting away from the setting of the first GTA, it takes players to a nigh-on futuristic metropolis known as Anywhere City, which bears no striking resemblance to any other location in the series.

The adventure follows a criminal named Claude Speed, who works with various crime syndicates around Anywhere City to make money and earn respect. The game’s position on the timeline is tricky, mainly as in-game references allude to it taking place in both 1999 and 2013. Regardless, it’s the final game in the 2D timeline.

The Grand Theft Auto 3D Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the 3D universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

A prequel to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the PSP’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories takes place in 1984 and follows US military soldier Victor Vance who, after being framed by his sergeant, is dishonorably discharged.

Fresh out of a job, he decides to enter Vice City’s underworld, quickly becoming the head of a crime family with the help of his brother, Lance. The pair embark on an adventure to disrupt Vice City’s crime scene, meeting and recruiting a variety of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s supporting characters along the way. By the time the game wraps up, Vic’s story catches up with the beginning of Vice City.

2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

The fourth mainline iteration of the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City takes place in 1986; two years after Vice City Stories. It follows Tommy Verceti, a notorious gangster from Liberty City who is sent to Vice City to oversee the expansion of his boss’ drug trade after being released from jail.

Tommy lands in hot water after a supposedly simple drug deal goes horribly wrong. Losing the drugs and money exchanged in the deal, Tommy is given one last chance to make things right.

To redeem himself, he dives into the seedy underbelly of Vice City, allying with Lance Vance to take on its various crime families and find the drugs and money stolen from him. As he becomes a bigger name around Vice City, he slowly creates a growing criminal empire, which doesn’t go unnoticed by his former employers.

3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The fifth mainline iteration of the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas tells the story of Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson and the Grove Street Families.

Set in 1992, San Andreas follows CJ as he returns to Los Santos after his mother is killed in a drive-by meant to assassinate his brother. Reuniting with his friends, family and local gang, The Grove Street Families, it doesn’t take long for CJ to get stuck back into the criminal underworld, vowing to get revenge on the gang that murdered his mother.

While CJ attempts to rebuild the Grove Street gang’s former glory, it becomes clear that something shady is happening behind the scenes. Pursued by a crooked cop named Officer Tenpenny, CJ deals with betrayal, corrupt law enforcement and the various factions vying for control of Los Santos and the neighboring cities of San Fierro and Las Venturas.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Set in 1998, Liberty City Stories acts as a prequel to Grand Theft Auto 3 and follows a gangster working for Salvatore Leone named Toni Cipriani. Returning to Liberty City after fleeing to Italy to escape the repercussions of assassinating a member of the mafia, Toni gets stuck back in working for his former boss.

Along the way, he meets several high-level mafia contacts and climbs through the ranks of Sal’s gang, murdering rival crime lords and assisting Leone’s attempts to gain political sway with the mayor. The story concludes with Salvatore Leone’s family standing as one the most powerful crime syndicates in Liberty City, setting up the events of Grand Theft Auto 3.

5. Grand Theft Auto Advance

Taking place in 2000, Grand Theft Auto Advance was a Grand Theft Auto 3 prequel released on the Gameboy Advance. It follows a criminal named Mike as he attempts to get revenge for the death of his partner, Vinnie.

Deciding to leave Liberty City and find new opportunities elsewhere, the story begins with Mike and Vinnie completing jobs for the mafia in an attempt to tie up loose ends and fund their escape. However, the plan falls apart when Vinnie is killed with a car bomb, driving Mike to find and kill his murderers. In pursuit of vengeance, Mike teams with various Grand Theft Auto 3 characters, including 8-Ball and Asuka Kasen.

6. Grand Theft Auto 3

The final entry in the timeline but the first game of the 3D era by release date, Grand Theft Auto 3 takes place in 2001 and follows a new Claude, a bank robber that’s shot and left for dead by his girlfriend, Catalina, during a heist.

Claude survives but is arrested and sentenced to life in jail. However, while en route to prison, Claude manages to escape after the Columbian Cartel raided his convoy in search of another prisoner. Fleeing the scene, Claude is soon inducted into the criminal underworld of Liberty City, working with the mafia, the yakuza and various other syndicates.

Although he rises to become one of the city’s most notorious gangsters, Claude’s goal quickly becomes one of vengeance, as his path eventually crosses with Catalina, setting up an inevitable confrontation between the former couple.

The Grand Theft Auto HD Timeline

Below, we’ll list the Grand Theft Auto games from the HD universe. These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

1. Grand Theft Auto 4

The first game of the HD era, Grand Theft Auto 4 takes place in 2008 and follows an Eastern European ex-soldier named Niko Bellic as he makes his way to Liberty City. Coming to America to reunite with his cousin, Roman Bellic, who has allegedly found fortune after moving to Liberty City, Niko is shocked to find Roman is actually broke, living in a cockroach-infested apartment and running a failing business.

It doesn’t take long for Niko to find work and amass cash through less-than-legal means, meeting and befriending an arms dealer named Little Jacob and working off Roman’s debts with a Russian loan shark named Vlad Glebov. However, after discovering that Vlad has been sleeping with Roman’s girlfriend, Niko kills him, sparking a chain of events which puts him and Roman in the sights of the Russian mafia.

To survive, Niko allies with the crime families of Liberty City, where he becomes tangled in their politics and becomes one of the city’s most feared criminals. All the while, Niko has an ulterior motive, wanting to track down and murder a former comrade from his days in the military that double-crossed him and his squad.

2. Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned

Set during the events of Grand Theft Auto 4, The Lost and the Damned was GTA 4’s first expansion. It follows Johnny Klebitz, the Vice President of a revered motorcycle gang called The Lost MC.

Released from a long stint in rehab, the story opens with The Lost MC’s President, Billy Grey, returning to the gang and reassuming his position as its leader. During his time away, Johnny led The Lost MC, forming a truce with the gang’s main rivals, The Angels of Death. Once reinstated, Billy and Johnny begin to clash after Billy orders The Lost to break the truce with the Angels of Death, starting a ruthless gang war.

As the two gangs battle it out, Billy begins to lead The Lost down a self-destructive path, guiding his brothers into increasingly dangerous situations. With civil war brewing in the group, Johnny is forced to consider where his loyalty lies.

3. Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony

The second of GTA 4’s expansions, The Ballad of Gay Tony also takes place alongside the core Grand Theft Auto campaign. The story follows bodyguard Luis Lopez as he tries to save the life of his boss and legendary nightclub owner, Tony Prince.

Although Tony is a fixture of Liberty City’s nightlife scene, his businesses are failing. To make matters worse, he’s also in debt to the Ancelotti crime family, who are ready to collect what they’re owed. Swearing to help his boss, Luis tries to square Tony’s debts, helping out his various criminal acquaintances.

It all crescendos with a risky plan from Tony, who decides to acquire millions of dollars worth of smuggled diamonds and exchange them in a deal. However, the plan falls apart, leading Luis on a wild goose chase around Liberty City in an attempt to retrieve the diamonds and keep Tony’s debts from catching up with him.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Taking place in 2009, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars tells the story of Huang Lee, the son of a murdered Triad leader who is tasked with flying to Liberty City to deliver an ancient sword to his uncle.

After arriving in Liberty City, Huang is ambushed, with his attackers stealing the sword and shooting Huang. Believing him dead, they dump his body, allowing Huang to escape alive. Reuniting with his uncle, Huang embarks on an adventure to track down the sword and deliver it back to the Triads. Along the way, he works with various gangs and the FIB, learning that the sword’s theft may have been an inside job.

5. Grand Theft Auto Online

Although it’s difficult to judge where exactly it falls on the timeline, Grand Theft Auto Online begins shortly before Grand Theft Auto 5 and has, over the course of ten years of updates, shifted to a period of time long after the game’s main campaign.

The core story follows a player-created criminal that heads to Los Santos to find fortune, reputation and fame, creating factions, buying property and taking part in criminal ventures. The story has evolved over the years, with one of the latest updates revisiting the character of Franklin years after the events of Grand Theft Auto V, as he tasks the player with helping him in his business ventures.

6. Grand Theft Auto 5

Set in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 follows the story of three criminals: Franklin, Michael and Trevor. After staging his death during a bank robbery in the small town of North Yankton, Michael Townley enters a witness protection programme, moving to the sunny city of Los Santos to live a life of luxury in a giant mansion with his family.

However, he’s lured out of retirement when he meets Franklin Clinton, an ambitious small-time criminal sent to repossess Michael’s son’s car. Forming a friendship, Michael begins to mentor Franklin, eventually leading the pair to rob a jewelry store to pay off a local crime lord. However, the act doesn’t go unnoticed.

On the outskirts of Los Santos, Michael’s former friend and criminal associate, Trevor Phillips, watches a clip of the heist on the news. Realizing that his seemingly dead partner is still alive in Los Santos, Trevor heads to the city, joining Michael and Franklin to stage various elaborate heists. However, Trevor’s animosity towards Michael’s betrayal begins to drive a wedge between the group, as tensions rise and the truth behind the pair’s past comes to light.

How to Play the Grand Theft Auto games by Release Date

• Grand Theft Auto (1997)
• Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)
• Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)
• Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)
• Grand Theft Auto 3 (2000)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
• Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004)
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
• Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)
• Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and The Damned (2009)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
• Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
• Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)
• Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)

What’s Next for Grand Theft Auto?

Rockstar has officially confirmed that it is developing GTA 6. Little else has officially been confirmed by the developer, although a significant leak last year showed early gameplay from the title and appeared to reveal that the game will be set in Vice City.

It seemingly also confirmed that the game will follow two protagonists named Lucia and Jason. However, this information is still yet to be confirmed and is gleaned from an early build of the game, meaning any details could be subject to change. Grand Theft Auto’s next entry currently has no release date.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiered on Wednesday, and its ensemble cast is a 40-year parade of Nintendo characters, from Donkey Kong to Mario and Luigi’s extended family. It’s a roster worthy of something like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which also gets a hat-tip in the movie).

Now, take this with a kernel of popcorn, but I’ve heard there’s actually an unlockable Legend of Zelda mode for this movie. If you go see it a second time and follow the exact process below, you will be shown a secret reel wherein all of the Mario characters are swapped for Zelda characters. Mario is Link, Peach is Zelda, Toad is Tingle, and Charles Martinet is replaced by Jonathan Potts.

Pinky swear. I just read this out of the back of Scholastic’s Dynamite magazine in the primary school library. Anyway, here’s the secret code to unlock Link and co. in The Super Mario Bros. Movie:

1. Buy a ticket to a matinee. It has to be a matinee.
2. Sit in the middle seat of the front row of the theater.
3. Mute your mobile phone (very important).
4. Stand up and sit down twice.
5. Sit in the seat immediately to the left.
6. Sit in the seat immediately to the right.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6.
8. Press B, A, and then START. (A picture of Mr. T should appear on the movie screen if you have done this correctly.)
9. Do not say anything for the rest of the movie. Or, if you must speak, do so only in low, polite tones to a companion or the theater usher. (Also very important!)

Note that you can’t do some of this at home, so this cheat code will only work in the theater. (Though you can still silence your phone when you watch the movie on streaming. And it’ll be better that way.)

I’m 100% certain this hack works — I asked my uncle who works for Nintendo and my aunt who works for Illumination about it, and they said it was true. So did you get Link in your movie? Let us know in the comments!

Games come in all shapes and sizes, and there is a ton of variety in the board game space, in particular. From really involved games like Gloomhaven to easier, quicker games like Checkers or Chess and a whole lot more. Regardless of what you want to get into, you’ll need a place to play.

Using your dining room or kitchen table can be a quick fix, but it will cause problems when you need to use them for a meal, homework, or anything else. From small tables with only one purpose to larger tables ideally crafted for games, this is our list of the best board game tables.

7. Jumbl Game Board Rack

• Model Number: JUMPUZRK27
• Dimensions: 38 x 29.75 x 4 inches
• Price: $129.99
• Age Rating: 12 and up

While this piece of furniture is listed as being for puzzles, first and foremost, it’s also a fantastic choice for other types of tabletop games. With six drawers, you can keep all kinds of things stowed, and you have a large surface you can use to tackle all kinds of things, and it folds up when not in use.

6. GSE Wooden 3-in-1 Board Game Table

• Model Number: B08KG27MX6
• Dimensions: 14.5 x 14.5 x 28.5 inches
• Price: $149.98
• Age Rating: 14 and up

If all you want is a small table for a few, select classic board games, this small wooden table has a surface for chess, checkers, and backgammon as well as a neat little storage area beneath the top.

5. XL Series Folding Card Table

• Model Number: B079HJZ5JQ
• Dimensions: 38″D x 38″W x 29.5″H
• Price: $129.95
• Age Rating: N/A

The classic, this folding table is useful for all kinds of things, including bringing out for game night. At 38″ square, you’ll have a nice mix of compact storage and room to play.

4. Game Night Table Topper

• Model Number: B0856YWTLS
• Dimensions: 40 x 60 x 2 inches
• Price: $199.99
• Age Rating: 12 and up

If all you need is a structured space to play games, and you already have a big table, this topper is all you need to convert it into a ready play table. With tons of cupholders for drinks, dice, and more, the felt top also protects your table from play.

3. Yaheetech Coffee Table

• Model Number: B079MFKWPC
• Dimensions: 23.5″D x 47.5″W x 25″H
• Price: $119.99
• Age Rating: N/A

A living room centerpiece that doubles as a place to settle in and play some board games, this coffee table from Yaheetech has extra storage, so you can keep your games and supplies right inside, for maximum convenience.

2. International Concepts Table with Storage

• Model Number: JT-2532L
• Dimensions: 3.2″D x 29.9″W x 20.9″H
• Price: $135.96
• Age Rating: N/A

If you want to get a nice, woodgrain table without spending tons of cash, and still want some storage for a wide variety of games, this IC table is a great choice. Simple and straight to the point, both sides of the table can lift up, giving both ends of the table access to whatever is inside.

1. Jasper Board Game Table

• Model Number: B09Y2F6Y9C
• Dimensions: 65.6 x 41.6 x 29.8 inches
• Price: $1637.99
• Age Rating: N/A

If you don’t mind shelling out extra cash for a clean-looking gaming table, this table from Jasper has you covered. With a removable top, dining topper, and with a crisp, natural wood color, it will blend in with your earth-tone aesthetic.

Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on Twitter (@Ribnax), Backloggd (Ribnax) & Twitch (Ribnax) or check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Twitch & Apple Podcasts.

About midway through Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Holga the barbarian, visits her ex’s house to get some closure on their relationship. The scene is played pretty straight, with Holga and Marlamin (played by Bradley Cooper) having a heart-to-heart about where their marriage went wrong. But it’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie, since the two actors are having this deep, emotional conversation while one of them is a tiny, fancy man in a regular-sized chair, and the other is a gruff, ax-wielding, fur-clad barbarian who just beat up a whole team of guards.

This sequence particularly tickled me because in my opinion, having an ex floating around is such a fun mechanic to integrate into a role-playing game. It’s a reminder that even in this fantastical world of dungeons and dragons, the characters still mean something to each other. That goes beyond past romantic dalliances and backstory — I just love having personal, one-on-one interactions within game settings, because it makes the characters feel real, like they exist in this world beyond their quests and adventures. They have an impact on other people, beyond slaying monsters and seizing loot.

Image: Paramount Pictures

There can be mechanical benefits as well as personal ones. One of my current D&D characters has a long list of exes that I’ve woven into his backstory. Only one of them has made an appearance in our game so far (with more amiable interactions than Holga and Marlamin), but my character constantly references his long string of exes. It’s a telling detail about his history, but I’ve also used it to argue for knowledge of certain languages and historical details, because of all the things he’s picked up from his wide variety of past relationships.

I’ve already written about my love of downtime filler episodes many, many, many times here at Polygon, so it’s probably not a huge surprise that I love video games where one of the core mechanics is just hanging out with other characters. Fire Emblem: Three Houses and its tea-party system owns my entire heart, but I also adore Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which not only builds in player-initiated hangouts, but adds extracurricular activities, even though it isn’t even a school setting. The best Mass Effect DLC is the one where you go on a light-hearted, banter-filled mission, then throw a party and hang out with your friends. That scene in Dragon Age: Inquisition where rogue storyteller Varric ropes everyone into a game of cards? Amazing. (And yes, I’ve been told I should play the Persona games; they are on my ever-growing backlog).

Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon

I’m the type of person who likes to stop and talk to every NPC, so when a game acknowledges that and integrates that into the gameplay, I get really excited. I like that my player character has an effect on the world around them! I like that people have opinions about them, and want to hang out!

It makes sense that as I started to explore tabletop gaming, I would still adore downtime and role-play, the chance to interact not just with puzzles or battles, but with other people. Initially, not having preset dialogue options was a bit daunting, but now I realize that tabletop RPGs have everything I loved about video games, but with more freedom. I’ve been lucky to have DMs who indulge this preference, from specifically engineering a watch schedule for character interaction to setting up a whole gathering where player characters and NPCs alike brought dishes for a potluck luncheon.

Don’t get me wrong — I still enjoy some good combat in my games. But there’s something particularly satisfying about a memorable role-play interaction that always gives me a burst of creative energy. It’s part socializing with friends in a fun way, and partly the joy of creating something together, even if the audience is just us.

Image: Paramount Pictures

And that’s something the Dungeons & Dragons movie captures surprisingly well. Between the action sequences and heists, the main adventuring party has fun together. Since this is a movie and not a long-form television show, there aren’t designated filler episodes where they all go to the beach or play a drunken game of cards. But within the framework of the movie, the filmmakers managed to integrate enough social scenes and personal interactions to really emphasize that these characters get along and interact outside of what we see on screen, something all too rare in big genre action flicks these days.

The characters might bicker. They might struggle to attune to magical items, and get crap for their insecurities. They might have uncomfortable conversations with their exes. But afterward, when Holga sadly mounts her horse and starts to ride away, her good buddy Edgin the bard (Chris Pine) sings a song to cheer her up. It’s not long before a smile flutters to her face and they’re both singing along together. That’s the type of shit I’m here for!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is in theaters now.

Jonathan Ferguson, a weapons expert and Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries, breaks down more of the weaponry of the remake of Resident Evil 4, including the Blacktail pistol, the DLC-only Sentinel Nine and Skull Shaker, and of course, the legendary Chicago Sweeper, and its ridiculous unlimited ammo reload.

By
Dave Jewitt
and
Adam Mason
on April 8, 2023 at 7:00AM PDT

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth will officially launch on May 10, 2023, on both the Apple App and Google Play stores and will allow players to build a team of heroes and villains from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien to discover the power of a brand New Ring.

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is a strategy RPG at its core and will also give players the choice to become good or evil. The mobile game will feature both PvP and PvE combat and it promises to let players “adventure across the land to experience familiar & alternate tellings of Tolkien characters.”

Characters will be upgradeable and some will come from Middle-earth factions not seen before. The battles will be turn-based, and choosing the right characters will be paramount as there are special team-up attacks and synergy bonuses to take advantage of.

The game will be continuously supported after launch as game director Nick Reinhart said, “We’ve got a lot of awesome content and feature plans coming. It’s got lots of beloved characters, along with maybe a few new faces.”

May will (hopefully) be a good month for fans of Tolkien’s work as The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be released on May 25 and looks to tell the story of the events between Gollum’s finding of the One Ring and the start of the story we know in The Lord of the Rings.

In our hands-on demo of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, we said, “There isn’t enough in the demo to be certain, but The Lord of the Rings: Gollum does at least make a good first impression, outlining a solid case for piloting one of the strangest and yet most important characters in the lore.”

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.