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Assassin’s Creed Syndicate free on Epic Games Store to end February – VG247

Plus card-collecting strategy game Faeria

Image: Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is one of two free games closing out the last week of February for the Epic Games Store, beginning today. It’s joined by Faeria, the card-collecting strategy title for PC announced last week.

Syndicate, launched in 2015, was the last of a five-game arc spanning the 1700s and 1800s, before the series returned from a one-year hiatus with its current ancient world theme. Set in Victorian London, players take control of twins Jacob and Evie Frye as they infiltrate and unite the city’s underworld factions to repel Templar control.

Even if it’s five years old, Syndicate is still a mainline entry in the open-world adventure series, and sells for $29.99 on Steam, where it enjoys a mostly positive reputation among user reviews.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Faeria replace Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Aztez on the free games roster for February. They’re available until Thursday, Feb. 27. InnerSpace will be the next free game on the Epic Games store, available Feb. 27 to March 5. The adventure/exploration game, in the mold of Journey and Grow Home, is the debut work of PolyKnight Games. It launched in January 2018.

Epic announced at the beginning of January that it would continue its free games giveaway for 2020, following a 2019 in which the new storefront handed out 70 games to those who install its client. Epic says the give-outs helped it acquire more than 100 million users of the Epic Games Store during its first year.

Deadpool is coming to Fortnite – VG247

Marvel’s mercenary is this season’s hidden skin

Image: Epic Games

Fortnite’s latest season is here, and one of its mysteries was solved right off the bat. Deadpool will be the Fortnite season 2 hidden outfit, and we know because Deadpool revealed it himself.

Each of Fortnite’s seasons since chapter 1 season 3 have had hidden skins that players could unlock by completing challenges. Normally this skin remains a mystery until around week seven or eight, but this time around, Deadpool — in typical Deadpool fashion — let us know that he was the secret right away, by swimming in a pile of V-bucks on the battle pass screen and trailer.

Deadpool showing off his own hidden skin the Fortnite chapter 2 season 2 battle pass trailer

While Deadpool may have revealed that he was the hidden outfit on the battle pass screen in-game, that wasn’t the first time we got a glimpse of him in the season 2 promotional material. As it turns out, he was also in the Fortnite season 2 launch trailer, but only for a brief second behind a trick bookshelf.

Since there’s no mystery to what the hidden skin will be, Deadpool also gets to be a part of your mission hub, which was newly added with season 2. If you click on the Vent area from the main hideout room, you’ll be taken to Deadpool’s room/bathroom. From there you can log into his computer and get the lowdown on all of his challenges. These are the challenges you’ll likely have to complete to unlock his skin later in the season.

There’s no official information yet on when the Deadpool skin will actually be unlockable, or how many challenges players will have to complete to unlock it. But we should learn more as Fortnite season 2 progresses.

Who are the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons characters? – VG247

The game is bringing back many NPCs we know already, while introducing a handful of new faces

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo is bringing back a lot of the beloved nonplayable characters we know and love, while also introducing some new ones.

While some of them have appeared in the background of promotional art, Thursday morning’s Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct finally gave names and objectives for most of them. Some of these NPCs are serving a new purpose, but some are replacing old NPCs, which raises the question: What happened to the old NPCs? Are they out of work now? Maybe they’ve retired? I’m worried.

Regardless, here are the new characters that we know of in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which will be released March 20 on Nintendo Switch:

ORVILLE AND WILBUR

A blue and yellow dodo named Orville asks the player if they want to connect using local or online play

Two dodos run Dodo Airlines, which delivers your mail and also takes you around to different islands. It appears that Orville runs the desk, and a sunglasses-wearing dodo named Wilbur pilots the airplane.

Oh, silly Nintendo, making it so the airline is run by a set of flightless birds named after the Wright brothers.

DAISY MAE

A small boar carrying turnips on her head offers to sell the player some of her stock

Joan, the turnip seller from the previous Animal Crossing games, seems to have been replaced by Daisy Mae, a baby boar who resembles her. The young boar seems to now be in charge of the stalk market, where players can attempt to buy turnips for cheap from Daisy Mae, and attempt to sell them for a higher value. I would die for her.

FLICK

A red punk lizard carrying a net asks if you want to compete in a bug competition

Nat has been replaced with a younger, red lizard named Flickr. He seems extremely punk and cool. Like Nat, he is probably going to eat the bugs we catch for him. Disgusting.

C.J.

A young beaver asks if you’re ready to participate in some seasports

This young beaver is replacing Chip, the guy who used to run the old fishing tourneys. He’s cuter and rounder than Chip, and he certainly seems like more of an athlete with those sunglasses on top of his head.

Surprisingly, the Baby Yoda Operation game does not require surgery – VG247

A version of the classic game Operation that will, at first glance, horrify and confuse your family

“Stop The Child’s mischief.” But at what cost?

Image: Hasbro Gaming

Hasbro has been making some very strange decisions lately when it comes to rebranding its stable of classic board games. The latest is called Operation: Star Wars The Mandalorian Edition, which, at first glance, looks like your best opportunity yet to eviscerate the most beloved character in the Disney universe.

For the uninitiated, the standard game of Operation requires a steady hand. Players use metallic tweezers to reach inside a human figure’s body and remove bits like the breadbasket. Bordering each bit is a metal contact. Connect the tweezers to the contact, and you set off a buzzer and a bright red light in the character’s nose.

However — despite what the core conceit of the Operation franchise implies — in the Mandalorian-inspired edition of the game, you’re not actually performing surgery on Baby Yoda. Instead, you’re taking away the toys that The Child has collected from those around him.

“Fans have fallen in love with The Child,” Hasbro says in the game’s description, “and must try to stop the mischief! Look at all the objects The Child has taken, including a froggy, a cup of broth, and a mudhorn egg! Players have fun using tweezers as they try to remove the most pieces from the game unit without setting off the buzzer.”

A picture of the game board itself shows players taking items from Baby Yoda, not removing them physically from his hairy green body. — It’s almost as if someone, somewhere, said “in no way may it be implied that players are physically harming The Child.” Hasbro did name it *Operation*, though.

Of course, anyone who has seen The Mandalorian knows that much of the tension in the first season of the Disney Plus series comes courtesy of the Empire, which hires Din Djarin to capture The Child — potentially for an execution. Or, you know, an operation to remove some of his Force-giving midi-chlorians during an operation. The cover of the game box itself does very little to diminish the implied threat that players will be causing harm to the little bugger, although the back of the box does make it clear what’s at stake.

For the record, this isn’t the first time that Hasbro has slapped the Star Wars brand on the Operation franchise. Operation: Star Wars Chewbacca Edition came out some time after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and allows players to remove Porgs — among other things — from the walking carpet at their leisure.

Thankfully, none of the tiny critters appears to have been spit-roasted.

Operation: Star Wars The Mandalorian Edition will be available this spring via Amazon and Walmart for $19.99.

Devil May Cry 3 and Mega Man Zero come to the Nintendo eShop this week – VG247

The NES and SNES online systems get new games too!

Image: Capcom

Before your Switch becomes an Animal Crossing: New Horizons machine next month, Nintendo has more games for you to play this February. Here are this week’s Nintendo eShop highlights.

The Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition is now available, with the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection coming to Switch on Feb. 25. Thursday’s eShop update also added four retro games to the Nintendo Switch Online’s NES and SNES emulator.

The Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition revamps the classic game, with new modes and a more modern weapon swapping system.

The Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection comes with Mega Man Zero 1, 2, 3, and 4. It also features Mega Man ZX and ZX Advent from the Nintendo DS era.

For retro fans, Nintendo Switch Online now offers Shadow of the Ninja and Eliminator Boat Duel for its NES emulator. SNES fans also have access to Pop’n TwinBee and Smash Tennis.

You can find more Nintendo Switch games coming this week listed below.

FEB. 20

FEB. 21

FEB. 25

FEB. 26

Free FIFA 20 update brings South America’s top tournament to the game – VG247

Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and CONMEBOL Recopa make their FIFA series debuts

Argentina’s Racing Club is that country’s top entrant in Copa Libertadores 2020, but the No. 2 draw in Group F.

Image: EA Vancouver/Electronic Arts

South America’s premier club football championship, Copa Libertadores, makes its debut in EA Sports’ FIFA series with a free update on March 3. It’s part of the franchise’s push into South America, giving the continent’s clubs and leagues a larger presence within the game.

Copa Libertadores, also called CONMEBOL Libertadores (for South America’s football federation) will be joined in FIFA’s career mode by the Copa Sudamericana, the continent’s second-most prestigious club championship (think of UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League). Both tournaments have appeared in Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series in the past.

The FIFA series has also had UEFA and Champions League licensing for the past two years, following the end of a 10-year exclusive pact between that federation and Konami. It looks like CONMEBOL’s tournaments will be getting similar treatment.

Copa Libertadores will have its own 32-club tournament mode, in which players may take familiar names like Argentina’s C.A. Independiente (seven Copa Libertadores titles), Boca Juniors (six), and River Plate (four); Uruguay’s Peñarol (five championships); and Brazil’s Flamengo (two) and Palmeiras (one).

FIFA 20’s career modes will find Copa Libertadores alongside Copa Sudamericana and the CONMEBOL Recopa, a home-and-home series between the winners of both tournaments, as playable fixtures. EA Sports said there would also be Copa Libertadores items coming to FIFA 20’s Ultimate Team.

Copa Libertadores 2020 began on Jan. 21 with qualifying stages, the third of which will begin on Feb. 26. That will determine the last four teams to make group-stage play, which starts in mid-March. Flamengo, Palmeiras, Peñarol, River Plate, Grêmio, Nacional, Olimpia, and Boca Juniors are the top draws in each group. The final is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.

Apex Legends is bringing back Kings Canyon – VG247

The original map is back

Image: Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts

Apex Legends’ original map, Kings Canyon, is making a return, but only for a very limited time. Respawn Entertainment will make Kings Canyon playable as part of a separate playlist in Apex Legends from Friday, Feb. 21, through Monday, Feb. 24.

Kings Canyon changed over the course of Apex Legends’ existence, but it appears that Respawn is bringing back the original, season 1 experience for players. Kings Canyon was altered for season 2 of Apex Legends, and players have been battling it out on a new map — World’s Edge — since October 2019 with the arrival of season 3.

World’s Edge has gone through some changes of its own as part of season 4 of Apex Legends, which also introduced a new legend, Revenant.

While the return of Kings Canyon may be curiously short-lived, Respawn may have a good reason for such a small window of availability. It may want to test how well matchmaking works with two maps in the playlist, which can dramatically split the player base.

Apex Legends is available to play for free on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One.

How to buy Persona 5 Scramble: Phantom Strikers if you don’t live in Japan – VG247

You will have to speak Japanese, though

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Persona 5 Scramble: Phantom Strikers, a hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors-style game set in the world of Persona 5, launches in Japan on Feb. 20. Unfortunately for Persona fans who don’t live in Japan, the game’s publisher, Atlus, hasn’t yet announced a worldwide release date.

For those who don’t want to wait for the as-yet-unannounced North American release (and those who, importantly, speak Japanese — there’s no English translation yet), the good news it that it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up a Japanese copy of the game.

A screenshot of the Persona 5 Scramble listing on the website YesAsia — The YesAsia website is pretty straightforward.

OPTION 1: IMPORT THE GAME

Persona 5 Scramble is available on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, which are both region-free consoles. That means they’ll play game cartridges or discs from other parts of the world.

While you’ll be sure to find listings from Amazon and eBay sellers, your best bet for importing Persona 5 Scramble is an online retailer that specializes in East Asian exports, like Play-Asia or YesAsia. While any imported game will see a bit of a price markup, those sites are generally the cheapest. We’d recommend going with YesAsia because it offers free international shipping on orders over $39. (Hint: It’s also a great place to look if you’ve got your eye on special edition consoles and toys that are only available in Japan.)

OPTION 2: CREATE A JAPANESE PSN OR NINTENDO ESHOP ACCOUNT

The other option is to create a Japanese PlayStation Network or Nintendo eShop account. Thankfully, both the Switch and the PS4 will allow you to add a Japanese account to your console even if you don’t live in Japan.

A screenshot of the Japanese Nintendo eShop

HOW TO CREATE A JAPANESE NINTENDO ESHOP ACCOUNT

To create a Japanese Nintendo eShop account, head to accounts.nintendo.com and sign up with a different email address from the one tied to your own eShop account. Under “Country/region of residence” select Japan. Finish setting up the account normally.

Next you’ll need to add a user to your Nintendo Switch through the console’s Settings menu. There you can register your Japanese eShop account to that new user. Be sure that you have access to the email you registered the new account with, since you’ll need to enter a four-digit code, delivered via email, to finish linking the account to your Switch.

Once that’s set up, you’ll be able to visit the Japanese eShop and purchase the game.

HOW TO CREATE A JAPANESE PLAYSTATION NETWORK ACCOUNT

Setting up a Japanese PSN account is a little more complicated than the eShop, but still pretty straightforward. Head to the log-in menu on your PS4 (“Switch User” if you’re already logged in) and hit the “Create a New User” option. Start creating a new account as normal until you get to the country selection screen. Once you select Japan, the text will switch to Japanese.

(Again, Persona 5 Scramble is only available in Japanese right now so we’re going to assume you can at least read the language. But if you’re struggling you can always try using the Google Translate app, which translates text using your phone’s camera.)

You’ll be asked to fill out some more information, like gender and birthday, and eventually you’ll come to a screen asking for your location. There are slots for post code, prefecture, and city, but you only need to fill out the zip code. Again, Google is your friend here. Just open up Google Maps and find a random location in Japan. (We used 103-0027, which is a post code in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo, but any Japanese post code will do.)

Next you’ll enter an email address and password and choose a username to finish setting up the account. Again, you should use a real email address, but one that’s not already tied to a PSN account. Once you’re set up, you’ll get an email to that address asking you to confirm your new account and you should be good to go.

A screenshot of the Japanese PlayStation Store

HOW TO BUY PERSONA 5 SCRAMBLE DIGITALLY

The next snag you’ll come across is that, unless you’ve got an international credit card, you won’t be able to buy Persona 5 Scramble (or any Japanese game) with your own credit or debit card. Instead, you’ll need to buy a digital currency card. Play-Asia offers digital currency for the eShop or PSN via a code that is delivered instantly over email.

Yes, it’s a bit more work to set up a Japanese account, but it’s worth it if you want to play Japanese games without having to wait for a cartridge to be shipped halfway across the world. Plus, if you want to download the game’s DLC you’ll need a Japanese account anyway

The Witcher 3 guide: Ladies of the Wood walkthrough – VG247

Choices and consequences for the Ghost in the Tree in “Ladies of the Wood” and “The Whispering Hillock”

The Witcher 3’s “Ladies of the Wood” is not a complicated quest on its own, but it ties into a couple other quests, and your choices have lasting impacts.

This guide is about the choices you make during “Ladies of the Wood” and the related “The Whispering Hillock” quest. We’ll help you understand what your options are and the consequences of your choice.

LADIES OF THE WOOD WALKTHROUGH

During “Wandering in the Dark,” Keira gives Geralt a book titled Ladies of the Wood. Open your inventory and check the book to start this main story quest.

Progress through the quest by following your map waypoints and using your Witcher Sense. There’s nothing hidden or complex here, so just keep completing the objectives as they appear.

Continue until you’re asked to “find out what’s killing villagers from Downwarren.”

Follow the waypoint, and you’ll end up with a new main quest, “The Whispering Hillock.”

THE WHISPERING HILLOCK WALKTHROUGH

As you approach the hill(ock), use your Witcher Sense to find nearby enemies. You’ll have to deal with a Werewolf and some Wolves before you can proceed.

Visit the nearby Velen Place of Power, and boost your Igni Sign. Follow the ledge and climb into the cave beneath the hill.

Follow the cave, and swim under the water. When you surface, you’ll meet the Ghost in the Tree.

During your conversation, you’ll get the choice to either free (“I’ll help you”) or kill (“I don’t believe you”) the spirit.

We’ll explain each choice and their consequences below.

ANSWER 1: “I’LL HELP YOU” (RELEASE THE SPIRIT)

If you choose to help the Ghost in the Tree, you’ll need three things to complete a ritual: raven feathers, the spirit’s remains (bones), and a horse.

You already collected the Raven’s Feathers during the earlier part of “Ladies of the Wood” while helping Johnny. If you missed them, return to the crow’s nest where you retrieved his voice.

FIND THE BONES OF THE SPIRIT TRAPPED BENEATH THE WHISPERING HILLOCK USING YOUR WITCHER SENSES

Exit the cave and follow your map marker into the swamp. Deal with the Drowners and Water Hag you encounter. Use your Witcher Sense to look for a headstone on the south edge of the search area.

CALM A WILD HORSE USING THE AXII SIGN AND MOUNT IT

Follow your map to the area indicated. Pull up the Axii Sign, and slowly approach the horses that appear. Hit it with Axii, and then mount it. Ride it back and into the cave.

START THE RITUAL

You have one last choice here to either go through with the ritual or kill the spirit. If you press on with the ritual, you’ll free the Ghost in the Tree.

ANSWER 2: “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU” (KILL THE SPIRIT)

If you choose to kill the Ghost in the Tree, you’ll immediately start a fight and get the objective “Destroy the heart in the tree’s roots.”

The tree will throw up a magical shield and summon several insect-like Endrega.

Handle the Endrega, and swing away at the Tree’s Heart when the shield drops. You’ll have to repeat that process a couple times.

TELL THE EALDORMAN OF DOWNWARREN YOU TOOK CARE OF THE PROBLEM

Whichever choice you made, the ealdorman of Downwarren will be nearby outside of the cave. Talk to him, and several scenes will happen in a row — you won’t have to walk anywhere.

You don’t have any more choices, so just navigate through the conversations to the end of “Ladies of the Wood.”

In the next section, we’ll talk about the consequences of the choice you make and give some guidance about which way you should go.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “I’LL HELP YOU” AND “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU”

Either choice you make will let you successfully complete “Ladies of the Wood.” However, your choice impacts a side quest called “Return to Crookback Bog” (which is itself another offshoot of “Family Matters”) that happens later in the game.

[Warning: There are spoilers for “Return to Crookback Bog” below.]

FREE THE SPIRIT

If you chose to free the spirit, the town of Downwarren will be destroyed when you return later. Later, you will not be able to save the Baron’s wife, Anna. The Baron will not survive either.

KILL THE SPIRIT

If you chose to kill the Ghost in the Tree, the town of Downwarren will survive. You might be able to save the Baron’s wife during “Return to Crookback Bog,” and the Baron might also survive. Their survival depends on your choices during that side quest.

WHICH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

There’s no clean or tidy outcome for this quest, but the most generally positive solution is to kill the Ghost in the Tree. (There’s an in-game book titled “She Who Knows” that suggests the Ghost in the Tree is the mother of the Crones you meet in “Ladies of the Wood.” The book says that She-Who-Knows is insane and led to “Velen … drowning in blood.” So maybe she’s not worth freeing.)

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Blood in the Darkness Map Challenges (Update 2.2)

This is text and screenshots guide for 5 challenges on new map.

Guide for New Maps Challenges

Introduction

Challenges are not difficulty-bound, so you can do them even on recrut. Remember – you need sucessfully finish level to unlock complete challenges.

The (not so) Great Escape Challenge

There are six (6) journals on level.

Nearly at start of the level, when you enter this area, go along right wall:

First journal will be there:

Second journal will be after bridge, under stairway.

Third one will be in prison area, where you need pull wheel to open gate:

After climb on ladder, before courtyard, behind crates on left side:

Fifth one is behind barrel on right, in area with last prisoner (dwarf near him)

Near end of level, jump over barrel and go upstairs.

A Fellow of Infinite Jest Challenge

Pick up skull. It is under dropdown to prison area, where you will need to pull wheel:

And then place skull here. It is after courtyard with prisoners, but before dropdown to boss.

In History`s Light Challenge

This one start in second grim area. If you dont know where it is, then look on screenshot: in front – dropdown to boss, path to grim on right side:

To get challenge, you need pull 5 hidden books on bookshelves in specific order, get key, open door, get torch and light brazier in boss area, while holding torch.

So, first book to pull – it is in grim room:

Second one – in same grim room, left from exit door:

Third one – after exit from grim room:

Fourth book is on second floor (on left of screen way to boss):

For fifth book go back, it is on right from stairway to second floor:

After picking last book, door right to it will open. Inside, pickup key:

Torch will be behind door (on left of screenshot):

Pick up torch and go to boss area. On left after drop will be brazier, light it up:

Is That All You`Ve Got? Challenge

Simply kill everyone after pulling wheel in prison area. Challenge will unlocked after death of last enemy.

Courtyard Sprint Challenge

This challenge is solo-doable – use handmaiden/battle wizard and conc potions (give them to bots/teammates). There are 9 cells with prisoners, remember their position. I`m not sure, when timer start, so I recommend drink conc pots before enter to courtyard (exit on screen). Challenge will unlocked after last cage.