Review: Squirrel With a Gun

Developer – Dee Dee Creations Publisher – Maximum Entertainment Platforms – PC (reviewed), PS5, Xbox X|S, Android, iOS Review copy given by publisher What would happen if a squirrel got hold of a gun? That’s the premise the titular game investigates as a squirrel runs around collecting golden acorns across multiple settings. You must break into locations, dodge secret agents, and explore your surroundings to find collectibles. As your squirrel collects more items, they gain new outfits that confer certain benefits for future hunting. The story of Squirrel With a Gun is simple; a squirrel finds a golden acorn. It’s actually a high-tech object from a secret laboratory, but the squirrel doesn’t care. Obtaining the “golden acorn” causes the squirrel to get trapped in a room. After getting out, a guard approaches and trips, dropping their gun on the ground. The squirrel picks it up, takes out the guard in a flashy way, and the game starts there. It’s not an amazing story by any stretch and it’s easy to forget there was one in the first place. Given the premise of the game, having a nonsense plot isn’t unusual. It does feel like the set-up is unnecessary since you probably have more fun playing the game than seeing the story. Starting with a squirrel that has a gun and then running around would likely be more effective. Squirrel With a Gun is a sandbox platformer with some puzzles and action. It’s not hard to get from Point A to Point B, but you are likely missing out on several hidden treasures. There are acorns to collect, treasures to obtain, and hidden secrets around every corner. You can also find outfits that give you certain bonuses that fit certain gameplay styles. Some places require special equipment to access, but they aren’t hard to obtain. For platformer fans, there are several areas that you can freely explore. Like any adventure, you work your way through an area while gaining special equipment to explore dangerous locations. When you search buildings, you have the freedom to decide how you enter. If enemies are around, you choose if confrontation is necessary, not worth it, or just a fun activity. Several save points are easily accessible if you want to save your progress. This makes it easy to retain your progress while keeping the fun of exploring an area. Failure is frustrating and costs you valuable acorns, making it a good idea to reload a save. The amount of exploration is massive, meaning you can search a small house for an hour and still find secrets. Freely choosing how you want to infiltrate locations with no wrong answers lets your creativity come alive. All of this happens on the backdrop of an absurd premise with a squirrel shooting people with a gun. It’s silly, creative, and makes you laugh at how ridiculous things are. From trained agents unable to capture a squirrel to death-defying stunts that would kill normal squirrels, the charm is obvious. That premise ropes you in, keeps you entertained, and helps take the edge of what would be a disastrous real-life event. The only downside is that the game leans heavily on that charm. Most of your time isn’t spent having your squirrel shoot targets. It’s doing complex platforming to find objects and solve puzzles to access new areas. At its core, Squirrel With a Gun is another platformer with an interactive world. While the squirrel can do crazy things like shoot the gun to jump, that’s the extent of gun usage for puzzles. Shooting objects or locks off a shelf doesn’t match the charm from earlier. It’s a shame because Squirrel With a Gun could genuinely shine if it had more than its premise. There’s a lot you could do with a gun-wielding squirrel that could be silly and adventurous. Instead, most of the time is spent exploring the world and puzzle-solving like you would with other platformers. Once the charm wears off, it doesn’t differentiate itself from other platformers in the market. This is not to say that you won’t have a fun time playing Squirrel With a Gun. But the excitement and charm eventually wear off and you realize that it’s just a regular platformer. Even the creativity and thrill of discovery wear off when it’s something you repeatedly do. With more ways to maintain that funny premise, this could be amazing. But Squirrel With a Gun doesn’t build on its premise and it’s just a silly platformer.

Meta Quest 3S Revealed, Coming Next Month

For roughly a year, Meta has established its roots with Meta Quest 3. And for a premium device over the former Meta Quest 2, it makes sense for the asking price of $499. Since then, we’ve witnessed new feats for virtual reality since then. One surprise addition was Xbox Game Pass. Back in December 2023, the subscription received support for Meta Quest 3. Now this week, Meta announces a new interaction for Meta Quest 3 is on the way. Unveiling the Meta Quest 3S, the new hardware brings down the price tag with the same attention to quality and capabilities as the original model. You can watch the trailer in the video below: “Quest 3S is the best headset for those new to mixed reality and immersive experiences and for those who might’ve been waiting for a low-cost upgrade from Quest and Quest 2. From watching your favorite TV shows on a cinema-sized screen to your own personal trainer that you can take with you anywhere you go, plus multitasking capabilities, gaming, and more, there’s no better device on the market at this price. “Our 512GB Quest 3 remains the best-in-class headset in our lineup with four times the storage of the baseline Quest 3S, plus our 4K+ Infinite Display,* featuring state-of-the-art pancake lenses and a wider field of view—making it perfect for enthusiasts. We’re also dropping the price of the 512GB Meta Quest 3 from $649.99 to just $499.99, making it an incredible deal from a price-to-performance standpoint.” Additionally, Meta also announced the release date for platform-exclusive Batman Arkham Shadow. Launching October 22nd, new users for Meta Quest 3S will be offered Batman Arkham Shadow for no additional cost. Meta also confirms that Meta Quest+ – its proprietary game subscription – will be bundled as well with a 3-month trial. Are you excited for the release of the Meta Quest 3S? The Meta Quest 3S releases on October 15, 2024; the 128GB model costs $299 and the 256GB model is priced at $399. Source: Meta

Batman Arkham Shadow Launches October 22nd For Meta Quest 3

After what was literally a decade, the Batman Arkham universe is receiving new content. At the start of 2024, Rocksteady Studios welcomed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. And although the new entry does expand the ‘Arkhamverse’, many did not sit right with the new game. Now, it is reported that the team is already working on a new game focusing on the Dark Knight once again. Elsewhere, developer Camoflauj announced Batman Arkham Shadow. Set between the events of prequel Batman Arkham Origins and Batman Arkham Asylum brings a definitive virtual reality experience to the series. Although a VR release did come in 2017, this project takes advantage of the Meta Quest 3. The studio emphasizes this as it plans to be only exclusive to the device. This week, Meta & Camouflaj announces Batman Arkham Shadow is prepared to launch October 22nd later next month. What’s more, Meta also revealed that Batman Arkham Shadow is prepared to bundle with the new Meta Quest 3S coming later next month. The game will be included in both the 128GB & 256GB models. “Become The Knight in this groundbreaking entry into the famed Arkham series. It’s the Fourth of July, and Gotham City is under attack by a new threat: the mysterious Rat King and his cultish devotees. As widespread rioting engulfs the city, Batman races to prevent this so-called ‘Day of Wrath’ before it all goes wrong,” the description from the official page reads. “Immerse yourself in all the grit of Gotham City with the power of VR, and take down its most notorious criminals. Made exclusively for VR—choose from fan favorite gadgets and bold fighting styles. Meet Dr. Quinzel and Dr. Crane before they became Harley Quinn and The Scarecrow, as well as other iconic characters including Harvey Dent, Ratcatcher, and Jim Gordon.” Are you excited to get your hands on Batman Arkham Shadow next month? Batman Arkham Shadow launches October 22, 2024 for Meta Quest 3.

Sonic X Shadow Generations – Dark Beginnings Prequel Animated Series Arrives With Episode 1 Now Live

It is no secret that the release date for Sonic X Shadow Generations is very close. With the game coming this October, many players are excited to return to the classic 2010 title alongside the brand new Shadow the Hedgehog campaign as well. Recently, Sega & Sonic Team revealed that a new ‘Movie Pack’ is prepared for the full game which features Shadow the Hedgehog from the new live-action film with Keanu Reeves reprising his role for the DLC. Additionally, what many are anticipating is a new animated short for the new game as well. As tradition from Sega, the firm has delivered prequel episodes for mainline titles – i.e. Team Sonic Racing. In 2019, Sega reassured that this effort is not planning to go away. Speaking to Comicbook.com, director of animation Yukio Kusumoto confirmed no plans to do away with the animations. Now this week, Sega revealed the first teaser for Sonic x Shadow Generations – Dark Beginnings as it follows Shadow’s journey leading up to the events of the new release. You can watch the teaser in the video below: Alike prior releases, there are multiple episodes planned to release. As of September 25th, Episode 1 – Shadow and Maria is out now. “Shadow’s tragic past – rife with conflict and loss – haunts his thoughts. But these nightmares come to him while wide awake! Could some sinister force be beckoning to him through his memories?” the description reads. The schedule for the remaining episodes were also provided. Episode 2 – Finding the Way releases on October 3rd and Episode 3 – To The Ark arrives October 10th. All three episodes will be uploaded on YouTube and other Sonic the Hedgehog social channels as well. Are you excited for these Sonic x Shadow Generations – Dark Beginnings animated shorts? Sonic X Shadow Generations will release for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on October 25, 2024. Source: Sega

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration DLC ‘The Wider World of Atari’ Arrives Today

Developer Digital Eclipse for the past few years has truly honed its skills in immortalizing legacy releases from decades prior. We’ve witnessed this with the release of its ‘Gold Master Series’. The most recent example of this is its next project – Tetris Forever. The new project is a compilation of Tetris releases from the Cold War including some region exclusives as well. Beyond that, the firm’s most notable remains to be Atari: 50th Anniversary Celebration. Offering a cohesive experience that preserves the history for the company and the long legacy of titles in one package. It went even further with DLC ‘Holiday Content Update’ which included an additional 12 titles to the library. This week, a new DLC is rolling out for the game. Titled ‘The Wider World of Atari’, this new add-on features even more games for the library with plans of more. YouTuber Metal Jesus Rocks provided the full list of all 19 games featured which you can read below: Atari Video Cube (2600)Avalanche (800)Avalanche (arcade)Berzerk (2600 Voice Enhanced)Berzerk (2600)Berzerk (5200)Berzerk (arcade)Desert Falcon (2600)Destroyer (arcade)Football (arcade)Frenzy (arcade)Off the Wall (2600)Red Baron (arcade)Sky Diver (2600)Sky Diver (arcade)Steeplechase (2600)Stellar Track (2600)Submarine Commander (2600)Super Bug (arcade) “Get ready to explore the Wider World of Atari with the brand new expansion to Atari 50! Play classics like Frenzy, Sky Diver, and Berzerk all while exploring a brand new timeline with never before seen interviews,” the brief synopsis from the trailer’s YouTube description reads. As noted, this is the first of two DLCs planned from this new endeavor. According to Metal Jesus Rocks, a second expansion is planned to release on November 8th. Titled ‘The First Console War’, it will launch alongside a new physical version of Atari: 50th Anniversary Celebration. Launching the same day, the price will run for $39.99. An specialized steelbook, artcards, arcade marquee signs, and other goodies are bundled in a separate Nintendo Switch steelbook version costing $49.99. How excited are you for this Atari: 50th Anniversary Celebration DLC? Atari 50: Anniversary Celebration is out now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

StarCraft: Remastered & StarCraft II come to PC Game Pass on November 5

Xbox held its Tokyo Game Show presentation revealing new games coming to the Xbox platform. A surprising announcement was that StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II will be coming to PC Game Pass on November 5, 2024. Players can now relive or play the iconic StarCraft titles from Blizzard Entertainment for the first time. While StarCraft and the StarCraft II Multiplayer mode will remain free to play for everyone, Game Pass subscribers can download StarCraft: Remastered and the StarCraft II: Campaign Collection as part of being a member. In other news, Microsoft and Square Enix revealed more games coming to Xbox Game Pass today. Legend of Mana and Trials of Mana are available to play through Game Pass right now. The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series also became available for Xbox Series X|S. Source: Xbox Wire

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, Trials of Mana, and Legend of Mana are all available on Xbox today

Xbox hosted its Tokyo Game Show presentation, which included announcements of games coming to the platform today and in the future. Some of the surprising announcements included the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, Trials of Mana, and Legend of Mana, all available on Xbox Series X|S today. The first six Final Fantasy games are featured in Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster and they are all available to play on Xbox Series X|S or PC. Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II will be available for $11.99 each while Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI will cost $17.99. All six of the games are bundled together for $74.99. This is the one game out of the three new additions today that will not be on Game Pass. Trials of Mana and Legend of Mana are both available on Xbox and PC Game Pass today. Below is an overview of Legend of Mana via Xbox Wire: You play as a protagonist (yes, you get to name them), who sets off on a journey to find the mystical Mana Tree. But when you set off, you’re surprised to discover that the world map is empty… and it’s up to you to fill it in. Instead of one narrative, you’ll play through up to 68 quests, and while they tie in with three central arcs, each has their own story to tell. You can play through these quests in different orders, and as you play you’ll create your own world map. This remastered version of the classic game features beautifully crisp redrawn backgrounds (they’re really pretty!), and an incredible soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura – the composer behind the Kingdom Hearts series, Final Fantasy XV and many more! Add fast-paced combat, a lot of choice over how to build and customize your character and you have a free-form adventure that’s unlike anything else out there.