Retro Review: UFC 2 (360)

Real MMA fans see the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the purest fighting in the world, but for years, its video game counterparts were just ploys to cash in on one of the hottest licenses in sports today. While the original UFC game from EA Sports and THQ’s editions of the series weren’t terrible, they never…

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‘I was nice to you three times in a row, so can I have one sex please?’: Why Nivalis Nights intentionally avoided transactional romances

Nivalis Nights is mostly a story-heavy shop simulation but it does also have a sprinkle of relationship building. Conversations with characters can affect four different attitudes towards you: friendly, combative, romantic, and savvy. Dialogue options aren’t clearly marked though, so you don’t always know if you’re about to piss someone off or say something they’ll…

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WoW: Forever dev says ‘there’s a real longing for that slower, more deliberate pace’ in MMOs: ‘A deliberate pushback on this go go go nature’

World of Warcraft: Forever has me in a chokehold, and it’s partially because—well, it’s relaxing. As my colleague at PC Gamer so succinctly put it: “Sometimes it’s fun to hit a scorpion with a club for 38 seconds.” Despite aping an era seen as more ‘hardcore’ to some players, Forever’s lack of blaring and annoying…

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