Free games

• Epic Games

  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance

    • 2018
    • Story-driven open world action RPG with immersive, branching quest lines set in the kingdom of Bohemia, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire, with a focus on historically accurate content

  • Aztez

    • 2017
    • Hybrid side-scrolling brawler and turn-based strategy game set in the world of the Aztec Empire, developed by a two-person team and designed to play like an arcade game with the action of God of War or Devil May Cry

Security warning- if you have an Android device running either 8 or 9 you’ll need to be wary of using Bluetooth

• A critical bug was found recently that allows anyone within bluetooth range to gain access to your phone’s storage, letting them lift personal files and install malware without any input from you
• The February 2020 security patch includes a fix for this bug, so you’ll want to make sure you’re up to date as soon as possible by going to System > Advanced > System update
• If you’re unable to get that patch for whatever reason, like your device is too old, you should consider turning off your device’s bluetooth entirely. You won’t be able to use your wireless accessories, but you’ll also be safe from the hack

FYI, if you’re playing the BioShock collection you’re going to need to manage your save files effectively

• Apparently if you use all 10 available save slots in one of the games, it won’t let you save at all in the others- save space is shared between all games in the collection
• This has been an issue since the collection was first released back in 2016, but there hasn’t been any patch or fix to either increase the save space available or separate storage for each game

The Pokémon Home cloud service for transferring Pokémon between games is now available, and Nintendo continues to baffle with their choices regarding connectivity

• The app exists on the Switch, Android and iOS, and the idea is that you can transfer Pokémon from one game into another by linking your Nintendo account on each device
• At the moment it’s a little one-sided though- you can take Pokémon from Bank for the 3DS, the Let’s Go games, and eventually Pokémon Go, but you can’t put them back
  • The only way to get Pokémon back out is into the new Sword and Shield games- those support bi-directional travel for Pokémon in Home
• There are a couple of cool pieces though
  • The app supports trading via Wonder Box, the GTS, opening a Room Trade event with up to 20 people, or just one-to-one trading with a friend
  • You can also register Pokémon in Home in your National Pokédex, and get info on abilities and moves
• But, since this is Nintendo and a mobile app, there’s a premium plan involved
  • With a Basic (free) plan you can’t remove any Pokémon from Pokémon Bank, you’re limited to 30 Pokémon in Home, and you can’t host room trades
  • If you want to pay $16USD a year you can get those missing features and hold up to 6,000 Pokémon, though it’s a tough sell for a recurring cost

E-cigarette maker Juul is being sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General for predatory advertising targeting children

• The company’s early marketing used young, cool-looking models, recruited teen influencers, and bought advertisements on CartoonNetwork.com, Nick.com and NickJr.com
  • They also hit sites like allfreekidscrafts.com, dailydressupgames.com… places that are pretty specifically frequented by children
  • They even gave out advice over email on how to get around age restrictions to buy Juul products online
• They even held presentations in schools by going in to mental health / addiction seminars and saying their products are “totally safe”, with no teachers present or parental consent
  • When approached afterward and asked about struggles with nicotine addiction, the Juul rep advised that people should switch from cigarettes to Juul
• All-in, the company seems bent on singlehandedly reversing decades of progress combatting tobacco and nicotine use, especially in minors

Hitting a bit of whiplash, Nvidia’s announced that all Activision Blizzard games are going to be removed from GeForce Now at the publisher’s request

• This will impact everything like Overwatch, WoW, Starcraft 2, and Call of Duty, though Destiny 2 is still streamable since Bungie split with Activision previously
• Blizzard hasn’t publicly commented on the reason, but last month they entered into a partnership with Google Cloud to provide infrastructure for its games as well as switching their Overwatch League streams to YouTube, so there could be something in the works over at Stadia HQ
• The worst part is that the games had been playable through the beta and after launch, so there could very well be people that bought them with the sole expectation of playing them on GeForce Now
  • This serves as another reminder that though subscription gaming is convenient it also means you’re giving up full ownership of the ability to use things that you’ve paid for. Access to your games only lasts as long as companies are willing to provide it

Games to play with your Valentine

Play Together!

• Lego Games
  • You can play your favorite universe with your number 2!
  • Weather its Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Indiana Jones or whatever you have, its a fun casual collect-a-thon with low stakes.
• Overcooked
  • Work together to make food for the hungry masses!
  • It requires communication and crisis management with your partner.
• Portal 2
  • The Co-Op campaign has an interesting story and progression makes you feel smrt!
  • Since 2011 this puzzle game has been making pairs figure out complicated puzzles, with portals!m
• Mario Kart
  • Everyone’s favorite arcade racer already
  • If you’re not into sabotaging each-other, compete in VS races on the same team!
• Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime
  • Alan and I played this a while ago
  • The two of you take stations on a cute spaceship in this 2D adventure
• Minecraft
  • Why not have fun in arguably the biggest sandbox game ever made
  • Go on an epic quest or settle down and build your dream castle
• Borderlands
  • A game that only gets better with more people
  • Make it a digital double date and shoot and loot the night away!

Collaborate together

• Kings Quest
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• The Station
• Gone Home

Tidbits

• Microsoft’s planned changes to Office 365 that we talked about in episode 285, involving installing a browser extension forcing people to use the Bing search engine, has officially been rolled back a bit
  • The option still exists but now it’s actually an option, and it defaults to Off
  • If your organization’s administrators turn it on though, keep in mind you’ll still need to go into the extension settings to change your search engine instead of your browser’s normal settings
• Almost a year later, it looks like BioWare is aiming to resurrect Anthem with a “more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion”
  • General Manager Casey Hudson says the team will be halting new seasonal updates as it focuses on the overhaul, giving themselves time to test and iterate while focusing on gameplay
  • My favourite bit is how they want to “reinvent the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards.”
• The one and only Nintendo PlayStation is up for auction until early March, currently sitting on Heritage Auctions with a bid of $48,000 USD
  • The device was the final collaboration between Nintendo and Sony before plans for a Super Nintendo CD-ROM system fell through over licensing, and hopefully it ends up in a museum rather than collecting dust in a basement somewhere