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Overview of computer games #game #GameReview
Dead by Daylight to Remove Chucky Content Just Months After Losing Michael Myers
https://www.ign.com/articles/dead-by-daylight-to-remove-chucky-content-just-months-after-losing-michael-myers
Dead by Daylight fans are beside themselves after Behaviour Interactive announced that all Chucky content would no longer be available to purchase starting next month.
Barnes & Noble Has the First 500-Piece Dungeon Crawler Carl Jigsaw Puzzle for Sale
https://www.ign.com/articles/barnes-noble-has-the-first-500-piece-dungeon-crawler-carl-jigsaw-puzzle-for-sale
Steam Next Fest: Most-Played Demos So Far Include Fart Together, Emberville, ArcheAge Chronicles
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-next-fest-most-played-demos-so-far-include-fart-together-emberville-archeage-chronicles
Valve has released a list of the 20 most-played Steam Next Fest demos so far, with the event running through this weekend and concluding through Monday, October 26 at 10am PT/1pm ET. The top-20 list includes quite the eclectic mix of games, from comedic co-op adventures to more mechanically-deep action and survival affairs. Check out the list below, and be sure to try the demos out for the ones you like as soon as possible before this edition of Steam Next Fest ends.
Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Gift Bundle Deal Hits Amazon, but You Should Wait for Black Friday
https://www.ign.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-hobbit-gift-bundle-amazon-deal
The Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Gift Bundle is on sale at Amazon, but here is why crunching the numbers proves you should wait for Black Friday before buying.
Phantom Blade Zero – Everything To Know
https://www.gamespot.com/videos/phantom-blade-zero-everything-to-know/
From its wuxia roots to its unique difficulty options, here is everything to know about Phantom Blade Zero.
Lady Dimitrescu - Resident Evil Village
A vampire created by unconventional means, Lady Dimitrescu is one of the lords of the titular village that Ethan Winters faces off against in the eighth mainline Resident Evil game. Created by the black mold, Lady D grows to gigantic proportions and guards a gothic castle in true vampire fashion. Her design and portrayal broke away from conventional Resident Evil villains and she became a huge hit with internet fandoms. It’s just a shame that Capcom killed her off so soon.
Alucard - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Perhaps one of the greatest characters on this list, Alucard is the son of Count Dracula himself. Born to a human mother, Alucard retains his humanity in addition to his vampiric powers and rises to the occasion when his father gets out of line. Symphony of the Night is his most famous adventure and sees him out to stop his father in the wake of Richter Belmont’s disappearance (it's also one of the greatest games of all time).
Vincent Valentine - Final Fantasy VII
Have you ever just seen a character that is the embodiment of cool? That sums up Vincent Valentine in a nutshell. Hell, when Cloud and company first encounter him, he’s in a literal coffin. Aside from the cool aesthetics, Vincent has one of the best backstories in all of Final Fantasy VII and I can't wait to see how it’s portrayed in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Revelation. Though not technically a vampire, the fact that he’s a genetically modified immortal human with sick taste in goth clothing qualifies him for this list.
Rayne - BloodRayne
A protagonist of a bygone era, Rayne was the definition of both sexy and deadly. Featuring an outfit that would fit right in an Underworld film, Rayne uses nimble acrobatics to slay and feast on unsuspecting foes such as Nazis and pesky cult members. While she hasn’t had a title since 2011’s BloodRayne: Betrayal, I pray to the vampiric gods that one day Rayne will return.
Fangs For The Memories: The Best Vampires In Video Games
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fangs-for-the-memories-the-best-vampires-in-video-games/
For many of us, the weather is finally becoming that cool autumn crisp, the days are getting shorter, and the season for gorging on candy and horror movies is in full-swing. While I may be in the camp that believes there aren’t nearly enough vampire video games, these creatures of the night are well represented in games. So what better time to pay tribute to our favorite bloodsuckers? Show off those pearly white fangs; these are the best vampires in gaming:
Your task isn’t just about driving from place to place though, you also need to keep your passengers in line by turning around and smacking them with your freakishly long arms. And if someone refuses to stop, you can easily throw them out the backdoor into oncoming traffic. Lovely stuff. Well, it would be if you didn’t also need to keep driving at the exact same time and reach your next destination before the shift timer runs out. Double Fine has crafted a gameplay formula that is easy to understand yet deceptively hard to master while giving off the very same lunacy I’ve experienced in games like Peak (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-the-developers-of-peak-primarily-made-the-game-out-of-jealousy/1100-6532754/) or REPO (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/repo-has-come-out-of-nowhere-on-steam-topping-145000-concurrent-players/1100-6530038/).
And that's just scratching the surface. Every few stops a creepy dude in a trench coat will come aboard and offer you a selection of gadgets. You can hang an air freshener to eliminate smelly passengers, hang fairy lights or fuzzy dice around the window simply to block your view and cause extra trouble for the added thrill, or down a drink to make your vehicle go even faster--less control, but doing so may allow you to make your destination after suffering a setback. Oh, and be sure to look at your map if you get lost. No, not that long! Keep your eyes on the road as well!
Everything is designed to make your job not only more difficult, but also more fun as you desperately try to adapt to the chaos.
Everything in the new MW4 CODE DLC.
MW4 CODE Valor DLC pack:
“Valor” Operator
“Relentless” Operator Skin
“Forged Resolve” M4 Assault Rifle Blueprint
“Still Standing” Rezi 12 Shotgun Blueprint
“Worth Fighting For” Combat Knife Melee Blueprint
“Nice Try” Weapon Charm
“Steel Talon” Weapon Sticker
“Forged in Valor” Calling Card
“Earned, Not Given” Emblem
“Blood, Sweat, & Sand” Loading Screen
1 Hour Double Level XP Token
1 Hour Double Weapon XP Token
Modern Warfare boasts a very impressive 84 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic currently. (https://www.metacritic.com/game/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4/) For more, check out GameSpot’s MW4 review (https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-campaign-review/), which covers the campaign, DMZ, and multiplayer. If you're just getting started, you may also wanted to check out our rundown of the best MW4 multiplayer loadouts (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/best-loadouts-in-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-multiplayer/)
Another Reddit user highlighted (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1x5t8ch/layering_makes_the_world_feel_like_a_dead_server/) how they went to join a large group of players dueling outside of a capital city, only to change layers when stepping outside to find a ghost town. Stone's statement specifically says Blizzard will make it so large groups of players will no longer change layers when exiting capital cities.
What Stone's statement doesn't address is layering when crossing zone boundaries, a case of particular concern to the game's player vs. player-community. Videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqUJTZaPIiM) and clips (https://x.com/HelloJTello/status/2108707166341476510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2108707166341476510%7Ctwgr%5E5b92ab972215e2bdea5680b85d3cca0e98b4d000%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wowhead.com%2Fforever%2Fnews%2Fwhats-going-on-with-layering-in-wow-forever-383412) shared online show large-scale world PvP battles evaporating into thin air as raids cross from one zone into another. Some even show players on a losing side of a battle intentionally running for the invisible border so they can phase into another layer and avoid death (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1wxn0g0/new_layering_system_in_action/). Others are using layering to grief players (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1xaa6a3/put_pressure_on_blizzard_for_forevers_terrible/) guerilla-warfare style, killing unsuspecting foes and then fleeing to another layer before they can be retaliated against.
"I understand that there are technical limits making layering a necessary evil, but in its current iteration it just leads to an empty world for most players and an incredibly anti-fun experience," Reddit user RC_Rabbit said (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1x5t8ch/layering_makes_the_world_feel_like_a_dead_server/).
In a game where much of the appeal is the chance encounters, friendships, and rivalries made while out adventuring in the world, a system that divides players and can be exploited for nefarious purposes is a major problem. One Reddit user, Worried-Falcon-1973, said (https://www.reddit.com/r/wowforever/comments/1x63lya/everyone_please_make_more_noise_regarding_the/) layering is a "glaring issue" that will "ruin" the game's open-world moments, and that the community needs to make more noise so that Blizzard understands how serious the matter is.
"We want to level in the world, sure, but then let us actually be able to stay with people of our layer and not shuffle us around wildly the moment I leave the city, the zone, the zeppelin, the tram, or whatever," they said.
Blizzard seems to be listening, though with Forever's beta now over and less than two weeks until launch, the community will have to wait for the full game to see how Blizzard's proposed improvements will shake out. WoW: Forever launches November 4. In other WoW: Forever news, Blizzard just announced a new server option (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wow-forever-is-getting-a-new-server-option-by-popular-demand/) for PvP-minded players.
Is there an actual language being spoken by The Board? Could linguistics experts and people who have watched far too much Arrival dig into the sound files and reverse-engineer Board-speak? Yes and no, Pierrot said. There is a partial language at play here, repeating words that might not be so random, because creating an entity that could communicate with you meant that rules needed to be established for fine-tuning the "gibberish" of The Board alongside player bias. Long story short, what you hear might be all in your head as you translate the sounds in your own personal capacity.
"We have to create a base of a language, so we perceive intelligence. Perceived intelligence will give you emotions. For The Board to feel scary, unsettling, or even funny sometimes, you need that structure. It’s even because they are so serious all the time audio-wise, that the fun sentences can work--it creates a ridiculous contrast. About rules, I can mention one, 'the pulse.' It's a low, soft kick that emphasizes certain words. I used this to give weight when necessary to have a nice flow. You can see it as some sort of trick to articulate sentences. It gives rhythm and punctuation.
An important part of the design is that the Board is basically gibberish, not affiliated to any language. So, when you hear a word, you tend to hear what you want to hear … and that’s pretty neat in terms of audio design, as players can fulfill their fantasies. You want to hear The Board praising you for performing an Execution? You can! Maybe you hear them saying 'Absolute cinema, Combo!' et cetera, but if you prefer to think they’re arrogant and only feel disdain for slaying a weak enemy … you can hear that too!"
You can even listen to a few Easter eggs, as players have discovered that The Board can bust out some tunes when you're relaxing in The Gap--no, not the store. As for other Easter eggs? Pierrot isn't ready to reveal if there are still more waiting to be discovered. "So the singing in The Gap, I thought it would be nice to have The Board chilling there for a bit when Dylan took his sweet time. This kind of chanting is probably what I recorded the most. As for other Easter eggs ... no comment!"
https://youtu.be/cjMMsB-c7gc
Like any great creation, The Board has also escaped captivity and has begun making its presence known online with memes. One fantastic example is this mash-up of Control Resonant and The Simpsons (https://youtu.be/cjMMsB-c7gc), and Pierrot says he and the Control Resonant team appreciate the memes.
"When the game is out, know that most of us developers are lurking in many streams to see how people react. I saw some people just screaming 'ABOBA' in several Twitch streams every time The Board speaks. I have no clue what it means, but I found it hilarious--really enjoyed that. I was really happy to see that the audio design in general is appreciated by most people, that they enjoy it. It was a lot of work from all of us. Thanks to all players; they are the reason we do this job. I hope you keep enjoying the game for a while!"
Control Resonant launched in September, and it earned a spot as one of the best games of 2026 thanks in part to just how different it is (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/control-resonant-is-everything-the-first-game-wasnt-and-thats-why-it-works/) to its predecessor, scary buses (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/leave-it-to-control-resonant-to-make-city-buses-scary/), and plenty of cool little details (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-control-resonant-its-the-tiniest-details-that-continue-to-matter-most/) lurking in the background. "Alongside the stellar art direction and a surprisingly touching story, Control Resonant’s gameplay loop feels more mainstream than anything this team has made since Max Payne," Mark Delaney wrote in GameSpot’s Control Resonant review (https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/control-resonants-best-aspect-left-me-utterly-speechless/).
How do you make a multidimensional being sound angry? Pierrot says that he started by using a specialized microphone to record at a high frequency, thus allowing the sound team to manipulate the audio to a high degree. Pierrot says he recorded chanting and singing loosely inspired by Gyuto monk recordings he'd been listening to, as well as speech and stories. One fan theory online is that throat singing was used for The Board's sound, but Pierrot says that's the opposite of what he actually ended up doing.
"I can't do that! So instead of trying to get a special sound using [a] technique I couldn’t master without training, I did the opposite and worked from the voice itself. We all have natural resonances in our voices, our formants. I found the natural resonances in my voice and built several Board members from there, so it sounds interesting and powerful."
It’s kind of like tuning an instrument
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series (https://www.ign.com/wikis/dungeon-crawler-carl) has blown up this year in many ways, but it's the incredibly fast expansion into merchandise has been truly impressive for the franchise. There are T-shirts, graphic novels, action figures, tabletop games, and even a halloween costume available to buy already, but now you can add jigsaw puzzles to that list.Spotted on Reddit yesterday (https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonCrawlerCarl/comments/1xcyr1w/new_puzzle_at_barnes_noble/), there is a new 500-piece DCC puzzle now available at Barnes & Noble Stores. It's called "Meet the Crawlers" and features a full cast of familiar characters from the books, including Carl and Donut.Surprisingly, this isn't even the first official Dungeon Crawler Carl jigsaw puzzle. There's a 250-piece that was spotted at Barnes & Noble about eight months ago (https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonCrawlerCarl/comments/1xcyr1w/new_puzzle_at_barnes_noble/) from the same brand, Kingdom of Threads. So if you've been wanting to combine your love of puzzling with your love of Dungeon Crawler Carl, you've apparently got options now.With the popularity of the upcoming tabletop adaptations (https://www.ign.com/wikis/dungeon-crawler-carl/Tabletop_Games) from Renegade studios, it's not surprising to see Matt Dinniman's LitRPG story getting the puzzle treatment. Kingdom of Threads may not be one of the most popular puzzle brands (https://www.ign.com/articles/best-puzzle-brands) out there, but they have already been partnering with other major book fandoms like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing for some time. As of right now, there are only three Dungeon Crawler Carl puzzles available to buy. The 500-piece puzzle is the highest piece-count available, though, so you'll have to wait for more options if you're looking for a challenge. The "Meet the Crawlers" puzzle features custom art by Levi Cleeman (https://www.instagram.com/levi_cleeman_art/?hl=en) and makes for a great poster once you've pieced the whole thing together.More Tabletop OptionsIf you're in the market for something more exciting than a jigsaw puzzle, there are multiple tabletop adaptations you can currently preorder. There's the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG (https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESngEB6zswFWLoRbhhaetKKZE6HghMLqZQ4pCeKLjaFJRfrq_t9JBk-33zq7fEDJ5chhXiSPqIPkmmByrhn-FOcpHjYDpLOnPWSC9a3XqUHDFl7TsXpkNxtPWn3lRrVRndPo9ZYuy6pgghiS5WB61ePH1RL6GfvubpSbIOEQe-bviFw_1Cer5ZGOjeIvXcueASNkJivGZkOQ8wAWmFzHwfAQ) and the Dungeon Crawler Carl Unstoppable Board Game, both of which are releasing on December 1.
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Mass Effect Fans Call for EA Boycott as Petition to Save BioWare's Canceled Game Garners More than 75,000 Signatures
https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-effect-fans-call-for-ea-boycott-as-petition-to-save-biowares-canceled-game-garners-more-than-75000-signatures
Mass Effect fans are calling for a boycott of all EA products and services in protest of the company closing down BioWare and canceling the next Mass Effect game.
FemShep Voice Actor Jennifer Hale Speaks Out After Mass Effect 5 Trailer Leaks Online
https://www.ign.com/articles/femshep-voice-actor-jennifer-hale-speaks-out-after-mass-effect-5-trailer-leaks-online
Award-winning voice actor Jennifer Hale, best known for voicing the female version of Commander Shepard in the first three Mass Effect games, is speaking out after a leaked trailer for the sci-fi franchise’s next title was leaked online.
Sims Competitor InZoi Deletes “Uncomfortable” Post After Fan Pushback
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sims-competitor-inzoi-deletes-uncomfortable-post-after-fan-pushback/
The ambitious life-simulation game InZoi was once heralded as a potential "Sims-killer"--a promising new title that fans of the genre could turn to following EA's relentless pursuit to monetize every aspect of The Sims 4. However, a lackluster early-access period (https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/inzoi-early-access-review-pretty-vacant/1900-6418345/) and concerns over the game's liberal use of AI made for a rocky start. Over the past year and a half, developer Krafton has addressed some of the complaints leveled at the game, but now, it finds itself in hot water for a different reason.
Earlier today, the official InZoi X account shared a post (https://www.reddit.com/r/inZOI/comments/1xdhmdw/deleted_post_on_x/) depicting a balding man in a leather coat watching children play on a playground alongside the caption, "Just a peaceful day at the playground. Nothing unusual here... just ignore the bald guy" alongside an eyes emoji. Though the post is still up on the game's official Discord server, it was removed on X a few hours after it was initially posted due to users calling the post disturbing and pointing out that it seemed to allude to pedophilia. After removing the post, the account issued the following statement:
https://twitter.com/PlayinZOI/status/2113658775584608309?s=20
The account initially shared the post to showcase improvements being made to InZoi's playgrounds as well as promote the game's upcoming Celebrity DLC, which is slated to arrive this December. However, its easy to understand why fans had a negative reaction to the post--especially in light of recent events (https://www.cnn.com/politics/epstein-files).
InZoi isn't the only life simulation game in the news for less-than-ideal reasons. After a brutal round of layoffs and announcing the closure of Mass Effect and Dragon Age studio BioWare, EA revealed that one of Maxis' ongoing Sims projects is being paused (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-kills-bioware-cancels-new-mass-effect-pauses-new-sims-game-and-all-the-other-big-ea-news-that-just-happened/).
Orianna - The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Orianna is truly one of the most evil vampires on this list. A Bruxa, or vampire lord, that Geralt encountered on his adventures in Toussaint, Orianna had unconventional tastes for a vampire and preferred the taste of children’s blood. To sate her need, she established an orphanage, granting her an endless supply. Her story felt like a Polish fairy-tale take on the tale of Elizabeth Bathory, a real life figure who bathed in the blood of young women in an attempt for endless youth.
Carmilla - Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse
Did you know that, as a literary figure, Carmilla is actually older than Dracula? It's cool that Konami keeps using her in Castlevania games to keep her in public knowledge, and its newest take on the character in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse might be the best yet. One of the minions who guards Dracula’s castle, her design features her wearing a dress made entirely of human blood and holding a mask based on her original NES appearance. It’s a throwback and modern update that makes her one of the most memorable vampires in recent memory, and her gore-filled boss battle, one of the best in the game.
Coen - The Blood of Dawnwalker
One of the more recent characters to appear on this list, Coen is one of the most fascinating vampire characters I’ve come across in all media. Cursed to be a “Dawnwalker,” Coen lives daytime as a human and nighttime as a bloodthirsty monster who’s willing to kill anyone to feed his bloodlust (if he gets hungry enough). With a story centered on trying to save his family, Coen’s decisions influence his humanity and how others perceive him. The Blood of Dawnwalker may be one of the newest games on this list, but I can’t wait for a sequel to see more of the human/vampire balancing act that developer Rebel Wolves has created.
Blade - Marvel's Midnight Suns
This one feels like cheating. We all know how badass Blade is from the 1998 film, but his portrayal in Midnight Suns particularly stands out among vampires in games, adding a whole new side of humanity to the notorious vampire slayer. As the player, you have access to all of Blade’s vampiric abilities, which make short work of foes, but you also have the ability to get to know him personally (including his secret crush on Captain Marvel).
Astarion - Baldur’s Gate III
One of the best companions of the generational RPG by Larian Studios, Astarion’s charm will win over even the coldest of hearts. Players who choose to engage with his storyline are treated to some of the best storytelling Baldur’s Gate III has to offer. Did I mention he’s a rogue class by default, too? It was incredibly fun speccing his build to stealthily one-shot enemies and retain plenty of action points for his vampiric abilities.
I knew Thank You Bus Driver possessed the same infectious charm as my favorite friendslop games when one of my housemates noticed what I was playing and sat right down next to me, laughing in absurd glee as I ran down a cow and let its udders slip down my increasingly overstuffed windscreen. He wasn’t even playing, but not once hesitated to suggest potential shortcuts across meadows or down mountains that could save me a few precious seconds even if my clientele would forever curse the lack of seatbelts on public transportation. Take it up with your local authority, pal.
Friendslop has become such a popular staple for the types of games that friends play together, it can often be easy to forget how, before the genre existed, experiences like Thank You Bus Driver could draw in spectators and make them feel just as involved in the action. Just by being there, those onlookers have an impact and improve the overall experience of playing the game.
I’m eager to keep playing Thank You Bus Driver to earn new town variants, weird unlocks, and passengers who will test my potential for vehicular manslaughter. And I'm sure a few of the people I live with will be just as eager to watch me do it. I doubt I’ll wind up playing this game for a long time, but I’m damn sure having a good one.
Leave It To Double Fine To Make The First Single-Player Friendslop Game
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/leave-it-to-double-fine-to-make-the-first-single-player-friendslop-game/
Friendslop is everywhere these days. Take one glance at the most recent Steam Next Fest (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-number-of-steam-next-fest-demos-this-month-is-too-damn-high/) and you’ll be inundated with not only mountains of obnoxious AI slop (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ai-slop-presents-a-much-bigger-problem-than-just-flooding-steam-next-fest/), but countless games where you and a group of friends can get up to wacky hijinks with cartoonish avatars, over the top physics, and hilarious use of proximity chat. If you’re a developer and your take on this genre goes viral, it has a chance of attracting tens of thousands of players and being a massive financial success--it’s no surprise that friendslop has become so commonplace.
But if you fancy gaming on your lonesome for once or sadly don’t have any friends but still want to embrace the chaos of friendslop, then the latest game by Double Fine (https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/ranking-every-major-double-fine-game/2900-6659/) could be right up your street. Just make sure a bus filled with rowdy passengers doesn’t run you down as you start walking down it.
Thank You Bus Driver (https://www.gamespot.com/games/thank-you-bus-driver/) is available on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/5067360/Thank_You_Bus_Driver/) for only $5 and it’s a delightfully wacky adventure that does exactly what it says on the tin. You are a bus driver working in a small monochrome city and must drive passengers to their destination. Do so by completing certain objectives like stopping people from eating smelly food or dozing off and you’ll earn a "Thank You" for your troubles. I don’t think falling asleep on the bus is that much of a bad thing (though I suppose it might get you mugged in London).
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s First DLC Is Out Now, Honors A Real Soldier Who Sustained Gruesome Injuries
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4s-first-dlc-is-out-now-honors-a-real-soldier-who-sustained-gruesome-injuries/
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 released today, October 23, and the game's first DLC pack is available now. In keeping with Call of Duty tradition, the day-one DLC is a Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) pack (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cod-mw4-dlc-honors-real-life-medal-of-honor-recipient-who-lost-his-eye-and-teeth-in-grenade-blast/), with proceeds going to Activision's charity that supports military veterans find new jobs after they leave the service.
The CODE Valor Pack adds the real-life Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter to the game as a playable character.
Carpenter was in Marjah, Afghanistan, when, on November 21, 2010, he put himself in front of a grenade to help save the life of his fellow Marine, Nick Eufrazio. Carpenter sustained serious injuries from the grenade blast. He was unconscious for five weeks, had his teeth stripped from his mouth, and lost an eye. He sustained numerous other life-threatening injuries in the blast.
Carpenter received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/06/19/president-obama-awards-medal-honor-corporal-william-kyle-carpenter) in 2014. At the ceremony, Obama said, "They found Kyle lying face down, directly over the blast area. His helmet was riddled with holes. His gear was melted. Part of his Kevlar vest was blown away. One of the doctors who treated him later said Kyle was, 'Literally wounded from the top of his head to his feet.'"
Carpenter underwent brain surgery to remove shrapnel from his head. He had about 40 other surgeries to addresses his injuries, which included a collapsed lung, fractured fingers, and one arm that broke in more than 30 places. He had multiple skin grafts and now has a prosthetic eye, a new jaw, and new teeth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHK15qClkU
The Valor Pack includes the Relentless and Valor skins, along with new weapon blueprints, a combat knife, and a weapon charm, among other things. All proceeds from the $20 DLC bundles will go to the CODE charity.
Layering, for the uninitiated, is a behind-the-scenes system in WoW: Forever that essentially creates and runs new versions (or layers) of the world as needed, all running simultaneously on top of one another. According to Blizzard, players in WoW: Forever are assigned a layer based on various criteria, like familiar players and friends, language, and PvP balance. Grouping up with a player or friend who is on another layer will transport you to the same layer so you can interact.
There are some pros to this system. It makes completing quests easier (since there's less competition for quests items and enemies) and the world far less crowded. It also helps performance, as anytime there are thousands of players in a concentrated area, like a capital city, the game can struggle to handle the load. Layering spreads those players out. It works wonders in modern WoW and has also been used to different degrees in various versions of WoW Classic in the past.
https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1wwv8ed/i_get_invited_for_escort_quest_in_layer_1_after/
Unfortunately, there are also some huge downsides that have repeatedly surfaced over the course of the WoW: Forever beta. It doesn't take much searching on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pai4SF7f83o) or Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1wwv8ed/i_get_invited_for_escort_quest_in_layer_1_after/) to find countless instances of players complaining about layering. Leaving a group, crossing into a different zone, or traveling on a zeppelin or boat causes players to abruptly switch layers. The layering changes feel far more frequent and noticeable than in the past, ruining some of the charm that comes from having a persistent world filled with the same people.
Thankfully, changes are on the way. When asked if Blizzard would be making improvements to how it handles layering for launch and what players should expect, GameSpot received the following statement attributed to WoW: Forever associate production director Clay Stone:
"Bringing all players together within each ruleset, while also recreating some of the original WoW's 'small-realm-feel' social experiences such as repeat encounters with other recently met players in the game, is an important part of protecting and nurturing social experiences in WoW: Forever.
"However, as we've been playing the beta alongside players, we too have recognized areas where we need to make improvements, particularly when players may be unexpectedly separated from each other (both in terms of specific locations and in terms of frequency), and we absolutely are making improvements. Some examples of this are making sure players don't get decoupled from other players they see on transports (i.e. boats and zeppelins) after loading screens, as well as large groups of players getting layered when they enter or leave capital cities.
"Although there will always be some amount of layering that occurs within our high-capacity infrastructure, we're working on these improvements now ahead of launch, and players should expect that we'll consistently be making more improvements, as necessary, through launch and beyond, with the goal always being to make the world feel as seamless as possible."
That sounds like it will solve many of the instances players have complained about, including the scenario shown in a recent clip posted to the WoW Classic subreddit. It shows a group of players riding the boat from Kalimdor to Eastern Kingdoms, only to abruptly change layers. Suddenly, the entire boat is filled with hostile players from the opposing faction killing everyone on board. User Kippzo's post (https://www.reddit.com/r/classicwow/comments/1xab17w/i_cant_believe_the_game_is_launching_like_this/) is simply titled "I can't believe the game is launching like this."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pai4SF7f83o
Eventually, Pierrot came up with five Board member identities ("Let me be clear that this isn't a narrative element from the game") to experiment with. Five was the magic number, allowing the audio design to work as intended, whether their profiles spoke in unison or individually.
"Sometimes those members speak as one, in unison, and that gives strong powerful words, and sometimes only one will comment," Pierrot explained. "That gives variety and makes The Board a bit more interesting: an entity with complexity and nuances. On some answers, I tried to make them disagree or not caring. I needed all the lines written by the narrative team to match the narrative intents too. At its core, the design is simple: It’s about playing with voice resonances, killing some, underlining others and making different Board members unique and consistent across … the board (sorry). Each Board member has a role in building a sentence or intent, so they blend well together. It’s kind of like tuning an instrument."
The Board is basically gibberish
The Board was the first audio concept made for Control Resonant, with work on the entity dating back to September 2021, Pierrot said. Creative director Mikael Kasurinen mentioned to Pierrot that "The Board is now on a warpath," and that sentence stuck with him as he crafted them, referencing the Māori Haka war dance and other elements to bring forth a "ritualized anger" in their design.
"I thought about how to make The Board feel and sound like they are furious and frustrated. They can’t be angry like a human being would be. They are these otherworldly entities, so I searched more about a symbolic version of anger, a 'ritualized anger' if you will. I took inspiration from the Haka, the Māori war dance," Pierrot explained. "I tried to understand why this is working and what I could use. I wrote down a few elements I wanted to keep, for example: Sometimes they sing in unison, but sometimes only the lead voice is in front. They have a rhythm, a pulse, that gives weight to the words. Using their own bodies as drums. Even if you don’t understand the language, that does work. You feel the power, the tension. I wanted to find a similar vibe."
It sounds interesting and powerful