Former Valve writer Chet Faliszek chatted about his time at the company with YouTube channel Kiwi Talkz (via VG247). Here, the writer revealed during the development of Left 4 Dead he, “went to dinner with Gabe and [Newell] was like ‘if you look at zombie movies, Night Of The Living Dead is about racism, Dawn Of The Dead is about consumerism’”. When the Newell then asked Faliszek to explain “what his game was about”, the writer replied: “well it’s about working together, it’s the game itself, it’s a reflection of the game....

Note that unlocking them doesn’t necessarily mean they are available to use right away; the vast majority of characters require you to then buy them with studs before you can take them for a spin. And remember, you can only use a character in a certain mission once you’ve finished it in Free Play mode, so get playing the story and each side-mission as usual, before you can jump back in with your favourites....

We were standing at the back of a garage watching Martin Brundle’s car being fired up, the Jordan liveried in the same thin gold of the B&H cartons I’d started sneakily smoking on the walk back from school. The engine note - a shrill, banshee scream that got louder and louder as it bounced off the concrete walls - was what we games journalists might call visceral, an all-encompassing thing that visibly moved me....

The publisher says the video teaser “shows the new combat styles and diverse weaponry” and gives you a chance to see “the brilliant swordman Sakamoto Ryoma defeat enemies with his samurai sword and trusty gun, using various combat styles including Gunman Style, Wild Dancer Style, Brawler Style, and more”. You can check out the action below: The western release for historical Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin – which has been “rebuilt from the ground up” – will be making its way to PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles on 21st February, 2023....

Named Riley’s Return, it adds a lost trail to Mount Riley, plus new challenges and unlockable earth-elemental customisation sets. It’s available across all versions on Switch, Xbox, PlayStation and PC (via Steam). In addition, the base game is discounted on the Nintendo eShop and Steam by 45 percent. The new trail adds challenges and two new resting spots, along with new gear that reflects the natural colour palette of the game’s lush forests and wilderness....

The PS1 and PSP games were strangely only mentioned on the Italian PlayStation Blog as part of the list of titles coming to the subscription service this month (thanks, Push Square). But the games have now been removed from the post, suggesting that it was listed by accident. Perhaps the Italian arm of PlayStation made the announcements too early, meaning it won’t be long until the announcement becomes official. Maybe a surprise announcement at the end of the month?...

The company plans to reveal a Windows emulator for Linux next week at the Google for Games Developer Summit (thanks, The Verge). The specific session, led by Marcin Undak on the Stadia porting platform team, will outline Google’s in-house tech for running unmodified Windows games on Stadia. The announcement appears to dispute rumours that Google is planning to abandon Stadia when it announced plans to sell its tech to third-party providers like Capcom....

Battle League is, arguably, a more focused game - and ultimately likely the better representation of small-team football. Aside from the occasional frame-rate wobble, it is also slicker in presentation, and certainly hosts the most visual customisation seen in the series to date. But I don’t really play Mario Strikers for football, in the same way I don’t really play Rocket League for football either. I play Strikers - or I did, back on Wii - because it was a weird and very Mario version of football....

The first series entry, Super Mario Strikers (also known as Mario Smash Football in Europe), initially launched for GameCube all the way back in 2005, foisting a typically Nintendo spin on the beloved sport. If you’re unfamiliar with the game, think a Mario Golf or Mario Tennis style makeover - replete with game-changing items and ludicrous special attacks - but 5v5 football action, and you’re pretty much there. A single sequel, known as Mario Strikers Charged, arrived on Wii in 2007 and that was that, meaning its been 15 years since series fans last got their Mario Strikers fix....

That’s not, admittedly, anywhere close to being an actual launch date, but at least fans can now update their diaries and keep their anticipation in check. And the not particularly specific announcement may have something to do with the fact the “fall 2023” release was leaked earlier this week after a writer on the project added the date (since removed) to their online CV. Official confirmation, however, has now arrived courtesy of a new post to the PlayStation Blog....

And what does he look like? Well, much as you’d expect. I mean, it’s Pablo Schreiber… the actor who plays Master Chief. You can check out Master Chief’s full unmasking below (thanks, visioncy). Judging by the YouTube comments, many fans have been left disappointed by Paramount’s decision to show Master Chief’s face in the show. After all, this is not at all like the games. “I get they didn’t want to be like The Mandalorian, but they shouldn’t have shown his face,” said commentor Juicee Kay....

We contacted the mod’s creator, the gloriously named PotatoOfDoom1337, to find out exactly how it works - and whether it means that FSR 2.0 will soon be available in a tonne of existing games. Here’s the interview, edited lightly for clarity. Enjoy! What’s your background in programming and game modding? On NexusMods, it looks like you’ve only been creating mods since April last year? PotatoOfDoom: I am studying computer science, have always been interested in the technical aspect of video games and was fascinated when I learned about projects like Reshade, Special K or DXVK....

Previously-announced plans to make Facebook logins a requirement for Meta VR headsets had been hugely unpopular and plagued with problems. Now, we know roughly when and how an alternative plan will be put into practice: in August, and via the launch of a fresh, pared-back account system with a separate social profile named Meta Horizon. “When we announced that we would start requiring people to log into Meta Quest using a Facebook account, we received a lot of feedback from the Quest community,” a new blog post from Meta explains, understating the obvious....

Such has been the way ever since I started playing the beta of Microsoft Flight Simulator, but at least circling the same airspace has made it easier to chart the progress made by developer Asobo and its team in the months since launch. Back then I’d take the route from City Airport and dip left over the Isle of Dogs across Greenwich Park, Blackheath and then home to Lewisham, before perhaps setting off out to the Medway with the sun setting at my back....

Earlier this week, the company shared its latest financial results, including a hardware revenue growth of 13 percent and PC Game Pass subscriptions increasing by 159 percent year on year. However, that still wasn’t enough to meet Microsoft’s targets, according to a new financial filing (reported by Axios). Watch on YouTube Will Microsoft’s $68bn Activision Blizzard buyout be blocked? Microsoft targeted a 73 percent growth rate for Game Pass for its fiscal year ending 30th June 2022....

Sony announced it would be increasing the cost of PlayStation 5 - in response to “high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends” - earlier today, with the price hike impacting most markets around the world, effective immediately. That increase affects both the disc and disc-less models of PS5, and equates to £30 in the UK and €50 in Europe - with similar bumps occurring in Japan, China, Australia, Mexico, and Canada, but not the US for the time being....

A video of the demonstration, labelled as “proof of concept” and “not for consumer use”, was part of a presentation detailing Microsoft Mesh, the company’s new mixed reality platform (thanks, The Verge). Introduced by Niantic boss John Hanke - the company’s own Professor Willow - the demo shows how players can interact with creatures in mixed-reality, rather than AR, and use virtual controls which float around the user’s wrist. Here’s the glimpse, in video footage captured by VR Trailers: In the demo, your surroundings are replicated with Pokémon layered on top, which is probably safer than walking around staring down at your phone and wandering into the road....

Confirming the raft of upcoming games headed to the service today, Microsoft has snuck in one more title worthy of mention: Square Enix role-player Octopath Traveller. Previously available on PC and Nintendo Switch, it’ll jump onto Xbox Game Pass for PC and consoles on 25th March. It’s been an extraordinarily busy few days of Xbox Game Pass news, with some eye-opening additions announced. To recap, the promising Outriders will launch via Xbox Game Pass on day one after a positive response to its demo....

Activision’s latest press release states that the previous record for hitting $1bn was set by Black Ops 2 back in 2012. That took 15 days. This took just 10. “Our developers, along with our entire Activision Blizzard team, are the backbone of our unwavering commitment to serve our hundreds of millions of players around the world,” Activision’s controversial boss Bobby Kotick said today. “I am so proud of the extraordinary efforts from our Call of Duty teams and the records they have achieved with Modern Warfare 2....

This being Monster Hunter Rise, there’s actually even more being added in the future. This will be done via free title updates, which Capcom has detailed for the rest of the year. You’ll likely be busy with Sunbreak for a fair while, but even so, this page will detail everything still to come to the game. We’ll cover the new monsters and maps that will launch in 2022, so that you can better prepare for each hunt....