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This War of Mine Added to Official School Reading List in Poland

This War of Mine, the 2014 wartime survival sim, has been added to the education ministry's official reading list for schools in Poland. This is the first time a country has included a video game in its national education system, according to Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki. "Young people use games to imagine certain situations [in a way] no worse than reading books," said Morawiecki (via Notes from Poland). "By incorporating games into the education system, we will expand our imagination and bring something new to the culture." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20014526&captions=true"] This War of Mine will be classified as optional "reading" for students studying sociology, ethics, philosophy, and history during the 2020-21 academic year, according to GamesIndustry.biz. The game will be free to those students so long as they are 18 or older, due to its PEGI rating. “Of course, games are already being used in education for teaching maths, chemistry, and developing cognitive abilities," said Grzegorz Miechowski, CEO of developer 11 bit studios, "but I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a game being officially included in the educational system on a national level as a school reading." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/14/this-war-of-mine-final-cut-update-trailer"] Inspired by the Siege of Sarajevo, This War of Mine explores the impact of war from a civilian perspective. "In contrast to most computer games — shooting, chasing, fast cars, more shooting — in this game there is a lot of reflection, situations in which we put ourselves [in the position] of a person who has to survive war," said Morawiecki. IGN's This War of Mine review called it "a great study of survival during wartime and civil collapse" and one of 2014's "most thoughtful games." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.

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This War of Mine Added to Official School Reading List in Poland

This War of Mine, the 2014 wartime survival sim, has been added to the education ministry's official reading list for schools in Poland. This is the first time a country has included a video game in its national education system, according to Poland's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki. "Young people use games to imagine certain situations [in a way] no worse than reading books," said Morawiecki (via Notes from Poland). "By incorporating games into the education system, we will expand our imagination and bring something new to the culture." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20014526&captions=true"] This War of Mine will be classified as optional "reading" for students studying sociology, ethics, philosophy, and history during the 2020-21 academic year, according to GamesIndustry.biz. The game will be free to those students so long as they are 18 or older, due to its PEGI rating. “Of course, games are already being used in education for teaching maths, chemistry, and developing cognitive abilities," said Grzegorz Miechowski, CEO of developer 11 bit studios, "but I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a game being officially included in the educational system on a national level as a school reading." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/14/this-war-of-mine-final-cut-update-trailer"] Inspired by the Siege of Sarajevo, This War of Mine explores the impact of war from a civilian perspective. "In contrast to most computer games — shooting, chasing, fast cars, more shooting — in this game there is a lot of reflection, situations in which we put ourselves [in the position] of a person who has to survive war," said Morawiecki. IGN's This War of Mine review called it "a great study of survival during wartime and civil collapse" and one of 2014's "most thoughtful games." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.

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The Last Of Us Part 2 Review (Spoiler Version)

Editor's note: You may have seen our spoiler-free The Last of Us Part II review, originally published on June 12, 2020. Due to a strict embargo, we were limited in what aspects of the game we could touch on in that review. While I critiqued the game in full for that embargo, there may be some parts of the review that could use more explanation. Now that the embargo has lifted and the game is now available, I've expanded on my thoughts here; this review has the same arguments and score as the first one and is simply more detailed in my analysis. Note that this review contains spoilers, including one major character death.

The Last of Us Part II begins with serious tonal whiplash. One moment, Ellie and her close friend Dina are becoming more than friends in a basement filled with weed plants and Naughty Dog porn puns; the next, Joel is being savagely beaten to death with a golf club. It's the first of many, many gruesome deaths. Some happen whether you want them to or not, in intimate cutscenes that are hard to watch, while others happen just because an NPC got in between you and your objective and killing them was the easiest thing to do. Either way, that brief glimpse of happiness at the beginning is left very much in the dust.

But while the scale and severity of death and loss in this game is incredibly high, The Last of Us Part II is more a character study than a musing on the nature of violence. On that front, the story of Ellie, her playable foil Abby, and their quests for revenge and redemption is a gripping and harrowing one, and I found myself deeply emotionally entangled with each woman and her strengths and flaws. The bloodshed is very much a part of that story, but it's far from the most effective one, and it's where the game stumbles a bit.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

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The Last Of Us Part 2 Review (Spoilers)

Editor's note: You may have seen our spoiler-free The Last of Us Part II review, originally published on June 12, 2020. Due to a strict embargo, we were limited in what aspects of the game we could touch on in that review. While I critiqued the game in full for that embargo, there may be some parts of the review that could use more explanation. Now that the embargo has lifted, I've expanded on my thoughts here; this review has the same arguments and score as the first one and is simply more detailed in my analysis. Note that this review contains spoilers, including one major character death.

The Last of Us Part II begins with serious tonal whiplash. One moment, Ellie and her close friend Dina are becoming more than friends in a basement filled with weed plants and Naughty Dog porn puns; the next, Joel is being savagely beaten to death with a golf club. It's the first of many, many gruesome deaths. Some happen whether you want them to or not, in intimate cutscenes that are hard to watch, while others happen just because an NPC got in between you and your objective and killing them was the easiest thing to do. Either way, that brief glimpse of happiness at the beginning is left very much in the dust.

But while the scale and severity of death and loss in this game is incredibly high, The Last of Us Part II is more a character study than a musing on the nature of violence. On that front, the story of Ellie, her playable foil Abby, and their quests for revenge and redemption is a gripping and harrowing one, and I found myself deeply emotionally entangled with each woman and her strengths and flaws. The bloodshed is very much a part of that story, but it's far from the most effective one, and it's where the game stumbles a bit.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

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Bugsnax Developer Explains What the Game Actually Is

An interview has revealed more about Bugsnax, the adorable anthropomorphic snack gathering game from Young Horses that was revealed during Sony's PS5 conference last week. In an interview with USGamer, Young Horses president Philip Tibitoski revealed the premise behind the game, and spoke about what you'll actually get up to in the game when you go hands on. "Bugsnax is a first-person adventure game where you play as a journalist who is sent a mysterious film from an adventurer named Elizabert Megafig," Tibitoski told USGamer. "She says she's found these things called Bugsnax, these half-snack half-bug creatures, and she wants you to come and document her discovery with her group of misfit followers. You go to the island, you find that she is nowhere to be found, and instead run into some of her followers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/bugsnax-announcement-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] Players will then be asked to figure out what makes these mysterious Bugsnax tick by studying their behaviour and... "seeing what happens when they're eaten." It looks like we're going to have to eat these adorable little friends. According to Tibitoski, characters in the game will change as they eat Bugsnax, "with their limbs and bodies turning into foods like curly fries, strawberries, or weenies." According to USGamer's interview, the game has been inspired by Ape Escape, and you'll also be able to hear the cry of each particular Bugsnak through the Dualsense controller. What a sauce-pot french fry crab sounds like is still anyone's guess, mind you. In other PS5 news, check out our list of every game confirmed for the next-gen console. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who couldn't be more excited for this game. Put the KKB theme tune on Spotify, and follow him on Twitter.

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Bugsnax Developer Explains What the Game Actually Is

An interview has revealed more about Bugsnax, the adorable anthropomorphic snack gathering game from Young Horses that was revealed during Sony's PS5 conference last week. In an interview with USGamer, Young Horses president Philip Tibitoski revealed the premise behind the game, and spoke about what you'll actually get up to in the game when you go hands on. "Bugsnax is a first-person adventure game where you play as a journalist who is sent a mysterious film from an adventurer named Elizabert Megafig," Tibitoski told USGamer. "She says she's found these things called Bugsnax, these half-snack half-bug creatures, and she wants you to come and document her discovery with her group of misfit followers. You go to the island, you find that she is nowhere to be found, and instead run into some of her followers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/bugsnax-announcement-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] Players will then be asked to figure out what makes these mysterious Bugsnax tick by studying their behaviour and... "seeing what happens when they're eaten." It looks like we're going to have to eat these adorable little friends. According to Tibitoski, characters in the game will change as they eat Bugsnax, "with their limbs and bodies turning into foods like curly fries, strawberries, or weenies." According to USGamer's interview, the game has been inspired by Ape Escape, and you'll also be able to hear the cry of each particular Bugsnak through the Dualsense controller. What a sauce-pot french fry crab sounds like is still anyone's guess, mind you. In other PS5 news, check out our list of every game confirmed for the next-gen console. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who couldn't be more excited for this game. Put the KKB theme tune on Spotify, and follow him on Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized

Bugsnax Developer Explains What the Game Actually Is

An interview has revealed more about Bugsnax, the adorable anthropomorphic snack gathering game from Young Horses that was revealed during Sony's PS5 conference last week. In an interview with USGamer, Young Horses president Philip Tibitoski revealed the premise behind the game, and spoke about what you'll actually get up to in the game when you go hands on. "Bugsnax is a first-person adventure game where you play as a journalist who is sent a mysterious film from an adventurer named Elizabert Megafig," Tibitoski told USGamer. "She says she's found these things called Bugsnax, these half-snack half-bug creatures, and she wants you to come and document her discovery with her group of misfit followers. You go to the island, you find that she is nowhere to be found, and instead run into some of her followers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/bugsnax-announcement-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] Players will then be asked to figure out what makes these mysterious Bugsnax tick by studying their behaviour and... "seeing what happens when they're eaten." It looks like we're going to have to eat these adorable little friends. According to Tibitoski, characters in the game will change as they eat Bugsnax, "with their limbs and bodies turning into foods like curly fries, strawberries, or weenies." According to USGamer's interview, the game has been inspired by Ape Escape, and you'll also be able to hear the cry of each particular Bugsnak through the Dualsense controller. What a sauce-pot french fry crab sounds like is still anyone's guess, mind you. In other PS5 news, check out our list of every game confirmed for the next-gen console. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN who couldn't be more excited for this game. Put the KKB theme tune on Spotify, and follow him on Twitter.

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PS5 and Xbox Series X: We Now Seem to Know Both Consoles’ Boot Up Sounds

The Xbox Series X startup sound has been been revealed, and we may already have heard the PS5 equivalent. Earlier today, the Xbox Twitter account used the platform's new voice clip functionality to reveal what the Xbox Series X sounds like when it boots up. The 15-second-long clip sounds a bit like a hub world from Spyro with its soothing tones - it's very zen! Replying to another tweet below the clip, the Xbox Twitter account responded by saying that it sounds like "a choir of gaming angels singing in your ears," which, I mean, as long as they're not from a Modern Warfare 2 lobby, that's fine by me.

[new Xbox sound] pic.twitter.com/LK4vYNJ1RE
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 18, 2020

During Sony's PS5 conference, many speculated that the PS5 startup sound might have been snuck into the showcase. It was quite a short clip, but fans managed to catch the alleged boot-up sound (and accompanying console UI animation), posting it to Twitter last week.

So Sony snuck the PlayStation 5 boot-up screen into the middle of their presentation? pic.twitter.com/Zt8QfoWOGb
— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) June 12, 2020

The PS5's supposed startup tune sounds similarly mellow, albeit with a shorter jingle to accent your entrance to the system's UI when you tap the PS Button. With that, it appears that we've got both of our next-gen startup sounds. Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the poll below. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=b792b676-9783-4daf-9e85-31e3a59daa8b"] For more on the PS5, check out our list of every game confirmed for Sony's forthcoming console. You can check out a similar list of confirmed titles for the Xbox Series X here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

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PS5 and Xbox Series X: We Now Seem to Know Both Consoles’ Boot Up Sounds

The Xbox Series X startup sound has been been revealed, and we may already have heard the PS5 equivalent. Earlier today, the Xbox Twitter account used the platform's new voice clip functionality to reveal what the Xbox Series X sounds like when it boots up. The 15-second-long clip sounds a bit like a hub world from Spyro with its soothing tones - it's very zen! Replying to another tweet below the clip, the Xbox Twitter account responded by saying that it sounds like "a choir of gaming angels singing in your ears," which, I mean, as long as they're not from a Modern Warfare 2 lobby, that's fine by me.

[new Xbox sound] pic.twitter.com/LK4vYNJ1RE
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 18, 2020

During Sony's PS5 conference, many speculated that the PS5 startup sound might have been snuck into the showcase. It was quite a short clip, but fans managed to catch the alleged boot-up sound (and accompanying console UI animation), posting it to Twitter last week.

So Sony snuck the PlayStation 5 boot-up screen into the middle of their presentation? pic.twitter.com/Zt8QfoWOGb
— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) June 12, 2020

The PS5's supposed startup tune sounds similarly mellow, albeit with a shorter jingle to accent your entrance to the system's UI when you tap the PS Button. With that, it appears that we've got both of our next-gen startup sounds. Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the poll below. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=b792b676-9783-4daf-9e85-31e3a59daa8b"] For more on the PS5, check out our list of every game confirmed for Sony's forthcoming console. You can check out a similar list of confirmed titles for the Xbox Series X here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized

PS5 and Xbox Series X: We Now Seem to Know Both Consoles’ Boot Up Sounds

The Xbox Series X startup sound has been been revealed, and we may already have heard the PS5 equivalent. Earlier today, the Xbox Twitter account used the platform's new voice clip functionality to reveal what the Xbox Series X sounds like when it boots up. The 15-second-long clip sounds a bit like a hub world from Spyro with its soothing tones - it's very zen! Replying to another tweet below the clip, the Xbox Twitter account responded by saying that it sounds like "a choir of gaming angels singing in your ears," which, I mean, as long as they're not from a Modern Warfare 2 lobby, that's fine by me.

[new Xbox sound] pic.twitter.com/LK4vYNJ1RE
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 18, 2020

During Sony's PS5 conference, many speculated that the PS5 startup sound might have been snuck into the showcase. It was quite a short clip, but fans managed to catch the alleged boot-up sound (and accompanying console UI animation), posting it to Twitter last week.

So Sony snuck the PlayStation 5 boot-up screen into the middle of their presentation? pic.twitter.com/Zt8QfoWOGb
— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) June 12, 2020

The PS5's supposed startup tune sounds similarly mellow, albeit with a shorter jingle to accent your entrance to the system's UI when you tap the PS Button. With that, it appears that we've got both of our next-gen startup sounds. Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the poll below. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=b792b676-9783-4daf-9e85-31e3a59daa8b"] For more on the PS5, check out our list of every game confirmed for Sony's forthcoming console. You can check out a similar list of confirmed titles for the Xbox Series X here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

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