Overwatch fans have produced a ton of digital tributes to Blizzard’s competitive FPS in the months after its launch, and user-made mods have recently dropped the game’s characters into the world of Valve’s zombie survival shooter Left 4 Dead 2, with hilarious results.
PC Gamer’s Evan Lahti showcases many of Left 4 Dead 2‘s creative Overwatch-themed mods in the video above, revealing how Genji, Lucio, and other Overwatch stars would react in the event of a zombie outbreak.
Assembling a team of Blizzard-crafted superstars, Lahti outlines the gameplay changes Left 4 Dead 2 players can expect when merging with the Overwatch universe. Left 4 Dead 2‘s version of Ana’s Biotic Rifle, for instance, swaps out the default hunting rifle with an improved model that packs a high-caliber punch despite its toy-like appearance.
Other Overwatch weapons recreated in Left 4 Dead 2 include D.Va’s dual pistols, Soldier 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle, and Genji’s blade, which can eviscerate hordes of zombies with a series of quick slashes.
Enterprising modders have also ported over a number of Overwatch character models and animations, resulting in fully playable versions of Lucio, Reaper, and D.Va, among other guest stars. Lahti warns, however, that installing multiple mods may cause issues with the ported models. Genji’s blade introduces graphic glitches when used with a Reaper character model, and Lucio’s trademark dreadlocks stick straight up in the air in Left 4 Dead 2, making him easy to identify among the zombie swarms.
Players wanting to get the most out of their Overwatch crossover experience will want to avoid some of the lesser mods on offer, however. A Widowmaker-themed mod that claims to introduce flashlight functionality simply displays a lit-up Widowmaker face texture that obscures gameplay, making it fairly worthless. Character and weapon mods seems to be fairly fleshed out, though, making them a prime pick for Left 4 Dead 2 veterans wanting to put a new spin on an old favorite.
All of the Overwatch-themed Left 4 Dead 2 mods seen in the video above are available as free downloads via Steam Workshop.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.