Baldur’s Gate 3 is the big hit of 2023. Players love the world and the possibilities that arise. There will likely be no Baldur’s Gate 4, even though Larian Studios already had playable aspects, as revealed in an interview.
However, the idea of a fourth installment was probably not completely off the table from the start, as Swen Vincke revealed in an interview with PCGamer. There were even playable sections; ultimately, however, Larian Studios decided against a fourth part.
Launch Trailer for the Role-playing Game Baldur’s Gate 3
No desire for the easy way
In the interview, Vincke explains that work on Baldur’s Gate 4 began because they were still in the groove from the third part. It went so well that they had playable sequences that players apparently liked.
I believe you would all have liked it. I’m even sure of that. And we were actually quite fast because the production machine was still warm. You could already play things. But it was played and watched, and, well, that’s okay.
Why did the team decide against Baldur’s Gate 4? Meanwhile, considerations came up. Did they really want to make Baldur’s Gate again for several years after having spent six years on it already? The idea of Baldur’s Gate 4 sounded good to him because they were already experienced and the players would love it.
However, he and the team ultimately decided against a fourth part because they did not want to deal with the same things, the exact same mechanics, the same problems that [they] had already solved, just further developed. Moreover, they would then have to put planned things on the back burner.
For the team, it was the right decision. Vincke explains in the interview that the team felt good about the decision. They felt free and the morale should be high because they were doing something new. We are doing our own thing again, we are not rehashing, we are not trying to turn the rules from 50 years ago into something new.
However, he also makes it clear that they have no problem with D&D itself. It will always be one of the coolest things he has worked on. In the future, Larian Studios wants to focus on other projects that offer the team new challenges. The new challenge will also be to develop two games simultaneously: Instead of Baldur’s Gate 4: Larian is working on two new games
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the past almost 20 years, a handful of players from World of Warcraft have made a name for themselves beyond the borders of Azeroth. MeinMMO presents some of the most famous heroes and villains from WoW who were not created by Blizzard.
Anyone who accompanied WoW during this time witnessed unforgettable moments, where iconic heroes and villains such as Thrall, Arthas or the Lich King, Illidan, Jaina, and Co. took center stage.
However, over the many years, some players have also made a name for themselves with their actions. In this special, MeinMMO introduces you to some of the most well-known personalities from the WoW community.
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WoW has often been declared dead in the past:
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3 times World of Warcraft was declared dead
Leeroy Jenkins
In May 2005, a certain Leeroy Jenkins charged into a room full of dragon eggs, causing the most famous wipe in World of Warcraft history, captured in a nearly three-minute long clip that has accumulated countless millions of viewers over the decades.
From the humorous video emerged one of the most famous memes from the gaming world, with references and allusions in other Blizzard games but also in external media like Mass Effect, How I Met Your Mother, My Name is Earl, or Psych. Even the U.S. military repeatedly used the clip as a talking point for studies.
There is hardly another WoW player that MeinMMO has reported on as often. The neutral panda Doubleagent refused to choose one of the two factions during Mists of Pandaria. Instead, he simply stayed on the giant turtle and leveled peacefully by collecting herbs and ores.
What sounds like a short-term whim has developed into a project that has now been running for many years. Also at the start of Dragonflight, Doubleagent was there to reach the new, old maximum level of 70. Twelve days after the launch of the expansion, it was already done. At that time, the panda had a total playtime of 212 days and 22 hours.
Who remembers Barlow’s wonderful WoW blog about all classes of World of Warcraft, but also about special topics like random dungeons, the LFR tool, or classic servers? Phrases like “Healing was actually done” or “Hey dude, your mom skills Improved Sap!” have been etched into the brains of a whole (German-speaking) WoW generation. All episodes can still be found today on YouTube.
The likable bald guy, who brilliantly parodies the clichés of Azeroth, is actually named Georg Zaal and has done much more in his career. He was an editor at GIGA and SuperGamesTV, the narrator of Allimania (via allimania.fandom.com), and of course a podcaster on the “Podcast without (real) name” (via acast.com).
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In both film and gaming, there is often criticism that no risks are taken. There are many remakes, remastered versions, or sequels. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, sees the blame not only on the companies but also on the players.
Who is Hironobu Sakaguchi? Before Square merged with Enix, Sakaguchi was instrumental in the creation of the Final Fantasy series. He worked on the series from the beginning until part 12, with varying degrees of involvement. In 2004, he founded his own studio, Mistwalker.
With Mistwalker, he developed less-known but quite popular titles among genre fans such as Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. However, he has a problem with the current industry because it is not daring to try anything new. He does not believe that the blame lies entirely with the companies, but also with the players.
As Jeuxvideo reports, Sakaguchi discussed this issue with Yuji Horii in an interview on a Japanese radio show. He explains that developers often face many expectations from players who do not want anything to change. This forces studios to repeat what is already known to work.
He does not fundamentally see it as a bad thing to please the nostalgia of players; however, it ensures that there are no resources left for the development of new IPs. Despite the supposed urge for the familiar, Sakaguchi believes that players will eventually get bored.
What does Sakaguchi say about criticism of his own games? In the interview, Sakaguchi addresses the criticism that his games have too many cutscenes. He is irritated by this and states that to properly play his games, one should experiment and explore everything.
Are there really too few new IPs? Of course, there are endless new ideas and brands in the indie sector. In the AAA sector, that’s a bit trickier. New games like Immortals of Aveum are flopping hard, and when looking at the top 20 from the USA in 2023, there is not a single game on the list without a well-known brand behind it. (via Gamespot)
One can place blame on both sides. Large companies are afraid of a huge flop, and marketing a new game to players is significantly more difficult than letting Spider-Man and the Harry Potter universe speak for themselves.
However, 2024 looks a bit different. With games like Stellar Blade or Palworld, it can be seen that small studios have the power to make even unknown brands big. However, it must be said that these two games can practically market themselves through their concept and design. At least Final Fantasy continues to experiment with its gameplay. For MeinMMO author Cortyn, this has worked really well in part 16: Final Fantasy 16 is the game you all should buy a PlayStation for
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Helldivers 2 has been trying to give you new mines for months, but you simply don’t feel like it. Now a new command is supposed to ensure that you can’t refuse.
What kind of threat is this? The new general command from Helldivers 2 initiates a test of the current mine stocks. You are supposed to eliminate a total of 1.5 billion enemies.
However, the command has a special feature, as the Over-Earth threatens you: If you fail to eliminate the 1.5 billion opponents in time, you will receive new anti-tank mines – whether you want them or not.
The anti-tank mines have been rejected by players multiple times. Whenever the community had to choose between the mines and something else, they opted against the mines. Now you have no choice. Either you execute the command successfully, as befits a proud Helldiver, or you fail and get mines. So you better put in some effort.
In a few days, Helldivers 2 will receive the biggest update of the shooter so far. Here you can watch the trailer:
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Announcement for Helldivers 2: Escalation of Freedom shows extreme battles
Players are not interested in new mines
What is behind the rejection of the mines? It all started when the players of Helldivers 2 had to choose between the anti-tank mines or the RL-77 air detonation rocket launcher in April 2024 . The community chose the rocket launcher but regretted this choice shortly after: The rocket launcher resulted in a lot of unintended team kills.
Will the players succeed in the command? The general command reached the Helldivers on August 2. Since then, they have achieved about 30% of the target, almost 450,000,000 opponents eliminated.
Players now have almost 48 hours left (as of 04.08.24 at 11:00 AM) to eliminate the remaining 1,050,000,000 opponents if they want to avoid receiving the mines once again. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either.
However, it might be good for you to actually receive these anti-tank mines this time. With the upcoming update “Escalation of Freedom,” there will also be a new tank on the robot side. Some players feared they shouldn’t have saved the children: Helldivers 2: Players heroically save sick children, now regret it.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek is a well-known streamer and former CS:GO pro. He is regarded as an aim god and is a legend in the shooter genre. In March 2023, shroud announced that he is making his own game. For the first time, gameplay for this game can now be seen.
What kind of game is it? Shroud’s game is a tactical shooter called Spectre Divide, which is set to be released as a free-to-play title on Steam and is being developed by Mountaintop Studios. On August 3, you had the opportunity to take a first look at the gameplay during a short stress test.
A release date for Spectre Divide is currently not known. However, it states on Steam “coming soon.” Additionally, the stress test could indicate an upcoming release. Many developers use such tests to put their servers to the test right before the release.
Tactical shooter with a unique approach
What is the game about? Spectre Divide is partially a classic tactical shooter like Counter-Strike or Valorant: One team attacks, one team defends. The attackers’ goal is to plant a bomb. The defenders’ goal is to prevent the planting or defuse the planted bomb.
In addition, you earn money with each round played, which you can use to buy weapons and gadgets/abilities. These range from flashbangs to protective barriers to smoke grenades. However, there is no respawn. If all players on a team are eliminated before the bomb is successfully planted or defused, the round ends.
However, the gameplay, despite the similarities, differs significantly from CS2 and Valorant. Instead of 5v5, Spectre Divide is played in a 3v3 format. Moreover, you make much more use of aiming down sights and are also accurate while shooting on the move. The big feature of the shooter is called “Duality.”
The video provides an in-depth explanation of the game principle:
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Spectre Divide provides detailed insights into the gameplay of the shooter
Duality: Two bodies, one brain
What makes the game unique? Spectre Divide differs in various aspects from games like CS2. However, the biggest feature is the so-called Duality system: Each player has two bodies that they can control within a round. The second body is called Spectre.
The second body opens up various tactical possibilities. For example, you can defend the A site with one of your two bodies and place the second body on the B site. When the opponents attack B, you can quickly switch to your Spectre on B with the push of a button and support your teammates in defense.
Moreover, your Spectre also provides you with a second chance. Although there is no respawn in the shooter, if your first body dies, you can continue to play with the second body.
Spectre Divide adopts a style that, according to the developers, is inspired by 90s anime. The setting and the graphic style are therefore not realistic and differ significantly from CS2. In the comments on YouTube, some players write that the shooter looks like a mix of Valorant and Borderlands. Therefore, the style might be less appealing to CS2 fans.
In recent days, the developer of Destiny 2, Bungie, has shocked the gaming community with horror news one after another. When did it all go so wrong? MyMMO author Schuhmann states: pretty much exactly 5 years ago, on September 30, 2019.
These are currently the horror stories from Bungie:
Bungie has now announced two major rounds of layoffs in a year, in November 2023 and just a few days ago. The studio has now dropped from 1,300 employees to 850.
In addition, they have canceled projects, meaning new games, that they had worked on for years, some since 2017. It is said that “they took on too much” – currently only Destiny and Marathon are still in development.
They have also lost some of the best and most experienced employees like Luke Smith. Morale is at an all-time low – employees are openly demanding the resignation of Pete Parsons, who was generously compensated for the purchase by Sony.
The Final Shape could not turn the tide for Destiny:
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Destiny 2: The Final Shape – Gameplay trailer for the new talents
Bungie aimed to become a leading global entertainment company by 2025
When did it all go wrong? The point at which Destiny took a final wrong turn can be pinpointed to September 30, 2019. At that time, Bungie had separated from Activision Blizzard and was preparing for a future where it wanted to be both publisher and developer again.
In an interview with IGN, the CEO Pete Parsons paints a fantastic picture of the future as he raises hype for Shadowkeep, a ultimately weak expansion that was seen as significantly weaker than its predecessor “Forsaken” in the eyes of the gaming press and players. Forsaken had, according to Metacritic, 86% on Xbox One, while Shadowkeep only had 73%.
Parsons states:
The plan is for Bungie to be one of the “best entertainment companies in the world” by 2025.
It is already “a wonderful place to work because it has such outstanding and diverse talent”.
By 2025, they not only want to completely transform Destiny but also create other new worlds like Destiny and launch at least one other major game world.
Parsons emphasizes in the video interview that they have recently hired an extremely high number of outstanding developers.
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Bungie overestimated itself – Thought it could achieve everything
What was the problem? The problem from today’s perspective is that Bungie completely overestimated itself in September 2019:
They thought they could develop many more games by pulling existing developers from Destiny and letting them lead new teams with newly hired developers.
They believed Destiny was a fantastic game and would always perform better – especially when it came to exciting new platforms like Steam and Stadia.
They hoped to manage being both a developer and a publisher simultaneously, just as they did in the 90s.
All these points were complete miscalculations and led to the situation we are seeing now in 2024:
All new games they developed are dead – the executives they pulled to develop the games have been laid off.
Destiny has been selling worse over the years. Lightfall was a low point in 2023, The Final Shape was qualitatively better in 2024 but apparently sold even worse than Lightfall.
The publishing aspect didn’t work out at all – in 2022 Sony bought the company.
Parsons, however, does not see the mistakes as his fault; he believes they were simply unlucky. He cites negative economic developments as causes for the problems, both in general and specifically in the gaming industry. He also points to the poor quality of Lightfall.
If you’ve ever wondered what it sounds like in reverse when a western series is localized in Japan, we have the answer for you here.
For comparison: this is what The Boys sounds like in German.
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The Boys – Trailer for Season 4 of the adult superhero series
When Homelander and Butcher suddenly speak Japanese
What kind of dubbing is this? A user shared a clip from the Japanese version of The Boys on X, formerly Twitter, on August 1, 2024. The clip has been viewed over 6 million times and many are amazed by the quality.
In particular, the wickedness of the supposed hero Homelander really shines through. Many are also reminded of the iconic anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Others find the Japanese dubbing simply unusual and somehow funny. Here are some reactions we’ve summarized for you:
How can you watch The Boys in Japanese? You can enjoy the series on Amazon in a variety of different languages, including Japanese. To do this, select “Subtitles and Playback Language.” Scroll until you see the characters 日本語 – you should find them right below “Italian.” Then you just have to choose a suitable language for the subtitles and you’re good to go.
What do you think of the Japanese version? Could you imagine watching the entire series in Japanese? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
With Season 5, Blizzard is tweaking all Uniques in Diablo 4 to make them stronger again. Experts praise the changes and say: There is some “really crazy stuff” in there.
Season 5 starts in Diablo 4 on August 6 and brings new Uniques and Legendaries into the game. Additionally, the developers are overhauling the Uniques already in the game, and Uber Uniques will become Mythic Uniques. In the past YouTube livestream on August 1, the developers of Diablo 4 explained that nearly every Unique in Season 5 will receive an update. And the updates are “pretty dramatic.”
Uniques are supposed to break the rules and allow effects that would otherwise not be possible. The developers want to highlight the theme and fantasy of the Uniques through their stats and effects to create something special.
What do the developers want to change? According to Lead Class Designer Adam Z. Jackson, the overhaul of the Uniques will take place in various areas:
The strength of the values of Uniques is generally higher; values should break every rule.
Essential values of a Unique can be something that has nothing to do with its category. For example, boots whose values have nothing to do with movement.
Uniques break “slot rules,” such as movement speed on bows or cooldown reduction on weapons.
Uniques can now have higher potential values.
Uniques can now have toughness affixes.
Individual effects can be so powerful that they have the same impact as a legendary aspect on an item – this can have a tremendous effect on builds.
The “hardened” concept introduced in Season 4 helps a lot here, Rhykker believes – and now they are adding exactly these cool stats to Uniques. The content creator finds that this results in interesting build options. For him, this is the “Season of the Uniques.”
Furthermore, Rhykker states:
I am really excited when I look at these Uniques and think about the possibilities for builds. They are fun, they are flavorful, and they make me really curious. I’m really glad they didn’t just take the easy route and let us harden Uniques, but instead transformed each Unique into something cool and exciting. Now we have to see how they all fit into the meta.
Diablo expert wudijo notes in his YouTube video that the updates to the Uniques include “some pretty crazy stuff.” Especially a few Mythic Uniques are “really broken” (in terms of powerful) after the changes. He finds the updates to the Uniques to be great. He believes there will be very powerful builds, but each class will have some strong builds.
Particularly, the Harlequin’s Crown and Tyrael’s Might are “crazy,” wudijo believes. According to him, the changes to the armor “Tyrael’s Might” will particularly benefit Barbarians and Hunters. In a post on X, wudijo writes that the armor is the winner of the overhauls in Season 5.
In a livestream on Twitch, Diablo expert Raxxanterax stated that the updates to the Uniques change how passive skills and class mechanics interact with each other. It could be fun to create “crazy builds” with it. Particularly, one Mythic Unique is received really well by the community after its changes. It was already one of the most powerful items in the game before. You can read more about it here: Season 5 of Diablo 4 changes all Uniques, the strongest will become even stronger.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
One of the most sought-after monsters in Pokémon GO is Mewtwo. But where can you catch this special Pokémon? We at MeinMMO have looked into it for you and will explain it.
What kind of Pokémon is Mewtwo? Anyone familiar with the original Pokémon series knows that Mewtwo is a very special Pokémon. Unlike all other monsters, Mewtwo was created in the movie through genetic manipulation by humans. Therefore, it has neither a pre-evolution nor a further evolution.
Mewtwo is a legendary Pokémon and belongs to the 1st generation. You can recognize it by its large white body with a purple belly and its long purple tail. Additionally, if you are lucky, you may encounter a shiny version. This variant differs from the normal form by having a green belly and tail.
Normal Mewtwo (left) and shiny (right)
How strong is Mewtwo in Pokémon GO
Mewtwo is a Psychic-type Pokémon and can have the quick attacks Psycho Cut or Confusion. Additionally, it is capable of learning a variety of charge attacks. Besides the Psychic attack Psystrike and the Electric attack Thunderbolt, it can learn the Ice attack Ice Beam, the Fire attack Flamethrower, and the Fighting attack Focus Blast.
Due to events and the Crypto variant of Mewtwo, it can also learn the normal attacks Frustration and Return, the Ghost attack Shadow Ball, and the Psychic attack Psyshock. In the past, Hyper Beam was also included as a normal attack.
How good is Mewtwo for use in PVP and raids? This Pokémon is among the best attackers in Pokémon GO. As seen in the overview on PvPoke, Mewtwo has very strong attack values (via pvpoke.com). Its stamina and defense also impress with very high values.
As a special advantage, there is also a wide variety of different charge attacks. Mewtwo is significantly stronger with its Ice attack than other classic Ice attackers, even though it actually belongs to the Psychic type. Thus, Mewtwo is a suitable candidate for both PVP and raid usage.
How to get Mewtwo in Pokémon GO
Update from August 4, 2024: Currently, there is no way to catch Mewtwo in its regular or Crypto variant in the game. As soon as Mewtwo returns, we will inform you.
Due to the special story and the strength of this Pokémon, it is in high demand among Pokémon GO trainers. However, Mewtwo cannot be easily caught in the wild and does not hatch from eggs. Niantic has made this monster accessible only through raids or as a Crypto Pokémon from Rocket Boss Giovanni.
Most recently, it was available at the event World of Wonder: Takeover in March 2024. Unfortunately, you currently have no chance of catching this special Pokémon in the game, as it is not available at the moment either in raids or with Team GO Rocket. However, Mewtwo regularly comes back into the game through these aforementioned methods.
Alternatively, you have the option to trade a Mewtwo with another trainer. However, this involves a high cost of stardust for the trade, especially if one of the two players does not yet have it in their Pokédex.
Once it is back in the game, you should definitely take the opportunity. However, when that will be is still unknown. We will, of course, keep you informed here at MeinMMO.
How do you feel about the fact that you rarely get the chance to catch a Mewtwo in Pokémon GO? Perhaps you’ve already gotten one in the past, or do you have to wait until next time? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
The studio Backwoods Entertainment has approached Gronkh with a cheeky request. The well-known Twitch streamer is supposed to take on a voice acting role for a new game.
Which studio is it? It is the three-person studio Backwoods Entertainment from Essen, currently working on the titles Morriton Manor Stories: Nordic Whispers and We Stay Behind. The studio team allows users to participate on Twitch while they work on the games.
Recently, the developers worked live on Twitch on the voice acting for the demo of Morriton Manor. They mentioned that they had brought in friendly voice actors for the dubbing. While considering who else to invite, they made the well-known streamer Gronkh a bold, albeit slightly cheeky, offer.
You can add the game to your wishlist on Steam. You can watch the trailer for the game here:
Start video
The trailer for Morriton Manor Stories: Nordic Whisper showcases a new mystery detective game
A job with many advantages
What was the offer? A clip of the situation on X shows that the developers are making a somewhat half-serious offer. Gronkh is supposed to take on a role for the voice acting of the demo version.
For the streamer, it also has a lot of advantages, and the developers are considering how they would write a message to the streamer: He would not be paid for the work, at least for the demo version, he would also need to have his own studio or recording equipment and, of course, be available within the next week.
You can watch the complete clip in this tweet:
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The whole situation should be viewed with a large wink. They deliberately decided not to contact Gronkh so far because they do not know each other well and the studio cannot pay for the voice acting, at least for the demo.
The community and the developers themselves find the whole situation and the resulting clip so funny that they decide to share it on X and indirectly ask Gronkh.
The studio does not have to wait long for a reaction, as Gronkh has already commented on the situation in a stream.
How does Gronkh react to the offer? As a clip on Twitch shows, the message has already reached the streamer. The developers seem to be able to enjoy the reaction, as Gronkh does not seem averse to the offer. He also mentioned that he needs to take a closer look at the whole thing, but he assumes that he would be interested in the project.
In general, the game could also fit Gronkh well, who is known to have a heart for indie games.
In another clip on Twitch, you can see how he mentions that he enjoys voice acting and isn’t sure if the studio understands what they are getting into. So we must stay tuned to see if Gronkh will soon lend his voice to a character.
Most users likely prioritize capacity and speed when purchasing their storage media, while durability plays a rather minor role. The Blaustahl Storage Device does exactly the opposite.
Note: The title image is a symbolic image via Pexels.
What kind of device is this? The Blaustahl Storage Device is a USB dongle from the German manufacturer Machdyne and boasts a storage capacity of 8 KB as well as a lifespan of 200 years. So you won’t be able to install a Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on it. However, it has some other interesting features (via 3D Juegos).
USB sticks also play a role in the “Dead Drops” project:
Start video
In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?
Password storage or letter to the great-grandchildren
What can the device do? The Blaustahl Storage Device works with FRAM, ferro-electric RAM. This makes the USB stick so durable and fast, but it also comes at a price. For just under 30 euros, you currently get only 8 KB of storage space – that’s enough for about 4 pages of text or 8,000 characters.
The USB stick also features a built-in text editor and 4 MB NOR Flash for the firmware.
However, the most outstanding feature – besides the blue LED – is probably the mentioned durability. According to the manufacturer, the Blaustahl Storage Device is supposed to securely store your data for more than 200 years, as long as it is kept at a maximum of 35 ° Celsius. At temperatures above 55 °C, the lifespan melts down to 95 years.
The stick is also supposed to be extremely durable and withstand 10^12 read and write cycles at 85 °C – that’s a trillion.
There are also plans to provide encryption support with a future firmware update. If you want to store very small files for a very long time and securely, this device might be the right choice for you.
What is this thing good for? According to the manufacturer, the storage device is perfectly suited for saving important but usually rather small files. Here are some of the listed use cases:
Password storage
Key storage for cryptocurrency
Storage for notes or lists
Geocaching
Time capsules
Let us know in the comments what you would want to preserve for future generations in 8,000 characters.
Even though many fans would like to forget some Star Wars films, there are a total of 15 films. MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes presents you all films in the ranking.
How was this list created? The list ranks all Star Wars theatrical films and the three TV movies in the form of the Holiday Special and the two Ewok films. Other specials or series are not considered in the ranking.
This list is based on the personal opinion of the author and does not take objective factors into account. If you disagree with an entry or have a different ranking, feel free to let us know in the comments.
[toc]
15. The Star Wars Holiday Special
Release: 1978
For the ranking, I watched this film for the first time and it was truly unbearable. The film is like a wild fever dream. The story about Chewbacca’s family makes no sense and lacks any notable qualities even as a TV event for families.
How the many actors agreed to this is a mystery to me. No wonder that the film is officially silenced and there are no official ways to watch the special.
14. Star Wars: Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker
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English trailer for Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker
Release: 2019
The Rise of Skywalker was supposed to be the grand love letter to Star Wars and there are certainly interesting visuals, but the entire story feels like a slap in the face to the fans who are truly invested.
Just the line Somehow … returned is really silly. The trilogy, despite all its flaws, introduced interesting characters but fails to bring them to a satisfactory conclusion.
13. Ewok – The Caravan of Courage
Release: 1984
Ewok – The Caravan of Courage honestly has little to do with Star Wars. The film feels like something you would have watched on a Friday at 8:00 PM on Super RTL. The set design of the film leaves much to be desired, as while some scenes look quite coherent, others appear to have been shot in the nearby woods.
However, one must give the film credit: it is charming. The Ewoks have their own charm, some costumes and animatronics are fun, and compared to the disastrous Holiday Special, one can at least watch The Caravan of Courage.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Hitman trilogy has just received a hefty discount on Steam, but it’s not as good as it seems at first glance.
What kind of game is this? It is about Hitman: World of Assassination, which combines Hitman 1–3 along with the roguelike mode “Freelancer”. On Steam, this version of the popular stealth games enjoys a status of “very positive” with 85% recommendations. Normally, the game costs €69.99, while the Deluxe Edition costs even €99.99.
Anyone who has the game on their wish list, or types it into the search on Steam, is currently surprised by a price of €2.99 – but the discount is not as good as it seems at first glance.
Start video
Hitman: World of Assassination combines the entire trilogy
Misleading discount and complicated purchase
What is the problem? The 90% discount only applies to Hitman: WoA Part One, which normally costs €29.99. However, this only becomes apparent when you visit the store page for the game. A user complains about this in the Steam subreddit by saying, “This should not be allowed.”
It is unclear to what extent the developers can do anything about how the price is displayed. It is entirely possible that this results from an unfortunate meeting of Steam’s system with the admittedly somewhat complex pricing structure of the game. Nevertheless, the experience remains frustrating for the user.
The true price is not visible in the search fieldThe disillusionment follows on the store page
However, the somewhat misleading discount is only part of the problem, as Hitman: WoA is notorious for having the entire purchase process unnecessarily complicated. A user explains on Reddit: When people have to create purchase tutorials for your game because you’ve made it so difficult to understand, you should know that you’ve messed up somewhere.
Even though it may seem so, this comment is not exaggerated, as there is indeed a buyer’s guide that you can find in the subreddit for Hitman.
So what do you get for the price? Part One includes, besides free seasonal content and the ICA training missions, the 6 maps from Hitman 1 from 2016. In addition, there are 3 “Deluxe Escalations”.
However, the Freelancer mode and content from Hitman 2 and 3 are behind a paywall and must be purchased separately. The Hitman: WoA Upgrade Pack is currently also discounted and available for €25.19 instead of €39.99 (via Steam).
If you like the offer, you can still get the entire game for under €30 until August 5th.
Fans criticized Star Wars Outlaws due to the suspected map size. Now the developers responded to the criticism and dismissed it as taken out of context.
What did fans criticize about Star Wars Outlaws? In an interview with IGN, the developers of Star Wars Outlaws revealed that the planets in the game are two to three times larger than a zone from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and it would take 5 minutes to traverse them with a speeder.
These statements ultimately led to criticism from fans. Many users initially thought this sounded like a much too small map. The user MattAAW commented under the article on X that the 5 minutes many players got hung up on were a euphemism for an ‘extremely small map.’
Our colleagues from GameStar have already explored the world of Star Wars: Outlaws. You can find out about their experiences with GameStar Plus.
You can watch the trailer for Star Wars Outlaws here:
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Trailer for Star Wars Outlaws, the first open-world game in the ‘Star Wars’ universe
The criticism is unfair and taken out of context
How do the developers respond to the criticism? After the criticism, our colleagues from JeuxVideo spoke with Julian Gerighty, the Creative Director, about the players’ reactions.
He described the reactions as ‘unfair and taken out of context.’ He further explained that the indicated time was merely an estimate of how long it would take to travel in a straight line with a speeder bike without any distractions.
Other players seem to find the current criticism excessive as well. In a Reddit thread by user “spurs_legacy,” the player explained that to him, the quality of the map is more important than the quantity. This view is also shared by several other users.
What can players expect in Star Wars Outlaws? According to Gerighty, players can look forward to a world that offers many activities and is not disappointing due to empty space. The main goal is to create a dense and vibrant world that provides players with an immersive experience where they can immerse themselves for many hours.
The new game mode in Dead by Daylight is really good. Too good, because it creates a new, huge problem that finds no solution.
I am being completely honest: In the last few months, I have played considerably less Dead by Daylight than before. I have kept myself updated, briefly tried out all the killers to understand them and their mechanics – but I haven’t really played it energetically anymore.
That has completely changed with the currently available 2vs8 mode. Here, 2 killers face off against 8 survivors. This is the first time that killers can cooperate and you can team up with a friend to show a few survivors that they actually won’t survive.
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Dead by Daylight – 2v8 explained in detail
Playing killers with someone else is indescribably more relaxing. There are several positive aspects that you suddenly have with 2 killers:
If you lose, that burden is shared by 2 people. You don’t feel as downhearted when things go badly – especially because you are on a team with someone and can think together about how to do better.
A survivor is constantly leading you around by the nose and “triggering” you all the time? Just ignore him. There are 7 other survivors you can probably get to more easily.
Additionally, the game is much simpler to play without perks. I don’t have to consider hundreds of perks in every chase and think about what the survivor might be doing and whether I might accidentally trigger any of their perks. Everyone knows what every other character in the game can do – this applies to both killers and survivors.
Too many killers – no survivors
However, there is a massive problem that is currently dampening the enjoyment of the game. The waiting times are long. Extremely long. At least when you want to play killers. Survivors have virtually “instant invites” and can get started right away.
This is because this type of experience is something new for killers. Whether you play alone or in pairs makes a gigantic difference from the killer’s perspective.
For survivors, this difference is smaller. Whether you have 3 or 7 teammates has only a marginal effect on the course of the game.
This means that there are many more killers who want to try the mode and simply too few survivors. Because it’s clear: Even in 2vs8, there must be four times as many survivors as killers for matches to occur continuously.
And this is exactly where the problem lies. There are far too many killers for far too few survivors. The waiting times for killer pairs often range between 10 and 20 minutes – with a tendency towards 20. That is a bit time-consuming and dampens the enjoyment of the game on the killer’s side somewhat.
400% more bloodpoints for survivors – yet that is not enough of an incentive.
The developer Behaviour has also recognized the problem early and given survivors an additional incentive to sign up: Survivors receive a whopping 400% additional bloodpoints. That is such a massive bonus that you pretty much leave every match with well over 100,000 bloodpoints. Anyone who still wants to level up characters and unlock perks should make use of this now.
However, the bonus has not actually helped to level the playing field. The waiting times are still extremely high.
But I don’t see a solid solution to this. Maybe the mode just needs more time for more people to get used to it and switch back to the survivor side. I am just worried that this massive imbalance could even be a reason to halt the development of the mode – and that would be a shame because I haven’t had as much fun in Dead by Daylight in a long time as I have had in these matches. Even more so than with the best killers that you can currently play in the real game.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The mass layoffs at Bungie, the studio behind Destiny and Halo, are currently occupying the gaming industry. In a major report, renowned journalist Jason Schreier reveals that Bungie may have taken on too much.
What kind of report is this? On the evening of August 2, our time, well-known gaming journalist Jason Schreier published an insider report on Bloomberg regarding the current mass layoffs at Bungie. He spoke with 10 current and former employees of the Destiny developer.
Schreier paints a picture of a studio that has grown too quickly, stretched itself too thin, and reports on the Destiny 3 that never was.
Bungie probably thought they could achieve anything
What was all this about “Bungie Magic”? The “Bungie Magic” is said to have been a mantra of CEO Pete Parsons, whom many employees now accuse of not taking enough responsibility for his misjudgments. Overall, he was described as being “overly optimistic” in his communication with staff.
Apparently, after the acquisition by Sony in 2022, Bungie thought that everything was possible: They hired hundreds of new employees and spread them across a multitude of projects, instead of focusing on Destiny 2, which Schreier referred to as the “chief money maker” or main source of income.
Among the projects were supposed mobile versions of Destiny, remakes of old games, and entirely new franchises.
What went wrong? Bungie’s major problems began to emerge in 2023. The large Lightfall expansion of Destiny 2 did lead to player records, but it left the community disappointed.
The planned extraction shooter Marathon did not come together properly, and the major story finale The Final Shape also required more time than anticipated. By the end of 2023, the dire situation was reportedly discussed in a meeting. Parsons informed the staff that the company had missed its revenue targets by 45% and was losing money.
Bungie subsequently postponed The Final Shape and Marathon, both of which received new leadership. Around 100 employees were laid off.
According to the report, employees hoped that more time for The Final Shape would lead to a better product, but even the positive reviews could not prevent the layoffs that had long been in progress by this time.
In a blog post where Parsons announced the layoffs on July 31, the CEO admitted they had become too large. Instead of “Bungie Magic,” it was said: “We were overly ambitious.”
The expansion The Final Shape was a beacon of hope for the employees:
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Destiny 2 shows the launch trailer for The Final Shape
Destiny 3 was not canceled – it never existed
What kind of game was this? As Schreier clarifies, a sequel to Destiny 2 was reportedly never in development. Instead, a title called Payback was being worked on, which was to take place in the Destiny universe but would deviate far from the proven formula. Thus, it was more of a spin-off than a sequel.
Payback was said to have adopted elements from Warframe and Genshin Impact. Instead of exploring the world in first person, players were supposed to explore it in third person and cooperate to defeat monsters and solve puzzles. It has now been revealed that the project has been canceled, personnel have been fired, or reassigned to Marathon, which is set to be released in 2025.
What’s next? Destiny 2 is likely to take a different direction with new director Tyson Green, which some of the interviewed employees may view positively. While the “Money Maker” is still supposed to receive updates, it seems that instead of major paid expansions, they want to attract both existing and new players with smaller content drops.
Breaking Bad is rated the best series of all time according to user reviews. However, MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen never really warmed up to the series. As a trained chemist, she had to find out for herself through an experiment that not everything Walter White and Jesse Pinkman create is true.
Breaking Bad is not only one of the best, but probably the best series ever released. In a ranking on Reddit, the biggest rating platforms were compared, and an average score was formed. Breaking Bad comes out as the best series, even ahead of Game of Thrones and Chernobyl.
While I have already seen places 2 and 3 (or am still working on them), I have stopped watching Breaking Bad twice. I never managed to get past the fourth episode.
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This may be due to a combination of several factors:
The individual episodes are very long at 45-50 minutes. With many series like Fallout, I didn’t mind if the episodes were close to an hour long. However, with Breaking Bad, it felt a bit stretched for me.
I was told that the series only really picks up pace from the second season. Until then, one apparently has to “struggle through”.
The characters were unsympathetic to me from the start. Of course, I would have had to watch more episodes to wait for the development of the protagonists. However, with many other series, I have at least found one character interesting after just a few episodes.
Unfortunately, the hype never reached me. The series had the best conditions to impress me. Before my time as a journalist, I studied chemistry and even almost earned a doctorate.
Other science series, such as The Big Bang Theory, have therefore stolen my heart by storm. There is obviously a lot of nonsense in TBBT that isn’t true either. I especially remember the laser safety glasses that one would catch two cooked eyeballs with.
But precisely because Breaking Bad strikes a much more serious tone than TBBT, I would have expected that everything, especially on the chemical side, was accurate here. Presumably, the comedy genre is the reason why I forgave TBBT its mistakes more quickly. Unfortunately, I had to discover in an experiment with a “corpse” that not everything is correct in Breaking Bad.
Salami experiment showed me that not everything is true in Breaking Bad
What was that experiment? In the second episode of the first season, which I even saw, a corpse is dissolved in a bathtub. You can watch the scene in the following video from Rotten Tomatoes TV:
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To dissolve, the two (hobby) chemists use hydrofluoric acid. This is an extremely dangerous acid that I avoided as much as possible during my studies:
Hydrofluoric acid is a highly toxic substance that can be fatal upon skin contact. It is particularly quickly absorbed by the skin and can thus quickly reach deep skin layers and the bones.
The acid can already dissolve the calcium from the bones and cause severe pain without anything being visible on the skin surface.
In the event of poisoning, a syringe with calcium gluconate solution is therefore available in some laboratories that can be injected into the affected area. This way, the hydrofluoric acid can theoretically react with the calcium from the solution without attacking the bones.
Hydrofluoric acid can therefore dissolve bones particularly well. But what about the fleshy remains? We had posed this question in the trainee laboratory and therefore conducted an experiment that is supposed to recreate the bathtub scene.
In the meantime, there is even a spin-off that I will probably never watch either:
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Better Call Saul – Trailer for the spin-off of Breaking Bad
For the experiment, we used a plastic container, as the hydrofluoric acid would have dissolved our glass equipment. Walter White was right about that. For the experiment, we did not want to use a human corpse, so we used a salami as a substitute.
We found that the salami did not dissolve even after several weeks. Even the concentrated hydrofluoric acid of 40% was not able to break down the salami. I have not gotten over the disappointment to this day.
There are more inconsistencies in the series to prevent imitators. The synthesis steps of Walter White to produce blue crystal meth, for example, are made up.
If you were to try out his synthesis route in the lab, you would not obtain crystal meth that has such a hallucinogenic effect – and certainly not the blue color that is seen in the series.
In that respect, I can understand that the actual synthesis route should not be shown in the series. But with hydrofluoric acid, I would have thought that a similar effect to that in the second episode would be seen here.
A Dota 2 professional has reached a remarkable milestone, but his performance is being controversially discussed. Fans are questioning the authenticity of his success and criticizing the current ranking system of the game.
What milestone has the pro achieved? Talon Esports offlaner Ws has become the first player in Dota 2 worldwide to reach 15,000 MMR. On Facebook, the young pro shares his profile, which shows a value of 15,007 MMR.
However, the supposedly happy news has caused some excitement among fans as users question the authenticity of this achievement.
Start video
DOTA 2: Cave Johnson Announcer Pack Trailer
Pro is said to have taken advantage of tokens
Why do players doubt the success? In a thread on Reddit, the performance of the young professional is being hotly debated. Players criticize the current MMR inflation and the role of Double Down Tokens in Dota 2.
The Double Down Tokens allow players to double their MMR in certain games, which consequently leads to quick climbs. Users like invokerzzv suspect on Reddit that Ws may have taken advantage of this, as he had only 12,000 MMR a month and a half ago.
Players are not necessarily criticizing the pro, but primarily the system surrounding the MMR and are calling for a change.
What do players demand? While many users believe that Ws’ performance should be acknowledged, others are calling for a better ranking system for Dota 2. Especially the use of Double Down Tokens has led to fluctuations in the rankings. In higher ranks, it is said that there are strategically targeted uses of these tokens to climb faster.
Players are therefore demanding a revision of the ranking system to achieve a fairer and more just ranking structure.
The best counters against Lavados in Pokémon GO have been compiled for you in our raid guide. Here on MeinMMO, we show you the strongest attackers against the legendary Pokémon and their corresponding movesets.
When can you find Lavados in raids? From August 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM to August 12, 2024, at 10:00 AM, you can find it in 5-star raids.
What kind of Pokémon is Lavados? Lavados is a legendary Pokémon from the 1st generation of games and belongs to the Fire and Flying types. Just like Arktos and Zapdos, it has no pre-evolutions or further developments. To defeat Lavados in level 5 raids as quickly as possible, we have listed the 20 best counters for you below.
Defeating Lavados – Use these counters in the raid
Mega-Despotar with Catapult and Rock Slide
Mega-Aerodactyl with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Crypto-Despotar with Catapult and Rock Slide
Rameidon with Catapult and Rock Slide
Rihornior with Catapult and Rock Thrower
Monargoras with Stone Throw and Meteor Beam
Terrakium with Catapult and Rock Slide
Crypto-Aerodactyl with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Crypto-Amoroso with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Crypto-Stolloss with Catapult and Meteor Beam
Brockoloss with Catapult and Meteor Beam
Despotar with Catapult and Rock Slide
Crypto-Geowaz with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Crypto-Alola-Geowaz with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Proto-Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Wave
Mega-Rayquaza with Dragon Tail and Ancient Power
Aerodactyl with Stone Throw and Rock Slide
Crypto-Mogelbaum with Stone Throw and Meteor Beam
Mega-Stolloss with Catapult and Meteor Beam
Wolwerock (Day Form) with Rock Slide and Stone Throw
Weaknesses of Lavados: The legendary Pokémon is particularly vulnerable to Rock attacks due to its type. Additionally, it has a weakness against Water and Electric types.
Is there Shiny Lavados? Yes, with a bit of luck, you can encounter a shiny Lavados after the level 5 raid. You recognize it by its reddish body.
Lavados normal (left) and as shiny (right)
How many trainers are needed? With the best counters and a high trainer level, you can defeat Lavados with just two people. However, we recommend having a few more trainers for a more relaxed raid.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Player Tyler1 is one of the most controversial players of League of Legends. And now Riot Games has turned to him to save the declining viewership of the LCS.
Who is this about? This is about Tyler Tyler1 Steinkamp, who is one of the most controversial players of League of Legends. In 2016, the streamer was originally banned for life, as a video on his YouTube channel shows.
This meant he could no longer own a LoL account; otherwise, that would also lead directly to a ban. However, Riot has now turned to Tyler1 to save a specific league.
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League of Legends Music Video: Worlds 2017 – Legends Never Die
Tyler1 was too toxic, now he is supposed to boost the viewership
Why was Tyler1 banned? The streamer was banned at the time for extremely toxic behavior. There were instances where he streamed games in which he deliberately lost. This is against the code of conduct of League of Legends. Also, his screaming at his teammates during live streams did not contribute positively to his reputation with Riot.
After his ban, Tyler1 streamed the games of other players and organized tournaments with the community. For this effort and “after 613 days of intensive rehabilitation,” Riot rewarded him in 2018, lifting the ban and giving the streamer a second chance.
Riot is now even taking a step further and is officially collaborating with the streamer, allowing him to co-stream the LCS.
Why is Tyler1 allowed to co-stream the LCS? One factor might be that Tyler1 is among the largest LoL creators worldwide and has built a large audience especially in America. Alone on Twitch, he has over 5 million followers and an average of 15,000 viewers (via sullygnome.com).
However, the main reason for the collaboration is likely the decline in viewership of the LCS. In the North American league, things have not looked too rosy in recent years:
In the Spring Split 2024, there was a peak of 246,000 viewers (via Esports Charts)
In 2019, there were still more than double that with 599,000 viewers (via Esports Charts)
