June, 2019 - Softonic English

New Pokémon, limited Pokédex leaked at Nintendo Treehouse

Two new Pokémon have been leaked at Nintendo Treehouse!

During Nintendo’s Treehouse at E3 this year, two new Pokémon were revealed! However, fans also learned in a leak that we will not be able to play with all of our favorite mons in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

Yamper the electric corgi

The first new mon was Yamper, the adorable little corgi. According to Serebii, it is an electric type. Also, it has a new ability that allows it to pick up the first failed Pokéball you throw at a mon.

Fans have been anticipating a corgi mon for a while. Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield take place in the Galar Region, which is based on the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth is known for her adorable corgis, and now so will we once we get ahold of this game!

Impidimp, the first ever dark, fairy type

Although Impidimp is not very visually breathtaking, his typing is something to behold. We have never before had a dark, fairy type mon. This unique typing means that we have a dark type with attacks that are super-effective on other dark types.

Hopefully, this little guy will evolve, and we will get a cooler looking final evolution.

Galar’s limited Pokedéx

Unfortunately, not all of the news is good. It was also confirmed at the Nintendo Treehouse that the Galar Region will have a limited Pokédex and that players will not be able to transfer over mons that aren’t in it.

We do not know all of the mons that will or won’t be available in Galar, but this is still a punch to the teeth. There are nearly 1,000 mons in the whole franchise, and not being able to play with all of them is a complete shame. Hopefully, GameFreak will listen to their fans on Twitter and right this wrong.

5 reasons to come back to Pokémon Go

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Marvel’s Avengers game paints a world without Captain America

Marvel’s Avengers brings Earth’s mightiest heroes together to face a new threat!

If you were looking for a reason to buy a PlayStation 4, this might be it!

Square Enix has released the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers where you save the day as Earth’s mightiest heroes.

The game is set to come out on May 15, 2020 for both the PS4 and Xbox One. However, you can play the beta version now on PS4. The game will also be available for Google Stadia, which is set to come out in November of this year.

Google Stadia game service launches this year – here’s what you need to know

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Did… Did Cap just die?

Come on Marvel, we are still getting over Iron Man‘s death in the MCU.

The game starts during a celebration of the Avengers. While unveiling a new high-tech headquarters, an explosion causes the Avengers to take action. While fighting off bad guys and tanks, Captain America jumps aboard a helicarrier to dispatch baddies. However, a massive explosion not only causes massive civilian casualties but the death of Cap himself.

After his death, the remaining Avengers are blamed for the tragedy. As a result, the Avengers disband. However, five years go by and the remaining Avengers spring back into action to face a new threat.

Is Cap going to stay dead? Well, we don’t think so. Cap has died in the comics before and has come back. Also, it appears as though you do play as Cap at the beginning of the game, so we don’t think the game developers would create unique fighting mechanics for Cap, just to not have him in the game later.

Which Avengers: Endgame hero are you?

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Sorry Hawkeye, maybe later

In the game, you appear to play as Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Captain America. There are no signs of other Avengers like Hawkeye, Doctor Strange, or Spider-Man.

However, this does provide an opportunity for lots of DLC.

With the huge cast of Marvel characters, we would love to see all of these characters join the fray to help save the world.

What’s gameplay and what’s a cut-scene?

The trailer does not specify what is actual gameplay and what is a cutscene. Scenes of the Avengers talking together or doing very cinematic scenes are probably cutscenes, but most of the combat looks like genuine gameplay. However, we will have to wait for the next trailer to know for sure.

A stellar voice cast

In order to make a great Avengers game, you need a great cast of actors and actresses. Luckily, Square Enix has given us an absolutely stunning array of voice actors.

In a tweet, the voice cast was revealed:

Iron Man: Nolan North
Bruce Banner: Troy Baker
Black Widow: Laura Bailey
Thor: Travis Willingham
Captain America: Jeff Schine

We are thrilled to announce the cast of Marvel’s Avengers! @PlayAvengers @nolan_north: Iron Man@TroyBakerVA: Bruce Banner@LauraBaileyVO: Black Widow@JeffSchine: Captain America@WillingBlam: Thor#PlayAvengers #EmbraceYourPowers

— Marvel Games (@MarvelGames) June 11, 2019

You probably know Nolan North best for voicing Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series. Troy Baker has quite the resume himself including the voice of Joel from The Last of Us and Booker Dewitt from Bioshock Infinite. Laura Bailey has provided the voice for Black Widow in several animated Avengers shows. She also voiced Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac’s Spider-Man game. Travis Willingham has been providing the voice for Thor in animated series for years. Jeff Schine has provided voices for Kingdom Hearts III, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Just Cause 4.

Avengers assemble!

If this is half the game Marvel’s Spider-Man was, then we are in for a treat. We are already excited for Ultimate Alliance 3, but this might just be even better!

Banjo-Kazooie, Dragon Quest heroes are coming to Smash

The bear and bird have abandoned hunting Jiggies, and have decided to duke it out in Smash!

CODE BLUE! BANJO-KAZOOIE IS IN SMASH! REPEAT, CODE BLUE!

Toward the end of Nintendo’s E3 presentation today, the company announced that Banjo-Kazooie is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!

That’s right, the bear and bird duo will be shooting eggs, bird-slamming, and beak-lunging at the competition. If you don’t know who Banjo and Kazooie are, please educate yourself:

Along with bringing the tools of their trade from Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, it appears that there will be a Spiral Mountain stage and a Gruntilda’s Lair stage. Also, Gruntilda herself looks like she will be making an appearance as an assist trophy.

Fans have wanted Banjo Kazooie in Smash for YEARS. The fact that Nintendo has made it happen is bringing tears to our eyes. To make things even better, This wasn’t Nintendo’s only character announcement for the day!

How Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can repair Nintendo’s rocky history with eSports

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Dragon Quest 11 heroes join the fight

Heroes from Dragon Quest 11 will be playable in Smash Ultimate as well. The trailer doesn’t quite specify if each hero will be their own character or just a skin under the name “The Hero.” However, given that Smash already has so many swordfighters, we can’t see them adding four more.

The characters look amazing. They are designed by legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama. Although fans have wanted Toriyama’s pride and joy Goku to join Smash, this is probably going to be the closest we will ever get.

The Hero will have a list of abilities to unleash on the battlefield. This includes a spell to put people to sleep, turning into iron, and even a massive kamikaze explosion. The abilities are similar to Shulk’s Monado Arts but are one of the most unique traits of any Smash fighter.

Honestly, we can’t wait to see what both of these characters will do to the competitive scene. Luckily, we will get to find out this fall!

What to know before your first Smash Ultimate tournament

Read now ►

Who’s next?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We don’t want to be greedy, but we can’t help but think of who we want to see next!

With so many more potential characters to add to the mix, we would love to see more characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Also, cut Waluigi some slack and throw him in there!

Who were you most excited to see today? Also, who do you think should still be in Smash? Let us know in the comments below!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gets a sequel

Journey back to Hyrule in this new trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo won E3.

At the end of Nintendo’s Day One E3 presentation, they shocked gamers everywhere with a trailer announcing a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game will be for the Nintendo Switch.

In the announcement trailer, we got a glimpse at the new threat facing Hyrule.

However, it might just be an old foe who has come back to wreak havoc.

A new baddie, or a returning threat?

At the end of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the main villain Demise swore to return one day. Well, it looks like that day might have come.

Demise is no Ganon, but he is very threatening. After being defeated, he says that Link and Zelda‘s bloodline are cursed to forever fight his incarnations. Ganon’s many appearances in Zelda games appear to be the fulfillment of that promise. However, now that Ganon is dead in the Breath of the Wild universe, Demise might be back to handle the matter himself.

However, if it is not Demise, we have another idea. That symbol on the right looks a lot like a medallion you might see on a sage. Sages are godlike beings in the Zelda universe that help keep order across Hyrule. If it is not Demise, perhaps this is a dark or corrupted sage that is trying to come back to destroy the land of Hyrule.

Playing as Zelda?

In the trailer, a mysterious power appears to infect Link’s right arm. We think this means one of two things.

Option 1: Link is out of commission

This could mean that Link is in trouble. He could very well be corrupted or on the brink of death. If he is corrupted, then Zelda has to free his mind and break the spell. If he is on the brink of death, then Zelda has to find the cure for what ails him. In both of these scenarios, Zelda would be at the forefront of the game rather than Link. Honestly, we are 100% down to play a game entirely as Zelda.

Option 2: Link has new powers

This glowing arm stuff could also mean that Link literally has new tricks up his sleeve. For all we know, Link has new magical abilities that can be used for both adventuring and combat. This could be cool, but between the two options, we like the one where we play as Zelda trying to save Link more.

Callbacks to Majora’s Mask?

In the trailer, Link and Zelda appear to be searching under Hyrule Castle. While there, they find an ancient evil that is spiraling this ominous looking energy upwards into the land of Hyrule. At the end of the trailer, we see Hyrule Castle begin to sink into the ground. Immediately, this gave us the same vibes as The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

We can’t help but notice a ton of similarities. Like Majora’s Mask, this game is a sequel to a smash hit that came out only a few years prior. It also uses a similar overworld and similar characters. Finally, in Majora’s Mask, you are trying to save Termina from being destroyed by a falling moon. In this game, you appear to be trying to save Hyrule from a similar fate.

What we’re anticipating is a very similar experience. We are guessing that the Breath of the Wild sequel will include many side-missions that feed into the main story. If we finally get to play as Zelda, this would mean that the princess herself is helping out the citizens of Hyrule with their problems.

What do we want?

We only found out this game was coming out a few hours ago, and we already have a list of demands.

At the end of the day, we are hoping for a dark game like Majora’s Mask. We want to play as Zelda, and fight an ancient evil that is threatening to destroy everything she just saved.

We want an ominous, gloomy aura throughout the game that is only stifled by the joy that comes from helping out the colorful cast of supporting characters.

Breath of the Wild was unlike any Zelda game we have played before. The fact that this is its own game rather than more DLC is incredible. We don’t have a release date yet, but we can only hope that Nintendo will divulge more in the coming months.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time turns 20. Here’s how it changed gaming forever

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Apex Legends: Introducing Wattson

Wattson has just been officially inducted into the Apex Legends roster, and Respawn has revealed her accompanying set of new abilities, as well as a backstory for the character. The brilliant daughter of the Apex Game’s lead electrical engineer, Wattson is a promising, talented, and enterprising young woman with a mind for tech and a talent for battle. Her abilities mostly involve area control, defense, and mobility prevention, making her a viable alternative to the typical run-and-gun style of play in Apex Legends. Check out the full details below:

Apex Legends Free Download

Play Apex Legends here!

Who is Wattson?

Wattson’s real name is Natalie Paquette, a French woman who discovered her talent for electrical engineering at a young age. An avid reader on the subject, her skill earned her commission to build King’s Canyon’s Modified Containment Ring. While lighthearted and carefree, Wattson also exhibited a laser-focused attention to detail when working, and is passionate about electricity for its ordered, predictable flow.

Natalie “Wattson” Paquette made the Apex Arena’s Ring a reality. Now,
she's joining the Games to put her shocking skills to use.

⚡: https://t.co/EJZv4FPsiT pic.twitter.com/vTlHcjuWx7

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) June 8, 2019

Sadly, her father died the day the Modified Containment Ring was revealed, but Wattson soon found solace in a group of competitors who invited her to battle in the arena. King’s Canyon is her new home, and she is a valuable asset to any team with her dazzling tech abilities. What kind of abilities? Let’s take a look:

Apex Legends Wattson — Check out Wattson’s full character description here on EA’s site

Wattson abilities

Wattson’s role as a Legend is mostly support, providing faster shield recharges, tactical information, and powerful defensive barriers that fluidly work in tandem with pretty much any other Legend on the field (but especially Caustic). Her tactical ability sets a node that connects to form an electrified fence. While it’s not subtle, it can cover a wide area, and alerts both Wattson and her team to any incoming enemy teams. These players are also slowed and receive light damage, making the decision to enter Wattson’s zone of control a weighted one.

Apex Legends Wattson Perimeter Security — Wattson sets up an electrified perimeter to debuff, damage, and ping hostiles.

Wattson’s Ultimate is Interception Pylon, which can outright nullify and destroy enemy projectiles that come within a set radius. This provides great cover (especially when paired with a friendly Gibraltar or Bangalore) to recharge your shields, heal or revive teammates, loot player boxes, or even just re-position for a stronger offensive. Wattson’s Spark of Genius passive also grants a strong synergy between her other abilities, allowing for more frequent use of her tactical, and even fully recharging Interception Pylon after a single Ultimate Accelerant.

Apex Legends ultimate character guide

Full character breakdown ►

How to play Wattson

The strategy with Wattson is to keep your teammates alive with good tactical input, stockpile on Ultimate Accelerants so that you’ll be easily and reliably defended in the late game, and use her Perimeter Security to zone enemy teams and discourage enemy positioning. Like we mentioned before, she pairs especially well with Caustic in the late game, since their defensive tactical abilities stack when trying to control a structure or territory. Make the enemy come to you, then ambush them from a powerful vantage point.

Who is the best Apex Legend for you?

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Wattson will be available on July 2 to kick off the second season of Apex Legends with a jolt. Does she sound like a Legend you’ll want to try? Or are you better off unlocking Mirage, Octane, or Caustic first?

Let us know in the comments below if you plan on giving Wattson a shot, and we’ll catch you online!

Complete Guide to Apex Legends

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Borderlands 2 gets DLC leading up to Borderlands 3

Gearbox releases DLC for Borderlands 2, which paves the way for Borderlands 3!

Lilith — I want you! Also, take notice that she has no tattoos.

Borderlands 3 is only a few months away.

Wow, it feels so good saying that.

Before the game finally drops, Gearbox is giving us more and more information about the game at E3. This includes this awesome new trailer:

However, that’s not all the good news we got from Gearbox. In a unique move, they released a surprise DLC package for Borderlands 2. The new expansion is called Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary.

In this new expansion, a new gang of baddies invades Sanctuary. Luckily, Lilith is here to take charge in the fight against them.

The DLC is FREE to download for the Handsome Collection until July 8.

After the death of her boyfriend Roland, Lilith is now the leader of his battalion, the Crimson Raiders. With Handsome Jack out of the way, Lilith is planning to take Sanctuary to the stars to uncover more vaults. The story ends with a bang as we gear up for Borderlands 3.

If you don’t want to know everything that happens in the DLC, read no further as there are SPOILERS BELOW. Now let’s dive in!

This is what we learned from the Borderlands 3 trailer

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What we learned

Effervescent weapons

Effervescient — Butt Stallion’s favorite guns!

One of the new types of weapon in Borderlands 3 will be Effervescent guns. These weapons shoot explosions of rainbows at enemies. They also have unique features like spraying bullets upon reloading. They seem to be few and far between, so consider yourself lucky if you find one.

Scooter is really dead

Sadly, Scooter’s death from Tales from the Borderlands looks like it is going to stick. In the game, Scooter bravely sacrifices himself for the heroes as he rides a rocket doomed to explode.

To give us closure, Gearbox has included a mission in the DLC to carry out Scooter’s last will and testament. This includes normal Scooter stuff like delivering nudie magazines. However, you also visit Scooter’s sister Ellie to tell her that she is inheriting his business, Catch-a-Ride.

Although we are going to miss Scooter, we are happy to see Ellie return to the franchise. If you are looking for closure for Scooter, this DLC is the answer.

Lilith might have lost her powers

At the end of the game, Lilith has to cause a massive explosion to kill the final boss as well as all of Sanctuary. However, Lilith appears to have REALLY overdone it.

As she slowly recovers, we don’t see her use her Siren powers. If you listened closely to the new Borderlands 3 trailer, you probably heard Lilith say that she USED to be a Siren. This suggests that Lilith could have very well lost her powers by causing the explosion.

Lilith also appears to no longer have her tattoos in the Borderlands 3 trailer. As Sirens all have tattoos on their bodies, it all but confirms our theory.

We’re going off-world!

The end of Borderlands 2 suggests that the vault hunters would be going off-world to find more vaults. However, it doesn’t seem like Lilith put any of that plan into action in the years since Handsome Jack’s demise.

However, after defeating the final boss, Lilith reveals that she thinks they should begin to go after the vaults. Her theory is that they are all connected and that there might be a bigger baddie out there trying to round them all up.

Wrapping up

Let’s say it one more time just for good measure:

Borderlands 3 is only a few months away.

Until it comes out on Sept. 13, we are probably going to marathon every Borderlands game and all of the DLC. Feel free to join us, and make sure you are listening to some decent dubstep while you’re at it.

Doom Eternal looks gory, disgusting, and incredible

Doom Eternal invites players to invade their friend’s campaigns as a demon.

The Doom franchise has truly made chainsawing demons in the face an artform. This artform may have reached its magnum opus with Doom Eternal, coming Nov. 22 of this year.

TRAILER IS NSFW

In Doom Eternal, you return to the Earth only discover that it has been invaded by demons from Hell.

Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Rather than flee the planet in search of sanctuary elsewhere, you instead decide to lock and load. Load up your shotgun, and rev up your chainsaw, it’s time to kill some demons.

New gear

Luckily, along with your arsenal of weapons, you get a spiffy new suit to aid you with your onslaught. The new Praetor Suit comes with a shoulder-mounted flamethrower and a retractable blade. If anyone is looking for ideas of what to get us for Christmas, we are adding this to our Amazon Wish List.

Become a demon and terrorize your friends

If you somehow get bored acting as a demon-slayer, you can instead become a demon yourself!

Doom Eternal has a feature that allows you to invade other player’s campaigns as a demon to annihilate them. In case you want to have strength in numbers, invite some friends to become demons as well, and really give the slayer a taste of the underworld.

Unleash Hell

Doom Eternal is available for preorder now. The game will be playable for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Preordering gets you a new playable character, a new skin, and the Cultist Base master level.

If you buy the deluxe edition, you get the following:

Year One Pass with two campaign add-ons
Demonic slayer skin
Classic weapon sound pack

If you’re as excited as we are, let us know in the comments below!

Minecraft Dungeons coming to Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4

Minecraft Dungeons feels like Minecraft meets Zelda, and we are beyond excited!

Put down your pickaxe, and pick up your sword; it’s time to go on an adventure!

The creators of Minecraft have released a trailer for a new game, Minecraft Dungeons. The game will be available on all major home consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Minecraft Dungeons is completely different from the Minecraft you know and love. Although it has the same look as your typical Minecraft game, you instead guide your hero through a series of dungeons where you fight bad guys and find treasure.

Essentially, the game is Minecraft meets The Legend of Zelda. To make things even better, you can play with up three other people both locally and online!

When playing co-op, your teammates can help you solve puzzles, fight bad guys, and even resurrect you when you fall.

Minecraft Download now ►

The game has elements of an RPG. While exploring, you can find new gear to equip for your adventure. For example, you can find magic spells to blow enemies away or ditch your sword for a hammer. You can even find a magic hammer that shoots electricity, so you can feel like Thor!

Are you worthy enough to wield Thor’s hammer?

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Sure, the game doesn’t have the same ambition as the upcoming Minecraft Earth, but it still looks like a jam!

If you’re a fan of the Minecraft series, then you will more than likely love this game. If you’re a fan of dungeon-adventure games like The Binding of Issac or Castle Crashers, then this is really up your alley.

Castle Crashers

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Opera GX: the world’s first gaming browser

Opera GX is the world’s first gaming browser released by Opera. Try it out for free and enhance your gaming experience.

Opera has always been a cool browser – a turbo mode to speed up page loads, and a free integrated VPN for shielding your activity. The list goes on. It’s great at what it does, there’s no doubt about it, but today it pulled a rabbit out of its hat with Opera GX – the world’s first gaming browser.

Much like the Opera browser is made with user customization in mind, GX is designed for the meticulous gamer. “Opera GX is built for people who love games, and spend a lot of time building their setups,” said Krystian Kolondra, EVP at Opera browsers. “We want to give them a browser to perfectly match their beautiful machines.”

Opera GX Gaming Browser

free download ►

It’s true – every PC gamer worth his salt is proud to run a rig capable of flashy graphics, smooth FPS, and generous RAM. Serious enthusiasts will even opt for multiple GPU integration, water-powered cooling, or glowing keyboards that make you feel like you’re in “The Matrix.” Decking out your hardware is par for the course, but if Opera GX offers new levels of customization through a gaming browser, that’s exciting indeed. “I have a strong feeling this browser will resonate with the gaming world,” said Kolondra. Check out how it aims to do so:

Twitch integration: Follow your favorite channels
GX Control: Limit browser’s CPU and RAM usage
GX Corner: Latest gaming news and deals
Video pop out: Watch video on top of other tabs and applications
SFX: Game-inspired sound effects
Gaming design: Advanced customization and gaming hardware support

Control your gaming experience

“From the startup sounds to the look of the browser’s speed dial, Opera GX was designed to feel at home on any gaming setup,” said Opera GX product director, Maciej Kocembra. Right upon booting it up, GX is visually stunning with crimson streaks, an elegant UI, and dark shadows. As you’d expect, the color palette can be changed to 10 different suggested colors (and 16 million other possibilities courtesy of the extended color picker). GX is about far more than just looking cool, though (we have to admit we do love the aesthetic)! GX is also about being able to comfortably keep a browser up and running while you’re deep in the game, something that until now has always come with the risk of FPS drops and lag.

Opera GX colors — Choose a variety of different color schemes and wallpapers

“Running a game might require a lot of effort from your machine. Even more so if you are streaming while you play,” said Kocembra. “Before Opera GX, gamers often shut down their browsers in order to not slow down their gaming experience.” Memory-hungry browsers (like Chrome) are notoriously bloated, sapping a lot of power to function at high speeds. “We came up with the GX Control feature to make people’s games run more smoothly,” said Kocembra, “without requiring them to compromise on what they do on the Web.”

The main hub for this is the new GX Control panel, which allows users to choose how much of their computer’s CPU or RAM they want to dedicate to their browser vs their game. There’s a pair of dials (one for RAM, one for CPU) that you can toggle to decide what percentage of your computer’s resources you want to use for each. Trying to play while keeping a strategy guide open? Crank down the dials. Trying to improve your streaming quality? Dial them back up! Opera GX adjusts to stay within whatever constraints you set.

Opera GX memory processor limit — Adjust how much RAM and CPU you want the browser to use.

Smooth streaming

Twitch streaming isn’t the future anymore; it’s the present, especially for younger gamers. Streaming is a lucrative business too, which could make GX a preferred tool for the rising number of professional streamers. Twitch is integrated right into Opera GX, and the browser even lets users log right into their accounts directly from the sidebar. It also notifies you whenever a streamer you follow is going live. It’ll let you keep tabs in real time, and comes with shortcuts to sites like necessary sites like Discord, YouTube, and Reddit.

Opera GX Twitch sidebar — Seamlessly keep tabs on Twitch, Discord, Reddit, YouTube, and even Netflix.

For gamers and non-gamers

There are over 65 million Opera users, and not all of them are gamers. Like we said before, there’s a lot more draw to Opera than just playing Fortnite. As such, GX includes all the features that brought the browser under the spotlight in the first place: Integration with WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram right in the sidebar for easy access. Fans of Opera will also be happy to know that GX retains the popular Video Pop Out function, which will be more handy now than ever since you’ll want to fine-tune and manage your browsing while you’re in-game. You’ll also get the same powerful built-in ad blocker and VPN to keep your browsing session safe, distraction-free, and fast.

There are 1.2 billion PC gamers, and from the sound of it Opera GX is a promising choice for anyone looking for more control and convenience over their experience. Download it here while it’s in Level 1 early access to provide the Opera team with feedback and wish lists. Will you be giving it a try? Let us know in the comments below if this sounds like a browser you’ll be switching to!

Opera GX Gaming Browser

download free ►

Softonic is proud to partner with Opera. When you download from us, we may earn a commission.

Microsoft announces next Xbox console, shows more Halo: Infinite footage

Microsoft teased a new console and gave us more info on Halo: Infinite. But was it enough?

Today, the new Xbox codenamed “Project Scarlett” is merely built on promises. Project Scarlett has the same promises you see from other new consoles. It’s going to have more memory, better graphics, and higher resolution.

However, in the E3 announcement for Project Scarlett, Microsoft did have two major promises that grabbed our attention. The first was, of course, the new Halo game – Halo Infinite:

Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite takes place after the events of Halo 5: Guardians. In the trailer, a passerby finds Master Chief floating through the vastness of space. After being revived, Master Chief learns that the humans lost everything. He is then shown what appears to be a destroyed Earth with a Halo ring around it.

Master Chief doesn’t even have a chance to mourn the loss of the Earth. The ship is attacked, and Master Chief has to lock and load.

As the trailer comes to a close, we see Master Chief walking toward a projection of a broken Halo ring. As he gets closer, we hear Cortana in the background, teasing that she will be returning.

Halo Infinite will be a launch title for Project Scarlett when it is released in later 2020.

We didn’t get to see any gameplay, which is a big let down. Last year, we got a teaser for Halo Infinite, so the fact that all Microsoft could only give us another teaser in a year gives us reason to worry. At the end of the day, it’s Halo. They’re probably not going to mess it up. However, if you want people to buy your shiny new console, you need to entice them a bit more.

Say goodbye to load screens

The second major promise from Microsoft was that Project Scarlett will have little-to-no load screens.

If Microsoft keeps their promise, this is HUGE. As soon as video games made their jump to discs, we had to deal with longer and longer load screens.

Removing load screens altogether would be a giant leap in the right direction. Nowadays, games try to masque load screens with hints, tips, and even jokes. However, when these load screens take a few minutes, they can really take us away from the experience.

Think about it, how much nicer would a game like Skyrim be if you didn’t have to worry about those pesky load screens?

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Download ►

Just a rumor

In the announcement, Microsoft said that Project Scarlett would feature thousands of games across four console generations. Some took this as a hint that Project Scarlett will be backward-compatible with every Xbox game. As cool as that would be, we can’t say for sure if it’s true.

New controller

Although Project Scarlett is coming out until next year, you can get a new Xbox controller in just a few months.

Microsoft unveiled a new controller with Bluetooth capabilities as well as a 40-hour battery life.

The controller is pretty high-priced at $179.99. Heck, you can get the entire Google Stadia for that.

Google Stadia game service launches this year – here’s what you need to know

Read now ►

However, the new controller does come with a bunch of cool things for that price:

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Carrying case
Set of six thumbsticks: Standard (two), Classic (two), Tall (one), Wide Dome (one)
Set of four paddles: Medium (two), Mini (two)
Set of two D-pads: Standard, Faceted
Thumbstick-adjustment tool
Charging dock
USB-C cable

Is Xbox bouncing back?

Many fans argue that Microsoft hasn’t been very competitive in recent years. Nintendo has been releasing exclusive titles like Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey and Sony has had great titles like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Xbox simply hasn’t had the same number of great exclusive titles in recent years. Sure, the new Gears of War was fun, but it’s no The Last of Us.

We still need more info before we can recommend setting some money aside for Project Scarlett. We don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a machine that basically just plays Halo.

Maybe next year, Microsoft should put more Keanu Reeves in your presentation.