Game Rant

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth?is up for a staggering seven nominations at the 2024 Game Awards, matching only Astro Bot in number of awards categories it is being nominated for. Of the categories, I think it has a high chance to take the Best RPG award, Best Score and Music, and Best Narrative, but I don't think it's going to win Audio Design, Performance, Game Direction, or GOTY. I am biased toward?Balatro?winning GOTY, as I love that game in a way that's hard to explain briefly, but I think?Metaphor: ReFantazio?or?Black Myth: Wukong?are going to take that top prize. And though I'm not familiar with all other contenders in other categories, I don't think its audio design, performances, or overall game design were?particularly?great compared to the games I do know.

Fortnite?removed the Battle Stars Level Up system from?Fortnite. Now, leveling up means players get to unlock a Battle Pass reward. Even though it simplifies how the Battle Pass works, it's not as fun. Before, each type of reward would be worth a certain number of Battle Stars and it felt fair to only spend 2 Battle Stars to get an emoticon but 8 Battle Stars to unlock a skin. Since you have to level up a full account level to unlock a reward each time, it doesn't feel worth the cost when you spend it on smaller rewards, such as sprays and emoticons.

The Water Temple from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time?stumped me for days the first time I played it all the way back in middle school. It's like a labyrinth that you will all but assuredly get lost in if you aren't following a guide or have a map of the dungeon open, every room looks the same, and the water mechanic and Iron Boots just add more to think about when traversing this veritable maze. It's hard to think of any game puzzle that stumped me harder than figuring out the way through the Water Temple ¨C perhaps as I've grown up I've just gotten better at solving puzzles in games.

To celebrate the release of bullet hell roguelike Entropy Survivors, Game Rant is giving away five Entropy Survivors game codes, redeemable on Steam, to five winning participants in our giveaway draw. To?enter the draw for your chance to win, simply leave a comment below letting us know in 10 words or more: what is your favorite roguelike game and why? Entries close December 11, 2024, at 11:59pm ET Giveaway Rules: No purchase required to enter. Contest begins on December 4, 2024, at 5:00pm ET and ends on December 11, 2024, at 11:59pm ET. There are a total of five (5) prizes available to be won as follows: five (5) game codes redeemable on Steam to download the game Entropy Survivors, each prize having an approximate retail value of $11.69 CAD ($8.31 USD). Winning contestants are randomly selected from valid entries, and a skill-testing question is required to be successfully completed prior to being awarded a prize. Contest open to legal residents of Canada (excluding Qu¨Ļbec) and the

I have so many good memories playing?The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King?on my PlayStation 2, especially the opening level that took place in the Helm's Deep fight at the end of The Two Towers. It's a real anomaly because the best licensed games tend to be not directly tied to a film's plot, like the many?Star Wars?spin-off games (Jedi Survivor, Outlaws,?etc) or The Simpsons: Hit and Run. But it's hard to think of other games directly based on movies that are actually worth playing.

I'm really excited to try?Path of Exile 2?co-op, as it will have both online and local co-op for all platforms on launch ¨C including PC, which rarely gets local co-op functionality in ported games. My wife has never tried?PoE, but I think she will be more inclined to give it a go if we both get to play together on the same screen, and I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like playing PoE 2?with someone sitting on the couch (or in a desk chair) next to me.

I loved watching?Mickey's Christmas Carol?when I was a kid. It was the first adaptation I ever watched of?A Christmas Carol, and I still consider it my favorite to this very day.

I had a ton of fun playing Delta Force during its closed tests and demo, and I'm very excited to hop back into it once it enters open beta. The gunplay is punchy and satisfying, the pacing is just right, and while I'm still bothered by the whole specialist clone wars thing, it ultimately doesn't detract anything from the overall fun factor.

Sunday is easily a top-tier Support character. He's three Harmony units in one (Sparkle, Bronya, and Tingyun), and while he has the unique ability to move summoned units up the turn order along with their masters, Sunday remains a strong pick even in traditional DPS comps.

I have yet to play the game and am waiting for release alongside everyone else, but from what I've seen in trailers and pre-release footage of?Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I think Troy Baker has done a fantastic job voicing Indiana Jones and bringing life to this iconic character. Baker does an amazing impression of Harrison Ford at the time the game takes place, and it's only rarely that his voice acting doesn't sound quite right. I was initially worried about the voice not matching Ford's face and model, but honestly I'm very impressed and it makes me more excited to play this.

With one of the three upcoming League of Legends shows now confirmed to be set in Demacia, I think it'd be great if the upcoming series would star Lux and Garen during the mage revolution led by Sylas. It would be great to see the Mageseeker's story from Lux's perspective as she tries to keep her powers hidden from her family.

I'm not a fan of the comically bulky look that characters like Captain America, Wolverine, and the Punisher have, but I'm absolutely in love with the rest. Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Hawkeye, and Star-Lord are probably my four favorite heroes in Marvel Rivals in terms of looks alone.

I think, up to a certain point, there's no reason for?Path of Exile?fans not to try out the Early Access for?PoE 2?with an Early Access Supporter Pack. For $30 you essentially get the entire game, as Grinding Gear Games has already added the first three acts and the endgame to the EA, and only plans to add the last three Acts that bridge Act 3 to the endgame in the next few months. The higher-tier Early Access packs come with some nice goodies (and even real-life rewards), but for the remarkably high price points, I don't think they're worth it. But hey, if you have the disposable income and are a big enough?Path of Exile?fan, go nuts!

I'm really excited to try the Mercenary, as it looks like it will be completely new and its ammo/gun-like Crossbow is going to make for some really neat gameplay. I'm also curious about the Witch, as I like summoner builds in ARPGs but have a hard time warming up to the way some of them are implemented/how they feel to play.

I think?Astro Bot?is going to win the Best Family Game and Best Action/Adventure game, but I don't think it's going to take Game Of The Year or the other categories it's up in (Score, Audio Design, Art Direction, Game Direction). The GOTY contenders are just too unique and aren't platform-restricted, and I think it will have a tough time against contenders in other categories.?

After the epic Marvel collab, I'd love to see Monopoly GO partner up with Pokemon. Imagine collecting your favorite Pokemon as tokens and trading stickers themed around different Pokemon regions. Plus, a crossover with Super Mario would be pretty cool too. You could collect Mario, Luigi, and Peach tokens, or maybe even race around the board in Mario Kart. Either way, it would be a dream come true for fans!

It's got to be Risk of Rain 2 for me. Every game starts off relatively chill, with barely any enemies spawning even on the hardest difficulty. Thirty minutes later, you're either constantly screaming or cackling maniacally as your screen is filled with bullets, missiles, lightning bolts, monsters, and damage numbers.

I like landing at Nightshift Forest. I usually try to find a Sprite on the outskirts of the POI and then bring it to Bushranger so they can give me the Vault Key. It's an easy way to guarantee high-rarity loot within the first couple of minutes of the game.

Even though I didn't like the Battle Pass as much as I thought I would, the new gameplay mechanics sure make up for it. This season is super fun, and I love the addition of the Oni Masks and Sprites in particular.

In this week's GR Monday Matchup, two of the most famous treasure hunters in pop culture history beat each other to a pulp in the battle of the everyman explorers: it's Nathan Drake vs Indiana Jones! Nathan Drake?and?Indiana Jones?are very similar. They're mostly-normal men without superpowers who explore the far-off and often forgotten reaches of the world as treasure hunters. But despite the supernatural and reality-defying events that happen in both the?Uncharted?and?Indiana Jones?series, both of these characters are pretty grounded.? The key difference between these two adventure pulp magazine-inspired explorers is their body count, and their willingness to get into fights. Across the?Uncharted?series, Nathan Drake kills a lot more people than Indiana Jones does throughout the?Indiana Jones?movies, and he's arguably a much better shot because of it.? We'll see how it feels to play as Indiana Jones in?Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, but until then I would give this fight to N