Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

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The Monday news, the long part two:

Warzone 2 helicopters are randomly exploding
https://www.pcgamer.com/warzone-2-helicopters-are-randomly-exploding/
Call of Duty: Warzone 2 has delivered its fair share of amusing glitches so far, as well as the hacked-in flying boats which was probably my favourite bug of 2022, and the latest may be the most show-stopping yet. Helicopters are a prominent part of the game as it stands, and probably the premiere way to zip around Al Mazrah, but now players are running into a bug that will, mid-flight, cause the vehicle to spontaneously explode.

Game companies post absurdly broad salary ranges to 'comply' with new pay transparency laws
https://www.pcgamer.com/game-companies-post-absurdly-broad-salary-ranges-to-comply-with-new-transparency-laws/
(...)
In an economic study of the entire games industry, from fresh college grads to superstar veterans, that half a million dollar salary range may be accurate. But in the case of https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/220465488">this specific job posting, the comically broad $50,000-$600,000 range is Netflix's way of weaseling out of a new California transparency law requiring employers to list salary bands for new hires. While Netflix may technically be complying with the letter of the new law, which went into effect at the start of 2023, it's certainly not following the spirit. And Netflix isn't the only game company posting comically broad salary ranges as a bare minimum act of compliance.

Cyberpunk 2077 players furious at other Cyberpunk 2077 players for awarding it Steam's 2022 Labor of Love
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-players-furious-at-other-cyberpunk-2077-players-for-awarding-it-steams-2022-labor-of-love/
CD Projekt's troubled RPG Cyberpunk 2077 won the Labor of Love category in the 2022 Steam Awards, given to the game that "is still getting new content after all these years." But in the wake of the win, it's become clear that not everyone feels that the correct decision was made.
>> I also found it weird and undeserved.

Overwatch 2 introduces chaotic new deathmatch mode and equally chaotic bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-introduces-chaotic-new-deathmatch-mode-and-equally-chaotic-bugs/
Overwatch 2's latest patch introduces a limited time deathmatch mode that makes the game's most absurd abilities even more absurd.
Battle for Olympus, which is available as an arcade mode with unique challenges to complete, is a free for all deathmatch with seven heroes to choose from. Each hero has their abilities tweaked and their ultimates reworked entirely to fit with the season's Greek mythology theme. Reinhardt gains a buff when he uses his ult and is able to charge and pin up to three targets at once. When Roadhog ults, he gets even bigger and shoots giant rocks. And if you look at Widowmaker while her Infra-Sight ult is up, you turn into stone.
Update: Blizzard has fixed the Junker Queen axe bug detailed below.

Bloober on Silent Hill 2 remake: 'We want to stick close to the original'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloober-on-silent-hill-2-remake-we-want-to-stick-close-to-the-original/
When Konami announced a Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team last year, there was some concern about whether a studio that made its name with streamer-friendly scares in the Layers of Fear series was a good fit for such a beloved survival horror game. Especially when it was revealed that the remake wouldn't have the original's fixed-camera perspective, and was rebuilding the combat.
In a recent interview with DreadXP, Bloober's chief marketing officer Anna Jasińska tried to assuage these concerns, saying that, "Longtime fans shouldn't worry about us 'missing the point' while we're livening up the title. We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place."

GTA 5 players pay tribute to departed rally driver Ken Block in the best way possible: with sick stunts
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-5-players-pay-tribute-to-departed-rally-driver-ken-block-in-the-best-way-possible-with-sick-stunts/
2023 got off to a tragic start with the death of Ken Block, the legendary American rally driver whose gymkhana stunt videos have accrued hundreds of millions of views in their time. In those videos, Block performed stylish and stylishly-edited routines requiring precise timing and borderline-supernatural talent. So, naturally, a bunch of Block fans in the Grand Theft Auto Online community took it upon themselves to make an in-game gymkhana video (via PCGamesN) of their own in tribute to the man himself.

Dude who founded AGDQ in his mom's basement 13 years ago is moving on after raising $41 million for charity
https://www.pcgamer.com/dude-who-founded-agdq-in-his-moms-basement-13-years-ago-is-moving-on-after-raising-dollar41-million-for-charity/
The founder and managing director of Games Done Quick (GDQ), Mike Uyama, has announced that he'll be stepping down from the role and "taking a break" after the 2023 Awesome Games Done Quick Online event. The current GDQ operations director, Matt Merkle, will take over the role.

Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 features Steven Seagal beating up guys real fast in a never-released game
https://www.pcgamer.com/awesome-games-done-quick-2023-features-steven-seagal-beating-up-guys-real-fast-in-a-never-released-game/
Awesome Games Done Quick Online will kick off on Sunday, January 8, launching a week-long high-speed gaming extravaganza featuring some of the world's foremost speedrunners showing off their skills on an array of games from the past and present—and one starring a hard-to-kill action hero that never officially saw the light of day.

Redfall creative director says Arkane's vampire shooter is not like Left 4 Dead 'at all'
https://www.pcgamer.com/redfall-creative-director-says-arkanes-vampire-shooter-is-not-like-left-4-dead-at-all/
Our initial impression of Redfall, the next game from Dishonored studio Arkane, was that it's a Left 4 Dead-style shooter that swaps out zombies for vampires. In a new interview with GamesRadar, however, creative director Ricardo Bare and studio director Harvey Smith said that's really not an accurate assessment.

Monkey Island, Terminator actor Earl Boen has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/monkey-island-terminator-actor-earl-boen-has-died/
Earl Boen, who provided the voice of LeChuck in The Curse of Monkey Island and appeared in dozens of other games, television shows, and films, has died.
Boen's first videogame credit, according to his MobyGames page, was on the 1995 adventure Shannara. He followed that up over the next decade with roles in games including Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Return to Krondor, Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force, Soldier of Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 2, Fallout Tactics, Icewind Dale 2, Call of Duty, Psychonauts, and World of Warcraft.

Three months after release and with no players, Let It Die's sequel is being mothballed
https://www.pcgamer.com/three-months-after-release-and-with-no-players-let-it-dies-sequel-is-being-mothballed/
2016's Let it Die is a F2P brawler developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, which found its way to PC in 2018, and it's a semi-decent game with superb presentation. The title was published by GungHo and, in October 2021, a sequel was announced, being developed by the Grasshopper spinoff Supertrick Games. Deathverse: Let it Die had a beta in summer of last year before launching in October, and was immediately beset by two problems: No-one was playing it and, when they were, connection issues abounded.
The game currently has ten players in it. Today's peak number of players was 33. Deathverse's all-time peak was 1,380 at launch. These are not close to sustainable numbers for a F2P live service game and now, a scant three months after release, a new blog post announces the "suspension" of Deathverse this summer.

EVE Online has two expansions coming in 2023 following a 2022 boom
https://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-has-two-expansions-coming-in-2023-following-a-2022-boom/
CCP Games, the developers of EVE Online, have released a new years' message with some details about their plans for 2023. The recent Uprising expansion beefed up warfare between EVE's factions by blowing up a whole star, kicking off a big set of changes to warfare between the factions in notoriously-dangerous low security space.

This indie dev made a free, 3D horror version of Minesweeper set in a masquerade ball
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-indie-dev-made-a-free-3d-horror-version-of-minesweeper-set-in-a-masquerade-ball/
First spotted by Alpha Beta Gamer, independent developer Sebastian "aare" Laitila stumbled on a novel idea during the 2022 Haunted PS1 Halloween Game Jam: the classic desktop time waster Minesweeper, but zoomed into a first person perspective and gussied up with low-fi 3D graphics and a gothic vampire horror theme.

YouTuber Dunkey's publisher, BigMode, has revealed its first game
https://www.pcgamer.com/youtuber-dunkeys-publisher-bigmode-has-revealed-its-first-game/
After announcing the establishment of an indie publishing label, BigMode, last September, long-time videogame YouTuber Dunkey revealed the endeavor's first game at the beginning of his Best of 2022 video. BigMode will be publishing developer Shared Memory's upcoming platformer, Animal Well.

Baba Files Taxes is a real spinoff you can play for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/baba-files-taxes-is-a-real-spinoff-you-can-play-for-free/
Filing taxes is awful. 2019 puzzle videogame Baba is You is great. What then am I to take from Baba Files Taxes, a game released this week by the developer of Baba is You about a good thing doing a bad thing? Am I to be disgusted?
I am to be entertained, actually. Baba Files Taxes is a goofy take on the process everyone doesn't like, a free goofy little game mixing both extremely realistic and extremely fanciful questions of the kinds you find on tax paperwork. Questions like "Responder's Home" and "What Are Clouds Made Of?"

Hello Games resurrects Joe Danger as a free browser game
https://www.pcgamer.com/hello-games-resurrects-joe-danger-as-a-free-browser-game/
Hello Games is now known for its epic development journey with No Man's Sky, but the studio's starting point was a stuntman. Joe Danger was a simple, fun, and polished indie game that was initially sold on PC and consoles before finding its way to mobile, and its success saw multiple sequels before Hello's gaze became fixed firmly on the stars.

Genshin Impact is getting a one-off beetle fighting game mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-is-getting-a-one-off-beetle-fighting-game-mode/
HoYoverse is no stranger to creating bizarre minigames for Genshin Impact's various events, and its upcoming endeavour for the 3.4 update is no different. We've had shooters, rhythm games, and even trading card games—the latter of which has managed to spin off into its own permanent mode. This time, it's a fighting game. A beetle fighting game.

Hideo Kojima had an idea for a Policenauts sequel 'but it never happened'
https://www.pcgamer.com/hideo-kojima-had-an-idea-for-a-policenauts-sequel-but-it-never-happened/
Hideo Kojima is best known for the Metal Gear series, and latterly Death Stranding, but among his early work are two standout games that have never really received much love from publisher Konami: Snatcher and Policenauts. These graphic adventure games are in loosely the same lineage, with the first being basically a Blade Runner riff and the latter a more ambitious adventure-conspiracy built around the notion of police astronauts: the individuals who keep order in humanity's space colonies.
(...)
Turns out, though, that the director did once concept a Policenauts 2. "I was thinking of a sequel where Redwood comes back to earth (home) for revenge, but it never happened," writes Kojima. Tony Redwood is the main antagonist of the game, another high-ranking space cop (who, for bonus evil points, has killed your ex-wife), who at the end of Policenauts 'dies' by jumping to his death with a maniacal laugh. In the game, Earth is called home while the space colony is called Beyond Coast (in fact Policenauts' working title was Beyond, until Konami realised it couldn't trademark the word).