History Channel has ventured into the world of reality competition shows, and thus far, they've all been a lot of fun. Forged in Fire has weaponeers forging their own weapons. Knife or Death--hosted by WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg--puts bladesmith's weapons through a rigerous gauntlet to test its durability. And now, Knight Fight--hosted by WWE's Jay "Christian" Reso--has competitors in full armor fighting each other with actual weapons.
On the surface, the idea of armored warriors fighting each other is exceptionally appealing, until you start asking yourself, "How do they do this without killing each other?" According to one of the show's judges and host, Reso, it's all pretty safe. "Most of them are from a league called, The Armor Combat League," Reso told GameSpot. "And they do have their own armor that they feel comfortable in and they do have a tendency to lean towards certain weapons, like all the weapons that are used in the show itself, are blunted, but they're full size, scale, everything of the originals."
The show itself seems like a crazy idea, but even considering everything is about as safe as you can make it, Knight Fight is still a wild concept for a series. The first promo for the show, which you can see below, lean heavy towards non-stop action.
"It's got a little bit of everything in it," continued Reso. "Action and obviously, with the interviews and stuff that we do with the Knights themselves, the competitors. Their personalities shine through in that, of course you have different personalities and different sized of each competitor, which also makes it interesting."
While these real-life knights are beating the hell out of each other in battle, one thing Reso found compelling was how they treated each other after each round. "The thing was the camaraderie to me that the guys had. I mean, they're in there dealing out punishment and taking punishment, in between rounds they're kind of shouting over to one each other from across the ring asking, as in, 'Hey, good round?' or, 'You okay?' or things like that. The sportsmanship, the camaraderie is what kind of, like you said, the brutality of it and the action and how much each competitor wanted to win, but at the end of it, they were all shaking hands, patting each other on the back and making sure they were all right."
The winners will combat each other every week until there's only one knight standing for the season finale, and they'll go home with $10,000 and a championship belt. You can watch the madness unfold for yourself when Knight Fight comes to History Channel on Wednesday, January 23 at 10 PM ET / PT.
If you're looking for something new to play on Xbox One--and you have an Xbox Live Gold subscription--then you're in luck. As part of its next Free Play Days promotion, Microsoft is giving Gold members a chance to try out three titles at no charge this weekend.
From now through January 20, Gold subscribers can download and play Override: Mech City Brawl, Metro 2033 Redux, and Metro: Last Light Redux for free. You'll have full access to each throughout the trial period, and you can keep your Gamerscore and any achievements you earn if you decide to pick the titles up after the free weekend ends.
To jump into the games, simply download them from the Gold member area on your Xbox One's dashboard. Each is also discounted as part of this week's Xbox One game sale, so you can pick them up for cheap if you're interested in continuing your adventures. The sale prices will be available through January 21.
Microsoft regularly offers free weekends for select games through its Free Play Days promotion. Last weekend, Xbox Live Gold members could download and play Halo 5: Guardians at no charge. Subscriptions cost $10 for one month, $25 for three months, and $60 for one year.
The free play weekend is a good opportunity to revisit Metro 2033 and Last Light, as the next installment in the series, Metro Exodus, is set to launch on February 15--a week earlier than originally scheduled. Unlike its predecessors, Exodus features some large, sandbox-like environments, although we thought the game feels best when it sticks to its roots.
A major change is happening at Pixar. Lee Unkrich, the longtime creative team member that directed films like Coco and Toy Story 2, has announced his departure from the animation studio. The news was shared in a simple tweet, reading, "After twenty-five incredible years, I've decided to leave Pixar. The time has come for new adventures."
While he doesn't specify what those adventures are, it seems his plan is not to jump to another studio. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Unkrich explained, "I'm not leaving to make films at another studio; instead, I look forward to spending much-needed time with my family and pursuing interests that have long been back-burnered."
After twenty-five incredible years, I've decided to leave Pixar.
He leaves the company with no further projects in the pipeline, though he is one of those responsible for the story of the upcoming Toy Story 4. His departure comes at an interesting time for Pixar, shortly after the news that former boss John Lasseter--who was ousted from the company in 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct--was named head of Skydance Animation.
Unkrich started at Pixar in 1994 as the company was working on the original Toy Story, a movie in which he served as editor. From there he was involved in a number of titles for the company, including co-directing Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo. His most recent film for the studio, Coco, won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 2018 Academy Awards.
Where Unkrich goes from here may be a mystery, but those at Disney and Pixar aren't holding back their well-wishes for the animator. "Lee arrived at Pixar as we were crafting Toy Story, and he's had a profound effect on all Pixar films since. He literally taught us rookie filmmakers about staging, composition, and cutting," Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter told THR. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn added, "Lee has left an indelible mark on the world of film, and we are so grateful for the passion and talent he has brought to each movie he has worked on. He'll always be part of the Disney-Pixar family, and we will miss him."
Atlus has released a new trailer for Catherine: Full Body. The trailer depicts some of the more graphic scenes from the game.
The new Catherine: Full Body trailer was put together in a joint partnership between Atlus and Japanese pop-rock band Sekai No Owari, according to Game Informer. The video features one of the band's songs, titled Re:set. Beginning with remastered scenes from the original Catherine, the trailer eventually starts showcasing some of the new cutscenes included in Full Body.
The trailer itself is still in Japanese, and hasn't been translated with subtitles yet. However, based on this trailer, it looks like the inclusion of Rin--a new love interest vying for the attention of protagonist Vincent against the titular Catherine and Katherine--is going to create new outcomes to certain plot points that were not seen in the original game's story.
Rin isn't the only new addition to Full Body in comparison to the original Catherine. Atlus has announced the game will have a Safety mode, which, according to Gematsu, will allow you "to skip stages you have not cleared with the press of a button, and solely enjoy the event scenes." Full Body will also feature online battles and new difficulty levels as well. Although Atlus has not confirmed DLC for Full Body outside of Japan, Gematsu did notice that the Japanese version of the game is getting some. If the same expansions launch in North America and Europe, we can expect plenty of bundles that include different voices for Catherine, with each one performed by a different actress.
Catherine: Full Body is releasing for PS4 and PS Vita in Japan on February 14. The game has been confirmed to launch in both North America and Europe for PS4, but an official release date has not been announced.
When the original Catherine released in 2011, we gave it an 8.5/10 in our review, describing the game as a "story-heavy puzzler" that is "mature and occasionally profound" in its exploration of "sexual fidelity, personal responsibility, and trust." Originally only available on consoles, Catherine was ported to PC in January 2019.
Niantic is kicking off a new type of event in Pokemon Go this weekend. On Saturday, January 19, the studio is holding the game's first-ever Limited Research event, which will feature special Field Research tasks--and an opportunity to catch a new Shiny Pokemon--for a limited time.
Much like Pokemon Go's monthly Community Days, the Limited Research event will only run for three hours. During that window of time, you'll be able to receive special Limited Research tasks when you spin the Photo Disc at a PokeStop. These tasks can be completed at any time after you've obtained them, but they'll only be distributed during the event hours, and you'll only get one from each PokeStop you visit.
Every Limited Research task will culminate in an encounter with Feebas, the first form of the majestic Water Pokemon Milotic. Additionally, Niantic says you'll have a chance of coming across a Shiny Feebas, making this the first time this particular Shiny will be available in the game. You can find the event hours for each region below.
On top of the Limited Research event, Niantic is holding a big Hoenn celebration in Pokemon Go right now. Until January 29, Gen 3 Pokemon will appear much more frequently in the wild. Moreover, you'll have a chance of catching Shiny variants of Zigzagoon and Taillow, while any Shroomish you evolve into Breloom will learn the move Grass Knot.
The Gen 3 Legendaries Groudon and Kyogre have also returned as part of the Hoenn celebration, giving you another chance to add them to your collection. There are new Field Research tasks revolving around Gen 3 Pokemon as well, and new avatar items based on Team Aqua and Team Magma--the villainous teams from Ruby and Sapphire--are available in the game's Style Shop.
GameStop reported its sales results for the 2018 holiday season, which showed the company suffering decreases to many of its top revenue generators. Hardware, software, and pre-owned sales all decreased in the 2018 season, whereas accessories and digital currency grew.
The total global sales for holiday 2018 were $2.63 billion, which was a 5% decrease compared to the 2017 holiday period. But that compares the nine weeks ending January 5, 2019 to the nine weeks ending December 30, 2017, which the store notes isn't a comparable sales period. By shifting the sales periods to end on January 5 and January 6, respectively, total store sales increased 1.5%. That includes a 3.6% increase in the US that helped offset a 3.1% decrease internationally.
The company also broke down several types of revenue for comparison. New hardware sales were down 6.1%, due to the Xbox One X launch in 2017. It says this was partially offset by the growth in Nintendo Switch sales. New software decreased 8.3%, due mostly to Black Ops 4 launching outside of the holiday window in October 2018, versus Call of Duty WW2 in November 2017. Its pre-owned sales declined 16.4%. Technology brands sales were not included in the comparable store sale measure, but decreased 19.3% due to a decrease in store traffic.
Some revenue streams did grow, however. Accessories grew 28.7% based on controller and headset sales, whereas collectibles increased 3.7%, and digital receipts (such as digital currency) increased 16.8%.
Despite the mixed news, GameStop sales were up today, rising 1.01% to $15.93. At one point it even hit its highest figures since September. This all comes amid reports that GameStop could be up for sale itself, as two private equity companies seem interested in the purchase. That deal may reportedly be finalized by mid-February.
A new Power Rangers fighting game, titled Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, has been announced. Despite featuring characters from the mobile game, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, Battle for the Grid is a brand-new title that's been designed with consoles in mind.
According to a tweet from the official Battle for the Grid Twitter account, the game will "feature a completely brand new battle mechanic" in comparison to Legacy Wars, as well as "different movesets" for each fighter. Hasbro creative director Jason Bischoff tweeted that Battle for the Grid would include both a story mode and online PvP, DLC content, and both cross-play and cross-progression across systems. He added that, unlike Legacy Wars, Battle for the Grid would not be free-to-play.
An announcement trailer for Battle for the Grid teases what combat in the new game looks like. On Battle for the Grid's official website, combat is described as being "easy to learn but hard to master" with the challenge coming from knowing "when to strike, not how."
Battle for the Grid features heroes and villains from throughout the Power Ranger franchise's years of TV shows, movies, and comics. The announcement trailer sees Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger v2, who's still the best version of Tommy Oliver, taking on both Mighty Morphin' Red Ranger and Super Megaforce Yellow Ranger. Battle for the Grid's website also confirms Lord Drakkon--an alternate universe version of Mighty Morphin' Tommy Oliver who went on to become an evil Green/White Ranger hybrid that desires to destroy every Ranger across the multiverse--will be in the game as well. According to the game's website, there are 11 more characters scheduled for the game, but their identities have not been revealed.
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC in April 2019. If you pre-order the game, you'll receive the Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger v2 character skin.
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