Köln leiht Angreifer Thijs Dallinga vom FC Bologna aus

Well, we've been hornswoggled again. They did it. They're doing it. Rockstar is, as we speak, putting the finishing touches on Grand Theft Auto 6, the Final Videogame, but icing you and me out entirely. No Xbox or PlayStation? Enjoy pressing your nose against the glass of your console-owning neighbours as they find themselves delighted and transformed by the world's first $500,000,000,000,000 entertainment product.

BlogDer entscheidende Moment: Alles zum ElfmeterschießenDer Strafstoß – Geschichte und Bedeutung Der Strafstoß, im Deutschen meist als „Elfmeter“ bezeichnet, gehört zu den dramatischsten Momenten im Fußball. Schon seÖffnen →

I say: no. Not today, Sam (or maybe Dan) Houser. Every day, I am going to add a new mod to Grand Theft Auto 5, until it either becomes GTA 6 or collapses under its own terrible weight. If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad will slowly alter a separate, but nearer mountain until it's indistinguishable from the one he wanted.

Today, day one, is mostly about learning. I have plenty of experience modding, but only really in games designed for it. I get the impression Rockstar would prefer no one change its babies, and so modding GTA 5 feels iffy and ramshackle: a process of gathering .asi files and hacky tools and crowbarring your way into the game's guts. Also, all the mods' instructions consist of a .txt file that says 'put mods'. Great. Excellent. Thank you.

It's a learning experience. So, to learn, and to start slow, I figured I would begin with something simple: a new vehicle. A fresh set of wheels to cruise the hot tarmac of Los Santos. It needed to be fast, stylish, fashionable, and stand out at least a little from the usual bric-a-brac of sedans and sports cars that litter Rockstar's fake-LA.

I settled on the HQ-16 (simplified Chinese: 红旗-16; traditional Chinese: 紅旗-16; pinyin: Hóng Qí-16; lit. 'Red Banner-16'; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-16) Chinese medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology*.

I mostly did this because I wanted to familiarise myself with tools like OpenIV and make sure I could configure a mod and a few dependencies without everything blowing up in my face. I partly did it because I wanted to expose the people of Beverly Hills to the full might of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and the military of Pakistan. They've been coddled for too long.

Even more partly, I did it because a mod that was meant to change Franklin into Chester Bennington from Linkin Park kept making the game crash.

It worked. Before long, Los Santos was engulfed in waves of Shanghai Academic fire. Celebrity homes? Gone. Celebrity cars? Gone. Cops? Immolated. Their helicopters? Destroying those is literally what this vehicle is for. I was a one-man army in the truck of a regular several-men army, and the cops could do nothing to stop me. At least, until one of them attempted to pull me from my car—placing them right next to the driver's door when one of my many missiles found its way home to the small of his back.

I bet this never happened when the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation were testing this thing.

But my lessons are complete. I can mod GTA 5 without destroying anything. Today, a destructive truck. Tomorrow? Something more. Tune in to find out what.

*Thank you Wikipedia.

Last month we got word that Jennifer English, star of Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, would be stepping down from her lead role in the upcoming Tides of Annihilation. Now, fans think they've figured out who her replacement is: Angela Sant'Albano, known for playing Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem.

This is mostly thanks to a demo shown at an event in Shanghai, as fans claimed the protagonist had a redesigned appearance and sound, one that resembled Sant'Albano. "So Grace Ashcroft is the new voice of Gwendolyn," one fan says. "Honestly, I'm impressed."

While there's been no official confirmation from either Sant'Albano or Tides of Annihilation studio Eclipse Glow Games, players do have more to go off of than just this demo. In fact, Gwendolyn's mocap actor Jennifer Prime seemingly confirmed it via social media (via GamesRadar), replying "Yep!!! But this time, no more screaming 'Leon!!!!'" to a fan who claimed that "Grace Ashcroft is her new VA".

Prime may have gotten her Resident Evil characters slightly confused, as another fan pointed out that yelling "Leon" is more of an Ashley Graham gig, to which Prime responded, "Yeah, I'm slowly getting through the RE games". I'd like to note, however, that Grace also yells "Leon" quite a few times during Requiem, so she's not exactly wrong. Nitpicking aside, this seems like a pretty reliable report that Sant'Albano as the new protagonist of Tides of Annihilation.

But regardless of who'll take over the mantle of Gwendolyn, Eclipse Glow Games seems confident it'll work out, mostly thanks to English sticking around to help out with the recruitment process: "During this transition, Jennifer remained incredibly supportive and, together with other members of our voice cast, helped us identify and connect with talented performers who could carry Gwendolyn forward while staying true to the character."

The studio also shared that the newfound replacement "left a strong impression on both Jennifer and our team" with her "recent work in videogames". Could this be a nod to Sant'Albano's acclaimed role in Resident Evil Requiem? With all things considered it'd be a good bet.

Woot's Summer of Gaming Sale has arrived at the perfect moment. I'm now over 100 hours deep in Pokemon Pokpia's new DLC, and I need a bit of a cheap Switch game palette cleanser. There's nothing wrong with the adorable Pokemon game, I've just already completed the story, and I think my eyes need a rest from witnessing my break thousands upon thousands of blocks under the sea.

If you're in a similar boat, Woot has discounted a range of Switch 2 and older Switch titles that you can play instead. Starting with Pokemon Legends Z-A, which is available for just $39.99 if you don't mind a refurbished copy. In fact, make that $31.99, as you can get an additional 20% off by using 'GAMER20' at checkout. That goes for all the Ninty games part of the Summer of Gaming sale, which means you can also pick up the upgraded Switch 2 Editions of Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild for $47.99 each - that's a whole lotta Zelda.

I've gathered my top picks from Woot's summer savings down below, and have marked each accounting for their additional 20% off so you don't have to. If there's any Switch games missing from your collection, this is a great opportunity to pick them up too. Honestly, I don't see the likes of Mario and Luigi's Brothership being available for as little as $19.99 again any time soon.

Already got plenty to play? Why not check out the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories and pick up one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases or the best Nintendo Switch headsets.