Spend Less and Play More with These Budget Gaming Laptops
Traditionally gaming laptops have been three things: big, heavy, and expensive. That isn't always the case anymore, especially as components have gotten smaller, notebooks have become thinner, and increased competition has helped lower prices. Thanks to these shifts in the market, you can get a great portable and powerful 1080p gaming machine these days for right around $1,000—sometimes, even less.
Below I’ve picked out the best gaming laptops equipped with the graphics cards and other specs you’ll need to run games at surprisingly decent frame rates for at least a couple years. (Without breaking the bank, of course.) Thanks to the introduction of Nvidia's mobile GTX 16-series GPUs, the performance of these budget machines has only improved while keeping prices down.
WWE 2K18 Career Mode Details Revealed
WWE 2K18' MyCAREER mode has been detailed, revealing the heavy emphasis on story to come in this year's version.
As detailed on Take-Two's blog post, WWE 2K18’s career mode improves upon previous iterations by letting players choose between two different story paths: Company Man and Fan Favorite.
The Company Man path has you aid and side with the general managers, doing whatever it takes to help create and maintain the GMs' vision for the WWE. You'll ambush other WWE Superstars in the locker room and interrupt their interviews, and by doing so you'll gain access to Vince McMahon's office and a few useful upgrades.
Rocket League’s New Tournament System Is an eSports Example to Follow
Rocket League’s presence as an eSport continues to grow, with an NBC partnership and several championship seasons already under its belt. In fall this year, Rocket League is taking that to a new level entirely, with a Steam open beta for a fully fledged tournament system, built into the game client itself.
Tournaments will have their own space on Rocket League’s main menu, and will allow players to join or create their own formally laddered competitive series’ with very specific, or very loose requirements. You’ll be able to set a date for a tournament two weeks out, with any game mode, eight to 128 teams, and whichever platform (including crossplay) and rank requirements you desire, including none at all. There are options for tournaments to be 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4, to be public or private, and to focus on players from specific regions.
Rocket League Update Adds New Arena, Items, and More
Rocket League’s upcoming content update, the Autumn Update, is scheduled for September 28.
The update will introduce the following:
- One new “Seasonal” Arena, called “Farmstead”. The Arena was aesthetically inspired by a farm, with wheat fields, crops, and a barn surrounding the playing field. It’s also set in Autumn, meaning there’s a lot of red, orange, and yellow.
- Standard versions of the Wasteland and Starbase Arc Arenas, for "consistency in eSports."
- An option to have transparent goalposts. If this setting is turned on, goalposts turn transparent based on where the player, and the camera, are located. This aims to prevent any obstruction of view, particularly for players who are inside the goal without having scored.
Gearbox: Next Duke Nukem Needs a ‘New Design Paradigm’
The key to getting the next Duke Nukem game right doesn't start with story, but rather an innovative design that brings something new to video games, according to Gearbox president Randy Pitchford.
"The solution for the next Duke game isn't just about story," Pitchford said on the latest episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered. "We can all dream up a story," he added, acknowledging that "playing with that is going to be a necessity" for any Duke game with a narrative. However, Pitchford believes the "true answer" for the next Duke game is that "there has to be something from a design point of view first."
Jumping Into Character Customization in Code Vein
Like any good RPG, Code Vein has extensive customization options that will change the physical appearance of your character. In the video above, Bandai Namco Studios talks us through the various tweaks you can make to your own personal anime-esque vampire avatar across race, gender, body type, and ‘face paint’. Note that you can’t change your age, however; vampires are of course, meant to be young and beautiful.
For more on this month's IGN First, check out our making of video, our in-depth write up of how Code Vein is more than just anime Dark Souls, the benefits of bloodsucking in Code Vein, and our time with its first 17 minutes.
Nintendo Switch Online App Updated
Nintendo has released an update for the Nintendo Switch Online app, allowing users to continue to use voice chat on their phone when the device is in sleep mode.
As outlined on Nintendo's online support site, update version 1.1.0 also allows voice chat to continue to function when other apps are opened, except for apps that use the microphone or have audio output. For Android users, the update also improves Bluetooth support.
It's also worth noting that those using the power-saving feature on Android 6.0 or later may experience an interruption in voice chat functionality when the device goes into sleep mode. To solve this issue, users will have to deactivate the battery optimization option in the phone's settings.
IT’s Skarsgard on First Time He Saw Himself as Pennywise
Actor Bill Skarsgard himself may have been kept hidden during the promotional campaign for Stephen King's IT, but now the man who plays Pennywise has revealed the process of how he helped bring the otherworldly villain to life on the big screen.
You might think that with such a visually arresting character as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, an actor might build their performance from the outside in, but in Skarsgard's case it was more the opposite since the final look of Pennywise still hadn't been determined at the time he was landing the highly coveted role.
Superman: Mr. Oz’s Identity Is Revealed
Action Comics #987 has answered one of the biggest mysteries of DC Rebirth.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Action Comics #987!
The identity of the enigmatic Mr. Oz has easily been one of the biggest overarching mysteries in the DCU lately. It's a mystery that predates DC Rebirth itself, with Mr. Oz originally appearing in Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr.'s Superman run in 2014. But this character has truly risen to the forefront over the past year, secretly spying on heroes like Superman and kidnapping everyone from Red Robin to Doomsday as part of his larger plan.
For Honor Adds a New Tribute Mode
For Honor is getting a new mode called 'Tribute' in a future free update.
Tribute is a 4 vs 4 multiplayer objective game mode that tasks players to capture three Offerings around the map and bring them back to one of their team's three Shrines. Each Shrine grants a different Blessing once an Offering has been made:
- Vindicator Blessing: Gives your whole team a boost to attack, as well as a speed boost when carrying an Offering and faster interaction when stealing an Offering.
- Guardian Blessing: Gives your whole team a small regenerating shield, as well as slowing enemy interaction when they try to steal your team’s Offering.
- Oracle Blessing: Increases the awareness of your whole team. This includes showing, both in-world and on the radar, the location of an Offering carrier and the whole enemy team.