We’re halfway through the group stage in the Champions League and it’s getting tight. The results of these five games will go some way to deciding which clubs will still be in the competition after Christmas. Monaco v Club Brugge, Tuesday, 5.55pm Thierry Henry has not yet had the impact Monaco were hoping for when…

Premature Evaluation is the weekly column in which Steve Hogarty explores the wilds of early access. This week it’s extremely not buggy pirate ’em up Atlas Developer: Grapeshot Games, Instinct GamesPublisher: Grapeshot Games Release: Out now (early access)On: WindowsFrom: SteamFor: £23.79, $30, €25Last week brought news that beleaguered swashbuckling MMO Atlas had been hacked by…

Let us help you start your day. Good morning. Theresa May lives to govern another day, Michael Cohen gets prison time and China holds its fire on trade. Here’s the latest: ImageThe British prime minister, Theresa May, preparing to give a speech after winning the confidence vote on Wednesday in London.CreditChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesTheresa May prevails…

Image: Mashable Photo Composite: BSIP/UIG via Getty ImagesBy Amy-Mae Turner2018-11-02 20:30:00 UTC Welcome to Small Humans, an ongoing series at Mashable that looks at how to take care of – and deal with – the kids in your life. Because Dr. Spock is nice and all, but it’s 2018 and we have the entire internet…

binspamdupenotthebestofftopicslownewsdaystalestupid freshfunnyinsightfulinterestingmaybe offtopicflamebaittrollredundantoverrated insightfulinterestinginformativefunnyunderrated descriptive typodupeerror 105641676 story Amazon is Working on Game Streaming Service, Report Says (geekwire.com) 57 Posted by msmash on Thursday January 10, 2019 @05:01PM from the up-next dept. Amazon is looking to get into game streaming, joining its tech titan contemporaries Microsoft and Google, according to a report from The Information.…

ImageThe International Olympic Committee is widely expected to expel boxing’s international federation at a Dec. 1 meeting, putting the sport’s role in the 2020 Games in doubt.CreditCreditPool photo by Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesLONDON — The International Olympic Committee is moving toward expelling boxing’s international federation, a step that could imperil one of the tent-pole…

Overthinking Games runs every other Monday, and is an opportunity for Malindy Hetfeld to take something about a game and think about it too much. This week she looks at how Moonlighter makes the inventory really count.Games have, by and large made us into an insatiable, entitled bunch. We’ve come to expect to be able…

“Kingdom Hearts 3″/Square Enix Released on January 29th, “Kingdom Hearts 3” is the culmination of a trilogy that began in 2002. The game arrives nearly 13 years after “Kingdom Hearts 2.”The “Kingdom Hearts” series blends the worlds of Disney’s films with the “Final Fantasy” video game series.Through the years the series has developed a cult…

None Dec. 10, 2017: Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy runs past Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo in a snow storm at New Era Field. The Bills won in overtime, 13-7. Timothy T. Ludwig, USA TODAY Sports None Dec. 20, 2013: The Baltimore Ravens’ Michael Oher (74), Marshal Yanda (73) and Gino Gradkowski stand…

In 2001, a young graduate named John Hopson wrote a detailed article for the industry website Gamasutra on the topic of behavioural game design. Hopson, an amateur game-designer, decided to pair his hobby and his research, detailing in coolly clinical terms concepts that the industry had previously handled primarily through intuition and artistry. “Under what…

poly-lt-wire-logo Visceral Games/Electronic Arts Licensed games only make sense for very specific teams EA recently canceled an open-world Star Wars game that was being developed at its Vancouver studio, and commentators are pissed. Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta, who has also worked on the creative side of games development, blasted EA on Kinda Funny Games…

Kotaku Game DiaryDaily thoughts from a Kotaku staffer about a game we’re playing.  Some games’ post-release plans are stingy, others generous, some comically convoluted. And then there’s the seven-part plan for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an awkward game that is now getting some awkward expansions.On paper before release, it all seemed pretty good. Shadow of…

Fallout 76 isn’t good for much, but it is giving gamers one more chance to learn a valuable lesson. Don’t pay for a product you do not want—particularly when you know you are paying for a product you do not want. Let me be up front: I think this game is bad. The critical consensus,…

Darksiders III is the game to play if you’re intrigued by Dark Souls but don’t think you can hack the challenge. The hallmarks are all there. Simplistic-seeming but highly technical combat that punishes even minor errors. A sprawling puzzle box map that folds over on itself again and again as you unlock shortcuts and new…

On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we implore you to not miss Return of the Obra Dinn, a phenomenal game and contender for 2018’s greatest.First we dive into why Obra Dinn is so great, also taking some time to dissect Hitman 2, the Sega Genesis Classics collection, and other games we’re playing. Then it’s time for…

Uno Show ‘Em No MercyIf we’re being honest, you may no longer be your mom’s favorite after you’ve both indulged in a round of Uno Show ’Em No Mercy. The updated version of Mattel’s classic card game sends game-turning betrayals into overdrive with more skips, more draw cards, and new stacking rules that let you…

Dec 14, 2018Dotun AkintoyeESPN The Magazine CloseDotun Akintoye is a writer and associate editor at ESPN The Magazine.IT’S A RECENT Friday night in downtown Pittsburgh, and JuJu Smith-Schuster sits in a midsized hotel conference room, having just completed his promotional duties for a “Call of Duty” livestream. In one corner is a table of picked-over…

Image: Cartoon NetworkWriting an episode of a TV show that revolves around video games can be a tricky endeavor. It’s all too easy for showrunners to gravitate towards common tropes such as being sucked into a digital world or becoming overly obsessed with a flashy new game. Stories like these have been overused in the…

Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pikachu aren’t the most challenging of games, but in order to make the most of it, we have some advice. Here are a few tips for your journey to becoming Pokémon Champion.Give yourself the ability to skip cutscenesDo this first, since you’re going to see a lot of repeated cutscenes…

While the Nintendo 64 wasn’t the most revolutionary home console, the clunky cartridge-based system still managed to house some of the best games of the mid-to-late ‘90s. Quite a few N64 classics, including Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong 64, and Pokemon Snap, will celebrate their 20th anniversaries in 2019. Joining these memorable 64-bit outings is…

On BaseballImageSeattle’s Edgar Martinez has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and his closest competitors can all agree on one thing: He sure could hit.CreditCreditStephen Dunn/Getty ImagesThe years go by, the players retire, and if you knew them a bit, you remember little snapshots of their clubhouse routines.Mariano Rivera carefully signing baseballs —…