Sinister plots in a hive of rats iOS developer Andrew Smith has accused several mobile sites of demanding money in exchange for timely reviews. A number of outlets are allegedly demanding anywhere between $5 and $150 for the privilege of their summaries. Smith has decided to create an ever-updating list of sites that engage in this practice. So far he’s made a note of AppCraver, Tapscape, Best 10 Apps, The iPhone App Review, iPhone Toolbox, and iPhone Footprint....

I call Oddjob! Modderdemo_the_doomerhas taken up an odd job recently: rebuildingGoldenEye 007as aDoommod. Hey, you got to stay busy, elsewise you die, whether you’re remaking an old game in a different old game or working towards being able to do100 consecutive push-ups. While some of us can still find fun in the N64 staple (here’s Ben Davis all about it), others (me) have tried to go back to it within the past year or two and found it to control pretty janky....

Now, when I say “love” here I don’t mean romance scenes or anything like that (though all that incipient facial contact between Sasuke and Naruto could imply a lot), but Cyberconnect2’s love for bothNarutoand QTEs that make the fights in the normalNarutoseries look restrained. That’s all inUltimate Ninja Storm 3. I guess it goes to show what Cyberconnect2 can do when it doesn’t have anAsura’s Wrathto redirect its crazy (and development resources) towards....

It’s Hiiiiiigh Nooooon Rockstar Games have announced that they will be releasing a new trailer for the feverishly anticipatedRed Dead Redemption 2later this week. The trailer will drop on Wednesday May 2 at 08:00 PT / 11:00 ET / 16:00 BST. This will be the third trailer for the upcoming gunslinging adventure, the sequel to one of the most memorable open-world games of all time; 2010’sRed Dead Redemption.(2010!) Red Dead Redemption 2launches for PS4 and Xbox One October 26....

Free-to-play mobile spin-off en route It’s been a big news day forNieRfans. First we got a glimpseat this beautiful statuein production Prime 1 Studio. We laterreceived a launch datefor the long-awaitedNieR Replicanton PC and consoles, and to complete the trifecta, Square Enix has confirmed that mobile titleNieR Re[in]carnationwill be heading west on iOS and Android devices. Pre-registration has been opened for the Japanese version of the pocket-sized adventure on both the App Store and Google Play....

Game of frames Capcomhas announced on twitterthat, some two years and eight months after launch, they are going to work on removing input lag from their flagship fighting title,Street Fighter V. A constant thorn in the sides of pro-players since launch,Street Fighter Vreleased with around eight frames of input delay, that is, eight frames between a button being activated, and said move coming out on-screen. Though that might sound petty to most, in high-level play, where so much relies on predicting and countering animation frames, you can make a sandwich in eight frames....

On the surface,Palworldis filled with cute creatures that can be captured to help you maintain your base. However, when you look beyond the surface, you very quickly come to learn that Palpagos has seen some weirdness, and things get pretty dark. In a game where you’re able to butcher Pals andhumansor enslave them to do the hard work so you don’t have to, there’s more than a little bit of darkness hiding withinPalworld....

In the beginning… A double dose ofPokémonnews this morning. Not only did we receive a date for Nintendo DS remakesPokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but The Pokémon Company has also revealed the release date forPokémon Legends: Arceus, which will launch on Switch June 13, 2025. Pre-orders are now live on theNintendo eShop. A step away from the traditionalPokémonexperience,Pokémon Legends: Arceusis set in the Sinnoh region’s bygone days — a take on Japan’s feudal era — when the forefathers of what will come to be known as Trainers gathered their own Pokémon with somewhat more mechanical and ramshackle variants of the tools used by today’s critter catchers....

That deserves an IPPON! When writing about theupcoming characters forSamurai Shodown’sseason pass, I noticed something interesting. On PS4, you can actually add the season pass to your account regardless of owning the game. While my account has the game, I had a friend test it and it worked. It seems SNK is giving away the season pass for everyone until June 30 instead of limiting it to purchases of the game....

Let’s cook Red Dead Onlineis full of outlaws and bandits, debauchery and depravity. Probably ain’t no harm in adding a little bootleg booze to the mix. Rockstar’s really urging players to get after a career in moonshining, as this week’sRed Dead Onlinebonuses are mostly aimed at making your own mountain dew. Until January 13, anyone who hits Moonshiner Rank 3 will get an exclusive color of Kelley Boots. More enticing, adding flavor (like the delicious-sounding apple berry crumb) to a batch fetches an additional 500 Moonshiner Role XP....

In a recent interview onGameHead, Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime teased an upcoming “surprise” for Wii owners. Using the same breath he used to talk about the upcoming “Check Mii Out Channel” like it’s something you should care about, he reveals that something else is slated for the very near future. “The surprise is coming,” he teased, “by the end of September.” Reggie thinks we’ll like this surprise, but I’m not so sure....

The first thing many hackers do once gaining access to a games innards is start screwing around. We saw that when folks shoved the developer console back intoModern Warfare 2,setting up servers and gametypes with wild gravity, infinite grenades and that sort of thing. Once the elation dies down, the next thing they do is startexploring, and if these rumors are true, they’ve turned up a few gems that might have impact on console players in the future....

No Ms. Fortune here Skybound Games has announced that it will be bringingSkullgirlsto the Xbox One alongside thepreviously announced Switch port. Both are scheduled to hit their respective digital marketplaces this Spring, but Switch owners will have another option for buying the game. On theofficial Skybound website, pre-orders for a limited physical edition ofSkullgirlsare now available. Retailing for $49.99, the limited edition will include the game on a cartridge, a 12′ vinyl record of the game’s soundtrack, and some joy-con/joy-con grip stickers to decorate your controllers....