Four New DmC Difficulties Revealed

Capcom has revealed four new difficulty modes for Ninja Theory's upcoming Devil May Cry reboot. These modifiers will challenge even the most sadistic pain-loving players, and exist outside the three core difficulties.

• Son of Sparda - Remixed enemy layouts, tougher enemies and enemy behavior throughout.
• Dante Must Die - As above, but contains the strongest enemies and insane attack waves.
• Heaven or Hell - Another remixed mode, but everyone and everything, including Dante, dies after one hit. Supremely satisfying!
• Hell and Hell - The same as above, but only Dante dies after one hit. For serious contenders.

We've played quite a bit of DmC, and it's quite excellent so far. While you wait for DmC's 2013 release, why not check out 10 new screenshots for DmC in our image gallery? Surely it can keep you busy until then.

Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor at IGN. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

The XCOM Ironman Diaries, Part 1

If there's one thing I don't take any crap from, it's virtual aliens. Come on then, XCOM: Enemy Unknown: let's do this properly. Impossible difficulty. Ironman mode. EARTH DEFENCE FORCE, ASSEMBLE!

Hmm... that didn't go so well. But as any fule kno, Classic difficulty is where it's at in a strategy game like this, and if you ask me the aliens are cheating on Impossible anyway. So let's roll from the top. Over three instalments of this diary, I'm going to take down the alien menace on Classic, in Ironman mode, no messing. I've placed the XCOM main base in Asia, reasoning that we want trooper upgrades as soon as possible – this continent's bonus reduces their cost - and as we'll be losing a lot of operatives, softening the blow is paramount. I'm a realist.

My hardy squad prepare for their first mission – Osaka, Japan. The first trooper's barely taken a step before a group of Sectoids are spotted. They scatter, but our brave forces move in and start picking them off, all thanks to the commander's advanced knowledge of 45% potshots. This is more like it.

The Sectoids fall easily to these special tactics, and now I get to name the IGN squad. Keza's the sniper, bold and true. Daniel Krupa, Alex Simmons and Tom Butler are the next three names on my list, and to make up for a bit of gender-mismatching Simmons and Butler get cool Master Chief helmets. I'm not going to put myself in: I'm the boss.

In this second mission, the IGN crew's debut, it turns out Tom Butler is the hero this earth needs. A close-quarters engagement in Liverpool, six Sectoids are almost immediately flushed from hiding and scarper inside a nearby bar. While the other three distract the aliens by running between cars, Butler sneaks around the outside and pops two while they're mind-merging with their buddies – a cool four kills in two turns, and instant promotion.

Back at base, I get some research cooking to better my gear, and after two missions and no losses things are looking just swell. A UFO makes the mistake of flying too near an XCOM satellite and is downed like it ain't no thang. Off to the crash site we go! 'Classic' difficulty, Firaxis? Pshaw! This is a piece of cake!

Keza, I am so so sorry. XCOM's first loss was a combination of a commander's recklessness, and a dastardly Sectoid mind-merge critical-ing our plucky Scottish sniper to death. We got him next turn. It didn't feel as good as it should have. No more Keza, because this is Ironman. She didn't even get a nickname.

Onwards, brave probably-Christian soldiers! Alex Simmons is doing pretty well, so I decide to reward the brave soul with a snazzy hero turtle look, which I think goes rather well with his newly-acquired nickname of 'Vixen'. As soon as I do this, of course, Simmons decides to run straight into a nest of Sectoids at the start of the next mission.

I'm ready to kiss Vixen goodbye, when in one of those rare strokes of good fortune every single shot from the cranial foes flies by. It could still get ugly, but then the Sectoids bunch within grenade distance and... well, boomshakalaka. Dr Vahlen moans about how we can't recover artefacts from ze bodies, but she wasn't in the mouth of the beast.

The next few missions pass without incident, thanks to some truly awesome commanding – XCOM disarms a bomb, salvages another UFO, and takes out a herd of Sectoids on an abduction mission. No lives lost, and NOW we've got Scopes for better aiming, an Alien Containment facility and the stun gun ('Arc Thrower') to fill it, plus an Officer Training School. The good old USA eventually gets a satellite, because they pay megabucks and are looking a bit panic-stricken and... well, everything's going along smoothly.

It couldn't last. A seemingly routine mission sees the now-legendary 'Vixen' Simmons taken out in a single shot from a Thin Man, while in cover. I mean, god rest his soul, but I don't see how the commander's to blame for that. And on the plus side, we captured a Sectoid.

The Sectoid capture was quickly followed up by another great success: after shooting down another UFO, and stunning a glowy crystal dude, we've found the aliens' base on Earth. I thought things were going a bit too well. In part 2, we're going in.

Rich Stanton is a Terran freelancer who spends most of his free time in Lordran. Check him out on IGN or Twitter for all of your sun-praising and Zerg-smashing needs.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dark Souls Director ‘Thinking About’ Adding Easy Mode

Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki is “thinking about” adding an easier difficulty option. In an interview with Metro, Miyazaki said he knows the game’s difficulty turns off some players, and a less challenging option could convince more people to play.

“It is true that Dark Souls is rather difficult and a number of people may hesitate to play,” Miyazaki said. “This fact is really sad to me and I am thinking about whether I should prepare another difficulty that everyone can complete or carefully send all gamers the messages behind our difficult games.”

Having said that, Miyazaki appreciates that some gamers want a challenge, and that making the game easier may actually turn some people off. “I suppose gamers do not particularly prefer easy games,” he said. “What they want is interesting and worthwhile games to play, so I think it is natural that hindrance or stress that does not attribute to such interesting and worthwhile elements will be removed in the end. If the number of easy games is increasing nowadays, I guess it is because difficulty is not related to interesting and worthwhile game elements in many games among players.”

Dark Souls originally launched on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in October 2011. A PC version, the Prepare to Die Edition, launched on August 24th. For more on its PC debut, check out what’s new in the Prepare to Die Edition as well as our Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition review. The new content is also set to come to consoles some time this winter.

Are you playing Dark Souls and having trouble? Find out how to die less in our Dark Souls wiki guide.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com