Hackers, cybernetic implants, neon signs, and non-stop rain. There’s more to the cyberpunk genre than rain-soaked future-cities, flying cars, and geishas winking from video billboards. The following games capture the essence of cyberpunk beyond just visuals, holding a cracked mirror up to our own society and sending us a warning from the future. And, well, they’re just really cool too. If your aesthetic is sulky, leather-clad hackers with cybernetic implants brooding in rainy, neon-lit alleyways, then you’ll get a kick out of these games as well. There’s something here for every kind of cyberpunk. Deus Ex Year 2000 Developer Ion Storm Play it if you like Stealth, immersive sims, conspiracies, freedom Augmented government super-agent JC Denton gets tangled up in a conspiracy that threatens the future of the entire world, and takes it upon himself to bring the people responsible down. A peerless stealth sandbox with a brilliantly dark, paranoid story that takes Denton from New York City to Area 51. Blade Runner Year 1997 Developer Westwood Studios Play it if you like Atmosphere, puzzles, rain, Blade Runner Rookie cop Ray McCoy hunts a group of rogue replicants on the grimy, rain-sodden streets of Los Angeles. An inventive point-and-click adventure game that riffs a little too heavily on the movie it’s based on, but gives you the chance to explore a gorgeous recreation of Ridley Scott’s influential dystopian city. Technobabylon Year 2015 Developer Technocrat Games Link Steam Play it if you like Mysteries, dystopian cities, puzzles Taking place in a city controlled by a sinister, all-seeing AI, this dark sci-fi mystery uses its dystopian setting to craft a brilliantly compelling and ever-twisting police procedural. Multiple playable characters, well-designed puzzles, and a rich story make this one of the finest modern point-and-click adventures on PC. Shadowrun: Dragonfall Year 2014 Developer Harebrained Schemes Play it if you like City hubs, RPG-style quests, turn-based combat, hacking Set in a dystopian vision of the city of Berlin, this tech-noir RPG features a rich urban setting to explore, satisfyingly tactical turn-based combat, and an array of different ways to play, whether you want to be an elite hacker or a futuristic samurai. Its unlikely blend of cyberpunk and high fantasy works surprisingly well. Beneath a Steel Sky Year 1994 Developer Revolution Software Play it if you like Classic adventures, the art of Dave Gibbons, jokes An early adventure by Broken Sword creator Revolution. Crash landing on a huge, sprawling future-city, hero Foster and his robot pal Joey have to make their way to ground level, witnessing a brutal class divide and a city ruled by a fascist police state. However, despite the grim premise, it has a very silly sense of humour too. Neon Struct Year 2015 Developer Minor Key Games Play it if you like Stealth, immersive sims, freedom, Deus Ex Don't let the simple graphics fool you: this is one of the best systems-based stealth games since Deus Ex, with a surprisingly well-told story and big levels with many alternate routes. The city and its omnipresent CCTV cameras makes for an effective cyberpunk setting, even if your imagination has to do a lot of the work. Final Fantasy VII Year 1997 Developer Square Play it if you like Big RPGs, motorcycles, stories about injustice, chocobos An unlikely entry, but the seventh Final Fantasy is cyberpunk as hell: especially the grim, futuristic city of Midgar, where the impoverished live in dingy slums below the wealthy above. It gets less cyberpunk outside of the city walls, but the influence of artists such as Giraud and Otomo is felt throughout. Uplink Year 2001 Developer Introversion Software Play it if you like Pretending to be a hacker, the '90s thriller aesthetic When characters in cyberpunk fiction are tapping away at computers, this is what they're probably doing. An early game from DEFCON creator Introversion, it's a hacking/puzzle game with a really cool visual style. And if the art style’s a little retro for you, try the fantastic (and developer approved) Uplink OS mod. 2064: Read Only Memories Year 2015 Developer MidBoss Play it if you like Humour, puzzles, friendly robots Set in a futuristic vision of San Francisco, this Snatcher-inspired point-and-click adventure tells a wonderfully heartfelt story, and stars an obscenely likeable robot sidekick called Turing. The colourful, vivid artwork, diverse cast of characters, and twisting plot make ROM an easy game to love. The Red Strings Club Year 2018 Developer Deconstructeam Play it if you like Thinking, mixing drinks, having hope for the future The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk adventure game with multiple playable characters, and a heavy focus on dialogue and character interaction over puzzles and exploration: whether it’s bartender Donovan teasing information out of his patrons, hacker Brandeis tricking people on the phone with a voice-changer, or Akara manipulating emotions by crafting cybernetic implants. Syndicate Wars Year 1996 Developer Bullfrog Productions Play it if you like Strategy, satire, miniguns Probably the best of Bullfrog's Syndicate series, Wars is a tactical RTS set in a bleak dystopia ruled by evil corporations. The totalitarian status quo of the city is under threat from a virus, and it’s up to you to keep the populace from rebelling—usually through violence. Dark, but also satirical, it has a touch of Paul Verhoeven about it. System Shock 2 Year 1999 Developer Looking Glass Studios Play it if you like Stealth, horror, customisation A horror/FPS/RPG hybrid that would go on to inspire the much more well-known BioShock series. Set aboard a stricken starship, it's perhaps most famous for its sinister AI antagonist, SHODAN. There’s nothing more cyberpunk than an artificial intelligence gone rogue, and this is one of the finest examples of that on PC. Transistor Year 2014 Developer Supergiant Games Play it if you like Stylish combat, heartfelt stories, great music Supergiant's follow-up to indie hit Bastion is one of the prettiest games on our list, but also boasts fast, kinetic combat, an engaging story, great voice acting, and a really amazing soundtrack. Cyberpunk doesn’t always have to be grey and drained of colour, as the vivid cityscapes of Transistor delight in proving. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Year 2011 Developer Eidos Montréal Play it if you like Stealth, immersive sims, future settings, freedom Eidos Montréal had a tough act to follow, but their take on the Deus Ex universe is fantastic. City hubs packed with missions and vivid world-building, a conspiracy-laden plot, and awesome augmentations (including punching through walls and turning invisible) make this a modern classic. Gemini Rue Year 2011 Developer Wadjet Eye Games Play it if you like Stories, atmosphere, puzzles, rain Another dark, rainy cyberpunk point-and-click adventure from the esteemed Wadjet Eye Games, this time telling an intriguing tale of two characters in very different corners of a dystopian sci-fi setting. The understated, film noir-inspired atmosphere makes this a game you can really get lost in.

The Division developer Massive Entertainment is currently working on the sequel to their game, but it seems like it isn’t the only title that’s currently in development by the Swedish team. According to a report from GameReactor, Massive Entertainment is currently working on a battle royale game. Ubisoft commissioned Massive to start looking into the genre, and the team reported that they could make a game in a short amount of time. "Apparently, Ubisoft commisioned Massive to start looking into the Battle Royale game type in January of this year and Massive has reported back to their owners that they could cook up something fun in a pretty short amount of time, especially considering The Division itself contains almost all of the ingredients needed to make this kind of shooter." Considering how popular battle royale games are, it’s no surprise that publishers are looking to release their own titles in the vein of PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale. Ubisoft has yet to comment on the matter, so we have to take everything with a grain of salt until an official confirmation comes in. With Massive showing The Division 2 at this year’s E3, we might not hear more about this game in some time, but never say never.

Microsoft will allegedly have the Xbox Cyberpunk 2077, Anthem, Battlefield V, new Splinter Cell, Borderlands 3, and new Madden marketing rights. At least, that’s what website Rectify Gaming reports based on sources close to Microsoft. In addition to the titles mentioned above, the company is also said to have the marketing rights to the new Madden, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and the Division 2, although the latter has yet to be confirmed. Rectify Gaming has proven to be right about leaked info in the past, including the name of Microsoft’s Xbox One X console. The website has been suffering from server issues ever since the article was put up, but the contents also made their way to the ResetEra forums. Having the marketing rights to a game doesn’t mean that that the title is exclusive to Xbox, but merely allows Microsoft to exclusively advertise these games. In addition, trailers for these games will contain references to Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles and Microsoft will likely show off these games running on the Xbox One X during upcoming events. While most the of titles mentioned above have been officially confirmed for a release in the near future, a new Splinter Cell installment hasn’t been officially announced. Rumors about a new game in the series have been surfacing on several occasions however, but Ubisoft has yet to officially confirm the existence of the game. As always, we will keep you updated as soon we learn more about this matter.

With the rest of the video game world in its crosshairs, Far Cry 5 is wiping the floor with the competition as it becomes the best-selling title in Ubisoft’s long-running series. Everyone remembers when Jack Carver and Valerie Constantine first landed on that tropical island, but there is no denying that Far Cry has grown by leaps and bounds since then by casting off its franchise protagonist and moving with the times. Now, as a whole new story sees gamers battle the psychotic Eden’s Gate cult, Far Cry 5 is a distant relative to 2004’s original installment. However, as the games have got bigger, it seems that so have their sales. Ubisoft reports that Far Cry 5 isn’t only getting rave reviews, but is also breaking records across the board. More than doubling Far Cry 4‘s first-week sales, the fifth game in the main series is eclipsing its predecessors. Across the pond, No.5 is also the best-selling entry for Far Cry in the UK. It is great news for the series, with Dan Hay, executive producer on Far Cry, thanking fans for their continued support: “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. We are humbled by players’ reception of Far Cry 5 and fired up to keep growing and supporting the Far Cry community in the months and years to come.” The statistics are frankly astonishing when it comes to Far Cry 5 as. In just seven days, 35.14 million stick of dynamite have been thrown, 8,651 players have been ambushed by skunks, and gamers have been lucky enough to spend 1.1 million hours with grizzly bear ally Cheeseburger. While the figures are more than impressive, Far Cry 5 is Ubisoft’s second biggest launch, coming just behind Tom Clancy’s The Division. However, Far Cry 5 netted $310 million in its first week, meaning that it made more money than MCU money-spinning movie Black Panther‘s opening. Elsewhere, YouTube and Twitch users streamed some 55,000 hours of the game in just one week, viewed 117 million times. Players just can’t get enough of Hope County’s dangerous backroads, and it isn’t hard to see why. Taking a little longer between games, the studio has clearly put a lot of time and effort into making Far Cry 5 the best that it can. After Far Cry 3 rebooted the series in 2012, its next trip to the Himalayas in Far Cry 4 felt like a bit of a rushed affair. Realizing that giving each game a unique setting could work in Ubisoft’s favor, Far Cry took a trip back to the Stone Age for Primal. That being said, it was hard not to argue that the studio had fast-tracked the game without taking enough care of the mechanics and didn’t bother with character development. This year, it is a “far cry” from the early days of Ubisoft’s series when it launched in the mid-noughties. With Far Cry 5 being the first title to actually visit America, it is winning over existing players and newcomers to the franchise. Thankfully, four years after the last main game, Ubisoft is showcasing a return to form that is sure to keep shifting copies quicker than its players will blast through ammo in Montana. Far Cry 5 is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC.

Spyro The Dragon Trilogy is getting a full remaster treatment just like it was the case with the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy. Activision hasn’t shared any official announcement but they have started to tease the remaster with some vague hints. Eagle eyed fans have also noticed some changes like an official Twitter account that is currently inactive and now the official domain for the series that seems to be active again. Spyro The Dragon was one of the most iconic platformer along with Crash Bandicoot on the PS1. While Crash Bandicoot has been remastered and with a huge success after selling millions of units worldwide, Activision seems to have put their attention towards Spyro The Dragon Trilogy remaster. It was first leaked by Kotaku and since then, it has been rumored through vague hints and teases by fans. The time to get an official reveal is soon after IGN received a Mysterious Package which was sent by Falcon Mcbob. This is the same name as an unverified Spyro The Dragon twitter account that has been linked to Activision.

What's up with the creepy laughing clown sounds in Fortnite? That's what a lot of a lot of people are asking today after the battle royale's game's recent update. As it turns out, it's not a clown at all. The sound you're hearing is coming from gnomes, and it's all connected to one of Fortnite's latest weekly challenges. As explained previously, to complete the challenge you'll have to find and then "search" a total of seven of these gnomes, though you thankfully don't have to do all of this in a single match. You can check out this map to see the locations of the gnomes. Even though there is an explanation for the creepy noise, it's still a bit unsettling to come across. Check out our complete guide for the remainder of Week 7's challenges. They primarily deal with doing things in specific locations or getting access to the right types of weapons (shotguns and suppressed weapons, in the case of this week). It's also not too late to go back and complete those from previous weeks; Battle Pass owners have the remainder of April to finish all of Season 3's Fortnite: Battle Royale challenges. Earn the Battle Stars for completing challenges, and you'll more quickly level up the Battle Pass and earn its various rewards. In other Fortnite news, the game's next limited time mode, High Explosives v2, is available now in the game. You can only use explosive weapons and items such as the Grenade, Impulse Grenade, Remote Explosive, Rocket Launcher, and the recently added Guided Missile.

When developer Psyonix announced a partnership with WWE a few months ago, it mentioned that wrestling-themed items would be coming to Rocket League. Now, we know what those items are, when they'll be available, and how you can get ahold of them. There'll be 11 WWE items in total coming to the game this week, although you won't be able to get all of them right away. On Sunday, April 8, during Wrestlemania 34, Psyonix will release a special code that'll unlock two random items from the group of 5 banners, 5 flags, and a set of wheels. The studio also promises that more items will be added later on, and it'll release more codes in conjunction with other WWE events throughout the year. All the WWE items are tradeable, as well. You can see the WWE-themed cosmetics in the gallery above. This set is the latest in a line of tie-in cosmetic items that Psyonix has released over the past few years; the DC Comics pack was the most recent DLC to be added. It includes a bunch of banners and decals as well as two cool-looking Batmobiles.

League of Legends developer Riot Games has admitted that one of the popular game's characters was "unnecessarily sexualized." The character Kai'Sa's neckline "didn't land well with players," Riot admitted in a blog post this week, adding that it hopes to do better and be more conscious of its design choices in the future. "It made her look unnecessarily sexualized, even if it that wasn't the intention," the studio explained. Kai'Sa is a human who survived the Void by combining herself with a Void creature, so Riot said it was important to make sure she still looked like a human. She didn't always have a deep neckline; this was introduced later in the design process. Here's what Riot said: "Early on, Kai'Sa didn't have a deep neckline. When we got her in game, we realized her dark hair combined with the suit made her look more 'Void creature or corrupted human' than 'normal person wearing a Void-suit,' particularly because the human skin showing on her face was small onscreen and difficult to read from the in-game camera. "Our artists tried a few things to try and address this, and the one that worked well was redesigning her neckline so you could see her human skin more clearly when her mask was off. With this change, more playtesters interpreted Kai'Sa as being a human wearing a suit rather than a human who was corrupted." In hindsight, Riot acknowledged that it should have spent more time thinking about how to best approach Kai'Sa's design. But instead of going back and changing her look now, Riot said it is instead going to try to be better in the future. "Even though we had good intentions, we could've done better, and in the future, we will be even more conscious of these decisions."

Big companies in the UK are required to provide the government with data regarding the pay gap that exists between male and female employees. This also applies to gaming companies. Kotaku did some digging and found that women earned significantly less than men at companies like GTA series developer Rockstar North and others. The public report for Scotland-based Rockstar North shows that the average woman's hourly rate is 64 percent lower than their male colleagues, which means women there earn £0.36 for every £1 that a man does. In terms of bonus payments, 83.9 percent of women received them, compared to 89 percent of men at Rockstar North. However, the average woman's bonus pay was 84 percent lower than men's. Rockstar North studio director Andrew Semple said in a supporting document that the significant gender pay gap at the studio mostly comes down to the structure of the outfit. Specifically, the studio's longest tenured employees who make up most of the senior staff and are compensated related to that are men. Semple maintains that Rockstar North employees are "fairly compensated based on merit and without reference to gender." That being said, Semple added that Rockstar North is committed to closing the gap. The studio pledges to "continue to find new ways to support and encourage women to both take up and advance in career opportunities in game development." Following up on the report, a Rockstar representative told Kotaku that the company is "proactively working to decrease this disparity." "We look forward to seeing representation of our female colleagues continue to grow in all roles and at all levels as we actively recruit, train, and encourage women to pursue career opportunities at Rockstar North and within our industry," the spokesperson said. According to Kotaku, it is against the law in the UK for employees in the same position to be paid different amounts. As you can see in the document, only 8 percent of Rockstar North's highest paid employees are women The pay gap between men and women at video game companies is not limited to Rockstar North, though the percent difference is among the highest among UK video game studios. For example, the pay gap at EA is 13.7 percent; 12.8 percent at Sony; and 6.6 percent at Microsoft. You can use this public database to find the results for any company, though only those with 250 employees are more are required to share this salary information. In all, more than 10,000 employers in the UK reported pay gap details this week. Looking at all the companies across all industries, more than 78 percent of them paid men more than women, according to a report from the BBC.

Stardew Valley gained a cult following and commercial success by providing players with a relaxing, structured, zen-like experience: making it as a farmer in a small village. In a world dominated by high-octane, action-packed games, Stardew Valley's chores and routines are calming, entrancing, and enjoyable for many players. And among those players who love the game is an actual farmer. That's right, Tim from northern California is a farmer, and he uses a game about farming to relax and distract himself while farming. He posted a picture recently on the Stardew Valley subreddit showing him planting a field in the game while driving a tractor that's planting a field in real life. It's all very meta. Don't worry about him being distracted driving while playing games--the tractors are GPS-guided and only have to drive in long, straight lines. Tim isn't a necessarily fan of farming games in general; rather, Stardew Valley provides a particular sort of relaxation for him. "Stardew Valley is more like relaxing and tinkering in my backyard garden than actual work, so it still has that escapism factor to me that something like Farming Simulator doesn’t have," he told Kotaku. He previously played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but more-or-less endless games like Stardew Valley and Minecraft have lately occupied most of his time. Stardew Valley may not fully capture the difficulties or nuances of farming, but Tim did say that it conveys the feeling of rural life pretty well. "My town has a lot of crumbling buildings like the community center," he said, "and unfortunately we don’t have any junimos [forest spirits] capable of magically making everyone happier and fixing everything." Be sure to check out Kotaku's story for more about Tim's life. In other news, Nintendo recently revealed that Stardew Valley is among the top ten best-selling indie games on Switch. In addition, there's still a multiplayer mode for the game in the works--and a beta should be coming soon to PC.

Call of Duty: WWII's next DLC pack is coming soon, and it adds a handful of multiplayer maps and a new Zombies scenario. It also includes a new map for War, the game's asymmetric, stage-based competitive mode, and this map introduces a brand-new mechanic: dogfighting. For the first time, Call of Duty: WWII will let you pilot a plane and fight other players in the skies. Operation Husky, as the War Mode map is called, tasks the Allied team to assault an Axis position in Sicily. It's actually inspired by the real-life Operation Husky, which involved the Allies taking control of Sicily from Mussolini's forces. The first task in-game is to retrieve intelligence, and the Allies are given a limited number of Molotov Cocktails to help them attack. Next, they have to push the Axis back and take over a radio station in order to transmit the intel. Finally, if the Allies are successful, the third stage puts all players in fighter planes. The Allies must defend their bombers, and the Axis must take them down. You can read more about the map on the PlayStation blog. The full DLC pack, called The War Machine, launches on April 10 for PS4. It'll arrive about a month later on Xbox One and PC. The War Machine will be available for $15, or as part of the Season Pass for $50 / £40 / AU $65 which also grants access to the first expansion, The Resistance.

Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing: new monsters to hunt. Monster Hunter World has kicked off its Spring Blossom Fest this evening, which adds seasonal decorations, daily activities, and of course, some new loot. It runs until April 19 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET. During the festivities, the Gathering Hub is decorated with flowers and other springtime accoutrements. Event Quests will be running throughout the festival, starting with a quest for the community-designed Wyvern Ignition Great Sword. Starting on April 13, players can start an Event Quest to earn the Mega Man armor. It gives your Palico a boxy look and it plays classic Mega Man tunes according to your selected weapon. The Spring Blossom Fest will also be running daily Limited Bounties. These should give you a reason to continue logging in, even after you've gotten your hands on the new weapon. Capcom is keeping the Monster Hunter World train rolling with pretty frequent updates. Its first big update added the fearsome Deviljho, but the game has sported plenty of smaller updates and events besides that one. We've seen fairly constant changes, tweaks, and rotating costume events, like the launch event for Horizon Zero Dawn gear. Most recently it added a very odd helmet for the discerning monster hunter who has everything.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 launched to a fairly positive reception last month, due in part to its similarities to the long-dormant Left 4 Dead series. However, many players have also expressed a dissatisfaction with the sometimes punishing difficulty of the game, and developer Fatshark has even acknowledged that the spikes in difficulty need to be ironed out. Recently, the studio released its biggest fix yet for that issue in a new patch that buffs every character and tones down the deadliness of enemies. Patch 1.0.5 is a sweeping update that touches most parts of the game's combat. Specifically, the five playable characters have all received boosts to many of their skills. Bardin, for example, has the See It Coming perk buffed from granting a 10% dodge range increase to a 20% increase, while Kerillian's Hulon's Tenacity perk now grants a 50% increase to stamina regeneration (up from 30%). There are a lot more changes and buffs to character abilities included in the patch; you can read all of them here. In addition, Fatshark has significantly modified the way that difficulty levels work and grant rewards. Veteran, for instance, now gives rewards up to 300 Hero Power (up from 200). Meanwhile, Legend and Champion, the two highest difficulty levels, no longer cap Hero Power. Finally, the studio has also made enemies slightly easier. Marauders are easier to cut through, while Blightstormer Sorcerers have one third less health. On Champion and Legend difficulties, new enemy swarms will less frequently spawn while you're fighting other foes

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was the big winner at tonight's British Academy Games Awards, the UK's annual BAFTA ceremony celebrating outstanding achievement in videogames. Hellblade claimed victory in five categories, including Artistic Achievement, Best Performer, and Best British Game—but the Best Game nod went to What Remains of Edith Finch. Edith Finch beat out Assassin's Creed: Origins, Hellblade, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario Odyssey to take the big crown. This is actually the second win for developer Giant Sparrow; its previous game, The Unfinished Swan, won the Best Debut Game award in 2013. Double Fine Entertainment boss Tim Schaer was this year's BAFTA Fellowship winner, awarded "in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television." Previous Fellowship winners include John Carmack, Gabe Newell, Peter Molyneux, Shigeru Miyamoto, David Braben, and Will Wright. "Tim Schafer is a true pioneer of game design, who has pushed the boundaries of the medium through his extraordinary talents," BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry said. "With a career spanning three decades, his diverse body of work includes some of the most iconic and best-loved adventure games, all characterised by his powerful storytelling and distinctive comedic writing style. We are honored to be presenting him with the BAFTA Fellowship." The full list of categories and winners is below. Artistic Achievement – Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd Audio Achievement – Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - David Garcia Diaz - Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd Best Game – What Remains of Edith Finch - Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive British Game - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd Debut Game – Gorogoa - Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive Evolving Game – Overwatch - Blizzard Entertainment/ Blizzard Entertainment Family – Super Mario Odyssey - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo Game Beyond Entertainment - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd Game Design - Super Mario Odyssey - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo Game Innovation – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo EPD/Nintendo Mobile Game – Golf Clash - Paul Gouge, Alex Rigby, Gareth Jones – Playdemic/Playdemic Multiplayer – Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Larian Studios/ Larian Studios Games Music – Cuphead - StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. Narrative – Night in the Woods - Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/ Finji Original Property – Horizon Zero Dawn – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Performer – Melina Juergens as Senua – Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

As Sony likes to do every month or so, it has just unveiled a new Flash Sale on the PlayStation Store. Between now and April 16, you can get a good number of games at heavily discounted rates. It's Friday the 13th weekend, so it's no surprise the theme is horror. Read on to see what standout games are on sale this weekend. Just make sure to lock in your purchases before the sale ends on April 16. The game that resembles a horror movie most closely is Until Dawn, a cinematic adventure game about a group of teens staying at a cabin in the woods. It's on sale for $6 (down from $20). If you haven't played The Last of Us Remastered, you'll almost certainly enjoy its cinematic bonafides as you fight nightmare creatures in a post-apocalyptic world. It's on sale for $8 (regularly $20), and its Left Behind expansion is down to $4 (from $10). The Evil Within 2 ($30 instead of $60) and Outlast 2 ($12, down from $30) both bring the spooks by dropping you in regions haunted by supernatural horrors. The BioShock Collection ($20, down from $60) and Soma ($8, regularly $30) are frightening games about big ideas, and both feature claustrophobic underwater settings. Alien: Isolation has a sealed-in setting of its own in the form of a space station. It's on sale for $9, instead of its usual $30. Another space horror game, Prey, is on sale for half off at $20. A number of dark indie games are also on sale. Inside is $8 (was $20), while Limbo is $2 (down from $10). The spooky narrative-heavy Oxenfree is $5 (down from $20), while the ultra-challening Darkest Dungeon is $10 (down from $25). The rhythm-roguelike Crypt of the Necrodancer is $3 (was $15). If mind-bending games that are only occasionally horrific are more your speed--and you don't mind reading a lot of text--check out the collection Zero Escape: The Nonary Games ($20, down from $50) and its sequel Zero Time Dilemma ($16, down from $40). If you have a PSVR headset lying around, you may want to check out The Inpatient or the zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine, both $16 (down from $40), or The Invisible Hours for $12 (down from $30). Perhaps you're in the mood to revisit some PS One classics (or see what all the older gamers are talking about). Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is on sale for $3, while the original Silent Hill and a few early Resident Evil games are down to around $2 each. Unfortunately those aren't playable on PS4, but you can play them on PS3, PS Vita, or PSP.

The next crossover event in Monster Hunter World is now available. With the Spring Blossom Fest event ongoing, a new quest is now available on PS4 and Xbox One that allows you to get your hands on the crafting materials necessary to dress your Palico up like Mega Man. The event quest itself is called A Rush of Blood, and it's an Arena where you have to hunt two Odagarons. One of these is an adorable, miniaturized version of the monster. That wrinkle aside, it's an otherwise standard 7-star mission, with limits of 50 minutes and three faints. Completing it will reward you with Mega Man Tickets, which are one of the resources necessary to craft the new gear. You'll have to repeat the fight several times to get enough tickets for everything. With those in hand, head to the Smithy and open the Forge Palico Equipment section. Go to Full Armor Sets, and you can craft the Mega Man gear, which consists of two High Rank pieces: the Mega Man Helmet and Mega Man Suit. This costs three Mega Man Tickets. For the Palico weapon, you'll go to the Standard Equipment area of the Forge Palico Equipment section. Toward the bottom of the High Rank weapons, you'll find find the Mega Man set's weapon, called the Mega Buster. This costs an additional two Mega Man Tickets, meaning you'll need five total to craft everything. One unique aspect of this gear was teased during its original announcement. Depending on what weapon your character has equipped, you'll hear different classic Mega Man music when your Palico has this gear on. However, this is only true in the event quest; you unfortunately won't be hearing it during your regular adventures. You have only a limited time to collect the necessary materials for this gear, as the event quest will only be available until April 27. The Spring Blossom Fest, meanwhile, ends on April 19 and provides an opportunity to get a new greatsword and armor.

The Japanese government’s approach to cracking down on online piracy is likely to create more problems than it solves. It should tread more cautiously even though pirating a copyrighted product--the fruit of another person's labors--is a serious crime that must be stamped out. On April 13, the government decided on an emergency policy response to manga piracy websites that allow users to read copyright content for free. It announced that Internet service providers are not in violation of the law if they block access to such sites, of which three were singled out. Internet providers were informed that it would be “appropriate” to block access “as a tentative measure.” The measures, although characterized as “voluntary” efforts by Web access services to deal with the problem, should be seen as an effective call on service providers to take this action. There are few effective means to clamp down on piracy sites for a number of reasons, including the fact that they are usually based outside Japan. Piracy websites are said to deprive copyright holders of hundreds of billions of yen. We fully sympathize with the frustration and indignation manga artists and publishers feel as their rights are violated daily. In order to block access to specific websites, however, Internet service providers need to track their customers’ online activity. That, in turn, could amount to infringement of "secrecy of communication," which is guaranteed by the Constitution. Thus, the proposed measure is both drastic and dangerous. In Japan, this approach has been used since 2011 only against child pornography sites as they cause incalculable physical and emotional harm to young children. The measure was based on the concept of “necessity” under the criminal law that involved two years of discussions among Internet providers, the ministries and agencies concerned and constitutional scholars. But now the government has suddenly come out with a policy for dealing with piracy sites without going carefully considering the implications. It claims the latest measure can also be justified with the “necessity” argument. But many legal experts take a dim view of this contention. This is a grossly irresponsible policy measure because if risks occur like one in which Internet users complain that it is a problem to check their communications without their permission, the government forces service providers, which made "voluntary" efforts, to take the risk. The industry organization of Internet service providers issued a statement criticizing the government’s policy response on grounds less drastic alternatives are available. Without the industry's cooperation, the measure is bound to prove ineffective. It will serve only as a bad precedent that could allow the government in the future to widen the scope of websites subject to access denial at will by arguing the “necessity” case. The government has stated that abuse of the measure must be avoided. But we need to recall that the move to prohibit access to child pornography sites was made on the assumption that the measure would be used restrictively. Given that the government has casually broken the promise it made at that time, it is hard not to be worried about the implications of the latest policy decision. The step the government is taking in dealing with online piracy is another sign of the Abe administration’s tendency to place little stock in the history of debate on policy issues, loathe to offer detailed explanations about policy decisions and try to force through its proposals despite concerns. The government should reconsider the decision and work out a better approach to the problem in order to resolve the distrust and confusion created by the measure.

KODI and Pirate Bay users that are having trouble accessing illegal add-on streams or torrent downloads in the UK may now know why. Kodi add-on and Pirate Bay fans based in Britain may have found out why it’s difficult to access illegal content online at the moment. A study has revealed that the UK is the country in Europe with the highest rate of blocks on sites and domains that give access to pirated content. Motion Picture Association Canada (MPA) conducted the new piece of research which analysed the scale of pirate-site blocking around the world. The research found that at least 42 countries are obligated to block infringing websites. It also found in Europe alone 1,800 sites and 5,300 domains are inaccessible to online pirates. The countries in Europe that are leading the way with pirate site blocking is the UK, Portugal, Italy and Denmark, TorrentFreak reported. The study said: “Over the last decade, at least 42 countries have either adopted and implemented, or are legally obligated to adopt and implement, measures to ensure that ISPs take steps to disable access to copyright infringing websites, including throughout the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Korea.” The study revealed that the UK blocks 171 sites and 2,215 domains that offer access to pirated content. In comparison, Australia blocks 91 sites and 355 domains while South Korea blocks 460 sites and 547 domains. Another major blocking nation in Europe is Denmark, which blocks 71 sites and 797 domains. Whereas Italy blocks 703 sites and 836 domains and Portugal blocks 827 sites and 1,035 domains. All countries have their own unique set of legislation regarding pirate site blocking. However, nations in the EU are covered by the requirements of Article 8.3 of the INFOSEC Directive. This states that: “Member States shall ensure that right holders are in a position to apply for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe a copyright or related right.” Not all EU countries are actively blocking sites, unlike the UK. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia can all legally block infringing pirate sites. However, none of these nations have done so yet. The MPA Canada study added: “To date, in at least 17 European countries, over 1,800 infringing sites and over 5,300 domains utilised by such sites have been blocked, including in the following four countries where the positive impact of site-blocking over time has been demonstrated”. Authorities can block sites via two different means - through the courts or by going through an administrative process. Site blocks in the UK and Denmark are obtained by the former, in Italy and Portugal it’s the latter. MPA Canada also published a list of ‘notorious’ sites that have been blocked in multiple countries. These sites are The Pirate Bay, Putlocker, raring, 1337x, ExtraTorrent, EZTV, KickAssTorrents and Isohunt. The Pirate Bay is the world’s most popular torrent download portal, with it long being dubbed “the galaxy’s most resilient BitTorrent site.” Such a reputation means The Pirate Bay is perpetually in the crosshairs of anti-piracy organisations as well as copyright holders. Kodi illegal add-ons are another hugely popular way pirates access copyrighted content. Kodi software is not illegal itself, but developers can produce third-party add-ons that provides free access to pirated and illegal content. These apps allow users to stream premium content, like paid-for sports and movie channels for free. And it’s these illegal add-ons that have been targeted by ISPs, government agencies, broadcasters and rights holders.

Telegram is a service for sending messages while remaining anonymous. That's something with which Russia has taken issue, and it just banned the service over it. However, Telegram may also be gaining in popularity because it's an easy way to share pirated content. The Outline spoke with several Telegram channel admins who say Telegram seems uninterested in policing the files users upload. https://www.androidpolice.com/wp-con...x495.jpg&w=728 You may not even realize this, but Telegram lets users access open channels using the global search. All you have to do is search for "movies," and you get a number of groups where users are uploading pirated content. Telegram is remarkably generous with storage, too. The file size limit is 1.5GB, but channel admins can upload as many files as they want. So, there are channels that have several terabytes of content ready for direct download from Telegram's servers. Although, you can't tell what you're downloading before it's on your device. That rip of Fifty Shades might just be a few hours of Rickrolling, which I'd count as a win. https://www.androidpolice.com/wp-con...36-668x542.png So far, Telegram hasn't shown any interest in cracking down on these channels. It technically has a zero-tolerance policy for piracy, but it's only banned a handful of channels for such infractions. Telegram told The Outline it's working on improving its moderation tools, but all you really need to do is search open groups. Telegram might be dragging its feet a bit, but the piracy bonanza probably won't continue forever. In the meantime, be careful what you download.

The Crown breached the privacy of the internet mogul Kim Dotcom when it refused to release private information about him, the Human Rights Review Tribunal finds. The released today said Dotcom wrote to 28 Ministers of the Crown in July 2015 requesting all private information held about him. The 52 requests were in near identical terms and were forwarded to the Attorney General. Mr Dotcom also said the request was for pending legal action and urgency was sought. One month later the Solicitor General declined the request, saying they were vexatious, meaning it did not have sufficient grounds or was purely intended to be difficult. Today, the Tribunal found the Crown had breached the Privacy Act by refusing the request for information. The Crown has been ordered to pay $90,000 in damages. Big Win JUDGEMENT: Attorney General of New Zealand broke the law by withholding information I’m legally entitled to. The Government & Ministers are ordered to comply with my requests and provide all documents. Damages for loss of benefit and loss of dignity are rewarded to me. — Kim Dotcom The Tribunal ordered the Crown to release the information. Mr Dotcom, who is charged with On Twitter he called for the Privacy Commissioner to resign. I call for the immediate resignation of the Privacy Commissioner of New Zealand for his complicity with the former Attorney General and Crown Law in unlawfully withholding information that New Zealanders were legally entitled to. — Kim Dotcom Meanwhile, Mr Dotcom‘s immigration status remains in limbo. Immigration New Zealand has made a decision on whether the internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom should be deported, but it won‘t make a recommendation to the government until his fight against extradition to the Unites States has concluded.

Welcome back Hello folks. As most of you are no doubt aware, ADC was down for the last few days. This downtime was due to a minor hardware failure on our server - the network adapter died which prevented the server from communicating with the rest of the world. The server was technically online during the downtime, it was simply unable to communicate with you or anyone else. Long story short, the host replaced the faulty hardware eventually and after verifying that there were no problems ADC was brought back online. Both the site and tracker are functioning properly, but let us know if you encounter any issues. As a result of this downtime we will be looking at switching to a different host, as this issue really should have been taken care of in less than a day. Our current host appears to have significantly cut back their support team recently and delayed responses from them extended the downtime greatly. If we stay with our current host there's no telling how long it might take them to fix any issues that crop up in the future. Bear in mind that changing hosts, if we do so, won't happen overnight and we will post about it long in advance so downtime related to the move won't come as a surprise.

Sebastian Stan Was Surprised Bucky Barnes Became White Wolf Sebastian Stan admits that he was surprised when Marvel Studios made Bucky into the White Wolf at the end of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. An easily missable detail included in the post-credit scene of Black Panther is Bucky being regarded as the famous character from the comic books. Print readers eventually got the reference with regard to the name, but at that point, it wasn’t confirmed if it was anything more than a fun easter egg. It wasn’t until recently that it was confirmed Bucky would be known as the White Wolf in Avengers: Infinity War. With the Avengers’ most dangerous threat looming in the shadows and only waiting for the right time to strike, Cap and the rest of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will need all the help they can get. And despite his complicated history with some of the team members, Bucky will be at the forefront of the Infinity War‘s Wakandan battle when Thanos and his minions attempt to take over the kingdom and acquire Vision’s Mind Stone. In an interview with Kinowetter for Avengers: Infinity War, Sebastian Stan commented on Bucky’s character development on the big screen. Following his return as the villainous Winter Soldier, he’s gone through quite a lot, including going up against his best pal. But now, he’s off to a fresh start as the White Wolf, something that the actor admits to being surprised by. “Now, talking about comic books and merging them with the MCU, I want to go back and revisit the Black Panther comics because of the White Wolf situation and that’s a whole different line, so I didn’t even see that really going that way and understanding what that could be. But it’s really clever the way they do it, if you think about it. I look at that and go, ‘Of course. That makes sense, that feels well.’ I don’t know how they think about it.” Obviously, Bucky taking over the White Wolf persona is a significant diversion from the character’s comics origins, but that doesn’t mean that the MCU will totally veer away from the source material with regard to the character’s future. After all, why else would they introduce the name in the franchise? This move also somehow clears the path for Sam Wilson to potentially become Captain America if Steve Rogers bites the dust in the upcoming Avengers films and if that’s the route that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and his team plan on taking. It’s ironic that, despite being a part of the MCU since Phase 1, it seems now that Bucky is only now starting to cement his own narrative in the franchise. With his mind nearly free of HYDRA’s brainwashing thanks to Wakandan tech (and Shuri), he’s finally becoming the hero that he always wanted to be. And whatever Marvel Studios decides to do with his character down the line, it seems safe to say that he’ll be a pivotal part of the MCU in the years to come.

A DRUNK person gave some timely advice to a family who left their car unlocked in Bracken Ridge overnight. On their stumble home they noticed the car and decided to scrawl a note on a piece of mail to remind the owners to lock their car. “I love cars, am drank (sic). Just looking at cars going past,” it read. “Nothing missing but I was raised in an area where this was everyday. “Bad things can still happen to good people, lock your car. “Good luck with your success in life and remember smile.” The car owner, Jamie-lee Chilcott, said they were still shocked someone walked up their driveway and left the note. “Luckily they were decent enough not to take anything – instead they left us a note,” she said. “We did lock the car, but have a feeling my son might have accidentally picked up the keys and clicked the central locking button. “I’m still shocked that nothing was taken, there were iPods and everything in the car. “Who ever it was would have had to have walked up the driveway into the car.” This incident follows several police reports about unlocked vehicles being unlawfully entered in the surrounding area.

Few men killed themselves during the Battle of the Little Bighorn, skeletal data suggest KILLING FIELD Contrary to historical accounts, few of Custer’s men at the Battle of the Little Bighorn committed suicide in the face of overwhelming Native American numbers, a preliminary skeletal analysis finds. WASHINGTON — Historical accounts of the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn report that many of Gen. George Custer’s 7th Cavalry soldiers shot themselves to avoid being killed by Native American warriors after the crushing defeat. But a preliminary skeletal analysis, presented April 12 at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting, suggests suicides were relatively rare among Custer’s overwhelmed forces. “No doubt suicides happened among Custer’s men, but perhaps not on the grand scale previously suggested,” said bioarchaeologist Genevieve Mielke of the University of Montana in Missoula. Just over 1 percent of the U.S. Army at that time, 268 soldiers, died in the battle in Montana. Mielke reviewed 30 written battle accounts taken from Native American fighters and army soldiers in nearby regiments, and found that 14 described instances of Custer’s men killing themselves with revolvers. Yet data on skeletal injuries of 31 of Custer’s soldiers indicate only three committed suicide by firing a gun into their head, Mielke reported. In contrast, 22 soldiers had skeletal damage consistent with dismemberment, scalping or other mutilations. These data were previously published by two teams that excavated and then reburied 7th Cavalry soldiers who died at Little Big Horn. One project took place in the 1980s, the other in the 1990s. Mielke did not have access to any skeletons of Custer’s men. Evidence suggests that today’s soldiers enter military service at an elevated risk of killing themselves (SN: 1/9/16, p. 22). If that were true for 19th century soldiers, it’s plausible that many of Custer’s men would have committed suicide in the face of certain torture and death. For now, “the actual prevalence of suicide during the Battle of Little Bighorn remains unknown,” Mielke said. A larger study of deceased 7th Cavalry soldiers would be needed to estimate how many took their own lives.

The pathogen targets a rare type of gut cell, a study in mice finds THE WINNER IS… In mice, norovirus invades tuft cells (the two bright green spots) in the lining of the small intestine (left) and the colon (right). Other cells in the intestines that weren’t infected (blue) are also shown. How a nasty, contagious stomach virus lays claim to the digestive system just got a little less mysterious. In mice, norovirus infects rare cells in the lining of the gut called tuft cells. Like beacons in a dark sea, these cells glowed with evidence of a norovirus infection in fluorescent microscopy images, researchers report in the April 13 Science. If norovirus also targets tuft cells in humans, “maybe that’s the cell type we need to be treating,” says study coauthor Craig Wilen, a physician scientist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Worldwide, norovirus causes about 1 in 5 cases of acute gastroenteritis, an illness of vomiting and diarrhea accompanied by rapid dehydration. More than 200,000 people die annually from the virus, nearly all in developing countries. Norovirus even popped up at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, reportedly infecting around 275 people including a few competing athletes. But little is known about how norovirus, which is actually a group of viruses, does its dirty work in the body — including what cells it targets. Identifying a role for tuft cells in the interactions between the virus and its host “is a significant step forward,” says immunologist David Artis of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, who was not involved in the study. SPIKEY CELL A tuft cell (shown here with a black border within the gut wall) reaches out of the gut lining with a distinctive set of tubules on one end that look different from the smaller, nutrient-absorbing microvilli. Wilen and colleagues had previously discovered the protein that norovirus requires to enter cells in mice. They used that clue to uncover the role of the tuft cells, which have recently been tied to a certain type of immune response. The cells get their name from a cluster of tube structures sticking off of one end. The finding that norovirus targets tuft cells fits with previous research on the virus and other pathogens. Intestinal parasitic worms can make a norovirus infection worse in mice. And tuft cells are known to increase in number during these parasite infections. Killing off gut bacteria has also stopped norovirus infections in mice. In the new study, Wilen and colleagues found that knocking out the bacteria with antibiotics decreased the genetic activity of tuft cells. Having more tuft cells seems to be “good for the virus,” Wilen says. The tuft cells-norovirus connection may prove fruitful for research into inflammatory bowel disease as well. There are certain forms of genes that slightly increase the risk of developing Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Researchers speculate that an outside trigger such as an infection might be what ultimately unleashes these diseases. In another study, Wilen notes, mice genetically predisposed to have Crohn’s disease developed symptoms of that disease after being infected with norovirus.