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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

After 34 years, a 13 year-old prodigy has become the first person to 'beat' Tetris by reaching the holy grail of high-level play: a 'true killscreen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-34-years-a-13-year-old-prodigy-has-become-the-first-person-to-beat-tetris-by-reaching-the-holy-grail-of-high-level-play-a-true-killscreen/
Over three decades have passed since Tetris made its debut on the NES in 1989. Since then, a holy grail has lied just out of reach—the "true killscreen". Now, a young prodigy has managed to reach it: after 34 entire years, a flesh-and-blood person has finally beaten Tetris.

Nexon fined nearly $9M for falsifying loot box drop rates
https://www.pcgamer.com/nexon-fined-nearly-dollar9m-for-falsifying-loot-box-drop-rates/
A report from the Korean Economic Daily says Nexon has been slapped with a fine of ₩11.6 billion ($8.85 million) by Korea's Fair Trade Commission for changing the drop rates of items in MapleStory and Bubble Fighter "multiple times" between the years 2010 and 2021, without telling anyone that the changes had been made.
>> Given the money they make with those practices, the fine should be, at least, 10 times higher.

The Finals players are tormenting each other with the unexpected power of the Goo Gun
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-finals-players-are-tormenting-each-other-with-the-unexpected-power-of-the-goo-gun/
The Finals, the newest competitive FPS on the block, has gotten lots of praise for its gunplay and movement, but its carousel of physics objects and dynamic destruction is what truly sets it apart from the pack. Under its sweaty game modes and leaderboard chasing is the spirit and toolset of an immersive sim, and nowhere is that more evident than the recent rise of the Goo Gun.

Sorry, Gale—unimaginable arcane power in Baldur's Gate 3 is as simple as taking off your underwear
https://www.pcgamer.com/sorry-galeunimaginable-arcane-power-in-baldurs-gate-3-is-as-simple-as-taking-off-your-underwear/
Baldur's Gate 3 is a massive game, which makes for a wonderful experience filled with unexpected story beats. Unfortunately, this also means there are some bugs that are still kicking about, even after several patches.
A lot of them have been squashed, and Larian's blistering pace has given us a whole new epilogue among other quality of life improvements: but some traces remain. One such bug is a hilarious interaction with Freecast, one of the illithid abilities obtained from chowing down on some brain worms. Minor Act 3 spoilers to follow.

Fallout's co-creator may be retired—but he's still advising on The Outer Worlds 2, and how it can avoid the 'huge chasms' of RPG design
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallouts-co-creator-may-be-retiredbut-hes-still-advising-on-the-outer-worlds-2-and-how-it-can-avoid-the-huge-chasms-of-rpg-design/
Tim Cain's had a storied career—he's mostly known as the co-creator of the Fallout series, which has grown so big it's getting its own dang TV show—but he's also worked on Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, Wildstar, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds.
After 30 years of experience he's mostly retired, though he's been spending a lot of time imparting wisdom on his YouTube channel. However—as confirmed by a recent Rock Paper Shotgun interview, Cain is still occupying a consultation role on The Outer Worlds 2.

Star Citizen truly outdoes itself with a $48,000 bundle for its most loyal whales
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-truly-outdoes-itself-with-a-dollar48000-bundle-for-its-most-loyal-whales/
Ever since it first warped onto the scene, Star Citizen has been infamous for its rapacious monetisation. The game's development seems never-ending but, long before you could play it in any form, Roberts Space Industries would sell you all sorts of space-things: Like this mine-laying ship that cost over $600 before mine-laying was even a feature in the game.
(...)
But this time Star Citizen has truly outdone itself, with what surely has to be the single most expensive DLC in history. Yes, they warned us that this was the next step after horse armour, and Roberts Industries has delivered: Star Citizen now offers a $48,000 Legatus bundle containing every ship in the game (you'd hope so, too).

MultiVersus fans weren't hallucinating—the phantom Belgian McDonalds stickers were for a real promotion, which (possibly) confirms a mystery 24th character
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiversus-fans-werent-hallucinatingthe-phantom-belgian-mcdonalds-stickers-were-for-a-real-promotion-which-possibly-confirms-a-mystery-24th-character/
Last month, the MultiVersus rumour mill span itself into a frenzy over some stickers plastered in Belgian McDonalds, which appeared early—like some kind of hallucination you experience when you're severely dehydrated, only the water in this case is a platform fighter most people had a good time with that randomly shut down for months.
(...)
Well, turns out that the promotion is, in fact, real (thanks, TheGamer). If you go over to the McDonalds Belgium website, there's an honest-to-god promotion conspicuously missing a "find out more" button. Clicking the "more information" button on the front page just leads to that link, so this is all we really have to go on:

You can now play the most infuriating game of all time in your browser, and for some reason I'm hopelessly addicted
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-now-play-the-most-infuriating-game-of-all-time-in-your-browser-and-for-some-reason-im-hopelessly-addicted/
This week, I discovered a TikToker deliberately developing the worst game of all time—complete with impossible platforming, unskippable dialogue, and a rocket launcher that has to be reloaded 150 times between each shot. I ended that post anxious that creator Everywhere Nowhere might one day release their abomination into the world for people to actually play. I'm afraid that happened sooner even than I feared.
You can now try Monster Sniper Season 3 for yourself on the developer's itch.io page, and… wow. I knew it was going to be bad, but watching it in TikToks really didn't do it justice. Actually getting your hands on it is a whole other world of pain.