ReportWire

Tag: Deluxe

  • The Best Mario Games, According To You

    The Best Mario Games, According To You

    [ad_1]

    Nintendo / LongplayArchive

    “Definitely Mario Galaxy, and not just because it’s the picture. It felt like such a huge improvement over Sunshine (which I liked well enough when it came out but really does not hold up). The orchestral music, new characters, motion controls, a genuine story, and levels that all felt very different. (64 and Sunshine involve repeating levels over and over and over again to get all the stars/shines; Galaxy gives you a different path almost every time through the world.)” – sxp151

    Galaxy 1 just hit a sweet spot for me. Like all the things you listed – the music is phenomenal (one of my favorite video game soundtracks), some of the best use of Wii motion controls, the gravity physics were mindblowing, it had an incredible reward/progression system, and overall it was just fun and addictive in a way few others have matched for me (even other Marios). One of the only games that I’ve gone out of my way to do everything, pitting myself up against its toughest challenges.

    Plus, the story is surprisingly melancholy, which just gives a great mood to the whole experience. One of my all-time favorites.” – AmaltheaElanor

    Galaxy 2. Some might argue that it ‘doesn’t have enough moves,’ as if a deep moveset is what put Mario on the map. Some might argue it’s ‘too slow’ as if going speed is the ultimate benchmark of quality by which games are to be judged.

    No, what made Mario Mario is neither of those things. What made him is straightforward, crisp movement in impeccably designed levels. Sure, he can’t do a divekick or midair kick or whatever it might be, but crispness of movement is about elegance and the balance between freedom & commitment, not just filling space with new ways to change trajectory for no reason than to fill space. What’s more, he’s doing all of this elegant movement in the hands-down best level design the medium of video games has ever seen. Developed enough to build upon ideas, yet still with enough awareness to know when to move on, these spaces are creativity incarnate. They stretch the bounds of what is possible, take only the best ideas from that thinking, and pares it down to platformer par excellence. It’s hard to not keep comparing it more favorably to other games in the series, so “best level design in the business” will have to do the heavy lifting for now. And with the best level design, you have the best Mario game. Full stop.” – Jakisthe

    [ad_2]

    Kenneth Shepard

    Source link

  • The Week’s Best Gaming Stories, From Pokimane to Adults-Only N64

    The Week’s Best Gaming Stories, From Pokimane to Adults-Only N64

    [ad_1]

    From mergers to memes, the landscape of interactive entertainment is always in motion. Here’s your cheat sheet for the week’s most important stories in gaming.


    The Pokimane Cookie Apology Tour Has Officially Begun

    Screenshot: Pokimane / Kotaku

    Following some intense controversy surrounding her new snack brand, popular Twitch streamer Pokimane has apologized for an insensitive comment she made to a “rude chatter” during a November 18 livestream. Read More


    Nintendo Adds Adults-Only N64 App For Switch In Japan

    June sits in a red chair on a spaceship sitting some sort of hot drink from a white-and-red mug.

    Image: Rare

    When you think of Nintendo, you tend to think of family-friendly gaming. You think of Link and Mario and sunshine and smiley stars. The word “adult” doesn’t likely come up when you ponder games on Switch, but that’s seemingly about to change. The company is adding a new 18+ app to its subscription service, Nintendo Switch Online, although only in Japan. Read More


    Cyberpunk 2077‘s Incredible Turnaround Will Now Be Preserved Forever

    V looks over her shoulder as Night City ignites behind her.

    Image: CD Projekt Red

    As Cyberpunk 2077 approaches its third anniversary, the beleaguered blockbuster is getting a send-0ff to immortalize its unlikely turnaround. CD Projekt Red announced an Ultimate Edition for the sci-fi RPG on November 21 that includes this year’s Phantom Liberty expansion and the massive 2.0 overhaul patch. There will even be a physical copy for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S owners. Read More


    Sony Fails To Kill $7.9 Billion Lawsuit Over PlayStation Store Prices

    A PlayStation logo hangs above people as they walk by.

    Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)

    A lawsuit filed last year accused Sony of using its walled-garden video game platform to charge players too much in the PlayStation Store. The London Tribunal has now allowed that lawsuit to move forward, against the PS5 maker’s objections, which could result in payments to players in the UK of up to $7.9 billion if it is ultimately successful. Read More


    Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition Will Defy An Exasperating Trend

    Gale looks sad at a custom Baldur's Gate 3.

    Image: Larian Studios

    Buying super special “collector’s editions” of video games can be like heading into treacherous waters. These often-expensive boxes full of goodies (and also a video game) tend to sell out pretty quickly, and then you’re more likely to find them for double the price on reseller sites like eBay or Facebook’s marketplace. But if you’re eyeing the Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition set to ship next year, Larian Studios is telling fans not to worry about it selling out, because the team isn’t making it a limited item. Read More


    PSA: You Shouldn’t Cook Your Steam Deck

    A very cooked Steam Deck.

    Photo: MisterColeman / Reddit

    Slow news day? You betcha. But look, it’s Thanksgiving, and there’s a good chance people are cooking and eating just about anything they can find right now. Please, if we can save just one person from trying to cook their Steam Deck, then it will have been worth it. Read More


    Embattled Shooter Destiny 2 Gets Witcher 3 Armor

    Destiny 2 guardians dress up like witchers.

    Image: Bungie

    The white wolf is coming to Destiny 2 by way of some new cosmetics. Bungie teased a crossover with CD Projekt Red’s beloved RPG The Witcher 3 that will add three new armor sets to make players look like protagonist Geralt of Rivia, at least if they’re willing to shell out $20 or more for a single set. The new skins look great, but also arrive at Destiny 2’s lowest point in years. Read More


    Steam’s Massive Fall Sale Is Offering Up Some Good Deals

    An image shows a collage of games on sale with discount stickers applied to each.

    Image: CD Projekt Red / Bethesda / Blizzard / EA / Lucasfilm / Valve / Kotaku

    Valve’s annual autumn sale. Some of the best and biggest PC games, including action-RPG Diablo IV, the fantastic Star Wars game Jedi: Survivor, and Bethesda’s latest, Starfield, are all on sale right now. Read More


    This Award-Winning VR Game Is Challenging Gender Norms

    This Award-Winning VR Game Is Challenging Gender Norms

    Kotaku went hands-on with the groundbreaking and immersive Body of Mine at the Games for Change festival


    Mortal Kombat 1 Players Are Time Traveling To Avoid Buying Skins

    Three Mortal Kombat 1 characters—Sub-Zero (left), Raiden (middle), and Scorpion (right)—pose in front of the camera.

    Image: NetherRealm Studios

    To avoid what many consider aggressive monetization, Mortal Kombat 1 players are doing everything they can to avoid buying cosmetics in NetherRealms’ latest 2D fighter. The latest exploit involves them utilizing a console date change hack to acquire once-free character skins that are now only available if you buy them. Read More


    [ad_2]

    Kotaku Staff

    Source link

  • Kotaku’s Biggest Gaming Culture News For The Week November 18, 2023

    Kotaku’s Biggest Gaming Culture News For The Week November 18, 2023

    [ad_1]

    From mergers to memes, the landscape of interactive entertainment is always in motion. Here’s your cheat sheet for the week’s most important stories in gaming.


    Baldur’s Gate 3’s New Deluxe Edition Is A Steal For The Price

    Screenshot: Larian Studios / Kotaku

    Baldur’s Gate 3 already has one special edition, in the form of its Collector’s Edition. We even unboxed it here at Kotaku, and it’s got a lot of cool knickknacks that pay tribute to its tabletop roots. Of course that was expensive, solely for PC and PlayStation 5 players, and didn’t include a physical copy of the game itself. But Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to Xbox next month, so Larian Studios is taking the opportunity to release a new, Deluxe Edition for all three platforms. And given what comes in the box, I think it’s pretty darn affordable. Read More


    The Best Soulslike Of 2023 Just Got Easier

    The Scrapped Watchman (third main boss in the game) grabs Lies of P player character P in open courtyard.

    Image: Neowiz Games / Round8 Studio

    Like game director Ji Won Choi promised in early November, duo-developers Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio have dropped a new update for their gothic, Belle Époque-era Soulslike RPG, Lies of P. And just as expected, this update makes some significant changes to the game so that you have an actual fighting chance at surviving this bloodied retelling of the Pinocchio story. Read More


    Modern Warfare III Players Beg For OP ‘Groot’ Skin To Get Removed

    Groot (Nova's Gaia skin) guns down a hapless soldier in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

    Image: Activision

    Modern Warfare III players are begging Activision to remove a “literally invisible” cosmetic first introduced in Modern Warfare II that’s plaguing multiplayer matches yet again. Read More


    Valve Has A Plan To Stop Bots And Resellers From Hoarding The New Steam Deck

    On November 16, Valve will let folks purchase a new Steam Deck OLED Limited Edition model, which features all the upgrades of the base OLED version of the portable PC, but with some extra cosmetic details, too. And to help folks actually get a chance to buy this thing, Valve is implementing some safeguards to slow or stop bots and resellers from buying them all up instantly. Read More


    Hades Is Joining The Best Free Game Library Nobody Uses

    The hero of Hades holds up a sword in front of stone serpants.

    Image: Supergiant Games

    One of the best action-RPGs in a generation is finally getting a mobile version, but it’s a mixed blessing. The good news is that Hades is coming to iPhones in 2024 and will be free for Netflix subscribers. The bad news is that it will be exclusive to both, with no way to buy the game outright or play it on Android devices. Read More


    Suicide Squad Game Resurfaces With Big Map And Live-Service Plans

    A screenshot shows the Suicide Squad standing together in the Hall of Justice.

    Rocksteady is finally ready to start talking about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, after delaying it (again) earlier this year. The studio first announced its upcoming supervillain co-op action game way back in 2020. In a new video series going behind the scenes of the game, the devs explained how big its map will be and showed off some new cutscenes. Conveniently, they barely mentioned any of the live-service aspects fans aren’t happy about. Read More


    Here Are Your Picks For The Biggest 2023 Game Awards Snubs

    Geoff Keighley stands on stage at his award show.

    Photo: JC Olivera (Getty Images)

    Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards are far from the be-all and end-all of which games are good, creatively bold, and deserving of praise each year, but they’re still fun to get way too serious about. It’s the one day game developers get to dress fancy, go up on stage, and receive our collective thanks for their artistic accomplishment rather than getting canned the night before the quarterly earnings call. Read More


    Former Mass Effect Lead Forms New Studio To Make Narrative-Focused Games

    Garrus is seen speaking to Shepard in the Citadel tower, with a fountain in the background.

    Screenshot: BioWare / Kotaku

    Chinese publisher NetEase is opening a new studio with the lead writer behind the Mass Effect series at the helm.

    Worlds Untold will be based in Vancouver, and helmed by CEO Mac Walters, who’s known for his work at BioWare that spanned almost 20 years. Walters was a writer on martial arts RPG Jade Empire, then a senior writer on the first entry in the sci-fi RPG series, Mass Effect, and was eventually promoted to lead writer on Mass Effect 2 and 3. Following this, he was brought on as creative director on Mass Effect: Andromeda, worked on early narrative direction on Anthem, and project directed the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition remasters, before ending his tenure at the studio as a production director on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. So he was at the forefront of a lot of the narrative direction of BioWare’s last two decades. How you feel about that probably varies depending on your opinions on the state of the studio, but speaking personally, the narrative wasn’t my biggest problem with most of those games. Read More


    Kotaku Unboxes The Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition PS5

    Kotaku Unboxes The Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition PS5

    The $600 set is currently sold out at PlayStation’s store but is still a gift to keep in mind for the Spidey-loving gamer in your life this holiday season


    Total Recall: How Does KotOR Hold Up In 2023?

    How Does KotOR Hold Up In 2023? | Total Recall

    We look back at what made BioWare’s first Star Wars RPG one of the most celebrated of all time


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Baldur’s Gate 3’s New Deluxe Edition Is A Steal For The Price

    Baldur’s Gate 3’s New Deluxe Edition Is A Steal For The Price

    [ad_1]

    Baldur’s Gate 3 already has one special edition, in the form of its Collector’s Edition. We even unboxed it here at Kotaku, and it’s got a lot of cool knickknacks that pay tribute to its tabletop roots. Of course that was expensive, solely for PC and PlayStation 5 players, and didn’t include a physical copy of the game itself. But Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to Xbox next month, so Larian Studios is taking the opportunity to release a new, Deluxe Edition for all three platforms. And given what comes in the box, I think it’s pretty darn affordable.

    The studio announced the Deluxe Edition, which includes physical game media on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X/S. Oddly enough, because video game boxes are magic beyond our feeble comprehension, each version contains a different number of discs. Xbox Series X/S includes three, PlayStation 5 has two, and if you have a disc drive on your PC in 2023, that version only has one. Unlike the console versions, the PC edition doesn’t require the disc to play, and comes with a digital key. The DVD is just there to give you a custom installer.

    Image: Larian Studios

    Beyond the game itself, the Deluxe Edition includes 32 stickers, two patches, a world map, a gorgeous poster of a mind flayer, and a three-disc soundtrack, all in a box made to look like a book. The wild part is all of this comes in a $79.99 package, which is only $10 more than the base game.

    So if you want something to display on your shelf and a disc to put in your console, this is a pretty great way to buy one of 2023’s best games. Unfortunately, it won’t arrive until Q1 2024, so if you want some instant gratification you’re maybe better off just buying the game on PlayStation Store or Steam, or waiting until the Xbox version launches in December. Larian has confirmed it will announce the release date of the Xbox Series X/S version at The Game Awards on December 7.

    Baldur’s Gate 3 has become quite the cultural phenomenon since it launched in August, and with the Xbox version imminent, it’s about to ride another wave of people playing it for the first time. Larian has been updating the game frequently, with some patches fixing and tweaking over a thousand different variables. Some changes have addressed game-breaking issues, others simply shaved a cat after the community got upset when Larian gave it hair. You know, very normal stuff.

    For more on Baldur’s Gate 3, check out our interview with the team at Larian about its approach to directing sex scenes.

     

    [ad_2]

    Kenneth Shepard

    Source link

  • Nintendo Is Absolutely Killing It Right Now

    Nintendo Is Absolutely Killing It Right Now

    [ad_1]

    Nintendo dropped its first quarter financial results on August 3, with the company revealing that it’s having a record-breaking year so far thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and The Super Marios Bros. Movie.

    Read More: The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: The Kotaku Review

    In the earnings report, the company detailed just how profitable its products have been as of late. Tears of the Kingdom, for example, the follow-up to 2017’s Breath of the Wild, sold 18.51 million units just between its May 12 launch and June 30, roughly a month and a half. That’s an impressive feat, and one Nintendo noted was largely driven by folks who had played Link’s 2017 outing. Tears of the Kingdom was so successful, in fact, that it not only propelled the company’s first-party sales to reach their “highest level ever” for a first quarter, but it also drove hardware sales. More on that in a bit, though.

    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was released on May 12, has made a major contribution to Q1 sales in the current environment, in which we see widespread adoption of Nintendo Switch hardware and continued play engagement by many consumers,” Nintendo said. “Sell-through of this one title constitutes approximately half of the first-party software sold this fiscal year. Consumers who played the previous entry, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, have been the primary driver, but as the weeks have passed, we have seen that a growing percentage of purchases are being made by consumers who have not yet played that title.”

    Moving on to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the company said 168.1 million people worldwide watched the animated film as of July 30 and its global box-office revenue raked in $1.349 billion. That’s wild. What’s wilder, however, is that the Universl Pictures-distributed film drove sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which added 1.67 million sales to the tens of millions it has already sold.

    This brings us to hardware sales. The company noted that the entire Nintendo Switch family had an increased 13.9 percent sell-through rate year-on-year, with the OLED model carrying most of that weight, though the OG Switch and Switch Lite are still selling well despite a slight slowdown in recent months. In the end, the handheld-console hybrid sold 3.91 million units in this quarter alone. This is a mega-popular system, y’all, and its recent popularity is largely thanks to Tears of the Kingdom.

    Read More: 9 Burning Questions We Have After Finishing Tears Of The Kingdom

    To cap all this off, the company said net sales for the first quarter of this fiscal year increased by 50 percent to 461.3 billion yen (or about $3.2 billion USD), increasing overall profits by 82.4 percent to 185.4 billion yen (or approximately $1.3 billion USD). So, yeah, Nintendo is absolutely killing it right now.

     

    [ad_2]

    Levi Winslow

    Source link

  • Northwest Bank gains sticky deposits through Deluxe | Bank Automation News

    Northwest Bank gains sticky deposits through Deluxe | Bank Automation News

    [ad_1]

    Northwest Bank has improved its customer acquisition and retention through personalized, automated marketing and digital offerings since implementing data-driven marketing agency Deluxe in 2021. The $14 billion bank launched Deluxe’s Life Event Trigger Program last year and posted program outperformance at 112% of the target, checking balances also outperformed at 118% of the target and […]

    [ad_2]

    Whitney McDonald

    Source link

  • Big Switch Eshop Sale: Discounts On Lego, Resident Evil, And More

    Big Switch Eshop Sale: Discounts On Lego, Resident Evil, And More

    [ad_1]

    Image: WB Games / NetherRealm

    This week, all at once, a perfect storm of deals, discounts, and sales has hit the Nintendo Switch eShop. Batten down the hatches, open up your wallets, and check out some of these limited-time deals, including massive savings on numerous Lego titles, Mortal Kombat games, and hits from Capcom, Ubisoft, and Bandai Namco.

    Before we go any further, just note that—with the exception of Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids—there aren’t any Mario, Zelda, or Kirby games on sale. Instead of first-party discounts, all of these sales are focused on third-party publishers and developers. But there are still plenty of great games to grab up for cheaper than usual, even if Mario and Luigi aren’t part of it.

    Here are some of the best deals I spotted cruising through the various sales currently happening on the eShop. While all of these sales are ending at slightly different times, you more or less have until the end of the month (or a few days past that) to take advantage of these discounts.

    Now, with that out of the way, here are the best deals I found so far. (The figures in parentheses are the normal prices.)


    Lego DC Super-Villians Deluxe Edition – $11.25 ($75)
    Lego City Undercover – $6 ($30)
    Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 Deluxe Edition – $9 ($45)
    Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – $30 ($60)
    Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate – $15 ($60)
    Dragon Ball FighterZ – $9 ($60)
    Dragon Ball FighterZ – FighterZ Pass – $10.50 ($35)
    One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 Deluxe Edition – $18 ($90)
    My Hero One’s Justice 2 Deluxe Edition – $20 ($80)
    Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition – $7.50 ($50)
    Just Dance 2023 Edition – $30 ($60)
    Immortals Fenyx Rising – $12 ($60)
    Assassin’s Creed Anv. Edition Mega Bundle – $45 ($100)
    South Park: The Fractured But Whole – $15 ($60)
    Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen – $10 ($30)
    Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection – $35 ($60)
    Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Deluxe Edition – $25 ($70)
    Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate – $12 ($40)
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy – $15 ($30)

    That’s everything that seemed cool to me. What other bargains are catching your eye?

    [ad_2]

    Zack Zwiezen

    Source link