Paradox Arc, the new games team with a focus on indie games at Paradox Interactive, has announced the next title it will be publishing asTlatoani: Aztec Cities. Developed by Perspective Games and Bellwood Studio,Tlatoaniputs players in the shoes of an ancient Aztec ruler entrusted with building and growing a humble settlement into a sprawling multi-city-state empire. Based on the trailer, I’m getting some serious modern-dayPharaohandCaesar 3vibes fromTlatoani: Aztec Cities, and I’m all for it....

Initial PSN downtime bug appears to be solved Yesterday saw the launch of a brand new system update for PlayStation platforms PS4 and PS5. Following a somewhat problematic few hours, (which saw the PlayStation Network collapse upon the update’s release, the firmware patch should now be running smoothly on both of Sony’s big ol’ boxes. Among the features included in the new updates are the (long-requested) ability to create Open and Closed parties for their pals, allowing for the easy gathering of player groups for team gaming and/or simply hanging out....

The box… THE BOX… Last week at SDCC, Treyarchunveiled a special collector’s editionfor their upcoming military shooterCall of Duty: Black Ops 4. The Mystery Box Edition, which is generally themed around this year’s Zombies mode, is now available for pre-order, although supplies are selling fast. The Mystery Box comes complete with a copy of the game in an exclusive steelbook along a whole host of goodies. These include a comic, a 1000-piece jigsaw, a phone-grip, art lithographsand much more....

Alec Barkwin will try to fight you This is an odd one for me. I’ve been looking forward to playingPupperazzifor the better part of three years, ever sincewe first reported on the gameB.C.—before COVID. The idea of exploring a handful of bright and colorful locations, taking pictures of adorable dogs as they hipped and hopped around seemed like it would be the perfect way to get a quick fix of instant joy I often need after a long day of working in public communications....

A European shooter that tries to bring the AAA retail experience ofGears of Warto a digital-only medium? Surely such a thing has to be shoddily made, incomprehensible, and thoroughly awful. There is no Earthly way that such a game could prove itself as a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough, a surprisingly brilliant title that manages to make the best of what it has. It simplycouldn’tshock us out of our cynical ways and teach us a lesson about judging books by their cover....

Anua-LIES! After EA decided to pullMedal of Honorfrom its stables, there was fear thatBattlefiedwould be annualized to continue to try and contend with theCall of Dutyjuggernaut. Speaking toVideogamer,Battlefield 4executive producer Patrick Bach said, “I think the coreBattlefieldidea that we’re working on at DICE is… We can’t build a game at DICE every year.” Good. Because, guess what? I really needMirror’s Edge 2‘s development to not have excessBattlefieldgiblets clog the cogs, you know?...

Spin dash! Sonic will be continuing its “SEGA Ages” line-up on Switch with five more Genesis classics. Announced via this week’sFamitsu magazinein Japan,Sonic the Hedgehog 2,Space Harrier,Columns II,Out Run, andThunder Force ACwill be available for download at some point in the future. As far as tweaks and additions go,Columns IIwill sport an online battle mode andOut Runwill contain an arrange soundtrack alongside the original tunes. There is no confirmation of prices or even if these re-releases will be heading West....

And it only took 19 hours! Settlement building inFallout 4isn’t as user friendly or refined as it should be (I’d like my garden of melons to not float three feet off the ground, if at all possible), but that isn’t going to hold people back from making impressive things. Take, for instance, this walking piano: Yes, YouTube user Gunslinger Media built a functional piano using speakers, pressures plates, and a whole lot of wires....

I love that Japan takes game music seriously. Its singles and albums rank up there right alongside pop and rock, and in music stores you’ll find them in the same racks. Sony is also taking game music seriously. They’ve announced a service called PlayStation Game Music for Japan. It lets users stream first and third-party PlayStation game music to mobile devices. Andriasangsays that the service launches with content fromFinal Fantasy XIII-2, Monster Hunter, Dynasty Warriorsand theYakuzaseries....

Mmmmm, red D-pad A newStar WarsPlayStation 4 bundle was just announced at the Disney D23 Expo. Darth Vader’s visage is emblazoned across the top of the console, and the controller has a sweet red D-Pad. You get cool white analog sticks that’ll probably look gross after a week’s use. You also get the newBattlefrontand a voucher for four classicStar Warsgames:Super Star Wars,Bounty Hunter,Jedi Starfighter, andRacer Revenge. They’re supposedly remastered, as well....

Currently 40% off till December 20 on Steam I think it’s pretty safe to say thatStick it to The Man!was easily underneath everyone’s radar when it landed on PlayStation 3 and Vita last month. The game garnered one of our highest reviews of the year, thanks to it’s highly unusual art style and excellent comedic chops, and after getting some hands-on with the PC version that is now available on Steam, I feel like quite the fool for waiting so long to see what all the hype was about....

I’m here for the Angora rabbits The wholesome-sim hits keep on coming. It feels like we only just gotRune Factory 4 Special, andAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsis a few tantalizing days away, but there’s also the upcoming Nintendo Switch remake of the Game Boy Advance titleHarvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Townto consider. When is that game coming out? And are we ever going to take a breather? (Don’t count on it!)...

Target, you bungled this entire operation Things haven’t been looking good for Nintendo and its retailer-exclusive amiibo initiative. Toys”R”Us has bungled pre-orders so many times it’s hard to tell if anyone will actually get their Lucario amiibo at this point. Best Buy didn’t open pre-orders for its exclusive until weeks after the announcement. Target’s Rosalina pre-order process has been completely fucked, especially in Canada, where residents weren’t evenallowedto pre-order. Now,Target has announcedit’s closing all 133 of its Canadian stores because it will be impossible to reach profitability....