An interesting series of fortunate events emerged yesterday regarding the next Assassin’s Creed game in the series. First, there was a leaked image for a new DLC that featured a Forty Thieves questline. While many sites were wondering if it will be the new AC: Mirage everyone is talking about, Ubisoft went ahead and confirmed it.
Let’s start at the beginning of the trail of events. The Ubisoft Store had leaked an image of a Forty Thieves DLC quest, which many gamers quickly took note of. ScriptLeaksR6 was one of the first to tweet about it, while only posting the word ‘mirage’. Since then, everyone has been wondering if this is the new Assassin’s Creed game we’ve been waiting for.
Instead of removing the image and denying the rumors, Ubisoft did what so many publishers choose not to do. The company gave in and confirmed that Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is indeed the next game in the series. What’s more is that we’ll learn more about it during Ubisoft Forward on September 10, 2022.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is the next Assassin's Creed game.
Now here’s something even more interesting. The concept art has a character in a white assassin robe that looks very similar to the one we saw on Basim in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Since it seems we’re dealing with a DLC that’s become a standalone game, there’s no reason to think this isn’t true.
Does that mean Ubisoft is doing the same as it did with the Ezio chronicles? Are we going to see a new Basim chronicle that follows the Valhalla main game? If the concept art is anything to go by, it looks like we’re heading for a Ali Baba type storyline, which will be quite exciting. We’ll keep tabs on any further Assassin’s Creed leaks we discover and let you know.
WhatsApp is an incredibly useful app that goes way beyond simply being able to contact your friends and family. For example, did you know that you can start a group with yourself, which you can then use to send yourself files, photos, videos, and links from one device to another? We have a post explaining exactly how you can set up your own personal file transfer service. However, if you don’t want to go through the steps needed to set up your own private WhatsApp group, this upcoming WhatsApp update may be of interest to you.
With WhatsApp increasingly working across multiple devices and with increasing file transfer capabilities, it looks like the messaging app will soon start natively offering the ability to send yourself messages.
This update means you will be able to use WhatsApp for keeping notes, and even for sending and transferring files from one device to another. If you pin your own personal and private chat to the top of your WhatsApp inbox you will have created for yourself an incredibly simple, easy-to-use and effective file transferring service. It will be easier than ever to send photos from your phone to your laptop and to send files from your laptop to your phone.
According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is currently testing the feature now on all devices including desktop, Android, and iOS. Again, this means that you won’t have to worry about compatibility issues such as sending files from an iPhone or iPad to a Windows PC or from an Android device to a Mac. This new feature from WhatsApp will work across all devices and adds some serious utility to the app.
As it is still in testing, we can’t offer you a proposed date for wide rollout just yet, but this feature is in testing, which means it has already undergone a fair amount of development. You’ll have to stay tuned, bookmark our WhatsApp news page, and subscribe to push notifications to ensure you don’t miss the rollout of this excellent new feature.
Valve’s Steam Deck has really captured the public’s imagination and, following on from the Nintendo Switch, ushered in a new era of handheld gaming. There are a lot of games available on Steam, however, and with the bitesize PC offering so much in such a small package it is not wild to assume that not all games on Steam will work on the Steam Deck. In fact, Valve has been testing games on the Steam Deck by the thousand and almost 30% have not been up to the task. Let’s get into some details.
The Steam Deck Twitter account has tweeted out that over 5,000 titles on Steam have officially been awarded the “Verified” and “Playable” classification. This number can be added to the 2,000 titles, which the company has already confirmed as being “Unsupported”, which means so far, out of a sample of roughly 7,000 games, just under 30% of the games on Steam are Unsupported for play on the Steam Deck.
Whenever Valve gives a game a Verified classification it means that the company is confident gamers will not face any problems or issues when they are playing them on the handheld console. If there is an expectation of minor issues, then the game will be classified as playable. Exhibiting transparency that should be applauded, if the company thinks gamers will face too many issues to truly enjoy the game, then it will not verify the game and will give it the unsupported classification.
Oh hey, another big milestone – we just passed 5,000 tested Verified and Playable titles on Steam Deck! Plenty more to go (so many games on Steam), but just wanted to take a moment to celebrate! ? pic.twitter.com/el7iBWdEo8
It is important to note here too that there are roughly 50,000 games available on Steam, which means the Steam Deck so far is officially able to play about 10% of them. There is still work to be done here, but also there is nothing stopping gamers themselves from running their own tests of games that have not yet been subject to Valve’s Steam Deck verification process.
Recently, Instagram caused quite an uproar when it updated the Instagram feed to be more like TikTok. Users didn’t like the snapping from one post to the next and quite the campaign started up online with even Kyle Jenner taking a position against the new feed. Instagram quickly u-turned and now looks set to continue in the same vein by offering users more control over their Instagram feeds. Here is what you need to know.
Meta has released a blog post explaining a couple of ways that Instagram users will be able to exert more control over the content that shows up on their feed and on their Explore tab. These are being able to mark certain posts as content you are “Not Interested” in and also a new feature that will enable users to tell Instagram they don’t want posts with certain words captions or hashtags showing up as suggested posts.
The first feature, which Instagram is currently testing allows users to tell Instagram what they do and don’t like by marking posts on the Explore tab as Not Interested. Instagram says that it will immediately hide these posts from view on the Explore tab, but it also stands to reason that the social network will make note of that data elsewhere too. We’ll have to wait and see about that latter point, however. There is also a Not Interested control on your feed also.
The second feature will straight off the bat have a direct effect on your Instagram feed. You will also be able to flag up content relating to phrases you don’t want to see. Instagram describes the feature as such:
“We’ll also soon start testing the ability to tell Instagram you don’t want to see suggested posts with certain words, phrases or emojis in the caption or hashtags. Whether you’re seeing something that’s not relevant, or have moved on from something you used to like, you can use this feature to stop seeing content that’s not interesting to you.”
Musicians have been making names for themselves on Fortnite, either by their music appearing or as skins in the battle royale game. We’ve already seen the likes of Travis Scott and Ariana Grande with concerts in the game. Now, leaks about an upcoming update called Jug Band indicate Lady Gaga may be next in line for collaboration with Epic Games.
It all started when Max // Fortnite Leaks & Info tweeted about the leaked Jug Band update for Fortnite, which features some audio in it. According to the leaker, it sounds like the song Poker Face by Lady Gaga. You don’t even need to listen carefully to the clip below; it’s pretty obvious.
— Max // Fortnite Leaks & Info (@FNLeaksAndInfo) August 30, 2022
Epic Games also released the Rainbow Royale event yesterday with a key focus on the LGBTQIA+ community. Most areas have makeovers, including the Fortnite Battle Bus. There will also be new songs in vehicles, and it seems some of these may feature Lady Gaga, too.
Sadly, we’re coming to the end of Chapter 3 Season 3, with the date indicated as September 17, 2022. When I logged in the other day, I saw a host of new quests to help me reach level 200 as quickly as possible for the extra Battle Pass items. Of course, I’ve been running around as Goku from the Fortnite x Dragon Ball collaboration that happened recently.
Back to Lady Gaga, we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for this so-called concert to appear. We had rumors of a Billie Eilish concert on Fortnite appearing in March, and we’ll still waiting for any sign of that happening. Until then, I guess I’ll play their songs along with Ariana Grande on Beatstar, which is a mobile game that has me completely hooked lately!
Fortnite concert rumors for Billie EilishREAD MORE
With the change of season coming in September, the first day of the month sees Pokémon Go celebrate the Season of Light festival. The event kicks off several new features, such as new Pokémon, raids, and legendaries. There’s also something new in the Special Research department that you won’t want to miss.
Let’s start with the new exciting Season of the Light festival that starts today, announced with the trailer below. It showcases the stars, sun, and moon, but very little about what will happen in Pokémon Go. Thankfully, you have us to cover that news for you.
Professor Willow is making a return to Pokémon Go this season. We’ve also seen mention of a Legendary Pokemon Cosmog that will appear in the game for the first time. As usual, we’ll have new Raids appear, and this season it features Deoxys in various forms. You should also pay attention to the Research Lab, which will present you with Medicham.
Every season in Pokémon Go usually has different creatures showing up in the wild. There are about five to six for each distance or range from your home. You can read all the upcoming names on the official blog, as I’m not going to bore you with the details.
What I do want to share with you is the Psychic Spectacular event taking place on September 3, 2022. Inkay shares the spotlight in Pokémon Go this weekend, with the shiny version as a rare encounter. I’ll definitely be hunting for it on my tablet, but I’ve heard it’s going to be challenging to find.
Let’s just hope you find Watchog. According to the latest research, it’s the least favorite Pokémon among fans. The Season of Light seems to promise only new and exciting creatures, so I hope you have success in catching and hatching a few unique ones.
No stranger to Total War: Warhammer III, the Champions of Chaos DLC offered new challenges to add to our consideration of the overall game review. Our original expert review covers the base game extensively from core mechanics to every playable faction.
But the DLC takes it to a new level for lore heads by adding new faction lords: Valkia, Festus, Azazel, and Vilitch. Each one serves a ruinous God and fights to conquer fortresses until everyone else serves them, too. But is this DLC worth the commitment?
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Champions of ChaosDOWNLOAD
Let’s review what the DLC adds, the characters, and how it affects the gameplay experience.
Total War: Warhammer III background
Our full review goes very in-depth into the lore behind the game with the death of the bear god Ursun. The game retains the same playable factions with their various leaders including the original representatives of the four ruinous Gods:
Kairos Fateweaver (Tzeentch)
Skarbrand (Khorne)
N’kari (Slaanesh)
Ku’gath Plaguefeather (Nurgle)
The Champions of Chaos DLC merely adds more flavor to the base campaign and some new combat mechanics and skill tree options.
Champions of Chaos story:
Instead of following the plot of the campaign in the base game, the DLC switches things up. On the same map, it pits the four legendary lords in a conquest of the land of Zanbaijin as they harvest souls for their chosen God.
Finding the legendary city will prove their loyalty to make them the ultimate champion. Yeah, sure, okay — because the Ruinous Gods are known for honoring whatever promises they make to people.
Champions of Chaos unit additions of note
The DLC tosses many new units into the pot across all disciplines. While many share similar designs and stats, the versions for each faction maintain the traits and abilities of the God they serve. For instance, Khorne’s units will tend to have higher attack damage while Tzeentch’s version has a barrier.
The biggest differences surround the abilities and passives they’ll have. But in general, the chosen units added and their descriptions are as below:
Chaos Warshrine (different abilities and traits based on faction)
a support monster that acts primarily as a vehicle and bullet sponge
siege attacker
can fear troops, encourage allies, and gain resistance as enemies die near it
“Favour of the Ruinous Powers” adds +10 leadership to any unit in its proximity
Sibilant Slaughtercade (Slaanesh Regiment of Renown)
features poison attacks, useful flanking bonuses, and high mobility
“Soul hunters” provides damage buffs with kills
anti-infantry unit with vanguard deployment
armored and shielded
Bilious Thundergruff (Nurgle Regiment of Renown)
chaos giant with poison attacks and terror
features a unique gas-based ability that functions as a vortex spell. It damages nearby units while also reducing armor that jumps to a total of 5 units nearby
Knights of the Brazen Throne (Khorne Regiment of Renown)
armor-piercing
frenzy
causes terror and fear
anti-infantry unit with high armor and powerful charge
Severed Claw Aspiring Champions (Tzeentch Regiment of Renown)
barriered, armor-piercing unit useful against large units
only 16 in a unit
feature melee attacks and magic attacks
“Encourage” ability provides +8 leadership to nearby units
Chosen of Slaanesh
armored and shielded sword infantry unit
features Slaanesh buffs “Immunity to psychology”, 10% physical resistance, and “Strider”
Hellscourge version adds more defense, charge defense, and charge reflection
Chosen of Nurgle
armored and shield axe infantry with poison attacks and damage reduction
tank version has higher health and melee defense with just 23 speed
“Great Weapon” version wields a Great Axe, is armored, and armor-piercing
Chosen of Khorne
armored and shielded axe infantry unit with frenzy
includes fire damage but lacks armor-piercing
high health for excellent front-line defense
the dual weapon version is more focused on damage over the defense with a bonus against infantry
Chosen of Tzeentch
armored, shielded, and barriered sword infantry unit with magic attacks
“Halberd” version adds anti-large attacks along with a charge defense ability
Warhammer 3 Champions of Chaos Faction differences
Tzeentch & Vilitch the Curseling
Vilitch, a jealous twin turned worm-with-mouth grafted onto the now mindless body of his brother thanks to Tzeentch, has hybrid abilities. He can cast spells while also dishing out damage with melee attacks. He’s a bit of a warlock as he excels at fighting alongside units on the front line while also casting spells.
He leads the Puppets of Misrule and his abilities include:
“Fires of Change” – includes all spells associated with Tzeentch
“Paragon of Change” – this regenerates barriers on nearby friendly units
“The Twisted Twin” – adjusts buff based on which twin is fighting. When playing as Vilitch, you get additional spell mastery. When playing as T, you get enhanced melee damage and defense. The effects increase the longer you are in a specific mode
“Vessel of Chaos” – returns barrier points as you cast
lacks armor-piercing attacks but allied forces receive Winds of Magic benefits
has a barrier to enhancing toughness and facilitating infantry domination
can convert some battle losses into Souls
vassals receive barrier hit points
capable of stealing +15% of other Lords’ experience
Slaanesh & Azazel, Prince of Damnation
This legendary lord thinks very highly of himself despite being a total glass cannon. With just five armor, his capable melee attacks and spellcasting require more finesse. But he can fly…
He leads the Ecstatic Legion and his abilities include:
“Temptator” – reflects melee damage and boosts damage resistance
“Demonblade” – boosts base weapon damage, but also lowers enemy morale and leadership buffs with the “Discouraged” trait
“Lore of Slaanesh” – includes all spells associated with Slaanesh
“Domineering Aura” – further demoralizes enemies by reducing melee attack and defense. Increases in intensity the longer there are troops being discouraged or afraid
can cause both terror and fear in enemy troops
the only demon among the legendary lords
+80 diplomatic relations with Cathay, Empire, Bretonnia, and Kislev
can seduce enemy units before battle
vassals obtain “Immunity to Psychology”
Nurgle & Festus the Leechlord
Festus could best be described as a wizard when it comes to his combat stats. He isn’t the most robust chaos lord with low armor stats and spell-casting abilities. However, he does have enhanced melee damage, though, to get out of some sticky situations.
He leads the Fecundites and his abilities include:
“Healing Elixirs” – heals Festus and any nearby units while active (constantly active when selected)
“Harbinger of Pestilence” – damages enemies within close proximity continuously unless/until you switch back to Healing Elixirs
“Pestilent Potions” – useful damage debuff against enemies that provides toughness to up to five friendly units up to 100 meters away
can be played as a more support classes character with healing or as a damage booster to help troops take out enemies more quickly
plague brewing abilities and +three turn plague duration with local armies
vassals obtain poison attacks
Khorne & Valkia the Bloody
Think of Valkia as the ultimate barbarian. Her melee-based abilities pack a punch with solid stats all around. She’s best played as a frontline commander who occasionally dives into battle leveraging her invulnerability power.
She leads the Legion of the Gorequeen and her main abilities include:
can use Bloodletting and Frenzy
“Spear Slaupnir” – a wind spell useful against infantry
“Demon Shield” – makes Valkia invulnerable for 13 seconds
“Scarlet Armor” – reduces enemy armor along with their armor-piercing abilities
“Gaze of Khorne” – bestows additional buffs to her including leadership aura, base damage, and armor-piercing abilities
she can fly
bonus damage versus large targets
additional magical damage on her melee attacks
receives +50% souls when sacrificing captives
vassals also gain Frenzy
New mechanics in Champions of Chaos: gifts of chaos, warbands, & dark fortresses
Vassals & dark fortresses
Upon encountering villages or controlled outposts, you can defeat the reigning powers and establish a Dark Fortress region. This grants whatever Norscan faction you overtook as a permanent vassal acting in your stead. As long as you maintain dominion over their lands, they will follow you.
This, naturally, puts importance on establishing more fortresses and taking over regions. You also need to build structures, but this can be automated if you want it to be.
Warband upgrades & skill trees
As a Champion of Chaos, players will be able to recruit forces upon capture instantly. They can be from nearby provinces or rewarded to them from Chaos Gifts. That means that Marauders can receive the mark of Chaos and ascend to Chaos Knights if desired. You can also dedicate them to a specific God.
Each champion also features customizable skill trees as pictured above.
Chaos gifts
As you grow your power and sacrifice souls to your Ruinous God, you’ll receive gifts of chaos. These boons require Souls in exchange but can offer great power and benefits. Gain souls by winning battles and you can even obtain demonic reinforcements.
Verdict: Chaos makes everything better
Die-hard fans of the Warhammer series will love the additional lore the Champions of Chaos DLC provides. Newbies might also appreciate the truncated campaign and useful tutorial tips. Checking out Total War Warhammer’s beginner tips might help, too.
More casual players may not get as much out of the additional Ruinous God champions. However, it’s just $15.99 USD full price, so it’s not too much of an investment if you just want to check it out.
PROS
Makes the game even more accessible for new players
Excellent for fans of Warhammer lore and the various legendary lords
New campaign may run faster than the Ursun-focused campaign in the base game
Playable in the Immortal Empires campaign
CONS
Cluttered UI suffers from the same issues as the base game
Cost may turn some less-hardcore players away from the DLC
Players focused on expansion may struggle with DLC gameplay that’s more centered around fortress captures
Some of the “new” units appear more like reskinned versions of units in the base game – test
With Rollerdrome hitting the stores recently and having everyone rollerblading and shooting away, some players are struggling to beat the arenas. Many maps are intense, and you might up dying more than surviving. Don’t worry; we know exactly what you need to beat the game with a smile on your face.
Here’s our extensive guide for surviving any map in Rollerdrome. I’m talking from experience, as I quickly had to learn how to play the game before I could write my review about it. These tips will help you take out the enemies while racking up the points.
Keep hitting those Rollerdrome tricks
One of the lessons you’ll learn in the tutorial is that performing tricks refills your ammo. It’s easy to take this for granted when you’re aiming and killing the bots around you. If you want to survive the map in Rollerdrome, you need to balance shooting and tricks.
With so much action on the screen, it will be challenging to keep one eye on the ammo count. My suggestion is to alternate shooting with tricks. Do a grab or flip, shoot an enemy dead, then jump over a ramp and do another trick. It may feel like you’re wasting time, but it will help you in the long run.
Step on the grind often
Here’s a little secret I discovered early in Rollerdrome. Grinding rails and the sides of ramps is an easy way to rack up ammo. Here’s the best part: you can aim and shoot while you’re sliding on objects.
When you’re doing other tricks like flips and grabs, your hands are too occupied to shoot. Grinding is the perfect, cheapest way to keep your ammo locked and loaded while firing away. Of course, it also makes you an easy target, but it still works incredibly well.
Master speed and movement
You’ll notice that there’s a timer on the board when you play a map in Rollerdrome. Taking longer to complete a level has a detrimental effect on your final score. So, while acing your tricks and shots, you’ll also need to keep your speed going.
The tip here is to control your movement and make sure you don’t take sharp turns. These slow you down, as do failed jumps or tricks. Make sure you move in a fluid way in the same direction, even if it means rollerblading backwards.
The Rollerdrome jump-and-grab
So far, I’ve given you tips that deal with surviving maps in Rollerdrome where there are plenty of hills and ramps. But what happens when you encounter an arena that’s basically barren or flat? That’s where the jump and grab move comes in, where you hold your blades while in the air.
It’s a cheap move, as I call it, but it’s effective. With just that small motion, you can quickly refill your ammo and take out your enemies again. The only word of caution is to watch out for those brawlers that love to swipe at you while in mid-air.
Take advantage of each weapon
There’s a reason you eventually end up with different types of weapons in Rollerdrome. It’s not just for the sake of entertainment. You’ll need to learn in which situations these firearms are best, especially in the more challenging maps.
I promised you some tips, so here’s one for the weapons. Keep your pistols for medium-range targets, the rocket launcher for unique or huge opponents, and the shotgun for close-up encounters. You’ll need to keep switching them around to save ammo and kill enemies quickly.
Become the Matrix and slow down
One of Rollerdrome’s elements that I love is Reflex time. There are the standard super versions. The standard Reflex time you can trigger when you’re bar is full, slowing down time so you can aim and shoot. Super mode activates when you dodge a bullet, making time even slower.
I recommend you use Reflex time as much as possible. That bar refills quickly, which means you can use it over and over again. I don’t feel ashamed to admit that I use it for every shot, as that’s how I survive maps in Rollerdrome.
Use explosive environments
The later maps have structures or barrels you can target to inflict massive damage or an immediate kill. If you focus too much on your enemies, you may miss these opportunities. Keep your eyes open for these items and target them as soon as you see the chance.
Stay alive with Grunts
I know those Grunts, or brawlers as I call them, are annoying. You’re just getting into your speed when they swat you like a fly. However, they’ll be essential for keeping your health up. While all opponents provide health when killed, they’re the easiest to target.
Don’t forget your challenges
Here’s the reason you’ll be replaying maps in Rollerdrome. The later levels are locked until you achieve a specific amount of objectives, like a shopping list. If you want to progress in the story to new arenas, you’ll need to complete as many of them as possible.
While it would be ideal to do all of them at once, it’s not a good idea to try. There are many of them, and some of them are really challenging. It’s best to focus on a few easy ones first and then hit the harder ones later.
Aiming perfectly in Rollerdrome isn’t necessary
I have some good news for you. You really don’t have to waste too much time aiming in Rollerdrome. If you’re dying way more than you’d like to, it’s probably because you’re spending too much time in Reflex mode lining up your shot. You don’t have to.
There’s an auto-lock feature that lines up your shot if your cursor is close enough to the opponent. It’s safe to simply aim in the general direction and keep firing. You’ll complete the maps much faster, and you’ll still look like a pro.
And there you have it. You’re well on your way to surviving any map in Rollerdrome. If you haven’t tried the game yet, make sure you check out my detailed review.
