Monthly Archives: March 2020

Red Dead Online: Get 50% Extra Moonshiner XP, Discounts on Arabian Horses This Week

This week in Red Dead Online, save on all Arabian horses, bandoliers and vests, and score bonus Moonshiner XP in a variety of missions.

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Researchers Discover Ultrasonic Waves Can Be Used to Hack Modern Phones

Washington University Researchers have discovered that voice assistant programs like Siri can be hacked with ultrasonic sound waves that go undetected by human ears - but you probably won't have to worry about it too much. Those same researchers say the environment required to make this possible is very specific and not likely to be found in everyday life. The researchers presented their findings on the Siri and Google Assistant-backed phone hack at the Network and Distributed System Security Symposium on Feb. 24. Their findings report is nearly 20 pages long, but the team published a summary on the Washington University website shortly after the symposium. The hack involves a series of pieces of equipment sending inaudible waves – which can still be picked up by most phone voice assistants – to a phone on the same table, and activating various functions of the phone, from taking selfies to reading out passwords or authentication codes in texts. 15 of 17 phones tested were vulnerable to this technique. "We did it on metal," assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering Ning Zhang said. "We did it on glass. We did it on wood. It still worked. We want to raise awareness of such a threat. I want everybody in the public to know this." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/19/the-11-sci-fi-influences-that-made-mass-effect"] The conclusion reached by the researchers was that Siri and Google Assistant listen to sound frequencies much higher and lower than that of the human voice and when hit with ultrasonic waves in specific conditions, the programs will interpret such waves as a human voice. Zhang and fellow researchers created a number of scenarios to use the method to steal information through Siri and Google Assistant. Each scenario included an ultrasonic wave generator, a hidden microphone used to listen to the program's response, a piezoelectric transducer (which turns electrical signals into physical ones), and software capable of producing the necessary ultrasonic wave. Thankfully, you can already see how unlikely it is that someone would be able to do this in public. Researchers found that softer materials failed to conduct the signal of the ultrasonic wave rendering the scenario a failure, so if you're worried about this happening to you, just keep your phone on a napkin or in your pocket. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] Zhang has said that it's unlikely this method of hacking will be used commonly: "I don't think we will see such an attack a lot in common places, but probably used for a more targeted attack." Scientists recently discovered that we're receiving wave signals from extragalactic space in an unexplained pattern, although these signals are radio and not ultrasonic. Scientists also discovered that the way we thought the brain processed movies might be false. For more science news, check out this story about dinosaur DNA remarkably preserved in a 75 million-year-old fossil. And while you're at, check out how scientists created a bionic moon jellyfish recently. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

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Horror Game Darq to Get Free DLC This Week as a Thank You to Fans

Horror-puzzle game Darq will get free DLC this Friday, March 6, as a thank you to fans that supported the game when it launched last August. Darq made headlines in the lead up to its launch last year because the company behind the game, Unfold Games, turned down an Epic Games Store exclusivity deal from Epic. According to game's director, Wlad Marhulets, the eventual launch was turbulent, and the new DLC, dubbed The Tower, is being added for free as a thank you to fans that supported the game during that time. "It's a free DLC offering about 30 mins of new content, a way of saying 'thank you' to the players who supported the game during the turbulent launch," Darq director Wlad Marhulets told IGN. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20061112&captions=true"] Speaking about the Epic Games Store deal Unfold Games turned down on a Medium blog post, Marhulets explained that three days after sharing a trailer that revealed the game's Steam launch date to be August 15, 2019, an Epic representative approached him about an exclusivity deal. Marhulets said that pulling the game from a Steam launch right after announcing it would be coming to Steam would have forever ruined the credibility of Unfold Games. "I like money, and getting some upfront payment on top of guaranteed revenue sounds great," Mahulets said. "But although I'm a first time developer, I'm very serious about working in this industry for a very long time. I had just announced [the] Darq release date on Steam — pulling the game off Steam a few days after [making a] release date announcement would forever ruin the credibility of my studio." "I would like for my customers to have confidence that my word means something, especially when making [an] announcement as crucial as [a] release date/platform," Marhulets continued. "Turning down the Epic exclusivity offer might have been a foolish decision in the short term, considering the amounts of money that might have been involved. When thinking long term, however, this was an easy and obvious decision to make (in my case)." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/14/the-first-9-minutes-of-darq-gameplay-1080p-60fps"] If you haven't yet played Darq, you still have time with The Tower free DLC coming in a few days. We thought the game was good, giving it a 7.5 out of 10. You can check out the game's very first teaser trailer released in 2016 and then view the third teaser trailer released just a few months before the game launched in 2019. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBland is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

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Star Trek: William Shatner Says Not to Expect Kirk Series After Picard

William Shatner has confirmed that he has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Sir Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard with a spinoff show for his beloved Star Trek character, Captain James T. Kirk. During a recent fan Q&A on Twitter, Shatner stated that he has no interest in returning to active duty aboard the Starship Enterprise, or otherwise, for a potential Star Trek solo series of his own, saying his character's story has already been "played out."

No. I think Kirk’s story is pretty well played out at this point. https://t.co/30qVk9uxKN
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 2, 2020

In a subsequent tweet, the veteran actor even ruled out the possibility of any future cameo appearances in the Trek universe, admitting, "I don't do cameos. It's a throwaway part to sell DVDs." Unfortunately for fans, Shatner's stance appears to be quite assertive, though at one time he didn't seem as strongly opposed to the idea of reprising his role, as he once expressed intrigue over a story exploring Kirk's golden years. "What would Captain Kirk be like 50 years later, with the sagacity of mind, and yet the body doesn't do what he wants it to do?" he pondered during an interview with IGN back in 2017. Then in 2019, Shatner suggested that he would possibly "like to" make a Captain Kirk comeback in Quentin Tarantino's prospective Star Trek film, yet ultimately he wasn't sure whether he would be "up for it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/20/a-look-at-the-world-of-star-trek-picard"] The 88-year-old actor became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, successfully steering the USS Enterprise through its voyages across the galaxy between 1966 and 1969. After the show was cancelled in 1969, he reprised his role in Star Trek: The Animated Series, as well as Star Trek: The Motion Picture, released in 1979. He then played Kirk in the next six Star Trek films, prior to the character's death in Star Trek Generations. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-picard-the-essential-treks-to-take-before-the-show&captions=true"] Meanwhile, fellow Star Trek alum, Patrick Stewart, recently returned to the small screen for the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard, 20 years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In our review of the premiere episode, we praised Stewart for not "missing a beat stepping back into the Captain's (Admiral's) shoes", saying that the new series feels like "a very different show from The Next Generation, and that's a good thing as it feels like a fresh new direction for Picard -- and Star Trek in general." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Cuts $5,000,000 Stretch Goal, 4 Years After Hitting It

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night won't be getting the Roguelike Dungeon mode that was promised after it was unlocked as a stretch goal during its Kickstarter campaign.

In a Kickstarter update, the game's director Koji Igarashi said a Roguelike mode will not be possible as "the code that was created early in the game’s development is not currently compatible with this type of gameplay (especially a procedurally generated castle)."

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The Roguelike Dungeon mode was a $5,000,000 stretch goal that was reached in June 2015 during Bloodstained's Kickstarter campaign. The mode would have used procedural generation to create a new castle for players to beat each time they played. "Once you’ve explored its passages and defeated its boss, you’ll get a code that will enable you to share your randomly generated dungeon with a friend," reads the official description of the mode.

Igarashi and his development team at ArtPlay have apologised for not fulfilling the planned feature but will be replacing it with a Randomizer mode. "Before starting a game, players can choose up to eight different game parameters to be randomized during the playthrough," the developer explains.

Players can choose to shuffle around items, chests, quests, shops, enemy drops, save and warp rooms, crafting results, and which boss ends the game. ArtPlay says that there will be safeguards on certain items, however, so that players don't encounter a situation in which they are unable to complete the game.

As planned with the original Roguelike mode, players will be able to generate a seed for each randomized run that can be shared with other players so they can give it a go. There will also be a timer that tracks their progress through each randomized castle and displays their finishing time at the end.

The Randomizer mode will be free to all Bloodstained players and will launch with the Zangetsu update - which makes the character Zangetsu playable - though there's no time frame on when that might be other than it being the game's next update.

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ArtPlay adds that the game's final Kickstarter stretch goal, Boss Revenge mode, won't be added as part of the Zangetsu mode as that was a mistake announcement. It will still be coming but it will be at a later date.

Recently, the Nintendo Switch version of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was updated with content that put it on par with the other versions. ArtPlay isn't giving up on the Switch version there, though, and says it will still be getting updates going forward that will smooth out its performance further.

In our Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night review we gave it an 8.9 and said that "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, one of the greatest games ever made, finally has a worthy successor on consoles and now on PC."

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

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Star Trek: Simon Pegg Casts Doubt on the Future of the Movie Franchise

Simon Pegg has explained why he thinks progress on the revived Star Trek movie franchise has come to a halt, saying that a "loss of momentum" may have played a significant part in the project's stalled status. In an interview with GamesRadar+ and Total Film, Pegg, who plays the Enterprise's chief engineer Montgomery Scott in the Kelvin Timeline, cast further doubt over a fourth instalment, as he stressed the importance of turning a profit on high-budget productions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/11/14/watch-9-minutes-of-star-trek-beyond"] "The fact is, Star Trek movies don't make Marvel money," Pegg admitted. "They make maybe $500m at the most, and to make one now, on the scale they've set themselves, is $200m. You have to make three times that to make a profit." Star Trek 4 was originally announced in July 2016, just days before Star Trek Beyond hit the box office. However, the third film financially underperformed compared to the first two entries in the J.J. Abrams-produced movie series, leading to speculation over whether or not there would still be space for the series to continue. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/29/star-trek-into-darkness-jj-abrams-interview"] Pegg observed that Paramount's promotion of Beyond may have been one factor that contributed to the film's underperformance at the box office, though he also cited the tragic death of co-star Anton Yelchin as a "huge blow" for the Star Trek family. "They didn't really take advantage of the 50th anniversary," he explained. "The regimen at the time dropped the ball on the promo of the film. And we've lost momentum. I think losing Anton [Yelchin] was a huge blow to our little family, and our enthusiasm to do another one might have been affected by that. So I don't know." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/13/star-trek-beyond-scotty-meets-jaylah-clip"] After the release of Star Trek Beyond, the initial plan was that a Star Trek 4 would bring back Chris Hemsworth as Kirk's father. J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay were announced as the movie's writers in 2016, and in 2018, S.J. Clarkson was set to direct. However, negotiations between Paramount, Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth fell through in the aftermath of the third film's commercial disappointment. In fact, in January 2019, it was revealed that Paramount had cancelled Star Trek 4 altogether following SJ Clarkson's decision to join HBO's new Game of Thrones series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-space-opera-movies-that-arent-star-wars-or-star-trek&captions=true"] Then, in November 2019, Noah Hawley took to the captain's chair, as he reportedly entered talks to write and direct Star Trek 4, with the main cast all signed on to return and J.J. Abrams serving as producer. At the start of this year, Hawley spoke about his plans to deliver a fresh take on the Star Trek movie series, as he hinted that the fourth film may potentially include a new cast. No further updates have been given since but the long-spanning sci-fi franchise continues to prosper, with Alex Kurtzman having recently revealed that two more live-action shows are set to beam on to the small screen as part of his five-year plan for the ever-expanding universe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

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BAFTA Games 2020 Nominations Announced

The nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards have been revealed. IGN's Game of the Year winner Control has the joint-most number of nominations at 11, alongside Death Stranding, which is IGN's Best PS4 Exclusive of 2019. Disco Elysium, which is IGN's Best PC Game of 2019, has been nominated for seven awards.

11 is the highest number of nominations any single game has received since the standalone BAFTA Game awards began in 2004. That high number is helped along by the new award categories this year, which are Animation, Technical Achievement, Best Performer in a Leading Role, and Best Performer in a Supporting Role.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/26/control-review"]

The winner of the Mobile Games of the Year award is decided by the public. So if you want to, cast your vote for either Assemble with Care, Call of Duty: Mobile, Dead Man’s Phone, Pokémon Go, Tangle Tower, or What the Golf?.

The winners will be announced on April 2, 2020, and you'll be able to tune into BAFTA's Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channel to watch it all happen live. As previously announced, Hideo Kojima will receive the BAFTA Fellowship on the night.

The full list of nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards are below.

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Best Game

Control
Disco Elysium
Luigi's Mansion 3
Outer Wilds
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for British Game

DiRT Rally 2.0
Heaven's Vault
Knights and Bikes
Observation
Planet Zoo
Total War: Three Kingdoms

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Animation

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Control
Death Stranding
Luigi's Mansion 3
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Artistic Achievement

Concrete Genie
Control
Death Stranding
Disco Elysium
Knights and Bikes
Sayonara Wild Hearts

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/death-stranding-launch-trailer"]

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Audio Achievement

Ape Out
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Control
Death Stranding
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Debut Game

Ape Out
Death Stranding
Disco Elysium
Katana Zero
Knights and Bikes
Manifold Garden

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Evolving Game

Apex Legends
Destiny 2
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Fortnite
No Man's Sky: Beyond
Path of Exile

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Family Game

Concrete Genie
Knights and Bikes
Luigi's Mansion 3
Untitled Goose Game
Vacation Simulator
Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Beyond Entertainment

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm
Death Stranding
Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to)
Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
Neo Cab
Ring Fit Adventure

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/17/disco-elysium-review"]

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Design

Baba Is You
Control
Disco Elysium
Outer Wilds
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Multiplayer Game

Apex Legends
Borderlands 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Luigi's Mansion 3
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
Tom Clancy's The Division 2

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Music

Control
Death Stranding
Disco Elysium
Outer Wilds
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Narrative

Control
Disco Elysium
Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
Outer Wilds
The Outer Worlds
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Original Property

Baba Is You
Control
Death Stranding
Disco Elysium
Outer Wilds
Untitled Goose Game

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BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Leading Role

Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz in Gears 5
Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden in Control
Logan Marshall-Green as David in Telling Lies
Gonzalo Martin as Sean Diaz in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
Barry Sloane as Captain Price in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Norman Reedus as Sam in Death Stranding

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Supporting Role

Jolene Andersen as Karen Reynolds in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding
Sarah Bartholomew as Cassidy (Lucy Rose Jones) in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
Ayisha Issa as Fliss in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
Léa Seydoux as Fragile in Death Stranding
Martti Suosalo as Ahti the Janitor in Control

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Technical Achievement

A Plague Tale: Innocence
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Control
Death Stranding
Metro Exodus
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Mobile Game of the Year

Assemble With Care
Call of Duty: Mobile
Dead Man's Phone
Pokémon Go
Tangle Tower
What the Golf?

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

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The Boys Season 2: Black Noir Is ‘A F***ing Force’

The first season of Amazon's The Boys answered a lot, but it also left just as many questions to be answered in Season 2, including what's going on with Black Noir. Originally reported by Comicbook.com, a few of The Boys' stars shared some information at a C2E2 2020 panel about the show about Black Noir, including that the character is "a f***ing force" in the upcoming season. When asked by a fan what viewers should expect for Black Noir, Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher in the show, said fans are going to love what's coming. "It is so good," Urban said. "[Black Noir's] thread very well through the whole series and culminates in some diabolical action which I can't get too specific about at this point, and you may even find out what his Kryptonite is." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=20-most-anticipated-comics-of-2020&captions=true"] Antony Starr, who plays Homelander in the show, followed up to say that Urban is right. "He's right," Starr said. "Black Noir, I think of all the characters from Season 2, I think they probably wrote to him the strongest in Season 2 in my opinion. Black Noir is like a f***ing force in Season 2." Erin Moriarty, who plays Starlight, added that Black Noir is terrifying in the next season. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/30/amazons-the-boys-season-1-ending-explained"] Those familiar with The Boys comic books likely know what these stars are teasing, but for those just watching the show, you'll have to wait until Season 2 drops later this year. If you haven't had the chance to check out the show, it's available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. We thought the first season was amazing, giving it a 9 out of 10. Once you're finished watching Season 1, or if you've already made your way through it, check out this video about nine surprising differences between the show and the comics. If you're looking for more Season 2 content, check out this trailer released last December and see if you can guess where Patton Oswalt will pop up in the show. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

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Mario Kart Tour Gets Online Multiplayer on March 8

Multiplayer functionality is coming to Mario Kart Tour on Sunday, March 8. Nintendo announced on Twitter that the update will go live at 8 p.m. Pacific / 11 p.m. Eastern. That's 3 a.m. UK time and 2 p.m. in Sydney on Monday, March 9. Mario Kart Tour's multiplayer mode will let players compete against seven other players, including in-game friends, nearby players, or people from around the world. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20100633&captions=true"] There are three different ways to race against other players in Mario Kart Tour. Playing with friends or local players allows you to choose your own rules, while playing online in Standard Races will let you compete in 100cc races to improve your profile's letter grade ranking. The final mode is Gold Races, which is exclusive for Mario Kart Tour Gold Pass subscribers. This mode features competitive races in the 150cc and 200cc categories. As for course selection, the online mode will include three courses from a featured cup in the current tour. The selected cup will rotate every 15 minutes, regardless of your chosen rule set. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/26/mario-kart-tour-charges-you-money-to-play-as-mario"] In IGN's Mario Kart Tour review, we called the game "okay", saying, "Nintendo continues to struggle with how to comfortably monetize a mobile game without hamstringing its gameplay." At the time of its release, the game received criticism for having an online subscription service that's more expensive than Nintendo Switch Online. There was some positive reception, however, as the game took home the D.I.C.E. award for Racing Game of the Year. If you want to hop into Mario Kart Tour when the multiplayer launches, check out 10 things Mario Kart Tour doesn't tell you. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

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Granblue Fantasy Versus Review – Fighting Fantasy

There isn't a lot of room for newcomers in the fighting game genre. Veteran franchises like Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and Guilty Gear have dominated the space for years, so the new challengers that do choose to step into the ring usually have the backing of a popular license. Granblue Fantasy Versus is just that kind of rookie fighter; it's based on a property that's incredibly popular in Japan thanks to a successful mobile gacha (virtual capsule-toy vending machine) game with RPG hooks, but relatively unknown everywhere else. Versus is, for all intents and purposes, Granblue Fantasy's debut on the world stage.

Developed by Arc System Works--known for excellent fighting game adaptations of Dragon Ball Z and Persona 4--Granblue Fantasy Versus has a strong core thanks to unorthodox gameplay mechanics that delicately balance depth with approachability, while introducing interesting new ideas of its own. The extra flourishes that serve as a nod to fans or aim to adhere to RPG roots whiff on occasion, but the experience as a whole holds its own thanks to the strength of its fundamentals.

ArcSys has made strides in improving the approachability of its anime fighters more with simpler inputs and easier-to-understand systems, but for Granblue Fantasy Versus, it has moved away from the breakneck pace, air-dashing-oriented, aggressive playstyle of anime fighters to something more traditional. As a ground-based fighting game, Versus has a much slower pace of play and places heavier focus on normals and special moves instead of partner assists and lengthy touch-of-death combos. In that respect, it can be likened more closely to Capcom fighting games such as Street Fighter. The emphasis is on timing and spacing your attacks properly to create opportunities for follow-ups or set up situations where you have an advantage, but not necessarily an almost guaranteed victory. At a higher level, it's about footsies, precisely executed mixups, smart use of the universal overhead, and the occasional frame trap. For newcomers--of which there's likely to be many, given the popularity of Granblue Fantasy--it's much more stable ground to find footing. Fighting game veterans will naturally have an advantage, but for everyone else, the mountain doesn't seem as steep to climb, so the idea of walking the path to mastery is much more inviting.

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