Essential Baldur's Gate 3 Side-Quests You Shouldn't Skip

It's difficult not to feel nostalgic while playing Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown. The original games of the '80s and '90s by Jordan Mechner were «Metroidvanias» in their own right, with precise platforming, precarious traps, and a bit of backtracking all woven into the gameplay. This new entry into the franchise goes back to that formula, only now with the benefits of modern game design and tech, and I'm happy to say The Lost Crown earns its spot in the pedigree.

Ironwood Studios’ Pacific Drive is a road trip game about taking a drive through a disintegrating, irradiated reality; it’s as if American Truck Simulator was set in a lonely, survivalist version of Fallout. Transported — either accidentally or on purpose, it’s not clear — into the Olympic Exclusion Zone somewhere among the wooded slopes of the Pacific Northwest, the nameless player character must pilot a dilapidated station wagon deeper into this territory, where gravity and matter obey their own rules.

As a card-carrying Fighting Game Enjoyer for my entire 30-plus years playing video games, I've tested a lot of different controllers. Standard gamepads, six-button pads, arcade-quality fight sticks; you name it, I've tried it…except for one type that has come into vogue in the last few years: Leverless fight sticks. Honestly, I did not see the appeal in turning the directional inputs into buttons; if I wanted that, I would use the d-pad on a standard controller. 

Back in the early access of Baldur's Gate 3, a player by the name of Solfalia wrote a heartfelt thank-you to Larian Studios. His father had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and it was unlikely that he would be able to play the full game: «This is more than an Early Access for me, it's another adventure I can go on with my old man and make some good memories.»

A Baldur’s Gate 3 writer has reflected on Larian Studios’ decision to include a tribute in the game to a fan’s father who has Alzheimers, and said they’re “really happy we got to honour the mighty mindflayer hunter.”

Thank your own personal deity—possibly Kaheva the Blacksmith—it's Friday! This is gonna be a short intro because I'm far too busy smashing through review code of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I'm only three hours in so far, which is about as deep as I was allowed to go during my recent hands-on (and my positive impressions of that experience have not changed, obviously). Anyway... stay safe, save often, and catch you Monday!

Considerable advancements have been made in the technology of virtual reality gaming in recent years, and many who have tried some of the incredible games on systems such as the Meta Quest 2 have found that even games not marketed as fitness programs can be incredibly physically demanding at times. Virtual reality games that are designed for physical fitness can provide a wonderful way to stay active. Without ever having to leave the comfort of home to brave the crowds at a gym or face inclement weather outside, players can enter any number of virtual worlds to get a new way to work their muscles.

VR continues to expand. What was once thought of as a fad has now grown into a lucrative market, with Sony's PlayStation VR 2, the Meta Quest 3, HTC Vive, Valve Index and many more headsets all now competing to come out on top.

What is dropshipping? You buy a new phone case from an online retailer. The phone case arrives safely at your house, the online retailer makes a small profit and everyone is happy. But the phone case didn't come from the retailer's premises. It was sent directly from the manufacturer. The only thing the online retailer did was take your order and organise for the factory to deliver the case to your home. This is “dropshipping”: where an online seller organises to have purchased products sent to buyers directly from the wholesaler or manufacturer, rather than sending it themselves. Many see dropshipping as, if not their main business, then as a valuable side hustle to help bolster income when the cost-of-living crunch is making it hard to make ends meet.

The sunny landscapes of Baldur’s Gate are a welcome sight after all that darkness in Act 2. Exploring the area will result in some random encounters, even with newborn Mind Flayers.

doesn't include every race found in the Forgotten Realms as a playable option, but it still offers a bit of variety with the inclusion of non-human and -elf races like githyanki and dragonborn. While a lot of information about these races isn't included due to the limitations of the game's design and the abundance of other content it contains, there are fun hints about different races, their histories, and cultures that parties can find if they look deep enough. And what the party learns might leave them with a new view of romance and what love and relationships mean for different races.

More details about an MMO based on Guerrilla's Horizon franchise have popped up online via two new job listings.