Cyberpunk 2077: See the Differences Between the E3 and Gamescom Demos

Cyberpunk 2077 and the team at CD Projekt Red have brought their gameplay demo, initially shown at E3 2018, to Gamescom – with a few small but very important differences.

First and foremost, the new demo features a playable male character – modeled to look like the one shown in the E3 2018 trailer, while the E3 demo was locked to the female avatar of V. The demo audience was allowed to choose which gender they wanted their demoist to play as, and there were differences in dialogue and NPC interactions throughout each demo. We also saw, in the moment where V wakes up after a night of good ol’ fashioned debauchery, that both the male and female versions of the character have spent the night with a man, marking the first time we’ve seen one of the LGBTQA+ relationships that are possible in 2077.

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How to 100% Shadow of the Tomb Raider, According to the Devs

Our IGN First month of coverage with Shadow of the Tomb Raider rolls on – we’re far from done yet! In this new look at Lara Croft’s latest adventure, the developers at Eidos Montreal give you tips for how to get 100% completion on the game when it releases on September 14.

Expect plenty of collectibles and secrets in Shadow, which won’t surprise you if you’ve played either of the previous two Tomb Raider games.

ABOVE: Check out the first 15 minutes of gameplay from Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is our IGN First game for August, which means we’ve editorially chosen to take a look at it all month long. Catch up on any of our coverage from the month that you might’ve missed right here.

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A Huge Pokemon Marathon is Coming to Twitch

If you wanna be the very best Pokemon fan there ever was, Twitch has an upcoming marathon that will put your dedication to the test.

The social video platform has announced an epic Pokemon livestream event that will include 16 movies and 19 television seasons (which amounts to a whopping 932 episodes), kicking off on August 27. Twitch will host a number of marathons spotlighting the Pokemon franchise over the coming months, which will continue into 2019.

And, in a typically Pokemon twist, Twitch will incorporate its interactive Extensions overlay to allow fans to collect Pokemon badges while they watch and earn points on an on-screen leaderboard – check it out below.

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Netflix’s Paradise PD Is the Most Depraved Comedy Since Brickleberry

If you were a fan of Comedy Central’s deranged animated comedy Brickleberry, you should already have some idea of what to expect from creators Roger Black and Waco O’Guin as they embark on their new Netflix series, Paradise PD, which trades park rangers for small-town cops who are every bit as twisted, inept, and ridiculous as Black and O’Guin’s previous creations.

This week, IGN has two exclusive sneak previews from the new Netflix comedy, which focus on the father-son team at the heart of this debauched group of cops (needless to say, these two make Homer and Bart Simpson look like a loving and well-adjusted family unit).

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Playing Super Mario Party Across 2 Switch Tablets Feels Like Magic

Nintendo is at its best when it’s trying something new. With touch and motion and even portability, keeping things weird and unique is always what leads to Nintendo’s most memorable hits. Mario Party isn’t usually a franchise I associate with that level of innovation, but on Switch that may finally have changed.

With Super Mario Party, Nintendo has added one of Switch’s most unexpected and unique features: screen sharing. By removing the Joy-Cons and lining up two Switch tablets, you can connect two screens with a simple swipe that allows gameplay to move seamlessly from one system to the other in any configuration and with any portion of the screens lined up.

Seeing that transition in trailers is impressive, but seeing it in person feels like magic. Playing a demo at Gamescom, I tried out two mini games in Toad’s Rec Room, the new mode that includes mini games utilizing two systems if both players own a copy of Super Mario Party.

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Fortnite 5.30 Update Adds Portable Rifts, Here Are The Patch Notes

Following a round of server maintenance, a new update is now available for Fortnite. Patch 5.30 has arrived on all platforms–PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile–and it introduces new items to both Battle Royale and Save the World modes, along with an assortment of bug fixes and other improvements.

On the Battle Royale side, Epic has introduced the previously teased Rift-to-Go. As its name suggests, this Epic rarity item is a portable rift that you can use to warp into the air and skydive back down. The rifts will last for 10 seconds once they’ve been activated, so other players will also have a brief window of time to jump into them.

Epic has also tweaked a handful of other weapons in Battle Royale. Now, Clingers will only detonate once their timer is up, while the Double Barrel Shotgun’s spread has been reduced by 15% when crouching. Epic has also slightly decreased the equip time of the Pump Shotgun and increased the max stack size of Impulse Grenades by one.

Beyond that, the latest update marks the start of a new limited-time mode called Score Royale. This mode has players scrambling to be the first to surpass the designated high score, and they’ll earn points by collecting coins, acquiring loot, and eliminating other players. The storm circle at the start of the match is also larger than normal, while the late-game circles close in more rapidly.

On the Save the World side, Epic has added the Bundlebuss Assault Rifle to the Weekly Store. This powerful new gun with a large magazine will only be available from August 23-29. A new Horde Weekly Challenge is also now available to take on.

You can find the full patch notes for update 5.30 on the Fortnite website. This week’s batch of challenges will arrive a little later than usual, rolling out on Friday, August 24, instead of on Thursday like they normally do. In the meantime, you can find guides for all the missions that are currently available in our complete Season 5 challenge guide.

Nintendo Switch Nindies Showcase Announced for Next Week

Nintendo has revealed the date of the next Nindies Showcase and promises that it will be “highlighting multiple unannounced indie games coming to #NintendoSwitch!”

Announced via Twitter, on Tuesday, August 28, the Nindies Showcase Summer 2018 will be streamed live at 9 am PT/12 pm ET.

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This announcement comes only a few days after Nintendo UK released their Indie Highlights video in which 16 games were revealed/discussed, including Windjammers 2, Monster Boy & The Cursed Kingdom, and Moonlighter.

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Yakuza Kiwami 2 Review

By the time the credits had rolled on Yakuza Kiwami 2 I’d uncovered a plot to detonate a series of explosives around Tokyo, climbed my way through the ranks of an underground fight club buried in the bowels of a construction site, and partnered with a number of businesses in Osaka in an effort to boost my burgeoning cabaret club management career. I’d also beaten up a baby nursery full of full grown men clad in diapers, struck flirtatious poses for a snap-happy photographer who was wearing nothing but a Speedo and a smile, and drank can after can of vending machine coffee in order to make my bladder full enough to beat the high score in the interactive urinal-based minigame.

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How Much Time, Money and Practice Does It Take to Make It to the Pokemon World Championships?

Tomorrow kicks off the start of the 2018 Pokemon World Championships where hundreds of players will descend on Nashville, TN for the annual competition to find who is the very best, like no one ever was. But what does it take to get a shot at taking home a cool first place Pikachu trophy and a chunk of the $500,000 prize pool? To find out, we talked to Carly Clements, a Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) player who just qualified to play in the big event for the first time. Every player’s journey is different, but Carly’s story offers a good look at how much time, money, and effort it takes to go all the way.

(Need a refresher? Check out our primer on how competitive Pokemon works.)

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What Did You Think of This Week’s Comics?

It was another big week for the comic book industry, with Marvel’s excellent Venom relaunch continuing onward and DC debuting a new Batman comic from fan-favorite artist Kelley Jones.

Scroll down to check out our new reviews and thinkpieces, and be sure to let us know your favorite books of the week in the comments below.

Batman: Kings of Fear #1 Review

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Written by Scott Peterson | Drawn by Kelley Jones

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