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Call of Juarez Gunslinger back on Steam

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Call of Juarez Gunslinger back on Steam 1

Call of Juarez Gunslinger is coming back to Steam.

Developer Techland secured the rights to the game from giant Ubisoft. Actually, they resecured the rights to both Call of Juarez Gunslinger and Call of Juarez The Cartel. If you visit the Steam page right now, you can see Gunslinger back on Steam fully under the ownership of Techland Publishing. And they’ve removed the manual and a link to Ubisoft as well. The game is fully back in play.

You can snag the game right now for 33% off until May 4th or even play a quick demo of it. This news only applies to the PC version of the game. PSN still has a page but you can only whitelist the game for now. Xbox still has it up for purchase and works for both Xbox One and Xbox 360 under Ubisoft.

Only Gunslinger has been revived. The Cartel is still under Ubisoft’s control. Techland hasn’t spoken whether or not the game will come back to the marketplace.

PC Building Simulator sells over 100,000 copies; Updates on the way

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PC Building Simulator sells over 100,000 copies; Updates on the way 2

PC Building Simulator is probably the hottest simulator game in town.

It sold over 100K copies according to a press release from the developer. The game is constantly being updated and is a viral hit among PC or simulator game enthusiasts.

It’s a game by Claudiu Kiss and The Irregular Corporation where you need to fix, upgrade, and build PCs for guests. Players run their own computer repair shop and need to service customers who come in with issues with their PC. It gets pretty difficult in the later levels of the game as the problems get more and more advanced. The game has players doing everything from fixing them to building new ones from scratch.

The game scored licensing deals with many major companies like GeForce and EVGA. Their brands are represented in the game with true-to-life models of their parts. It’s been in early access since March 27th, 2018 and has sold over 100,000 copies so far. The success is amazing and there are more updates on the way.

PC Building Simulator is on Steam for just $19.99. The game’s well worth its price if you’re a computer enthusiast. A lot more updates are on the way and planned for the game, according to the company behind it. It’s surprising no other company has thought of this idea yet given that it’s such a widely popular hobby.

Science Adventure game Steins;Gate 0 launching on May 8th

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Science Adventure game Steins;Gate 0 launching on May 8th 3

Steins;Gate 0 will launch on May 8th, 2018.

Spike Chunsoft is releasing its original Japanese game with an English translation. It’s the fourth main game to be released in English, following the English translation for the PS4 and PS Vita. And it’ll finally be on the PC as well. The game will have a special 10% discount on Steam if you’re an owner of Steins;Gate, which will bring the price to about $36.

The game takes place where the previous game left off. One of the alternative endings of Steins;Gate leaves a story to be continued. Steins;Gate 0 has players continuing the time-traveling saga with Okabe Rinataro looking for the person he can’t find. In this new game, you’ll have to deal with Amadeus, the AI that attempts to correct his past mistakes as well as the possibility of WWIII. It takes a much more serious tone compared to the previous game.

It’ll have multiple storylines that are completely separate and a ton of side-stories as well. You’ll be making decisions by replying to text messages. However, this is completely up to you and your decisions completely affect the outcome of the game.

Steins;Gate Elite will also launch later this year which will combine both the original visual novel and anime adaptation of Steins;Gate. There’s currently an anime adaptation of the game airing online as well. When Elite rolls out, expect a price drop for both the original and 0.

Chucklefish’s new game Eastward announced for PC and Mac

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Chucklefish is working on a new RPG adventure game.

Chucklefish is working on a new game named Eastward.

They’re the people behind titles like Starbound and Stardew Valley. Eastward is another pixel art adventure game that has both RPG elements in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s has a 90s style feel developed by Pixpil, a small indie studio in Shanghai, China. Chuckelfish is making their own engine for the game.

it’s based on the artwork of Hong Moran with an eerie touch of wasteland. The company announced the game on its Twitter account and also released a trailer for it as well.

You’ll be playing as a “digger” in a world where the human population has been wiped out. You’re just a worker but you find a secret facility with a girl encaged within. You get exiled from your village and you want to save the girl and help her escape. But you’ll encounter possible dangers from mobs and other creatures lurking in the world.

The artwork for the game looks very appealing and it has that special touch that only Chucklefish can replicate. It makes you want to dive right in and just start playing the game and get absorbed into its colorful world.

No release date has been announced for Eastward. yet. It’ll be available on PC and Mac, but may creep its way onto consoles later on. Get more info on the official page for it.

Either way, this looks like an exciting new entry for their excellent lineup of games so far.

GOG Galaxy now has user profiles – friends, activity, and game tracking stats

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GOG players now have user profiles, according to a news post on their site.

If you’ve never heard of GOG, they’re Good Old Games. That’s the name of their company and they focus on DRM-free gaming. All their games are downloadable and don’t require another third-party launcher (like Steam) to run. That’s their gig and what they do best.

Now, they rolled out user profiles for their desktop client. Yes, they have a client. It lets you launch their games you purchased but doesn’t make it a DRM platform. It now has privacy settings for user profiles and allows users to choose who can see their activity, friends list, and own games. Each profile is split into different parts just like Steam. You have your recent activity, updates from friends, recently played games with your friends and other activity. There’s also stats like time played, unlocked achievements, and of course, your personal friend’s list.

But you don’t need to use their client if you don’t want to. A lot of their games work without the platform itself and you can just download it and play it like the good ol’ days. Some gamers want a game that’s literally plug and play without the whole DRM setup.

Regardless, if you’re a fan of GOG Galaxy, you can appreciate the new features in their platform and the constant improvement they’re going through to make it better over time. It’s hard being a DRM-free platform once you introduce your own platform. They’re doing this carefully to stick to their mantra. Either way, it’s a good time to be a GOG fan.

Puzzle Fighter is shutting down – lots of freebies to grab

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Puzzle Fighter will be shutting down.

Capcom Vancouver has announced that it’ll be shutting down Puzzle Fighter, it’s mobile puzzler fighting game.

It’s a reboot of the 90s puzzle game which came out in November 2017. Players could choose as classic characters from many different series like Mega Man, Darkstalkers, Dead Rising, Final Fight, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter. The game has only been available on mobile platforms so far.

In a post, Capcom explains that instead of Puzzle Fighter, it’ll be shifting its focus onto Dead Rising instead. They also gave a sincere thanks to fans of the semi-popular mobile fighting game by gifting them 10,000 gems (in-game currency). New characters such as Regina, Dr. Wily, and Ada Wong are free to play as and new levels such as the Lab, Darminor, and Uroboros are all free as well.

The soundtrack is also available on SoundCloud for people who like the OST. And the Classic Mode special event will now be constantly available at all times until the server shuts down.

In-game purchases have been suspended but existing purchases can be still used anytime to upgrade your characters.

The server will shut down on July 31st, 2018.

Source: Techraptor.

Darwin Project is going free to play

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Darwin Project will be free to play soon.

Scavengers Studio’s Darwin Project has become free to play!

Darwin Project is a battle royale game that takes the battlegrounds up north. Players fight each under the control of a show director who has influence over the outcome of the game. The director can drop bombs, zone areas, and even screw up a single contestant (or all) at any time. The players need to adapt and use the environment in order to kill the others. Using tracks and searching for clues is unique to the genre.

The announcement was made on Steam by Creative Directory Simon Darveau. The game has been in paid Early Access until recently, so for those who paid for it, they’ll get some bonuses like the Founder’s Pack which contains MTL Legendary sets, 3 Legendary Axes, 3 Legendary Bows, and a full jumpsuit collection. You also get 5 Fan Gifts as well. They’ll all appear in your inventory automatically.

If you’re unhappy with the extra gifts you get, you can opt for a full refund no matter when you bought it. This is pretty nice of them, considering that you get bonus items that you decide whether or not are worthy of the price you paid.

Darwin Project will go free to play in hopes to compete with leading Battle Royale games. Charging for the game doesn’t seem to work when you have games like Fortnite dominating the free to play market. The game will also be free to play on Xbox One as well.

Photo: Steam.

Three new (free) content updates announced for Sea of Thieves

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Sea of Thieves is no longer a sailing sim anymore!

Sea of Thieves is finally getting a much-needed content update!

After being criticized for being a sailing simulator with nothing to do, Rare has decided to release a roadmap of what to expect in the next coming months. It’ll get a few updates, three of which are already announced to let people know that it hasn’t abandoned the project.

The first update will roll out in May which will be called The Hungering Deep and brings a new epic boss for players to take down. It’ll require multiple parties to discover and defeat the threat together. The spiles will be a plenty!

The next update is called Cursed Sails and will roll out in Summer 2018. This update brings a new type of ship to the game and also another epic boss. The expanded ships will allow you to change how it looks and functions as you scale the sea. It’s not just a single ship, it’s a whole ship type.

The last update is called Forsaken Shores and is probably the biggest one. it’ll add a whole new area to sail and new enemies to fight as well. There will be new rewards that are themed to that part of the world and a new gameplay mechanic. This is the big one.

There will also be three more updates coming later on, but none of the hems have details yet. Weekly events will be introduced to the game to teach players the new mechanics and events between updates. This will also help them explore existing locations via quest or fetch missions. Getting a chest from a boring local or getting an item from an NPC in the middle of nowhere both help facilitate players to new places they wouldn’t otherwise go before the updates were added to the game. It’s a way to get players playing.

All updates will be free as well, so Rare will be backed up in developement for thigns like pets and ship captains.

Sit tight for updates on the way, captain!

Photo: https://seaofthieves.gamepedia.com/Sailing

Sega Ages first lineup of games announced for the Switch

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Sega Ages is coming to the Switch!

Sega has up and gone ahead announced their first lineup of games for their Sega Ages collection for the Switch.

We wrote about this previously and in short, the Sega Ages is a program where Sega brings their classic games over to a multitude of platforms. They did this for the 3DS as well and it was done successfully. Now, their first batch of games for the Switch has been announced.

We’re looking at Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, Thunder Force IV, Sonic, and Gain Ground. These games included some goodies already and personally I know I’ll be getting Phantasy Star and Sonic (duh). Out of the list, those two were fond memories even though I was totally a Nintendo kid growing up.

This release of Sega Ages will bring over some titles to the West that weren’t available previously. It’ll roll out in Summer 2018 and will be handled by M2, which did the same games for the 3DS. Sega Ages is perfect for fans who liked Sega stuff and weren’t able to play them or just want to relive the classic games without buying an actual Sega console. In terms of Sonic the Hedgehog, some special elements from the 3DS would be added, such as the Spin Dash attack and the Mega Play version. In Thunder Force IV, players will get the Styx Mode and online leaderboards. In Phantasy Star, you’ll get additional options such as difficulty and walk speed.

Sega Ages originally came to fruition back on the Sega Saturn in 1996 in Japan. Then it came to the West with some awesome titles like Space Harrier, OutRun, and After Burner II. It’s nice to see this coming to the Switch. Now it’s a constant thing for Nintendo fans. It’s difficult to avoid getting some Sega on your Nintendo.

Players will be able to get ahold of this sometime in the Summer. Sit tight for updates.

Photo: Wikidpedia.

Sega classics are coming to the Nintendo Switch by Summer 2018 under Sega Ages

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Sonic is coming to the Switch!

Classic games from SEGA Genesis and Master System will be available for the Nintendo Switch during the Summer of 2018, according to an announcement at Sega Fest 2018.

Fans of the classic Sega games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Thunderforce 4, and more, will all be available on the Switch under the Sega Ages brand. There will be a total of 15 games available including the 3 above.

A company called M2 is behind the move and will be developing the games for emulation for the games. They’re specialists in game emulation for older titles and they’ve been doing this with Sega games for a while now- they ported games onto the Virtual Console on the DS, so they know what they’re doing. The Sega Ages label has been used by Sega since 1996 when they re-released games on their SEGA Saturn console.

As for now, we have no info about the other remaining games. We’ll post an update when we hear word about them.

Photo: Flickr.

Denuvo confirmed to be the cause of performance issues in Tekken 7

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Tekken 7's performance issues tied to Denuvo.

Denuvo is behind the performance and lag issues plaguing Tekken 7.

In a Tweet by Katsuhiro Harada, producer and director of Tekken, he addressed and confirmed that some attacks in the game cause lag and performance issues. But this isn’t because of the system’s hardware. It’s because of a third-party anti-tamper issue that’s in the process of getting fixed and updated. Later he confirmed it was Denuvo.

Denuvo is a middleware program that was made to prevent piracy and tampering. It’s got a history with many different games and has a strange controversy behind it. Denuvo is quiet about their solutions and doesn’t always address the public about what they’re doing. It’s a debated topic of “who to blame” since Denuvo causes issues with the game, but without it, games would easily be cracked and pirated.

This isn’t the first time either. There have already been reports that the program causes issues with the game. FF15 was a good example where Durante said it caused longer loading times. Another indie game called Rime had issues as well where Denuvo was found to be the culprit. Lords of the Fallen was the first game that used it and there have been rumors that it postbacks to their servers occasionally and this cases performance issues prevents users from playing the game.

Now, it’s about time that a pretty important person has finally admitted that it’s likely their fault. Regardless, Tekken 7 will be patched and updated soon. You’ll be able to use Akuma’s Shakunesu Hadouken without lag.

Photo:

Siegfried confirmed for Soulcalibur VI lineup

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Siegfried is the newest confirmed character.

Siegfried has been confirmed by Bandai Namco to be on the roster for Soulcaliber VI!

The rebellious blonde knight with the giant sword will be available among the cast of characters for the next Soulcalibur entry- the newest title for Project Soul’s popular fighter series.

He’s a badass knight who carries a huge German two-handed sword. He’s been a long-time protagonist background character in other games playing the double version of the character Nightmare. Nightmare was the primary bad guy for the first two Soulcalibur games and then split off into his own avatar. Nightmare carries his sword in the left hand whereas Siegfried carries it in his right.

Bandai Namco released some more info about his background story for the upcoming game. He awakens free from the sell of the Soul Edge and is swamped with memories of killing his father and all the things he’s done as Nightmare. Now he’s back to redeem himself from the corruption he’s caused under the influence of Soul Edge. Soul Edge can only be countered by Soul Calibur- a magical sword used to counter the dark magic. Siegfried fell in battle to as Nightmare to Kilik, so he’s left with a lot of regrets.

For hardcore fans, his entry has already been speculated on the roster since he’s already been in every single core title of the Soulcalibur games since the very beginning (the Soul Edge games). Although his confirmation is kinda late, he’ll be in the game nonetheless.

Alongside Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, Siegfried is the latest addition to the lineup. The game will be out in sometime in 2018 and available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for the firs time which should be interesting to see how the controls work out on a keyboard/mouse combo instead of a controller. Check back for updates. I’ll keep you updated when more details roll out about the game in the future.

You can check out the trailer here.

Banner Saga 3 set to release July 24 (US) and July 27 (UK)

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Banner Saga gets a release date.

Banner Saga 3 is set for release on July 24, 2018 for PC, Xbox, PC and Switch in the US. EU is on July 27, 2018.

Developer Stoic is also expecting the mobile version to launch later on in the year as well. Players will be able to play the final adventure in this story-driven narrative RPG. There will be character-building, storytelling, and tons of strategy just like fans of the series expect. This is the final game fo the trilogy which will finally reveal the hidden motives of the characters and the mysteries of the game.

Players will be able to take on the final journey beyond the Wall of Darkness with some special bonuses for pre-orders on PC. If you buy it early, you’ll get the base game plus the following bonuses items in game:

  • Dredge Stoneguard Character – Rank 10 Hero called Kivi
  • Unique Combat Ability: Tank
  • Unique Dredge Item – Sculptor’s Tools
  • Exclusive Dredge Heraldry
  • Unique Heroic Title: “Shield Cleaver’
  • Exclusive Banner Saga 3 Overture Track – by Grammy-nominated and two-time BAFTA-winning composer Austin Wintory

The PC version will be available on Steam and other distribution platforms. There’s a total of three versions (digital) on launch day. The Standard Edition will be $24.99. The Deluxe will be $29.99 (includes OST, wallpaper, world map, and “Gold Wasp” title. The Legendary Edition will be $39.99 and comes with everything in previous editions plus an exclusive legendary equip “Petrie Clan Ring” and a special title “Shadow Walker” and a digital novel “Gift of Hadrborg.”

For players who prefer to go physical, all three versions will be available in a complete bundle called The Banner Saga Trilogy: Bonus Edition for PS4 and Xbox One for $39.99. It includes Banner Saga 1, 2, 3, and a mini art book, limited OST, in-game items, and a poster. There will also be a PC Bonus Edition digitally as well.

Fans should get excited with all the goodies.

Photo: Banner Saga.

Daylight Studios’ Holy Potatoes! A Spy Story?! coming out Summer 2018

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The next Holy Potatoes! game is coming soon.

Daylight Studios announced their next title- it’s a Holy Potatoes! game.

This time it’s Holy Potatoes! A Spy Story?!. As weird as that name sounds (and even weirder trying to type it), it’s a game that has players running a spy agency in an attempt to exposure another spy corporation. If you’ve never played games from this series, they’re basically top-down strategy games with colorful graphics and a basic storyline. This game is no exception. It’s colorful, pretty, and offers a very humorous undertone throughout the whole adventure. It’s the fourth game in the series following Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! which was the previous entry.

You play as a duo of spies named Ren and Rexa who want to expose an evil corporation’s workings. It features plenty of funny dialog and lots of resource management. You’ll be going through many different missions and using your special abilities like stealth and strength to defeat the enemy and fulfill your objective.

You’ll be able to assign, build, and train your own team of potatoes in order to plan and execute missions. The game is largely a simulator game where you manage many different variables at once, but there’s a storyline thrown in as well. You can build stuff like spy boogers, invisibility cloaks, and special spy glasses to help your team. You can even genetically modify them with gene splicing.

Producer Faizan Abid states:

“We were really excited to start the development of Holy Potatoes! A Spy Story?! We are all big fans of the 007 films and of course the spin-offs with Rowan Atkinson, Johnny English, so we have a lot of inspiration to draw from,”

The game is scheduled to be released on Steam in Summer 2018. The exact date is still unknown. You can check out the trailer for the game here.

Photo: Day-Light Studios.

Far Cry 5 shatters sales records in first week

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Far Cry 5 is the best-selling Far Cry game in the first week.

Far Cry 5 has shattered previous records and is now the “in” game.

Just a week after its launch on March 27th, it sold just about $310 million dollars worth of copies, with half coming from digital purchases. Far Cry 4 only sold about half of that amount during opening week. The Division sold about $330 million, which makes it best-selling Ubisoft game of all time in its first week.

Far Cry 5 has been very positively received and has made it was to the top of the ladder just based on controversy. The story has been criticized as incomplete and unsatisfying, but the core gameplay makes up for it with some of the most awesome gameplay maneuvers to date. The game has been criticized that it only made its way to the top because of the topic it covers- a heavily-armed religious cult in the USA. Press along has garnered this game a ton of exposure and this led to its huge publicity.

All publicity is good. No matter how bad.

Dan Hay, the Executive Producer, states:

“I’m proud that the culmination of years of passionate work from the team is paying off, and that Far Cry 5’s experience resonates with so many people.”

Far Cry 5 isn’t all bells and whistles even though the storytelling is pretty bad. The game has a Season Pass for upcoming paid DLC. But as for free content, there isn’t much going on there. So far, the game doesn’t have much in terms of weapon diversity and has gameplay balance issues.

Either way, we’ll have to be on the lookout for what’s next. They got the momentum, now they just need to keep it up and not let their fans down.

Photo: Ubisoft.

Nintendo releases requirements for third-party USB cables

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Switch units have been bricked in the recent firmware upgrade.

Nintendo decided that it won’t be using proprietary charging ports on the Nintendo Switch. This is old news, but favorable, since many gamers prefer to use cheaper, third-party chargers instead of the “OEM” parts for USB-C cables.

Sadly, the reason behind this in previous systems isn’t just to make a profit- it’s to also ensure quality.

When you make a system that allows any manufacturer to make an accessory for it, you unleash the slew of crappy parts that could very well damage the system itself such as slow charging times or fried hardware. Nintendo is starting become aware of this and is probably second-guessing their decision. They warn (it’s in Japanese, so translate it)that the USB-C cables should only be used with 56K Ohm resistors to be safely used and prevent any damage with the Switch.

If charging from a USB source with the USB-A type outputs, Nintendo suggests only to use the official cable (HAC-010) that are included with the Pro Controller or Joy-Con Charging Crip. However, you can only get this Japan. If you’re in the US, you won’t be able to buy it by itself and must get it bundled.

A Nintendo support mod stated that:

“any USB cable that supports a USB Type C port should work just as well”

So this means any third-party cable should work, right? Using USB cables that don’t fit the bill could seriously damage the Switch’s internals or charge it super slowly. It could even fry it in slow motion or charge it so slow that it won’t carry the full amps required.

Where did all this news come from? It appears that a bunch of Switch consoles turned into Switch Bricks after the 5.x firmware update with consoles using the third-party docks from Nyko.

If you don’t want to take any risks, go with OEM parts. If you want to save some cash, do your research first before buying.

Photo: https://nyko.com/products/portable-docking-kit-for-nintendo-switchNyko

Metal Gear Survive’s “The Encounter 1964” includes some epic unlockable goodies

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The new event includes some classic items from MGS: Snake Eater like the Croc Cap.

Metal Gear Survive is getting an all-new Metal Gear Solid 3 event starting next week starting on April 10th and running for two weeks straight. It’s a Snake Eater event.

Metal Gear Survive is a survival game themed in the MGS world. You build bases, gather resources, craft items, get loot, conquer objectives, etc. It’s not really an MGS game, but rather, MGS with a survival twist that’ set in a parallel universe that takes classic characters, event, items, and history from the series. Soldiers that were protecting Mother Base are sucked into a giant wormhole and end up in a different world with crazy weather and zombies.

https://youtu.be/ML5oFv2o5N8

Konami tweeted about it and confirmed the event.

The even is an MGS3-themed special that offers a new co-op experience and it’ll be called The Encounter 1964. That’s pretty much all the details about it other than the rewards, which include, but aren’t limited to:

  • Accessory: Crocodile Cap
  • Accessory: Fatigues – Naked Snake
  • Accessory: Jumpsuit – EVA
  • Accessory: Ocelot Unit Beret
  • Accessory: Ocelot Unit Beret with Balaclava
  • Avatar Face paint: Black
  • Avatar Face paint: Green
  • Avatar Face paint: Oyama
  • Avatar Face paint: Splitter
  • Avatar Face paint: Woodland
  • Cassette Tape: “Takin’ On The Shagohod”
  • Gesture: “You’re pretty good.”
  • Nameplate FOX
  • Nameplate PATRIOT
  • Nameplate Shagohod

Out of all these items, fans of the MGS series should be thrilled to snag some of these accessories. The Crocodile Cap and EVA Jumpsuit are both iconic items from MSS3, alongside the PATRIOT nameplate. The Naked Snake Fatigue is also classic Snake Eater. You can also get the theme music for Takin’ on the Shagohod as a cassette tape, which is actually pretty cool. Fans of the series should be all over it. All this comes from a blog post on Konami’s site.

The MS3 event will be a nice little kickback to the classic game, reminding players of where Metal Gear Survive came from. Players will earn Battle Points throughout the event which will let them snag some new items exclusive to the event.

Metal Gear Survive is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The PS4 version is $20. The Xbox One version is $25. And the Windows version is $40. They’re all different in price but the game is essentially the same. The Encounter 1964 looks pretty promising and will be free for all players when it comes out. That’s solid.

Photo: Flickr.