We're getting a deeper look into the world of Sundered, the beautiful action-platformer coming soon from the creators of Jotun, and it looks like players are in for an intense ride. Developer Thunder Lotus Games released the official launch trailer today, along with an official release date: Sundered will be released on July 28 for PlayStation 4 and PC.
"Sundered is a horrifying fight for survival and sanity," reads the game's description. "It is a replayable metroidvania where you resist or embrace ancient eldritch powers. You play Eshe, a wanderer in a ruined world, trapped in ever-changing caverns filled with hordes of terrifying enemies. Harness the power of corrupted relics to defeat gigantic bosses, at the cost of your humanity. Resist or embrace." Check out the brand new trailer below.
Sundered is entirely hand-drawn and will be a mix of shaped and procedural levels that players will have to battle through. There are hundreds of upgrades and multiple character builds, along with different abilities that "may be powerfully corrupted...at any cost." Thunder Lotus is also promising big boss fights and multiple endings.
You can preorder Sundered in digital stores now. Meanwhile, Thunder Lotus' first game, Jotun, is free to download this weekend on Steam and GOG and--for the first time--you can buy a physical release of the PS4 version of the game via Limited Run Games. GameSpot reviewer Justin Clark gave Jotun an 8/10, calling it a "wonderfully imagined take on Norse mythology" complete with "jaw-dropping beauty and a hefty challenge." You can read his full review here.
You read that right: Disney XD--the Disney spinoff channel that targets children ages 6-14 and primarily airs animated TV shows--is showing the Smash Bros. finals live. It's part of Disney XD's new gaming effort that it calls D|XP.
Starting tomorrow, July 15, from 9 PM-3 AM ET every night this summer, D|XP will air gaming-related content on Disney XD. It's unclear what, exactly, the program will show during that block, but it's partnering with content producers like ESPN and the Electronic Sports League.
The Super Smash Bros. finals air this Sunday, July 16, at 3 PM PT/6 PM ET/11 PM BST. Later that night, at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET/3 AM BST, ESPN 2 will broadcast the Street Fighter V finals.
Oculus VR and its parent company, Facebook, have been making moves lately to try to get the Rift headset into more hands. For instance, Oculus has dropped the price of the headset and Touch controller bundle a few times now. Today, Oculus announced that it has permanently reduced the price of the bundle to $500/£500.
This actually puts the Rift and Touch controllers at the same price as the PlayStation VR bundle. They are now both significantly cheaper than the HTC Vive and its controllers, which will run you $800/£800. Further, in addition to the controllers and headset, the Rift bundle also includes six games: Lucky's Tale, Medium, Toybox, Quill, Dead and Buried, and Robo Recall.
In a blog post, Oculus announced the price cut, stating that the success of its recent sales motivated it to permanently reduce the price of the bundle. However, right now you can get the Rift bundle even cheaper: a limited-time sale is currently happening that discounts the bundle to just $400/£400. This is the same price as the PSVR headset alone, without the PS Camera or Move controllers.
It's worth noting that to use the Rift, you'll still need a pretty beefy PC. You can see the system requirements for Rift hardware over at Oculus' website.
In May, the Rift's feature set expanded to include full room-scale capability and improve tracking for setups with three sensors, which is a requirement for room-scale VR. The bundle comes with two sensors; additional sensors are currently available for $60/£60.
A few games on Oculus that benefit from room-scale are Rec Room, Onward, and Arizona Sunshine. The HTC Vive launched with room-scale capability with the tracking of its lighthouse sensors but, as mentioned above, is still the most costly consumer VR solution.
In other Oculus news, a recent report suggested that the company and Facebook are working on a standalone, wireless, budget headset to bridge the gap between the Rift and the Samsung Gear VR. It'll cost $200 and will launch sometime in 2018. You can read more about it here.
The July update for Hitman is out today. Along with the usual assortment of tweaks and bug fixes, update 1.12.1 brings with it the final Elusive Target for Season One.
With today's update, IO has made some changes to combat in order to make it "more satisfying and viable for all players." In particular, the developer has reduced the rate of NPC pistols. It has also reduced the amount of damage that players take at mid- to long distances, while the rate their health recovers has been increased. IO says it is going to continue monitoring these changes and further tweaking them based on the team's impressions.
The developer has also changed the criteria players will need to meet to unlock Professional Difficulty. Now, you'll only need a Mastery level of 5 (as opposed to 20) in a location to unlock it. However, IO assures that no other changes have been made to Professional Difficulty, and the aforementioned combat tweaks do not apply here.
Finally, players can now track down the 26th and final Elusive Target for Season One: Mr. Giggles, an "entertainer" who operates an underground circus. He's located somewhere in the city center of Marrakesh, and like other Elusive Targets, he'll only be available for a limited time. You can watch a dossier trailer on Mr. Giggles above.
IO has another Hitman update planned for August, which will be detailed soon. In the meantime, you can see some of the patch notes for July's update below. The full patch notes can be found on the Hitman website.
Hitman July 2017 Patch Notes:
Xbox One Loading Times
After a recent update, Xbox One users reported to us that the game was taking longer to load than usual, especially when restarting a contract. We've looked into this and now have the Xbox One loading times back to where they should be. Thanks to our Xbox One players who reported this.
Excuse me, I found a weapon
We've fixed an issue that could cause guards to repeatedly drop weapons that they discovered on the ground. This issue was prominent on The Icon mission.
Bathroom Break
We've fixed an issue that could cause the toilet in the Marrakesh school to behave erratically after 47 kicks it onto Zaydan. This could occasionally result in 47's death. Seriously.
Cancelling Connecting
We've fixed an issue that could cause players to inadvertently cancel the "connecting" prompt and enter "Offline Mode."
Opportunity Lost After Loading
We've fixed an issue that could cause the Opportunity Marker (the little light bulb) to disappear after a save/load cycle.
Trespassing v Hostile Area
We've implemented a fix for a Known Issue from our June Update. The "Trespassing" and "Hostile Area" status messages on the mini-map now display correctly.
Maximum Mastery
We heard that some players have had issues unlocking the trophies/achievements associated with reaching Mastery level 20 in various locations. We've implemented a change so that the game will re-check whether you have reached level 20 when you launch the game and award the appropriate trophies/achievements.
Trophy Typography
We've made some necessary updates to the trophy descriptions on PS4; corrected a few typos and mistakes.
Unconscious Witness
We've also implemented a fix for the other Known Issue from our June Update. The "Unconscious Witness" status on the mini-map is know displayed correctly.
Miscellaneous Bug Fixes
We've fixed other minor issues across the board to keep the game in fantastic shape.
Steam is offering PC gamers the chance to play Battlerite for free this weekend, and to pick up the game for good at a discounted price.
The play-for-free offer goes until Sunday at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM BST, but the discount goes longer. You can buy Battlerite for $13.39 (33% off) until Monday at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST. Head over to Steam to learn more about the deals.
Battlerite is a PvP team arena brawler still in Early Access on Steam. It's billed as the "spiritual successor" to 2011's Bloodline Champions, which featured free-to-play online PvP arena games up to 10 players (5v5 teams). Battlerite focuses on smaller 2v2 and 3v3 battles (single and multiplayer) that are very fast-paced, lasting 10-15 minutes each.
The game combines aspects of top-down shooters with fighting games. Players perform "battlerites," which boost their strength and give your character powers that you must pick strategically to counter your opponents. There's also a bullet-time mode that allows you to duck deadly attacks in slow motion.
The picture shows Tye Sheridan as lead character Wade Watts, a teenager who enters a virtual reality world in an attempt to find three "Easter Eggs" left by its eccentric creator.
Ready Player One hits theaters on March 30, 2018. It was originally scheduled to be released at the end of 2017 but was moved to avoid a clash with Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The movie also stars Olivia Cook, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, TJ Miller, and Ben Mendelsohn.
In an interview with Collider last year, Spielberg admitted that while his film would maintain the novel's nostalgia for the 1980s, there would be one major omission. "I've cut most of my movies out," he said. "Except for [Back to the Future's] DeLorean and a couple of other things that I had something to do with. I cut a lot of my own references out.
"I was very happy to see there was enough without me that made the '80s a great time to grow up. I think one of the reasons I decided to make the movie was that it brought me back to the '80s and lets me do anything I want. Except with my own movies."
Filming is underway for 2018's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and the first photos from the set have been revealed, showing off a new visor for Cyclops.
Tye Sheridan reprises his role from X-Men: Apocalypse, and he has a new look. The character is starting to look more and more like James Marsden from the 2000 X-Men film. You can check out the image below, which was tweeted out by comicsgalaxy.
The next installment in the X-Men franchise will be written and directed by Simon Kinberg. This will be Kinberg's directorial debut, but he is very familiar with the X-series, having written Days of Future Past and 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse.
While X-Men: The Last Stand grazed over the Dark Phoenix story from the comics, the newest installment of the X-Men franchise is seemingly putting it front and center. Jessica Chastain is currently in talks, according to Deadline, to play Lilandra, empress of the Shi'ar Empire. In the comics, the Shi'ar and the X-Men worked together in order to stop or suppress the Phoenix force that had taken over Jean Grey. If the movie follows the comic story closely, this next X-Men adventure could take the team into space.
James McAvoy, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters, Alexandra Shipp, and a few more familiar faces are set to reprise their roles for the upcoming film. X-Men: Dark Phoenix will hit theaters on November 2, 2018.
Sony has revealed this week's round of PlayStation Store deals, and they're slim pickings. That's hardly a surprise, though, considering we're coming off the back of a massive, two-week sale that saw hundreds of PS4, PS3, Vita, and even PSP titles drop in price. Still, players can find a couple of enticing deals on the digital store this week.
The most notable game in this week's batch of offerings is Mass Effect: Andromeda. PS4 users can purchase the standard version for $30, while the Deluxe Edition retails this week for $35. BioWare is also offering a limited-time free trial that lets players play up to 10 hours of the sci-fi RPG, so now would be a good opportunity to try the title out and pick it up at a discount. The trial is also available to Xbox One and PC players.
NetherRealm's critically-acclaimed fighter Injustice 2 is also on sale for a limited time. Beginning today, players can snag discounts on the standard ($48), Deluxe ($60), and Ultimate Editions ($70). These prices are only available this weekend and expire at 8 AM PT/11 AM ET on July 17.
PS4 players have a couple of other options to choose from as well. Players still have a chance to snag Rocket League for $10, and a host of DLC packs for the game are on sale as well to commemorate its second anniversary. The first-person shooter Killing Floor 2 is also on sale this week for $20, while the 3D brawler Heart&Slash is $6.79.
PS3 and Vita owners have much fewer options to choose from. Aside from a handful of digital bar games, PS3 players can get Adam's Venture Chronicles for $4.49, while Vita owners can pick up Talisman: Digital Edition for $21. You can find the full list of this week's deals on the PlayStation Store website.
Following the release of the poster for the upcoming Saw sequel Jigsaw, a first image and some plot details have been released. This image comes via Entertainment Weekly, and it shows an unlucky cast member about to come to an unpleasant end. Check it out below:
Jigsaw is the eighth movie in the hugely successful horror franchise and is due for release in October. Michael Spierig, who directed the film with his brother Peter, told EW that the movie might not be quite as gruelling as previous entries.
"We've got some pretty wild traps in the film," he said. "We don't shy away from the gore. It's such a perfect Halloween scarefest. [But] it's perhaps not quite as vicious; it's more fun, which is something we tried to inject into it.
"But it's still full of good fun gore, that's for sure. And, on top of that, it's got a really great mystery, and there's very interesting twists. It's Saw for 2017."
Jigsaw takes its title from the movies' psychotic, trap-setting villain, who is played by Tobin Bell. His character died in the third movie, and although filmmakers have found a way to include him in every subsequent entry, the Spierigs won't reveal if he appears in the new movie. "The DNA of Tobin Bell is all over this film," is all Michael says on the matter.
The original Saw was released in 2004 and made more than $103 million worldwide from a budget of just $1.3 million. In total, the series has grossed more than $870 million. The last movie to date was 2010's Saw 3D.
Update: Nintendo of Europe has confirmed to GameSpot that the standard size New 3DS has been discontinued in the region. The company did not comment on US New 3DS production, though the device never fully launched in North America anyway--it only ever came to the region late, and as part of limited-edition bundles.
Original story follows.
Nintendo has announced that production of the New 3DS has ended in Japan. An update on the official Nintendo Japan website indicates that white, black, and limited edition models of the base New 3DS are no longer being manufactured. The 2DS, New 2DS XL, and New 3DS XL pages do not display the same message.
It is unclear what this means for the western 3DS lineup. The Nintendo US Store currently has no standard New 3DS systems listed, while the UK Store only shows remaining stock of limited edition bundles.
The news comes on the same day Nintendo launched another addition to the 3DS family of systems in Japan. The New 2DS XL came out today, July 13, over there and is already available in Australia and New Zealand. It's coming to the US and Europe on July 28, priced at US $150 / £130 / AU $200.
"The Nintendo 2DS really focused on that entry level gamer," he said. "The four-, five-, six-year old that is just getting into gaming, but wants to play Mario Kart, wants to have a Super Mario Bros. experience, wants to play Pokemon. And we feel with Nintendo 3DS XL at $199 that it's a fully-featured product, that it is, if you will, the Cadillac of handheld gaming. And then we heard from consumers, 'Boy, I wish there was something in between.'"
Update: After launching on the European Eshop last week, Flip Wars will launch in the US on August 10, Nintendo has announced.
Original story follows.
A new Nintendo Switch game will launch on the European Eshop later this week. Nintendo of Europe has announced that multiplayer action-puzzle game Flip Wars is coming to the Eshop on July 6. It is unclear at this stage whether the game will come to the US and Australia on the same date.
The game is centered around trying to change as many squares on the board into your color as possible. A number of items can help you in your mission, while environmental hazards like water waves and electricity can also mix things up. It supports both local and online multiplayer and a variety of game modes, some of which focus more around defeating your opponents than coloring in their squares.
The colorful title originally launched in Japan in May under the name Battle Sports Mekuru. We currently don't have a price for its western release, but its Japanese price tag of 980 Yen translates to around US $8.66.
Update: A Messhof representative has confirmed to GameSpot that Nidhogg 2 will launch simultaneously on PC and PS4 on August 15.
Original story follows.
Nidhogg 2 will be available for PS4 on August 15, developer Messhof has announced. Studio co-founder and creative director Mark Essen confirmed the news in a post on the PlayStation Blog, where he also said preorders will begin on July 18.
Although Messhof has previously said Nidhogg 2 is also coming to PC in "summer 2017," a specific date has not yet been revealed. It is unclear whether the PC version will be available alongside the PS4 launch. GameSpot has reached out for clarification on the PC release date.
In the PlayStation Blog post, Essen went on to talk about the new and somewhat divisive chunky art style, which he said "grew out of practicality more than some daring vision."
He continued: "Nidhogg was a game of fast reactions and precision, so fluid animation was a major priority. The flat style meant that I could iterate quickly, drawing and adjusting animations on the fly without having to worry about matching dozens of intricate design elements between frames.
"Rather than setting up mechanics and then moving on to art, I'm someone who needs to be able to tweak both constantly. The major drawback to this approach is that adding any sort of detail, like a piece of armor or a mask, means hours upon hours spent redoing animations again and again. While these limitations helped to define Nidhogg's distinctive style, we felt constrained."
According to Essen, when he and fellow co-founder Kristy Norindr started thinking about the sequel, they decided to experiment with bone animation programs that allow for individual body parts to be animated independently, instead of having to constantly redraw characters entirely.
"It seemed silly to use all this potential on pixelated stick figures," Essen explained. "So, instead of minimalism, why not try out some maximalism? Animated faces, sweet outfits and hairstyles, bustling environments – the doors had swung wide and Nidhogg 2's visual style was born."
Nidhogg 2 features "completely overhauled" environments and animations, more than 10 levels, and a new soundtrack (with music from Dose One, Daedelus, and Mux Mool). There's also support for local and online multiplayer (along with a tournament mode), plus a single-player mode where you compete with the AI and face "occasional special challenge rounds." You can learn more about Nidhogg 2 and watch videos of it here.
Disney's Star Wars theme parks have been under construction since 2015, and they aren't set to open for another two years. However, we now have a good idea of what visitors can expect, with the unveiling of a scale model of the park design. It can be seen at the studio's D23 convention this weekend in Anaheim, California, and it also features in a new video:
New images of the theme park model can be seen on Disney's blog. There are also some descriptions of the areas that Star Wars fans will be able to visit.
The sites states that "both Star Wars-inspired lands will transport guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before Wild Space, where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life."
It also describes how "guests will find themselves in the middle of the action at two signature attractions: one that lets guests take the controls of Millennium Falcon on a customized secret mission, and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance."
Earlier this year it was confirmed that the parks will open at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida in 2019, to coincide with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX. Disney boss Bob Iger previously explained that they would be "largest single-themed land expansions ever," covering 14 acres of land. You can check out some early concept art here.
Just Cause 3 is finally getting a multiplayer mode next week. The online portion arrives on PC as part of a mod by a fan group called Nanos GBR, and it launches on July 20.
According to the mod's Steam listing, it will bring "hilarious brawls, stunts, and races" and allow you to play with "hundreds of other players." Modes will include races, deathmatch, skydiving, freeroam, and more.
A separate Just Cause 3 multiplayer mod appeared to be dead in 2016 when its lead designer, Cameron Foote, abandoned the project after he was offered a job at Avalanche Studios, the base game's developer.
"Several months ago, I was approached with an offer I couldn't refuse: to join Avalanche Studios Sweden as a developer so that I could work on projects present and future," he explained at the time. "Unfortunately, due to time constraints, neither I or the rest of the team can actively pursue development on JC3-MP; our lives are just too busy to allow for it right now."
Pokemon Go will soon have an official ring accessory. The handheld trinket is designed as a different way of holding the Pokemon Go Plus device, and it launches tomorrow, July 15, in Japan.
The ring lets you control Pokemon Go from the palm of your hand rather than just your wrist. In addition, a number of new decals--in the style of Great, Ultra, and Master Balls--have been revealed. Take a look at the accessory and the new skins below (via Serebii).
The ring--which doesn't include the Pokemon Go Plus device itself--costs ¥400 (around $3.50), though it's unclear if it will ever make its way to the west. The original $35 Pokemon Go Plus did launch in the US, Europe, and Australia, following a delay, though it sold out in its pre-sale phase and was subsequently difficult to obtain for many months after launch.
The Plus is a wearable device that alerts you of nearby PokeStops and allows you to catch Pokemon without reaching for your phone. However, its functionality is limited compared to the fully-fledged game: you can't catch any Pokemon you haven't previously obtained, for example.
In other news about the hit game, a number of Pokemon Go live events begin this month. There are a bunch of sites hosting Pokemon parties, from Chicago in the US to Chester in the UK to Paris in France. Take a look at the full list here.
Developer Niantic is already hosting a special in-game event to commemorate Pokemon Go's first anniversary. For a limited time, players can have a chance to capture a special Pikachu wearing Ash's iconic hat from the animated series. The event is going on now and runs until July 24. The developer has also teased that this may be the summer that Legendary Pokemon finally come to the game, though no specific details have been announced.
Sony has revealed the release date for Gran Turismo Sport, the first game in the series to come to PS4. The racer will launch in the US on October 17 before a European/Australian release on October 18. The publisher announced the news in a new European trailer, which you can watch above.
Sony said recently that the racing title would launch this fall, but this is the first time we've had a concrete date since its delay from 2016. Today's announcement follows the completion of the long-running closed beta, which finished earlier this week. That's not the last you'll see of it before launch, however; Sony says a full reveal of the cars and tracks included is coming soon. In the meantime, check out the game's box art--including images of the Day One, Steelbook, and Collector's Editions--below.
We played the latest iteration of Gran Turismo Sport at E3 2017, and you can check out our early impressions here. Elsewhere at the event, Sony confirmed GT Sport will run at 4K and 60 FPS on PS4 Pro, which will also get HDR support.
The racer is exclusive to PS4 and is being developed to support PlayStation VR, though it will not feature dynamic time or weather. The decision to drop these two features, which were key to the series, was made "in order to raise the frame rate and the quality of the image." Players will still be able to set time and weather before the start of a race.
Gran Turismo Sport is the first in the popular series since 2013's Gran Turismo 6, which was a PlayStation 3 exclusive. In our review, critic Joseph Barron said the racer possessed a "lack of vision" but that it "remains a fantastic simulation." For more, check out our full Gran Turismo 6 review.
We have 150 codes to give away for the full Steam game, Crash Force (PC only). Crash Force is an online multiplayer, arena, shooting game at its core with RPG and racing elements.
This is NOT an instant win. Competition commences Friday, July 14, 2017 at 12:01 AM Pacific and ends Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 5:00PM Pacific. 150 winners will be contacted via email with their code. Entry is open worldwide.
Crash Force is a culmination of gaming's most popular genres that aims to deliver fast-paced, arena-style battles infused with strategic RPG elements. With a plethora of combat-ready vehicles, Crash Force allows players to strategically pick their choice of hovercraft, each designed for a variety of play styles, and also gives players freedom to design their machines for intense, real-time battles up to 6-vs-6.
AMC has suspended production of its hit show The Walking Dead after stuntman John Bernecker was injured seriously during a rehearsal this week. According to Deadline, Bernecker suffered a "serious head injury" after he fell 30 feet onto a concrete floor.
He was transported to a local medical center in Atlanta and is in the intensive care unit. A source told Deadline that the stuntman is "brain dead and on life-support while his family makes arrangements."
From Deadline's report: "Sources say Bernecker and an actor were rehearsing a fight scene that was supposed to end with a routine fall from a balcony, but he lost his footing and fell 30 feet to a concrete floor."
Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd posted a message of support for Bernecker on Twitter, saying, "We are all praying for him, his family, friends, and colleagues."
Bernecker also did stuntwork for The Fate of the Furious, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, and Looper, among other movies.
We're expecting to see many new movie trailers next week at San Diego Comic-Con. Now, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo has teased that Marvel's showing at the annual event--presumably covering multiple movies--is going to blow your mind.
He wrote on Twitter that he recently saw a preview of what Marvel will show at Comic-Con. His verdict? "You are about to get your mind blown! Best I've seen yet. Kaboom." In another tweet, Ruffalo specifically mentioned Thor: Ragnarok, saying there will be a new trailer and it will include a showdown between Thor and Hulk, just like in the first teaser.
Marvel Fans... I just saw a preview of what Marvel is showing at Comic-Con. You are about to get your mind blown! Best I've seen yet. Kaboom
In addition to Ragnarok, Marvel could show off more of its other films at Comic-Con next week, including Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. Some of Marvel's other upcoming films include Captain Marvel and Ant-Man And The Wasp.
GameSpot is heading to Comic-Con next week, and we'll be reporting from the San Diego show. What are you hoping to see at the event? Let us know in the comments below!
Next year's Tomb Raider movie starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft has finished shooting. The actress said spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the filming, and she mentioned one particularly intense-sounding sequence involving getting thrown into water.
"We have a lot of water sequences," Vikander said. "I spent my last two days of shooting in a tank and that was my 16th total day being fully drenched or submerged in the water. For one action scene, we used the London venue for Olympic rafting. They threw me down that river--with my hands tied--about 50 times. I didn't need to act, just react!"
Vikander taking on a blockbuster, action-heavy movie like Tomb Raider might have caught some by surprise, as she's been recently known for smaller films. But speaking to EW, the actress said she's passionate about trying new things.
"I'm emotionally drawn to something that's very different from what I've done before," she said. "Naturally that gives me an extra thrill. I have mostly done dramas and indie films in my career but I don't know how many times I've watched big adventure films like Indiana Jones or The Mummy. I love to get embraced in all those big journeys and to do an action role has always been a child's dream of mine."
Vikander won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 2015's The Danish Girl.
The film is directed by The Wave's Roar Uthaug. Like the 2013 reboot, the film will tell an origin story of sorts--you can see a new image here.
In Tomb Raider video game news, a new title called Shadow of the Tomb Raider is reportedly coming up to conclude the trilogy that started with the 2013 reboot.
Nintendo is giving away another free Pokemon for Sun and Moon. This time, players in the US, Europe, and Australia can snag a rare shiny variant of the guardian Pokemon Tapu Koko.
What makes this particular Pokemon special is its appearance; unlike most other pocket monsters, Tapu Koko cannot be found in the wild in its shiny form, making this the only legitimate way players can obtain one. The Pokemon is level 60 and comes equipped with an Electric Seed, which synergizes nicely with its ability Electric Surge. Electric Seed boosts Tapu Koko's defense in Electric Terrain, which the Pokemon creates when it enters the battlefield. Tapu Koko also knows the following moves:
Nature's Madness
Discharge
Agility
Electro Ball
To obtain the Pokemon, select the Mystery Gift option from the game's menu screen and choose to receive your gift via the Internet. You can then pick up your Tapu Koko from the deliveryman inside any of the game's Pokemon Centers.
Nintendo has been offering Pokemon Sun and Moon players a steady stream of free items and monsters since the games' release. Recently, players could snag five rare Mega Stones by inputting a special code. There are more adventures still in store for the Alola region; this November, Nintendo will be releasing Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, another pair of titles set in the same world but with an "alternate story." Players can pre-order a special Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon steelbook dual pack right now from Amazon. Nintendo is also releasing the classic Gold and Silver versions on the 3DS Eshop this September, and any Pokemon captured in those titles can be transferred to Sun and Moon via Pokemon Bank.
A free trial for Mass Effect: Andromeda is now available on all platforms. BioWare announced on Twitter that everyone across PS4, Xbox One, and PC can try out the spacefaring RPG for the low, low price of free right now.
BioWare put out a sizzle reel of sorts to promote the trial, which you can see below. A post on the game's website confirms that the trial lets you play for 10 hours.
Fight for a new home in a dangerous galaxy. The Mass Effect: Andromeda Trial is now available on all platforms! pic.twitter.com/t4r2kvyenc
According to DualShockers, the Andromeda free trial is similar to the one that EA/Origin Access members have had access to for months now. It reportedly lets you try the first planet, Eos, with support for both single-player and multiplayer. All progress will carry forward to the full game, should you decide to pick it up after the trial ends.
In other news, a recently released patch for Andromeda added a new difficulty mode for multiplayer and made improvements to facial animations and cinematics. You can see the full patch notes here.
The first trailer for the Winston Churchill movie Darkest Hour has arrived, showing Gary Oldman as the historical leader of Great Britain. The film aims to be a "thrilling and inspiring true story" of Churchill's days as Prime Minister during World War II.
Oldman is basically unrecognizable as Churchill, and this looks to be yet another compelling performance by the Oscar-nominated actor.
"As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history," reads a line from the movie's description.
Darkest Hour also stars Lily James (Baby Driver), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight), and Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones). It's directed by Pride & Prejudice's Joe Wright, with a script written by The Theory of Everything's Anthony McCarten.
Oldman spoke to LRM about his dramatic transformation into Churchill for Darkest Hour involving makeup and a lot more. Check out the video below to learn more. Darkest Hour opens in theaters in January 2018.
Oldman was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He is also known for his role as Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan's Batman series, as well as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series.
Star Wars: Battlefront is offering double XP this weekend, EA has announced. Double XP will be switched on starting at 9 AM UTC on July 13, running through the same time on July 16.
The Double XP applies to all of the game's modes and maps, so not matter what you're doing, you will be doubly rewarded. And that's always nice. Presumably this Double XP weekend event is for all platforms: PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Director Neill Blomkamp was attached to direct the Halo movie with producer Peter Jackson many years ago, but the project fell apart. Now, Blomkamp has spoken up to say he is still a big fan of the franchise and, although he hasn't been asked to direct a Halo movie since then, he says he's open to the idea of coming back for a Halo project if Microsoft asks.
"I love Halo," Blomkamp said in a Reddit AMA. Still. But I seem to have a bad track record of turning existing franchises into films. haha, Do I love the world? Master Chief? Reach, the Colonies, the Flood, the Covenant? YES. Am I going to end up directing a piece in that world? probably not--meaning no one is asking me."
Blomkamp directed the Halo Landfall live-action short, and in case you forgot, it was very impressive. He said in the Reddit AMA that he would be interested in making more videos like that for Halo with his new short film company Oats.
Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor responded to Blomkamp's new Halo comments, saying Microsoft would be "delighted" to team up with Blomkamp again.
Well we love @neillblomkamp & the worlds he's built and we'd be delighted to work with him again one day. Also he's a top bloke
Fable creator Peter Molyneux has been out of the spotlight for a while now, but he's still working on new games. His studio, 22Cans, is known best for Curiosity and Godus, but it also released a cool mobile game last year called The Trail: A Frontier Journey. Today, 22Cans announced that it's bringing the game to PC in a version called The Trail: Frontier Challenge.
The PC version will launch later this summer on Steam. It's unclear if there are any differences between this and the mobile version, although from the announcement trailer, it looks basically identical. You can watch it above.
In The Trail, you take control of a traveler who undertakes a journey on--you guessed it--a trail. It's more or less on-rails and linear, although you have to make decisions along the way when talking with other travelers and villagers.
It's pretty beautiful, too, with relatively simple but stylish low-polygon art. It makes for some cool-looking environments; you can see a bit of it in the gallery below.
Molyneux has been criticized in the past for a perceived tendency to over-promise and under-deliver; this perception resulted in backlash against Godus when it first released. Back in early 2016, he spoke a bit about his experience dealing with the criticism and how 22Cans and himself have changed as a result. You can read more about it here.
AMD made a significant splash in the desktop CPU market back in March when it released the Ryzen 7 family, but the chip manufacturer isn't done yet. AMD's high-end desktop CPU series, called Ryzen Threadripper, will have two versions released in early August: the 1950X and 1920X. The entry-level line, known as Ryzen 3, will also have two SKUs available on July 27: the 1200X and 1200. As for specifications on the upcoming processors, the following outlines core count, thread count, and clock speeds:
While the budget-friendly Ryzen 3 CPUs don't have specific prices yet, you can expect them to be under $150; the cheapest Ryzen 5 retails for around $170. Both versions of Threadripper did get prices. The 16-core 1950X will cost $1000 and the 12-core 1920X will go for $800. By comparison, Intel's Core i9 7900X CPU (10-core / 20-thread) costs $1000; AMD is staying competitive by offering more cores at equivalent price tiers.
All of AMD's Ryzen CPUs are based on its latest Zen architecture, which proved to perform well in multitasking, video production, and image rendering. They fall a bit short of Intel's CPUs in overall PC gaming performance but AMD has been continually supporting the Ryzen platform with BIOS updates to improve stability and performance.
Some kind of Pokemon reveal is coming next week, and it could involve aliens, it seems. A teaser video and website from The Pokemon Company Japan both point to a reveal on July 19, and the website shows some kind of Pokemon alien creatures.
A translation from Polygon reveals that the video is titled "Pokemon Mystery File: A World of Pokemon You Don't Know." The video features footage of past games such as Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver as well as Pokemon Sun and Moon.
It gets stranger. Polygon translated the video, and it reportedly says, "Is this a time slip? Is it manipulating time? It came from the moon? Is it a space virus? Is this an encounter with aliens? The battle with the alien invader has begun!"
"Is this the underside of this world? Is this a puzzle of ancient relics? Is this an attack from a parallel universe? Is it possessing humans?"
The video concludes with Unown banding together to spell out: "Is something happening?"
Whatever it is, it looks like we'll know more on July 19. Bear in mind that this is being teased by The Pokemon Company Japan, so whatever it turns out to be, it might be for the Japanese market exclusively. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
Bungie has provided a list of all the known issues for Destiny 2's upcoming beta. There were always going to be issues, of course, as this is a beta and that means the game is unfinished
Some of the issues will impact gameplay. You might get kicked to Orbit when entering a Countdown match in Crucible. Also, you might experience a number of network error codes, while players could be placed at the start of the Inverted Spire Strike when joining in progress instead of catching up with their friends. Another thing to note is that not all of the Destiny 2 content will be available in all supported languages.
You can see all of the Destiny 2 beta known issues below, as posted by Bungie. Players who run into problems not listed here should post in the Destiny 2 Help forum.
The beta test opens to those who pre-order the game on July 18 for PS4 players and July 19 for Xbox One players. Everyone else can jump in starting July 21. The beta runs through July 23. You can check out what's included in the beta here.
Players may experience a variety of networking error codes when attempting to play the Beta
Bungie will be testing server stability throughout the Beta, which may cause error codes to appear periodically
Location names sometimes do not appear during Crucible gameplay
Players sometimes are Kicked to Orbit after witnessing a black screen when entering a Countdown match
Players may sometimes be placed at the beginning of the Inverted Spire Strike Activity when joining in progress
Sandbox balancing is still taking place: Some weapons or abilities may have higher or lower damage than intended
Not all content has been localized in all languages
If you encounter any network related issues during the Destiny 2 Beta, please follow our Network Troubleshooting Guide to ensure proper network settings for Destiny gameplay.
The Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature, introduced in November 2015, lets you play Xbox 360 games on the new console. But what games are available? We've now rounded them all up--and we'll continue to update this post as new games are made available.
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