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Digital Blend: The new iPad, GDC 2012 and a sequel for Flight Control

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Welcome to the GDC 2012 edition of Digital Blend! I’ll be looking at mobile games, digital marketplace content available through your favorite gaming consoles and handhelds, downloadable content packs, and indie PC releases. There’s a wide world of gaming out there that isn’t being propped up on GameStop shelves week after week, and we want to make sure you know about what’s hot.

Please keep on tweeting any feedback or suggestions my way @geminibros, or share them in the comments below. We want this to grow and evolve every week to suit what you all want, so please feel free to share your thoughts.

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Making headlines…

* Firemint is returning to its mobile hit Flight Control later this month with the release of the sequel, Flight Control Rocket. I got to take a look at the game and even take it for a spin earlier this week. In addition to moving the action to outer space, Rocket adds persistent features like unlockable perk-like bots and a new story mode to complement the basic “land everything until you fail.” Also new: three lives before you get a game over!

* Mark Rein showed off the significant advances that have been made with Unreal Engine 3 at Epic’s annual GDC press conference on Wednesday. The engine is now fully compatible with Flash, as we saw firsthand with browser-based versions of Dungeon Defenders and, even more remarkably, Unreal Tournament III.

* While Mark Rein was talking up the advances made with Unreal Engine, Epic president Mike Capps took the stage a few blocks away to reveal the coming of Infinity Blade: Dungeons. The game will leave behind the series’ standard touch-based Punch-Out!!-style RPG gameplay and instead use an isometric perspective in a hack-and-slash RPG reminiscent of Diablo.

* The Infinity Blade reveal was part of a larger event the same day at which Apple at long last revealed… the new iPad. You can read all about it in our round-up, but the basic specs are pretty much what was expected: 2048×1536 resolution, quad-core graphics and an upgraded camera.

I’ll be back next week with the full Digital Blend, complete with some cool recommendations. To tide you over for this week, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita owners should give MotorStorm RC a look. The PS3/Vita cross-compatible RC car racing game is free for a limited time thanks to a partnership with Scion.

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Adam Rosenberg
Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
How to revive dead companions in Baldur’s Gate 3
Withers offering services to the player in Baldur's Gate 3.

You're given a good bit of leeway during battles in Baldur's Gate 3 before you or a companion actually bites the dust for good. While in battle, if a teammate does take enough damage to drop, they aren't dead then and there. Instead, they will be downed with a chance to roll every turn to get back up. If they roll successfully three times, the battle ends, or you use another character to pick them up, they're good. If they fail that roll three times, however, they will be completely dead. That can be harsh when you've become attached to certain characters and want to further their stories, so you'll be looking for any way you can to bring them back. Thankfully you do have a few options for reviving companions in Baldur's Gate 3, but just like respeccing, they aren't so obvious.
Pay Withers to bring them back

Withers is a friendly undead you can find in a secret room in the Dank Crypt found inside the Overgrown Ruins. After finding and speaking to him in his sarcophagus, he will offer you various services, one of which is bringing back any dead companions. He won't do this out of the kindness of his heart (probably because it isn't beating) and will charge you a heavy fine of 200 gold to do so. Still, that's a small price to pay to bring back a beloved character. Once paid, that character will appear in your camp where they would normally be, so there's no need to go back to their corpse and find them.
Use a scroll of Revivfy or learn it

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Few things feel as inevitable in the video game industry as delays. Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have only become more and more common as developers find previously set timelines unrealistic and adjust their release plans accordingly. More than halfway through 2023, we've already seen some notable AAA games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Skull & Bones, and Pragmata delayed pretty heavily. Because video game release date delays are so common, it can be tough to keep track of every game that has had its launch date shifted in some way.
That's why, just as we did in 2021 and 2022, Digital Trends is rounding up every game delay that's announced throughout 2023. Here are the high-profile ones that have happened so far, listed chronologically by their new intended release dates.
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As Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one of the best games for PlayStation VR, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Supermassive Games' PlayStation VR2 successor, is a highly anticipated launch title for the upcoming VR headset. Unfortunately, it will no longer make PlayStation VR2's February 22 launch and will instead be released on March 16. On Twitter, a message from Supermassive Games says this delay will ensure that players "receive the most polished, terrifying experience possible" at release. The game was released on that date to mixed reviews.
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Aside from the focus on firearms and integrating some randomly generated environments, the Remnant series sets itself apart from other souls-like games mainly with its focus on co-op. Both titles encourage you to team up with two friends to fight your way through the mutated monsters that await. After so many years of progress in terms of multiplatform games incorporating full cross-platform support, you might assume Remnant 2 will follow suit and let you make a group with anyone regardless of what platform they're on. However, the truth may be a bit more disappointing. Before you make plans with your squad, here's what you need to know about Remnant 2's cross-platform support.
Is Remnant 2 cross-platform?

Unfortunately, Remnant 2 does not have cross-platform play between PS5, Xbox Series X or PC -- and there's no word about it being added in the future.

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