Time and Vermintide wait for no man! Fatshark is now celebrating the fifth anniversary of the release of the original Warhammer: The End Times Vermintide by offering the chance to play Warhammer: Vermintide 2 on Steam between now and Sunday for free. They are calling this a free weekend for a whole week. Here are the details:

Heroes,
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is free-to-play between October 26 - November 1 on Steam during the week-long Free Weekend. Grab a friend, or two, or three, and jump into Vermintide 2 to clear out some Skaven, Norsca, and Beastmen. Praise Sigmar!

*DLCs are not included in the Free Weekend.

Together with the weeklong Free Weekend, we are also extending the 5-Year Anniversary events on all platforms to run until November 1st.

Continue here to read the full story.

The Official Launch Trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is now available, paving the way for the release of the next installment in the military shooter series on November 13th. The clip includes some action-packed cinematics, and cameos by a virtual Ronald Reagan. Here's the description:

1981. The Cold War is at its peak. World powers grapple for control and a hidden threat looms. In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, players will engage in deniable operations, fighting the battles that never happened to stop a conspiracy decades in the making.

A mind-bending single-player Campaign awaits, with Black Ops protagonists Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson teaming up with an all-new crew to track down a mysterious enemy known only as Perseus.

Continue here to read the full story.

A post on Steam has the list of the top releases on Valve's online store for the month of September. As usual they've put these games on sale. Here's part of the overview:

Steam's Top Release lists are typically full of multiplayer games, but September's list stood out for the co-op variety in particular. With most of the games this month offering multiplayer support, 13 of them include co-op specific modes. Now more than ever, players appreciate the ability to connect with friends to share in their favorite games together. From jumping online for quick round of PES 2021 or Unrailed!, to assembling friends for a weekend-long gaming marathon with Marvel's Avengers, September's list features co-op experiences of all sizes and varieties. Perhaps the most essential co-op experience comes with September's runaway horror hit, Phasmophobia, where having a friend to share in the frightening experience is practically a necessity. If you and your friends are looking for more unique co-op experiences, check out September's full list below, along with the massive list of games in Steam's Co-op Hub.

Ubisoft announces Sugar Fright will begin tomorrow, kicking off a limited-time event to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. This includes a Halloween mode called Candy War which includes player respawning, helping refute claims that candy is bad for you. Here's a Sugar Fright Event Trailer and here's more:

This event will last two weeks, from tomorrow, October 27 until November 10. In a fantastical land filled with candy and death, players are forced to relive their nightmare repeatedly. Their only hope of escape is collecting enough candy to win this ruthless game.

In Candy War, players must collect candies left by their opponents once eliminated. But for the first time in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege history, players can respawn and seek revenge. This event takes place in a brand-new map created especially for this mode and only available during the event’s playlist.

Continue here to read the full story.

Iratus: Wrath of the Necromancer is now available on GOG.com and Steam, offering new DLC for Iratus: Lord of the Dead, the fantasy roguelike RPG for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can get a look at this haunting new content in this trailer. Here's more on the release, which comes alongside a new Necromancer Edition which bundles the game and the DLC together:

Iratus rises from the dead and rebuilds his undead army of monsters from the remains of his enemies. The necromancer and his mouldy minions have hundreds of different skills you must develop and combine effectively in order to fight your way out of your crypt and get your revenge on the good guys.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Humble RPG Book Bundle: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games (pay what you want and help charity).*
• Green Man Gaming Halloween Sale.*

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item.

• Minecraft Dungeons Spooky Fall Event is now live.
• No Man's Sky Halloween Update.
• Strife: Veteran Edition -- Strife SDL2 Update. And an accompanying GPL Source Release. Thanks Frans.
• Wildermyth - 0.29 Eluna and the Moth.

• How Alien Isolation Survived its Difficult Development - Noclip. Thanks Ant.
• Recommendations before playing? - Dev Diary #13 [Werewolf- The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest].

• Raven Co-Founder on Leading Black Ops Cold War After Supporting Call of Duty For 10 Years – IGN Unfiltered.

• Strife: Veteran Edition for Nintendo Switch. Thanks Frans.
• Ubisoft details PS5 and Xbox Series benefits for Watch Dogs- Legion, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx Rising, more.
• Gears 5 Xbox Series X/S Updates.
• Perfecting the feel of Godfall on PS5.
• Mandalorian Wireless Xbox Controller & Xbox Pro Charging Stand Set Is Now Available For Pre-order.
• The Spookiest Games You Can Play Now on Xbox.

• Study shows which messengers leak your data, drain your battery, and more. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Report- Apple Working on New AirPods and Smaller AirPods Pro.

• Twitter's preparing users for misleading early U.S. election results.
• Marvel Taps Oscar Isaac To Star in ‘Moon Knight’ Series.’

• GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3060 Ti Listings Allegedly Point to $450 Price Tag and November Launch.
• Bug in HDMI 2.1 chips Affect AV Receivers, XBOX Series X & NVIDIA Graphic Cards. Thanks James.
• MIT Built An Autonomous Robotic Boat.

• Vulnerability Summary for the Week of October 19, 2020 - CISA.
• Hackers rummaged about in Finnish psychotherapy clinic – now patients extorted with public data dump threats. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• Hacker steals $24 million from cryptocurrency service 'Harvest Finance.'
• Adware found in 21 Android apps with more than 7 million downloads.
• Over 100 irrigation systems left exposed online without a password.

• Uber drivers take ride-biz to European court over 'Kafkaesque' algorithmic firings by Mastermind code. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

Last Link of the Day: Squirrel Beer, Poop Wine- 'Disgusting Food Museum' Opens Drinks Exhibition. Thanks RedEye9.

This post announces Facebook has launched their own cloud-based gaming service. This is starting off as a new home to their social games and free-to-play mobile offerings, rather than as a competitor to Stadia and its ilk, so it won't cost any money. They say they will not over-promise and under-deliver, that they do not see this as a replacement for dedicated gaming hardware, and they are not spinning it off into a separate service. Finally, they explain why this will not be available for iOS devices. Here's where things stand:

It’s critical for us to start with latency-tolerant games so we can deliver a good experience for players across a variety of devices. For the purposes of our beta, that includes genres like sports, card, simulation, and strategy games. This is cloud gaming after all, so even with latency-tolerant games players may notice some glitches. We’ll occasionally show player rating cards and feedback forms to help improve the experience over time.

As our beta progresses and cloud technology scales, we'll increase the variety of game genres. That expansion will start in 2021 with the addition of action and adventure games. Games will launch with in-app purchases and ads enabled, depending on game format and developer choice.

Pathea Games announces My Time at Sandrock, and kicks off a Kickstarter to raise $100,000 for its development. As you may have guessed from the title, this is the sequel to My Time at Portia, their Ellen-free life simulator. Here's a bit on the game:

My Time at Sandrock – Just like My Time at Portia, the game takes place in a wholesome post-apocalyptic world; a world where humans have successfully restarted civilization after, long ago, nearly destroying themselves through greed, unbridled technology, and warfare in a period they refer to as the “The Age of Darkness.” Current citizens of this world now band together and reject the Old World ideologies as they work to rebuild, but remaking an entire civilization isn’t easy…

First day on the job…
Taking a job offer in the frontier town of Sandrock, you’ll assume the role of
a fledgling builder being sent to a wild and rugged townscape on the brink of
collapse. It’s up to you and your trusty toolset to gather resources, build machines, fix up your workshop into a well-oiled production machine, and save the town from the jaws of economic ruin, as well as a few other unexpected complications...

R-Type Final 2 is coming to Windows and consoles in the west this spring, with the PC edition of this shoot-em-up to be released on Steam (thanks Gematsu via Reddit/Ant). Here's a Western Announce Trailer with a look at the game's 3D take on a 2D genre. On a related note, a post on the official website announces developer Granzella plans to launch a third phase of crowdfunding for this project tomorrow, saying this is due to popular demand. Here's word on the PC version:

For the first time in nearly two decades, you can experience R-Type Final 2, now on PC! Feel the rush of mowing down hordes of Bydo with your fleet of R-Type fighters equipped with an arsenal of new and classic wave cannons, force units, bit devices, and devastating delta weapons. The Bydo threat is always evolving, as new enemies spawn from the wreckage of fallen foes, and stages are corrupted and altered by the sentient Bydo corruption. R-Type Final 2 unites the explosive action of the original games with modernized visuals and gameplay features, making this a must-have title for new and old shoot-'em-up fans alike.

Enhanced and Evolved
R-Type is back and better than ever! Experience the explosive return of the legendary shoot-'em-up on PC, where the high-octane action of the original games meets contemporary visuals, challenging gameplay, and an arsenal of new features.evolving enemies, stages that transform before you, and a real-time difficulty meter increases or decreases based on your performance.

Continue here to read the full story.

Ghostrunner reviews are starting to haunt the Internet. Here's a roundup:

• Ghostrunner - Destructoid.
• Ghostrunner Review - GameSpot.
• Ghostrunner PC review - "An enthralling cyberpunk slasher." - Hooked Gamers.
• Ghostrunner Review - IGN.
• Ghostrunner review: Titanfall meets Hotline Miami - PCGamesN.
• Ghostrunner review -- No, ninja, no, ninja, no! - PC Invasion.
• Ghostrunner review - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Ghostrunner review: Elegance, precision, and power - Shacknews.
• Ghostrunner Review - Death is Not Such a Terrible Thing - Wccftech.

The GOG.com Halloween Sale is now underway, over 850 games at up to 91% off. This includes discounts on five games they've just added to the store: Creepy Tale, Infliction: Extended Cut, Maid of Sker, Othercide, and Song of Horror Complete Edition. Here's word on some of the offerings:

After the maddening tension caused by the new releases begins to fade away, it’s time to take a look at cosmic deals during our Halloween Sale! For starters, you should take a look at the otherworldly, award-winning RPG – The Outer Worlds (-50%). Next, check out thrilling games like Control Ultimate Edition (-30%) and Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition (-70%), as they set you up on a fight against forces beyond comprehension. If you have a huge thirst for chills, titles like Darkwood (-66%), Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (-40%), and Phantasmagoria (-35%) will fulfill your darkest desires.

If you wish to save the world from hell or alien swarms, try FPS titles such as Painkiller Black Edition (-80%) and Serious Sam 4 (-15%). Want more action? Games like the award-winning Blasphemous (-50%) and Warhammer: Chaosbane (-65%) can help you defeat the minions of darkness with a bang. The same task becomes much more elaborate in adventure games such as The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters (-40%) or Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York (-50%). Last but not least, unique titles like A Plague Tale: Innocence (-66%), Carrion (-25%), and Metro Exodus - Gold Edition (-66%) will remind you why you should be afraid of the dark.

The recently announced upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will apparently include the ability to unlock and play the second Prince of Persia game as an additional dose of nostalgia for old school gamers. Ubisoft already revealed that the game would include the original 1989 game as an unlockable bonus, saying "And more surprises await!" This post on Reddit includes a shot of a description screen that indicates one of these surprises will be the ability to also access Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, the 1993 PoP sequel (thanks Ant). It also seems this is a preorder bonus. Here's what this says:

Pre-order and get additional in game content: Back to the Origins Set.

Amidst the scorched sands of ancient Persia, there is a legend spun in an ancient tongue. It speaks of a time borne of blood and ruled by deceit. Drawn to the dark powers of a magic dagger, a young Prince is led to unleash a deadly evil upon a beautiful kingdom.

Originally released in 2003, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time left its mark with players thanks to innovative gameplay, a compelling story and charismatic characters!

Unlock Prince of Persia, the original game from 1989, along your adventure then access it from main menu whenever you want.
Complete the game and get access to Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame released in 1993.

Here are the top 10 listing from GfK Entertainment's new chart of the top-selling games in the UK for the week ending October 24th:

#		Title	Publisher	Last Week
1	-	FIFA 21	Electronic Arts	1
2	-	Animal Crossing: New Horizons	Nintendo	2
3	↑	Minecraft	Nintendo	4
4	↓	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	Nintendo	3
5	↑	Super Mario 3D All-Stars	Nintendo	6
6	↓	Ring Fit Adventure	Nintendo	5
7	↑	Minecraft Dungeons	Mojang	11
8	↑	Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time	Activision Blizzard	9
9	↑	Grand Theft Auto V	Take 2	10
10	↑	Marvel's Avengers	Square Enix Europe	12

Klabater (Crossroads Inn) and Juggler Games (My Memory of Us) announce The Amazing American Circus, a new collaboration will send in the clowns next year on PC via Steam and on consoles. This card-based tycoon/adventure is set during the 19th century, the heyday of animal cruelty and huckstering rubes. Here's an Announcement Teaser showing of period-appropriate graphics, and here's word on the game, which will feature real historical characters:

You take the role of an impoverished owner of a traveling Circus. Through your personal and multithreaded story, The Amazing American Circus reveals mysteries behind a uniquely American form of entertainment.
Deliver a perfect show in a special card duel between you and the audience. Boredom is your enemy, and your performances and tricks are your best weapons. Choose your cards wisely and try to figure out the mood of the crowd. As a traveling Circus owner, you need to look for new troupe members. During your travels, you will try to gather an exotic crew of performers, but can you deliver the best shows, win the audience’s approval, or will you fail?

A unique story filled with love affairs, hateful enemies, and magnificent shows with challenging audiences and quests, all of this wrapped up in a writing style that resembles the dime novels from the turn of the 20th century - that's what The Amazing American Circus offers.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Save 10% on Two Point Hospital: Culture Shock on Steam.

• Actor Tycoon 2 📽️ Official Dev Gameplay 🎃 Halloween Special 🎃.
• Viking City Builder: first RTS with Ray Tracing.
• Steam Tabletop Fest Replays.

• Discord could be the next esports ecosystem.
• How Riot used tech from The Mandalorian to build Worlds’ astonishing mixed reality stage. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Tencent leads $100M Series B funding round into China-based esport provider VSPN.
• Team Fortress 2 RGL.gg Halloween Charity Event.

• What to Expect When You Boot Up Your Next Generation Xbox on Day One.
• PS5 launch game Destruction AllStars delayed to 2021.
• Halo 5 isn't getting a dedicated Xbox Series X upgrade.
• You only need one button to play Switch ‘N’ Shoot, out November 4 – PlayStation.Blog.
• From brush to blade: The concept art process behind Ghost of Tsushima – PlayStation.Blog.

• iPhone 12 drop test results are in- Ceramic shield is as tough as it sounds. Thanks RedEye9.

• Wikipedia's Plan to Resist Election Day Misinformation.
• Facebook eyeing tools used in Sri Lanka, Myanmar in case of election unrest in US: report.
• How The Babylon Bee, a Right-Wing Satire Site, Capitalizes on Confusion. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• AMD's Ryzen 9 5950X Shatters PassMark Records.
• The explosive problem of 'zombie' batteries.
• Researchers 3D-printed a cell-sized tugboat.
• Ketos raises $18 million to monitor drinking water quality with AI.
• Linus Torvalds hails 'historic' Linux 5.10 for ditching defunct addressing artefact.
• How LCD Response Times are Measured, and Why 10% to 90% GtG Measurements are Moderately Deceptive (video). Thanks Simon.
• ColdQuanta's Albert Is a Quantum Puppet on the Cloud.
• Get a report of your computer's hardware and software with Hibit System Information.
• The Unsinkable Maddie Stone, Google's Bug-Hunting Badass.
• Java 8 Update 271. Thanks ConsoleGenRL.

• Federal Judge Denies U.S. Government’s Attempt to Kill Preliminary Injunction Against WeChat Ban.
• Twitch faces music industry backlash over proper licensing.

• DwarfHeim Early Access Impressions. Co-op RTS with a Twist — FRAGS OF WAR.

• Akasa Turing Fanless Case Review- Unrivalled Noiseless NUC - AnandTech.
• ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3090 OC Graphics Card Review - Vortez.
• Gigabyte P550B 550W PSU Report - APH Networks.
• Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody Gaming Chair Review- Sitting on $1,500 - Tom's Hardware. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• SK hynix Gold P31 M.2 NVMe Solid State Drive Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• Thermalright Macho Rev. C CPU Cooler Review - TweakTown.

• Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass for Android, Console, and PC: Celeste, Grim Fandango, PUBG and More…
• Cyberpunk 2077 dev defends decisions to remove features…

We've had a half-gallon milk container in our fridge for a better part of this year. This was part of a two-pack that we picked up at BJs in April. This seemed like it made sense at the time because it was ultra-pasteurized, and carried a June sell-by date. But we just don't drink a lot of milk, even in our coffee, so this sat unopened all this time, including the few days we had no electricity after this summer's tornado. I recently mentioned to MrsBlue that it was obviously time to chuck it, but yesterday she announced she had opened it, and it seemed fine. True to her point, it didn't smell sour at all, and she said it tasted fine (I wouldn't try it even if it was fresh from the cow, I'm one of those put off by straight milk). So she made some overnight oatmeal with it, which I did try, and it seemed to come out perfectly fine. I'm a little shocked that milk could last eight months like that, but apparently it can. Or at least it seems so. If I end up dying of dairy poisoning, at least you'll know the back story.

Obituary: Coal magnate Robert Murray, outspoken miner who battled EPA, dies at 80 of lung disorder.

Fresh Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

• Rare, 2-headed snake discovered by Florida house cat.

Science

• The Milky Way's quiet, introverted monster won't spin.
• About 3% of Starlink satellites have failed so far.

Media

• John Bronco Official Trailer. Thanks Ars Technica.
• The World's Largest Dry Ice Bubble. Thanks Hypothermia.