Release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic officially announced

By Mike Flacy September 24, 2011

Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Earlier today, LucasArts and Bioware announced the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic on December 20, 2011 for North America and December 22, 2011 for all launch territories in Europe. BioWare co-founders Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr. Ray Muzyka released this information at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo in London, England during a keynote address to many Star Wars fanatics. The game has been undergoing extensive beta testing from a small group of fans. The beta testing phase is likely to continue throughout October while the development team continues to tweak the gameplay settings and locate bugs within the code.

Each copy of the game comes with 30 days of subscription time and fans that preorder the title will be allowed early access into the game before the launch date. Subscriptions start at $14.99 per month or players can purchase multiple months for a discounted rate. For instance, a 3-month subscription will cost $13.99 a month and a 6-month subscription will cost $12.99 a month, both billed as a one time fee. In addition, there are three versions of the game tiered for fans. While all additions include early access for preordering, the Digital Deluxe edition ($79.99) also includes five digital items to help players get a jump on the competition. The Collector’s edition ($149.99) includes access to a unique online store for special items as well as several collectibles including a Darth Malgus statue, Old Republic galaxy map and Star Wars: The Old Republic CD.

While Electronic Arts is limiting the amount of digital and physical copies available for the initial launch, preorders are still available through Origin and physical retailers like Best Buy. For fans interested in the narrative around Star Wars: The Old Republic, check out the story in this mission video. For fans interested in the class structure within the game, take a look at this gameplay trailer highlighting the different classes.

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Gaming

All Trinkets in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, explained

The main character of Tales of Kenzera: Zau stands with two elemental items.

Your main upgrades in a metroidvania like Tales of Kenzera: Zau will always be your new abilities. These transform the way you move and fight, but there are other ways you can make Zau a more powerful shaman. Trinkets are introduced right away, but aren't given away as freely as you might think. Each one requires you to overcome a small trial that tests your platforming abilities off the main path. Technically, you can miss every single one aside from the one you begin the game with. Even though there are a few fast travel points, backtracking isn't a particularly fun experience. Here are all the Trinket locations in Tales of Kenzera: Zau, plus which ones you should equip.
All Trinket locations
You can see which zones have Trinkets on the map, and for the most part, you will be able to grab them as you navigate through them for the first time. Here are each of the Trinket locations roughly in the order you should naturally be able to get them.
Battering Stance
This is the Trinket you begin the game with and is equipped by default.
Lifted Spirit

The first Trinket is found in this side path trial in The Buluu Caverns.
Retaliating Spirit

Gaming

How to start The Forgotten Kingdom DLC in Remnant 2

Invoker

Remnant 2 is a massive game that already boasts nearly endless replayability, but that isn't stopping developer Gunfire Games from adding even more to do in the popular looter shooter. The game's new DLC, The Forgotten Kingdom, provides players with a substantial amount of extra stuff to check out, such as new biomes to explore, an additional archetype known as The Invoker, and plenty of fresh enemies to take down. If you're ready to see all of what The Forgotten Kingdom DLC has to offer, read on to learn how to access it from within the game.
How to start The Forgotten Kingdom DLC
The first step in accessing The Forgotten Kingdom DLC is to ensure you've purchased and downloaded it. You can buy the standalone version from your respective storefront for $10, or you can opt to snag the $25 bundle, which includes The Awakened King, The Forgotten Kingdom, and another future DLC that has yet to be announced. If you intend to play the full trilogy of DLCs, the former is your best option, as you'll save five bucks off the total cost of all three.

Once you've purchased and downloaded the DLC, you'll be ready to access The Forgotten Kingdom by visiting a World Stone and opening Adventure Mode. You'll need to have completed the Yaesha biome at least one time. At that point, you can select "Reroll Adventure Mode" and choose The Forgotten Kingdom: One Shot on the right, which will notably give you exclusive DLC content your first time through. Keep in mind that while this initial run won't feature any older content, your subsequent playthroughs of Yaesha will weave DLC areas in with main campaign content.

Gaming

All Baobab Tree locations in Tales of Kenzera

Zau fights a dragon in Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

While it wasn't marketed as being a particularly punishing game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau is by no means easy. You will have plenty of environmental challenges that can instantly sap your life, and the enemies you face -- especially the bosses -- are no slouches. When you first begin, it will only take a couple of bad hits to send Zau to the land of the dead himself. Alongside the Trinkets you can unlock through hidden challenges around the map, there are also Baobab Trees where Zau can stop to reflect on his journey thus far, have a short dialogue with Kalunga, and get a small addition to his health bar. Like everything in the game, these trees aren't prohibitively hidden, but you could easily pass one by and have no idea where it was when trying to backtrack. These are all the Baobab Tree locations so you can max out your health bar.
All Baobab Tree locations
There are six Baobab Trees to find in Tales of Kenzera: Zau and each adds a small segment of health to your total. When you collect them all, you will roughly double your HP bar. Here are each of their locations in the rough order you should naturally find them in. Most can be picked up on your first time through that area.
Ikakaramba

This one is very hard to miss as it is directly on your critical path. If you do, you can fast travel to the nearby campfire to grab it.
The Great Cliffs