A study has identified a mutation that its authors say could make the coronavirus more infectious.
Another Free Steam Game Is Available Right Now
For the past couple of months, publishers and retailers have been giving away tons of free games to promote social distancing. We’ve been keeping a running list of every free game you can claim on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile. Another free PC game has joined the list, and it’s the cult classic strategy game Evil Genius. All you need to do to snag Evil Genius is sign up for a Rebellion account, and then link it to your Steam account to add the game to your library. It’s unclear when the promotion ends, so you should scoop this free game up as quickly as possible.
Originally released in 2004, Evil Genius puts you in the shoes of one of three budding criminal masterminds on a quest for world domination. Played from an isometric perspective, you create your own secret lair filled with laboratories for experiments, training facilities, and obstacles such as traps and interrogation devices. Over the course of the campaign, you manage a growing minion army and recruit muscle to guard your elaborate base while developing weapons capable of executing your nefarious plans.
Best game deals this week
Shop These Awesome Pullover Fleeces and Save 15% at the IGN Store
That’s right there is a sale on at the IGN Store right now, which makes now a better time than ever to check out our selection of comfy pullovers. For one week only you can take an additional 15% off the list price for all fleeces store-wide, with the final price showing in your cart. That means you can pick up a unique pullover such as the Link Kanji Spread, and pay just $38.25, instead of the $58.99 list price. This sale will be expiring at Midnight on May 10, and as always purchases totaling over $50 will ship free.
The IGN Store also plays host to plenty of brilliant shirt designs from all your favorite games, films, and TV shows. Some of our favorites at the moment include the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle selection, unique designs right from The Goonies, and several brilliant Dungeons & Dragons shirts ready to order. There are also plenty of other additions to the store, with classic films like Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Ghostbusters, alongside several notable game entries such as Animal Crossing, Assassin’s Creed, and Borderlands. Make sure to drop in for our weekly sales, and browse the full selection of clothing available.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
‘Alcohol poisoning’ kills jailed Egyptian filmmaker
Shady Habash, whose video mocked the president, “mistook hand sanitiser for water”, prosecutors say.
Coronavirus: I watched the president reveal I had Covid-19 on TV
Against her will, Sita Tyasutami became “case one”, the face of Indonesia’s coronavirus outbreak.
Watch The Last Of Us 2’s New Trailer
Naughty Dog has debuted a new trailer for The Last of Us 2, and as you might expect it’s suitably tense. While there are appearances by the infected, the majority of the trailer deals with violence between ordinary people, and it looks like it’s taking an emotional toll on Ellie.
In the trailer, we see how the years of hardship and survival have affected Ellie, who is covered in scars and cuts on her back and has turned into a formidable fighter. She interacts with Joel on several occasions in the trailer and sees some truly gruesome imagery. This includes a body riddled with arrows, as well as several people suspended from nooses in a shopping mall. Ellie is no stranger to violence, herself, attacking someone off-screen with a melee weapon as the trailer cuts to black.
The Last of Us 2 is coming on June 19 to PlayStation 4. The new release date was given after an indefinite delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Fellow PS4-exclusive Ghost of Tsushima was given a July release date at the same time, a delay of a month as it was previously scheduled for June.
Coronavirus: Dallas hair salon owner jailed for week for defying lockdown
Shelley Luther told a Texas judge feeding her children was not selfish, but he jailed her for a week.
You Can Try Cyberpunk Ninja Game Ghostrunner Yourself, But Only If You Act Fast
PC players have a chance to step into the wall-running, sword-swinging role of a cyborg ninja in Ghostrunner, but only this week. The first-person cyberpunk runner has a new demo available on PC starting today, but if you want to try it, you’ll have to get on it soon–the demo is only available until May 13.
You can find the Ghostrunner demo on the game’s Steam page. The slice of the game is one that developer One More Level Games has been showing off at trade shows, including Gamescom and PAX East. You play a katana-wielding cyborg ninja, tasked with making your way through a huge tower filled with enemies, where combat is another part of the environmental puzzle.
The game plays a lot like Mirror’s Edge, in which your goal is to go as fast as possible through the environment, while wall-running, using a grappling hook to swing over gaps, and sliding under obstacles. As you do, you’ll need to take out enemies waiting to drop you–but both you and the baddies die in one hit, so a single mistake is enough to knock you back to the beginning of the encounter. The game requires you to quickly chart your course through an area, clock any threats, avoid their incoming fire, and slice off their heads, all while moving as fast as possible.
Xbox Game Pass Adding Six More Games In May Across Xbox One And PC
We’re well into May now, and Microsoft has detailed some more games coming to Xbox Game Pass for both PC and Xbox One this month. As usual there’s a little crossover between the libraries, but most of it is unique to each platform.
First in the Xbox One announcement, Microsoft reiterated its prior note that Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming on May 7. That date will also add the open-world survival game DayZ. A week later, on May 14, the classic RPG Final Fantasy IX will join the lineup, followed by the indie game Fractured Minds, which explores anxiety and mental health issues, on May 19.
Meanwhile, the PC announcement also shows Final Fantasy IX coming to the service, along with Halo 2 joining the Master Chief Collection, and the 4X strategy game Endless Legend. Both announcements also note that they recently released Moving Out and Streets of Rage 4, in case you missed those.
Cyberpunk 2077 Will Let You Customise Your Genitals
The ESRB has published its ratings report for Cyberpunk 2077, which includes a new bit of information about the game’s character creator – you can now customise your player-character’s genitals.
Per the report, “Players can select a gender and customize their character; customization can include depictions of breasts, buttocks, and genitalia, as well as various sizes and combinations of genitals.”
This would appear to be a part of CD Projekt Red’s decision not to include a traditional gender option in the game, instead offering a “really inclusive” expanded character customization menu.
[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/05/cyberpunk-2077-gets-adults-only-rating-in-australia”]
The report also makes mention of “in-game purchases”, but CD Projekt Red has subsequently told IGN that these refer to the ability to buy future DLC expansions for the game, not microtransactions:
“As we’ve said before”, said a spokersperson for the company, “Cyberpunk 2077 is a single player game with no microtransactions. The ESRB info is based on the fact that expansions require the base game and are therefore treated as a purchase by the rating board.”
[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=100-new-cyberpunk-2077-screenshots-gangs-characters-and-playstyles-revealed&captions=true”]
Much of the report – which awards the game an M 17+ rating – focuses on the adult content mentioned in the previous Australian ratings report, including suggested sexual actions, extreme violence and gore, and swearing.
“Players can encounter events where they have the option to engage in sexual activities with other main characters or prostitutes,” says the report. “These brief sex scenes (from a first-person perspective) depict partially nude characters moaning suggestively while moving through various positions. Some scenes contain brief depictions of thrusting motions; other scenes depict a character’s head moving towards a partner’s crotch.”
[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/28/cyberpunk-2077-53-gameplay-details”]
It seems we’ll learn more during the Night City Wire event on June 11. With Cyberpunk 2077 increasingly close to its September 17 release date, it feels likely that we’d see more gameplay, and perhaps a breakdown of its still somewhat mysterious storyline. It’s also possible that we’d learn about the game’s DLC plans, with CD Projekt Red recently suggesting that it will reveal expansions before release.
Cyberpunk 2077 is part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming. This year will also see Cyberpunk 2077 grace the very last special edition Xbox One X. For more, check out IGN’s Cyberpunk 2077 preview and Cyberpunk 2077 wiki for our full coverage.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.