Gaming

Gekko’s ability to use his little companion Wingman for planting or defusing the spike in Valorant has been a game-changer for the game. And players have found a trick with Wingman on Bind. Gekko players have recently found a hilarious and effective trick to use Wingman creatively on the desert map.

By throwing Wingman to plant the spike right as you enter the teleporter from the A site outside of Hookah, Gekko players can have Wingman sprint back to the A site to plant. This makes for a funny little sight, but it’s also a neat trick to fool the enemy team.

The trick is made even more powerful by Wingman’s ability to both scout and plant. While the enemies are focused on defending or retaking a site, Wingman can stealthily rush in and complete the spike plant. This makes Gekko one of the better initiator agents.

A great use of Gekko and the bind teleporters
byu/VMH_Undead inVALORANT

With Bind’s teleporters, this technique is even more effective, allowing Gekko to switch locations quickly while Wingman is on the long run back to the site.

To do this trick, Gekko players need to enter a teleporter while releasing Wingman at the same time. The timing is crucial. If done correctly, Wingman will sprint through the teleporter and continue to the planting site, while Gekko remains safely on the other side.

wingman doesn’t complain, scream, be toxic, or have an ego.

be more like wingman. pic.twitter.com/Hp0rfg3Kb1

— Keeoh (@Keeoh) April 15, 2023

This tactic has been perfected by many players, turning Wingman into a high-speed delivery system for the spike. Players describe the sound of Wingman zipping through teleporters as almost comical, likening it to a “super-speed” rush as he hurries to plant.

Gekko’s Wingman Plant and Defuse Ability#VALORANT pic.twitter.com/zM1oHgb0Oy

— Valorant Updates (@ValorantUpdated) March 4, 2023

Pulling off this Wingman trick requires practice and precision. The timing of throwing Wingman and teleporting must be perfect, or the ability won’t work as intended. Some players suggest heading into custom games to get the rhythm down before trying it in competitive matches.

Wingman’s trick works particularly well in coordination with other agents. For example, agents like Sage or Harbor can provide cover with their walls or utility, allowing Wingman to safely plant while the enemies are distracted. Gekko is a great pick for the current meta.

wingman doesn’t complain, scream, be toxic, or have an ego.

be more like wingman. pic.twitter.com/Hp0rfg3Kb1

— Keeoh (@Keeoh) April 15, 2023

The possibilities for team plays and synergies are endless, making this trick not just something you do for fun but possibly a team strategy. Imagine your whole team teleports and forces the enemy team to rotate off of the site only for them to find out that Wingman planted it on the site they just left empty.

Since we all agree that Gekko is meta, especially on Icebox, here is an A-exec molly you can swipe from #VCTPacific
Thanks @lakiaone pic.twitter.com/lPtyvoyziv

— Elevated (@ElevatedSpeaks) April 13, 2024

With the right setup, Gekko and Wingman can dominate a round, especially on maps like Bind where rotations can make or break a match. And this is just one of many situations where the agent shines.

Gekko’s Wingman has plenty of potential across other maps as well. Players are experimenting with different ways to use the little companion in high-pressure situations.

The ability to send Wingman into dangerous areas without risking a player’s life makes Gekko a highly desirable agent for teams looking to take a more strategic approach to their matches.

Have you tried out this Gekko trick? Let us know in the comments!

When I first booted up Age of Empires Mobile, it seemed like a faithful, if simplified, mobile adaption for the popular real-time strategy game series. I used my phone’s touchscreen to move units around, engage in combat, or take down structures. I was starting to see how this game could hook me if it were always like this, as I’ve dumped my fair share of time into games like Age of Empires II. Unfortunately, after that opening, Age of Empires Mobile exposes its true form.

Much of my early time in Age of Empires Mobile was spent in gacha menus, idle city building, and auto battles — none of which screamed Age of Empires to me. Nuggets of what’s so enjoyable about Age of Empires can be found in its mobile counterpart, but in practice, it feels like a mobile game adapted to the Age of Empires IP rather than a faithful and considerate Age of Empires adaptation for mobile.

A historical gacha

The core gameplay loop of Age of Empires Mobile is all about obtaining resources so you can continue to build up your citadel and upgrade the historical heroes and troops. For this early build, I was given tons of resources and never had to worry about timers or having insufficient resources to build what I needed. I suspect there will be time and money gates for free-to-play players, though. Obtaining historical figures through gacha pulls works for Age of Empires Mobile, as it gives the game a chance to cover a wide breadth of history without overloading the experience with many factions or campaigns from day one.

While games like Marvel Strike Force have shown me how this system can get predatory, I at least understand its inclusion here.  These historical figures serve as the leaders of troops I commanded, but unfortunately, Age of Empires Mobile lacks the depth of its PC counterparts or even fellow real-time strategy games on mobile, such as Warcraft Rumble. There’s a world map where players can walk around and engage players, but these battles are as simple as clicking a button to attack and watching the battle play out in real time. If you’re at a higher level than whoever you’re fighting, you’ll always win.

Age of Empires Mobile does feature Sieges and multiplayer battles that seem to act closer to the PC strategy games, but I did not encounter any of these in the early hours of the game outside of that opening. Even if that kind of content exists somewhere down the line, it feels a little misleading for Age of Empires Mobile not to get right into it. Choosing to focus on idle city building and an autobattler mode early on rather than the kind of RTS gameplay the series is known for is a baffling decision.

Building up my citadel was where most of my playtime was spent. It’s a sensible area for this mobile game to focus on, as maintaining a well-built and defended base is part of the PC Age of Empires games. Unfortunately, there’s little in the way of actual customization, so this part of the game felt like a huge time and resource sink to me rather than engaging. It also didn’t help that I was frequently directed to Age of Empires Mobile’s Island Tactics mode.

This mode is a direct clone of Auto Chess, as I placed my historical heroes in tiles and hoped they outlasted the competing forces. Autobattlers can be fun, but that’s not the type of strategy gameplay I come to Age of Empires for. It lacks much in the way of strategic interaction, which seems to be a recurring problem with Age of Empires Mobile. Outside of that opening and the occasional exciting historical hero pull, it does not feel like an Age of Empires game, but rather a reskin of other popular mobile games.

I’m not one to immediately dismiss mobile games. Marvel Snap has been my most-played game ever since it entered beta in May 2022, and I’ll occasionally check out games like Threes, Marvel Strike Force, or Warcraft Rumble when I need to kill some time on my phone. As a fan of Age of Empires, I was ready to be hooked by its mobile adaptation. Instead, I was left underwhelmed and confused about why I was seeing so many clichés rather than a sharp mobile strategy adaptation that gets why the PC Age of Empires games are as beloved as they are. Age of Empires Mobile may find an audience, but I doubt it will be with hardcore Age of Empires fans who’ve enjoyed the series for decades.

Age of Empires Mobile launches for iOS and Android on October 17.

It’s been nearly 17 years, and Dragon Ball fans are finally getting the long-awaited fourth entry in the legendary Budokai Tenkaichi series with Sparking Zero. Just like previous entries in the franchise, Sparking Zero includes a massive roster of 181 characters with beloved fighters, a single-player mode that takes us back to the most iconic moments, and a number of “What if” storylines.

With Sparking Zero‘s release right around the corner, gamers can’t wait to get their hands on this title and dive back into the Dragon Ball franchise. The fighting game’s file size has also surfaced online, finally giving us an idea of how much space we’ll need. It’s truly getting embarrassing for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

If you’re planning to pick up Sparking Zero, you’re probably keen to know about the download size. After all, all modern-generation games can prove to be quite extensive in terms of required space. Fortunately, this fighting game won’t chew away much of your storage drive.

Thanks to PlayStation Size and Yeims_11, we finally know how much space the upcoming title will take. Currently, Sparking Zero is set to take 39 GB on Steam, 27.5 GB on PS5, and 21.9 GB on Xbox Series S/X. Compared to other fighting games out there, the download size is rather small.

Sources:
@/PlaystationSize
@/Yeims_11 who was able to pre-download on Xbox and Steam’s official site. pic.twitter.com/jcM4nP2fE6

— Hype (@DbsHype) October 4, 2024

Previous rumors suggested that Sparking Zero would require at least 80 GB on Xbox Series S/X or even over 100 GB. If we compare, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot‘s file size was around 40 GB of storage, which was fair considering the fact that it was an open-world adventure game.

While the title won’t require 80 GB of storage, Sparking Zero, being 30 GB, is quite shocking. As we’ve said before, Sparking Zero is packed to the brim with content, including huge rosters, heavily detailed arenas, and an expansive story. Players can create their own storylines and share campaigns for online players to experience as well, meaning there’s a lot to do.

It’s great to see Bandai Namco caring for its fans and their storage drives, unlike Activision with the upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops game.

Traditionally, Call of Duty titles have always featured a large file size. At this point, we’re all used to it, but for some odd reason, Activision is taking things to the next level with Black Ops 6.

Thanks to the Xbox store, gamers got to know that the approximate file size for the upcoming Black Ops game is 309.8 GB. That’s way too much for a single game, but according to the developers, it’s the size for the Call of Duty application, which contains the majority of the files for 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, 2022’s Modern Warfare 2, and Warzone.

Black Ops 6 itself will take 149 GB of storage. Even though it’s not a crazy number, like 309.8 GB, it’s still quite bizarre. Activision states that the game is highly graphic-intensive with brand-new characters, maps, modes, and features such as Omnimovement, which has led to larger file sizes.

Maybe it’s time for Activision to take a page out of Bandai Namco’s book and learn how to properly optimize game files and not destroy gamers’ storage drives.

With that said, are you excited to play Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero? If so, let us know in the comments below.

The Avatar universe is set to get “the biggest video game in franchise history” — an AAA RPG where players will be introduced to a whole new Avatar.

IGN reported Thursday that Paramount Game Studios and Saber Interactive are working on the game for both PC and console that will have the players take on the role of a new Avatar in an original story. It’s being made in conjunction with Avatar Studios, the company founded in 2021 by Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko to expand the universe into other media.

While the game will feature all-new story elements and characters, Paramount and Saber told IGN that it’ll still be familiar to players. Players will have to master all four elements, engage in fights with companions, and “experience the challenges and decisions that come with being the keeper of balance in the world.”

Saber’s catalog is full of licensed games. Earlier this month, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, from Saber developers, launched to critical acclaim. The day following release, publisher Focus Entertainment revealed that around 2 million players have logged on. Other games Saber is developing include one based on John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, and continued development on a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake.

“At Saber, we are all truly fans of the IP we work with,” said Josh Austin, head of IP development and licensing at Saber Interactive. “Our team members are some of the most devoted, passionate creatives out there and it’s an honor to join forces with Avatar Studios and Paramount Games to further expand the Avatar Legends universe in video games.

This isn’t the first attempt at bringing the Avatar universe to video games, although it is the biggest. There have been video game adaptations since 2006, and with the series’ mostly consistent popularity, there have been many others even recently. Avatar Generations was a mobile turn-based RPG from Square Enix that shut down around a year after it launched in 2023. There’s also an Avatar: The Last Airbender fighting game in the works at Maximum Games set to release in early access next year.

Despite the company’s recent decision to abide by the demands of the Brazilian Supreme Court, X still isn’t back online in Brazil — and according to Reuters, that’s at least in part because it paid its fines to the wrong bank. After weeks being banned in Brazil, X in late September named a legal representative for the country as ordered, and took down accounts the court accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech. Its final hurdle was to pay off the fines that it had racked up, reportedly amounting to roughly $5 million.

Citing Friday court filings, Reuters reports that X says it’s paid the fines and requested to have services restored. But, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the funds went to the wrong bank, and the decision will have to wait until they’ve been transferred. X maintains that it paid its fines correctly, according to Reuters. X has been banned in Brazil since the end of August. While the company initially resisted the court’s orders, it recently changed its tune and said it was working with the Brazilian government to get the platform back online in the country.

The chaotic world Gremlins is back with Season 2 of the Max Original Gremlins series dubbed Gremlins: The Wild Batch.

Thanks to Comicbook, here’s a clip from the show showing off a scene of little Gizmo finding himself trapped by The Warden, played by Will Forte, enamored by this little Mogwai, holding him up in Alcatraz.

Beyond the Sausage Party: Foodtopia alum, we also have Ronny Chieng, Michael Paul Chan, Keith David, John Glover, Kelly Hu, and Jimmy O. Yang within the voice cast. This impromptu visit to the San Fran prison also introduces Simu Liu playing Chang. Based on the description, this also takes place one year after Season 1 and sees the trio of Gizmo, Sam, and Elle making their way home from Shanghai.

“Taking place one year after the events of season one, GREMLINS: THE WILD BATCH follows Gizmo, Sam, and Elle as they travel from their home in Shanghai to San Francisco, bringing even more magic, mystery and Mogwai mayhem. Hot on the trail of a new brood of evil Mogwai, our heroes journey deep into the American West, coming up against new supernatural creatures and picking up a few mysterious characters along the way.

Gremlins: The Wild Batch is available to stream right now on Max.

When you talk about MMA simulation titles, you can never go past EA Sports UFC. This franchise began its reign in this genre in 2014 after THQ’s immense success with UFC Undisputed. EA even went on to hold its highly popular Fight Night boxing simulation franchise to begin this MMA simulator franchise.

The MMA simulation title from EA marked its 5th installment in 2023, which is by far probably the best MMA game in terms of realism and gameplay. But just like every other EA Sports title, this game is also not free from bugs and glitches. And this might be the biggest problem for the game right now.

Recently, a fan took to Reddit and shared their disgust about the extreme glitches and bugs of EA Sports UFC 5. The fan has shared a GIF clip of a match in this game where a fighter looks like a Runner from The Last of Us.

This is a $70 game ladies and gentlemen…
byu/BBQ_Boi ingaming

It’s actually true. The character looked like a zombie more than a fighter because of a weird glitch as it was also unable to hit its opponent. It crawled in front of the opponent, throwing punches in the air mindlessly.

In the comment section of that post, another fan has stated this glitch to be worse than FIFA. This fact can’t be denied because we have seen many game-breaking glitches in EA Sports FC (previously FIFA), where the player goes straight into the goal post or an outfield player slams a chop kick directly on the goalkeeper.

On the other hand, there is another fan who commented on the Reddit post, where he shared a YouTube video. This video shows the condition of the very first game of this long-hailed series. Yes, EA Sports UFC, which was released more than a decade ago, was also infested with bugs and glitches.

The shocking part is that both the games, UFC and UFC 5, look almost similar. That means there has been no change for the last 10 years as far as fixing the bugs and glitches are concerned We hope EA looks into one of their most popular franchises and gets rid of these bugs and glitches. If you are new to the game, then you can check our review of the game for a better overview.

EA might not be that efficient in fixing the bugs and glitches in the game, but it always makes sure that there is no shortage of new content. That is why a new content update for this month is available in the game.

This update will focus on the Prime Series Alter Egos, which will revisit the early days of MMA legend Nick Diaz during his Strikeforce era. Along with Diaz, Daniel “DC” Cormier and Leon Edwards will also join the roster.

Besides this Alter Ego collection, 25-year-old lightweight prospect, Chase Hooper, will join the UFC roster too. Not only that, the undefeated champion in the undefeated category, Lerone Murphy, who holds a perfect 14-0-1 record, is also coming to maintain his undefeated streak.

Now everything will be sorted out if EA looks after the bugs and glitches in the game just like they do for the game’s content. What’s your opinion on this? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.