NBA 2K21 Causes A Ruckus, Warzone’s Halloween Crossover

Unskippable ads patched into NBA 2K21

Angry basketball fans have descended on 2K Games after they suddenly patched unskippable pre-game adverts into NBA 2K21, a game that costs $60 at retail.

The unpleasant surprise was added to the game a month after it launched, and appears on the loading screens on every platform. Loading screens are typically used to adjust your team line-up, but the ads prevent you from doing that, meaning you are forced to watch them while waiting.

Double dip: The PC version also appears to artificially prolong loading times to display the ads, meaning loading times have actually got longer if you have the game installed on a fast SSD. This isn't the first time 2K tries to make a little extra dosh on the side, and EA also tried the same thing with UFC 4.

PEGI fracas: Take 2 has also got into hot water with the European ratings body PEGI, who warned that their microtransaction marketing was uncomfortably similar to casino and betting adverts, as well as targeting young players.

Who do you play as in the Atari 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre game?

a) Leatherface
b) Sally
c) Franklin
d) The Hitchhiker

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Boo got to spook Mario at tennis

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash was a very sporty motion-controlled game for Wii U, starring everyone’s favorite chubby mushroom-fancier. There’s quite a few unlikely candidates for tennis stardom in the Mushroom Kingdom, but one in particular barely made it to the court.

Nintendo wasn't sure Boo could actually hold a racket, and the bashful ghost's pro-tennis career was hanging by a thread when it was decided that Boo could add some ghostly charms to the game by disappearing and re-appearing elsewhere on the court, which apparently made the game "more Mario".

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Pokémon GO Halloween starts October 24

The Pokémon Go Halloween event starts on October 24th, and lasts until November 4th. Except plenty of Ghost-type shenanigans and some spooky surprises.

Mega Venusaur will leave Mega Raids on October 23rd, just before things turn scary. The third Egg event is starting in Pokémon Masters EX, this time focusing on Ice or Fighting-type Pokémon.

Pokémon GO

• Halloween Event (October 24th to November 4th)
  • Ghost-type Pokémon appear in greater numbers
  • Twice as much Transfer Candy and Catch Candy
  • Gengar and Sableye will wear Halloween costumes
  • Special Research with A Spooky Message Unmasked
  • First appearance of Galarian Yamask
  • Spiritomb appears in Field Research and can be Shiny
  • Timed Research for any who completed Mega Buddy Challenge Timed Research
  • Darkrai in 5 Star Raids throughout event
  • Pikachu Mask, Gengar Onesie, Sableye Goggles, Sableye Mask, and a Banette Mask
  • Alolan Marowak Raid Day on October 31st
• Mega Energy from walking with Buddy Pokémon from November
  • Must have Mega Evolved a Pokémon in that species’ line to work

Pokémon HOME

• Maintenance: October 22th, 23:00 UTC – October 23rd, 04:00 UTC

Pokémon Masters EX

• Spotlight Scout with higher chances of Morty and Fantina with 3x 5 Star Power-Up rewards
• Morty and Fantina’s Sync Grids now available
• Third Egg event adds Ice or Fighting-type Pokémon to Eggs
• Lapras & Primeape can now form Sync Pairs with main character

Halloween crossover event in Warzone

Activision is spooking up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for Halloween, and no, we’re not talking about spies.

The Haunting of Verdansk event starts on October 20th and will last for two weeks, ending on November 3rd. It will feature a number of gameplay tweaks, including night-time infiltrations in certain Warzone modes.

Crossovers: “Operators have been briefed about reports concerning a serial killer who wears his victim’s faces on his own. There’s scattered intel about strange sounds emanating from various locations within the warzone; and not least the piercing, creepy laugher of a ventriloquist doll….” according to Activision. Can't help but wonder how they know it's a ventriloquist doll laughing.

Trick or treat: It's the first Warzone Halloween event, and also the very first crossover, featuring characters from the Saw and Texas Chainsaw Massacre universes. There's will also be a special reward system where supply boxes “contain frights or frighteningly good” blueprints and cosmetics.

• Watch opening cinematic from Yuji Naka's Balan Wonderworld well ahead of its March 2021 console launch
• U.S. politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez starts Twitch account streaming Among Us for a Get Out the Vote campaign
• Stardew Valley 1.5 update adds split-screen co-op supporting up to 4 players on PC while consoles range from 2 to 4
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 sheds another lead as senior narrative designer leaves Hardsuit Labs
• Black PlayStation 5 DualSense spotted in FCC filings for the second time but this time it has black face buttons as well

To celebrate the start of a new generation of console gaming we are giving away a new PlayStation 5 to one lucky DailyBits reader. You can find out more about this giveaway on our dedicated page.

Here's the Giveaway Code for Week 43: 3434

Who do you play as in the Atari 2600 Texas Chainsaw Massacre game?

ANSWER: Leatherface!

Double Fine built their reputation making quirky games that just can't find the audiences they deserve, and Psychonauts is probably the best example of their inimitable style. The game stars a circus kid running away from home to attend a summer camp for psychics, where he is launched into a wild adventure involving stolen brains, lungfish civilizations and milkman conspiracies. Unfortunately, despite critical acclaim and loyal fans, Psychonauts just couldn't break into the mainstream.

Brütal Legend suffered a similar fate, despite starring Jack Black at the height of his popularity. Fortunately, Double Fine managed to stay alive and found success with smaller titles like Stacking and Costume Quest. They raised a generous helping of cash with Tim Schafer's return to point-and-click adventures, Broken Age, and became something of a fairy godmother for the indie scene, funding and publishing a number of games. Now they're back in the big time, after being acquired by Microsoft.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.

We hope you've enjoyed today's issue DailyBits! Please feel free to send any feedback over to [email protected]. Thank You!