343 Industries has teased that there just might be a "new place and way to play" Halo: The Master Chief Collection in the near future. 343 revealed the news in its latest MCC Weekly Flighting and Development Update, and said that, while "things can change," it is trying to offer fans of this Halo collection a new way to play. While many would love to see Halo: The Master Chief Collection come to Switch or PS5, this is most likely a hint that we may see this game arrive on the Epic Games Store or possibly Xbox's Cloud Gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on iOS and PC. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/halo-the-master-chief-collection-the-ultimate-halo-experience-trailer"] The Master Chief Collection wouldn't be the first Microsoft-published game to make its way to the Epic Games Store, as State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition is currently available for purchase. As for Cloud Gaming, Microsoft did confirm that Xbox's Cloud Gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would be coming to iOS devices and PC in Spring 2021, so the timing could work out, even if it would be a bit on the earlier side of Spring. MCC is already one of the games featured on Cloud Gaming for Android devices. Halo: The Master Chief Collection recently got a 4K/120FPS upgrade for Xbox Series X, and gave fans another way to play the game we re-reviewed and in 2019 gave a 9.5/10. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-halo-review&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Thanks in part to the Nintendo Gigaleak, the soundtrack for Super Mario World has been restored and gives fans of the classic game a chance to hear some of the most iconic songs before they were compressed for an SNES cartridge. These tracks, which you can listen to here, were restored by a group of people and shared by @LeBrickster on Twitter and YouTube. This was made possible because the Nintendo Gigaleak included the source code for Super Mario Advance from the Game Boy Advance, which just so happened to reuse samples from Super Mario World. The samples discovered had the names for the instruments used in Super Mario World, and this helped in restoring the original tracks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/top-10-console-launch-games-ever"] @LeBrickster also addressed complaints that the restored tracks "do not sound good" and that many "prefer the originals." They mention that these "tracks were likely not designed with the full patches in mind." "What if [Koji] Kondo wasn't limited to the small sound ram size, and he could use sounds to their fullest? We may never know if he did, of course, since no demo versions of tracks for Super Mario World were ever officially released, but these I think would be similar to such tracks." They also mention that this was simply done "for fun, as a 'what if' kinda thing," and is meant to give the world a chance to hear what these songs may have sounded like before they were compressed for use on the SNES. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-super-mario-review-ever&captions=true"] For more on Super Mario World and the SNES, check out someone's work on adding realtime ray tracing to SNES games and where we ranked Super Mario World on our list of the Top 100 Video Games of All Time. Spoilers: It's high. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Thanks in part to the Nintendo Gigaleak, the soundtrack for Super Mario World has been restored and gives fans of the classic game a chance to hear some of the most iconic songs before they were compressed for an SNES cartridge. These tracks, which you can listen to here, were restored by a group of people and shared by @LeBrickster on Twitter and YouTube. This was made possible because the Nintendo Gigaleak included the source code for Super Mario Advance from the Game Boy Advance, which just so happened to reuse samples from Super Mario World. The samples discovered had the names for the instruments used in Super Mario World, and this helped in restoring the original tracks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/top-10-console-launch-games-ever"] @LeBrickster also addressed complaints that the restored tracks "do not sound good" and that many "prefer the originals." They mention that these "tracks were likely not designed with the full patches in mind." "What if [Koji] Kondo wasn't limited to the small sound ram size, and he could use sounds to their fullest? We may never know if he did, of course, since no demo versions of tracks for Super Mario World were ever officially released, but these I think would be similar to such tracks." They also mention that this was simply done "for fun, as a 'what if' kinda thing," and is meant to give the world a chance to hear what these songs may have sounded like before they were compressed for use on the SNES. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-super-mario-review-ever&captions=true"] For more on Super Mario World and the SNES, check out someone's work on adding realtime ray tracing to SNES games and where we ranked Super Mario World on our list of the Top 100 Video Games of All Time. Spoilers: It's high. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Mass Effect: Andromeda could have had up to ten new alien species, but they were cut due to budget, scope, and... cosplay considerations. One of the biggest criticisms of Mass Effect: Andromeda was the lack of new alien species, especially when the Mass Effect Trilogy introduced us to the Krogan, Asari, Drell, Batarians, Salarians, Turians, Quarian, Prothean, Hanar, Elcor, Keepers, Volus, Collectors, Geth, Reapers, Vorcha, and more. In our Mass Effect: Andromeda review, we said "What’s bizarre is that BioWare went to the trouble of shipping us 2.5 million light years away to introduce only two new alien races (plus some robots) over more than 50 hours of campaign and major side missions, and only one local joins your crew." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/20/mass-effect-andromeda-review"] Apparently this wasn't the original plan, and many of the developers on Andromeda recently spoke to TheGamer to discuss why these new alien species never made it to the final game. “I think it was a project that couldn't have possibly lived up to expectations,” Neil Pollner, who was a senior writer on Mass Effect 3 and wrote parts of Andromeda, said. “Not just the high bar of the original trilogy, but the logical expectations anyone would have of Mass Effect going to a whole new galaxy. Because the scope of [the first] Mass Effect was so incredibly massive, there was an inherent promise that you'd be getting a massive new experience with a ton of new things in [what was supposed to be the first] Mass Effect Andromeda - new species, new lore, an entire new galaxy at your fingertips, etc. “But we were only given the budget for two new species, plus the Remnant. Not to mention that we couldn't even include all the Milky Way species. And we weren't going to be able to let you travel throughout the galaxy. This meant that we had to develop the story around some pretty glaring inorganic limitations. So, not only did you get something that felt (and was) much smaller than what you got before, almost everyone playing the game probably had something that they really liked about Mass Effect that just wasn't there.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/mass-effect-legendary-edition-our-first-impressions"] Pollner continued to discuss how they had grand plans in pre-production, including expanding the "first contact" experience with new aliens, but most of that work wasn't even used. Chris Hepler, another long-time Mass Effect writer, discussed how he proposed five or six new alien species, and ex-Bioware writer Jo Berry had also come up with a few that "were awesome." Dorian Kieken, who was the franchise design director at the beginning of Andromeda's development, explained that some of the early alien concepts were "pretty out there" and that they were cut because one of Mass Effect Andromeda's goals was to make it easy for fans to cosplay the game's characters. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=mass-effect-legendary-edition-comparison-screenshots&captions=true"] “One of the strengths of the original Mass Effect trilogy is that you can actually cosplay most of the alien characters - except the Hanar, although I wouldn't underestimate the creativity of some cosplayers," Kieken said. "The intention in Mass Effect Andromeda was to introduce new races that would still be in the realm of cosplay, which is probably why more crazy concepts were abandoned.” Kieken even said that the two alien races that did make it into Andromeda gradually shifted to "cosplay-safe territory," with the team trying to avoid "jellyfish" types of aliens. While one can hope some of these designs will make their way into the next Mass Effect project, fans of the series can look forward to interacting with the original set of aliens in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition this May. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/mass-effect-legendary-edition-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Mass Effect: Andromeda could have had up to ten new alien species, but they were cut due to budget, scope, and... cosplay considerations. One of the biggest criticisms of Mass Effect: Andromeda was the lack of new alien species, especially when the Mass Effect Trilogy introduced us to the Krogan, Asari, Drell, Batarians, Salarians, Turians, Quarian, Prothean, Hanar, Elcor, Keepers, Volus, Collectors, Geth, Reapers, Vorcha, and more. In our Mass Effect: Andromeda review, we said "What’s bizarre is that BioWare went to the trouble of shipping us 2.5 million light years away to introduce only two new alien races (plus some robots) over more than 50 hours of campaign and major side missions, and only one local joins your crew." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/20/mass-effect-andromeda-review"] Apparently this wasn't the original plan, and many of the developers on Andromeda recently spoke to TheGamer to discuss why these new alien species never made it to the final game. “I think it was a project that couldn't have possibly lived up to expectations,” Neil Pollner, who was a senior writer on Mass Effect 3 and wrote parts of Andromeda, said. “Not just the high bar of the original trilogy, but the logical expectations anyone would have of Mass Effect going to a whole new galaxy. Because the scope of [the first] Mass Effect was so incredibly massive, there was an inherent promise that you'd be getting a massive new experience with a ton of new things in [what was supposed to be the first] Mass Effect Andromeda - new species, new lore, an entire new galaxy at your fingertips, etc. “But we were only given the budget for two new species, plus the Remnant. Not to mention that we couldn't even include all the Milky Way species. And we weren't going to be able to let you travel throughout the galaxy. This meant that we had to develop the story around some pretty glaring inorganic limitations. So, not only did you get something that felt (and was) much smaller than what you got before, almost everyone playing the game probably had something that they really liked about Mass Effect that just wasn't there.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/mass-effect-legendary-edition-our-first-impressions"] Pollner continued to discuss how they had grand plans in pre-production, including expanding the "first contact" experience with new aliens, but most of that work wasn't even used. Chris Hepler, another long-time Mass Effect writer, discussed how he proposed five or six new alien species, and ex-Bioware writer Jo Berry had also come up with a few that "were awesome." Dorian Kieken, who was the franchise design director at the beginning of Andromeda's development, explained that some of the early alien concepts were "pretty out there" and that they were cut because one of Mass Effect Andromeda's goals was to make it easy for fans to cosplay the game's characters. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=mass-effect-legendary-edition-comparison-screenshots&captions=true"] “One of the strengths of the original Mass Effect trilogy is that you can actually cosplay most of the alien characters - except the Hanar, although I wouldn't underestimate the creativity of some cosplayers," Kieken said. "The intention in Mass Effect Andromeda was to introduce new races that would still be in the realm of cosplay, which is probably why more crazy concepts were abandoned.” Kieken even said that the two alien races that did make it into Andromeda gradually shifted to "cosplay-safe territory," with the team trying to avoid "jellyfish" types of aliens. While one can hope some of these designs will make their way into the next Mass Effect project, fans of the series can look forward to interacting with the original set of aliens in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition this May. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/mass-effect-legendary-edition-official-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Playing with Power: The Nintendo Story, a five-part documentary series, will premiere on Crackle on March 1, 2021. As reported by Deadline, this new docuseries is written and directed by Video Games: The Movie's Jeremy Snead and executive produced and narrated by The Lord of the Rings' Sean Astin. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/09/the-lie-that-helped-build-nintendo"] Playing with Power: The Nintendo Story will feature interviews from Wil Wheaton, Alison Haislip, Nintendo of America co-founder Ron Judy, Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, former Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, and the head of Xbox Phil Spencer. “Producing and directing Playing with Power has been a lifelong ambition of mine as an artist, gamer and filmmaker,” Snead said. “To see my show not only come to life with such loving care through my team and I’s efforts but to also have the opportunity to partner with such a talented and experienced team like Screen Media and Crackle to release the series to the public has just been a dream come true.” Astin discussed how chronicling the century-plus history of Nintendo was an "ambitious goal", but "little by little, over four years, the series really came together. I think we’ve created a five-episode journey that will open up the world of video games and this legendary company in a way that most people have never seen.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-switch-games-fall-2020-update&captions=true"] 2021 appears to be continuing the trend of video game documentaries, and follows 2020's example that had such hits as Netflix's High Score and CBS All Access' Console Wars. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Playing with Power: The Nintendo Story, a five-part documentary series, will premiere on Crackle on March 1, 2021. As reported by Deadline, this new docuseries is written and directed by Video Games: The Movie's Jeremy Snead and executive produced and narrated by The Lord of the Rings' Sean Astin. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/09/the-lie-that-helped-build-nintendo"] Playing with Power: The Nintendo Story will feature interviews from Wil Wheaton, Alison Haislip, Nintendo of America co-founder Ron Judy, Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, former Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, and the head of Xbox Phil Spencer. “Producing and directing Playing with Power has been a lifelong ambition of mine as an artist, gamer and filmmaker,” Snead said. “To see my show not only come to life with such loving care through my team and I’s efforts but to also have the opportunity to partner with such a talented and experienced team like Screen Media and Crackle to release the series to the public has just been a dream come true.” Astin discussed how chronicling the century-plus history of Nintendo was an "ambitious goal", but "little by little, over four years, the series really came together. I think we’ve created a five-episode journey that will open up the world of video games and this legendary company in a way that most people have never seen.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-switch-games-fall-2020-update&captions=true"] 2021 appears to be continuing the trend of video game documentaries, and follows 2020's example that had such hits as Netflix's High Score and CBS All Access' Console Wars. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

In celebration of the epic Godzilla vs. Kong trailer, we asked you to help us decide who the best giant movie monster of all time is. After thousands and thousands of 1v1 battles with matchups like Godzilla vs. Kong and King Ghidorah vs. Rodan, the ultimate winner has been chosen. So, who claimed the top spot in the battle for the ultimate giant movie monster? Drumroll please... With a 94.4% win percentage, the MonsterVerse's Godzilla claimed victory in 14,557 of his 15,421 battles. While some may have thought that King Kong would take second place, the King of the Apes was only able to climb to fifth place with a respectable 81.1% win percentage. King Ghidorah from Godzilla: King of the Monsters actually claimed the number two spot with an 88.5% win percentage, followed by the Heisei Era's Godzilla and the Millennium Era's Godzilla. Rounding out the top 10 were the Reiwa Era's Godzilla, the original King Ghidorah, the Showa Era's Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Rodan, and SpaceGodzilla. Taking last place with only a 15.1% win percentage was the Giant Bird from The Giant Claw. Rounding out the bottom were the Ants from Them, the Monsters from 2010's Monsters, Son of Godzilla's Minilla, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman's Nancy, and The Host. Are you wondering where your favorite giant movie monster landed, like maybe the Rancor from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi? (It took 52nd place, sadly.) For all the rankings, you can check out the full list of where all 75 giant movie monsters who competed in this Face-Off ended up. For more on Godzilla vs. Kong, which will be released in theaters and on HBO Max on March 31, 2021, take a look at who we think could be the real villain in this movie. Or catch up on every major monster in the Godzilla vs. Kong MonsterVerse. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/27/is-this-the-real-villain-in-godzilla-vs-kong] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

In celebration of the epic Godzilla vs. Kong trailer, we asked you to help us decide who the best giant movie monster of all time is. After thousands and thousands of 1v1 battles with matchups like Godzilla vs. Kong and King Ghidorah vs. Rodan, the ultimate winner has been chosen. So, who claimed the top spot in the battle for the ultimate giant movie monster? Drumroll please... With a 94.4% win percentage, the MonsterVerse's Godzilla claimed victory in 14,557 of his 15,421 battles. While some may have thought that King Kong would take second place, the King of the Apes was only able to climb to fifth place with a respectable 81.1% win percentage. King Ghidorah from Godzilla: King of the Monsters actually claimed the number two spot with an 88.5% win percentage, followed by the Heisei Era's Godzilla and the Millennium Era's Godzilla. Rounding out the top 10 were the Reiwa Era's Godzilla, the original King Ghidorah, the Showa Era's Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Rodan, and SpaceGodzilla. Taking last place with only a 15.1% win percentage was the Giant Bird from The Giant Claw. Rounding out the bottom were the Ants from Them, the Monsters from 2010's Monsters, Son of Godzilla's Minilla, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman's Nancy, and The Host. Are you wondering where your favorite giant movie monster landed, like maybe the Rancor from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi? (It took 52nd place, sadly.) For all the rankings, you can check out the full list of where all 75 giant movie monsters who competed in this Face-Off ended up. For more on Godzilla vs. Kong, which will be released in theaters and on HBO Max on March 31, 2021, take a look at who we think could be the real villain in this movie. Or catch up on every major monster in the Godzilla vs. Kong MonsterVerse. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/27/is-this-the-real-villain-in-godzilla-vs-kong] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy 14's PS5 version will go into Open Beta on April 13, 2021, and will feature 4K resolution support, faster loading times, and "significantly improved frame rate." There will be two modes - one for resolution and one for framerate - and it will be released on the same day as Patch 5.5.

FINAL FANTASY XIV is coming to PlayStation 5, with an open beta planned to launch on Tuesday, April 13, 2021!

Watch the trailer in high resolution on YouTube! https://t.co/cN6FFzAXN7 pic.twitter.com/Ozls8lTuff — FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) February 6, 2021

Players who have a Final Fantasy 14 service account that has a registered license for the PlayStation 4 version will be able to download and play the PS5 Upgrade Edition at no extra cost. Final Fantasy 14 is available on PS5 via backward compatibility, but this version will be fully optimized for Sony's latest console. The PS5 version of Final Fantasy 14 was announced alongside the reveal of the latest expansion, Endwalker, that will be released in Fall 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/06/final-fantasy-14-endwalker-teaser-trailer"] Not only will Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker take players to the moon, it will also bring to a close the story that began with A Realm Reborn. There will also be two new jobs, including a healer job called Sage, a level cap raise from 80 to 90, and "massive new areas" waiting to be explored like the imperial capital of Garlemald, Thavnair, and the city of Radz-at-Han. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-xiv-endwalker-screenshots-and-artwork&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.