Articles by Carli Velocci

Sure, why not a racetrack.

Death Stranding is one of the most bizarre games on the PlayStation platform, and it’s bound to still be even with the Director’s Cut, a version of the game for the PS5 that includes next-gen upgrades and new features. Marketing materials explained that a lot of those new features were implemented to make the game more accessible to newcomers. While that is definitely true, Kojima Productions also worked to make the game hip and cool for the kids because what Death Stranding needed was more light-hearted fun and cool motorcycle tricks.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is filled with frivolous additions that, at first, seem to create strange tonal shifts. As a delivery man working to unite America after a world-changing and delightfully convoluted apocalypse, you might find it strange that you can now shoot packages out of a cannon or ride a chirping robot across the desolate landscape. However, Death Stranding has always been a game about intense apocalypti…

What you need to know

Insomniac Games revealed that its long-awaited Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is coming exclusively to PS5 in 2023.
No cross-gen is promised at this time.
Venom, voiced by Tony Todd, will be joining the cast.

Insomniac Games was on a roll during Thursday’s PlayStation showcase with two big Marvel announcements. The first was the surprise announcement of Marvel Wolverine, a game starring the titular X-Man and Canadian, but there was a second announcement to come.

In a small teaser, Insomniac announced that Marvel Spider-Man 2, the sequel to the highly successful Marvel’s Spider-Man, is set to release in 2023. Based on the trailer, not only will Peter Parker and Miles Morales be teaming up, but they’ll be facing off against Venom, one of the series’ most iconic villains and anti-heroes.

PlayStation confirmed that the game will be coming “exclusively” to the PS5, with no word on cross-gen. It’s probably a safe bet to assume that Spider-Man 2 won’t be cross-gen si…

What you need to know

The West is has gotten more into mobile gaming over the past four years, and it shows no signs of stopping.
A key improvement has been in our interest in more complex mobile titles like Call of Duty Mobile or Pokémon Go.
The move is partially driven by AAA publishers getting into the mobile space, but also improvements in mobile phone technology and 5G.

When most people in the U.S. think about mobile games, they likely picture casual games like Candy Crush Saga or Homescapes. They’re easy to play, idle, puzzle games that are good for passing the time and can be played by just about everybody. However, larger, more complex mobile games are on the rise in many parts of the world, according to a new report published today by Newzoo, a games and esports data company.

The report, co-published with ARM, a processor company, calls these titles “high-fidelity games,” or games that feature “advanced graphics and/or complex mechanics and gameplay.” That includes mob…

Stadia has one big fan.

Saturday’s Ubisoft Forward, the first huge event to kick off E3 2021, showed off a bunch of what the big studio has been working on. We saw footage from the upcoming Rainbow Six Extraction, got new information on Far Cry 6, and finally got our first look from the upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

However, more interestingly is the secondary plot thread that weaved throughout the presentation. Ubisoft is dedicated to cloud gaming, specifically Stadia and Amazon Luna, and that was reflected in numerous announcements.

For example, Rainbow Six Siege, the online co-op success that was released all the way back in 2015, is finally getting crossplay and cross-progression. It’s not coming to all platforms just yet, but will hit PC, Stadia, and Luna on June 30. Elsewhere, Stadia was listed as one of the platforms for the new Avatar game, as well as for Just Dance 2022, a franchise that’s been on every other major platform besides PC historically.

In fact, it…

“There’s an incredible amount of variety originating from different regions.”

What you need to know

PlayStation Studios says it has 25 titles in the works, including some new IP, and they’re across genres.
In an interview with Wired, CEO JIm Ryan reiterated that Sony is working on supply issues.
Overall, the PS5 has been a huge success despite supply issues thanks in part to more time people are spending online during the pandemic.

It’s been six months since the PS5 hit online markets (and a few store shelves), and things haven’t gone quite as Sony wanted thanks to supply issues and numerous game delays. However, Sony has a lot to look forward to.

In an interview with Wired, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said that the group has around 25 titles in development, nearly half of which are entirely new IP. This is even after delays due to the pandemic and the shift to working from home.

“There’s an incredible amount of variety originating from different regions,” Hulst said…

Maybe it’s just me, but I wish I knew these six things before playing.

Resident Evil Village is now out, and with it comes one of the most terrifying and enjoyable games we’ve played in a long time. However, like any Resident Evil title and even some other horror games, it’s not the most straightforward. Sometimes, if you haven’t played a Resident Evil game before, some of its mechanics won’t make any sense. Other times, new features for longtime fans might not be well-explained. So while you might know how to figure out where to go, you might not know how to sell items at the new merchant, run by the Duke. You’ll especially want to read our tips if you’re new to the series. If you are an old-timer, why not check it out anyway and see if there’s something you missed.

1. Run during the first Lycan fight

When you first get to the village, you’ll be quickly attacked by a Lycan. However, that’ll soon turn into a pack out to get you. You have to survive. You’ll have a handgun and a s…

I’m a Starbucks mobile app user, and I’m not going to stop any time soon.

Even before a pandemic came along and forced me to stay inside, I went to Starbucks nearly every day. As somebody who has worked from home for the past four years, I relished any excuse to leave my apartment and walk around. Since Starbucks was the closest coffee shop to me, I became a regular, with the baristas knowing my two orders once they saw me enter the store.

Part of my reliance on Starbucks was that it was a place close to me that had drinks I enjoyed. The other part was the Starbucks mobile app, which not only makes it easy to pay (especially in putting in mobile orders during a pandemic) but also keeps you coming back for more. Many businesses have apps that “gamify” the experience of being a customer, but Starbucks is one of the best. It’s also one of the most sinister.

Many businesses have apps that “gamify” the experience of being a customer, but Starbucks is one of the best.

Gamification …

The new update makes the indie title more comforting than ever.

I have an enormous video game backlog. It’s over 100 titles long, and I know that pales in comparison to some of the other backlogs I’ve seen. Going into quarantine, I thought I’d have plenty of time to make a dent. Instead, I’ve just been going through some old favorites and a few of the best PS5 games, like Alan Wake and Dead Space. However, lately I’ve been putting all of my time into Stardew Valley, a 2016 farming and life simulator (and one of the best simulation games out there) that is the definition of comforting. You spend your days bringing your dead grandfather’s farm back to life with beautiful crops and happy livestock while forming relationships with the townsfolk and exploring the surrounding area.

It feels obvious that during this COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to play something simple and soothing, rather than intense and stressful (although the other two games I mentioned above say otherwise). Luckily, S…

A lot of you might have seen this Jiggle Physics thing going around Android Central, or even the internet. No, we’re not talking about that thing in games when the breasts bounce up and down. We’re talking about the corgi whose butt bounces up and down.

For over a year, the Jiggle Physics podcast has been our way to discuss gaming news and culture. Each week, editors Carli Velocci, Rebecca Spear, and Jennifer Locke break down the latest news while also taking the time to discuss larger trends in gaming and nerd culture. They even take the time on occasion to discuss the finer things in life, like cryptids, Star Wars, random game ideas, memes, and more.

To continue to grow Jiggle Physics, we’ve taken to social media. The iMore games account is now the Jiggle Physics Twitter account — @JigglePod. Nothing about its day-to-day will change. It’ll still be a place to post the big news from Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, PC, or mobile gaming. However, it’ll also be a place where you can i…

Typically Best Buy’s return policy doesn’t allow for returns of opened games.

What you need to know

Best Buy announced on its forums Friday that it will be accepting returns of Cyberpunk 2077 until Dec. 21.
Originally, the retailer didn’t accept returns of opened games, but will be making an exception.
It’s worth noting that it’ll accept Collector’s Edition returns, but all elements of the package must be included.

When CD Projekt Red originally announced that it would be allowing full refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 until Dec. 21, 2020, it didn’t specify how each respective platform and retailer would be handling it. Since then, platforms like Sony and Microsoft have announced that it would be honoring full refunds, while Sony delisted it from its store entirely.

Now, we’re starting to hear how physical, third-party retailers will be handling the situation. Best Buy announced on its forums Friday that it’ll be making an exception to its return policy for physical copies of Cyberpun…