Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is already in the hands of some players at home, with a full release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 12. A handful of players, on the other hand, got a unique gameplay experience instead. They got to try the game at the Black Ops House in London, inside "the world's darkest room" for a totally immersive CoD experience.
Activision partnered with a company called Surrey NanoSystems to design the room, which is covered in Vantablack VBx2 coating, a material that absorbs nearly 100 percent of natural light in an area. The end result for the players was the ability to play the game with absolutely nothing being visible in the room except the screen and game in front of them. Get a look at their creation in the video below.
Black Ops 4 is the seventh Call of Duty game, and is the first to lack a traditional single-player campaign. In its place are story-driven individual missions that each focus on one of Black Ops 4's multiplayer Specialists, similar to the Operator missions from Rainbow Six Siege. Black Ops 4 is the sequel to Black Ops 2, and the prequel to Black Ops 3, with missions taking place between 2025 and 2065.
There is also a brand new Blackout mode (which inspired the above blackout experience, no doubt). It closely resembles other battle royale games in many ways; up to 100 players drop onto a map and battle until only one player or team remains. Players collect weapons, equipment, and vehicles from their environment, and of course, the area in which players can survive shrinks over time, pushing you into closer quarters with your enemies.
The co-op Zombies mode is also returning in Black Ops 4. You can play two separate storylines in the mode, one called Aether that follows the Zombies storylines from past Black Ops games and a second, called Chaos, which features new characters Scarlett, Stanton, Diego, and Bruno. For more game details, including info on how to pre-order, check out everything we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Epic's hit battle royale game, Fortnite, made its long-awaited debut on Android earlier this summer, but up until now, it has only been available to users who received an invite for the beta. That has changed, and now all Android owners can download the Fortnite beta even without an invitation, provided they have a compatible device. Here's how you can jump in.
Unlike most other games available on Android, Fortnite can't be downloaded through the Google Play store. Epic had previously announced that it is bypassing Google's app store and offering the game to fans directly through its own website. If you want to download Fortnite on Android, all you'll need to do is go here on your phone and scan the QR code when prompted.
As previously noted, Fortnite won't be compatible with all Android devices. You'll need to have a "recent high-end Android smartphone" in order to run the game. Fortunately, there's a fairly long list of supported devices outlined here and on Epic's FAQ page, and even if you don't have one of the phones listed there, you may still be able to run the game if your device meets the following recommended minimum specs:
OS: Recommended Android 8.0 or higher, 64 bit
RAM: 3GB or higher (Recommended 4 GB)
GPU: Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher
Part of the reason Epic is skipping Google Play with Fortnite's release is to bypass the 30% "store tax" applied to all purchases. The developer also says this move allows it to "bring its games directly to customers," but it isn't without some drawbacks. Namely, it leaves the game susceptible to security risks, while some Android apps that promise free V-Bucks and other cheats are actually phishing schemes.
Fortnite is currently in the third week of Season 6, bringing a new set of weekly challenges to complete across all platforms. You can find tips for all of the tasks available thus far in our Season 6 challenge roundup. Completing these earns you Battle Stars, which in turn levels up your Battle Pass and unlocks special cosmetic items and other rewards, such as the new Pets. You can everything that's up for grabs in our Season 6 rewards gallery.
Fortnite has opened its Android beta to all users now, no longer requiring an invite. Alongside the release announcement, Epic gave a list of supported devices and recommended system specs, so you can check if yours is up to snuff.
According to the FAQ, a long list of Samsung Galaxy, Sony, and Google Pixel devices are supported, along with some from other companies like Asus, LG, and Nokia. You can see the full list below. If your phone isn't on the list, don't lose heart. It could still work as long as its specs are up to snuff. The studio recommends the following minimum system specs for your Android device to play Fortnite:
OS: Recommended Android 8.0 or higher, 64 bit
RAM: 3GB or higher (Recommended 4 GB)
GPU: Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher
Android and iOS players are matched against other mobile players, and for the time being bluetooth controllers and mouse-and-keyboard control schemes are not supported.
Uber Eats has a Call of Duty promotion going on this weekend in England that sounds too good to be true. Just for ordering a fish and chips meal, you can get a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on PlayStation 4 for free. It's the "Cod for CoD" deal (get it?), and it's available at participating Harry Ramsden restaurants via Uber Eats.
All you have to do is open the Uber Eats app between October 12-14, order the "Cod for CoD" bundle deal for just £7.99(!), and you'll get a fried fish meal delivered to your address, along with a download code for the full game. The deal is good for as long as supplies last.
There's one big drawback, of course. The deal is only available from participating locations found in Manchester, Birmingham, and London Victoria. If you're lucky enough to live within Uber Eats delivery distance of one of the participating restaurants, I'd advise placing your order as early as possible on October 12. Who knows how many codes will be handed out, and at a price like that, it's bound to be a popular promotion.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches October 12 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. While this year's installment is skipping a traditional campaign, it comes with a full Zombies mode, a set of single-player challenges, and a battle royale mode called Blackout that's inspired by games like PUBG and Fortnite.
The Xbox One October update is rolling out today, offering a few new bells and whistles for the Microsoft console. The features in this update allow you to use more voice interactions, more easily watch HDR movies with streaming services, and personalize your Avatar.
The Xbox Skill feature lets you interact with your Xbox using Alexa or Cortana devices, with a greater degree of precision than the previous Kinect voice commands. As an example, Microsoft says you can tell Alexa to "launch Forza Horizon 4" and in response the Xbox One will start up, sign you in, and launch the game, all without additional commands needed. Other commands include starting Mixer broadcasts, capturing screenshots, and adjusting the volume. You'll need to download the Xbox Skill in the respective stores to get started.
To promote the new functionality, Amazon will be offering a bundle that includes an Amazon Echo Dot with new Xbox One S or Xbox One X purchases. That deal is coming soon, but supplies will be limited.
The newly revised Avatars are available for all users today as well. These have a focus on inclusiveness, with a greater range of body types, more accessories, and the ability to dress in any kind of clothing you'd like. You'll see the new Avatars on your own profile, in the activity feed and Gamerscore leaderboard, and more. You can use a Photobooth to take a picture of your Avatar to use as your profile image. Plus, if you want to stick with your original Avatar, that option is available too.
The update also adds Dolby Vision HDR streaming across supported televisions. For now it supports Netflix only, but Dolby Vision will expand to more apps in the coming months. You can enable it through the Settings menu. Finally the Narrator has added Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, and Australian English.
Scarlett Johansson appears to be making a healthy amount for her upcoming solo Black Widow film. The star is reportedly set to earn $15 million, which would be equal the payouts for Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth in both Avengers: Infinity War and their own starring roles movies, Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that most actors in the Marvel cinematic universe have made much less for their initial standalone movies. Robert Downey Jr. made just $500,000 for the first Iron Man, while Chadwick Boseman is said to have pulled down $2 million for the first Black Panther. Brie Larson is making $5 million for the upcoming Captain Marvel, with a reported seven-picture deal (which Larson disputes). Then again, this won't be Johansson's first time around as Black Widow, as the character has been a mainstay in Marvel's team-up films for years.
The news comes as Hollywood's actresses are applying more pressure on studios to pay them the same as their male counterparts. Some actors like Benedict Cumberbatch have publicly said they'll refuse roles that do not give equal pay to his female counterparts in solidarity.
A spokesperson for Marvel told THR, "Marvel Studios disputes the accuracy of these numbers, and as a matter of policy, we never publicly disclose salaries or deal terms." Black Widow will be directed by Cate Shortland (Lore). She was the ultimate pick after interviewing a list of more than 70 potential picks to direct. A release date hasn't been announced. Black Widow will next appear in 2019's Avengers 4, which will presumably resolve the plot threads left by Infinity War.
Fortnite: Battle Royale's challenges for Week 3 of Season 6 are now available, which means it's time to get back on the grind and get those precious Battle Stars. As a refresher, completing these challenges reward you with Battle Stars which, in turn, level up your Battle Pass and allow you to unlock the sweet, sweet cosmetics for your character. Challenges are available in two sets, with one for all players to do and another just for those that have paid for a Battle Pass.
In the free to everyone section, this week's challenges involve reviving a player in five different matches, getting one Damage Trap elimination, and starting the multi-stage challenge by searching a chest in Lonely Lodge. That's all self-explanatory, though the Damage Trap elimination may take some perseverance.
In the paid Battle Pass section, there's some trickier ones, the first of which is a multi-stage challenge that begins with visiting Risky Reels and Wailing Woods in a single match. On top of that you'll need to hit a player with a Tomato from 15m or more away, eliminate an opponent in 10 different matches, and complete timed trials. Take a look at all the challenges for Season 6, Week 3 below.
Fortnite Season 6, Week 3 Challenges
Free Challenges
Revive a player in different matches (5) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Search a chest in Lonely Lodge (1) -- 5 Battle Stars
Damage Trap Eliminations (1) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Stage 1: Visit Risky Reels and Wailing Woods in a single match (2) -- 5 Battle Star
Hit a player with a Tomato 20m away or more (1) -- 5 Battle Stars
Complete timed trials (3) -- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate an opponent in different matches (10) -- 10 Battle Stars
These aren't the only challenges that are available to do this week, as developer Epic Games has also rolled out a set of Halloween-themed unlocks to acquire. While the Skull Trooper (Male), Skull Ranger (Female) skin, Skull Sickle Harvesting Tool, and Crypt Cruiser Glider are available to purchase in store, in order to get the Ghost Portal Back Bling you'll need to complete the Skull Trooper Challenges.
It's been a busy week for Fortnite as, along with the two sets of challenges, Epic has also launched Fortnite Update 6.02. This new patch introduces a Limited-Time Mode called Disco Domination as well as the new Quad Launcher weapon. You can read all about those, as well as the other tweaks and changes made, in the Fortnite 6.02 patch notes.
Alongside Fortnite's 6.02 update, developer Epic Games has dropped in a few new cosmetics to the game's shop, and some accompanying challenges that will unlock a special Back Bling. On the skin side, it's a popular returning outfit that comes just in time for Halloween season.
The in-game shop now has the Skull Trooper (Male) and Skull Ranger (Female) skins. The former is 1500 V-Bucks, while the latter is 1200 V-Bucks. The Skull Trooper is a returning skin, except this time it can be customized to have a white or green. Those that already had the Skull Trooper skin can also pick a purple look. The Skull Ranger, meanwhile, is completely new.
On top of those to there's the Skull Sickle Harvesting Tool, which will set you back 1200 V-Bucks, and the Crypt Cruiser Epic Glider for 1200 V-Bucks. However, if you want that Ghost Portal Back Bling you'll have to do five challenges. In the tweet below you can see a character outfitted with all the new goodies. Notice that the new Back Bling emits ghostly apparitions of other skins, which is pretty cool.
Patch v6.02 is available now with a return from beyond the grave! The Skull Squad Gear is available now. Complete challenges to earn the Ghost Portal Back Bling. pic.twitter.com/Yy5B0MDO32
Although the challenges for the Back Bling are going to be quite a time investment, you'll also get some experience points and Battle Stars along the way. You can see the challenges, as well as the new cosmetics, below. These are separate from the standard Week 3 challenges, which include one that has you complete timed trials.
Skull Trooper Challenges
Complete 7 Daily Challenges (7)
Play Matches (50)
Play matches with at least one elimination (14)
Search 10 chests in a single match (10)
Deal damage to opponents in a single match (1000)
These won't be the only new challenges for the week, as the usual weekly set is expected to arrive tomorrow, October 11. While we'll have to wait until then to see exactly what players will need to do to get their hands on the Battle Stars, leaks have provided some indication of what the challenges may be.
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Fortnite Update 6.02, meanwhile, adds a new Limited-Time Mode called Disco Domination to the game. In this, players travel to dance floors around the map and then, as you can probably guess, dance. This raises a disco ball over the dance floor, which, when it reaches the top, indicates a floor has been captured. In turn a progress bar appears and the first team to reach 100 percent capture stat on this bar wins. You can find out more about Disco Domination, as well as the new Quad Launcher weapon, in the Fortnite 6.02 patch notes.
If, for some reason, you need a break from playing Overwatch, but you still want to do something Overwatch related, Lego has you covered. Blizzard is teaming up with Lego to produce Overwatch sets, kicking things off with Bastion.
The Omnic Unit with a heart of gold--or a soul to be more specific--is the first character to get the Lego treatment. The new set retails on Blizzard's website for $25 or can be picked up on-site at BlizzCon 2018 at the Anaheim Convention Center November 2-3.
When built, the figure stands at four inches (12cm) tall and consists of 182 pieces. The characters arms are movable, and it swivels at the waist, and of course, it comes with a sub machine gun for its right arm. Don't worry, Bastion's bird companion Ganymede is here as well.
The Blizzard exclusive is a first in a new collection of Overwatch Lego sets, which should release sometime in 2019. No formal release date has been set, but there is a page on Lego's website for it. Lego has given some teasers to what we can expect, which included Widowmaker, Reinhardt, Genji, Soldier 76, Mercy, and McCree minifigures.
Overwatch just got a big update to kick off the Halloween Terror 2018 event and that it introduces new skins, all themed around the spooky holiday season.
Thursday marks the weekly refresh of challenges in Fortnite: Battle Royale, and the latest is no exception. Week 3 of Season 6 is now live with a fresh slate of seven challenges to complete between now and the end of the season. One of these in particular may prove to be difficult, as you'l need to track down and complete various timed trials. We've put together a quick guide, video (above), and map to help you get it done quickly; here's where to go and what to do.
The challenge in question is complete timed trials, which you may remember from Season 5, when this type of challenge made its debut. What you need to do and the process for completing it hasn't changed since then, so here's a breakdown. Scattered around the island are blue stopwatch collectibles and, when you pick one up, you'll have an allotted amount of time to grab the rest of the them that appear in the area. If you're new to this, it may take some trial and error as some of the collectibles require you to build your way up to them. Naturally, this means you'll have to have the relevant resources on hand to craft the necessary platforms. In some areas it can also be advantageous to hop in a vehicle to get it done quick, so you'll have to get a feel for whether that's the case and then grab an ATK.
When it comes to finding the location of the timed trials, we recommend going for the other challenges first, but keeping your eyes peeled for the blue stopwatch pickups. In particular, the "search a chest in Lonely Lodge" and "visit Risky Reels and Wailing Woods" challenges are good trials to have as the main focus. These two challenges involve travelling around the map, so you're likely to run into some trials along the way. This is a great way of streamlining the challenge completion process. Thankfully, there's plenty of timed trials scattered around the island. The ones we found are listed below, along with screenshots of their locations.
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Outside Tomato Temple (Between G3 and G4)
Left of Dusty Divot (F5)
Hilltop south of Tilted Towers (D6)
Bridge near Shifty Shifts (D8)
Villains Hideout (Between B4 and B5)
Once you've completed three of the timed trials, you'll get yourself 10 precious Battle Stars. The rest of the challenges shouldn't be as difficult. Take a look at our full rundown of Season 6, Week 3's challenges for more information on those.
Fortnite is currently feeling a bit spooky for Halloween, and if you want to be extra effective at putting the fear in other Fortnite players, developer Epic Games has released a bunch of new cosmetic that are worth checking out. These include the Skull Trooper skin, which makes its long-awaited return with a few extra customization options. There's also the new Skull Ranger skin for the female character model, the Skull Sickle Harvesting Tool essential for that harbinger of doom look, and the Crypt Cruiser Glider so you look like death floating around the skies of Fortnite. These can all be purchased through the in-game store using V-Bucks.
However, the hottest Fortnite in-game item this Halloween is undoubtedly the Ghost Portal Back Bling, which emits ghostly apparitions of other skins. To get this you'll need to complete the Skull Trooper Challenges, which will take a fair bit of dedication. You can see all the Skull Trooper Challenges and new cosmetics here.
If you need a break from the challenge grind, Epic has introduced a new Limited-Time Mode called Disco Domination. This mode tasks two teams with taking control over the most number of dance floors on the Island. Naturally, to secure a dance floor you've got to dance long enough to raise a disco ball. This mode was added as part of update 6.02, which also included the new Quad Launcher weapon. You can read about both of these additions, as well as other tweaks and changes in the Fortnite update 6.02 patch notes.
Disney's deal to buy the majority of Fox's entertainment assets may be finalised in a matter of months. Variety reports that Fox executive Peter Rice informed employees this week that the logistics of the buyout--including things like how the payroll changeover will happen--should be in place by January 1.
After that, the deal is expected to officially close in the first half of 2019. There is also the matter of approval from regulatory bodies, which could affect the acquisition timeline.
Rice held a town hall meeting on the Fox lot where employees were given the opportunity to ask questions. Rice reportedly said the move will result in layoffs, with sources at the meeting telling Variety that the job cuts will come from divisions getting acquired by Disney and less at those that aren't, such as Fox Sports, Fox News, and Fox Broadcasting.
The question of culture clash also came up, and Rice pointed out that Disney successfully welcomed companies like Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel into the fold, with each company retaining its independence and culture to some degree.
Still, the topic of impending layoffs looms large for Fox employees ahead of the buyout. One staffer told Variety that working at Fox right now is like being on death row.
Disney is paying an enormous $71.3 billion to acquire the majority of Fox's entertainment assets. Disney will get the 21st Century Fox movie and TV studios, as well as a number of cable TV networks and international TV businesses. As mentioned, Fox News and Fox Sports are not part of the deal, and will instead remain with a company called New Fox. As part of the deal, Disney will get big-name properties such as X-Men, Avatar, and The Simpsons.
Rare has announced a new update for Sea of Thieves that adds a new type of quest to the action-adventure pirate simulation. Update 1.3.1 also patches some of the game's bugs and makes quality-of-life improvements.
The new type of quest is called Cargo Runs and completing them allows you to rank up in the Merchant Alliance. The mission parameters are relatively simple. After selecting a Cargo Run contract, you need to find the cargo in question, obtain it by whatever means you deem necessary, and take it to its destination. You're rated on speed and how well you handled the goods, so if you want the best possible reward, you'll need to travel as fast as you can while also being careful to not damage the cargo.
Update 1.3.1 makes several other changes to preexisting features and mechanics. The new Cargo Runs are now always included in Athena's Fortune voyages. From now on, rowboats will take more damage from Gunpowder Barrels, and you'll be able to push your rowboat if it happens to get stuck under an environmental obstacle. It's also much more worth your time to pursue Skeleton Ships, as the reward for defeating Skeleton Captain-led ships has doubled.
For the full Update 1.3.1 patch notes, including known issues that Rare is working, check out Sea of Thieves' main website. We've listed the major issues that Update 1.3.1 fixes below. Sea of Thieves is available for Xbox One and PC.
Sea of Thieves Update 1.3.1 Fixed Issues
Rowboats now cast appropriate reflections in water.
Rowboats no longer get damaged when detaching from a ship.
Player sitting in the middle of the Rowboat can now see players sitting at the back of the Rowboat.
Removed overlapping audio when rowing.
Damaged Rowboats no longer appear pristine upon returning to them after venturing far away.
Rowboats no longer inherit damage decals from other sources (such as damaged ships or shipwrecks) when in close vicinity.
Looking as far left/right as possible whilst rowing a Rowboat will no longer result in the camera becoming occasionally unlocked and rotating 360 degrees.
When placing larger items on the Rowboat, water splash VFX will no longer occur.
Audio when rowing a Rowboat over large distances (especially the squeaking) is now less repetitive.
Available titles now show up in the clothing shop on Morrow's Peak Outpost.
Fixed issue with horizontal water planes being cut off whilst a ship is sinking.
Players no longer get permanently drunk when migrating servers whilst holding the Chest of a Thousand Grogs.
Players should no longer get an unfinishable riddle quest on Fetcher's Rest.
Audio will no longer drop out when climbing the ladder onto a Brigantine.
View Gamer Card option under Crew Settings will now respond correctly to a left mouse click.
Geysers will no longer appear on top of chests.
Flooding at the back of a Sloop will appear visually correct when sinking.
The ocean will appear completely black when a Kraken encounter begins.
Looking through the scope of an Eye of Reach will no longer trigger the sound effect multiple times.
Upon loading into a session, the loading music will now commence as soon as the loading screen appears.
Sailing away from your ship on a Rowboat will no longer cause a mermaid to spawn.
The ocean will no longer appear separated from the sky when viewing the horizon from within a storm.
The glow of the Kraken lantern will no longer appear too bright in HDR.
Sail ropes will no longer appear disjointed from the sails when a player returns from the Ferry.
There is no longer a gap at the bottom of the volcano on Devil's Thirst.
Collision has been corrected on the Devil's Thirst volcano so players can no longer fall into the model.
Player will no longer temporarily lose access to some ship barrels if their first banana, plank or cannonball of the session is washed up or given to them.
Available titles now correctly appear in the clothing shop on Morrow's Peak Outpost.
Titles will no longer incorrectly appear on Seaposts.
Ever since Bethesda announced its newest game in the Fallout series, it's been difficult to get a sense of what Fallout 76--an online-only RPG--is all about. While the concept of an online Fallout experience is enticing, it also comes into conflict with the series' typical brand of role-playing. Though Fallout 76 does lessen those traditionally single-player details to a noticeable degree, it offers up an alluring opportunity to explore uncharted, irradiated territory with other players online.
With the pivot to multiplayer, Fallout 76 focuses a lot more on exploration and survival in West Virginia's Appalachia, with all its regional oddities and newfound horrors coming in large doses. Recently, we played three hours of the game ahead of the game's upcoming October beta, and spoke with developers from Bethesda Game Studios about the particular challenges of making a different kind of Fallout.
During the first hour, I got my bearings by taking a tour around the immediate area, even joining a group to take in all the sights. Fallout 76 has the familiar RPG mechanics and sense of exploration that the series is known for, but it also has more of an amusement park vibe--with several key attractions and locales clearly highlighted on the map, such as The Greenbrier Resort and the Top of the World ski-slope. While exploring Fallout's take on West Virginia, which is several times larger than the Commonwealth of Fallout 4, I got the feeling that I was sort of experiencing the greatest hits of all things Fallout. First came the familiar weapons and armor found from previous games, then came the feral ghouls, the Super Mutants, and references to the Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave.
Still, the new location in West Virginia feels totally different from Fallout 4's Capital Wasteland and the Mojave from New Vegas, which quickly introduces its own brand of locales and strange monsters that reside there. Along with weird monsters like enlarged ticks, three-headed possums, and even Mole Men, there are other monsters that reference West Virginian urban legends. This includes the headless, hulking Grafton Monster and the enigmatic Mothman, the latter of which is revered by the hostile cabal of Scorched, heavily irradiated humans who eventually evolve into ghouls of sound mind.
For the most part, combat and general movement handle similarly to Fallout 4. However, the new mechanics and survival systems at play felt somewhat overwhelming to get a handle during our introduction. In 76, much of the tutorial happens in a trial by fire scenario in the open world, where you'll have to follow the early moments of the quests closely in order to learn the new mechanics, all while fighting off enemies and scavenging resources. While I appreciated the quick pace at which players are whisked out of the vault, picking up some meager supplies along the way, I felt that the on-boarding process could be a bit more detailed--it made me feel mostly unprepared as I was scrambling to find any weapon I could get my hands on.
With the new online focus, some returning mechanics have seen some changes. For instance, Fallout's iconic V.A.T.S.--allowing you to target enemies and fire off precisely-aimed shots--now operates in real-time. It acts more like a real-time lock-on--with your weapon's hit-rate adjusting depending on the enemy's movement or their surroundings. This style of V.A.T.S. definitely took some getting used to. Mostly to the fact that enemies move around often, and combined with the awkward focus of the V.A.T.S. camera, it was jarring to actually use it during a fight. Because of this, I mostly stuck with standard aiming and shooting, which felt more reliable during engagements. While you can upgrade V.A.T.S. with perks to make it more effective, it feels more like an option that should be used sparingly.
Fallout 76's survival mechanics take many cues from Fallout 4's more challenging Survival mode. In addition to keeping your character well fed on a regular basis, you'll also have to avoid ailments and diseases--such as contracting the oddly named but still troubling Rad Worms. Some enemies and locations even carry specific diseases, which create added risks to watch out for when exploring. These illnesses range from diseases that sap your maximum health, action points, and the general damage resistances for your character, to even increasing your susceptibility to radiation.
With a large emphasis on survival, nearly every item and resource you can get your hands on feels much more valuable. Nothing really lasts too long in Fallout 76--even the buffs from Bobbleheads and skill magazines only last a short time--so every tool you have will inevitably be discarded for something new. As you're scavenging through the open world, you'll find junk items, scraps, and crafting plans that can be turned into new gear and building materials for your constructions. Some of these materials can create bizarre weapons like the Heated Pitchfork or Ski-Sword--a single ski sharpened to form a blade. But over time, weapons and armor will eventually need to be repaired or broken down into materials for other items. Moreover, cooking and chem stations now have a greater importance, allowing you to prepare meals and craft support items.
Character growth is still the core part of Fallout 76, and it offers an impressive amount of variety and flexibility. After leveling up, you can place points into the familiar categories of the SPECIAL system, each of which boost areas of your character's raw stats. Eventually, you'll acquire a pack of Perk Cards that can offer special buffs in their assigned categories. For example, the Gladiator perk card is a Strength card which increases damage with melee weapons, while Lead Belly can decrease the radiation from drinking contaminated water. The more points you have in a category, the more Perk Cards you can potentially slot in, giving you a whole suite of added buffs. At any time, you can swap out your set of Perk Cards to readjust your character, to better prepare for different challenges.
In keeping with the game's focus on pioneering, the building mechanics from Fallout 4 also return. Now known as the C.A.M.P. system, you have in your possession a mobile construction device that allows you create a building at any time--provided that it doesn't overlap with existing structures. You have free rein to construct whatever you like, whether that be subtle safe-houses for you to stash supplies, or even larger mega-structures that house turrets and a dedicated place to relax. If you ever want to pack up and move elsewhere, you can save your structure as a blueprint and dismantle it. This can come in handy if your chosen spot becomes too popular with other players.
The biggest point of contention with Fallout 76's online nature is its lack of NPCs and slimmed down story, now serve to highlight the focus on moment-to-moment engagements with enemies and other players. This lack of traditional interactions and storytelling felt more noticeable the deeper we dove into the world. While you're certainly free to play solo and avoid other players--and we definitely took the opportunity to strike out on our own, leading to those familiar moments of solitude and wanderlust, you'll always be a potential target within the online world.
Having said that, I couldn't help but feel intrigued by the re-focus here. Lore and smaller doses of story are still in surprisingly ample supply, but told passively through the environment and journals scattered about. While there are no active NPC characters to find--with exception to roaming robots that can offer trades and intel--you'll eventually stumble across the bodies of long-dead survivors who have had a notable presence in the world. In their possession are special holotapes known Survivor Stories, detailing the last moments of their lives in the irradiated wilderness.
These stories told some interesting tales for the characters in Appalachia, which had some poignant and heartfelt moments to them--which was reassuring given the fragmented nature of the storytelling in 76. Speaking with design director Emil Paglliarulo, he elaborated on their refocus to make Fallout more about engaging with others players.
"We started off with the premise where the only other people you see are the ones that came from the vault," he said. "We've also never had the opportunity to do a game that's set twenty-five years after the bombs fell, it's always been two-hundred something years after. Now, we have the stories of the people that survived the initial war, and we've never been able to tell those stories before. Of course without NPCs or no dialog trees--which was a huge adjustment for our quest designers, as they were used to doing it a certain way--and now the lore-heavy stuff comes from holo-tapes, which now has its own tab in the Pip-Boy. That's been really interesting for us. And what ended up happening is that we ended up having a much more lonely story than in Fallout 4. All of these people that you do [learn about] are dead already, and it's almost like a weird ghost story. We didn't expect that."
Whether you want to play solo or within a group, player interaction is a big part of the game. Encountering another person after rounding the corner or reaching the end of a dungeon creates some genuinely tense feelings--not knowing what intentions the other player in front of you has. To communicate with others, Fallout 76 features a variety of in-game emotes to use and proximity based voice-chat. During our session, however, we used Xbox Live's party chat client to stay in constant communication with our group--which won't be the case for most players online.
When playing in groups, communication is important, and the emotes and proximity chat are a great way to get your point across. This is especially vital when grouping up for some of the more active quests that task you with overcoming some bizarre obstacles, such as finding the keys to an armory in a makeshift town built out of a destroyed aircraft, or finding out a mob of "unruly golfer feral ghouls" at a ritzy resort that's still maintained by protectotrons. This can lead to some humorous and equally tense moments where players are scrambling to rely on their team's special skills to progress further.
Once you reach level 5, Fallout 76's PvP systems open up. When you encounter another player that's over level 5, you can fire your weapon at them to let them know of your intentions. If they return fire, then you'll both engage in a duel, with the loser dropping their current haul of junk items--no caps or gear is lost after a defeat. When shooting at a player that hasn't engaged in response, all damage will be cut in half, which gives them enough time to react. It's possible to kill another player who is not into the idea of fighting, and appropriately enough, this backhanded approach will mark you as a murderer, painting a massive target on your back for all players in the world to see.
Our group of level 5 explorers tried to take down a level-58 player in power armor in similar fashion, but it didn't go over well at all as he easily decimated the group with a high-powered Tesla Rifle. While damage calculations scale for enemies, allowing low-level players to potentially take out monsters several levels ahead of them, it does not for PvP engagements. However, if you wish to avoid PvP, or if a player is bugging you too much, you can block them or fast-travel to safety fairly easily. So far, the system in place is a thoughtful way to overcome the potential harassment that can often spring up with this type of game.
To cap off our hands-on time, the developers launched a nuke, which obliterates specific areas of the map. We all had front row seats to the explosion, and then proceeded to jump into the ensuing fallout--with its heavy radiation promptly killing us off one-by-one. As one of the larger end-game goals in Fallout 76, activating a nuke can lead to new events in the irradiated areas, revealing rare materials and dangerous enemies to fight. It also highlights the more dynamic nature of Fallout 76, with many of its narrative touches informed by the player's decisions in the world.
The scale of Fallout 76 seemed impressive based on the first few hours. The location of West Virginia--and all its oddities--was exciting to dive into, which felt refreshing after coming off of Fallout 4's Commonwealth. However, much like previous Fallout games, there were a number of odd bugs and large frame-rate dips that occurred throughout. This was especially noticeable during larger fire fights against large groups of enemies, which brought overall performance down to a slog. The developers we spoke to, however, assured us that the performance will be improved in time for its November 14 launch.
76 certainly isn't like other Fallout games. After our three hours, I got the impression that Bethesda is taking a risky approach with the series in regards to its lore and its core gameplay. With its heavy focus on survival gameplay and the online experience, I suspect that this largely experimental take on Fallout will become a rather polarizing entry. Though the mechanics were somewhat overwhelming to get a handle of, I can't deny that I enjoyed exploring the large map and engaging in the mysterious, post-apocalyptic take on West Virginia. Fallout 76 looks like it can flourish in the long-term, and I'm interested in what can come about after many hours in its off-kilter and ever-changing setting.
If you ever wanted to change your PSN online ID on your PS4 but were frustrated at the lack of ability to do so, there is some good news on the horizon. Sony has announced it will be testing a new feature that allows you to change your PlayStation Network name. The much-requested PSN online ID change feature is currently entering PlayStation's Preview Program before rolling out more widely to all users.
As of now, the feature will only be available to PlayStation users that have registered as testers for previous PS4 system software betas. For those that do get access, you'll be able to do your first change for free. Changes after that will cost $10 USD/CAD / €9.99 / £7.99. For PlayStation Plus members, it will cost $5 USD/CAD / €4.99 / £3.99 after the first change.
To make the change, authorized users can access the feature through the Settings menu or via the Profile page of your PS4. You'll also get the ability to display your previous PSN ID alongside your new one (so your friends can recognize you). This is a choice users will have to make; once you decide to display your old ID or not, you won't be able to change this.
Another caveat is that the new feature won't be compatible with all games. It will be compatible with PS4 games released after April 1, 2018, and "the majority of the most-played PS4 games" released before this date. PlayStation is making it clear not all PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games are guaranteed to support the feature, so users might see issues or errors in certain games. If you run into any issues with the change, PlayStation will let you revert back to your old ID free of charge.
The preview program is set to go until the end of November 2018, and PlayStation has plans to roll it out for all PS4 players in early 2019. At that time, a full list of compatible games (those published before April 1, 2018) will be released.
Nintendo's new paid service for online play, Nintendo Switch Online, debuted in September, and with it came a bunch of original NES games available only to subscribers on Nintendo's newest console. One of those games was the much beloved The Legend of Zelda from 1987, and this month a special save has been released for the game; one that lets you live "the life of luxury" in Hyrule.
The new Legend of Zelda save lets you play the original armed with tons of Rupees and items from the start. If you choose to, you can now start the game with equipment like the White Sword, the Magical Shield, the Blue Ring, and the Power Bracelet, along with lots of buying power to get even more items nice and early into your journey. Nintendo says it's the first of many special editions of NES games to come; it will be releasing more save data to offer "fun new entry points into fan-favorite games." The Switch Online version of the game also allows you
While the Rupees and items will make the game easier from the start, Living the Life of Luxury can also make the game harder. Once you beat Ganon, you'll be able to play through a more difficult version of the game called Second Quest. Like all of the NES games released through Nintendo Switch Online, The Legend of Zelda also comes with new multiplayer capabilities. In this case, you'll be able to share your screen with another player and swap out who's controlling Link.
There's much to experience in the massive open-world of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. But as is tradition, the Assassin's Creed series has a very strange way of blending historical accuracy with bizarre supernatural elements--and Odyssey is no exception. While you'll mostly take on pirates, foot soldiers, and the sinister members of the Cult of Kosmos throughout the various locales around the world, there are some encounters that will take some extra effort to find--leading to Odyssey's most memorable fights against beasts of legend.
In this feature, we breakdown Assassin's Creed Odyssey's most involved and unique quest-line, which pits you against some various mythological beasts that reference Greek mythology, including the deadly Medusa and the Cyclops. In addition to giving you all the details on how to find them, we also offer up some tips on how to overcome their unique challenges. Obviously, there are some spoilers in this article, which relates to the midpoint of the game. Proceed with caution.
Where To Begin
To start your epic quest to vanquish the four mythological creatures hiding out within Ancient Greece, you'll need to reach the midpoint in the main Odyssey quest, which takes you to island of Thera, just north of Messara. After solving the puzzles to gain entry into the ruins, you'll meet a very important character inside, who will give you a new Odyssey quest-line called Between Two Worlds. This quest tasks you with finding four lost Isu artifacts that have been stolen, which are now hidden across the known world of Greece.
While you may get the urge to drop everything and set out to complete this quest after the cutscene's finish, you're much better off holding off until much later into the main story. Not only will you have the proper gear to take out some of the harder challenges, some of the legendary gear that drops from these quests will also become more powerful. We'd recommend you finish the main story, which will take you through many of the islands and locales that house these lost artifacts. What follows is the best order to take on these creatures, based on level.
The Sphinx And Where To Find It
Marked as level 35 quest, the Lord of the Sphinx mission tasks you with finding an artifact hidden in Boetia. Located on the southern coast of Lake Koapis, you'll find ancient Isu ruins shrouded in fog. At these ruins you'll find a discover a Sphinx statue and an NPC named Gorgias, who's searching for a piece of a medallion to unlock the secrets of the temple. Tasking you to find his apprentice, you'll start the next leg of the quest, which will have you travel to the Tomb of Menoikeus. Located in the northeastern part of the Scorched Rolling Plains region in Boetia, you'll find the remains of the apprentice, killed by a nearby alpha lion--which has also eaten the other half of the medallion. After securing the piece, head back to the ruins to proceed with the next part of the quest.
Once you return, you'll find that Gorgias and the statue are missing. Before proceeding further, be sure to save your progress. Taking the piece of the medallion that Gorgias left behind, you'll be able to place the item on a pedestal in the ruins, which will summon the mythological Sphinx. Surprisingly, you won't engage in an actual fight with the Sphinx, but rather a game of careful wits. After conversing with the beast, the challenge begins. You'll only have one chance to clear this encounter, as offering an incorrect solution to the puzzles will result in instant death. Moreover, each subsequent reload of your save will see a different set of riddles offered up.
Think carefully before giving your responses to the Sphinx's questions, as your answers also apply to several runes scattered around the ruins, which have to be activated after the riddles are complete. If you can't find the rune assigned to your given answers, then you'll meet certain doom. After making it through the riddles correctly, you'll best the Sphinx at its own game and collect your first artifact, along with a legendary Sphinx Figurehead for your ship.
The Cyclops And Where To Find It
You'll likely be aware of the location of this particular mythological beast early on into your adventure. Found on the Isle of Thisvi just south of Phokis (one of the first areas you go to after getting your ship), you'll find the ancient Isu ruins after diving into the Forgotten Isle's inner cove. However, the door leading to the mythical Cyclops is sealed, and will remain so until you take on the necessary quest. At a recommend level of 35, the quest that opens the chambers of the Cyclops is located on Kythera Island, towards the southernmost edge of the map. Head to the region known as Pilgrim Hill to find a quest giver near a statue, opening up the mission A God Among Men. By taking this mission, you'll eventually Empedokles, who believes himself to be a god. After assisting him throughout the Island, he'll venture off to the Isle of Thisvi to meet a fellow god.
Once you head back to the small island, head into the island's underground to find Empedokles outside the door, who's ready to reunite with his fellow god. Suffice it to say, things don't work out for Empedokles, and you're left to do battle against the mythological creature. As one of the largest enemies in the game, the Cyclops--also known as Brontes, The Thunderer--has an advantage when it comes to range and raw strength. However, the boss' slow speed and lumbering movement can be taken advantage of. You can also aim the obvious weak spot of its glowing eye with your ranged attacks, dealing some solid damage. Halfway through the fight, the Cyclops will become more aggressive, resulting in some falling debris throughout the chamber. Keep chipping away while avoiding the falling the rocks to take him down. After the fight you'll acquire the next artifact, and along with the Polyphemos Cyclops Bludgeon, a legendary heavy blade.
The Minotaur And Where To Find It
Located in Messara, on the island in the southeast section of the map, you'll come across a small town in Minotaur Hills that worships the mighty beast. This area serves as a great place to learn more about the history of the region, level up, and gain some new gear--including a replica helmet of the Minotaur (which is just a bull's head fashioned into a helm). Just west of town, you'll find Knossos Palace ruins located in Mino's Legacy. In this area you'll find a child named Ardos, who's trying to rescue his father lost in the chambers of the Minotaur below the palace. Starting the Myths and Minotaurs quest, you'll learn more about the labyrinth and discover that you'll need to find the medallion to open up access.
From here, you'll begin the Of Minotaurs and Men questline, which includes sub-quests around the region including Blood in The Water, Recollections, and Full Circle. Along the way, you'll interact with the allies of Ardos' father, local merchants, and assist the boy's current caretaker. The questline involving the caretaker will have you cross paths with the Swordfish, who just so happens to be a member of the Cult of Kosmos. After completing these tasks, you'll acquire the key to the labyrinth of the Minotaur. While exploring the maze, you'll find the body of Ardos' father, and not long after, encounter the mythological beast.
The battle with the Minotaur can be quite challenging, which requires you to be at least level 40 to make a successful go of it. In this battle, you'll have to dodge many of the Minotaur's attacks and head in for an opening when its vulnerable. Its most powerful move is a ram attack, which you can fortunately see coming. The beast can also stun itself when it rams against an obstruction, allowing you to get some solid hits in. Staying and attacking at a distance is also an effective way of getting the upper hand against the beast. Once you defeat the minotaur, you'll get the next artifact and a new legendary axe known as the Minotaur's Labrys.
The Medusa And Where To Find It
For the final mythological beast, you'll need to travel to the island of Lesbos, located in the northeastern corner of the map. At this point in the game, you'll likely have finished the main story before traveling to this island, which is one of Odyssey's most difficult areas. To start the quest, head to the town of Eresos in the Petrified Valley, which is located on the southwestern coast of the island. In town, you'll find a female NPC named Bryce. After conversing with her, you'll start the quest Romancing the Stone Garden, which tasks you with finding her lover lost in the Petrified Temple. After learning more of the Temple and its mysteries, you'll need to new quest called Shadows of Serpents, along with all of its sub-quests that to open the pathway to the Medusa.
These side-quests will take some time to finish, as they'll have you travel across Lesbos and to the nearby island of Chios. One mission has you infiltrate a village full of female hunters, all of whom are lethal archers and agiles fighters. However, if you already completed the Artemis quest-line involving the hunt for legendary animals, your choices in that mission can allow you to become the leader of the village, letting you come and go without incident. The other quest has you track down an adventurer who's made the dubious claim that he wields the spear that killed Medusa. After completing the necessary steps, head back to the temple to open up the way to Medusa's lair.
The battle against Medusa is Odyssey's most challenging and complex encounter. Choosing to fight at range with a squad of stone mercenaries at her side, the Medusa can petrify targets--namely you--while also calling in aerial attacks that deal heavy damage. In order to remove her protective shield, you'll need eliminate her guards, all while avoiding her petrifying gaze and magic attacks. Throughout the room are several stone pillars, which can offer safe protection from her gaze. After taking out the minions, the beast will become vulnerable, allowing you to deal direct damage to her. During this state, the Medusa will teleport around the arena and immediately follow-up with a ranged energy attack. This will be a long fight, so be patient and stick with a certain rhythm of attacks, both ranged and close-range, and eventually you'll take out Odyssey's most difficult boss--earning you the final artifact and the legendary sword Harpe of Perseus.
If you want to know more about Assassin's Creed Odyssey, check out our full-review, along with our breakdown of some useful tips to help you along your journey in the game.
Overwatch has kicked off its Halloween Terror 2018 event, and the patch that adds the holiday festivities includes a lot more besides that alone. The full patch notes show changes made to Torbjorn, color blind options, and a lot more.
Halloween Terror 2018 is the headliner of the update, but it also includes the major update for Torbjorn that was announced last month. Torb no longer uses armor packs or the scrap system. His secondary ability instead has changed to "Overload," which works a lot like his previous Ultimate ability. The new Ultimate, called Molten Core, will shoot out pools of magma. Plus his turret build levels have been scrapped entirely, now permanently set to the second level.
"Torbjorn was initially designed to be a specialized hero, intended to be a strong defensive option due to his armor-generating capabilities and ability to control areas with his turret. However, the scrap collecting and Armor Pack mechanics have proven to cause problematic gameplay issues because of their feast or famine nature," reads the patch notes from Blizzard. "To make him more flexible in a wide variety of situations, we've removed the scrap system, made the turret much easier to deploy, replaced the Armor Pack ability with Overload--a powerful self-buff--and transformed Molten Core into a powerful new area denial ultimate ability."
The update also adds a new colorblind option, giving you nine different colorblind options to use for enemy and friendly UI. Those options can be found in Options > Video > Color Blind Options. The highlights for shields and barriers have between tweaked for easier readability, and health bars will become visible if an entity they create (like one of Torb's turrets) deals damage.
Other changes include minor tweaks to Brigitte, Doomfist, McCree, Pharah, Mei, Orisa, and Soldier 76. The timer has also been adjusted for both Assault and Escort maps, giving players less time to setup but more to assemble the team. Besides Torb, Pharah got the most dramatic updates with a lot of changes to her rocket launcher knockback, explosion damage, and attack speed.
"We wanted to increase how responsive Pharah's Rocket Launcher felt, because a full second of recovery between shots made it feel sluggish," Blizzard says. "The overall damage potential is now increased when landing direct hits and decreased slightly when only dealing explosive damage."
All of those changes come alongside Overwatch's big seasonal event, which comes with a bunch of new skins and other cosmetic items to collect. It also includes the limited-time Junkenstein's Revenge mode, which this year comes in both Classic and Endless Night flavors.
You know the battle royale concept is a force to be reckoned with when a long-standing series like Call of Duty decides to join the fray. Black Ops 4 introduces Blackout, the series' rendition of last-person-standing deathmatch, and we've spent plenty of time with the new mode. So, if you're not caught up on the battle royale craze or want to know how Black Ops 4 distinguishes itself from the top dogs of Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, we have you covered.
Before getting into the details, you should note that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a full-priced $60 game that comes with a new version of the lauded Zombies mode and traditional multiplayer modes in addition to Blackout (but no standard single-player campaign). The game is set to release on October 12 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Fortnite: Battle Royale on the other hand is free-to-play and playable on nearly every modern platform, including iOS and Android. Fortnite also contains the horde-based survival mode Save The World, but only on PS4, Xbox One, and PC if you purchase the Founder's Pack for $40--however, Epic says that the mode will become free sometime this year. PUBG is currently available on PC and Xbox One for $30 and free-to-play on iOS and Android.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Blackout
Black Ops 4's Blackout mode shares many of the basics of its battle royale counterparts. Up to 100 players get airdropped onto a wide-open, sprawling map in either teams of two or four, or in solo matches. Everyone has one life and the goal is to be the last player or team standing. In duos and (s)quads, players can be revived by teammates within a short window of time before bleeding out. And of course, an ever-shrinking deadly circle closes in as the match progress and numbers dwindle to force players into conflict.
Looting works similarly to PUBG in that weapons, ammo, attachments, grenades, and healing items are scattered on the ground and within structures, and supply crates containing valuable gear occasionally drop onto the map. Guns can be tricked out with scopes, grips, and barrel attachments in a fairly streamlined inventory menu. While you won't have to worry about encumbrance and item weight, backpacks grant you additional space in your inventory to carry extra items--a sort of middle road between the two other games.
One of the alluring factors of Blackout is that it's a Call of Duty game, which means it has the smooth, refined movement and shooting that the 15-year old franchise is known for on a much larger scale. However, Call of Duty has now incorporated a new ballistics model just for Blackout; players will now have to account for bullet drop at long ranges. The game remains solely a first-person shooter, although vehicles are operated in third-person--PUBG has optional first-person matches and Fortnite is strictly third-person.
As for vehicles, the map is littered with ATVs, cargo trucks, and speedboats. But map traversal is notably different from other battle royales when you account for the helicopter; Fortnite and PUBG do not feature controllable aircraft. Bailing out of the helicopter or jumping off tall buildings is also made possible by using your wingsuit, making verticality a bigger factor than it would be otherwise.
Another twist in Blackout is that it isn't strictly PvP since the Asylum area and a few pockets of the map contain AI-controlled zombie hordes. Fighting through zombies can lead to some high-level gear like the coveted Ray Gun, but it's risky and costly for those low on supplies.
Blackout also incorporates the franchise's Perk system and Specialist abilities in a unique way; they are treated like loot. Perks work as consumable items that grant passive bonuses for a limited duration. For example, Stimulant boosts your health by 100 for a three-minute window, and Paranoia activates an audio cue for when you're being targeted by an enemy through ADS. Each can be especially effective in certain scenarios. Specialist equipment like the barricade, grappling hook, or sensor darts are rare items found during a match and are not tied to any one specialist.
While the overall battle royale formula doesn't change much in Black Ops 4, smaller components from previous games work their way into Blackout for something that's more accessible with a Call of Duty flavor.
Fortnite: Battle Royale
The feature that makes Fortnite stand out immediately is construction. Success in Fortnite is predicated on your ability to swiftly build walls, floors and ramps with the materials you collect around the map. Players have to keep in mind that there are three separate material types (wood, brick, steel) with varying durability and construction timing. It may seem like just a carry-over mechanic from the original Save The World mode, but learning the clever ways of connect these building blocks together to protect yourself and create effective combat opportunities is absolutely vital.
Fortnite regularly evolves through seasons. It's not just about introducing new cosmetic items to earn or giving new challenges to keep gameplay fresh. New seasons often alter the map significantly, ranging from the obliteration of entire towns to completely redone areas. As of now, there's a floating island right at the center of the map, and a desert biome now stands where swamps were once located. Epic's dedication to constantly changing Fortnite little-by-little staves off the monotony of playing the same map over and over. And the fact that all these changes are tied to a central theme provides a festive vibe that the other games don't capture.
Equipment changes over time as well. While there are still colored tiers of shotguns, assault rifles, pistols, and SMGs, newer weapons like the guided missile or grappler can change combat encounters. Long-time items like the disco grenade or launch pad play into the silly, lighthearted nature of it all while still serving compelling use-case. Vehicles were originally omitted from Fortnite, but developer Epic later introduced a golf cart to get around the map a little faster. Limited-time game modes also pop into Fortnite, such as 50v50, Teams of 20, Explosives Only, or Snipers Only. Epic isn't afraid to get ridiculous either; Season 4 was based on superheroes and even included the Infinity Gauntlet which transformed players into Marvel villain Thanos, who had a slew of overpowered, yet fun abilities.
Since it's a free-to-play game, microtransactions exist. A battle pass grants you access to exclusive rewards and V-Bucks act as in-game currency to acquire many cosmetic items; no purchasable content affects gameplay.
Fortnite plays fast and loose in a way that's easy to pick up, and its cartoon-y aesthetic feels inviting. But that doesn't take away from the skill level needed to earn that Victory Royale because high-level play will often have you juggling multiple systems in high-pressure situations.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
It's safe to say that PUBG was the progenitor of the recent battle royale trend and influenced similar games that followed (including Fortnite). PUBG plays much closer to a military sim, which makes sense given that the game's roots can be traced back to the battle royale mods for the ARMA games. Player movement is much more deliberate and slower paced, and the damage and ballistics models lean a bit closer towards realism compared to Call of Duty and Fortnite. Weapons require more precision to use effectively, but attachments--like scopes and grips--can make them viable in cases they wouldn't be otherwise. Airdropped supply crates offer powerful gear, but of course pose the risk of enemies preying on you as you loot.
There's no construction or special abilities in PUBG, making combat more about situational awareness and the right tactical decisions. Smoke grenades and flashbangs are your main supplements to your aiming skills. Cars, motorbikes, and boats can get you around maps a lot faster than simply staying on foot, but they can help pull you out of tough spots, too. As a result, firefights feel much more tense and the anticipation of encounters can be harrowing. If you get caught in a vulnerable position, there's very little you can do but lament your mistakes.
PUBG now sports multiple maps that emphasize different styles of play. Erangel acts as the traditional large-scale map with foliage and forestry filling gaps between towns, while Miramar leaves you a sitting duck in its barren desert. Sanhok offers a faster-paced match in a compact map within a tropical environment. And later this year, a fourth map will bring a snow-covered theme that's likely to present its own unique tactical opportunities. PUBG has also dabbled in alternate game types like training mode, deathmatch with respawns, and bigger team sizes. You can also choose to play in either third- or first-person matches.
Although PUBG has a price tag, microtransactions remain part of the game's economy. It now has a battle pass similar to Fortnite so you can earn different cosmetics outside of randomized loot crates you get through BP (currency earned by playing).
Which One Should You Play?
The answer to this question depends on what you're in the mood for. If two ends of a spectrum are Fortnite and PUBG, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout lies somewhere in the middle. It taps into the military-style approach while giving players tactical flexibility with perks and equipment, all based on the solid foundation the Call of Duty franchise boasts. There a few more systems at play when it comes to Fortnite but its lighthearted nature and persistent evolution make it stand out from the bunch; just know that there's no escaping the construction mechanics. If hardcore military sims are more your taste, then PUBG will be your game.
Other battle royale-style games are out there, such as the free-to-play H1Z1 on PC and PS4. H1Z1 was an early access title on Steam well before PUBG came onto the scene, and it brings a straightforward take on the mode. The Battlefield franchise's version of battle royale is coming later this year with Firestorm in Battlefield V. We know that Firestorm pits four teams of 16 against each other in what developer DICE is calling "the largest Battlefield map ever." The game launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 20.
It's October again, and that means time for Halloween festivities throughout a whole host of online games. Many announcements have already begun to outline the upcoming festivities, so we're keeping track of all the spooky specials. Many of these will be time-limited events with special rewards, like the OverwatchHalloween Terror event, so check out the active dates and plan your gaming accordingly.
Dauntless
The Dauntless Dark Harvest event will kick off in the middle of the month, casting a shadow on the hub city of Ramsgate. It will introduce a new cult known as the Unseen, who worship a Behemoth. Slayers can test their might against a new Behemoth in the Shattered Isles and stores will offer limited-time exclusive items.
Dates
Begins October 17
Fortnite
The entire season is somewhat spooky, with the Darkness Rises theme and skins like the Dire Wolf. However, a more particular Halloween theme appears to be on the way, as we've gotten a look at some special Halloween cosmetics on the way. Those include skins, back bling, gliders, and pickaxes. No word yet on what creepy world events might be ringing in the seasonal content.
Hearthstone's annual "Hallow's End" celebration starts on October 17 and lasts through Halloween on October 31. Logging in during the event will net you a free golden Witch's Cauldron card, and the Headless Horseman will return for a new Tavern Brawl starring the characters from the Monster Hunt mode. You'll also be able to take part in a dual class Arena mode, and characters will use Hallow's End emotes. Finally, the event will accompany the launch of a new Paladin hero for purchase with a new Witchwood bundle.
Killing Floor 2 has already introduced its Halloween Horrors: Monster Masquerade update. The sprawling update includes a new Monster Ball map, along with Halloween-themed looks and effects for all the zeds and bosses. Plus you can access new weapons and limited-time items to take them all down.
Overwatch's annual Halloween Terror event is once again here. Each year the Halloween Terror event continues the story of Junkenstein's monster, and this one serves up two separate PvE modes: Classic and Endless Night. The event is always a debuts several new Halloween-themed skins, emotes, sprays, and more. It is going on now through October 31, and Blizzard has revealed all the nifty new costumes.
Dates
October 9-31
Rocket League
Rocket League is bringing back its Haunted Hallows event on October 15. You can earn "Candy Corn" currency for playing online matches, which can then be used to cash in for limited cosmetics like decals, toppers, and wheels. You can also gain a Golden Pumpkin that will contain a customization item from the Nitro, Turbo, or Player's choice crates. The event will end on November 5, and your Candy Corn will expire on November 8, so make sure you cash it in fast.
The Splatoon 2 version of a Halloween gathering is a twist on its usual monthly Splatfests, appropriately named Splatoween. It will start October 19 and last through October 21, with players picking their sides in a Turf Wars between Team Trick and Team Treat. Inkopolis will also be updated with Halloween decorations, and the squid kids will get a chance at four special Splatoween headgear that can be kept after the event is over. You'll have to go through the Nintendo Switch News app to get them, however.
Sure, we've known about Captain Marvel's imminent arrival in the MCU--the movie has a release date of March 8, 2019--for a while now. But if you're anything like us, the whole thing didn't start feeling real until very recently. With our first official look at Carol and her crew of cohorts, both alien and human alike, we've finally been able to nail down and definitely confirm a number of rumored roles and character appearances that have been swirling around the internet for what feels like forever.
We've also got more info on the plot than ever before. In case you need a refresher, it goes like this. Carol Danvers is a human who, in the comics (and we can assume in the movie as well) had her genes spliced with the genes of the superpowered alien race, the Kree, which in turn gave her an incredible array of superpowers. Now, according to Entertainment Weekly's cover story, Captain Marvel will be picking up with this process (or whatever the live-action adaptation of it winds up being) already over and done with. Carol's already left Earth, embraced her newfound Kree heritage, and has been training with the Kree military outfit known as the Starforce under an "enigmatic commander" played by Jude Law. In all likelihood, Law will be playing the Kree hero, Captain Mar-Vell, but we'll get to that in a second.
EW reported that the movie will pick up with Carol returning to Earth only to find herself beset upon by another alien society, this time in the form of the Skrulls, a race of powerful shapeshifters known to infiltrate and destabilize planets by impersonating their inhabitants.
Oh, right, and all of this is set in the 1990s, an almost entirely unexplored era of the MCU, home to only a small handful of flashbacks and oblique on-screen references which leaves plenty of room for Carol to work. We also know that we're going to be seeing the 1990s version of SHIELD (complete with a digitally de-aged, two-eyed Samuel L. Jackson), meaning there's a pretty strong chance for whatever happens in Captain Marvel to dramatically and forever alter the way we see the MCU in the modern day. Expect a lot of dot-connecting and circling back to all those little moments in the last ten years worth of movies that are about to be put in an entirely new light.
Now that we've got some more information (and some official confirmation), here is the list of exactly who is playing who in Captain Marvel. You can check out the first Captain Marvel trailer and our breakdown for more.
Brie Larson -- Carol "Captain Marvel" Danvers
An airforce pilot turned superhero, Carol has spent some time away from Earth as a member of the Kree military unit the Starforce. As the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Universe, Carol represents the ultimate bridge between cosmic and terrestrial--and she's returning to earth to prove it as she faces off against a secret Skrull invasion in the 1990s. You might recognize Larson from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Room.
Jude Law -- "Enigmatic Kree Commander" (Mar-Vell? Yon-Rogg?)
We have yet to officially confirm just who Law's character actually is, but it's long been assumed he would be playing Mar-Vell, a Kree soldier who wound up with a soft spot for Earth after he was eventually exiled from his homeworld. Alternatively, Law could be playing Yon-Rogg, a Kree zealot and commander in the military. Law has previously appeared in big budget franchises like Sherlock Holmes and The Young Pope.
Ben Mendelsohn -- Talos
Previously, it had been assumed Mendelsohn joined the cast as Yon-Rogg, but EW's first look has confirmed his role as Talos, a powerful Skrull commander and leader of the invasion on Earth. Mendelsohn recently appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Ready Player One.
Lee Pace -- Ronan the Accuser
We've actually met Pace's Ronan before, back in Guardians of the Galaxy where he was working with Thanos to hunt down the Infinity Stones. Now we're going to see him in a brand new light, hopefully stripped of his genocidal urges, working as a Kree judge. Pace is reprising the role, but you'll also recognize him from the TV show Halt and Catch Fire.
Gemma Chan -- Minn-Erva
A Kree geneticist and member of the Starforce who became obsessed with modifying and purifying the Kree genetic code, Minn-Erva wanted desperately to advance her race by any means necessary, even if it meant crossing some serious ethical lines. Chan recently appeared in Crazy Rich Asians.
Samuel L. Jackson -- Nick Fury
You don't have to be an MCU fan to know exactly who Nick Fury is anymore--he's been a part of this whole thing from the very start. Finally making a major return after his post-credits-only appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, Jackson will be digitally de-aged to look like his 1990s self for this movie.
Clark Gregg -- Phil Coulson
One of the breakaway fan favorites of the MCU, Coulson hasn't actually been in the big screen universe for a while now, having made the transition to the small screen Agents of SHIELD TV show. That's about to change, however, with Coulson set to pop in, digitally de-aged like Jackson, to work in 1990s SHIELD.
Lashana Lynch -- Maria Rambeau
Rumors of Lynch's role have been swirling since her casting announcement with most fans assuming she would be playing Monica Rambeau, another woman to hold the superhero codename Captain Marvel for a time. It turns out this was partially correct--Lynch will actually be playing Maria, Monica's mother, who uses the air force call sign "Photon," another one of Monica's heroic code names. Lynch can be found in the TV shows Still Star-Crossed and Bulletproof.
While the Halloween films are most identified with the masked killer Michael Myers, there's another character just as intricately tied to the franchise. Laurie Strode, played throughout the original films by Jamie Lee Curtis, first appeared in 1978's Halloween and went on to define everything a final girl--the last surviving female horror movie victim that becomes the hero--could be.
While Curtis appeared in a number of films throughout the franchise, many wondered if she'd ever return to Halloween when it was announced Blumhouse was resurrecting the series. Interestingly, it sounds as if the movie wouldn't have happened without her.
When asked if it would have been possible to do a new Halloween without Curtis reprising her role, producer Bill Block is blunt. "It's a ten-second business conversation, and the answer is, 'you can't,'" he said.
After all, it's not as if you can simply recast someone else in such an iconic role. "We needed her or what else you're going to do?" director and co-writer David Gordon Green wondered. "I mean, you could make a cast list, but you'd just roll your eyes at it. She's the only Jamie Lee, so she's the only Laurie Strode."
For Jason Blum, another producer, as important a piece as Curtis was of the puzzle, there was one person's involvement he found more necessary. "We weren't going to do the movie without John [Carpenter]," he explained. "I hoped that Jamie was going to do the movie and prayed. But if she didn't, if she had said no, we would have."
However, according to Blum, there was a stipulation on Carpenter's involvement--Curtis signing on. "John said something interesting when we were talking before," Blum added. "He said he might not have, and if he dropped out, we would have dropped out. So maybe it would have been a whole different thing if she had said no."
In the end, fans should be thankful that Curtis loved the script and was willing to return to the role one more time. After all, if Blumhouse hadn't been the ones to bring Halloween back, someone would have eventually. And instead of what reviews are calling a great entry into the larger franchise, we could have ended up with another Halloween: Resurrection.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is at long last now available on Android without the need for an invite. The beta had previously been invite-only, but as of today you can download it to any Android device for free, without waiting. Unlike most Android games, Epic isn't offering Fortnite through the Google Play store, but instead on its official site. Here's how to download it.
Epic accompanied the announcement with recommended system specs for your Android device to get the optimal experience. You can check the list of supported devices to make sure yours fits the bill.
OS: Recommended Android 8.0 or higher, 64 bit
RAM: Recommended 4GB or higher
GPU: Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher
Plugging the official site is important, since Epic circumvented the Google Play store to release the application directly to users. That allows the studio to keep more of its profits, but has run the risk of security problems. Avoiding the safety of a known and trusted store also raises the risk of unscrupulous people confusing potential players. Most recently, dubious apps claiming to offer free V-bucks or cheats have been connected to phishing schemes. For obvious reasons, make sure to install through the official site.
Fortnite is in the middle of Season 6, dubbed Darkness Rises, with lots of spooky cosmetic items to mark the occasion. More Halloween skins appear to be on the way as well. For help unlocking all of the loot, be sure to check out our challenge guide. And if you want to make some Halloween merriment outside of Fortnite, read all about some other ongoing video game Halloween events to get into the spirit.
Fallout 76 takes place before all of the other games in the franchise, featuring one of the control Vaults that was meant to re-colonize the surface after the radiation threat had passed. That puts it in a unique place that could run into continuity errors with the existing canon. Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines explained to GameSpot how the studio is balancing its storytelling needs with the story so far.
"Our developers take things like lore and canon seriously and if they're going to do something they're going to make sure that there's a real and defensible reason for it," he said. "We have proven with Elder Scrolls games, we're willing to say 'Well lots of people will say things happened one way,' and the opposite or something else could entirely be true. So there's no question that we've gone back to change things to fit what developers have wanted to do and not be beholden to something that somebody wrote 20 years ago even in franchises that we created like the Elder Scrolls.
He continued: "But having said that, we don't take it lightly to just go 'Ah, we're just going to do whatever the hell we want.' There has to be a thought process--what is the rationale? Why would this logically work in this time? Why would there be super mutants, or the Brotherhood of Steel? How does that all fit and hold together? There's absolutely reasons and explanations for how all that ties to Fallout 76."
Bethesda previously explained that given the time period of Fallout 76, some factions like Raiders simply don't make sense for the world. Instead, that enemy type has been filled by a new, half-feral race of Ghouls called the Scorched. Plus it reasons that some of the mutated enemies will be bigger and stronger than we've seen before, since it's closer to the time when the bombs fell.
We're now well into the new month, which means media giant Netflix is releasing a plethora of new content on its streaming service. Starting on the first of October, new movies, TV series, and Netflix originals will continue trickling out onto the service, with new content being added pretty much daily. It can be a lot to go through, but don't worry, we will be highlighting some choice picks for you to check out. Here's what new on Netflix for October 2018.
Returning for a second season is the adult animated comedy Big Mouth. Comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney star as two adolescent boys going through puberty. The raunchy series has the duo trying to understand life, girls, and everything else while dealing with hormone monsters and uncomfortable moments in early sexuality. It's out now.
Speaking of returning Netflix originals, Castlevania comes back for a second helping on October 26. The series follows Trevor Belmont as he fights the evil forces of Dracula. Season 1 writer Warren Ellis returns, picking up on the huge cliffhanger from last year with Alucard. This season will add more episodes for a total of eight, doubling up from Season 1's four.
As far as movies and television go, October 1 saw Netflix release most of its content. Out of everything that hit that day, you'll want to watch/rewatch the classic '80s adventure movie The NeverEnding Story or the first rated-R Marvel movie that matters--sorry, Dolph Lundgren's The Punisher--Blade. Additionally, Blade II will be available as well. Also, Season 4 of Gotham is coming to Netflix as well, and you can see just how crazy this series has become for yourself.
Sadly, there are a few great items leaving the service as well. The fantastic comedy series Freaks and Geeks left on October 1, along with Sin City and The Lost Boys. Even though Halloween is right around the corner, The Babadook is headed out on October 14 and V/H/S 2 leaves on October 24.
Check out the complete list of everything coming and going from Netflix below, and if you're looking for more news from streaming services, we have complete October arrivals lists from Hulu and Amazon Prime Video as well.
Here's what's coming to Netflix in October
Available October 1
Angel Eyes
Anger Management
Billy Madison
Black Dynamite
Blade
Blade II
Blazing Saddles
Empire Records
Gotham: Season 4
Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain
Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny
Must Love Dogs
My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship
Mystic River
New York Minute
Once Upon a Time in America
Pay It Forward
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Rumble in the Bronx
She's Out of My League
Sommersby
The Dead Pool
The Devil's Advocate
The Green Mile
The Lake House
The NeverEnding Story
The Shining
V for Vendetta
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Available October 2
Joe Rogan: Strange Times-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
MeatEater: Season 7-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Available October 3
Truth or Dare (2017)
Avail. 10/4/18
Creeped Out-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Violet Evergarden: Special: Extra Episode
Available October 5
Big Mouth: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dancing Queen-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Élite-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Empire Games-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Little Things: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Malevolent-- NETFLIX FILM
Private Life-- NETFLIX FILM
Super Monsters Save Halloween-- NETFLIX FILM
Super Monsters: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Rise of Phoenixes-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL (Streaming Every Friday)
YG Future Strategy Office-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 6
Little Things: Season 1
Available October 8
Disney's Sofia the First: Season 4
Mo Amer: The Vagabond-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 9
Terrace House: Opening New Doors: Part 4-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 10
22 July-- NETFLIX FILM
Pacto de Sangue-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 11
Salt Fat Acid Heat-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Schitt's Creek: Season 4
Available October 12
Apostle-- NETFLIX FILM
Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil-- NETFLIX FILM
Feminists: What Were They Thinking?-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
FightWorld-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
ReMastered: Who Shot the Sheriff-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Tarzan and Jane: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Boss Baby: Back in Business: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Haunting of Hill House-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Kindergarten Teacher-- NETFLIX FILM
Available October 15
Octonauts: Season 4
The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 16
Ron White: If You Quit Listening, I'll Shut Up-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 19
Accidentally in Love-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Ask the Doctor-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever.: Limited Series-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Derren Brown: Sacrifice-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Distrito salvaje-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Gnome Alone-- NETFLIX FILM
Haunted-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Hip-Hop Evolution: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Illang: The Wolf Brigade-- NETFLIX FILM
Larva Island-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Making a Murderer: Part 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Marvel's Daredevil: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Night Comes For Us-- NETFLIX FILM
Wanderlust-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 21
Robozuna-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 23
ADAM SANDLER 100% FRESH-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 24
Bodyguard-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 25
Great News: Season 2
Available October 26
Been So Long-- NETFLIX FILM
Castlevania: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dovlatov-- NETFLIX FILM
Jefe-- NETFLIX FILM
Shirkers-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Terrorism Close Calls-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 27
Girl from Nowhere-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available October 28
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL (Streaming Every Sunday)
Available October 30
Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Illustrias Geocentric Theory-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Halloween is approaching, and despite a previous leak of some themed cosmetics, it appears Fortnite has even more up its sleeve. While the big recent skin news involved the return of the Skull Trooper outfit, the most recent update, v6.02, has been datamined and revealed another round of skins, back bling, gliders, and pickaxes.
Fortnite Intel reports on the new cosmetics. The new skins include the pumpkin-spicy Jack Gourdon and Hollowhead, plague doctors Plague and Scourge, Bullseye, and Skull Ranger. New pickaxes include the Skull Sickle, Heralds Wand, and Carver. Those are joined by the Crypt Cruiser, Mouldering Cloak, Arcanum, Dismal Cape, and Lamplight. New emotes appear to include Sprinkler, Electro Swing, Look At This, and Head Bang.
Of course, the datamined leak doesn't give much indication of when we can expect to see these new cosmetics making the rounds. They're Halloween-themed, which narrows it down to this month, but other than that they could hit anytime.
The 6.02 update also added the limited-time Disco Domination mode, a Quad rocket launcher, and various bug fixes and balance tweaks. As noted above, it also brought back the Skull Trooper, but requires a challenge completion to unlock its associated back bling.
In addition to the other frightful skins previously leaked, the whole season has a dark and foreboding tone to it. "Darkness Rises" is the season's theme, as an island floats above the game map powered by our favorite mysterious cube, Kevin. Plus the new Season 6 skins include plenty of Halloween merriment like the Dire Wolf, which makes you more and more werewolf-like as you level it up.
For more on other Halloween happenings in video games, check out our round-up of the best Halloween events this year.
The wildly popular Fortnite is coming back to retail stores next month, separate from the previously announced Fortnite Switch bundle. A special bundle being produced in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive has been revealed and will be released in just a few weeks. The Fortnite: Deep Freeze Bundle will hit the US on November 13 for $30 and the UK on November 16 for £25. It will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, and a digital equivalent of the bundle will also be available through the in-game store for those who don't care about having a box to put on their shelf.
The bundle includes the free-to-play game Fortnite: Battle Royale--which presumably means it excludes the Save the World mode--along with the Frostbite outfit/skin, Cold Front glider, Chill-Axe pickaxe, Freezing Point back bling, and 1,000 V-Bucks to buy yourself some other snazzy new gear of your choice or a Battle Pass. The box on store shelves will contain a voucher code for the content, instead of a disc.
This is one of the cheaper retail options for Fortnite, though if you're in the market for a console as well, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One have options as well. Those include some special skins and V-Bucks for good measure. If you just want a particularly good deal on V-Bucks themselves, you can grab the Ace Bundle for a better price than usual.
If you've already gotten your hands on the Season 6 Battle Pass and need some help grinding out its many rewards, check out our challenge guide. Meanwhile we're waiting for some updates that have been leaked in one way or another--a new rocket launcher and some spooky Halloween merriment, to be exact.
Among the most notable aspects of the Destiny 2weekly reset is the latest Ascendant Challenge for those who own the Forsaken DLC. This is another instance we haven't seen before, though it might be the last original one for the time being before existing ones are added to the rotation. Whatever the case, here's where to find the Taken portal and what to do once you're inside.
As always, the first step is to pick up the Ascendant Challenge from Petra--this is what nets you a piece of Powerful gear for completing it. Once that's done, make sure you have a Tincture of Queensfoil. With that in hand, you'll enter the Lost Sector in Rheasilvia. You'll need to make your way through the entire thing, as the portal is located just behind the chest that unlocks after killing the boss. While optional, you might as well complete the Lost Sector to make things easier on yourself. With that out of the way, use the Tincture to gain the Ascendance buff, which allows you to see the Taken portal. The exact location can be seen in the video above and map below.
Jump through the portal to head to Cimmerian Garrison, located in the Ascendant Plane. Here, you'll be faced with what amounts to a gauntlet--you'll need to make your way through and kill an enemy at the end. Once you go inside, you'll be chased by three knights. As you progress, you'll have to deal with various enemies, including hobgoblins, shriekers, and thrall with yellow health bars. Take them out as you go, and you'll reach a point where you have to platform across some rocks (because it wouldn't be an Ascendant Challenge without some first-person platforming). Along the way, be mindful of the Taken corruption that will periodically explode with a blast of energy, which can send you falling you to your death if you aren't careful.
Once you're done platforming, you'll have to kill a knight to finish things out, but beware the shrieker that spawns nearby. With the knight dead, open the chest to complete the Ascendant Challenge. There may not be any special rewards inside there, but you'll get a piece of Powerful gear for turning in the associated bounty.
The new Ascendant Challenge is a welcome activity, particularly considering that Spider's big weekly bounty is a repeat of Wanted: Gravetide Summoner. That's another way to net yourself some Powerful gear ahead of Festival of the Lost, the Halloween-themed event that begins on October 16. Also launching on that day is the first of two big updates releasing this month.
Not long after being fired from his role on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, director James Gunn has found himself with a job at Marvel rival DC. Gunn has been confirmed as the writer of a new Suicide Squad movie, and shortly after the news broke, one of his Guardians stars has expressed interest in working on the film. [Update: Bautista isn't the only one approving of the news, as Suicide Squad director David Ayer has also given it the thumbs up.]
Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the Guardians series, tweeted an article about Gunn's new role. He stated simply: "Where do I sign up!" Just who he could play is anyone's guess, though King Shark is a popular idea among some here at GameSpot.
It's possible Bautista was only expressing interest in watching the movie, but he has been extremely supportive of Gunn since Disney fired him over tweets from a decade ago. While the full cast of stars released a letter in support of Gunn, Bautista has been particularly outspoken on the subject. He's even said he wants to be let out of his contract if Gunn's Guardians 3 script isn't ultimately used.
Where do I sign up! James Gunn Boards 'Suicide Squad 2' To Write And Possibly Direct – Deadline https://t.co/OwdDbAm1Ks
Guardians 3 was set to begin production early next year ahead of a 2020 release, but the movie has been put on hold indefinitely, according to previous statements from Bautista. Gunn, meanwhile, just saw his new horror movie delayed.
There's no word yet on what the new Suicide Squad will look like, nor whether it will be a direct sequel to the maligned 2016 film. It was at least previously set to be directed by The Accountant's Gavin O'Connor, although an io9 report suggests Gunn could direct the movie in addition to writing it.
Fortnite's weekly challenges are set to refresh on October 11 but, ahead of that, leaks have indicated what players will need to do to grab this week's Battle Stars. Fortnite Intel reports that there will be three challenges in the free section and four in the paid Battle Pass section, as is standard. And it seems developer Epic Games is leaning into the Halloween angle for a couple of them--although not as much as with the new Skull Trooper challenges.
[Update: Week 3 challenges are now live, and while the leaked list proved to be mostly correct, it was not entirely accurate. Most notably, the trickiest challenge of the week isn't in the leaks--it involves taking part in timed trials, which work like those seen last season.]
For Week 3, along with asking players to revive five people in different matches and embarking on a multi-stage quest started by opening a chest in Lonely Lodge, you'll need to ring the doorbell of a house with an opponent inside five times, likely as a nod to trick or treating. Currently the game only allows you to interact with doors by opening and closing them, so it's likely a new animation or interaction of some sort will be rolled out when the challenges go live.
Other noteworthy challenges include hitting a player with a tomato from 20 meters away or more and shooting three targets at five different galleries. Take a look at the full list of leaked challenges below. It's important to note that, in the past, leaked challenges haven't been 100 percent accurate, with some challenges being different from early reports.
Free Challenges
Revive a player in different matches (5) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Search a chest in Lonely Lodge (1) -- 5 Battle Stars
Ring the doorbell of a house with an opponent inside (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Stage 1: Visit Risky Reels and Wailing Woods in a single match (2) -- 1 Battle Star
Hit a player with a Tomato 20m away or more (1000) -- 5 Battle Stars
Shoot 3 targets at different Shooting Galleries (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate an opponent in different matches (10) -- 10 Battle Stars
Fortnite Update 6.02 is now available and it introduces the new Disco Domination Limited Time Mode. This gameplay mode tasks players with travelling to dance floors around the map and then getting their boogie on. Busting some moves raises a disco ball over the dance floor, which effectively means it's being captured. Once a floor is captured a progress bar appears and is topped up. As you capture more floors, the bar fills, and the first team to reach 100 percent wins. You can find out more about the mode, as well as the new Quad Launcher weapon, in the Fortnite 6.02 patch notes.
If you're still working on last week's challenges, check out our guide on where to go to complete the Visit Corrupted Areas challenge. And if you've got even more outstanding challenges, head over to our full Season 6 challenge roundup to get help with it all.
Update: When reached for comment, Warner Bros. told GameSpot, "It is confirmed that James Gunn is writing the next installment of the Suicide Squad franchise." That means it's no longer a possibility, but Gunn has indeed signed on to write the next Suicide Squad movie. It remains to be seen whether he will also direct the project, though it was reported that is a distinct possibility.
Furthermore, Guardians star Dave Bautista has seemingly expressed interest in starring in Gunn's new movie. Just what role he'd play (or if this was even his intention) remains to be seen, but Bautista has been a vocal supporter of Gunn since Disney fired him.
Also speaking out on the subject has been David Ayer, director of the first Suicide Squad. For his part, he thinks the choice of Gunn was a wise one. The original story follows.
It looks like Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has found his rebound relationship after being dumped by Marvel Studios. It's being reported that Gunn is in talks to jump to Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, where he would write and possibly direct the next Suicide Squad movie.
The news comes from io9, which is reporting that Warner Bros. has confirmed discussions with Gunn. The plan, at this point, is for him to write the sequel "with an eye to direct." According to io9, the man behind Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2 will have "a completely new take on the property."
This all comes after Gunn was fired by Marvel Studios from helming the third Guardians of the Galaxy film, after a series of old tweets resurfaced. Thus far, Disney, which owns Marvel Studios, has not announced a replacement director for Gunn or whether it will use the script he'd already written for the movie. However, star Dave Bautista (Drax) has publicly said if the script isn't used, he would ask to be released from his contract.
The tweets in question were from nearly a decade ago, in which Gunn made jokes about rape and pedophilia. Though Gunn had previously apologized for the messages and did so when they resurfaced, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a statement, "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."
Since then, the entire Guardians cast has signed a public letter supporting their director, while the third installment in the franchise has been put on hold indefinitely, according to Bautista. The film was reportedly scheduled to start production in early 2019, with a projected release in 2020.
Gunn joining the project will likely mean an even longer wait for Suicide Squad 2, though there was very little indication of when fans would see the movie anyway. It was reported over a year ago that The Accountant director Gavin O'Connor would helm the film, but there's been no real news since then.
In the meantime, a new Joker film, starring Joaquin Phoenix, has gone into production, while Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is set to appear in a Birds of Prey movie. Now, with Gunn potentially taking on Suicide Squad 2, DC's villains could be in good shape for the coming years.
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