Gaming in Jersey. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

We open this week's busy episode of Unlocked by discussing two big new games we just played a bunch of: Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and Alan Wake 2. After that we discuss Phil Spencer's wish to bring back MechAssault and have a fantasy draft for which Xbox developer should make it -- along with our own picks (complete with preferred developers) for other dormant Xbox franchises we'd like to see return. Plus: we get lost wondering how the heck we're going to play all of the games in this historically busy stretch of major game releases that we're in right now, and more!

Following various reports of a surprisingly low budget, The Marvels budget has reportedly been revealed in full, thanks to a new report from Forbes.

My first 20 minutes with a preview build of Payday 3 at Gamescom were a comforting microcosm of the series at large. As per usual, I spent way too long prepping my character build, and after designing a gaudy metal mask glazed like a purple donut, I dilly-dallied my way through Payday 3’s toy box of targeted skill trees, min-maxing the coolest heist abilities, and feeling deep satisfaction in the process.

A busy week sees us digging into a number of topics, including our hands-on impressions of Forza Motorsport, Gearbox reportedly being put back up for sale by the financially wobbly Embracer Group, saluting Epic Games Chief Creative Office Donald Mustard upon his retirement as we remember his three awesome Xbox exclusives from the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 days, the Xbox MasterCard and why you should be careful with it, and more!

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the upcoming cRPG set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe developed by Owlcat Games, now has a release date, as revealed in the new trailer that you can watch above. That date is December 7, 2023. The trailer also reveals that the game is being released on more than just PC and Mac: it'll also hit the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S that same day.

In an interview with The Playlist, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah teased their potential return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The filmmaking duo seemingly confirmed that Marvel Studios is waiting for the outcome of Nia DaCosta’s upcoming The Marvels movie before Ms. Marvel Season 2 can move forward.

The First Descendant is an upcoming next-gen looter shooter, built using Unreal Engine 5, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Nexon has just introduced Sharen Julicia, a half-woman, half-machine hero that's going to deal some serious damage up close. Check out her gameplay reveal trailer above.

After a quick update on how our Starfield adventures are going, we discuss Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team’s big decision to bend the Series X/S parity rules to get Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox, Destin’s big interview with Phil Spencer — including whether or not Microsoft will produce a mid-gen refresh for the Series X — the sad closure of Volition, and more!

A big cameo was reportedly cut from the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel, according to an industry insider.

This is the episode you've been waiting for: Starfield. We brought in our Starfield reviewer, Dan Stapleton, to have a spoiler-free discussion about what we think of the most anticipated Xbox game of the year. We talk about what we like, what we don't, and how it ranks alongside Fallout and The Elder Scrolls.

According to a new report, proves it may be the shortest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.

Ukrainian development studio Dreamate has announced New Arc Line, a fantasy steampunk CRPG due out in 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

The Payday 3 release date has been announced, and it's likely coming out sooner than you'd expect. Not only that, but developer Starbreeze has fully lifted the lid on what players can expect from the new game. It certainly looks like heists are much more expansive this time around, giving players more ways of approaching them.

Gamescom is underway, and this week's episode is dedicated to a recap and analysis of everything from the Opening Night Live showcase -- from the beauty of Alan Wake 2, Black Myth: Wukong, and Lords of the Fallen to our disgust at the knucklehead stage-crashers who are going to ruin access these events for fans. Plus: We can tell you that we're playing Starfield, and though we can't share any opinions on it yet, we let you know when you can read IGN's review.

Payday 3 is releasing soon, and Starbreeze is gearing up for the FPS game‘s launch at Gamescom right now. In a twist of events that took fans by surprise, iconic rapper Ice-T made an appearance during the opening night showcase to announce that he has teamed up with Payday 3 for an official in-game heist mission of his own. If you’ve ever wondered what one of your favorite musical artists could produce with your favorite game developer, then this heist should be right up your alley.

The Gamescom 2023 Opening Night Live show has drawn to a close. Lasting two hours, the main showcase brought us a variety of trailers and announcements for upcoming games. Don't worry if you missed the show, because below you'll find every trailer shown during Gamescom 2023.

Across years of updates and new missions, Payday 2 ultimately escalated to such a ridiculous degree that the gang broke into the White House to stole pre-signed Presidential pardons for themselves. It was good ridiculousness. Now Payday 3 is on its way, and the cooperative heisting looks far more down-to-Earth in a new trailer fresh out of Gamescom.

Basketball season is fast approaching, and so is a new opportunity to virtually get in on the action: NBA 2K24 New Gen. 2K shared preliminary information about the game in July but has just announced new details about September 8th's NBA 2K24, including adding a LeBron Era. This new mode follows LeBron James' 2010 journey of leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat and leads into the already existing Modern Era. NBA 2K23 also introduced the Magic vs. Bird Era, Jordan Era and Kobe Era to the game. 

Today, 2K has revealed the details surrounding two if its modes for the upcoming NBA 2K24. This is specifically for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S console versions of the game. NBA 2K24 launches on September 8 for these two platforms, while the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC begin to take a back seat on the development cycle. The PC version is still tied to the previous console generation version of the title. MyNBA introduced the Eras last year, which was a fantastic move and NBA 2K24 will build on this. The LeBron Era has been added so players can rewrite history through the 2010s. A new automatic aging transformation has been added for this era player once the Modern Era is reached.

director Nia DaCosta has revealed when in the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s timeline the Captain Marvel sequel takes place.

Startup game development house Eon Rush Studios has announced its first game, which shares the name of the studio: Eon Rush. It's a co-op action RPG in which players "will battle across different eras of science-fiction and fantasy." It's in development for PC (via Steam).

GameMill Entertainment and AMC have announced a new game in The Walking Dead universe called The Walking Dead: Destinies. It's a third-person, narrative-driven action-adventure game in which your choices can reshape the story of seasons 1-4 of the hit TV show. It's in development for all major platforms (PC via Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch).

Big-time Xbox exclusive FPS STALKER 2 has a rumored release date that's coming up soon...but do we believe it? We discuss the rumor. Plus: we engage in a lengthy discussion about Xbox's new eight-strike behavior-enforcement system for Xbox Live, go over the great Xbox Game Pass lineup leading up to Starfield's release, and more!

The Kalimdor Cup is now live, allowing players to complete Dragonriding Races in Azeroth! Kalimdor Cup Guide and Rewards

A 12-second clip of Michael Cera doing an impression of Tony Soprano is making the rounds online – and it's... fine?

is highly anticipated, and Marvel fans are wondering when they can start streaming the film.

Ravensburger has announced the latest in its Horrified series of spooky board games, and this time we’re heading to the underworld in Horrified: Greek Monsters.

Eight weeks ago, Ms. Marvel died. This week, her family was over it. That’s thanks to Emma Frost, who is on the run with the rest of the surviving X-Men after Orchis, the human supremacist mad science cabal, depopulated Krakoa and murdered many mutants. Lot going on in the world.

Remnant II has sold more than one million units across all platforms in its first week, so Stella, Kahlief, and Destin discuss how Remnant II has improved from its original game formula and how unique the gameplay loop is. Plus: Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t be releasing on Xbox for quite some time, your Xbox controller will be easier to repair on your own, and we have the full list of games joining and leaving Xbox Game Pass for August.

The upcoming return of MTV‘s is set to include the return of original cast member Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, something that the actress says she’s missed.

Though Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard has cleared its biggest hurdle (the FTC), the deal isn't quite done yet. And all parties involved have given themselves more time to finalize the deal. We discuss that, plus Sony finally signing its 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft, the death of Xbox Live Gold and its somewhat confusing replacement in the form of Xbox Game Pass Core, and more!