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Indie rhythm game Trombone Champ has become something of a viral hit since it released earlier this month, plumbing the rich comedic potential of the iconic brass instrument. While the developers currently recommend playing with a mouse and keyboard while controller support is being ironed out, one resourceful streamer has already figured out how to play with the ideal controller--an actual trombone. Streamer and content creator Rudeism is known for his use of unconventional controllers--GameSpot has featured him before for playing Elden Ring on a kid's toy, Call of Duty with a baguette, and Overwatch with bananas. But this time, his choice of controller just makes sense. The trombone's unique design makes for some creative design choices in using it as a controller. Rudeism explained that he uses an ultrasonic sensor to control the slide. He notes in a subsequent tweet that the sensor's limitations means he's not moving the slide as far as an actual trombone player might, but is working on that issue for a future iteration. Trombone Champ also requires input to make the trombone "doot," as Rudeism puts it, with the unusual feature among rhythm games of allowing players to play any note they want at any time. This input Rudeism controls with a microphone, requiring him to actually make noise with his trombone controller to play the game. The result is a beautifully wonky rendition of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, which sounds even more nasty when Rudeism reveals what his actual trombone sounds like. Bravo! View the full article

Infinity Ward is celebrating its most successful beta ever, after the final Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 open beta wrapped up over the weekend. Players who progressed in the beta will also be able to unlock exclusive rewards when the full game is released on October 28. Last weekend's beta gave players an early hands on with game modes including Team Deathmatch, Domination, Knockout, Prisoner Rescue, Ground War, and third-person mode. Despite a slightly convoluted schedule, the Modern Warfare 2 beta saw the largest turnout for any Call of Duty beta, including number of players, hours played, and number of matches played on all platforms across the two beta weekends. Players who leveled up in the beta will also be able to redeem a bunch of rewards on day one of the game's release, with all ten rewards unlocked for anyone who reached level 30. The full game is due out on October 28 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. Players who preorder the game will be able to log in "up to" one week early, starting from October 20. Preordering the Vault Edition will also give players early access, as well as some extra loot including the first season's Battle Pass. View the full article

Intel is just starting to get back into the world of discrete retail graphics cards, and is going all the way, complete with its own graphical upscaling technology, Intel XeSS. Now, XeSS is out in the wild, complete with support in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and a kind-of release on GitHub. Supersampling, or upscaling, is a technology that can run a low-resolution version of a game at a much higher resolution, using deep learning AI to fill in the gaps and smooth out the edges, effectively letting us play the game as if it is running at a high native resolution. Nvidia's DLSS is the best-known example of supersampling technology, with the company announcing the third iteration last week alongside its new 4000-series cards. Nvidia's primary competitor, AMD, has its own upscaling tech, FSR 2.0. Like AMD with FSR, though, Intel is trying to be somewhat open about XeSS. Intel previously promised to release XeSS on GitHub, and indeed has now released XeSS' initial development kit alongside this update to Shadow of the Tomb Raider. That's not the entire source code just yet, so Intel still has some work to do to make good on that. Also like AMD's offering, XeSS will work on not just Intel's new Arc GPUs, but also on AMD Radeon and Nvidia GeForce cards as well. Hardware tester CapFrameX has already released some statistics showing the technology working on AMD cards. In contrast, Nvidia's DLSS works only with Nvidia cards, and major features of DLSS 3 are only available on the company's pricey 4000-series cards. XeSS gives game developers one more way to get more impressive visuals out of their game for people on mid-range and low-end hardware. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the only game so far, but Intel has promised support for other popular games like Hitman 3, Gotham Knights, Chivalry II, and more on the tech's official page. View the full article

Overwatch could get crossovers in the future, according to VP Jon Spector's interview with Game Informer. Spector specifically referenced the Naruto collaboration with Fortnite and said that those are things the dev team want to explore--but in a way that makes sense for Overwatch. "We've seen some really fun examples out there of games working with other brands or other games," Spector said. "I'm a big anime nerd myself. I think it's super cool when I see Naruto appear in Fortnite. I don't even play Fortnite, but that's awesome. And as we look at the Overwatch 2 space, those are things that we're interested in exploring. If and when we do that, one of our key values is to do it in a way that feels like a great fit for the Overwatch franchise." Blizzard will make Overwatch 2 free-to-play and new heroes will be unlocked via battle pass. This can be done immediately by purchasing the battle pass, or via the free route, grinding through the battle pass to tier 55. Blizzard has run into some controversy regarding the new hero unlock setup, and now will offer new hero Kiriko for free to any players who already own Overwatch 1. Overwatch 2 will run on a nine-week seasonal model, and each battle pass will have a unique theme. Overwatch will officially close down on October 2, and Overwatch 2 will officially replace it on October 4. View the full article

Pokemon Go's October content heralds the arrival of Pokemon X and Y icons, Yveltal and Xerneas, as well as Giratina from Pokemon Platinum. Along with the addition of these three Pokemon, the upcoming Evolving Stars Event, Festival of Lights, and Halloween celebration will also fill Pokemon Go's October calendar. Pokemon Go's October Events Evolving Stars Event, October 5 - 11 Mega Gyarados Raid Day, October 8 Festival of Lights, October 14 - 17 Community Day, October 15 Halloween Event, October 20 - 31 Safari Zone: Taipei, October 21 - 23 October Research Breakthroughs Reward: An encounter with Shedinja and an Incense. With enough luck, players may encounter Shiny Shedinja. Five-Star and Mega Raids Yveltal, Mega Lopunny: September 27 - October 8 Xerneas, Mega Manectric: October 8 - 20 Giratina (Altered Forme), Mega Banette: October 20 - 27 Giratina (Origin Forme), Mega Banette: October 27 - November 8 Raids Yveltal: October 5 Xerneas: October 12 Xerneas: October 19 Giratina (Altered Forme): October 26 Pokemon Spotlight Hour Every Tuesday from 6 PM - 7 PM local time Purrloin | 2× XP for evolving Pokemon: October 4 Haunter | 2× Stardust for catching Pokemon: October 11 Misdreavus | 2× XP for catching Pokemon: October 18 Shuppet | 2× XP for evolving Pokemon: October 25 Litwick will headline Pokemon Go's Halloween event, in addition to extra Catch XP, Catch Candy, and other goodies. For more Pokemon Go coverage, check out our other articles: Pokemon Go Celesteela Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, And More Tips Pokemon Go Kartana Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, And More Tips Pokemon Go Deoxys Raid Guide: Best Counters, Weaknesses, Raid Hours, and More Tips View the full article

London police have arrested a 17-year-old suspected of perpetrating the recent hack on Rockstar Games, which resulted in the unprecedented leaking of in-development Grand Theft Auto 6 footage. As reported by Eurogamer, the suspect entered a not-guilty plea related to computer misuse, but did plead guilty to violating bail conditions. The arrest, made on September 22, was announced by the City of London Police Twitter account the following day. In its initial post, the police department did not specify if the hacker, described as a "17-year-old in Oxfordshire," was suspected of hacking Rockstar Games. However, it did say it was "part of an investigation" made in collaboration with the UK's National Cyber Crime Unit. Eurogamer later reported that the suspect was believed to have been behind the Rockstar attack as part of a larger group called Lapsus$, and it was not the first time they had allegedly been on the wrong side of the law. It's unclear what penalties the suspect could face, or what action Take-Two may take against them. Grand Theft Auto 6, or whatever it sends up being called, has not been officially announced, though Rockstar did say it's working on the next Grand Theft Auto game. The leak revealed very early-in-development footage, seemingly confirming a female playable character and a Vice City setting. Rockstar has not addressed these details directly, only saying that development will continue as planned. For more on this in-development story, check out the fan-made reconstructed map, info on apparent alligators and sex robots, and how Take-Two's stock price fell in the aftermath of the leak. View the full article

Lost Ark's second major update for September brings the big guns, with the debut of the drone-strike-calling Machinist headlining the free-to-play MMORPG's latest update. The update is appropriately called the Rage with the Machinist update, and the Machinist is definitely the main attraction. Joining other Gunner advanced classes like the Artillerist, Sharpshooter, Gunslinger, and the Deadeye, the Machinist is all about using cutting-edge technology to obliterate foes. Through a combination of guns, lasers, an advanced Hypersync suit, and a deadly drone, the Machinist looks to bring the boom to the demons of Arkesia. They might even get a bullet in the head. Speaking of demons, this latest update will introduce Lost Ark's third Legion raid, where players will face off against the killer demon clowns of the Midnight Circus and its leader, Kakul-Saydon. Players will need an item level of 1,475 to confront the nightmare-inducing act, but an easier "rehearsal" version of the raid can be attempted at item level 1,385. The update also introduces a few ways to speed up player progress, adding yet another Powerpass for players who have completed the Punika continent to use in order to boost an alternate character to 1,302 item level. However, this Powerpass can only be used until October 26, so players shouldn't sit on it for long. Special missions have also been added for characters between item level 1,302 and 1,415 that grant additional upgrade materials to speed up their progress. These special event missions will be active until November 23, so players should take advantage of them while they can. A number of server merges will happen alongside the update, which players can find more details about here. Read on for the full patch notes below. Lost Ark Rage With The Machinist Update Patch Notes MACHINIST ADVANCED CLASS The Machinist is armed to the teeth with highest-tech machine guns, laser weapons, along with a Drone capable of remote, precise strikes and unique attacks. When standard weapons and drone strikes aren’t enough to take down a target, the Machinist can activate their identity skill and suit up in cutting-edge technology with the Hypersync ability. Energy cores for the high-tech Hypersync suit can be charged by landing attacks, and once entered, Hypersync core energy will be expended by abilities until the Machinist runs out. The Machinist joining the Deadeye, Gunslinger, Artillerist, and Sharpshooter as the fifth Gunner Advanced Class. Learn more about the Machinist in the recent Lost Ark Academy focused on detailing its identity, Engravings, and skills. KAKUL-SAYDON LEGION RAID Kakul-Saydon enters the fray as the third Legion Raid. In this raid, you’ll face the insanity of the Midnight Circus as you battle members of the Mayhem Legion and Legion Commander Kakul-Saydon. No revives are available mid-battle, so be ready to fight for your life. Differing from Valtan & Vykas, Kakul-Saydon is a four-player Legion raid. This Legion Raid has 3 gates, and is complete with a swathe of new unique characteristics, abilities, and mechanics. While players will need to be Item Level 1475 to attempt the Normal difficulty of the raid, an easier version of the raid called Midnight Circus: Rehearsal can be entered by players at Item Level 1385 to practice the difficult mechanics and teamwork required to vanquish the Mayhem Legion. Rehearsal and Normal Modes share a weekly lockout per character. A character that clears Rehearsal Mode first will not be able to do Normal Mode that week. Once a player has completed Normal Mode Kakul-Saydon in a given week they can no longer clear Rehearsal Mode that week on any character. Doing Normal Mode first will grant the rewards that would have been obtained in Rehearsal Mode, in addition to all of the Normal Mode rewards. A new special training feature has been added, and can be accessed by speaking to Beatrice in Trixion. The special training contains the same minigames encountered in the Kakul-Saydon Legon Raid for players to practice. Two new items used in exchange for rewards are introduced in this raid: Mayhem Marks and Mayhem Trumpets. Mayhem Marks are used at the Legion Raid Exchange NPC to obtain various rewards, such as card packs, accessories, and more. Some of items have a weekly limit while others have a roster limit. Mayhem Horns are used to upgrade the bonuses provided by Legion Raid gear sets. These sets grant unique effects when 2, 4, or 6 pieces of the same set are equipped. These set effects can be increased using Mayhem Horns at a new Set Gear Management NPC available in all major cities. A new Guide Quest will be available detailing the new system in-game. NEW PROGRESSION EVENTS FREE PUNIKA POWERPASS Players will receive a Punika Powerpass after completing Punika's quest “Berver's Friend”. To access this quest, players must first complete all Adventure Quests (marked by purple exclamation marks) on Punika to collect stamps and become a citizen. Once the final quest in this chain, “Honorary Punikan" has been completed, you can talk to Nia in Nia village to start "Berver's Friend." If you've already finished the quest before the update, you'll get the Powerpass when the event starts! This Event Powerpass will be delivered via in-game mail. The Punika Powerpass will function like the North Vern Powerpasses available to players in the launch version of Lost Ark— once you’ve completed the storyline through that continent, you can use it to bring an alternate character to that point in the game. With the Punika Powerpass, you'll receive Item Level 1302 gear. This is an event Powerpass, and will expire on October 26. SPECIAL EVENT MISSIONS Similar to an Express Event, you can designate a character between item Level 1302 and 1415 on your roster to participate in the Special Event Missions, where they’ll earn honing materials to quickly level up to 1415. Defeat Guardians, Abyssal Dungeons, and reach Item Level thresholds to earn impactful honing material rewards. The Special Event Missions will stay active until November 23. We’re excited to see the new alternate characters roaming Arkesia as players experience different playstyles or quickly level up a brand new Mechanist. Both of these events are available for a limited-time— so make sure you take advantage and use them while you can! GENERAL UPDATES The first round of server merges will begin after the regularly scheduled downtime. Find the list of servers merging and an FAQ on how these merges will be handled in our Server Merge Details article. Updated and refreshed the daily login bonuses reward track. Updated the Fever-time event system to allow for new types of Fever-time events. The first new event will take place during the final week of Arktoberfest from September 30 to October 3. In this event, each day, rewards can be claimed through the button normally— but a special track will also be active that grants a bonus prize. This extra reward track can be progressed through by logging and playing for 30 minutes each day. Once you meet the daily requirements, the next prize is reached. You only earn one prize, claimable at the end of the event, based on the number of days you met the requirements. The Growth Support Effect has increased from 1370 to 1415 to help new players reach their friends in the T3end-game. The level 22 (Legendary Engraving Selection Chest) and 25 (Lv. 3 Gem Box) rewards from Thronespire now have Item Level requirements (1445 and 1460 respectively) to open. Updated the Item Level requirement for “Legendary Class Custom Engraving Recipe Chest” available from the vendor found on Anguished Isle to require Item Level 1445 or higher. Added an option to report mail received from other players. Added 6 additional character slots, to increase the previous max of 18 to 24. AFK kick has been removed. Additional items have been added to the Event Guardian Raid vendor, including: Legendary Card Pack (1 roster limit) Petit Saydon Pet Chest (1 roster limit) Legendary Rapport Selection Chests (2 roster limit) Event Tome of Enhancement books (3 roster limit for weapon books, 15 for armor) Regulus' Light Currency Chest (10 weekly roster limit) Vitameow (5 weekly roster limit) Leap's Essence (3 weekly roster limit) Basic Life Energy Potion (2 weekly roster limit) Daily Una Instant Completion Ticket (6 weekly roster limit) Daily Una +1 Task Ticket (1 weekly roster limit) Creation Fragment (5 weekly roster limit) Added Solar Grace, Solar Blessing, and Solar Protection honing materials. Doubled the previous amount of Destruction and Guardian Stones received. The price remains the same. STORE UPDATES The Rage with the Machinist Update includes special Machinist skins, the Magick Society skins, new Machinist specific bundles, and more! Find the new cosmetics showcased below. MAGICK SOCIETY SKINS MACHINIST ROBOTICS SKIN MACHINIST DAWN SKIN NOTABLE BUG FIXES Fixed an issue causing background audio to be missing in various cutscenes. Fixed an issue causing unintended text to appear in the Achievements menu in non-English languages. Fixed an issue causing the color options to not appear in the settings window for the Attack Direction Indicator. Fixed an issue causing the identity tooltip setting to not function while using certain classes. Fixed an issue allowing HTML formatted text to be sent via guild group chat notices. Fixed an issue causing a cutscene to be skipped when completing certain quests in Anikka while in a party. Fixed an issue causing the Pheromone Bomb to not last for 30 seconds if used on Night Fox Yoho before becoming invincible. Fixed an issue causing the virtual keyboard to be shown when changing tabs in various menus while using a controller. Fixed an issue causing the incorrect weekly reset time to be shown in the Stronghold Activity Notebook. Fixed an issue where sever effects granted by the "Strange Movement" Tripod for the Destroyer's "Earth Smasher" skill were not applied as described. Fixed an issue causing guild chat messages to occasionally not appear. Fixed an issue causing various chat tab settings to be reset. Fixed an issue causing text to be reversed on one side of the Wingsuit Bike mounts. View the full article

In Grounded, the Insect Hammer opens up a host of new items available to you that are critical if you're looking to finish the game. Without this hammer, you'll be unable to break down rock masses that grant you upgrade ingredients for any of your weapons and tools, among other things such as Candy Corn, Salt Clusters, and Ice Cap Mints. The starter Pebblet Hammer just can't provide the same smashing power to bust through these tougher objects. Here's how to get the Insect Hammer in Grounded. How to get the Grounded Insect Hammer Like other items, you'll first need to unlock the recipe for the Insect Hammer, which you can do in one of two ways: Either analyze all of its crafting ingredients at a Field Station, or by leveling up to Brainpower 6 where it auto-unlocks the recipe. The recipe for the Insect Hammer includes: 4 Stinkbug Parts 4 Berry Leather 1 Boiling Gland Like the Insect Axe, none of these items are cut off from you as soon as you start the game, so the major consideration is simply how combat-ready you feel. If you play in co-op and wear armor, your odds of survival will drastically increase. Next, we'll go over where to find each of these items. Stinkbugs are found in several places, but most notably in the Dry Grasslands near where the Fire Ants dwell, and not far from The Haze, a perpetually poisonous region you ought not to enter without the Gas Mask (1 Weevil Nose, 4 Gnat Fuzz, 2 Crude Rope, 1 Stinkbug part). Because the Gas Mask is so virtually essential to defeating a Stinkbug, but you need a Stinkbug Part to even craft it in the first place, you might feel trapped in a cycle of unpreparedness, but don't fret. You can either take out a Stinkbug at range using a bow, or, if you're really crafty, sic other insects on the bug, such as Fire Ants or a Ladybug, simply by making the Stinkbug attack those other bugs when they're going for you. The Insect Hammer is truly smashing!Once you've killed enough Stinkbugs to collect four Parts, you can head to The Grasslands or near the Flower Bed to find Bombadiers, who will sometimes drop a Boiling Gland when killed. You'll just need the one, so it should be a quick trip. Lastly, you'll need four Berry Leather, which is crafted from Blueberries (Berry Chunks) found all around The Hedge to the eastern edge of the map. Three Berry Chunks equal one Berry Leather, so you'll need to collect 12 Berry Chunks in total before heading to your workbench and crafting four Berry Leather. Once you've unlocked all nine total ingredients, you can craft a Insect Hammer at any workbench and open up a whole new world of smashable crafting items. For more on Obsidian's bug-squishing survival game, check out out Grounded review. View the full article

Tower of Fantasy's first major content update is coming later this fall, but players don't have to wait until then to check out the new playable character Cobalt-B, who will be added to the free-to-play gacha MMORPG on October 6. Cobalt-B gives off some serious maniacal scientist vibes, as she obsesses over perfecting her signature weapon, the Flaming Revolver, in a new trailer. Despite being called a revolver, Cobalt-B's weapon sure seems like a shotgun, with gameplay footage showing her blasting enemies with both energy grenades and up-close-and-personal shots that spread out in a large, forward-facing cone. If the name didn't give it away, her weapon is a fire-based one, joining the likes of King and his scythe, Huma and her shield, and Zero with his negating cube. Characters and weapons aren't exactly one and the same in Tower of Fantasy. Characters in Tower of Fantasy are called Simulacrum, and are essentially optionable skins players can use if they see fit. Unlocking those characters, however, also includes their signature weapons, which can be used independently of its corresponding owner. A special limited-time event, Vera Orienteering, is currently live and will run through October 12. This event will let players earn a variety of rewards from various challenges, and looks to get players ready for the game's major upcoming Vera expansion. Once Tower of Fantasy's Vera update arrives, players will be able to explore a new desert region that is home to the cyberpunk city of Mirroria. It's where game's main storyline will continue, as previewed in a recent story trailer. Prior to Cobalt-B's arrival, Tower of Fantasy has received two new characters, the icy-sword wielder Frigg and the tenacious Claudia. Tower of Fantasy has seen more than 10 million download since launch, and is available on PC and mobile devices. For those looking to get started in the anime MMO, be sure to check out our Tower of Fantasy beginner's guide. View the full article

Activision announced Call of Duty Season 5: Last Stand's mid-season Reloaded update will arrive to Warzone on September 28, which includes the return of several fan-favorite playlists and a new "supreme" mode for Warzone's Rebirth Island map. Resurgence Supreme is a new respawn mode for Rebirth Island that fills the map with ground loot that is epic quality or better. We don't have all of the details yet, but Activision says the experience has been "fine-tuned for competitive play" with adjustments like increased health points, the removal of extraneous items, and more. This limited-time mode will be available to play in solos, duos, trios, and quads. Players who win a match with at least 15 eliminations will earn the animated "Resurgence Trials Victory" calling card. Activision did not specify if this mode will be available at launch of the mid-season update, or if the mode is expected to arrive later in the season. In addition to Resurgence Supreme, the publisher also announced that fan-favorite playlists would be returning throughout the remainder of Season 5. These playlists include modes like Clash, Rebirth Blood Money, Rebirth Payload, Golden Plunder, Fortune's Keep Resurgence, and more. This is the final seasonal update for both Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific. Here you can find the start times and full details given for Season 5 Reloaded, which include new weapons to unlock and operator bundles in the in-game shop. The launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is fast approaching, so make sure to check out all the details we're learned about Infinity Ward's rebooted Modern Warfare 2. Here are our day one impressions of the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer beta, and we share some additional beta thoughts about the addition of AI in Ground War. View the full article