Gaming in Russia. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

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Dragon's Dogma 2 has a very intriguing new system, which oddly brings back memories of Metal Gear Solid 5.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to endorse a national strategy for the development of artificial intelligence, emphasizing that it's essential to prevent a Western monopoly. 

Today, November 24, governments took center stage in making major artificial intelligence-related announcements. IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the government of India has launched a crackdown on deepfakes, particularly their usage in videos. In other news, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the West should not be allowed to develop a monopoly in the sphere of AI at an AI conference in Moscow. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

A decade later, Frozen is still a pretty incredible looking movie. Despite accusations of Disney Face and a slew of movies that have aped its art style, Disney’s landmark 2013 film remains a pretty astounding display of digital animation prowess. Among the many fantastic looking elements, perhaps the most impressive is the snow. But Frozen’s snow has done more than simply look pretty — the technology that Disney used to make it helped solve the decades-old mystery of Dyatlov Pass.

If rumour speak true, the next Call of Duty game will be another entry in the Black Ops series. It'll also, allegedly, take place during the first Gulf War across 1990 and 1991, in which a US-led coalition of countries including the UK, Saudi Arabia and Egypt invaded Iraq in response to the Saddam Hussein government's conquest of Kuwait.

To track and study asteroids which are mainly present in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, NASA has several advanced ground and space-based telescopes in place. NEOWISE telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Pans-STARRS1, and Catalina Sky Survey are just some of the telescopes and observatories that help study asteroids and remove any uncertainties around their potentially close approaches to Earth. With the help of these, the space agency has shed light on an asteroid that is expected to pass Earth today, November 23.

Ridley Scott’s $200 million historical epic Napoleon is the stuff prestige-movie dreams are made of. Spanning 32 years in the French emperor’s life, the 158-minute film blitzes through multiple massive, expensively staged battles, all in order to consider how Napoleon’s marital struggles with his wife Josephine may have shaped French history. But does all this pricey prestige drama live up to the other great Napoleons of media? The Polygon staff takes this kind of question very seriously, so we sat down to consider which media Napoleons matter most.

Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and has been under investigation by US authorities for years over allegations of offshore money laundering. Now it has announced that CEO and founder Changpeng Zao is to step down from his role and plead guilty to violating US money-laundering regulations (via BBC), alongside Binance itself pleading guilty and reaching a settlement with regulators that will come to an eye-watering $4.3 billion.

Casting for James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy is on the move! While Clark Kent and Lois Lane actors David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan were confirmed in June, the past week alone has seen casting news for the Daily Planet’s Jimmy Olsen, Lex Corp’s Eve Teschmacher, a villainous version of the superhero the Engineer, and, of course, Lex Luthor himself. Nicholas Hoult, Variety reports, is in talks to play Superman’s archenemy.

WASD to move, mouse cursor to look, space to jump, C to crouch and slide. There, now you know everything you need to play the demo for Blessed Burden, a new first-person "horror adventure" from Podoba Interactive, in which you are "the last surviving priest in a religious apocalypse". I don't know many people in the clergy, but I'm pretty sure the job isn't supposed to involve quite this many swinging blade traps. Here's a trailer.

Xbox Series sales in Europe have dropped considerably compared to last year, while PS5 sales experienced a major boost year-on-year.

The best PS Vita games will offer you a new world of gaming on one of Sony's most iconic consoles, and while it may seem a little out of date in today's digital world, it still boasts an incredible array of titles worth playing. But with the Nintendo Switch and DS family dominating the handheld market, and Sony quietly closing down production of the PS Vita console in 2019, the clock is ticking to get your fix of Vita games before it is slowly fazed out. 

Starting on November 23, viewers can stream the critically acclaimed supernatural horror film Evil Dead Rise directed by Lee Cronin, who is best known for his work on the 2019 supernatural horror film The Hole in the Ground. Despite it being a standalone film, it is the fifth installment of the iconic Evil Dead franchise. The story of the film revolves around two sisters who try to survive and save their family from the threat posed by the Deadites. The film’s cast includes Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Mark Mitchinson, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher, Noah Paul and Richard Crouchley.

Any long-running series is bound to have at least a few iconic quotes — sayings that live rent free in players’ heads long after the credits roll. Here are our picks for the best quotes the Call of Duty series has ever produced.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales face several villains throughout . While most of these villains have complete arcs in the game's campaign or are used to set up future appearances in sequels or potential DLC, there is one villain who appears in the game but doesn't have a clear story arc ahead.

Reign of Guilds an upcoming medieval fantasy MMORPG by Atlant Games, is rapidly approaching its early access release, set for the first quarter of 2024. The developers announced this as a significant milestone as it maintains that all their updates from here on out are part of the «final stretch» and plans to showcase its readiness for a broader audience with upcoming tests.

There’s no escaping that Call of Duty is currently in a bit of a rut. Although there are bright spots in Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer and Zombies mode, it ultimately feels all too familiar. And the campaign? Our reviewer Simon Cardy said it was “perhaps the worst Call of Duty single-player campaign I’ve played.” It currently has a disappointing Metacritic rating of 56 and, unsurprisingly, Modern Warfare 3 didn’t make into IGN’s top 10 Call of Duty games (spoilers: it came bottom of the pile).

Greetings, Adventurers!

Another year, another Call of Duty. When a series releases annually, you generally get a good idea of what to expect, with some small variations and improvements along the way. Modern Warfare 3, on the other hand, feels like the result of a mad rush to release a full game and needing to cut corners because of it. All three modes are bound together by a common thread, and that thread has become worn and frayed.

505 Games parent company Digital Bros have announced - you guessed it - a round of mass layoffs. Following in the wake of Microsoft, Epic, CD Projekt, Sony and, well, take your pick, the company aim to cut roughly 30% of their workforce to shore up profits. The specific reasoning here is that Digital Bros think that people aren't interested in playing original new games; they'd rather get to grips with fictions and franchises they know and love already. As such, the company plan to "limit" their big budget projects in future, though no specific cancellations have been announced.

Activision has officially released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the latest instalment in their ever-growing rebooted  Modern Warfare sub-collection.

In a new development, NASA has revealed that an asteroid is set to pass Earth by a close margin today, November 15. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has designated this space rock as Asteroid 2023 UO. The asteroid was discovered and tracked using various ground and space-based telescopes. It will pass Earth at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers. Check out all the details of Asteroid 2023 UO's close approach.

Yesterday, Nvidia unveiled the H200 chip for artificial intelligence models, which will now be the company's most advanced semiconductor. Now today, November 14, things in the AI space has become even more exciting. In the first incident, YouTube announced that it would begin a crackdown on AI-generated deepfakes, especially those that mimic the platform's music industry partners. In other news, a new Oxford study has revealed that AI can help predict the risk of a heart attack as much as 10 years ahead of time. This and more in today's AI round-up. Let us take a closer look.

Twitch viewership held steady in Q3 2023 according to StreamElement’s latest State of the Stream report. Total hours watched grew less than 1% to 5.15 billion in Q3 2023 compared to Q2’s 5.14 billion total.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 shows how tradition can (and should) be broken in some cases.

Your choice of a browser often hinges on personal preferences and specific needs. For those who enjoy exploring video content in multiple languages, Microsoft Edge is gearing up to become your new favourite browser. The tech giant is actively developing a video translation feature, bringing an exciting dimension to the browsing experience. Despite holding a modest 10 percent share in the global desktop browser market, Microsoft Edge continues to evolve with fresh capabilities. The forthcoming video translation feature is currently undergoing testing, initially supporting four languages. However, it's just a matter of time before this functionality becomes available to all Edge users.

In the relentless world of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), where survival is key, the choice of weaponry can make or break a player's fate. In this Battle Royale game, the damage output of guns often serves as the ultimate decider in intense combat situations. Therefore, to give yourself a big boost, know all about these BGMI tips that can help yu land victory after victory.

First reported by Bloomberg (readers may encounter a paywall), the US unit of the Industrial and Commerce Bank of China⁠—the world's largest by total assets⁠—was struck by a cyberattack late Wednesday, forcing it to conduct business via messenger carrying a USB stick with transaction details.

Happy Friday, Polygon readers!

The weekend is just around the corner but before you let loose, you should know about the top developments in the artificial intelligence space. In the first incident, Air India has planned to introduce new features to its generative AI virtual agent that handles more than 6,000 customer queries daily. In other news, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued a statement that multiple AI-generated videos are being circulated targeting the Olympic officials, including one particular video where Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has been seen saying that officials are “slowly and painfully destroying the Olympic sports that have existed for thousands of years”. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

With the creation of Wingspan, the delightful ornithology-themed board game released in 2019, designer Elizabeth Hargrave helped give birth to the modern-day genre of nature-themed board games. Its success, buoyed by dozens of industry awards and all manner of mainstream media attention, has opened the door to dozens of similar games, from Meadowto Forest Shuffle. Now the acclaimed designer has leveraged that creative capital to delve ever deeper down a scientific rabbit hole. How deep? Well, her latest game is focused on an obscure Soviet effort to domesticate wild foxes… and it’s not half bad.

Game payments firm Xsolla has defended itself for its reduced presence in Russia after a Ukraine government minister called the company out for its ties to Russia.

Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has called for a boycott of game commerce platform Xsolla over links to Russia.

An asteroid struck Earth this year! No, this isn't the plot of a Roland Emmerich science-fiction but reality. Although it wasn't a planet killer that wiped out entire species like another space rock wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, it did impact the surface, alerting citizens who lived nearby. As per NASA, an asteroid turned into an atmospheric fireball on February 15 and crashed near McAllen, Texas. Law enforcement agencies in the McAllen region received several calls from residents who reported hearing a loud explosion. It was a 1000-pound rock that was 2 feet in diameter as it broke into pieces about 21 miles above Earth's surface.

Activision's military shooter has a particularly intense airplane sequence.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is making an example of SolarWinds by charging the company with defrauding investors for allegedly failing to stop a massive breach at the IT company and covering up its negligent cybersecurity practices.

Be careful out there.

After a bit of a shaky start with controversial buffs, debuffs and oodles of patches, players have had ample time since June to explore Sanctuary and all it has to offer and are wanton for more from Diablo 4 DLC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged on Monday that SolarWinds Corp. defrauded investors by downplaying security risks ahead of a hack of its software that rippled through computer systems across the US government and corporate America.

October 28 marked 20 years of the Call of Duty series, as part of which some of the key designers  have been talking about the greatest moments. The foundation for its overwhelming success, however, will always be original developer Infinity Ward, in particular the leap forward the studio made with the Modern Warfare series. It delivered an unforgettable and oft-controversial singleplayer campaign reflecting one view of contemporary geopolitics, alongside a best-in-class multiplayer experience that the wider series has followed ever since.

Elon Musk is facing criticism from the Israeli government for wanting to supply Starlink access  to humanitarian aid groups working in Gaza.

NASA keeps a regular check on the Asteroids passing close to the Earth. Asteroids have posed a potential threat to Earth for millions of years now. That is why it is extremely important that we prepare for all eventualities. Stopping an asteroid is impossible at the last moment, but we can take preventative measures and that is why space agencies like NASA keep a watch on all asteroids approaching Earth. In a journey to track asteroids, NASA has successfully executed the DART mission where it was able to divert an asteroid from its path. Now, NASA has tracked a gigantic asteroid traveling close to Earth. Check out the details below:

Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday said that his Starlink satellite service would support internet access for "internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza," which have faced a telecommunications blackout since Friday.

Reign of Guilds by Atlant Games has just concluded their 5th playtest, and it didn’t exactly go as smoothly as they would have hoped. Over the course of their test from the end of September to early October, players across the entire community were met with lost items, missing loot and trouble transferring between the tutorial and starting island.

Tim Cain, one of the lead developers on the first Fallout and the man behind its original design, says he has a secret plan for a sequel that nobody's ever going to see.

Elena Grigorian recently took over as CEO of My.Games, the former Russian game company that moved to Amsterdam after a buyout in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Fallout's co-creator has revealed where they'd like the post-apocalyptic series to head next.

Sony has said it expects one of its best seasons ever for console sales this Christmas, as PlayStation 5 stock is now in «full supply» for the first time since the PS5 launched in November 2020.

According to NASA, an asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2023 UV6, is on its way towards Earth and will pass the planet at a close distance today, October 27. The asteroid was discovered by NASA's Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), which is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). Asteroid 2023 UV6 is expected to pass the planet at a distance of 3.9 million kilometers while travelling at a speed of 26329 kilometers per hour, as per the space agency. Here's all about Asteroid 2023 UV6.

“This is for the record.” — Captain John Price, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009)

Konami showed off the first in-engine look at its remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on Wednesday at the Xbox Partner Preview showcase, giving us a glimpse at what Unreal Engine 5 will do to modernize the visuals of the 2004 original.

Today, October 25, was an important day in the artificial intelligence space, especially when it comes to AI chips. In the first incident, tech giant Nvidia says that the US government has ordered it to immediately stop exporting some of its advanced AI chips to China. Earlier, this decision was supposed to come into effect 30 days after October 17. In other news, Qualcomm has unveiled a new AI-powered chip for Microsoft Windows-based laptops and claims that its performance may even surpass that of Apple's Mac computers. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

On Tuesday, Meta was served a lawsuit by more than 30 US states, including 8 individual lawsuits from states, over the alleged use of features in Instagram and Facebook to lure children to the platform and get them hooked on harmful content. This fresh case has again opened the longstanding issue of companies exploiting children, one of the most vulnerable demographics of any digital user base in order to gain profit. However, Meta is not the only one to blame here. For years, many tech firms including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and others have faced similar lawsuits for failing to protect underage users.

Spider-Man 2 is hiding the fate of Rhino beneath the city, out-of-bounds and out of sight. At least, his original fate. We're not meant to find this treasure trove that clkz uncovered, so for the time being, it can only be considered cut content. In other words, Kraven's unfinished lair lurking beneath New York City isn't canon to the story, but it does beg the question of what happened to Rhino.

The name of Diablo 4‘s first expansion may have been discovered by a dataminer.

Apple and Google have temporarily shut down live traffic data in Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps in Israel and the Gaza Stripfollowing a request from the Israeli military, Bloomberg reports.

«But they were 100% right. I remember one person was like, 'This is offensive. I don't want to play this level.'»

The Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 has arrived. Am I excited? No, not really. I very much don’t love the Metal Gear series, which is extremely strange to me, considering it’s popularly held in high regard. I feel like I should like them, I just don’t (aside from the excellent Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake). Mostly, I think it’s my distaste for Hideo Kojima’s exposition-heavy writing style. I think it’s cool how he creates games that don’t strictly follow industry trends, I just think someone should take his pen away.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of Call of Duty. As part of a week of Call of Duty coverage, this feature takes an in-depth look at 'No Russian', the controversial mission from Modern Warfare 2. It contains discussion of content some readers may find disturbing.

A former National Security Agency employee has pleaded guilty for trying to email state secrets to a Russian agent. 

Hotline Miami and its sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, two of the very best indie games, can finally be played natively on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles thanks to a free upgrade.

Developer Wargaming has launched a brand new charity initiative called WargamingUnited with the aim to raise money for Ukraine. 

Police across Europe may have dealt a major blow to the cybercriminal gang behind the ransomware strain Ragnar Locker. 

makes significant advancements beyond the features of its predecessors, and that includes greatly expanding the map size. The web-swinging superhero is synonymous with New York City, the skyscrapers of Manhattan being particularly well-suited for Spider-Man's preferred method of traversal. NYC contains five boroughs, however, and the first two games – and – both notably took place solely within a truncated Manhattan. adds portions of Brooklyn and Queens to the mix, practically doubling the map area, even though the game itself takes roughly the same time to beat.

PlayStation parent company Sony has donated $2 million towards humanitarian aid for those affected by the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Lunar eclipse October 2023: In a year marked by celestial wonders, skywatchers around the world are in for a treat with the upcoming lunar eclipse and it is promising to be a captivating event. The lunar eclipse follows on the heels of the earlier annular solar eclipse in October, creating a celestial double feature that has stirred excitement among astronomy enthusiasts.

The Chinese government is restricting the export of graphite, a critical mineral in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries.

NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 4090 GPU has seen a huge price surge in China, pertaining to the recently imposed US restrictions, which have disrupted its supply.

Is your freelance IT worker actually a North Korean operative? 

— the Oscar-nominated actor who portrayed Paulie Pennino in the Rocky movies — has died. He was 83 years old.

A free update arrives for the classic Spookypasta-themed game.

A known vulnerability in the file-archiving tool WinRAR continues to proliferate because not enough users are installing the patch, according to Google. 

World of Tanks developer Wargaming has announced the launch of its biggest fundraising initiative in support of Ukraine with its WargamingUnitied project. The drive will raise funds to help purchase ambulance cars for Ukrainian medics.

Russian video game studio Odd Meter was one year into the development of Indika, a game set in an alternate 19th-century Russia, when the Russian government launched a devastating attack on Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country, many of whom opposed the war on Ukraine — including the majority of Odd Meter’s developers, according to studio founder Dmitry Svetlow.

11 bit studios will publish INDIKA, a narrative-driven adventure game set in parallel 19th century Russia developed by Kazakhstan-based studio Odd Meter, the companies announced. It will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG in 2024. Part of the game’s revenue will be donated to help children affected by the war in Ukraine.

You now have a new way to quantify your personal privacy dystopia: A “Creep-O-Meter” score from the Mozilla Foundation that puts a number on the state of digital privacy each year.

There’s an unnerving entity living in my phone. It sends me cryptic, insistent messages, leaves barely comprehensible texts, and I never really know its true intentions. It’s not a really needy internet friend, it’s Franz. She’s haunting my phone and I’m not sure I am okay with it.

Though this was the year "everything changed," Gartner Fellow Leigh McMullen was looking to the future at this week's Gartner Symposium, laying out the company's strategic predictions for 2024.

Israel is following Ukraine in tapping SpaceX’s Starlink to supply wartime communications.