If you’re going to charge us for it now, tell us what you’re planning now Season Passes are not inherently a bad thing. Take a look at how Nintendo is handling it. When it announced the pass forMario Kart 8, it debuted at $12, provided a costume incentive bonus at launch, and Nintendoactually told you what the planned DLC would come with. That last bit is key. You know exactly what you’re buying, and though the quality is in question until the final launch, you have some idea of what to expect....

I’m betting a new Tony Hawk game will be announced at Saturday’s Spike Video Game Awards show. The skateboarder dropped a hint onhis Twitter feed: I’ll be announcing the upcoming release of something new on Sat; the same day as the Spike Video Game Awards. Coincidence? I think not. He says “something new,” but I can’t imagine making an appearance on an award show for anything less than a new title....

You’re gonna need more fingers Thelast timewe sawNo Man’s Sky, we had a cheerier outlook. It was all about diplomacy and trading and making new alien friends. That all sounds great. There’s an entire universe out there and new opportunities await. Unfortunately, new dangers await too. As this trailer starkly reminds us, there’s no shortage of things inNo Man’s Skythat pose a threat. Heat, cold, radiation, angry drones — the list goes on....

Two free Uplay games this month Ubisoft is giving out free copies ofAssassin’s Creed IV: Black FlagandWorld in Conflicton Uplay this month. The latter game is actuallyup first(it’s available until December 11 at 2:00am Pacific), whereasBlack Flagwill be offered from December 12 at 6:00am to December 18 at 2:00am. (We’ll remind ya.) At this point, I probably don’t need to say much of anything aboutBlack Flagother than noting that if you aren’t normally into the long-running series but you find pirates alluring, it’s worth considering....

Along with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Brave Xbox has been on a roll lately with how frequently the backward compatibility program gets additions that make you think “oh hell yeah I’d play that again!”Last week, it wasPrey. Now, it’s a PlatinumGames cult classic. Starting today,Vanquishis available to play on Xbox One through backward compatibility.Lara Croft and the Guardian of LightandBravewere also added to ever-growing list of last-gen games that can be played on Xbox One....

A Decade of STO It can be hard to believe, but not that long ago if you wanted to experience aStar Trekstory that didn’t involve watching a rerun, Cryptic Studios’Star Trek Onlinewas your only option. Thankfully forTrekfans, things have changed since then, and there’s plenty ofTrekstuff to go around, includingStar Trek: Picard, which aired this week. That said, the game is still going strong and is due to celebrate its tenth anniversary later this month....

Releasing August 12 for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 Here’s the extended CGI trailer forRisen 3: Titan Lordsthat was first teased last month. I still don’t know how Brittany managed towrite that many words covering it, but now I’m thinking aboutWhat Dreams May Come, again, when I should be concentrating on crystal magic and demon dogs. Developer Piranha Bytes has overhauled its fighting and animation systems forRisen 3, if you consider yourself a fan of this series....

I will be good at this because I played GoldenEye by exclusively looking at other people’s screens Screencheatoffers a new twist on the first-person genre. Players are invisible and the only way to gauge where an enemy is located is to look at their screen. The game will feature two-to-four player splitscreen, even when played online. Local network play is available as well. Developer Samurai Punk is planning to include eight weapons, five maps, and six game modes, including Death Match, King of the Hill, One Shot, CTF, and a mode called Murder Mystery....

That’s how you ‘finish the fight’ After months of speculation, Warner Bros. and Monolith confirmed what we already suspected: Key Nemesis figures from theShadow of Mordorwill carry over to the sequel. There’s a newly-added “Nemesis Forge” mode inShadow of Mordorthat will automatically detect both your highest ranked orc foe and your highest ranked orc follower. Then, those will import toShadow of Warwhen that releases this fall. The video that’s embedded above explains how it all works....

XSEED and Falcom make a great combo Ever since XSEED releasedYs SEVENon PC, my gut feeling was telling me thatYs: Memories of Celcetawould appear on it one day. As the company unleashed its mysterystream, we can now rejoice about 2018 being the year where people get to own every EnglishYsgame on one system. A few great things about this release is that you’ll have the option to set it at resolutions above 1080p, along with having unlocked framerate....

What a transformation Ever wonder how a game likeZelda: Breath of the Wildwould fare with a darker, more realistic style? Thanks to modders and the Wii U emulatorCemu, we don’t have to strain our imaginations. This curious showcase from YouTube userArkh Longstridedemonstrates just how mood-defining Nintendo’s aesthetic choices were forBreath of the Wild. The footage shows the game running on a PC with the lush “cel-shaded” effect turned off, and the end result is downright transformative....

It’s a good thing the government shut down Megaupload. With those crooks out of business, content creators can finally earn money for their hard work. People should be paying for their digital goods on a site likeLegalsounds, a music repository where, for some small change, you can legally acquire songs from all your favorite artists. But what’s this? Legalsounds is sellingvariousOverClocked ReMixalbums? And according to the OC ReMixTerms of Use, no profit is to be made from the site’s content?...

Probably should wait on Black Friday For those who absolutely can’t wait for Black Friday, or simply don’t want to budget $300-$350 on an Xbox One, Newegg is unloading inventory of certified refurbished Xbox Onesat a cool $259.99 price tag(you’ll need to do one of those add-to-cart-to-see-price thingies). If you’re wondering what “certified refurbished” means, these are actually Microsoft factory refurbished units. They even come packaged like-new in a refurbished-specific box too....