We’re now into the final stretch in our Monster Hunter: World guides and perhaps the most unorthodox of all the Elder Dragons – Vaal Hazak. This zombified monstrosity is always surrounded by a gassy cloud that if you’re not prepared for will make this a short and unsuccessful hunt. This guide will go through why the cloud is bad for you and Vaal Hazak’s attacks, as well as how to kill it and what its weaknesses are.

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We’re now into the final stretch in our Monster Hunter: World guides and it’s time to go up against the wind dragon – Kushala Daora. This dragon can be initially deceptive as it is relatively passive until it’s attacked. However it can quickly make killing it a nightmare thanks to its tornados, particularly when it is cornered. This guide will go through each of Kushala Daora’s attacks, including the wind-based projectiles to watch out for, as well as tell you how to kill it and what its weaknesses are.

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We’re now into the final stretch in our Monster Hunter: World guides and first up is the great lion-faced Elder Dragon itself – Teostra. As one of the few Elder Dragons, this beast can’t be caught, so must be slain, which is no easy feat given its rather explosive character. This guide will go through each attack that Teostra can execute and how to dodge them, as well as tell you how to kill it and what its weaknesses are.

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After 525 days of holding my tongue on Nier: Automata, of cautiously asking “So… what ending did you get?” and giving vague “I like Pascal too” answers so as not to spoil any surprises while wanting to tear my heart out, I’m calling an end to this: the moratorium on spoilers is over. I’ve avoided talking about Nier: Automata so much that I actually forgot parts of the game. Revisiting the game over the past few days, I’ve been amazed and delighted and heartbroken all over again, so to hell with this; let’s talk about everything. It’s not right that the only things I’ll openly say about Nier: Automata are that it’s “lovely” and “surprising” and “has a janky PC port”, when I’d much rather talk about…

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The following enlargeable collage has a hidden theme. What is it? (more…)

When it comes to modelling courage and its wholly logical antithesis, cowardice, wargame devs are a conservative bunch. A morale test here, a leadership bonus there… why innovate or illuminate when you can follow and fudge. Very few delve into the complex psychology of the warrior as deeply as Green Tree Games, the makers of Burden of Command, or shun the subject with such baffling determination as Creative Storm Entertainment, the folk behind Age of Gladiators II: Rome. (more…)

If you’re in the UK, this weekend is one of those three-day affairs thanks to the August Bank Holiday finally arriving. While that probably means you’ll have an extra day to spend nursing a hangover, it’s also a chance to get in more time treating yourself. Case in point: I’m likely to spend a truly unhealthy portion of this weekend immersed in Shenmue HD, because I’m a glutton for both nostalgia and tedium. In the meantime, however, we’ve got another batch of gaming deals to check out, so let’s get to that.

As usual, we ve got deals that ll work in the UK, deals that ll work in the US and some deals that will work in both the UK and US, as well as presumably many other places. Let s get started.

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Codemasters have returned once again to damn your love and damn your lies with their latest annual adaptation of Formula One racing. F1 2018 is out now, bringing new features for career mode including deciding how to behave in TV interviews, a return to the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard, and the usual dose of extra graphical fanciness and tweaks to driving and whatnot. But mostly I’m interested in multiple-choice interviews where I can act like a cocky dickhead claiming all the glory so my support team hate me. WHO’S THE STAR, IAN PETROLMAN? NOT YOU.

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As someone wildly disorganised in their personal life, I find it helpful to tie reminders to regular events I have no control over. New seasons remind me to dust hard-to-reach spots, the binmen grinding up my street remind me to put the bins out, and free trial weekends for Overwatch happen with just the right frequency to remind us all to rotate our mattresses. So: a new Overwatch free trial weekend is now live, which means you need to flip over or rotate your mattress (or both). And also you can play Blizzard’s multiplayer FPS in full for the next few days, and it’s on sale now too.

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I’ve been away for a few weeks – NOT THAT YOU NOTICED – and my poison of choice during that time was the release version of Dead Cells. This Metroidvania/roguelike hybrid ticks pretty much every box I’ve got going, leaving my former flames The Binding of Isaac, Hollow Knight and Slay The Spire suddenly abandoned.

Like all the best ‘vanias, Dead Cells doesn’t tell you much, content instead to let you dash yourself against its rocks time and again until realisation – or reflex – takes hold. I’ve learned a lot by now (and I’ve got even more left to learn), and my runs are very different to my early, faltering ones. Because of the way unlocks work in Dead Cells, there’s a few particular things I wish I knew from the off – to the point that I’m even toying with a total restart.

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