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The SCP Foundation is an impressive thing. For those that might not know, it is basically a fan-created wiki of sorts that tracks strange, bizarre and (often) dangerous beings, coming up with entire stories through listing how these beings are contained, and a vague description that offers just enough to light up a readers imagination, but never enough to give the reader a clear picture of what exactly it is they might be reading about. As such, the SCP Foundation website has become a wonderful source of not only creepy horror stories, but also of inspiration for horror games.In the past, weve largely seen games adapting the fiction of the SCP Foundation through more generic horror mechanics. These titles tend to feature one or two of the iconic creatures from the SCP website, with SCP-173 being an especially popular subject since it tends to make for an appropriately spooky experience with the thing chasing you can only do so if it is not being observed. SCP: Fragmented Minds, however, manages to carve out its own identity from the sea of SCP adaptations by leaning more heavily into the idea of being an action game.Make no mistake, however, SCP: Fragmented Minds still has aspirations of being a horror title. In fact, much like its predecessors, you wont find much in the way of combat here either. You do, however, get ways to fight back against some of the strange creatures that youll find roaming around as you explore a Mars outpost after some sort of cataclysm happened. But before we get ahead of ourselves, lets first understand the setup."SCP: Fragmented Minds still has aspirations of being a horror title."You are Agent Kovich, a member of the SCP Foundations security team, currently setting out on your first posting to Mars Site-113. While the purposes of the site arent quite clear yet, you do know that youll have to deal with some level of combat, since you were put through a rather rigorous training regime. Other than that, however, this mission to Mars seems like a relatively cozy gig. Little do you know that things are about to go horribly wrong.A series of subterranean earthquakes have managed to mess up Mars Site-113 quite a bit, and by the time youre awoken in your cryopod, the whole Martian settlement is seemingly deserted. Slowly exploring through some wreckage and even the surface of Mars ultimately leads you into finding one other survivor, who is then able to let you get deeper into the SCP facility to try and reconnect with your team. All in all, the story and general setup of SCP: Fragmented Minds is relatively simple and acts pretty well as an excuse to throw you into the thick of it.The only real complaint I have with the game is that the start is just a bit too slow. While the general visuals and atmosphere are pretty good in the games opening hour, things start getting a bit boring when all youre doing is walking around and trying to find the way forward. Theres literally zero tension until you get around an hour into the game. Sure, there are some tutorials you get in the opening minutes, the pacing in general could be handled much better than what we ultimately got. Good thing its still an Early Access title."The only real complaint I have with the game is that the start is just a bit too slow."The same pacing issues also apply to the gameplay. For a game with aspirations of being an action horror title rather than a stealth horror one, you dont even get access to a weapon until youre a couple of hours in. By then, youve faced plenty of instances of SCP-3199 that youve had to sneak your way around, and even when you finally do get a weapon to try and fight them off, youre going to be able to, at most, take on one at a time. This doesnt even feel like a case of forcing you to conserve your resources as much as it feels like poor pacing.Speaking of which, there isnt really much in the way of enemy variety in SCP: Fragmented Minds. Youre largely going to be sneaking around or fighting off various instances of SCP-3199. While this does mean that you get to experience creatures in an SCP title that arent just what youve seen before, the lack of just about any other kind of enemy to fight against does more harm than good to the general sense of poor pacing throughout the game. This is an issue that, once again, looks like it will get fixed down the line as the title gets more chapters through future updates.One key area where SCP: Fragmented Minds absolutely excels is in its visuals. Mars Site-113 has been beautifully realised, with just about every dark crevice, nook and cranny being rife with the potential for hidden terrors lurking around. The atmosphere is also top-notch, with a lot of work being done by the games excellent use of lighting and volumetric fog effects to ramp up the tension. Being an Early Access title, however, does bring with it some clear technical issues. For instance, I often found myself needing to shut down and restart the entire game because it would refuse to load a room behind a locked door. I also had a lot of trouble grabbing footage for the game, with constant crashes happening whenever I started recording gameplay."There isnt really much in the way of enemy variety in SCP: Fragmented Minds."Whether these issues are intrinsic to the game, or if it was an issue related specifically to my hardware setup is currently unknown. Generally speaking, SCP: Fragmented Minds definitely has its fair share of issues, be it the poor pacing or technical problems. Aside from that, however, the game feels like its a solid foundation for what could one day be an excellent action horror title. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the fact that the title will be making use of some of the lesser-known beings from the SCP wiki means that were in for some wonderfully weird and unique encounters in future updates.As it currently stands, however, SCP: Fragmented Minds is a difficult game to recommend. The pacing issues alone means that youre going to be spending the vast majority of your time with the game just running around and hiding from goofy looking creatures. The roadmap, however, makes me think that there is a lot of promise in the games future, and multiplayer is an especially interesting feature to keep an eye on down the line.This game was reviewed on PC.

Monster Hunter Wilds is still a few weeks off, launching on February 28th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. However, the hype continues to build, especially for veterans of Monster Hunter World. Considering how influential the latter is on the former, it makes sense to compare all their differences. You may even learn of changes debuting in the series for the first time. Without further ado, here are 15 of the biggest differences between Monster Hunter Wilds and Monster Hunter World.The New Improved MountMonster Hunter World allowed mounts in different locales after Iceborne dropped, but first, you had to befriend different tribes. It would transport you to a target otherwise, its mobility was limited. The Seikret in Wilds, on the other hand, is freeform and can go almost wherever you please on top of gliding (though it can also be set to automatically guide you to a monster). Plus, you dont need to jump through hoops to get one (that we know of).Multilingual PalicoesWhile Palicoes were content to meow their way through World with the Felyne language (with subtitles conveying their intent), Wilds allows them to fully speak English and Japanese. Depending on your taste, this may be either too good to be true or utterly annoying. The good news is that the Felyne language is still available in case you want to go back to the incessant meowing.Pick up Traps and Explosive BarrelsHave you ever placed a trap and wandered about, hoping that the monster would walk your way and trigger it? How about accidentally placing an explosive barrel and not saving it for the big wake-up damage? You really couldnt do much in World, save for returning to camp and restocking, but Wilds lets you pick up traps and explosive barrels after setting them. Its a brave new world, truly.New MovesThe trademark weapon trees have seen their changes, buffs, and new moves over the years, and Wilds is no exception. While several move sets from World remain, like the Sword and Shields Perfect Rush, the Longsword is now much more dependent on filling the Spirit Gauge for specific slashes. Picking up your favorite weapon should feel familiar yet depending on which one, it could offer a world of untapped potential compared to World.Tenderizing vs. Focus StrikesOf course, there are also Focus Strikes, which target wounds and inflict massive damage on a monster when performed correctly. Its a huge contrast to tenderizing post-Iceborne, where players had to grapple and then attack a monsters body part with the clutch claw. This allowed for dealing more damage and players having a higher critical hit chance against it for a period. Meanwhile, in Wilds, keep attacking a part to create a wound and then Focus Strike to damage it.Carrying a Second WeaponSometimes, you embark on a quest with the wrong weapon it happens to all of us. However, Monster Hunter Wilds has found a pretty great solution you can now carry a second weapon on your mount and switch to it. This is also ideal if you feel like your current weapon isnt doing the best and a swap is required. Just make sure both of them arent the wrong weapons.Slinger Hook ChangesAh, the Slinger Hook my best friend at times in World, and my worst enemy when it came to grappling monsters in Iceborne. The latter doesnt return, thankfully, but you can use the former to obtain items from afar while on your mount. It makes gathering so much easier without slowing down the tempo of exploration.Starting Hunts in the WildGone are the days when you had to continuously return to base or even camp (in the case of the Guiding Lands) to turn in quests and take on more. Now you can start a hunt upon attacking a monster, with the related quests popping up, though Mission Boards and accepting quests from the Handler are still a thing.Cooking Meals on the GoCooking meat on the portable BBQ is one thing, but how about cooking an entire meal on the go? Wilds allows for it. Best of all, youll receive rations from the Ingredient Center, which can be used as whatever ingredients you want. Its still possible to cook meals in camps, but there are also feasts that are initiated when venturing to new villages (which are more dramatic than anything but still incredible to behold).NPC HuntersMonster Hunter Rise featured this, but Wilds is going further, allowing players to summon an entire team to help out. How beneficial theyll be without Wyvern Riding to supplant the damage remains to be seen, but if you never play online, it could be the closest to having other hunters helping out.Monster CorpsesAfter slaying a monster in World, its corpse would eventually turn transparent and disappear after carving. Thank goodness for current-gen hardware because after carving them up, the corpse will remain and slowly decompose until there are bones left. Its the little things, but they add so much more to the immersion.More Radial MenusOne of the more underrated quality-of-life changes is having eight radial menus instead of the usual four from World. This means even more customization for items, ammo, emotes, traps, etc. Its even possible to customize the number of slots for each, keeping things more manageable.Dynamic WeatherWhen venturing out for hunts in World, you could arrive in stormy weather and rain. Which was neat and whatnot, but in Wilds, the weather will actually transform the locale in question. The Windward Plains could go from peaceful to engulfed in a sandstorm or dodging lightning. There are even different resources and endemic life which become available depending on the weather.Underwater ExplorationWater combat is sadly not returning, but its now possible to freely explore underwater and gather materials. Compare this to Monster Hunter World, which used underwater swimming sections as transitions in areas rather than providing full freedom. And who knows? Maybe this could herald the return of underwater monsters and combat in a future expansion for Wilds.Monsters With Higher Health and Flinch ValuesOne of the more interesting changes in Wilds is that its monsters have higher health and flinch values compared to those in World. This isnt a simple bump to make hunts longer, though. Director Yuya Tokuda said its due to the new Focus Strikes and how much damage they can deal with. Its not as if that was our intention from the start, but health did end up being a little bit higher than World once we thought about maintaining appropriate playtimes and player satisfaction compared to past titles.You can also expect monsters to have higher flinch resistance, though they wont feel more tedious, per Tokuda. Part of the purpose of Focus Mode is to allow players to feel more accomplished through shorter loops. We tried to design it so that the time they spend hunting is even more concentrated than before. However, some Focus Strikes on specific weapons were a bit too strong in the beta and will be more standardized for the game.

GungHo Online Entertainment America, a subsidiary of the Japanese developer known for action-puzzle franchise Puzzle & Dragons, has moved its game development pipeline to Unreal Engine. Find out what drove it to make the switch.

ANALYSIS: Stats might be everything in basketball but for Pacers Sports and Entertainment (PS&E), data about fans is just as valuable. Yet while the parent company of the Indianapolis Pacers (NBA), the Indiana Fever (WNBA) and the Indiana Mad Ants (NBA G League) was pumping untold amounts of it into a $100,000-a-year machine learning (MRead More

Graphic design company Napkin AI represents a new breed of vertical AI agents. A user can type some text in the Napkin AI's web site, and Napkin generates a graphic that represents your text within five seconds. What's fascinating is that under the hood, Napkin is doing this by taking the different traditional jobs of a design agency --copywriter, designer, illustrator, brand stylist and replicating those discrete functions with individual AI agents -- instead of with humans. The product has gotten 2 million beta users.Read More

Apparent official renders of the Pixel 9A. | Image: <em><a href="https://www.androidheadlines.com/google-pixel-9a-renders-colors">Android Headlines</a></em>A new set of leaked Pixel 9A renders appears to confirm months of rumors that Google is virtually ditching the camera bump this year. The images, published by Android Headlines, also show the phone in four colors black (Obsidian), white (Porcelain), pink (Peony), and purple (Iris) will look like. Smartphones that lay flat on a table have mostly become a distant memory now that phone makers have embraced the camera bump. That makes these Pixel 9A renders especially exciting, even if theres still the barest hint of a bump when viewed from the side.The back cameras will include a 48-megapixel main shooter (down from 64 megapixels in the 8A), and a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and the phone will have a 13-megapixel selfie camera on the front, according to Android Headlines. The Pixel 9A will also apparently sport a 5,100mAh battery, up from the previous models 4,492 mAh.Android Headlines says the phone will cost $499 for the base 128GB model, $599 for the 256GB one, and that Google will officially announce it on March 19th ahead of a March 26th release date. Past rumors have also suggested the Pixel 9A will get a 6.3-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Tensor G4 chip, 8GB of RAM, and that 256GB will be its maximum storage tier. The budget phone will likely have competition from Apples fourth iPhone SE, which is rumored to be announced any day now.

Wish there was a magic wand for quickly covering up your grays? LOreals Colorsonic might be as close as it gets, and today, its a little more affordable thanks to the skincare companys latest promo. For a limited time, you pick it up directly from LOreal Paris for $99 ($25 off), which matches its lowest price to date.RelatedOur reviewer, Victoria Song, was shocked by how easy the Colorsonic was to use. The whole process takes about 15 minutes just insert the cartridge, click the button, and brush though you might need to repeat the process several times if you find your gray hairs to be particularly stubborn. Even then, its not likely that all your grays will disappear. Its still a good option for dyeing your entire head or simple root touchups, though, especially since we found it to be nowhere near as messy a process as using over-the-counter box dyes.Unsurprisingly, LOreal currently only offers a fairly natural shade range, and youll have to buy the cartridges separately for about $20 apiece. That can add up quickly depending on how many you use per session, making the high-tech wand a relatively pricey endeavor. That being said, its still probably a cheaper and quicker alternative to visiting your local salon. Thats got to count for something, right?LOreal Colorsonic Hair Color Device$99$12521% off$99LOreals Colorsonic Hair Color Device is a unique high-tech hair wand that significantly cuts down the amount of time it takes to dye your hair. It doesnt cover all of your grays, but it does a good job of quickly hiding most of them.$99 at LOreal Paris$125 at TargetA few more deals worth checking outBest Buy is offering a rare deal on Apples black HomePod Mini, dropping it to just $79.99 ($20 off). The Siri-based smart speaker delivers good sound and a lot of bass for its size, along with deep integration with Apples ecosystem, allowing you to send texts via your iPhone or locate items youve set up via the Find My app. The speaker also features temperature and humidity sensing, as well as Matter compatibility, meaning it supports all major smart home platforms. Read our original review.Now through February 15th, Target is offering Circle members a 50 percent discount on a wide range of board games, movies, and books when they buy a second item of equal or greater value. Highlights include excellent tabletop games like Wingspan and Azul, as well as shows and films like The Last Of Us, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy, and more.If you could use a (relatively) cheap gaming headset for PlayStation or PC, Sonys InZone H3 is on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, and Best Buy for an all-time low of $48 ($42 off). The wired headset doesnt have noise cancellation or some of the more advanced features found in the rest of the InZone lineup, but it does feature a handy flip-to-mute mic, decent sound quality for the price, and earcups that allow you to comfortably game for up to 32 hours.See More:

Amazon is running a terrific Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off sale on popular items like books, movies, and games. (Please ignore Amazon's confusing language that makes it sound like you have to buy two items at regular price that's not the case). The sale includes all three of the Fourth Wing books, but it also has a bunch of excellent board games in it, many of which are already on sale. You can shop the whole sale here, or read on for some of the standout board games in the sale.Board Games for AdultsAzul7 Wonders ArchitectsCarcassonneArkham Horror$63.99 at AmazonCatanSherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - The Thames Murders & Other Cases$57.99 at AmazonSonic The Hedgehog Crash CoursePandemicTwilight ImperiumPandemic Legacy Season 0Pandemic Legacy Season 1 Red EditionSplendorAzul Mini$19.99 at AmazonZombicide: Undead or Alive$87.25 at AmazonHorrified: Greek MonstersThe Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-EarthDixit$39.99 at AmazonTons of the best board games are eligible for the sale, including recent(ish) classics like Azul, Catan, Carcassonne, Pandemic and the like. Plus there are tons of bigger, longer, deeper selections on sale, like Twilight Imperium, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, and the Lord of the Rings, as well as many more strategy board game.Classic and Family Board Games Mouse Trap$21.99 at AmazonHedbanz$16.99 at AmazonOuija$19.99 at AmazonRisk$33.99 at AmazonBattleship$16.84 at AmazonMonopoly JuniorGuess Who?$16.94 at AmazonScrabbleDon't Break The IceScattergoriesTwister$19.92 at AmazonTrivial Pursuit Classic EditionConnect 4The Game of Life GameClue$21.92 at AmazonSorryIf your shelf could use some more timeless classic board games or family board games to entertain your guests, youll find plenty of those in the sale as well. Were talking board games for kids like Mouse Trap and Guess Who, as well as Monopoly Junior, which makes that interminable old standby mercifully short in play time. And if you want to commune with the spirits of the dead, theres that old family classic Ouija, which is only kind of a board game, but Im including it anyway.There are a lot more games on sale as well, plus expansions for many of the games listed above. Theres a lot to sift through, and thats before you even start thinking about the movies and books you can mix and match to get the discount. So feel free to peruse the sale at your leisure and pick out whichever items you want.Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Ubisoft has assured that Assassin's Creed Shadows players who largely ignore one of the dual protagonists won't be "missing out."Creative director Jonathan Dumont told Screen Rant said Assassin's Creed Shadows won't force players to play as both the stealthy Naoe and the brutish Yasuke in equal measure when it arrives March 20, nor will it lock off certain parts of the game to those who prefer one over the other."I don't think you're missing out on things too much," Dumont said. "I think it's more on your preference to [say], 'Okay, I'll see how the game will adapt a little bit to the character if you choose one over the other.'"They get individual introductions and then they get their own questline also. Let's say [for] Naoe, a personal questline cannot be played by Yasuke and those are two distinct things. But the core of the game can be pick your character and the game adapts."Naoe has a play style reminiscent of the original Assassin's Creed games or, ironically, the most recent Assassin's Creed Mirage, which prioritises stealth and encourages full combat only as a last resort.This is a stark difference to Yasuke who emulates the more aggressive elements of the role-playing game Assassin's Creed entries, meaning Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. He charges head on into battle instead of sticking to the shadows like Naoe."We're not imposing players try to split the time," Dumont said. "If you prefer one character for any reason, you can play maybe, I don't know, I'm not going to put a percentage, but quite a bit of the game using one of them."But if you want to balance it out... I play quite a bit balanced out and what happens is, I play with one for three, four, five hours, and then I switch, and then I just play two, three hours. Usually I play stealth and then I [say], 'All right, let me destroy some camps and stuff all right for a while.' And then I just change like that."A lot rests on the shoulders of Assassin's Creed Shadows as not only the long-awaited Japan-set entry and the first full Assassin's Creed since 2020, but a struggling Ubisoft needs it to perform well following recent flops and investor frustration.It's not enjoyed a particularly positive promotional period so far, however, with the development team having to apologize on separate occasions for inaccuracies in Assassin's Creed Shadows' depictions of Japan and using a historical recreation group's flag without permission.Yet another controversy came as collectible figure maker PureArts removed an Assassin's Creed Shadows statue from sale over its "insensitive" design, and combined with the two delays, fans are growing increasingly impatient as a result.Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.