DICE has created a new game mode on Battlefield Portal for the holiday season. “Attack of the Elves” is an infection-style game mode where a group of Santas stand their ground from a horde of Elves. Team Santa uses a Christmas-skinned LCMG while Team Elves get a Christmas lollipop melee weapon and a grappling hook. Players also get treated to a free winter-themed player card and emblem (which admittedly isn’t as cool as a frozen banana man)....

The most obvious answer is that the best controller is the one you already have. This seems to be supported by stats released by Valve in 2018, which show the Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4 controllers are the best represented amongst Steam users. However, are these gamepads necessarily the best options? In this article, we will answer that question by making our picks for the best PC gaming controllers on the market, including some you might not have considered....

As always, there are three to choose from: Sprigatito – the grass-type, Fuecoco - the fire-type and, finally, Quaxly – the water-type, with each having a second and third evolution. This page helps you choose the best Pokémon Scarlet and Violet starter for you, and to help you decide further, their evolutions. On this page: Good luck with whichever starter Pokémon you choose! The games’ open world nature may, however, effect your choice since you’re able to tackle the Gyms in any order....

Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer fans have called for some form of sniper flinch ever since the game came out last year. Flinch is the disruption caused to your aim when you’re hit by enemy fire. Sniper rifles are seen by some as overpowered in Black Ops Cold War because of their distinct lack of flinch. In patch notes for the update that went live overnight, Treyarch said it had revised sniper rifles with two goals in mind: “To create more meaningful gameplay between sniper rifles and other weapon classes....

Patch 1.2, which was delayed from February to the second half of March following the damaging CD Projekt cyber attack, makes some changes to parts of the game that were criticised at launch, including the police and driving. The changes are outlined in a series of videos, below. Here’s the rundown: Cops won’t spawn instantly behind you when you’re naughty. “This is an important step in addressing the behaviour of the police in our game,” CD Projekt said....

In a blog post, BioWare touched on the subtitle, which is an alias of Dragon Age: Inquisition party member Solas. “Solas, the Dread Wolf,” reads the official blurb. “Some say he might be an ancient elven god, but some say not. Others say a betrayer of his people… or a saviour who now seeks to rescue them at the cost of your world. “His motives are inscrutable and his methods sometimes questionable, earning him a reputation as something of a trickster deity - a player of dark and dangerous games....

“Aurora has lost her way and awoken in a strange, dangerous new land,” explains developer ArtPlay in a new Kickstarter update. “Armed with the Sword of Matildis and accompanied by the loyal Igniculus, she must find a way to escape.” Upon downloading today’s free 1.30 update, players can take Child of Light protagonist Aurora (who joins existing playable characters Miriam and Zangetsu, plus “bonus” character Bloodless) on a gothic romp through Bloodstained’s familiar castle, making use of her sword, companion Igniculus - who can slow opponents or heal Aurora - and her directional Light Ray skill, which damages any enemies caught in its beam....

There’s no exact date for when PlayStation crossplay will now be switched on, though 2K has today confirmed the move will indeed happen - letting players team up across Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Mac, Stadia and PC via Steam or Epic Games Store. 2K did not explain why the U-turn was happening now, or what had happened last year. Today’s news follows the announcement two days ago that upcoming Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands would also feature full PlayStation crossplay....

For one week only, you’ll have the chance to retrieve Eridium from killing any enemy. You can exchange Eridium for powerful weapons and a variety of cosmetic items, which will make your Vault Hunter look very snazzy. On this page: Eridium drops have been added to all standard enemies, while, if you’re playing in Mayhem Mode, the rate of Eridium drops has been increased. The price of using Moxxi’s Vault Line slot machine has been decreased - going down from 10 Eridium a play to 5....

A film adaptation of Gearbox’s popular post-apocalyptic comedy shooter was first floated all the way back in 2015, but it wasn’t until last year that the cogs started turning in earnest - with the surprise announcement that Hostel director Eli Roth would be at the helm. More unexpected still was the news, arriving last May, that Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (who starred in Roth’s 2018 adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls) would be taking a leading role in the Borderlands movie as Lilith, described as a “siren and legendary thief equipped with magical skills”....

“As the proud publisher of the Borderlands franchise, we are happy for our partners at Gearbox and this exciting new chapter for their organisation,” the company said. “The merger does not change 2K’s relationship with Gearbox nor our role as the publisher for the Borderlands IP or any other projects we are currently working on with the studio. We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with this incredibly talented team and delivering many more exciting entertainment experiences to gaming fans around the world....

“On Saturday, 14th May, a young white man drove hours from his home to a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and opened fire in a crowded supermarket, killing ten people and maiming three others,” Bungie said in a statement. “It has since been confirmed that this was an act of terror aimed at Black Americans and is being investigated as a hate crime. Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy, and anyone impacted by this act of violence....

The update, which weighs in at 12.795GB on PlayStation 5, adds a new Vietnam-set Zombies map as well as a new 6v6 multiplayer map. Of note: the Easter egg hunt for the new Zombies map, dubbed Firebase Z, doesn’t go live until 5pm UK time on Friday, 5th February, to give everyone around the world a chance to start on an equal footing. Developer Treyarch has done a Zombies weapon balance sweep with this update....

It’s a change the Warzone community has called on Raven to make for some time. This field upgrade lets you reload your gun with stopping power rounds that deal extra damage. In a game already lethal enough, Stopping Power was used to laser enemies to death in the blink of an eye. Explaining the decision to make Stopping Power rarer across Verdansk, Raven said the field upgrade had become an essential choice for players....

In a fresh post, the developer said it was “currently investigating” PC game crashes and low ray-tracing performance on Intel GPUs, as well as an issue where players who owned the game on Origin were unable to update it. A separate issue with The Witcher 3’s PlayStation 5 version has seen the game’s expansions “unavailable in some regions”. CD Projekt has also provided a series of suggestions for how The Witcher 3 PC owners experiencing issues to try....

Hotfix 1.11, which is now available on PC, consoles and Stadia, addresses two issues that appeared after Patch 1.1. The first change is to item randomisation, which has been restored to the previous state. A save/load loot exploit related to this will be investigated further, CD Projekt said in the patch notes. The second change is a fix to the Down on the Street quest bug. It occurred for some players during a holocall with Takemura, when using a save made on version 1....

The country’s top industry body made the announcement yesterday, Reuters reported, following the introduction of a draconian set of rules which restricted anyone in the country under the age of 18 from playing video games longer than three hours in any typical week. This crackdown has achieved “remarkable results”, the China Game Industry Group Committee data provider CNG said, with more than 75 percent of all under-18s now claimed to be following the rules....

The spiritual successor to the SNES favourite Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross was never released outside of Japan and America. Announced at last night’s Nintendo Direct with a release date of 7th April, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is actually due out across PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam too. As a remaster, it will feature new HD 3D models, brand new artwork and character redesign by Nobuteru Yuuki, and refined background music by Yasunori Mitsuda....

Core to the DLC - which aims to give players the opportunity to “truly decide the fate of the [Iberian] peninsula, either by reenacting history or creating an alternative that pleases you more” - is a new system that Paradox is referring to as the Struggle, said to highlight the “unique historical circumstances that typify regions that have been centres of conflict” and “create new opportunities and add constraints” for players in the Iberian peninsula....

Black Friday 2022 is a great opportunity to get a big discount on a standing desk, helping to make that long-term investment in your productivity and comfort even better value. Luckily there are still some great discounts on adjustable desks available this Cyber Monday. You can find the best Cyber Monday standing desk deals down below, and you can also see the best Cyber Monday deals over on the Jelly Deals Twitter page, so make sure you’re following there as well as checking back in here over the next few days....