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At EA's Jacksonville Tribute: Tears and the First Step Toward Healing
STARTING SCREEN | A community picks up the pieces after an unspeakable tragedy.
Starting Screen
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No One Knows Where the Next Big Game Will Come From
Publishers, developers, journalists, influencers; we're all just guessing.
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Why Zelda is an Unexpectedly Great Proof of Concept for the Switch
Plus: Music from Night in the Woods, Logan's success, and a little survival horror game set in 1960s Taiwan.
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What Do You Do When Too Many Great Games are Coming Out at Once?
Strategies for keeping your sanity amid the rush of Zelda and Mass Effect. Plus: Metascores, obscure RPGs, game music, and more!
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Why Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Already the Fastest Selling Game in the Series' History
Why Nintendo's racer is more important than your typical next-gen port. Plus: Morrowind's 15th anniversary, American Gods, and more!
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What the Hell Is Wrong with Super Mario Odyssey's New Donk City?
This place is freakin' me out, maaaan!
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Was This the Right Time for the Switch to Launch, Middle-Earth Shadow of War, and More
The USgamer team comes together once again to get your week started right.
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Sprite-Based Game Art Is Far from Overdone
Indie developers love sprites, but each studio has a unique thumbprint that keeps the retro style fresh.
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Owning a Console is More Complicated (And Expensive) Than Ever
The PS4 Pro and Scorpio are obscuring some of the traditional benefits of owning a console.
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Nothing Wrong With Playing It Again
Some look down upon the remaster or re-release, but it's really just a chance to revisit an old friend or make a new one.
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Nintendo Switch and the Sound of Silence
Nadia runs riot with Kat's column this week as she talks about how excited the world is about the Nintendo Switch -- even though we know little about it.
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Mass Effect Andromeda is Coming Out at Exactly the Wrong Time
There's never a good time for a bad game to come out, but this month is worse than most.
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Looking Behind The Curtain Of Game Reviews
Since the topic was brought up this weekend, let's talk about video game reviews!
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How Exactly Did Destiny 2's $250 Collector's Edition Become the Accepted Norm?
Collector's Editions are the perfect winning scenario for publishers. Plus: Japanese April Fools Jokes, more obscure RPGs, and all the rest.
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Call of Duty: WW2 Needs More Than a New Setting to Refresh the Series
Strong sales belie the franchise's creative rot.
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After This Weekend, Splatoon Already Has One New Fan (Me)
Discovering one of the Wii U's gems on the Switch. Plus: Destiny 2, StarCraft HD, and more obscure RPGs.
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Remakes Are for New Ideas and Rethinking Classics, Not Retreading Old Ground
Let creators see these old games through a new lens.
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Devil May Cry 5 is Proof That We're in an Action Game Renaissance
From Bloodborne to God of War, it truly is a great time to be an action game fan.
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Fallout 76's Reception Has Been Worse Than Anyone Could Have Imagined. Can Bethesda Right the Ship?
STARTING SCREEN | Opinion on Fallout 76 was mixed from the start, but no one could have predicted that it would stumble this badly out of the gate.
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The Detective Pikachu Trailer is a Work of Evil Genius
STARTING SCREEN | The Pokemon marketing machine takes a risk and scores another huge win.
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It's Okay to Feel Disappointed Over Diablo Immortal
STARTING SCREEN | To be disappointed is human, but to keep that disappointment in perspective is divine.
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The PlayStation Classic's Game Lineup Misses Out on Capturing What Made PS1 So Great
STARTING SCREEN | Licensing issues and questionable choices keep PS1 from reaching its potential.
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Can Red Dead Redemption 2 Avoid the Pitfalls of Being a Prequel?
STARTING SCREEN | Red Dead Redemption 2 will undoubtedly be an amazing looking game. But there are some potential drawbacks to being a prequel.
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Red Dead Redemption 2's 100-Hour Weeks Are Nothing New for Rockstar
STARTING SCREEN | Rockstar has been dealing with these issues for a long time now.
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Fallout 76 Can't Help Losing One Part of What Makes the Core Games So Memorable
STARTING SCREEN | Fallout 76's storytelling is receiving plenty of positive mention, but it still loses a crucial aspect of the core games.
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Games Are Longer Than Ever, and That's Perfectly Fine
STARTING SCREEN | Games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey are longer than ever. And you know what? That's fine.
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It's Pokemon Red and Blue's 20th Anniversary in North America, and We're Celebrating With USG Pokemon Week!
STARTING SCREEN | Pokemon launched in North America 20 years ago this week, and the sensation still hasn't ended.
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Nintendo Switch Online Hasn't Even Launched Yet, and It Already Has Major Problems
STARTING SCREEN | Nintendo Switch Online launches tomorrow, and details are annoyingly scarce.
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Tragedy Strikes the Madden Community
STARTING SCREEN | A mass shooting casts a pall over the Madden competitive community, and over gaming as a whole.
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ROMs Play a Vital Role in Filling in the Gaps of RPG History
STARTING SCREEN | No ROMs means no way to play a lot of classic RPGs that still don't have legitimate releases (and probably never will).
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The IGN Plagiarism Incident Once Again Highlights the Strange Place Occupied by Game Reviews
STARTING SCREEN | The IGN plagiarism incident spotlights the odd role played by game reviews.
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Metroidvanias Are Having a Moment
STARTING SCREEN | Hollow Knight leads a fantastically strong crop of recent metroidvanias.
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2018 is the Year for Games We Nearly Forgot Finally Seeing the Light of Day
STARTING SCREEN | Chasm, La-Mulana 2, and Iconoclasts almost felt like mythical games, and in 2018, they're finally here.
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Mega Man: Fully Charged Looks Weird and Different and Long-Time Mega Man Fans Will Have to Deal With It
STARTING SCREEN | Weirdly, part of being an adult is realizing stuff for kids isn't meant for you.
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Why I Got Back Into Pokemon Go
STARTING SCREEN | I tried to escape, but Niantic keeps dragging me back in.
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When I Played Pokemon on IRC and Still More Summer Gaming Memories
STARTING SCREEN | We have more summer gaming memories, look ahead to Octopath Traveler, and more.
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The Crew 2's Cross-Country Sandbox is One American Experiment That Should Probably End
STARTING SCREEN | Why Ubisoft's new racer is hampered by its premise, and all the rest of the week's headlines.
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The Vita Deserves to be Remembered as More Than a Failure
STARTING SCREEN | An ode to Sony's handheld, this week's releases, and more.
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Xbox Ticked the Right Boxes, But Shadows Die Twice is E3's Best Reveal So Far
STARTING SCREEN | The nightmare that is February 2019, Square Enix Avengers is a no-show so far, and more.
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A Wii Tale of E3 2006: The Year Nintendo Shone on Stage and Sony Flopped Hard
STARTING SCREEN | E3 2006 is still an infamous show, and I was there. It was something.
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Is a Sequel More than a Name: The Curious Case of Rage 2
STARTING SCREEN | If an IP dies in the woods, should a publisher still slap a 2 on it?
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Happy Anniversary to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, the Best Successor to Symphony of the Night
STARTING SCREEN | The humble Game Boy Advance follow-up to Symphony of the Night managed to live up to its predecessor—and even exceed it in some ways.
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Happy Anniversary to Persona 3 FES, Which Needs a Remaster More Than Ever
STARTING SCREEN | Kick off your week with Persona, Knuckle Sandwich's free demo, and Avengers: Infinity War.
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Shenmue Remains a Cult Classic and a Cautionary Tale
STARTING SCREEN | Shenmue's dueling identities, Rampage, and more.
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Persona 5: The Animation Has a Chance to Right the Wrongs of its Predecessors
STARTING SCREEN | The Persona series is one that's built on deep character development, which is not a short-term anime series' strong suit.
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Happy Anniversary to Final Fantasy VI, Square Enix's First RPG for Adults
STARTING SCREEN | The older you get, the easier it is to appreciate Square Enix's 16-bit RPG masterpiece.
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Fortnite Battle Royale Won by Capturing the Minecraft Generation
STARTING SCREEN | Tomb Raider's ongoing success in the movie theaters, Ni No Kuni 2's excellent soundtrack, and more.
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Finding Value in Supposedly Outdated Games
STARTING SCREEN | On what we can learn from Age of Empire's new release, Ni No Kuni 2, and more.
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Video Game Scapegoating is More Shameless Than Ever
STARTING SCREEN | Thoughts on the game industry's big meeting with Donald Trump, this week's upcoming games, and more.