Put your new hardware through its paces with this week’s gaming releases

By Will Fulton April 7, 2015

twig april 10 2015 xenobladechronicles3d — Image used with permission by copyright holder

This week’s releases are all about getting the most out of their hardware platforms. Put your New 3DS through its paces this week with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, the first exclusive game for the latest iteration of Nintendo’s handheld. Affordable Space Adventures is one of the best utilizations of the Wii U GamePad yet. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin updates From Software’s brutal action RPG for the newest consoles and PCs. StarDrive 2 provides the kind of deep, 4X strategy sandbox you can only find on PC.

What will you be playing?

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

New 3DS (April 10)
Originally released in Japan for the Wii in 2010 Xenoblade Chronicles is an epic sci-fi RPG in classic Japanese form. Nintendo fans will recognize its protagonist, Shulk, as one of the newest brawlers in the latest Super Smash Bros. game, along with his sword, the Monado, which features prominently in the game. Only coming to American gamers with little fanfare in 2012, it has become something of a cult classic.

Nintendo 3DS - Xenoblade Chronicles 3D Trailer

This new port is the first game released exclusively for the New 3DS XL, Nintendo’s latest iteration of its two-screen handheld. While recent releases like Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate make good use of the system’s new capabilities, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is the first game to explicitly require them.

Affordable Space Adventures

Wii U (April 9)
Explore the dangerous depths of space with friends in this co-op exploration puzzler. With a small, reasonably priced spaceship from Uexplore, you and up to two friends are ready to go and find what the universe has to offer in (relative) safety. It looks a little like FTL if it were a 2D puzzle platformer instead of a strategy roguelike.

Affordable Space Adventures Launch Trailer

A true console exclusive, the game makes full use of the Wii U’s unique capabilities by placing the ship’s system controls on the GamePad, while you see the ship and its environment on the television. One player can single-handedly manage all of the ship’s systems, but with friends that responsibility can be spread out between a Science Officer, Pilot, and Engineer.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Edition

PS4/XB1 (April 7)
If Bloodborne got you hooked on the Souls games’ particular brand of masochism, then you should check out this definitive edition of its immediate predecessor. Scholar of the First Sin comes packed with all of Dark Souls II‘s DLC, including all three parts of the Lost Crowns trilogy.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin - Announcement Trailer | PS4

In addition to the previously released content and updated visuals, sound, and performance, Scholars introduces new enemy and item placements and a higher cap on the number of online players allowed in a single session.

PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam

StarDrive 2

Linux/Mac/Windows (April 9)
Explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate in this game of galactic diplomacy and warfare. Tactical real-time battles let you feel like an admiral, while high-level strategic and economic management will make you feel like an emperor. Take to the stars as one of nine pre-set alien races, each with its own special properties.

StarDrive 2 Trailer

Every element of the game offers deep customization for players that want to delve into its systems, with presets available for the micromanagement-averse. Customize your own species with traits like “High-G Homeworld” or “Repulsive,” and design every ship in your fleet by choosing components and their layout.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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How to increase your approval rating in Manor Lords

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Happy people are the grease that makes your kingdom an efficient machine, but what is it that people value? It can be hard to tell at times why your approval rating isn't going up, or worse going down while playing your first few games. We've zoomed in on all our citizens to learn exactly what you need to do to increase your approval rating.

Gaming

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A medieval market in Manor Lords.

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Is there multiplayer or co-op in Manor Lords?
To cut to the chase, the answer is no. Manor Lords is a purely single-player experience through and through. There are no cooperative or competitive modes in the game at all, so there's no way to interact with anyone else either on PC or console. This game was just released out of early access, and there is plenty of content on the way, however, we regret to inform you that multiplayer is not in the plans for the time being.

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Gaming

All console commands and cheats for Fallout: New Vegas

The courier holding a gun with a welcome sign in the background in Fallout: New Vegas key art.

From the moment you begin your adventure in Fallout: New Vegas, you've already cheated death. Your first playthrough of the game should be done as the developers intended, though maybe with a couple of mods to make the experience a little smoother, but nothing that breaks the game. That said, it's been over a decade since the game came out, so odds are you've already played through the intended way at least once. This is when you can have some fun tinkering with the game and play using console commands and cheats if you're on the PC version of the game. There are a ton of commands you can input to manipulate your character, the world, objects, and more. Here's a full rundown of all the cheats there are and how to activate them.
How to enter console commands
Opening up the command console to type in your cheats is just a single keystroke away. While in the game (not paused), hit the ~ key located below your escape key. This will remove your HUD and bring up the prompt to type in any of the below cheats.
All Fallout: New Vegas console commands and cheats

Because there are so many console commands, we're going to break them down into general categories to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for based on what you want to do.
Faction and reputation cheats
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