The PlayStation Portal was released back in November of 2023, but I still haven't ever seen a discount on a brand new unit, even during Sony's Days of Play Sale back in June. Fortunately, there is a way to get a used one at a huge discount. Amazon Resale just dropped the price of the "Used: Like New" PS Portal to $140.41 after a 25% off coupon that's automatically applied during checkout. Amazon Resale is Amazon's official outlet for used items. "Like New" items are usually brand new and never used with damage to the packaging but not to the contents themselves. You still get the 30-day Amazon return policy so it's a much safer option than buying a used controller off Facebook Marketplace.
PlayStation Portal (Used: Like New) for $140.41
The PS Portal, Sony's handheld gaming accessory for the PS5 console, looks very much like an extended split-pad DualSense controller with an 8-inch 1080p LCD screen in the middle of it. It turns your PS5 into a gaming handheld by letting you stream games from your console at up to 60fps. The controller mirrors the same features found on the DualSense, including haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and a touchscreen interface that replaces the Dualsense's touchpad. The Portal can stream your games even when you're outside of your home, with the caveat that you have access to very stable, very fast internet connection. Keep in mind that the PS Portal is not a standalone device. This is strictly a remote player for the PlayStation 5, so you will need a PS5 to use it.
You no longer need a PS5 to play games on the PS Portal. Now, rather than being limited to simply streaming games from a $500 console to a $200 handheld, Sony has introduced a feature that lets owners stream games directly from its PlayStation Now cloud streaming service. No PS5 required. Portal owners can either connect the Portal to their PS5 or directly to Sony’s cloud servers (with some new quality of life beta updates that launched in April). Choose the latter and suddenly you have access to a library of more than 120 games, including Ghost of Tsushima, Resident Evil 3 Remake, The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It’s worth noting you must be a subscriber to the highest tier of PlayStation Plus, but $18 a month is much more attractive than paying for every new game.
It should be said that the PlayStation Portal isn’t the only way to stream your PS5 games over Wi-Fi within your home. You can mimic its functionality by downloading the PS Remote Play app on a mobile device, including other gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck. That said, it's more complicated to set up and you'll lose out on some of the Dualsense's features.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
I don’t think there’s ever been a fighting game that I have played more of so long before release than 2XKO. Between three Evo demos and two “alpha lab” tests, Riot’s exciting League of Legends-themed 2v2 tag fighter has repeatedly popped into my life for a couple days, then faded from existence until the next time I get to throw down with my buddies Ekko and Ahri. But finally, with the recent closed beta, 2XKO is here to stay (if not fully available to everybody yet), which means it's time for some extended thoughts on why I’ve been looking forward to this exciting tag fighter.
There’s a whole lot to unpack, so let’s start with the focus on simple controls. Unlike most fighting games that offer at least the option of using traditional command inputs for special moves (like those dating back to the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat’s arcade cabinet days), 2XKO simplifies all of its special and super moves to single or simultaneous two-button presses. So instead of doing a quarter circle forward motion for a fireball, all you have to do is press the S1 button; If you wanna do a super, you press an attack button and one of the special buttons at the same time; and if you want to do your ultimate attack, you press both special buttons at the same time.
This is a double-edged sword, because while it does make it a little easier for a complete newcomer who has trouble with quarter-circle or Dragon-Punch inputs, it also turns what should be a four-button game – with light, medium, and heavy attack buttons, plus a tag button – into a six-button game, at minimum. Most people will be using a dash and parry macro as well, putting every single button on a standard controller to work.
As a result, I’ve felt my hands getting lost on my controller in 2XKO moreso than any other fighting game I’ve played because my brain has to parse which special move is tied to which special button, and which direction I had to hold for it. Ultimately, it’s just easier for me – someone who has committed thousands of hours to train my muscle memory on how fighting games have always worked – to compartmentalize a punch or kick related special move input to the punch or kick button than it is to try and remember whether they’re arbitrarily placed on S1 or S2. It’s a learning curve that I was eventually able to overcome, but one that nonetheless made me yearn for a classic/modern control scheme split like what Street Fighter 6 uses.
The second big thing is that 2XKO uses an active tag system much like what’s been used in games like BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. The idea is that every character has two assist moves that they can be called in to execute, and once they finish the attack they’ll remain in a pose for a few seconds before retreating back off screen. At any point while the assist character is on screen, you can press the tag button to swap control to them. This opens the door for potential tricky mix-up opportunities, especially when you’re able to sandwich your target between your assist and point characters.
That system works incredibly well here in 2XKO, especially since so many of the characters have special moves that seemed designed specifically around it. Vi and Ekko for instance, both have specials that allow them to cross to the other side of their opponent, with the downside being that they are typically punishable. But if you cover them with an assist, not only do you make the crossover safe, but you get a free left/right mix-up opportunity by swapping to the other character. This is just a basic example and, once you start digging deep into the tech of some of these characters, you can find some absolutely dirty stuff that you can do to your opponent.
Experimenting with each fuse to find which fits my playstyle has been a lot of fun.
And all of that is before even bringing fuses into the mix. Much like Grooves in the Capcom vs SNK series, Fuses are an extra little bonus that you take with you into a match that allow you to break one of the established rules. For example, typically, once you use your super, your combo is over. But with Double Down you can do a super, then tag in your partner character for them to do their super to add on extra damage, and switch characters in the deal. You normally are only allowed one active tag per assist call, but with the Freestyle fuse you can call in your assist, active tag to them, do a couple of hits, and then active tag again back to the point character. These Fuses can totally change your approach to how you use your team and spend your meter, and experimenting with each to try and find which one fits my playstyle and my team best has been a lot of fun.
If you don’t want to learn two characters and instead just want to focus on one, there are also two Fuses that allow you to do just that. Juggernaut and Sidekick both have you playing as only one character with just one life bar, but to make up for that they have increased health, higher defense, start with two bars of super instead of one, and can have a maximum of five bars of super instead of three.
Juggernaut also has the added advantage of being able to forcibly swap an opponent’s character to focus on the one with less health and prevent them from regaining gray life, while Sidekick gives you the ability to reduce the amount of damage you take by timing button presses with enemy attacks. You can also charge up your assist moves by holdingthe tag button, letting them travel a distance before actually committing to their attack. You do lose the ability to do active tags, which is one of the most fun aspects of 2XKO, but nonetheless, I love it when tag fighters find ways to let us just focus on mastering a single character instead of having to be equally good with two or three.
Perhaps the best unique feature of 2XKO, though, is the fact that it’s a fighting game that can be played cooperatively with a friend. In Duos mode, each person controls their own character, with the off-screen player being the one that can call the assist, and the other being the one that has to do the active tag to give up control to their partner. It works both as a fun way to experience a fighting game with a similarly skilled friend that doesn’t involve having to beat each other up, and also as a way to introduce someone new to the genre and be able to give them real time feedback.
If there's one glaring weakness of 2XKO's beta right now, it's the slim roster size.
If there’s one glaring weakness of 2XKO right now, it is its slim roster size. There are currently only nine characters, and Riot has promised just one more to be added for launch. Ten isn’t even a lot even for a 1v1 fighter, but even worse for a tag fighter where you need to find two characters that fit your playstyle (unless, again, you decide to go with Juggernaut or Sidekick as your Fuses). And while that does suck, and leads to a lot of repetition where you’re fighting against the same characters and the same teams over and over again, it is a blow that is at least softened by the excellent design of that handful of characters. Whether it’s Ekko and his tricky clone mind games, Yasuo’s wild combo routes that have him stance-cancelling his way into bouncing his opponent all over the screen, Vi’s insane movement and whiff-punishing ability, or Illaoi’s tentacle set ups, these are some of the most fun fighting game characters I’ve ever played around with. And the beauty of it is that due to the flexibility of 2XKO’s combo and Fuse systems, rarely do I ever see any of these characters being played exactly the same way by two different people.
All that said, It’s still too early to call this a proper review of 2XKO because of all that we haven’t seen yet. There’s ranked mode, for instance, and that final tenth character on the launch roster – and I’ll definitely want to see how the free-to-play progression feels once the shops are more fully populated with cosmetics to purchase with in-game currency. But for now, 2XKO is shaping up to be one of the most exciting fighters on the horizon, during a time when there are a lot of exciting fighters on the horizon.
Mitchell Saltzman is a senior guides producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit
Paramount+ has had a pretty significant sale on its annual plans this month. Until September 18 (tomorrow, by the way), both new and existing subscribers can save 50% on a full year of the plan of their choosing. You can either grab the Paramount+ Essential annual plan for $29.99 (regularly priced at $59.99), or the Paramount+ Premium annual plan for $59.99 (regularly priced at $119.99).
50% Off Annual Paramount+ Subscriptions for New and Returning Subscribers
Besides whether or not you get ads, the big difference between these plans is whether you care about the Showtime library, which includes the likes of Yellowjackets and Dexter: Resurrection. For context: What was previously the Paramount+ with Showtime package has been rebranded as the Premium subscription.
The discount only applies to annual subscriptions, so no free trials and no big savings on the monthly plans. That said, a year of the ad-supported subscription at this price is what you would for about four months of the service on a monthly plan, which is still priced at $7.99/month. The Premium plan also continues to cost $12.99/month.
Unlike most streaming deals these days, the discounts apply to both new and returning subscribers. So, if you do happen to be enjoying the monthly plan and have some extra cash, it’s well worth considering grabbing the annual discount as an upfront cost.
What’s on Paramount+?
Paramount has a bit of a unique library compared to the likes of Disney+ or Netflix, but I’d like to think there’s a little something for everyone in there. Right now, it’s where you’ll find new episodes of South Park the day after they air (and cause whatever controversy) as well as the new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
The list of Paramount movies is pretty much endless, but some highlights there include Gladiator, the Transformers movies, and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. The studio will also be developing the live-action Call of Duty movie.
Paramount has been slowly expanding its live sports offerings. It's where you can watch the NFL on CBS as well as the UEFA Champions League. Most recently, the service signed a deal to acquire the streaming rights to the UFC franchise, which will be moving away from the PPV model used by ESPN starting in 2026. In other words, if you subscribe with the deal now, you’ll get to watch all the fights your heart desires next year.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
Casting is currently underway for a 2026 production start. Miami Vice will be shot in IMAX.
The film is produced by Dylan Clark (The Batman) and Kosinski and written by Dan Gilroy and Eric Singer, based on characters created by Anthony Yerkovich from the series executive produced by Yerkovich and Michael Mann.
Unlike the 2006 feature film adaptation directed by Michael Mann and starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell, this Miami Vice movie will be a period piece that Universal says “explores the glamour and corruption of mid-80’s Miami,” the decade when the original NBC TV series aired.
Kosinski’s movie is particularly inspired by the series pilot and first season (1984-85). In the pilot, New York City cop Ricardo Tubbs travels down to Miami in search of his brother’s killer and eventually teams up with local undercover detective James “Sonny” Crockett, who’s also after the same drug dealers since they killed his partner.
A recurring villain in the first season was Columbian cartel lord Esteban Calderone, whose drug trafficking operations stretched from New York City to Miami and into the Bahamas. He first appeared in the pilot episode, “Brother’s Keeper”, and returned later in the season when an undercover Crockett and Tubbs went to the Bahamas to finally stop Calderone. John Leguizamo later appeared on the series as Calderone’s vengeful son.
Although the show was episodic, the hunt for Calderone was a main throughline of the first season so it stands to reason that might also serve as the spine of Kosinski’s film. Even Mann’s film borrowed a good portion of its plot from the show’s first season, particularly the “Smuggler’s Blues” episode.
“The big-screen version of Miami Vice is in a no-win scenario. Purists will decry its variations from the 1980's TV series that inspired it,” I wrote in my Miami Vice review from 2006. “Those wanting a nostalgia trip will be denied it. Viewers expecting a big, bombastic Bad Boys or Fast and the Furious-style romp will also come away disappointed. Fans of writer-director Michael Mann, as well as those who love their cop movies dark and gritty, will respond favorably to the movie, which is nothing short of a di-Vice-ive affair. You will either love it or loathe it.”
Who do you want to see play Crockett and Tubbs in Kosinski’s Miami Vice movie? Let us know in the comments.
Gen V has returned for its second season on Prime Video. The Boys spin-off aired its first season in 2023, introducing us to a particularly hormonal new generation of supes attending their first year at God U. Now we follow the gang as they head into their sophomore year, which, from personal experience, is when you can really start doing things for the plot.
If you’re tuning into the new season, here’s when you can expect new episodes.
Everything You Need to Know to Watch Gen V Season 2
Gen V continues to stream exclusively on Prime Video, which is included in general Amazon Prime memberships alongside a pretty wide spread of perks (including free shipping). Amazon also recently rolled out a new Prime for Young Adults plan with a 50% discount for anyone between the ages of 18 and 24.
New episodes of Gen V’s second season will arrive on Prime Video every Wednesday. While the first three episodes dropped all at once on September 17, subsequent episodes will be released one at a time. These episodes will become available to stream at 12am PT/3am ET, so you could theoretically pull a late night on Tuesday to watch them.
Here’s the full release schedule for this season, which will include eight episodes total:
Episode Release Schedule
Episode 1: “New Year, New U” - September 17
Episode 2: “Justice Never Forgets” - September 17
Episode 3: “H is for Human” - September 17
Episode 4: TBA - September 24
Episode 5: TBA - October 1
Episode 6: TBA - October 8
Episode 7: TBA - October 15
Episode 8: TBA - October 22
IGN’s review of Gen V’s second season describes a slow start, but that “the series only improves as it moves forward and deepens the drama for Marie and her circle of wannabe superhero friends.” Jesse Schedeen’s review also hints at a Homelander-like villain, so that’s terrifying. But, thankfully, our protagonist Marie seems to be getting some serious power-scaling.
Season 1 of Gen V took place after Season 3 of The Boys, and the spin-off’s second season follows The Boys Season 4. The time skip is a bit larger here, though, with the second season kicking off over a year after the most recent episode of The Boys. We have no confirmation about a third season for Gen V quite yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these worlds collide in the final season of The Boys, slated for 2026.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
The professional grade PlayStation DualSense Edge wireless controller is rarely discounted from its list price of $200. Fortunately, here's a way to get it for a much lower price. Amazon Resale currently has "Used: Like New" DualSense Edge controllers in Midnight for $145.73 after a 25% off coupon that's automatically applied during checkout. Amazon Resale is Amazon's official outlet for used items. "Like New" items are usually brand new and never used with damage to the packaging but not to the contents themselves. You still get the 30-day Amazon return policy so it's a much safer option than buying a used controller off Facebook Marketplace.
Update: I just fixed the link (it was originally going to the PlayStation Portal).
PS5 DualSense Edge Controller (Used: Like New) for $145
The DualSense Edge is Sony's high-end controller for the PS5 console. It offers pro-level features like grips, adjustable analog sticks, mappable rear buttons, profiles, and more. You can swap out the standard analog stick tops with convex replacements that come in two different heights. If your analog sticks crap out, you can buy replacements for $19.99. There are also two sets of interchangeable back buttons that can be mapped to any button on the DualSense Edge controller. One of the most important features of any pro controller are the triggers, and they’ve gotten attention in the DualSense Edge as well. Next to each trigger is a stop slider that lets you adjust how far you have to press the trigger down to make it register. You can choose standard, medium, or short travel distances.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
As someone who doesn't actually work at LEGO, it can be hard to judge just how popular new sets are for any given month. One of the easiest ways to gauge general audience interest is to keep track of whether or not LEGO puts a set on backorder. Usually this only happens to one or two sets each month, but for September that number is already up to six. This latest batch of LEGO sets already seems to be incredibly popular and we're only halfway through the month
When you look at the list of what's already on backorder, it shouldn't really be all that surprising. These are some of the coolest new sets we've seen all year and many of them are targeted specifically at adults. Some of these are LEGO exclusives, like the Arkham Asylum set, which means that anyone looking to buy it would only be able to snag one from the LEGO Store directly. However, other sets on this list are actually available at other retailers and still managed to get put on backorder – which is a testament to just how popular they are.
Popular New LEGO Sets on Backorder
For fans of LEGO and Disney, it's not hard to see why the first two sets on this list are here. It's been eight years since the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but when we first announced this Captain Jack Sparrow Pirate ship, the response from that fandom was incredible. Even with the massive price of $380, that set went on backorder almost immediately after it became available to buy. With that set being exclusive to the LEGO Store, it was inevitable that LEGO wouldn't be able to keep up with initial demand. The Wall-E and EVE set is an entirely different story because it's been available at every major retailer since day one and is still on backorder at LEGO. With a lower price point and it being made specifically for adult builders, however, it's not surprising just how popular that set has been so far.
As for the two Wicked sets, it would seem that being aimed at an adult audience has really helped that specific theme this time around. I actually noticed that both of the 18+ LEGO Wicked builds were already on backorder only days after they first released and it would seem that trend has only continued. As a theme, the LEGO Wicked line has only been around since last year and most of the sets have been made for a younger audience. The popularity of the two new sets in the adult market have proven that LEGO has found the right audience for such a collaboration. As someone who got the chance to build the Wicked bookends, it warms my heart to see just how many fans of Wicked and LEGO seem to be lurking out there.
LEGO popularity continues to be fueled by adults
You may have noticed that almost all of the sets on this list are specifically LEGO sets for adults. And if you haven't been paying attention to LEGO releases over the past few years, that may come as a surprise. LEGO has always been marketed as a toy meant for "all ages", but in 2020 LEGO officially started labeling some sets as 18+ builds. Since then more and more new releases have been targeted at adults, including entirely new themes like LEGO Art and LEGO Architecture. Even looking ahead to next month, two of the biggest upcoming sets are the LEGO GameBoy and a massive LEGO Death Star set that are specifically meant for adult builders. This trend isn't going away any time soon.
It's looking more likely that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds will be priced at $549.99 and $899.99, thanks to former IGN staffer, Destin Legarie. In a YouTube video, Legarie claims to have confirmed the pricing with his local Best Buy, which "spilled the beans" when he called to ask. Just be sure to take this with a grain of salt.
The console will also apparently get demo stations at Best Buy stores, according to Legarie, who provided images, provided by an anonymous source, of one of the stations from a Tennessee store. One image shows an RGB-laden kiosk with the ROG Xbox Ally X sitting in the middle on a clear plastic display stand. Behind it, a screen appears to be in the middle of a looping demo for the handheld and is flanked by promotions of its compatibility with all manner of Windows PC games. Another image shows a closeup of the $899.99 price tag.
This is as close as we've gotten to confirmation of the Xbox version of Asus' Ally handheld PC consoles, which are due for release on October 16, but until things are official, don't go taking out that second mortgage or taking a third job to pay for the near-$900 Xbox Ally X just yet. It's very possible it's not true, for one thing. But even if it is, tarriffs could change matters more than they already have, including for handheld gaming PCs like the Legion Go 2, which will be as much as $1479. On the plus side, the rumored price for the vanilla Xbox Ally is $100 little cheaper than what retailers like Best Buy are asking for the non-Xbox version; hopefully, for anyone who wants to get in on this more user-friendly PC handheld without destroying the bank, that rumor holds.
The price for the higher-end Xbox Ally X is likely to disappoint anyone who was already taken aback by the pricing for its Ryzen Z1 Extreme-powered predecessor. At the same time, despite keeping their launch prices of $799.99 on Asus' website, retailers have already been selling the first-gen handhelds at higher prices, and if Legarie's sources are correct, the entry-level Ally will be a better deal than the $649.99 Ally, with the non-Extreme Z1.
Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.
Today’s lineup of deals includes some heavy hitters in gaming and productivity. Alienware’s sleek 16X Aurora laptop with an RTX 5070 is down to $1,599.99, its lowest price yet. If you’re shopping for a tablet instead, Amazon has the latest iPad Air M3 for $449.
TL;DR: Deals for Today
You’ll also find an Alienware desktop with an RTX 5080, Lenovo’s OLED-equipped Legion Pro 5 laptop, and practical accessories like an Anker power bank and a cordless air duster. Fancy upgrading your gaming setup or grabbing a travel essential? Today’s deals are for you:
Bluetti is one of the biggest and most well-known brands in the off-grid circles for its value-packed power stations and solar generators. It has an official storefront at AliExpress where it sells factory recertified power stations that include the same 5 year warranty as buying one new. The best deal right now is the compact yet high capacity Bluetti AC50B 448Wh LiFePO4 Power Station for just $226.82 after you apply $40 off coupon code "RDC40B". It ships free locally from the United States and arrives within 1 to 2 weeks. The AC50B has two 120V AC outlets capable of 700W (1,000W surge) each, two 65W USB Type-C ports, and one 18W USB Type-A port.
Alienware 16X Aurora
Alienware’s new 16X Aurora is the model to get if you want premium gaming performance without jumping to the Area-51 tier. For $1,599.99 (20% off), you’re getting an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, RTX 5070 GPU with 115W TGP, and a 16-inch 2560x1600 240Hz display with G-Sync. It’s built with a magnesium alloy chassis, has RGB keyboard lighting, Thunderbolt 4, and weighs less than previous Alienware designs. Compared to the regular 16 Aurora, it’s simply the better buy.
2025 Apple iPad Air
Amazon has the 2025 iPad Air with Apple’s new M3 chip for $449. That’s $150 off and the best price of the year. The M3 makes it 20% faster than the M2 version and enables Apple Intelligence, which older models can’t use. It still features an 11-inch Liquid Retina display, starts at 128GB storage, and works with the Apple Pencil Pro and new Magic Keyboard.
Alienware Aurora
For those who prefer desktops, Dell has the Alienware Aurora R16 with an RTX 5080 GPU for $2,099.99. It’s paired with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The RTX 5080 can handle 4K gaming with ray tracing, DLSS 4, and is only outperformed by the RTX 5090. This setup includes liquid cooling and a 1,000W Platinum PSU.
JVSCAM Cordless Electric Air Duster
Skip compressed air cans—this rechargeable electric air duster is down to $19.98 with code L8MXVQ25. It runs up to 240 minutes per charge, has three speeds, and comes with multiple nozzles for cleaning PCs, keyboards, and other gear. USB-C charging makes it easy to top up.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 10
Lenovo is offering its new Legion Pro 5 Gen 10 with OLED display and RTX 5070 Ti GPU for $1,764.99 with code EXTRAFIVE. This config includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 1TB SSD. The 16-inch OLED panel is a highlight with 165Hz refresh, HDR1000, and 100% DCI-P3 color. Upgrading to 32GB RAM costs just $45 more.
Anker 737
Perfect for Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or laptops, the Anker 737 offers 140W power delivery across two USB-C ports and one USB-A. At 24,000mAh (89Whr), it charges a Steam Deck nearly twice over and remains TSA-approved for flights. It’s sturdy, reliable, and now just $87.99 at Amazon.
DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined Preorders
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is now up for preorder on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, ahead of its February 5, 2026 release. This reimagined classic brings Akira Toriyama’s character designs into a vivid diorama-style world, blending familiar charm with fresh visuals. Players will travel through time by piecing together ancient stone fragments, restoring lost islands, and uncovering mysteries that shape the present. With streamlined storytelling, revamped turn-based combat, and the new Moonlighting mechanic that lets you level two vocations at once, it’s designed to feel both nostalgic and modern. Preordering also nets early buyers a special Hero costume and bonus items to start the adventure.
LISEN for iPhone 17 Charger Cord
Amazon has a solid back-to-school deal on the Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB-C cable two-pack, now just $5.30 with code YK4MDIC5. That works out to about $2.80 per cable—far less than the $10 or more you’d typically pay in stores. Each cable supports up to 240W of power delivery, making them strong enough to charge laptops as well as phones, tablets, and even the Nintendo Switch 2. At 6.6 feet, they’re a handy length for everyday use, and the braided nylon design adds durability. With over 3,800 reviews averaging 4.6 stars, this is an easy way to stock up on reliable USB-C chargers without spending much.
INIU Portable Charger
INIU 20,000mAh 65W portable charger is down to $35.98 (20% off) at Amazon, making it a smart pickup if you need reliable power on the go. With enough juice to fully charge a MacBook Pro 14" at top speed, it’s also great for phones, tablets, and handhelds like the Steam Deck. Three output ports let you charge multiple devices at once, and the compact design even includes a built-in phone stand for streaming while you recharge. Backed by a 3-year warranty and holding a 4.5-star average from over 3,300 reviews, this power bank balances speed, capacity, and durability at a solid price.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (60th Anniversary) [Zoetrope LP]
The 60th Anniversary edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas is now available in a limited-edition Zoetrope picture disc vinyl for $32.99 at Amazon. This collectible release celebrates both the 75th anniversary of Peanuts and the 60th anniversary of the holiday special, featuring iconic Vince Guaraldi Trio tracks like Linus and Lucy, Skating, and Christmas Time Is Here. The two-sided Zoetrope vinyl showcases animated holiday scenes that come to life as it spins, making it as much a display piece as it is a listening experience
Lexar 512GB Play PRO microSD Express Card
Lexar 512GB Play PRO microSD Express card is built for serious handheld gaming, with read speeds up to 900MB/s and write speeds up to 600MB/s. That’s about four times faster than a standard UHS-I microSD, meaning quicker load times and faster downloads for your Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or ASUS ROG Ally. With 512GB of storage, there’s plenty of space for a large game library, and it’s backwards compatible with UHS-I and UHS-II devices for flexibility. At $119.99, it’s a future-proof pick for anyone who wants top performance and room to grow, backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Pokémon TCG Price Watch
If you’re looking to stock up on sealed Pokémon TCG product, TCGPlayer remains the most reliable place for market-low pricing across the board. The vast majority of booster packs, tins, and trainer boxes are sitting cheaper there than on Amazon, often by $5-$15.
Bundles like the White Flare Binder Collection and the Shining Fates Collection Pikachu V Box are up to $40 off, deals that everyone should be snapping up right now. It’s worth keeping an eye on these dips, since Amazon tends to fluctuate prices more often than dedicated TCG retailers.
Silver Tempest has proven to be one of the most collector-driven sets of the Sword and Shield era, with prices pulled between nostalgia, competitive play, and limited supply. The clear winner is Lugia V (Alternate Full Art) 186/195, which has surged 68% since July to $427, cementing itself as the set’s chase card.
Trainer Gallery standouts like Rayquaza VMAX TG20/TG30 and Blaziken VMAX TG15/TG30 have also doubled or tripled in value thanks to strong artwork and nostalgia, while even Lugia VSTAR continues climbing on competitive strength. At the same time, cards like Regidrago V (Alternate Art) and Alolan Vulpix VSTAR have cooled as the meta shifted away from them, with values slipping back toward the $12–$14 range.
Snag Classic Mega Evolution Cards Before Market Rise
The market for XY-era Mega Evolution Pokémon cards is heating up fast ahead of Pokémon Legends: Z-A and the upcoming Mega Evolution TCG set. Collectors aren’t waiting for modern reprints, they’re chasing the originals, and prices are showing it. Some cards have exploded in value, while others have steadied after sharp climbs, creating both momentum plays and entry points for buyers. Leading the surge is M Rayquaza EX (Shiny Full Art - Ancient Origins), which has skyrocketed over 426% this year, from $275 in January to $1,450 today.
M Gengar EX (Secret Rare - Phantom Forces) isn’t far behind, up nearly fivefold to $415, cementing its place as one of the most sought-after Megas. Other heavy-hitters include M Rayquaza EX (Full Art - Roaring Skies), now at $656, M Charizard EX (X - Flashfire) climbing past $349, and Primal Groudon EX (Shiny Full Art), which has more than doubled to $349. These climbers show how nostalgia, unique mechanics, and iconic artwork are driving a collector frenzy.
But not every Mega Evolution is running away in price. Some cards have plateaued after strong early-year gains, leaving a rare buying window before the next spike. M Mewtwo EX (Full Art - BREAKthrough) climbed from $37 to $145 but has leveled off in recent weeks, while M Alakazam EX (Full Art - Fates Collide) sits steady just under $100 after jumping from $28 earlier this year.
Even Charizard is showing signs of cooling, M Charizard EX (Generations) and M Charizard EX (Full Art - Evolutions) have tripled since January but are holding in the $190-$200 range for now. These pauses don’t signal weakness; rather, they reflect consolidation before the broader Mega Evolution wave hits with new set releases. For collectors and investors, the message is clear: the grails are climbing fast, but the plateaued cards may be the smarter pickups before Mega hype takes over the market again.
Crown Zenith Prices Are Rising
The Crown Zenith market has been showing two very different stories this month. On one hand, several Galarian Gallery Ultra Rares are slipping as hype fades, with fan-favorites like Leafeon VSTAR and Suicune V dropping more than 20% from their peaks.
On the other hand, the gold Secret Rares are climbing steadily, led by Giratina VSTAR and Arceus VSTAR, as collectors chase the scarce, high-end pieces of the set. This split reflects a maturing market: casual collectors are less interested in mid-tier Eeveelutions and V cards, while serious players and investors are doubling down on the big four golds.
Among the crashers, Leafeon VSTAR has fallen from nearly $50 to the $43 range, and Glaceon VSTAR is down 26% since February, hovering in the mid-$30s. Deoxys VMAX has slipped under $37, while Suicune V and Raikou V both lost more than a quarter of their value since spring. These are still striking artworks, but set fatigue and limited competitive relevance are pushing prices down.
Meanwhile, the climbers are commanding all the attention. Giratina VSTAR (Secret) has surged nearly 20% since July to $180, making it the definitive chase of Crown Zenith. Mewtwo VSTAR is also up more than 30% this summer, with its Charizard battle artwork driving collector demand. Rounding out the gains, Arceus VSTAR, Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR, and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR are all trending higher as well, thanks to their powerful abilities and limited supply. Taken together, the set still holds broad collector appeal, but it’s clear the market is consolidating around the golden Secret Rares as the safest long-term holds.
First Party Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders
Nintendo’s 2025 first-party lineup is shaping up to be one of its strongest in years. Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to arrive in October, followed closely by Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 bundled together for Switch 2.
Then in December, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond lands with its own set of new amiibo figures, alongside Kirby’s big return in Kirby Air Riders. Between new entries in cornerstone franchises and fresh collectible amiibo launches, fans will have plenty to keep their Switch 2 libraries stocked through the holidays.
Third Party Switch 2 Preorders
The third-party slate for Switch 2 is just as impressive, with several big franchises making the jump to the new hardware. Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection launches in December with a full set of classic fighters, while Borderlands 4 and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake hit this fall.
Beyond that, titles like Hades II, Octopath Traveler 0, and Cronos round out the lineup for RPG fans. Whether you’re into fighters, shooters, or sprawling JRPGs, the Switch 2’s preorder catalog already feels packed, and today’s deals cover every one of them.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
The Boox Tab X C brings color to big-screen e-ink tablets. It’s one of the best examples of the e-ink tablet maker at its strongest pulling together the strengths of its prior tablets – great screens, versatile Android software – to deliver an experience that elevates the color e-reader to a place where it could become a laptop replacement (if you bring your own keyboard) that gives the iPad a run for its money. It is simply one of the best color e-readers for ebooks, comics, and browsing the web, and its large, A4 paper-sized screen, also makes it an equally good fit for the classroom and office as a feature-rich digital notebook. It occasionally stumbles with a handwriting experience that doesn’t quite match its Wacom predecessors, but the experience is overall one of the best e-ink has to offer today.
Boox Tab X C – Design and Features
The Boox Tab X C makes a compelling case for paper-sized digital notebooks. I was a daily user of the same-sized Boox Note Max, the Tab X C’s note-centric monochrome counterpart, and used to its A4 paper-like size but even still, the Tab X C makes an impression. At 13.3 inches, it’s large for any tablet – even the largest iPad Pro is still 13 inches – and for one with an e-ink display, which is usually associated with handheld e-readers, it seems especially big. But for large PDFs and handwriting space that’s a good match for an actual sheet of paper, it’s great.
At the same time, Boox has done a good job of making it easy to hold and use, whether you’re writing with its stylus on a desk or holding it in your hand to read a book. Three sides have a slim bezel of about a quarter of an inch, but the left is much wider and acts as a natural hand-hold. It’s thin, measuring only 5.3mm and weighs 625g, or just a couple of ounces more than the aforementioned iPad Pro.
The frame is made of aluminum and the screen is glass instead of the softer plastic found on some other digital notebooks. The back has a matte texture with a glossy stripe down the side and some script branding in the corner. It’s simple but refined. If you use it without a case, it can be a little slippery. (I wish more brands would opt for a grippier finish like the recent ReMarkable Paper Pro Move.) With a glass screen, the Tab X C is naturally more fragile and susceptible to pressure, so picking up a case is definitely advisable.
The display on the Tab X C uses a color e-ink Kaleido 3 panel, which is currently the most recent and highest-performance from the E Ink Corporation. It has a resolution of 3,200 x 2,400 in black and white and 1,600 x 1,200 for color, giving it pixel densities of 300 PPI and 150 PPI, respectively. I’ll go into more detail shortly, but the display also has fewer layers separating the actual panel and the front glass and both color and clarity look better than I’ve seen on any other Kaleido 3 panel so far.
Unlike traditional LCD tablets, e-ink renders black and white and color content differently. Below the screen are masses of black and white particles that rise to the surface when charged with electricity. There are no colored particles to directly render the hues that appear on screen. Instead, a color filter is used to split red, green, and blue hues from the white particles only. Since only the white particles, or half of the total “pixels,” are able to be split, the resolution for color content is also half of the total display.
In practice, what matters most is the 300 PPI, as blacks cover most text and outlines of illustrations. Colors more frequently “fill in” so the lower resolution isn’t as noticeable as the crisp, paper-like text and line work. Even in color graphic novels and apps, the screen looks very sharp for e-ink and is definitely at the top of its class.
Part of its impressive performance is also due to how well it handles ghosting, or afterimages of what last appeared on the screen. The Tab X C comes with Boox Super Refresh (BSR) technology, powered by its Snapdragon 855 octa-core CPU. Without any user intervention, the tablet automatically works to remove any visual remnants for a clean reading experience.
That processor is hardly new, first released in 2018, but still works very well for anything you would typically do on an e-ink tablet. It’s responsive to the touch, reacts to the pen immediately and reliably, and runs most apps without hardware-related slowdowns. Handwriting latency can be an issue, but typically only if you’re using apps that weren’t designed with e-ink devices in mind.
One of the most controversial aspects of the Tab X C is that it uses an active stylus with haptic feedback instead of the Wacom EMR stylus found on previous models. Wacom styluses work with a special under-screen layer that detects handwriting input with high accuracy and without the need to keep the stylus charged. It’s a community favorite and approaches a standard-level of adoption among e-ink tablets. Because of this, there are also tons of aftermarket pens right on Amazon, as well as low-cost replacement tips to keep your writing experience sharp.
The Tab X C’s new stylus, the Inkspire, uses the USI 2.0 protocol. It’s capacitive, not magnetic, and many people were worried that it wouldn’t be as accurate as Wacom. It attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet and recharges wirelessly while there, so you won’t have to be concerned about that, at least.
It’s not as accurate as Wacom. That’s an objective fact. But, as far as capacitive styluses go, this is one of the better ones. In fact, unless you’re making slow straight lines, the accuracy feels pretty spot on. While I can’t say for sure, I’d wager that Boox went out of its way to make sure that the capacitive layer built into the screen is higher-resolution than standard.
The bigger issue is that the screen is perfectly smooth and doesn’t have the microtexturing to make handwriting feel like paper on its own. The haptics help and can even be convincing at times, but it’s not the same. As of this writing, there also aren’t any replacement tips available for purchase in the United States (though I would expect them to appear in the future). There are several included in the box, though, and without texturing on the screen to wear them out prematurely, they should last virtually forever.
If you add your own paper-like screen protector, though, you’ll quickly burn through these — mine didn’t last a week before needing to be replaced. Until replacement tips are available, you’ll be stuck buying a whole new Inkspire stylus which currently retails for $99. You could also pick up a different stylus that does have replacement tips available (any USI 2.0 stylus should do), which will run you anywhere from $30 to $70.
With all of that in mind, while Wacom purists won’t be content with the Inkspire, I didn’t mind it. If you can get past the smooth screen, I found it to be accurate, responsive, and perfectly fine to write on.
Like many of Boox's other tablets, the Tab X C runs a full version of the Android operating system, but one that has been customized to work best with its e-ink display. It comes with the Google Play Store pre-installed so you can load your own applications in addition to those provided by Boox. This gives you a wealth of choices and an open door to integrate the tablet into your existing mobile workflow. This does diminish its distraction-free design a touch, as it's possible for applications to inundate you with notifications and for you to install social media. Getting sidetracked is less likely due to the slower refresh rate of its e-ink screen.
Because Boox has been refining its implementation of Android across multiple products, its capabilities, features, and level of polish generally exceed the competition in this space, though that gap is closing quickly. A good example of this is within the Microsoft OneNote app. While handwriting in the app were initially too laggy to use on other tablets, updates and an innovative solution to this problem have rendered that a thing of the past. Now, the application easily functions across platforms, with all changes synced automatically to the cloud.
Boox Tab X C – Performance
More than many other e-ink tablets, the Boox Tab X C is able to fill multiple roles depending on how you would like to use it. It's a fantastic e‑reader, excellent for typing and getting work done, and also acts as a digital notebook and sketchpad. The Android integration adds a welcome amount of versatility. So even if the built-in applications don't meet your needs, it's very likely that another application will and is readily available on the Google Play Store.
Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: the writing experience. Much has been made about its active stylus and lack of tactile feedback from screen texturing. The criticisms aren't wrong, but they are overblown. Though the writing experience is absolutely better with some kind of screen texturing (I tested this myself with a paper-like screen protector), the included stylus feels high-resolution enough that my writing always felt accurate and immediate.
The classic test of writing slow, straight lines does reveal a small amount of jitter that's not present with Wacom. However, for e-ink tablets, this is a stress test and not something you will encounter often in normal use unless you’re an artist. For handwriting and a more typical movement speed, I didn’t notice it much at all.
The stylus’s haptic feedback is hit or miss depending on your tastes. It can be set across six preset points from Low to High and Off, but anything below halfway was difficult to feel. Setting it to its maximum highlighted the haptic motor instead of feeling like writing on a textured surface. Your mileage will vary but this essentially left me with one choice. I enjoyed it and found it to be better than simply writing on a completely smooth screen. Over time, it does become less convincing, however.
I want to give Boox kudos for its implementation, though, because different tools provide different types of haptic feedback. Writing with the pencil tool feels rougher than the pen tool, for example. I like that quite a bit; it’s a neat touch.
The screen quality is excellent. Text is clear and legible, and colors have a bit more vibrancy than on the Note Air 4C I reviewed previously. Since there’s no Wacom layer, there’s also less space between the screen’s surface and its e-ink layer, reducing a bit of the dimness inherent to Kaleido 3 displays and making writing feel slightly more natural. The lack of screen texturing also makes this one of the crispest Kaleidos available.
Its responsiveness is very good. I was a bit concerned about this because the Boox Note Max had significant ghosting issues when it launched and made me question whether Boox Super Refresh was working correctly. That was addressed with firmware updates and is much less of an issue today, but the Tab X C launched in a great state and has only gotten better with time.
This, combined with its support for apps like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Obsidian, make it a great tablet for typing. E-ink is known for its latency while typing, and while the Tab X C isn’t quite to the level of an actual laptop, it can easily be used for essays and other typed note-taking when set to its highest refresh mode. So, if you like the benefits of e-ink’s reduced eye strain and distraction-light design but don’t want to write by hand, this might just be the perfect option for you.
The biggest issue with the screen is that it pretty much requires using the frontlight. Kaleido screens are noticeably darker due to the color filter layer, so white looks very grey and colors are duller without it. The frontlight is very well done, evenly illuminating the screen without shining any light directly into your eyes, but impacts overall battery life.
The Tab X C comes with a 5,500mAH battery. With regular use of a couple hours each day and the frontlight on 80% brightness, it typically lasted me three to four days before needing a recharge. This will vary depending on what you’re doing, but just know that it won’t last weeks at a time like a Kindle.
Of course, it has all of Boox’s staples, including dedicated apps for note-taking, managing your calendar, reading, and browsing the web. In these applications, you can really see the years of polish shine through. Boox’s Neoreader app allows you to highlight, annotate, screenshot and markup, and manipulate books and PDFs in a wide array of ways. The Notes app has an assortment of writing tools and a keyword linking system similar to Supernote, handwriting-to-text conversion, a full art suite including Photoshop-like layering and drawing tools, and more.
If you instead opt for a third-party app, like Amazon Kindle, you can raise an “E-Ink Center” menu to adjust key settings to ensure it works well. You can customize how colors appear, contrast, refresh behavior, animation filtering, and more to make sure it works well. I would love to see Boox implement “best settings” for popular apps out of the box, but the tools are there.
Taken as a whole, the Boox Tab X C is one of the most fully featured, best implemented e-ink tablets available. It’s only a couple of steps shy of being the ideal e-ink tablet for users that prefer larger screens, with only its handwriting experience holding it back. If Boox can continue to improve its onboarding and user-friendliness for future releases, it could dominate the market and propel e-ink Android tablets into the mainstream.
If you want a ready-to-go gaming PC that’s affordable, strong, and pretty, the iBuyPower RDY Slate 9MP R01 may be for you. Despite it being incredibly smooth to access the internals with the clip-on platings, the PSU in this gaming PC is completely inaccessible, with all the wires trapped in a mysterious black box that you’d need to void the warranty to open. The Nvidia RTX 5070, an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and 32GB of RAMdo perform well enough to make gaming in 1440p with max settings more than possible. But while it’ll be easy to upgrade this PC if all the connectors remain the same, this PC comes with a non-modular power supply, which means you’ll have to outright replace it to add any new cables – not a great look from a ‘premium’ PC builder.
Design and Features
Ever wonder what a prism being eaten by a prison looks like? Well, me neither, but the iBuyPower RDY Slate 9MP R01 kind of looks like that. The full glass panel takes a sharp chunk out of the front of the case, which contrasts against the grilles and vents around the chassis. I love this look, especially with the RGB turned on, because it makes the interior look like it’s floating.
There’s RGB lighting on the three front fans, CPU fan, back fan, and even the RAM. What ties everything together, though, is the L-shaped light bar on the interior that starts at the top of the front fans and ends toward the back ports. It gives the whole case a more three-dimensional feel. Both the glass and back panels just snap into place, too, so you can pop them off and on easily, which is great because the GPU that ships with the PC does not come installed.
Installing the graphics card took little effort. There’s a panel on the back ports that covers a hole next to the expansion slots. It’s attached via a thumb screw, so it’s easy to pop off and slide the edge of the graphics card into place, and then reattach the panel. However, when I went to connect the GPU to the PSU, I realized that the PSU is non-modular, which means you’re stuck with a mess of pre-installed cables that you can neither remove or add to. The cable for the GPU was available but it wasn’t pre-routed through the case, so I still needed to feed the wire through the chassis to plug it into the graphics card.
As far as the ports go, you’ll find two USB Type-A, two audio ports, and a USB Type-C on the top right of the chassis. It might be only slightly inconvenient for folks that position their PC on the right side of their desk.
The back features four USB 2.0 Type-A, two USB 5Gbps Type-A, and one USB 10Gbps Type-A. I wish we got at least one more 10GBps Type-A port, but there is one USB Type-C back there. There’s also one DisplayPort and HDMI slot, an RJ45 Ethernet port, and 3 audio ports. There’s a Wi-Fi module, too, with two prongs jutting out of the I/O.
Connecting the Wi-Fi extender was vital for me, as my office is above where my router is. The motherboard comes packaged with a ASUS Wi-Fi moving antenna, which was kind of a pain to connect. The prongs are surrounded by a piece of plastic that’s designed to warp around the ports upon connection. However, it took great strength and grace to connect these without snapping it in half. Why couldn’t it have just been screwed on?
Configurations
Do you want a prebuilt gaming PC from a custom PC-building company without having to customize anything? Well, boy howdy, do I have a PC for you: the iBuyPower RDY Slate 9MP R01. For $1,799, it's outfitted with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Beyond that, there’s a 750-watt PSU and a five-fan cooling system, all packed into a ASUS Prime B650M-A AX6 II motherboard. That’s a pretty decent price for an RTX 5070 gaming PC, but you’re still going to want to pick this thing up on a sale.
There’s only one other model that features the Slate 9MP case, and that’s the RDY Slate 9MP Valorant R02, which costs $1,499. It comes with all the same specs as our review unit except downgrades the GPU to an RTX 5060 Ti. There’s absolutely nothing tying it to the game, Valorant, other than signaling that this PC can run it well. But that’s pretty solid for the price.
The iBuyPower RDY Slate 9MP R01 ships with the iBuyPower MK9 RGB mechanical keyboard and mouse. The keyboard sports tactile brown switches that felt dull to type on – it wasn’t very snappy and produced a mushy thonk with every press. It’s fine for a “free” mechanical keyboard, even the RGB looked nice. Although, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to hate that the right Shift key is so small. The mouse elicited a similar middling experience, and the RGB was not as good-looking due to the mouse’s cheap transparent plastic. The real issue, though, is that it felt flimsy, and the clickers produced a dull bassy sound as opposed to a pleasant sharp click.
Performance
Jumping in the mid-range of GPUs is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, which is packed into the iBuyPower RDY Slate 9MP R01 alongside the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and 32GB of RAM. Despite being in the more affordable range of gaming PCs, the RTX 5070 manages to take on a decent load, achieving near 60 fps at 4K Ultra settings and near triple digits at 1440p in select titles, all without DLSS 4. Unfortunately, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a bit old at this point — it launched 2022. It could’ve had the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X at the very least, although it would’ve been pricier.
Whether you’re jumping across the rooftops of Night City or hacking your local grocery store, you should be averaging 56 fps at 4K set to Ray Tracing Ultra and DLSS Performance in Cyberpunk 2077. You’ll get the most out of the RTX 5070 in 1440p, however, as it scored 95 fps. And of course, frame generation takes that up to a whole new level. At 1440p, we got 146 fps at x2 and 236 fps at x4, whereas at 4K it hit 92 fps and 159 fps, respectively.
You’ll be able to saturate a high-refresh rate display when playing multiplayer games like Black Ops 6 and Forza Horizon 5, which scored 147 fps and 154 fps at 1440p, respectively, and then 99 fps and 118 fps at 4K. Those clutch around-the-corner encounters and sharp turns on the track might be a little easier to manage. However, the RTX 5070’s biggest weakness is revealed when there’s no upscaling tech available. I ran Metro Exodus at Extreme, 4K settings with no upscaling, and it averaged only 39 fps. At 1440p, it did cross the 60-fps threshold, at 69 fps.
I queued Cloak & Dagger in Marvel Rivals, and as I was racing down our tank who made the mistake of pushing too hard, the RTX 5070 hit 113 fps with a 67ms delay when set to 4K, Ultra, Native DLSS, 4x Multi-Frame Generation. (Our tank was a menace, but the RTX 5070 pulled through).
At the highest settings, you’re likely to get close to 60 fps in most games, even at 4K. But if you want to make use of a high-refresh rate monitor, then you should settle for 1440p. One of the biggest issues I noticed, however, is that the PC blasted its fans under the slightest pressure, even when a game wasn’t running. When running all the benchmarks, the fans went wee and woo like a jet engine, so keep that in mind if you don’t like blaring fans – or at least get ready to tweak the fan curve.
Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn't wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he's agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.
Paradox Interactive has announced that all six clans for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be available in the game. This means that the two clans that were locked behind a DLC will now be free to everyone. This means that the base game will offer all six clans from the get-go. These are … Continue reading Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will now have all 6 clans→
Earlier this month, we shared 12 minutes of gameplay footage from Human Head Studios’ canceled PREY 2. Since then, the videos have been taken down. Thankfully, though, we have 11 minutes of new gameplay footage from it. This cancelled version of Prey 2 was meant to be a first-person shooter set in an open alien … Continue reading 11 more minutes of leaked gameplay footage from PREY 2→
I’ve put over 100 hours into Donkey Kong Bananza since July. I reached 100% completion on my first playthrough, did a zero-banana run on my second, and I’ve been using a third to practice crazy speedrun techniques and push DK’s incredible movement in more extreme ways. Two months after giving Bananza a 10 in my original review, I remain in awe of how DK’s frenetic, destructive abilities work masterfully in tandem with the underground’s meticulously-designed breakable environments. Nintendo nailed the relationship between Bananza’s world and its main character, and the new DK Island and Emerald Rush DLC is a really fun excuse to keep experimenting in this playground in a remixed, more frantic way, even if a slight lack of content and a few minor issues keep it from reaching the same inspired heights as the base game.
Before we get too far into things, a quick note. Bananza’s DLC is only accessible after clearing the main story, and it acts as somewhat of an extended postgame. I’m not going to outright spoil Bananza here, but if you’re still drilling your way to the planet core and don’t want to know anything about it, you may want to come back to this review once you’ve reached the end credits. That said, you should also do so before you dive too far past them, because the DLC makes some helpful changes to the original endgame grind that you may want to know about. There are two intertwined halves of the DLC to discuss: DK Island is a new level to explore, while Emerald Rush is a roguelite take on Bananza that makes up the majority of the content found in this combined package.
DK Island is a wonderful love letter to Rare’s Donkey Kong Country trilogy and Donkey Kong 64. It’s a nostalgic return to where DK platformers really began, comparable to exploring Super Mario 64’s Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey’s postgame. It’s overflowing with great references, from obvious ones like DK’s treehouse and King K. Rool’s Gangplank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country, to deeper cuts like DKC 2’s goal target tucked away in the corner on the ship’s main deck. As a huge fan of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – the last DK platformer Nintendo developed internally prior to Bananza – my favorite part of DK Island has to be the bongos out at sea. There are so many more references to DK history I don’t want to give away, but if you have any love for this series, you’ll probably get a kick out of discovering all its easter eggs too.
Beyond that, though, there’s actually not that much to do on DK Island. There are no Banandium Gems or fossils to hunt down and no challenge rooms to conquer. Instead, the gold bonus stages found in Bananza’s main layers are all collected here, making DK Island a convenient place to grind for cash. Bananza’s original postgame sees Grumpy Kong demanding tens of thousands of gold pieces to unlock some of the final collectibles and reach 100% completion, and those who have access to DK Island will have a much easier time grinding than I did before the DLC was out. Elsewhere, DK’s old parrot companion Squawks is here, and he will hunt down one of DK Island’s dozens of collectible statues in exchange for Banandium Chips. Shiny replicas of Bananza’s allies, enemies, and Kongs live in galleries across DK Island, adding to its value as a nostalgic DK history museum. In classic Bananza fashion, you can pick them up, turf surf on them, and use them to carve through the island’s central mountain. You’ll need to grind thousands of Banandium Chips to buy them all, but thankfully, those are the main reward of the Emerald Rush mode.
DK Island is a rush of nostalgia, but there's actually not that much to do.
Besides DK Island’s role as a rush of 90s nostalgia and a place to store cool trinkets, there’s not much to it, and I wouldn’t recommend buying the DLC if you’re only interested in this component. It’s a littleodd that DK Island wasn’t included as a postgame reward in the base game since it’s so comparable to Odyssey’s Mushroom Kingdom, and gating it behind paid DLC feels kind of like a money-hungry move from Nintendo. This is the company that just charged $10 for Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, though, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised at this somewhat eyeroll-worthy choice.
Fortunately, Bananza’s DLC does a much better job justifying its $20 price tag in its Emerald Rush mode. Void Kong has found his way to DK Island, and he’s moved on from his obsession with Banandium Gold to set his sights on a new prize: emerald ore… which is the exact same, but green. Void hires DK and Pauline to collect as much emerald ore as possible, and this introduction includes some cute followups and resolutions for Bananza’s main story and characters.
I’ve seen some online chatter calling Emerald Rush a simple minigame that should have been free, but it’s much more than that: it’s a fully-featured side mode that turns Bananza’s destruction-based platforming into a fun, replayable roguelite. Each run takes place across a series of rounds – ranging from six to 15 depending on the difficulty level selected – where you have 100 seconds to reach a quota of emerald ore to pay Void. If you don’t reach the goal, your run comes to an end right there. If you do, you can keep working on your build for the rest of the timer to stock up for the next round, where the quota progressively multiples.
Emerald Rush feels like a combination of Splatoon’s Salmon Run and Side Order modes. Personality-wise, it clearly takes inspiration from Salmon Run: both feature a hilariously mean boss screaming at you to meet your quota through a walkie talkie over increasingly difficult rounds. This is also Nintendo’s first take on a roguelite since last year’s excellent Side Order DLC for Splatoon 3 which, notably, also came bundled with a nostalgic hub to explore. It feels like Donkey Kong is following the exact same playbook, as Emerald Rush features dozens of perks that impact your score multiplier in a very similar fashion.
Each run of Emerald Rush begins by stripping DK of all his skills – including his five Bananza transformations at higher difficulties – and it’s up to you to power him back up while also gathering piles of emerald ore. This is done by frantically exploring layers, fast traveling around with a limited number of barrel cannons, collecting emerald bananas and fossils that restore DK’s skills and give you the choice of one of three perks, and completing goals Void Kong assigns you at specific locations across the map. I love starting from nothing, giving me a place to put all of DK’s high-level base techniques to use, and I found I was able to reach a lot of areas in really cool, satisfying ways – for example, using a chunk to essentially quadruple jump to a platform I traditionally would have used Ostrich Bananza to reach. Emerald Rush challenges advanced players to go for the highest score possible, and there’s always room to grow by deepening your understanding of how DK moves.
Emerald Rush turns Bananza’s destruction-based platforming into a frantic, replayable roguelite.
But even if you’re not interested in crazy parkour tricks, the most important part of Emerald Rush are the perks that alter how much emerald ore appears. There are generic power-ups like generating more when defeating a certain type of enemy, but the most exciting ways to score are the Groove subset of perks, which revolve around multipliers that increase the more you perform a specific action. For instance, my favorite is Turf Groove, where more emerald ore appears based on the total distance traveled by Turf Surfing. The second this perk shows up, my whole playstyle changes. Suddenly, I’m trying to get everywhere by Turf Surfing, which is a big challenge on denser layers. Emerald Rush leads to scenarios you’d never see in the base game, and with such an incredible foundation to build a roguelite on, it’s always fun seeing how you can push the mechanics.
Stacking multiple perks like this on top of each other can lead to completely busted results, and I scored well over one million points on a few runs where my target goal was less than half that. If you thought the base game had a lot happening on-screen at once, Emerald Rush achieves a new level of unregulated chaos, like one run where I got tons of bonus emerald ore for defeating enemies as Zebra Bananza, leading to 30 minutes of sprinting around nonstop, destroying everything in sight to flood the screen with an overwhelming, borderline unbelievable amount of emerald ore.
It’s not always a breeze, though. Like most roguelites, a lot of your success depends on what skills randomly show up, and I lost multiple runs by banking on a certain Bananza to spawn by building my perks around it, and ultimately failing when it never arrived. Speaking of Bananzas, Emerald Rush really rewards mastery over these five powered-up forms, as knowing the best way to take advantage of their unique strengths and swapping between them on the fly results in a high skill ceiling fitting of an endgame mode.
I do wish Emerald Rush went a little bit further with its abilities, though. Seeing big numbers get bigger is always enjoyable, and the way Emerald Rush overlays your multiplier onto every individual explosion is a nice touch – but with a few rare exceptions, there are no brand new abilities to find, and the perks simply make DK’s already-existing moves worth more points. It changes the scoring and the way you play, but beyond reclaiming powers I’m already very used to using in the base game, it never meaningfully expands the options available to you. The best roguelites make you feel more powerful throughout a run by giving you fresh moves as you go, and adding more exciting techniques to DK’s toolkit could have elevated this from a good roguelite mode to a great one.
Completing runs earns you piles of Banandium Chips and rating points that unlock cute bonus costumes, more powerful perks in the rotation, and new layers to tackle. Emerald Rush doesn’t take place in new areas besides DK Island. Instead, DK and Pauline return to familiar locations from Bananza’s campaign, and one of the coolest parts of this mode is how it rewards you for being intimately familiar with these layers. Emerald versions of Banandium Gems and fossils are found in the same locations as their counterparts in the main campaign, and knowing exactly where to find a vein of three fossils or a bunch of bananas makes Emerald Rush feel like a cool B-side to the main story. And, the Getaways you’ve built during the main story become essential fast travel points during a run, further incentivizing you to explore each layer to the fullest.
In that same vein, Void Kong’s objective will sometimes vaguely order you to do something like give Cranky Kong a high five, or take a swim in a layer that doesn’t have much water in it. Unlike the usual orders, these objectives don’t place a marker on your map, leaving it up to you to find them on your own. Thanks to my 100+ hours and multiple playthroughs, it didn’t take long for me to pinpoint Cranky hanging out on a big tree branch in the Forest Layer, or to find a quick pond to dive into in the Hilltop Layer. I initially thought reusing areas from the base game would be a weakness of Emerald Rush, but the way it leverages your knowledge of familiar locations is a really smart, novel way to effectively reuse old content.
I wish Emerald Rush had added a little bit extra to keep things fresh.
Still, this is another place I wish Emerald Rush had added a little bit extra to keep things fresh. There are no new enemy types, and it never introduces boss encounters that could’ve nicely broken up the pace of runs that last up to 45 minutes. I reached the end credits after about six hours, and while the DLC’s postgame opens up several more layers to play Emerald Rush in, I’m starting to feel a little burnt out on the formula. I’ll probably only stick around to reach 100% completion out of obligation to the base game I’ve so thoroughly completed. And when I do return, I’ll almost certainly throw on my own music or a podcast – the pair of main themes is undeniably catchy with flourishes from Pauline that change depending on your active transformation, but I could definitely go without hearing either for a while after 10 hours in the DLC.
For this weekend only, Lenovo is offering this outstanding deal on a Legion gaming PC deal. Right now you can order a pre-configured Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D GeForce RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC for just $1,759.99. Free delivery is included. This CPU/GPU duo can run even the latest and most demanding games with high framerates at up to 4K resolution.
Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,759.99
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming PC is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB M.2 SSD. The processor is (air)cooled by a robust 120mm tower heatsink and fan combo. A total of six 120mm RGB fans and a sensibly designed 30L midtower chassis keeps your components quiet and cool. An 850W 80PLUS Gold power supply provides plenty of power. The case offers toolless entry and most of the components are non-proprietary, so they are easy to swap out or upgrade yourself down the road.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still an outstanding gaming CPU
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D has an established reputation of being one of the best gaming CPUs available. It's a slightly older model that has been replaced by the newer Ryzen 9 98000X3D, but it is still one of the best gaming CPUs you can get today. According to Passmark, the 7800X3D's gaming performance surpasses that of the latest generation Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. The 7800X3D is also more efficient than the 9800X3D, which means it will consume less power and produce less heat (and thus less noise because your fans don't need to spin as fast).
The RTX 5070 Ti GPU Has Excellent 4K Gaming Performance
Of all the Blackwell cards released thus far, the RTX 5070 Ti offers the best bang for your buck, especially when pitted against the previous generation GPUs. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super and marginalizes the RTX 5080, which is only about 10%-15% faster but costs 33% more. Like all Blackwell cards, the RTX 5070 Ti supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. It also has 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM same as the RTX 5080, making it suitable for AI.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Looking to experience the Man of Steel’s cinematic journey so far? Amazon also has the Superman 5 Film Collection, and it’s discounted it by more than 50%.
This Superman Collection Is Better Than Half Price At Amazon
According to data from CamelCamelCamel, this marks the lowest discount yet on this particular box set, which comes with awesome cover art of Superman in the Fortress of Solitude.
The set includes Superman The Movie, Superman II, Superman II’s Richard Donner Cut, Superman III, and Superman IV, all in 4K versions as well as Blu-Ray and digital downloads.
While looking into this set, I hadn’t heard about the Donner cut, which came about after the director was removed from the project by Alexander Salkind, who purchased the film rights to Superman.
It was released in 2006, and makes for a more dramatic version of the 1980 movie by sanding down some of the comedic touches from Richard Lester’s version. Now, where have we heard about DC fans campaigning for a different cut of a movie before? Still, at least both versions are included here so you can make your own mind up about which one you prefer.
Looking for more superhero movie deals? Amazon has big savings on Batman adventures, too, with discounts of over 60% on everything from the Batman 4K Collection to the Blu-Ray of the Animated Series. Great timing, too, since World Batman Day arrives just next week - got your cowl and cape?
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
If you're looking for the least expensive brand new PlayStation 5 console you can get your hands on, AliExpress is going to be your best bet. Right now they're offering an imported Sony PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition gaming console for just $369.73 after $80 off coupon code "AEUS80". Alternatively, the PlayStation 5 Disc Edition is down to $425.16 after an even bigger $100 off coupon code "USDEAL100". Shipping is free. These are brand new and retail boxed products that are stocked in a US warehouse and qualify for local delivery.
This PlayStation console is imported from another country, however all PS5 consoles are region unlocked and so it will play in the US without any modifications. You'll also be able to select English as your default language just like any console you buy here. Keep in mind that imported consoles have an overseas warranty that won't be honored here in the United States. Fortunately, AliExpress has a 90-day free return policy and guarantees a refund if your order doesn't arrive within 20 days.
Save Up to $130 Off Brand New PlayStation 5 Slim Deals
Note that although the console itself is region unlocked, the Astro Bot or Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 digital download vouchers included in these console bundles are region locked. You'll be unable to play the game on your US-based account immediately. There is a proven workaround that involves creating a secondary Hong Kong account, setting the PS5 as your primary device, downloading the game, and then switching back to your US account.
PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition - $499.99 (was $450)
PlayStation 5 Slim Disc Edition - $549.99 (was $500)
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Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
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