Category: Gaming

Call of Duty developers past and present have taken to social media to express their frustration with a comment made by God of War voice actor Christopher Judge at The Game Awards.

During a speech delivered by Judge at The Game Awards on December 7, ahead of him presenting the Best Performance award to Baldur’s Gate 3’s Neil Newbon, the actor made fun of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign.

“I’m not going to stand up here, making long speeches. I’m going to stick to the script. No eight-minute speech like last year,” Judge said, referencing the 2022 award ceremony when he won Best Performance for his role as Kratos in God of War Ragnarok. “But fun fact, my speech was actually longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign,” he added.

The joke was met with more shocked reaction than anything else at The Game Awards, with the camera panning to attendees that covered their mouths or sat straight faced. But Call of Duty developers didn’t hide their reactions, posting on social media to criticise the joke.

“Funny”, said Ajinkya Limaye, a former Call of Duty developer at Infinity Ward that now works as a senior systems designer at Bungie. “But yeah, the metrics that Call of Duty absolutely destroys all of the God of War games (probably combined to be honest) is also equally laughable (if not more).”

Associate art director of fellow Call of Duty studio Treyarch Nelson Plumey weight in too: “Imagine having short user engagement once your game is consumed. Can’t relate,” they said.

“Honestly, as Call of Duty developers, we’ve heard way worse,” added expert engineer at another Call of Duty developer, Sledgehamer Games, Darcy Sandall.

“But we don’t expect it from a peer, at an event that supposed to be celebrating this years achievements in gaming. Especially with all the information that was leaked about it’s development.”

As well as the leaks mentioned by Sandall, which got so bad publisher Activision even made fun of the situation, Modern Warfare 3 developers were also reportedly the victims of crunch, creating the game in 18 months instead of the usual three year process.

The game was originally conceived as an expansion to 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 before Activision turned it into a standalone, full-priced entry. This rushed development didn’t result in a positive reception for the game, however.

Its campaign earned a 4/10 in IGN’s review: “Underbaked, rehashed, and cobbled together from multiplayer parts, Modern Warfare 3’s single player campaign is everything a Call of Duty story mode shouldn’t be.”

Image Credit: Scott Garfitt/BAFTA via Getty Images

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over and done with, but Amazon still has plenty of surprises up their sleeve at the moment when it comes to sales. If you’ve been hoping to pick up gifts ahead of the holidays for the Nintendo fan in your life, you can find a variety of games, cases, controllers, and more on sale right now at Amazon.

You can find some of our favorite discounts included in this sale below. To see the full list of available items, check out Amazon’s store page here.

Nintendo Switch Games on Sale at Amazon

From Shin Megami Tensei V to Bayonetta 3, you can save quite a bit on select Nintendo games at the moment. Some are even discounted up to 50%! It’s a great time to buy them ahead of the holidays if you’re still looking to check off your shopping list.

Nintendo Switch Controllers on Sale at Amazon

An excellent selection of controllers for Nintendo Switch are on sale right now as well, from wired options made by PowerA to some great picks from 8Bitdo. Some of these are also marked down 50%, so grab them quick before their prices go back up.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Kirby

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8Bitdo Lite Bluetooth Gamepad for Switch Lite, Switch & Windows (Turquoise Edition)

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PowerA Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Mario Holiday Sweater

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PDP REMATCH Enhanced Wired Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, Switch Lite/OLED Compatible (Zelda Breath of the Wild Gold/Black)

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PowerA Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Grape Purple

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PowerA Nano Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Pikachu Friends

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PowerA Nano Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Mario Bros.

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PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Ancient Archer

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PowerA Nano Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch – Toon Link

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Nintendo Switch Cases on Sale at Amazon

If you know someone with a Nintendo Switch who’s been hoping to get a nice case to keep it stored in, now’s a great time to grab one as a fantastic variety are on sale at Amazon. They come in plain colors or patterned with an iconic Nintendo character or artwork across the front, so you can find one that best suits you or whoever you’re getting it for.

PowerA Protection Case for Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite – Link vs. Lynel

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PowerA Protection Case for Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite – Mario and Friends

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PowerA Protection Case for Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite – Super Mario Black

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PowerA Travel Pro Slim Case for Nintendo Switch Systems – Kirby Power

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PowerA Slim Case for Nintendo Switch – Zelda: Battle-Ready Link

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If you’re looking for even more Nintendo-themed items to gift to someone this year, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a wide variety of options in our Nintendo gift guide. There, you can find everything from collectibles to Nintendo-themed cookbooks that someone in your life (or yourself) are sure to love. If you want to see what we’ve collected for other consoles, you can also check out our PlayStation gift guide and Xbox gift guide.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

If you were put off by the idea that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an always-online game, I have some good news: Rocksteady Studios confirmed that it will make the story mode available offline, but only after the game releases.

In the official Discord server for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a Rocksteady employee confirmed in the announcements channel that the developer plans to add an offline story mode. As you can see from the screenshot below, the offline story mode won’t be available at release, but Rocksteady is “aiming to add this update in 2024.”

During a February State of Play held this year, Rocksteady confirmed that not only would Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League require an online connection even when playing in single-player, but it will also be a live-service game. Many fans were thoroughly disappointed by the news, with it turning off some from the game altogether.

The announcement came after a new trailer debuted last night at the 2023 Game Awards, with Rocksteady continuing to give us more glimpses at the DC title. To that end, Rocksteady also kickstarted a new developer diary series last month; in the first video of the series, it revealed that its version of Metropolis would be twice the size of Gotham City depicted in Batman: Arkham Knight.

Originally set to launch sometime in 2022 before getting delayed into early 2023, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was supposed to come out on May 26. Rocksteady subsequently delayed Suicide Squad to February 2, 2024.

For more, check out our feature, where we take a closer look at how its first developer diary shed light on the game’s biggest plot mystery.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

God of War Ragnarok is getting a roguelike mode in its Valhalla expansion on December 12, and fans are noticing some major Greek saga vibes.

The DLC — which was announced at The Game Awards on December 7 as a free add-on to the beloved 2022 sequel — lets players travel between different environments to take on new enemies in the new Valhalla mode.

Several God of War fans have taken to social media to point out similarities between Valhalla and the original games in the franchise, which were set in Greek mythology before the 2018 reboot brought Kratos to Norse myth.

Reddit user Spoona101 highlighted one deep cut reference that seemingly links back to the God of War 2 novelisation. In the Valhalla key art, Kratos can be seen standing in front of the entrance of a great fortress while holding his Blades of Chaos in the exact same pose as he is on the novel, where he stands in front of a Greek palace.

A cyclops also caught the attention of fans as a creature of Greek mythology, and Ay-hem on Reddit went a step further by pointing out its similarities to the cyclops in the PlayStation Portable’s Ghost of Sparta.

The trailer’s music was even familiar, with HughJaenis noting that it used the original God of War theme. It’s not clear what all these references mean, or if there will be story elements in the roguelike mode that link back to the original games, but fans won’t have too long to wait before finding out.

In IGN’s 10/10 review of the base game, we said: “God of War Ragnarok is an almighty achievement and creates a new high that makes many of its peers look mortal by comparison.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Fortnite’s Rocket Racing is a brand-new arcade racer that tests your driving skills with gravity defying mechanics. Developed by Psyonix, creators of Rocket League, Rocket Racing captures the same competitive feel, just on a racetrack. Here’s how Rocket Racing plays as a competitive racing game and what to expect from content and cosmetics in the future.

Movement Mechanics

Rocket Racing isn’t your typical car racing game where you just have to optimize your turns and drifts. Along with classic race mechanics, you have to pay attention to your surroundings so you can break some rules and find new alternative paths to cross the finish line first. Picture more Mario Kart-esque and less Forza Motorsport.

Using the Air Dodge move, you can simply flick your thumbstick to leave your current road surface and stick to the ceiling or walls. You’ll need to do this to avoid oncoming obstacles or to grab a speed boost that’s on the ceiling.

You can also use your thrusters to fly and float through the air not just during ramp jumps. This can help you find some cheeky near out-of-bounds raceway to zoom on but just note that jumping and flying slows down your acceleration.

Racing on a surface is the best way to gain speed since that’s what fills your boost meter. Drifting on turns will earn you more charge for turbo boosts which, once filled, allows you to thrust forward for a good moment and gets you an extra burst of speed at the end of the boost. You can hold onto three turbo charges at once.

Drifting around turns fills your turbo meter faster but you can also manually hit the drift button. When you hit a turn in Rocket Racing, you’ll automatically drift slightly to fit the curve. If you hit the drift button, you’ll get a much harsher turn and drift around corners to get more of a speed boost after coming out into the straightaway.

At the start of races, if you manage to hit the accelerate button right on the fourth green light, you’ll get a slight to massive starting boost. The percentage of your boost is dependent on your timing, so be sure to keep your finger on the button so you can get at least 80% or above for that starting acceleration.

Car Customization

Alongside its tight controls, Rocket Racing also features a staggering amount of customization. This is the first time you’re really able to fully customize a vehicle in Fortnite. You can change your car’s body and secondary colors, add decals, and even change the look of the wheels. And, the best part? The customizations you have for the cars in Rocket Racing will transfer to Battle Royale. Neat!

Maps and Ranked Mode

At the moment, there are 26 racetracks with more coming every month. Currently, there are three biomes from the Fortnite ecosystem: Canyon, Forest, Jungle.

Aside from a casual mode, where you can play any maps you want with up to 12 racers in your party and lobby, there’s a ranked mode that lets you test your skills as an agile driver. In ranked, you’ll face off against three other people, meaning each race only has four total players.

As you climb in ranks, the maps will get harder and harder and cycle from the easier smaller maps to the harder bigger tracks. Depending on the size of the maps, you’ll have to complete three to five laps to finish a race.

While it’s recommended that you play with a controller, you can still use your keyboard and mouse if you insist. I just personally found the controls to be much smoother on controllers! Rocket Racing is available now on Fortnite on all platforms, current and last-gen (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch).

Stella is a Video Producer, Host, and Editor at IGN. Her gameplay focus is on competitive FPS games and she’s previously reviewed Apex Legends, Hyper Scape, Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and Battlefield 2042. She regularly hosts and shoutcasts competitive Apex Legends and Halo Infinite tournaments when she isn’t streaming on her Twitch channel after work outs. You can follow her on Twitter @ParallaxStella.

During The Game Awards, Bandai Namco revealed a trailer for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, the newest entry in the beloved 3D fighting game series. Seeing as how it’s been nearly 15 years (10 years if you count the series’ lackluster spin-offs) since players received a new mainline Budokai Tenkaichi game, folks likely have a lot of questions about Sparking! Zero.

Naturally, IGN assembled the seven dragon balls and spoke with producer Jun Furutani to chat about the game’s five-year development process and get some insight into what players can expect when Sparking! Zero releases on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Although several Dragon Ball games have released since 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3 on PlayStation 2 and Wii, Furutani said now felt like the perfect time for the series to return and deliver an “evolved” Dragon Ball Z gameplay experience on next-gen consoles.

“What was interesting to see with [Sparking! Zero] was the effect on the environment. When Goku is charging his ki, you have a little bit of wind picking up,” Furutani said while pantomiming Goku’s zenkai boost. “When someone crashes through a boulder or a building [after an attack] it’s happening in real time. We’ll be using Unreal Engine 5, so the graphics are just that more real and immersive.”

Furutani says he drew inspiration from his time observing how players in Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s esports scene enjoyed recreating iconic battles from the anime to ensure players could relish in an identical experience with Sparking! Zero.

“Sparking! Zero is different than [Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot]. FighterZ was created with esports intentions with 2D fighting. Kakarot was about experiencing the story. Xenoverse [had players] go in as an avatar into the world,” Furutani said. “The focus here is to push the limits of how much a player can completely immerse themselves into the world and how intensely we can make that [happen].”

Before the new Budokai Tenkaichi trailer made its world premiere earlier this year, fans referred to the previously unnamed title as Budokai Tenkaichi 4. Gematsu spotted a Bandai Namco trademark filing in September, revealing that the game would instead adopt the series Japanese title, “Sparking.”

Although the subtitle “Zero,” tends to indicate a game ostensibly serving as a prequel entry in an ongoing game series, that isn’t the case with Sparking! Zero. Rather, the name is meant to embody the game being an accessible starting point for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to get Furutani to spill the senzu beans about the game’s roster size or, more importantly, if the series’ beloved loading screen mini-games would make its triumphant return. However, Furutani beckoned fans to look forward to more details in the future and expect a “robust game” when Sparking! Zero releases on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Steam.

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.

Fans have taken to social media to vent their surprise and frustration after Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 failed to net a single win at The Game Awards 2023, despite being nominated in seven categories.

Spider-Man 2 launched on October 20 to a warm critical and fan reception and was subsequently nominated for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Audio Design, Best Performance, Innovation in Accessibility, and Best Action/Adventure Game, as well as the Player’s Voice Award at The Game Awards.

Unfortunately for Insomniac, 2023 was packed with fierce competition such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3, and Spider-Man 2 was edged out of all seven award catagories as a result.

Others were more pragmatic about the lack of awards, with many citing the slew of high quality games released throughout 2023 as the reasoning behind the judging decisions. “It makes sense,” wrote Redditor tylernazario. “The gameplay was an improvement from the first but the story was a step down in terms of quality and length. Plus this year was stacked with lots of great games”.

Insomniac reacted with grace and was quick to thank fans and congratulate the winners of this year’s awards. “A major thank you to everyone who nominated Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 in several categories at The Game Awards this year” it said on X/Twitter. “It’s an honour to have had your support. Congrats to all the winners and nominees. You all deserved it.”

The story mirrors the results of the 2018 awards show, which saw the first title in Insomniac’s Spider-Man series edged out by the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War after also being nominated in seven catagories.

In IGN’s 8/10 review of the latest, we said that “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 delivers Insomniac’s best tale yet, and despite its open world falling short, is a reliably fun superhero power trip”. For more insights into the development of Spider-Man 2 be sure to check out the IGN Roundtable discussion between Remedy Entertainment’s creative director Sam Lake, and Insomniac’s senior narrative director John McAdam.

Of course The Game Awards isn’t all about, well, awards. It’s also about juicy game reveals. This year saw the unveiling of Hideo Kojima’s brand new horror IP Overdose, along with God of War DLC, a new Blade title from Arkane Studios, and a host of other titles. Stick with IGN to catch up on all of the winners, and every game announced during The Game Awards 2023.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

Cardy, Matt P, and Mat J are here to get excited about our first look at GTA 6. After throwing story theories and hopes around they move onto the big reveals from this year’s Game Awards, including Hideo Kojima’s mysterious OD collaboration with Jordan Peele, Arkane’s team-up with Marvel for Blade, and Hello Games’ ambitious follow-up to No Man’s Sky, Light No Fire. Then in traditional IGN UK podcast fashion it all descends into chaos as crisps chat and rants about Deal or No Deal take over.

Ask us anything you’d like. Get in touch at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 726: GTA 6 Looks Decent

It’s been quite the year for hot single men in your video games (we’re looking at you, Ganondorf) and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Cid refuses to be outdone.

The reimagining of the classic Final Fantasy character was fully revealed in a trailer at The Game Awards, and Square Enix has given what was a gruff, old-looking man quite the glow up — and fans are loving it.

“Oh no, he’s hot,” said Jet44 on Reddit. “Daddy confirmed,” added simpathiser. “Between Barret, Biggs, and now Cid, I’m in husbando heaven,” said TheNewArkon. As you can see in the image, below, the original Cid, even in his spruced up artwork, looked a little rough for what was meant to be a 32 year old.

“I’m glad they realised 32 is too young to be old and crotchety,” said sudden-SOUND, and CityofTheAncients agreed: “Right? He actually looks 32 and not in his mid 50s.” Hadrian_x_Antinous added: “Look at this ancient old man who long ago had a dream. He’s so old, what an oldie. Just kidding. He’s 32 and actually looks it, that’s awesome.”

The trailer showed a lot more than just sexy Cid, of course, including other new party characters like Cait Sith and Vincent and an extensive look at other story elements coming in the highly anticipated sequel.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s February 29, 2024 release date is getting closer and fans are finally learning more and more about the game. Square Enix has previously confirmed it will feature new story content centred around Zack, and perhaps even incorporate backstory for Sephiroth included in mobile game Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.

An ESBR rating also revealed some wild and wacky details about the game, including its deep cleavage, pools of blood, and a potential clue to Aerith’s fate. And Square Enix dropped a ton of story details, screenshots, and more in a big update in November 2023.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

During Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, Germany, NVIDIA announced that ray tracing–a graphics technique capable of rendering special effects on par with motion pictures–was finally coming to video games. The event also marked the introduction of the concept of AI for gaming with the introduction of Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS).

And right now, there are over 500 games and applications that take advantage of any combination of these features! NVIDIA is kicking off an RTX 500 celebration for reaching this milestone. Celebrate this benchmark with NVIDIA by following the GeForce social channels on X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube TikTok, or Reddit, Discord and other social media platforms.

We have our own list of games that make excellent use of RTX technologies. From the top:

5. Minecraft with RTX

Unless you’ve been living in a cave on Mars with your fingers stuck in your ears since 2011, you know all about Mojang’s enormously popular sandbox-style game. But Minecraft isn’t just popular for its endless creative potential, but also for the big, chunky blocks that give the game a distinct visual style.

You wouldn’t think Minecraft’s simple blocks wouldn’t benefit from ray tracing, but NVIDIA proves everyone wrong. Minecraft feels like the progenitor to the RTX-OFF and RTX-ON graphical fidelity comparison, and for good reason. You can see there’s a clear upgrade.

Minecraft with RTX debuted in 2020 with full ray tracing (also known as path tracing), meaning all the lights in the game benefit from ray tracing. A lot of people were surprised at how much the implementation of full ray tracing transformed the game. Ray tracing lets you witness beautiful effects like rays of light bursting through cloud cover, but the upgrade to Minecraft.

RTX isn’t just visual. Diving into Minecraft RTX’s caves and mines means navigating through an unsettlingly realistic darkness. This makes Minecraft a much more intense game, and it’s a good example of a mainstream audience getting to see how ray tracing can enhance games.

4. Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus is another example of a marquee AAA game that was transformed by ray tracing integration. Metro Exodus originally launched with ray traced global illumination in 2019, making it one of the first games to use ray tracing effects. This visual beast of a game underwent a complete overhaul with the re-release of the game in 2020. Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition features a reworked method of global illumination that also adds new RT effects.

Metro Exodus is already a creepy game in its vanilla state, but the Enhanced Edition’s use of RTX tech ramps up the fear factor with creepy shadows that seem to dance around you when you spark any kind of light. It makes the haunted tundra that much more chilling, and it’s just one example of how ray traced lighting can add so much to a video game.

3. Control

Our third example of games that make especially good use of RTX technology is Control by Remedy Entertainment. In August 2019, Control became the first game to combine multiple RTX lighting effects such as reflections, shadows, and indirect diffuse lighting. It’s no wonder people still regard this supernatural, avant-garde shooter as one of the best-looking games of all time.

Control became the first game to combine multiple RTX lighting effects such as, ray-traced indirect diffuse lighting, shadows, and reflective surfaces.That’s why the Oldest House will always feel creepy enough to sweep you away from reality.

2. Alan Wake 2

Speaking of Remedy Entertainment, Alan Wake 2 continues the studio’s relationship with NVIDIA’s RTX implementation through use of ray traced EVERYTHING along with serving as a launch vehicle for DLSS 3.5 – the latest iteration of DLSS that uses a technique known as ray reconstruction, a new AI model that creates higher quality ray-traced images for intensive ray-traced games and apps.

Alan Wake 2 is a dark game, both narratively and mechanically. Remedy makes expert use of RTX technology to carpet Alan Wake’s misadventure with thick darkness that contrasts perfectly with whatever small bits of light Alan Wake can manage to hold onto.

1. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

When Cyberpunk 2077 was first released in 2020, it was a visual feast that pushed computers to their limits with its cutting-edge implementation of ray traced lighting and DLSS 2. Then in January 2023, developer CD Projekt Red updated Cyberpunk 2077 to feature DLSS 3 with Frame Generation, further using AI to accelerate and stabilize framerates. And thanks to the continued efforts of developer CDPR, Cyberpunk’s new expansion, Phantom Liberty, levels up the game’s graphical fidelity further with Full RT and DLSS 3.5 with Ray Reconstruction which further improved RT quality on all RTX GPUs.

Like all the entries in this list, Phantom Liberty makes full use of its overhauled ray traced lighting by way of its secret agent storyline that sees the main character V get recruited by the New United States of America to uncover a plot that could change the course of history forever. Phantom Liberty revolves around stealth, so stick to the shadows and light up the dark mysteries that envelope characters with backstories filled to the brim with various shades of gray.

And that’s just five out of over 500 titles that make great use of RTX features. What are your picks? How do you plan on celebrating RTX 500? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to IGN.com for more on all things NVIDIA.