During publisher Focus Home Interactive's latest gameplay walkthrough of The Surge 2, developer Deck13 Interactive revealed the upcoming Souls-like game is borrowing another feature that's prominently included in From Software's Soulsborne games. Like in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, you'll be able to leave behind messages in The Surge 2 for other players to discover in their game if they're playing online.
"Here you can see our new online feature, one of our several new online features," Deck13 head of game design Adam Hetenyi said in the video, which can be watched below. "Players can craft these graffiti messages and place them in the world using a spray can attached to their drone. You can leave messages for other players: friendly things like, 'There's loot over here,' or 'Oh no, a dangerous sniper.'"
Though the rest of the video did detail several other changes between The Surge 2 and its predecessor, such as more intelligent AI behavior and a directional parry mechanic, Hetenyi did not discuss any of the other new online features alluded to in his comment. For now, all we know for sure is that these other features are not related to co-op play. Back in June 2018, during an interview with Twinfinite, Deck13 creative director Jan Klose said, "We really do love multiplayer gaming, and right now we have planned lots of online features there. There's no synchronous co-op or multiplayer gameplay planned right now, but so far we're starting with some online features where you can influence other gamer's experience in a way."
The Surge 2 is currently scheduled to release on September 24 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Though similar to its predecessor, Deck13 has announced The Surge 2 will be more tactical when it comes to limb-targeting during combat. The fairly linear mission structure of the first game has also been ditched for a more open-ended one that allows players to fight or overcome obstacles in more than one way.
2017's The Surge is a Souls-like game that differentiates itself from Dark Souls with its dismemberment mechanic, which allows you to target and cut off specific body parts of enemies to steal the armor, tech, or weapons attached to them. In GameSpot's The Surge review, Daniel Starkey wrote, "[The Surge] is far from perfect, but none of its problems are deal breakers. They're minor bumps that come from an otherwise inventive, exciting new entry in a packed sub-genre. It bucks the trend towards creative bankruptcy, adopting some fresh ideas and layering those together with aesthetics, tone, and play to create an inspired adventure."
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is off to a fast start, and soon you'll be able to meet up with other wizards and witches in real life as part of an official event. Niantic and WB Games have announced a real-world event or Wizards Unite to take place in Indianapolis starting on August 31.
During the event, participating SOS operatives can explore the White River State Park to find magical activity spilling over into the Muggle world. You'll be able to encounter fantastic beasts, find artifacts, and cast spells out in the wide open space of the park. As the first major event, Niantic hints that it will start to unravel the mystery of the Calamity that has smashed magic into Muggle spaces.
Tickets will be available for purchase, but Niantic appears to be expecting a crowd and will be setting up a lottery system for tickets. You can check the official event site for more details and watch for your chance to enter the lottery. The event will take place August 31 through September 1.
Niantic has hosted similar events for Pokemon Go on a fairly regular basis. Those events have typically also had some element or prize that goes out to those who couldn't attend as well.
"Real-world events are part of Niantic's DNA, bringing players from all walks of life together in the name of adventure, exploration and creating lasting friendships," said Niantic live events VP Bill Kilday, in the announcement. "The incredible White River State Park is surrounded by the rich culture and history of Indianapolis and will be the perfect location for our inaugural Harry Potter: Wizards Unite event."
By the late '90s, with Street Fighter II's saturation reaching an exhaustion point and Mortal Kombat's hoary violence no longer a unique draw, the arcade--that place of social gathering, low light, and the booming sounds of attract screens--began to wither. But like most nostalgic things, arcades have made a slow return as the millennium reached its teens. 1980's nostalgia took off. Gen X and millennials grew up, as did their disposable income. It took a decade--two even--but arcade games made their comeback. Looking at the rising collector's market for vintage machines and the likes of Wal-Mart embracing machines with their shelf space, it's almost like they never left.
There are now a range of home arcade games to choose from, from My Arcade's roughly six-inch plastic replicas, foot-tall Replicade collectibles, and Arcade 1Up's four-foot in-between scale machines. Both My Arcade and Arcade 1Up reached the shelves of Wal-Mart, penetrating the vaunted mainstream consumer market. We've even seen SNK release a mini-arcade machine, and Capcom has licensed its games to Koch Media, who will issue a $250, two-player arcade stick with 16 Capcom arcade games included. No more hauling machines with 300- to 400-pound frames. The arcade of 2019 can fit anywhere.
But why now? Shiloh Prychak founded Replicade based on the idea of selling foot-tall, accurate replicas of the most beloved arcade machines. He saw the market, ran a successful Kickstarter, and now sells a $99 replica of Tempest (and others) at a fraction of the real scale. "When I had the concept to shrink down the cabinets to sixth scale, there was basically only a company called Basic Fun," says Prychack. "Basic Fun made a Centipede and Q*Bert running NES ROMs. That was the only thing on the competitive landscape, plus a host of unlicensed products. The idea was, let's make the best collectible [for] these uber classic games… the idea was to build your own miniaturized arcade in your office… now you've got all sorts of people doing the same thing," said Prychack.
Replicade's 1/6 scale replica of Atari's Centipede.
Blane Humphries works in PR for My Arcade, a company who also saw the potential in revisiting arcade games, and at a smaller scale still--around eight inches. "I feel that the interest in retro-era games is different between groups of people. There are those of us who lived through the time and are going back because of nostalgia, but there is also a whole new generation of young gamers discovering these games for the first time. With the rise of gamer as an identity, and esports, kids want to be knowledgeable about the history of the culture," he writes in an email response.
It's crowded out there, though. Replicade found a niche targeting hardcore collectors with their online-only, $99 mini-machines designed as an accessory of sorts to the real thing. My Arcade produces plastic replicas that nestle comfortably in Wal-Mart's toy department for the more casual consumer. These enter a competitive market alongside cheap consoles stuffed with arcade ROMs. Why buy a machine with one or two games when another exists with 30 or more?
"My Arcade's signature Micro Players are meant to be collectibles, comparable to small-scale figurines, and are more about the entire visual and packaging. The 8-bit games on them are great and make for a fun playable collectible while maintaining a price point that encourages our customers to collect them," writes Humphries.
For Prychak, it's an entirely different market. "We're not for everybody. If what you're looking for is the Data East collection and you're okay with the games being less than perfect, you're not for us. If you want the real artwork and the real profile of the cabinet and all this attention to detail and high-quality finish, we make our cabinets out of wood, our coin doors are die-cast metal, the stickers we use the proper type of vinyl, the LED temperature is correct, not to mention you're playing Centipede with a trackball. You're playing Tempest with rotary controls. All these things add on to our value. We're just trying to give you the ultimate experience," says Prychak.
SNK also entered the mini-arcade market in 2018 with its NEOGEO Mini multi-game machine. Despite having a large library of beloved games, the technical execution left the dedicated fanbase with divided opinions.
Customer reviews for MyArcade, Replicade, and Arcade 1Up vary wildly across Amazon and Wal-Mart. It's clear these machines do not replicate the durability of the real thing, from broken trackballs on Replicade offerings to MyArcade's that fail to power on at all and Arcade 1Up's decals that fade with mild use. Others find them to be a "little masterpiece" according to one Amazon user speaking of Replicade. From the 2018 Christmas rush, it appears Arcade 1Up made for fine gift-giving. Conversely, Capcom's upcoming arcade stick has come under fire for using an open source emulator.
Arcades breaking into the mainstream doesn't mean this is all contained in the home; that just makes things accessible to a mainstream shopper who's happy enough with a facsimile of the real deal. Longtime arcade game collectors, on the other hand, started using their full-size vintage cabinets to recreate the unmistakable atmosphere of true arcades.
Take California's Megan and Shawn Livernoche. Via auction, they purchased their first arcade cabinet in 2007. In time, their one-bedroom New Jersey apartment became so crowded with actual hardware, their multi-piece sectional became a single piece. A dining room table? That went too. "Once we got to like 15 or 16 games in our one bedroom apartment, it started to not make a lot of sense," says Megan, laughing as she recalls the memory of that packed living room.
Then they moved all of this cross-country to California and opened High Scores Arcade in Alameda. Shawn saw the market explode even before the advent of things like Arcade 1Up, and a time when the collector's market for actual games was weak. "Before the prices ballooned out of control, people just wanted to get rid of [arcade games]. They were sitting in warehouses. They were no longer of contemporary value to the video game market. That kind of changed around 2010 or so," says Shawn.
"Here we are trying to re-interest people in arcade culture, bending over backwards to keep these old dinosaur machines running," says Shawn. Megan quickly replied, "And if people can just buy them at Wal-Mart, what does that say about the real thing?"
What caused that jump in collectibility? "King of Kong drew a ton of people in back into it," says Shawn, referencing a 2007 documentary that chronicled a battle for the world record score in Donkey Kong. "There was still a kind of community that existed, even though it wasn't prevalent like it is today with the barcades. The community existed," said Shawn. Also, Disney's 2012 animated film Wreck-It Ralph brought arcade characters to the forefront and used an arcade as its central story piece.
Both in their 30s, Megan and Shawn represent the expected audience for arcades--those who grew up alongside Missile Command and Defender. But then comes Steven Van Splinter, a 20-year-old who represents the demographic noted by My Arcade. Van Splinter started tinkering with older pinball machines, fascinated by their mechanics. He was only 16 when he acquired his first cabinet in 2014. Now, he's opening a museum/arcade called Gameseum in his home state of Pennsylvania. He first discovered a small collection of older machines at a campground, an example of the arcade's far-reaching impact.
"I experienced this arcade phenomenon in my own little way. Probably 10 to 20 years after the heyday, but in a way, it was the same kind of experience. It's interesting how that reflected on me, that similar, same experience," says Van Splinter.
Those who run arcades and collect original hardware see the purpose of these mainstream home machines, even if they ultimately don't see them as replacements. "Most of the purists have really negative opinions of them because they're cheap and junky compared to the real thing. But I recognize they serve a certain purpose for the regular consumer. Even those people recognize they're not the real thing and they're more of a toy but it runs the real software for the game," says Van Splinter.
No matter what lengths new companies go to in order to recreate the true arcade experience from the '80s and '90s, there's no way to authentically duplicate the distinct look of a CRT, as seen here, despite how close some HD filters can get with simulated scanlines and bloom effects.
"The reason why we're in our business, there's something about the environment of the actual cabinet. You want to be able to play with those original controls. They were designed to be enveloped with their art," says Megan.
Shawn doesn't agree. "I feel like they're a lame, cheap attempt at capturing something in the past that some people settle for if they're not experienced or exposed enough to know what a real cabinet looks like. If you look at the [replica] cabinets, they're constructed poorly, the screens look bad, they put a bunch of games into one machine where the game and control optimization doesn't exist." Shawn also noted the price of an Arcade 1Up Machine, questioning the production cost to turn a profit. Arcade 1Up machines retail between $199 and $299.
Shawn then found a way to correlate the whole thing to the gum stuck to the underside of an arcade game's control panel. "I want you to imagine any good arcade, imagine that as a bowl of fruit that has fresh kiwi, bananas, strawberries, peaches, plums. One of these [replicas] is like a piece of gum that's strawberry, kiwi fruit, watermelon flavored. You can chew it and taste the flavor of these different things, but it's not the same thing," Shawn says.
It's a trip back to a simpler time when the limits of technology forced developers to be clever and really focus on making gameplay fun and challenging. Just like a piece of music that was written 30 to 40 years ago, these games still have the power to move us,
However, they do serve a purpose. Inaccurate to their source, yes. Impure in the eyes of collectors? Certainly. "Where they serve the market well is that any old mom or dad that wander into [a store] and say how much does it cost to put one of these in my basement? And they don't care at all about how these buttons feel or even how long it's going to last. They want a novelty sitting in their basement. For their interest level, they only need it to last a year or so. They're not going to nitpick. It's as disposable as their interest," responds Megan.
Owning an actual arcade machine, with a bit of work and additional luck, can be done for around $300, assuming this turns into a small fix-it-up hobby. Of course, issues of size and weight come into play. Grandma and Grandpa likely won't strap a real machine to their backs and drag it to their basement to get rekindle the Pac-Man affair of their youth, no matter how cheap the real thing is. Megan recounted a story of a machine falling on her leg, resulting in a broken bone.
And with Replicade, even at only a foot in height, accuracy still matters. The company sources their ROMs carefully. "We go through about 40 versions before a product is done and complete. We make sure everything is proper," says Prychack. Replicade also uses accurate controls, including trackballs, just shrunk down into a manageable scale so you can keep your couch.
All of this combined, no matter personal feelings toward Arcade 1Up or toy-like devices, it all leads to the same place: reigniting interest in a once-lost culture. The business of arcades in the home and arcades as a separate place of business survive on a co-existence. They feed one another. Wal-Mart instills the idea, the separate arcade sells the authentic nostalgia.
"These toys, the Arcade 1Ups or whatever, they're not going to affect the business. I think if anything, they're going to draw more people in. They're on that part where they're genuine enough to give the interest to people and for them to play them, but they're clearly not the real thing to nearly everyone who plays them. I would definitely say it's going to draw more people in to play the real thing. I can't see any negative effects," says Van Splinter.
"It's a trip back to a simpler time when the limits of technology forced developers to be clever and really focus on making gameplay fun and challenging. Just like a piece of music that was written 30 to -40 years ago, these games still have the power to move us," writes Humphries.
For Prychak, he sees the long- terms possibilities. This isn't just a sudden burst of those looking to recapture their youth. "The community is growing and it will continue to grow… we're just scratching the surface at this point."
The Steam Summer Sale is in full swing, and while you can currently find thousands of PC games discounted at Steam and Steam key providers like Fanatical, there's also a new free game available from the Epic Games Store. Starting June 27 and running through July 4, Last Day of June is free for Epic Store users, and once you claim the game, it's yours to keep forever. All you need is an Epic account, which is also free to create.
Last Day of June is a story-driven experience that follows Carl and June, two lovers who are relaxing at their favorite spot by the lake when a series of events leads to a tragic accident. The story takes a Groundhog Day-esque turn, and you must figure out the exact order of events and key decisions that will prevent the tragedy and save June's life.
In GameSpot's Last Day of June review, the game earned a 6 for its dreamy, watercolor-like visuals, compelling characters, and thematic approach to free will and fatalism, although critic Alex Newhouse took issue with its long loading times, unskippable cutscenes, and overall repetitiveness of the gameplay loop. "This repetitiveness is mitigated in part because of touching, relatable side characters and because Last Day of June explores the philosophical struggle between determinism and free will in a way that's fairly rare in video games," he wrote.
The main story is only a few hours long, so you might as well grab Last Day of June while it's free now--you can always come back to it later. Next week's free game is Overcooked, a fantastic co-op game with up to four players who work together in a kitchen to churn out various recipes in time, all while navigating shifting stages, kitchen fires, and other obstacles.
The ensemble in the new Ghostbusters movie, a direct sequel to Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters 2 (1989), has gotten a little bit bigger. Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd is set to star alongside Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard in the upcoming fantasy comedy.
Rudd (Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War) made the announcement via Twitter, where he posted a video of people taking photos in front of the "magnificent" Ghostbusters Firehouse building in New York. "I can't wait to join the cast this fall for Ghostbusters," Rudd said toward the end of the video. Ghostbusters is scheduled for 2020.
Along with Rudd, Ghostbusters stars Carrie Coon (Avengers: Infinity War, Gone Girl), Finn Wolfhard (Dog Days, It), and Mckenna Grace (Captain Marvel, Fuller House).
Jason Reitman is sitting in the director role, while his father Ivan will serve as the producer. According to Jason, this new Ghostbusters movie is "the next chapter in the original franchise, not a reboot." Details are scarce, but we did get a teaser trailer back in January 2019, which you can check out above.
Crunchyroll has announced Mob Psycho 100 II: The First Spirits and Such Company Trip - A Journey that Mends the Heart and Heals the Soul's international premiere will occur at Crunchyroll Expo 2019. The original video animation (OVA) is the follow-up to the second season of Mob Psycho 100, which was one of the best anime to watch during the Winter 2019 season.
The screening will premiere on Sunday, September 1. Following the viewing, Mob Psycho 100 director Yuzuru Tachikawa, character designer Yoshimichi Kameda, and voice actor Setsuo Ito will hold a panel to discuss the creation of the anime. Ito voices the titular Mob, the main protagonist of the anime. For those who can't make Crunchyroll Expo, the OVA will publicly release on September 25.
Crunchyroll describes the plot of the OVA as follows: "Mob, Reigen, Dimple, and the newest member of the Spirits and Such Consultation Office staff, Serizawa, take a trip up to a secluded hot spring called Ibogami Hot Springs in Zebra Prefecture. Reigen happened to get a request from the matron there to discover the truth behind the strange rumors going around there and save the inn. Ritsu and Teru also join in on this trip and the six of them head out on this super relaxing trip to the hot spring. But on their way there, Reigen and Serizawa start nodding off on the train and somehow get sucked into an eerie parallel world."
Made by the same folks behind the original season of One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 follows the hilarious yet action-packed misadventures of Mob, a middle-school boy who also happens to be one of the world's most powerful espers. Because of the uncontrollable nature of his powers, Mob needs to keep his emotions in check at all times, which can be difficult when you're juggling a part-time job as an exorcist and the everyday struggles of being a teenager. Where Season 1 was good, Mob Psycho 100 II raises the bar to tell one of the most beautifully wholesome anime stories of 2019.
Mob Psycho 100 II is available on Crunchyroll and VRV. This year, Crunchyroll Expo--the company's annual celebration of anime, gaming, and cosplay--will be held August 30 through September 1.
The epic storytelling of the Final Fantasy series of games will soon transition into television. Sony Pictures Television and Hivemind Productions have revealed they are partnering with Square Enix to develop a live-action adaptation of Final Fantasy XIV.
The TV series will be set in Eorzea, the same setting as the 14th main installment of the video game series. The show will feature many elements that players are long familiar with, including Chocobos and the live-action debut of Cid.
Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG, following all the standard aspects from the franchise, such as godlike beings, impending doom, magic, airships, and protagonists trying to save the world from being blown up. Following a rough launch in 2010, FFXIV was re-released in 2013 and has since established itself among the subscription-based MMOs on the market. The news of a TV show comes just ahead of the launch of the game's next expansion, Shadowbringers.
"Final Fantasy XIV and Eorzea are the perfect gateway into Final Fantasy for longtime fans and newcomers alike," said Sony Pictures Television Co-President Chris Parnell. "This show is about embracing and embodying all of the elements that have made the mythos such an endlessly captivating phenomenon, and it's an immense honor to be bringing all of Eorzea's iconic characters, settings, and concepts – including fan-favorites like Cid and, of course, the chocobos--to life for a television audience."
Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton will write for the series and serve as executive producers alongside Jason F. Brown, Sean Daniel, and Dinesh Shamdasani of Hivemind. This isn't the only piece of TV content being produced by Hivemind at the moment. Aside from Amazon's The Expanse, the production company is also working on an adaptation of The Witcher for Netflix, which will reportedly release on the streaming service this fall. The series will star Freya Allan (Into the Badlands) as Ciri, Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Yennefer, and Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. The first season is currently in production in Hungary.
Final Fantasy was previously adapted for the animated movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Released in 2001, it was widely panned and performed poorly at the box office. In 2017, there was also the live-action TV mini-series Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light, following a father and son connecting through the MMORPG.
The first trailer for Charlie's Angels is here. The latest movie version of the iconic female crime-fighters stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska, and hits theaters in November.
The trailer introduces the new Angels--Stewart plays highly-trained agent Sabina Wilson, Balinska is former MI6 operative Jane Kano, while Scott is scientist and computer whiz Elena Houghlin. The trio are brought into Charlie Townsend's crime-fighting agency, which is now a global spy network, by Bosley, played by director Elizabeth Banks. Patrick Stewart and Dimjou Hounsou also appear--as other spy bosses using the Bosley alias--and it looks like a great mix of action, intrigue, and wise-cracking comedy. Check it out above.
Charlie's Angels is Banks' second directing credit after 2015's Pitch Perfect 2. The movie isn't actually a remake of either the original '70s TV show or the two movies from the 2000s, but a continuation of the same story. It releases on November 15.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Banks spoke about how she approached this latest version of Charlie's Angels. "It was important to me to make a movie about women working together and supporting each other, and not make a movie about their romantic entanglements or their mother they don't call enough," she said. "When I'm at work, I don't talk about those things. I get on with my job. It felt important to do that for the Angels, to treat them with the respect their skill set demands."
WWE television is making a few changes, and that includes creating two new roles working directly under CEO Vince McMahon. Paul Heyman will become executive director of Raw and Eric Bischoff will serve in that same position on Smackdown Live.
In these newly-created positions, the two men will be a part of creative development, overseeing it across WWE's platforms. A press release stated that this position will allow WWE to progress as a "global brand" while giving each of the company's flagship shows a "distinct creative process."
Heyman and Bischoff should be familiar names for anyone who follows wrestling and WWE's brand of sports entertainment. Paul Heyman currently appears on a regular basis on WWE programming as the manager/advocate for superstar Brock Lesnar. However, Heyman's legacy in the industry comes from the time he was president of ECW from 1993-2001. ECW's brand of wrestling filled a void many wrestling fans felt they couldn't get from WWE or WCW at the time, and in a sense, this show was the spark for what would become the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW.
As for Bischoff, he's worked on and off with WWE in the past, but he's most known for being the president of WCW, helping create iconic storylines--like the NWO--and was a major part of securing WCW's TV deals: Monday Nitro on TNT and WCW Thunder on TBS. Bischoff was the face of WCW for years, as he inserted himself into storylines, becoming a major part of the NWO, alongside Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash.
Looking forward, it's apparent Vince McMahon will be taking a step back--but not completely away--from weekly programming as we move closer to the relaunch of the XFL, in 2020. Hopefully, having two different directors for both Raw and Smackdown will help give each show a distinct look and feel, since the newly created Wild Card Rule--where superstars from each show can crossover to the opposite--has made the brand split feel pointless.
Fortnite's Week 8 challenges for Season 9 are now available, and among them is one that will require a little extra effort. It's in the free section, so it's available to all Fortnite players, and it directs everyone to visit three different clocks in exchange for five Battle Stars. If you know the Fortnite island like the back of your hand you may immediately know exactly where to go, but if you need a helping hand, take a look below. Here's a complete guide to the clock locations; you can also check out our video guide above.
The clocks you need are located in Junk Junction, Happy Hamlet, and Neo Tilted. All you've got to do is find and approach them; once you're close enough, a pop-up update to the challenge will be triggered to indicate that you've made progress.
The clock in Junk Junction has seen better days but can be found on the bottom left of the area at the foot of the broken tower--somehow it still works. Head to Neo Tilted and, once again, at the southwest of the location you'll see the large tower with the time digitally projected around the top. Finally, at Happy Hamlet, there's a nice, rustic clock tower in its center. You can also watch the video above to see us complete the challenge.
Fortnite Clock Locations (Season 9, Week 8)
Junk Junction: At the foot of the destroyed clock tower
Neo Tilted: Top of the tower with the time projection
Happy Hamlet: Clock tower in the middle of the location
With that challenge done, the rest should be breezy work. However, there's also the ongoing 14 Days of Summer event, which includes unique challenges and, of course, more rewards. The latest challenge asks players to bounce a giant beach ball in different matches, which is easier said than done. We also have a guide to finding the beach parties you need to visit for another challenge.
If you still have outstanding challenges from previous weeks, head over to our complete Fortnite Season 9 challenge guide, which keeps track of every week and compiles all our handy guides in one place. If there's a challenge giving you trouble this season, we'll have a guide for it there.
As promised, The Pokemon Company shared more details about its brand-new Pokemon smartphone game, Pokemon Masters, during its livestream on June 27. The game is being developed in collaboration with DeNA, the studio behind Mario Kart Tour and other Nintendo mobile titles, and now we've learned a bit more about its story and how its gameplay will work.
Pokemon Masters is set on a new island region called Pasio, where famous trainers from all around the Poke-world are gathering to take part in the Pokemon Masters League tournament. This time around, however, each trainer travels with only one partner Pokemon (known collectively as a Sync Pair). As you make your way around the Pasio region, you'll be able to team up with other Sync Pairs, then control the entire team in three-on-three battles against AI opponents and collect Gym badges.
In contrast to the mainline Pokemon games, battles in Masters unfold in real time. Your move gauge features two attacks and will gradually fill up over time; once full, you'll tap on an attack to unleash it. You can also unleash powerful and flashy Sync Moves for more damage. Pokemon aren't the only ones able to use moves during battle, either. Trainers can also use support moves to heal Pokemon or raise their stats.
Nearly every major character, Gym Leader, and rival from throughout the series appears to be in the game. The Pokemon Company says there will be 65 Sync Pairs at launch--including Cynthia and Garchomp, Iris and Haxorus, and Brendan and Treecko, among many others--with more to come post-release.
Of course, Pokemon Masters isn't the only new Pokemon game coming this year. Pokemon Sword and Shield are also launching for Nintendo Switch on November 15. The upcoming Gen 8 titles take players to the brand-new Galar region, where they'll battle and raise a variety of new and returning Pokemon. Also new in Sword and Shield is Dynamax, a new battle mechanic that can supersize Pokemon for a limited time during battles. The games will be compatible with the upcoming Pokemon Home service, allowing you to bring over your old Pokemon from previous titles; however, you won't be able to transfer every old Pokemon.
Pokemon Sword and Shield might be launching for Nintendo Switch in November, but there'll be another new Pokemon game coming before then. Pokemon Masters, which was announced just ahead of E3, is a new title coming to iOS and Android, and we now know it will launch in "Summer 2019." You can watch a new trailer below.
The Pokemon Company shared more details about the upcoming game in a recent livestream, which you can re-watch below; it's just over eight minutes long. The game appears to be a battle-focused, story-driven title in which your Pokemon are pitted against famous trainers from previous games in the series. It will be "free-to-start with purchasable items," though which items will be purchasable was not elaborated on.
The game takes place in a new region, an island named Pasio. You'll embark on an adventure in a similar vein to those seen in mainline games, traveling the region to collect gym badges. However, rather than controlling one trainer, you'll take charge of three, each with their own Pokemon partner. You'll control these "sync pairs," as they're called, in three-on-three battles against AI opponents throughout the story.
Contrary to the turn-based mainline games, Masters' three-on-three battle system works in real-time using a move gauge that fills up over the course of the battle and is depleted when you fight. In another Pokemon first, trainers also have moves in Masters: "Trainers provide support in battle by using moves that heal Pokemon or raise their stats," said the game's producer, Yu Sasaki.
Masters is being developed DeNA, which previously made Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Miitomo. The Pokemon Company will publish the title, which will come to the App Store and Google Play this summer.
Another week has elapsed in the world of Fortnite and, sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti, we've been blessed with new challenges. We know you'll be seeking to cure what's deep inside (the need for Battle Stars that will level up your Battle Pass and unlock new cosmetics), so we've put together a quick breakdown of what you'll need to do to get them.
Fortnite challenges can be tricky, occasionally asking you to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies, but this time, it's fairly easy stuff--nothing that a hundred men or more would be required to do. However, it's gonna take some time to do the things you never had (ooh, ooh), but if you take a look below you'll be able to prioritize and get through it quicker.
In the free section (challenges that anyone playing can do), you'll need to apply shields, visit a few clocks, and eliminate enemies in Snobby Shores or Mega Mall. That last one might be tricky, so instead of growing restless and longing for some solitary company, try grabbing a few friends and team up to take on opponents.
If you've got a Battle Pass, you'll be able to do some exclusive challenges. If you haven't got one and want to get all the cosmetics this season, it's worth getting one as you'll get more challenges and thus more opportunities to get Battle Stars. A Battle Pass can be purchased using V-Bucks from the in-game store--hurry boy, she's waiting there for you.
Battle Pass-exclusive challenges will ask you to do damage with assault rifles, visit a few specific locations as part of a multi-stage challenge, use a Volcano Vent, Air Vent, and a Zipline in a single match, and then get eliminations outside of named locations.
Week 8 Challenges
Free
Apply Shields (400) -- 5 Battle Stars
Visit different clocks (3) -- 5 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents in Snobby Shores or Mega Mall (7) -- 10 Battle Stars
Premium
Deal damage to opponents with Assault Rifles (500) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Land at Paradise Palms -- 1 Battle Star
Stage 2: Land at Neo Tilted -- 1 Battle Star
Stage 3: Land at Mega Mall -- 1 Battle Star
Stage 4: Land at Pleasant Park -- 1 Battle Star
Stage 5: Land at Junk Junction -- 1 Battle Star
Use a Volcano Vent, Air Vent, and a Zipline in a single match -- 10 Battle Stars
Get eliminations outside of named locations (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
If you stop an old man along the way, he'll no doubt tell you that Fortnite also has a set of additional challenges available as part of the 14 Days of Summer event. These challenges usually involve a themed objective, and we've been creating guides for those. The latest asks you to bounce a giant beach ball in different matches, and there are some shortcuts you can take, so make sure to read the guide before attempting it.
The Pokemon Company capped off its Pokemon 2019 Press Conference last month with the reveal of Pokemon Masters, a brand-new smartphone game developed in collaboration with DeNA (the studio behind Super Mario Run, Mario Kart Tour, and most of Nintendo's other mobile titles). Few details about the game were shared at the time, but we'll soon get another look at it thanks to a special livestream presentation happening this week.
The stream is scheduled to air today, June 27, and will run for roughly eight minutes, offering the first new details about Pokemon Masters since it was announced. If you're eager to learn more about the anticipated title, here's when and where you can tune into the stream, as well as what you can expect to see.
What Time Does The Pokemon Masters Livestream Start?
The Pokemon Masters stream airs this Thursday, June 27. In the US, the stream will begin at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET. That equates to 2 PM BST for fans in the UK. Those in Australia, meanwhile, will need to stay up late in order to tune in, as the stream won't begin until 11 PM AEST.
6 AM PT
9 AM ET
2 PM BST
11 PM AEST
Where To Watch
The Pokemon Company will broadcast the Pokemon Masters stream on its official YouTube channel. You'll also be able to watch it right here on GameSpot using the video embed below, so you can bookmark this page and tune in when the time comes to watch the stream unfold.
What To Expect
We've only gotten a brief look at Pokemon Masters thus far, so Thursday's stream will presumably offer much more insight into the gameplay loop and what you'll be able to expect from the overall experience. We already know Pokemon Masters will feature a wide assortment of the series' most notable trainers, and that you'll be able to battle alongside them in three-on-three contests. However, it's unclear how the battle system will work or how you'll be able to build your own Pokemon team. Will battles play out similarly to mainline titles, or offer more simplified mechanics? And will you be able to catch new Pokemon? These questions will likely be cleared up.
We'll also likely get a look at more of the trainers you'll be able to encounter in the game. We've already seen a handful of them. In the brief footage the Pokemon Company showed off during last month's press conference, we saw former Pokemon Champion Blue, as well as Brock, Misty, Cynthia, and Steven Stone, while the key art that longtime Pokemon artist Ken Sugimori drew also features Red, Lance, and a few newer characters, including Diantha (the champion from Pokemon X and Y) and the female heroine of Pokemon Black 2 and White 2. That's likely only scratching the surface of the game's roster, and it's a safe bet we'll see more fan-favorite characters during tomorrow's stream.
Apex Legends Season 2 begins in just a few days, on July 2, and we already know a fair amount about what's in store. A new hero named Wattson will debut in Season 2, which will also bring a bunch of balance changes, a revised battle pass, and a new gun. However, thanks to a leak, we now have a few more clues as to what Season 2 will offer, and there's a glimpse at what appears to be another brand-new character.
A pair of trailers set to hype up Season 2's launch have leaked ahead of their apparent premiere on Thursday. Significantly, there seems to be a glimpse of a new character--not the previously revealed Wattson, but another fighter named Crypto. This hero has been rumored for some time and can be seen in the leaked trailers below.
Considerable map changes are also on the way, it appears. The trailers show a number of new buildings and structures, as well as hazards in the form of pterodactyl-like monsters and a bigger dinosaur named the Leviathan. (Apex's E3 showing at EA Play teased that a giant creature of some sort was coming, and recently, dragon-like flyers began appearing in the game.) In addition, an EMP blast has seemingly changed the previously barren wastelands area in the east into a thriving area of wildlife and vegetation. [Update: The first of these trailers, a cinematic that showcases Wattson and teases the impending map changes and Leviathan, has now been officially released. You can watch that below.]
The Apex Legends YouTube channel is set to premiere a new trailer in just a few hours, on June 27 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST (that's 3 AM AET on June 28). That will presumably be the second one from the leak below.
Apex has been criticized for not introducing enough content, no doubt due in part to the rapid pace of updates for competitor Fortnite. However, Respawn has said it doesn't plan to meet that cadence but will be receptive to the feedback it received from the game's first Battle Pass. Season 2's Battle Pass will focus more about challenges, much like Fortnite's.
We awarded Respawn's battle royale game a 9/10 in our Apex Legends review. Critic Phil Hornshaw wrote: "Apex Legends is a mix of smart shooter ideas that makes for a competitive, team-based game that gets at all the best parts of battle royale while addressing a lot of the weaknesses. Respawn's intense focus on team play makes Apex more than just a worthy addition to the genre; it's an indicator of where battle royale should go in the future."
Amazon Prime Day 2019 is fast approaching, but there are plenty of cheap game deals to be found before then. Sony has started another of its regular European PlayStation Store promotions, this time dubbed the Mega Discount sale.
The sales period lasts until July 10 and discounts a number of big PS4 games. You can get Batman: Arkham Knight for just £10, for example, or a double pack of Prey and Dishonored 2 for £16 total. Another Bethesda game, Rage 2, only launched a few weeks ago but is already down to £32. Elsewhere, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is just £7.49 and XCOM 2 is down to £10.
In a separate promotion, the deal of the week--ending July 3--is BioShock: The Collection. The PS4 triple pack includes the original BioShock, as well as its sequels BioShock 2 and BioShock: Infinite, for just £7.39. And if you still haven't played Grand Theft Auto V, that's down to just £13 until July 24. For more deals, check out Sony's full list on the PlayStation Blog.
The new Avengers game from Crystal Dynamics and its other co-developers is being made in very close collaboration with Marvel, it seems. Crystal Dynamics studio head Scott Amos spoke to GI.biz about the origins of the project and working with Marvel on it.
He explained that Marvel opened a dialogue with Crystal about what kind of Avengers game they wanted to make. The idea from the start, it seems, was for the Avengers game to be an "original take" on The Avengers, so it doesn't feature the likenesses of the MCU actors.
"Marvel showed up and said, 'What do you want to do?,'" Amos explained. "That's how it started. They really looked at us and said, 'Crystal, you guys are experts at making games, we're experts at The Avengers. What do you want to do? What's the original take you want to do on visuals, on story?'"
Amos explained that in the development process, Marvel is the "truth north" as it relates to the direction of the new Avengers game. Marvel's Bill Rosemann, who is the company's vice president of creative development, helps direct the team about things like what Tony Stark might say or what kinds of battle moves Hulk might perform.
Amos went on to discuss just how much Marvel is involved with the development of the new Avengers game, and it's a lot.
"They're not just collaborators, they're partners," Amos said. "They're embedded with us as a team. We talk to them daily. We send them everything we're working on, we have builds they play and get feedback. We bring them to the studio and go through it together."
"[Bill Rosemann] is 25 years at Marvel. He knows everybody. We're like, 'So we have a character, and this storyline we saw in issue x,' and he's like, 'I can get you the writer, let's go see what that person thinks'... We have this amazing collaboration with them that lets us do a little of the iconic fan service and a lot of doing an original take that makes it feel fresh and familiar."
World of Warcraft developer Blizzard cancels roughly 50 percent of the games it develops, and one of its most well-known examples of a canceled project was the MMO Titan. Elements of that game were eventually turned into what became Overwatch, but now we've gotten some new insight into why Titan was never released.
Blizzard founder Mike Morhaime, who has since left the company, spoke about the project during the Gamelab convention in Barcelona this week. He said it was planned to be a "next-generation MMO," but it proved to be too ambitious.
"We failed to control scope," Morhaime said, as reported by Eurogamer. "It was very ambitious. It was a brand new universe, and it was going to be the next generation MMO that did all sorts of different things, it had different modes. We were sort of building two games in parallel, and it really struggled to come together."
"We took something that wasn't going to ship for a very long time, might never have shipped, and turned it into an awesome game," he explained.
Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan, who worked on Titan, remarked, "We failed horrifically in every way ... In every way that a project can fail. It was devastating."
Titan was officially canceled in 2014, and at the time, Morhaime stated, "We set out to make the most ambitious thing that you could possibly imagine. And it didn't come together."
As for why Titan was canceled, Morhaime said Blizzard "didn't find the fun ... didn't find the passion."
The latest project that Blizzard canceled was a StarCraft first-person shooter, according to a report. Blizzard reportedly scuttled the project, which was said to be in development for two years, so it could focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
The God of War reboot for PlayStation nearly cut Atreus, and now game director has confirmed that there were discussions about doing away with the main hero as well. In an appearance at Gamelab in Spain this week, Barlog said people were telling him that Kratos had to go.
"Early in discussion, people were saying we had to get rid of Kratos," Barlog said, as reported by Eurogamer. "It was like, 'He's annoying, he's done.'"
Barlog went on to say that Kratos was purposefully designed at the start of the series to be unlikeable. Some people on the team thought it was time for him to go, Barlog said. Developers suggested they create a new protagonist.
In the end, Barlog got his way in part because he came up with a story about Kratos' evolution and rescuing himself from his dark desires.
Kratos does star in the new God of War for PS4, and his relationship with Atreus was among the most meaningful and interesting elements of the title. "It took a lot of convincing to make them think it was a good idea," Barlog said about bringing Kratos back.
As we already knew, some people at Sony Santa Monica also wanted to cut Atreus as well. Barlog said it came down to budget concerns, with animators and programmers finding it difficult to "make sense of" Atreus' part in the story, according to Eurogamer. Barlog said he went as far as to write another story without Atreus "as a back-up."
For more on God of War, you can check out the GameSpot Audio Logs episode where Barlog breaks down one of the most impactful scenes that almost didn't happen. Check it out in the video embed above.
Call of Duty: Black Ops developer Treyarch has responded to a Kotaku report in which numerous developers reveal what they describe as a brutal work environment. Studio heads Dan Bunting and Mark Gordon released an email to staff in the wake of the report, informing employees that they are planning "significant improvements" for work-life balance.
The email goes on to state that Treyarch plans to improve working conditions through "better project planning, streamlined production processes, and rigorous decision-making timelines." Bunting and Gordon added that they are committed to "increased transparency."
The studio heads encouraged developers to speak with their managers if they have concerns, and if that doesn't work, they should reach out to Bunting and Gordon.
"Game development is a wildly complex art and it requires a diverse set of people and skill sets to do it successfully. It's important for all of us to foster a studio culture that treats all team members with respect," the pair said.
In the report, which is titled "The Human Cost Of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4," numerous current and former developers shine a light on how Treyarch's contract employees, in particular those working in quality assurance (QA), say they are treated as second-class.
The developers say they are informed not to speak with developers from other units and that they have to park in a separate parking lot. They also reported working extended hours; around 70 hours per week.
In addition to complaints about crunch and general workplace conditions, the report reveals key details about the development of Black Ops 4. It's reported that management decided to cancel the game's campaign mode in early 2018. This was a tough blow for the developers, as their previous game, Black Ops 3, reportedly saw a big shift in direction, too; a planned open-world design was dropped in favor of a standard linear story.
Black Ops 4's campaign was to feature a new spin on co-op and multiplayer with two players fighting against a pair of other human characters. One example of a gameplay scenario is one side would try to protect a journalist with the other side trying to kill them.
With the campaign mode canceled, Treyarch decided to release its own spin on battle royale in a mode that would go on to be known as Blackout. Development on the battle royale mode reportedly did not begin until nine months before release. "That mode came together by the seat of its pants. It's kind of a miracle that it did," one developer said.
In a change to the normal Call of Duty development schedule, Treyarch is said to be developing 2020's Call of Duty title which is believed to be a new Black Ops title set in the Cold War. According to Kotaku, other Activision studios Raven Software and Sledgehammer were lined up to take the lead on a Call of Duty title set in Vietnam, but management decided to put Treyarch on the game as its lead and make it a Black Ops title. The title is said to launch in holiday 2020 as a cross-gen release for current and next-gen consoles.
2019's Call of Duty game is Modern Warfare from developer Infinity Ward. It's a soft reboot of the series, and it launches at the end of October on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Final Fantasy XIV Online currently offers cross-play support between PlayStation 4 and PC, but one of the reasons the game hasn't released on Xbox One yet is because Microsoft apparently won't allow cross-play for the MMO. Game director Naoki Yoshida told wccftech that he recently spoke with Xbox boss Phil Spencer and informed him that Square Enix is "prepared to do cross-play any any time." However, Microsoft isn't budging, it seems.
"Two months ago, I discussed with Phil Spencer. I have explained this before but we are prepared to do crossplay at any time," Yoshida explained.
According to Yoshida, things like in-game chat and social networking in the form of creating and joining guilds are essential for MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV Online.
"I would like to have Microsoft change their regulations," Yoshida said.
Yoshida told GameSpot in March that Final Fantasy XIV needs to support cross-play to have its playerbases united and offer the best experience. That's currently possible on PS4 and PC, but not with other systems, which has presumably kept the game off Xbox and Nintendo systems so far.
"Talks with platform-holders has been going on," Yoshida said about Microsoft, Nintendo, and Google. "The fundamental philosophy with Final Fantasy XIV is we want it on labels with cross-platform play with any devices, hardware possible," Yoshida said through a translator. "So as long as the regulations with the counterpart hardware companies ... we can actually pass that, then the possibility, the chance is quite high [of Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox and Nintendo systems].
Toy Story 4 currently has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84 on Metacritic, which makes it universally acclaimed. It made $118 million in its first weekend, which set a record for the franchise. But something about this fourth outing rings hollow. In the process of putting a bow on things (assuming this is the last Toy Story film), Pixar has simplified the story to its detriment.
To explain what is wrong with Toy Story 4, and why it retroactively mars the prior three films in the franchise, we must first establish a good-faith premise: that these films aspire to be more than "just kid films." If these were "just kid films," they would not have endured, across generations, for close to 25 years. They would not elicit uncontrollable weeping from adults.
Beneath the main conceit of toys coming to life, the first three movies wrestled with deeper, more existential questions. Woody, Buzz, and company were toys, first and foremost, designed and conceived from the outset to be played with and loved by children. This is the reason why they freeze or go limp when humans are present; their toy nature overrides all other impulses, even that of self-preservation.
Toys universally desire to be owned and loved. It's why Sid's toys don't just hop over the fence and say, "Screw this." On some level, they have no choice but to love Sid despite his mistreatment, because they are his. Even when they break the rules at the end of the first movie, it's to correct Sid's treatment of them. There's no effort or plans to escape from the house. They only break the rules to help everybody, so that they can continue to live under Sid's care.
And when Woody convinces Buzz that he's better off as a toy than as a space ranger, he makes his meaning plain: Bringing a child joy is the peak of a toy's existence. Hs speech is framed in such a way that we accept it as a truth:
"Being a toy is a lot better than being a Space Ranger.. look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it's not because you're a Space Ranger, pal, it's because you're a toy! You are his toy!"
Then, Toy Story 2 went deeper. It asked some uncomfortable questions: What happens to these toys if their owners grow up and give them away, or if they never get sold in the first place? We get our answer in the form of two hard luck cases: Jessie is scarred by Emily's abandonment of her, and the Prospector turns resentful and duplicitous because he was never sold and never loved in the first place.
And what's more, Jessie and Prospector may have lived with this for decades (assuming they were made in the 1950s, when Woody's Round-Up was on TV), and they still desire to be loved. It's a dark but logical extension of what we learned in the first film: because toys were made to do this, they will always desire to do it. As Jessie says, just because the owners forget the toys, doesn't mean that the toys forget their owners.
This evolves into the central question that Woody must answer: does he want to become a museum toy, which means he'll be loved and adored by children through glass? Or does he want to go back to Andy? Will he be satisfied with a limited, distant love that lasts forever, or will he risk destruction and oblivion for the intense, genuine love that Andy offers, if only temporarily? Woody makes a decision:
"I can't stop Andy from growing up, but I wouldn't miss it for the world."
This is so brave--to risk everything for a chance at real, genuine love. And the parallels that can be made to ourselves are obvious: do we live timidly or do we live boldly? Do we open ourselves up for love, knowing we may get our hearts broken, or do we close ourselves off?
Toy Story 3 deals with the fallout of Woody's decision. Andy is now 17 years old, and Woody is resigned to a life in the attic. He reiterates that a toy's job is to be there for the child (even a grown child) when he or she needs him. He even suggests an optimistic possibility--that perhaps, one day, Andy will have children, and those children will play with Andy's old, forgotten toys.
Of course, it doesn't work out that way. The other toys get accidentally thrown to the curb. And notice what their reaction is afterward: They don't give up and abandon their purpose, they donate themselves to daycare so they can continue serving their instincts. Even Lotso, the villain of the third movie, has this urge to seek out children. When he's replaced by Daisy, he takes over Sunnyside Daycare to ensure that he'll always be played with. Every toy in the first three movies gravitated to the same end goal.
Even if the toy ends up alone, or in a dumpster, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
At the end of Toy Story 3, Andy gives his toys to Bonnie, a young kid who will love and play with them after Andy's gone to college. It's a happy ending--sort of. We all die, and eventually, we know these toys will get thrown out or burned in an incinerator. But not today. For now, they're staving off the inevitable. For now, they're loved again. And they must live every precious day to the fullest.
To recap: We've been told, in multiple ways, that toys' overriding desire is to bring children joy. If they are deprived of this, they will seek it out, even for decades, until they find it. Their love is unconditional; even when they're abandoned or broken, they still remember their owners.
And given the chance to experience this connection more superficially, either in a children's museum or at a daycare where relationships are temporary, a toy would be justified to decline it; it's a poor substitute for the genuine thing. Even if the toy ends up alone, or in a dumpster, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. It's analogous to any loving relationship where one person gives more than he or she receives. It's unconditional, and despite the drawbacks, it's worth it.
Toy Story 4 throws all of this away.
When Toys Become People
It turns out that toys can overcome the desire to want an owner. When Bo Peep is given away, she sits on an antique shelf for years. And finally, she gets tired of waiting for an owner, and she sets out on her own. She builds a vehicle for herself and teams up with other abandoned "lost toys," and she finds personal satisfaction and fulfillment in her new, wandering life, helping other toys in need. At the end of the movie, Woody takes a page out of her book and decides to pursue his love interest; he stays with Bo Peep rather than going back to Bonnie.
Put aside that Woody has a closer companionship with Buzz than he ever did with Bo, and this ending still flies in the face of everything we've learned, so far, about a toy's nature. By allowing toys the option of walking away, Toy Story 4 undercuts the poignancy of the earlier films.
When Woody told Buzz that being a toy was better than being a space ranger? It turns out he was wrong. Buzz could have just walked away. Sid's toys could have done the same. They're just suffering from a massive case of Stockholm Syndrome; they probably could have even killed Sid if they wanted to.
In Toy Story 2, it turns out that Jessie and The Prospector's biggest problem was that they weren't self-actualized, and they lacked a go-getter's attitude; they could have found purpose in their lives by leaning on each other. In Toy Story 3, it turns out that the toys didn't need to give themselves away to Sunnyside. They could have gotten all the emotional fulfillment they needed by escaping into the woods and bonding with each other.
According to Toy Story 4, the difficult choices of the prior films, between real, temporary love and shallow but everlasting existence, were binary fallacies. There was an Option C the entire time: to basically cut the children out of the equation. Bo and her ragtag crew of lost toys still want to be played with, but the terms and conditions of the arrangement as established by the other movies have radically shifted. Here, lost toys do just fine helping other toys find kids, while themselves being played with only sporadically--and sometimes even broken, in Bo's case. "Some kids play rougher than others." (Dark stuff, right?)
The previously established no-win scenario--the difficult choice between love and security--is what made these films so resonant in the first place; they played on our deepest, primal fears of being alone, being in danger, and growing old. Woody no longer has to choose or risk anything; he can fall in love with another toy and find emotional fulfillment away from humans. He never has to risk the incinerator. The narrative tension is gone.
It's not that this is narratively impossible. After all, we were never explicitly told that toys couldn't escape their initial, functional purpose. But the prior films' implications strongly indicated that they were trapped. By allowing them to become little autonomous humans in plastic bodies, Pixar was able to give Woody an unearned and damaging happy ending. It came at the cost of the franchise's poignancy and central message. The limitation inherent to being a toy created the characters' central dilemma, and by eliminating that limitation, Pixar has decimated the narrative stakes.
Maybe, if there's a Toy Story 5 on the horizon, Woody will walk this decision back. He'll go back to Bonnie or another human, and he'll realize that he can't find true fulfillment with a fellow toy, because, after all, they're toys--not people. But if this is truly the final film, then the story ends in a simpler, safer, less complex place than it originally began. It's only a tale of toys that magically come to life, and it doesn't mean anything more than that, which is a shame.
Some moviegoers want to experience everything a film like Annabelle Comes Home has to offer without a hint of knowledge ahead of time. Others would rather know: Does the movie have an after-credits scene?
Here's your answer: No, when we saw Annabelle Comes Home, there was no extra scene during or after the credits. We stayed through the movie's premiere until the lights turned on to make sure.
It's a fair question, though--as part of the Conjuring connected universe of horror movies, Annabelle Comes Home has tons of connections to other Conjuring movies. With The Conjuring 3 and The Crooked Man still to come, it's not a stretch to guess that Annabelle Comes Home might have included a teaser for future Conjuring films.
Unfortunately, that's not the case--once the credits start rolling, what you've seen is all you get. Thankfully, Annabelle Comes Home is a fun ride on its own; in our review, we said that "Annabelle Comes Home has just the right mix of horror and humor, predictable structure and shocking jump scares, terrifying ghouls and relatable characters that a scary summer blockbuster should. It doesn't break the mold--Midsommar, this is not--but it's not trying to. And if you're a fan of the Conjuring series, you'll walk out of the theater satisfied."
Annabelle Comes Home hits theaters today, June 26. Let us know what you thought of the latest Conjuring spin-off in the comments below.
Is a horror movie spin-off series still a spin-off when it has more films than the original franchise, and the latest entry features the stars of the main series? Or have the Annabelle movies surpassed the actual Conjuring movies as the brightest star in the Conjuring-verse with the latest entry, Annabelle Comes Home?
Annabelle Comes Home follows Ed and Lorraine Warren, as well as their daughter Judy, and Judy's babysitter and friend as they contend with the evil unleashed in their own home by the now-iconic Annabelle doll. The first Annabelle movie was a prequel, while Annabelle: Creation, which showed the doll's origin, was a prequel to that. Both movies took place before the events of the Conjuring 1 and 2 occurred.
Where does the new Annabelle movie fit within the larger Conjuring universe? The Conjuring timeline has become pretty convoluted between the Annabelle movies and the main Conjuring films, and that's before you even begin to take into account the other spin-offs, like The Nun, The Curse of La Llorona, and the still-in-production Conjuring 2 spin-off The Crooked Man.
Luckily, we had a chance to chat with Annabelle Comes Home writer and director Gary Dauberman about the latest Conjuring movie, and we asked him exactly how it all fits together.
The In-Between
Warning: Minor Annabelle Comes Home spoilers to follow.
The opening scene of Annabelle Comes Home takes place shortly after the prologue of the first Conjuring movie, when Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren take possession of the Annabelle doll for the first time. However, a one-year time jump shortly after Annabelle Comes Home's opening muddies things up a bit.
Thankfully, Dauberman was able to clear it up for us. "The first Conjuring happens in between them bringing the doll home and this movie," the writer and director said. So while ACH's cold open occurs before the first Conjuring movie, the rest of the movie takes place after.
That makes the Warrens' portrayal at the start and the end of Annabelle Comes Home particularly interesting. At the beginning of the movie, Ed and Lorraine have yet to experience the horrors at the Perron house in Harrisville, Rhode Island. When the Warren parents reappear later in the film, they've been through quite a lot, although their demeanors don't seem to have yet been changed by their horrific experiences as paranormal investigators.
Yes, Ed and Lorrain Warren are still the most wholesome couple in horror. Annabelle Comes Home was Dauberman's first turn in the director's seat, but far from his first time writing for the screen--his pen was responsible for several previous Conjuring spin-offs, including Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and The Nun (not to mention It and It Chapter Two, the Swamp Thing TV show, and more). Although this was his first time writing Ed and Lorraine, Dauberman said he wanted to show the Warrens' everyday dynamic in this movie, rather than the mortal terror in which we typically find the couple.
"We show them in the beginning of the movie finishing up an investigation, and while they have their own scare and stuff, I really was excited to show them just as a husband and wife and a mom and dad, and just what that sort of downtime conversation they would have in a car driving back from an investigation," Dauberman said. "I mean, they're talking about, 'Hey, it'd be nice to get together and take a family vacation.' Just normal, everyday stuff, because they're not normal, everyday people, I thought would be an interesting juxtaposition."
A Whole New World
Annabelle Comes Home doesn't only spend time with the Warrens. The bulk of the movie follows their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace), her babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), and her friend Daniela (Katie Sarife) as they contend with the horrors unleashed in the Warrens' house. Besides the doll herself, those horrors don't include any of the familiar entities we've come to know over the course of these movies--unless you count the many evil knick-knacks hanging around the Warrens' infamous artifact room. But ACH does add several new spooks and spirits to the mix, from one called "the Ferryman" to a bonafide Hellhound.
Dauberman said it was important to include some new scares and not continue to rely on existing ones already introduced in the Conjuring movies, like the demon Valak and its many forms.
"It was important only because it felt like that was the promise of the premise," he said. "While I would have loved to have the Nun in it, it just felt like a unique opportunity to start exploring other artifacts within the artifact room. I wanted to have a lot of fun there and see what inspired me as I mentally walked around the artifact room."
And, of course, introducing a host of new Conjuring apparitions paves the way for potential future Conjuring spin-offs--although Dauberman said that's beside the point.
"We're always listening to the conversations that we're having with the audience. If they really want to see something, we hope to deliver on that."
"They were specifically designed for this story, and if people respond to them, great," he said. "[Series producer] James [Wan] and I have had a lot of conversations about what those movies could be, but it's not like we went into this going like, 'Oh, this could be the launch pad for a whole other set of spin-offs.' We always keep our focus on the movie we're making, as opposed to, 'Hey, let's set something up here, because we have these slots to fill and these years," or whatever. There's none of that. It's always a creative discussion as opposed to a business one.
"That said, James and I, when we're sitting around the edit suite and all that stuff, we've had a lot of fun thinking about what those stories could be--but that was not the initial reason why they're in there."
Besides, there are still more Conjuring movies to get through first--including the Crooked Man spin-off, and, more importantly, the long-awaited Conjuring 3. This all begs the question: Is there a bigger plan for the Conjuring universe, the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe all seemed to follow one grand design (at its best, at least)? Dauberman said as far as he knows, the Conjuring movies and their various spin-offs are, at their heart, more reactive.
"From what I understand, there's not a larger grand plan. It's always a conversation between us, as the filmmakers and the storytellers," Dauberman said. "Of course, we have the Warren case files to...use as a resource for how best to tell these stories. And then, you know, we're always listening to the conversations that we're having with the audience as well. If they really want to see something, we hope to deliver on that. And we're hopefully not going to give them something that no one's asking for."
"We don't have a room with a bunch of charts and, 'Here's where we're going to be,' and all that stuff," he added.
Regardless, the world of the Conjuring has become one of the most fun cinematic universes to watch, and the latest entry, Annabelle Comes Home, is no exception. Annabelle Comes Home is in theaters now.
The Steam 2019 Summer Sale is in full swing, featuring huge discounts on thousands of PC games across a variety of genres, including some of this year's biggest releases like Devil May Cry 5 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Indie publisher Devolver Digital, which has a reputation for doing some silly things (as evidenced by its strange annual E3 press conferences), is also offering deals on a variety of titles during the sale, including one that's an absolute steal.
From now until the Steam Summer Sale ends, you can snag Devolver Bootleg for 1% off. That amounts to a whopping five cents off its standard price of $4.99 USD. Devolver Bootleg is a compilation that consists of "eight original rip-offs of Devolver Digital games." The full game list (and the titles they rip-off) includes:
The Devolver Bootleg collection launched earlier this month and was similarly available for 1% for early adopters, so if you missed out on this generous deal the first time around, you have another chance to take advantage of it. You can pick up Devolver Bootleg on Steam here. Of course, a number of other Devolver games are also on sale for more conventional discounts, including Katana Zero for $11.24, Enter the Gungeon for $7.49, The Messenger for $14, and Gris for $11.38.
The Steam Summer Sale runs until July 9, and as previously mentioned, it offers deals on tons of PC games. You can browse the full offerings on the Steam Store. This year, Valve has a Grand Prix-themed minigame that will let you pick a team and then earn various rewards and even free games on your wishlist. You can track each team's rankings on the Grand Prix page.
While Call of Duty fans await the upcoming Modern Warfare reboot (slated for October 25), Black Ops 4 has received yet another patch that delivers new content and features across all its modes.
Developer Treyarch posted a lengthy outline on Reddit of all the additions arriving in this new update. Chief among them are new maps like Hacienda Twilight, changes to weapons like the Daemon 3XB and the Switchblade X9 submachine guns, the introduction of Contracts, and more.
The outdoor map Hacienda Twilight is now in the multiplayer rotation. The outside is brighter than the inside thanks to the glaring moon hanging overhead, with fires, structural changes, and other surprises waiting in the twilight.
Pistols and SMGs have been tuned to be more competitive against assault rifles, with their ballistic profiles falling more in line with traditional hitscan models. Basically, SMGs and pistols should now hit faster and with higher accuracy without accounting for bullet travel time in multiplayer. Further, damage range on both the Daemon 3XB and the Switchblade X9 SMGs have been decreased, while the Daemon 3XB gets a third extra magazine.
Contracts are now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PC soon to follow in patch 1.18. There are 196 contracts to complete each week throughout all modes--Blackout, multiplayer, world league, and zombies--and doing so nets players experience, Merits, Nebulium Plasma, and reserves. For example, getting five kills with the Hellstorm Missiles grants 2500 experience points and two supply crates.
Black Ops 4 added a new Specialist called Spectre back in April 2019, a katana-wielding assassin who can see enemy outlines through their smoke grenades. The Operation Spectre Rising update also brought three new maps: Artifact, Masquerade, and WMD, all available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 June 25 Update Patch Notes
Summary
Contracts now available featuring 28 daily rotating challenges across all modes.
Hacienda Twilight added to rotation in Multiplayer.
Weapon tuning for the Daemon 3XB, Switchblade X9, and MOG 12.
Ballistic profiles changed to hitscan model for SMGs and pistols.
More maps added to Prop Hunt and Capture the Flag rotations.
Humiliation finishing moves added to Heist in MP and redeploy modes in Blackout.
Medals added to Blackout with new Merit rewards.
Sentry now available in Stashes and Supply Drops in Blackout.
New "Numbers" Death Effect reward added for completing an Outfit Mission in Blackout
MKII Weapons now properly track attachment and camo progression.
Scorestreak improvements and fixes for the Drone Squad, Hellstorm, DART, and Gunship.
Improved matchmaking in Domination.
Featured Playlist updates on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Blackjack's Stash now available only in limited-time modes (PS4).
Hard Mode "Unsinkable" Gauntlet added to Zombies with 2X Nebulium Plasma rewards (PS4).
PlayStation 4
Zombies
Hard Mode Gauntlets
Hard Mode "Unsinkable" Gauntlet now available with doubled Nebulium Plasma rewards and Hard Mode-exclusive Medals and Calling Cards to earn.
Blackout
Blackjack's Stash
Blackjack's Stash now available to find and open in limited-time modes.
Players can unlock only one of Blackjack's Stashes per match, containing Black Market weapons currently in the player's collection.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Global
Contracts
Contracts are now available in Multiplayer, Blackout, Zombies, and World League.
Up to 6 Contracts to complete per mode in addition to each mode's Daily Contract, for a total of 28 Contracts to complete each day.
Up to three Contracts can be active at once, including two player-selected Contracts and one Daily Contract for each game mode.
Daily Contracts will refresh every 24 hours. Players must complete their Daily Contract in each mode before the refresh, when a new Daily Contract will take its place.
Players can jump from mode to mode to complete Contracts in any order they like.
Possible rewards from completing Contracts can include:
Reserve Case(s)
Bonus XP in Multiplayer, Zombies, and World League
Bonus Nebulium Plasma in Zombies
Bonus Merits in Blackout
Multiplayer
Maps
Hacienda Twilight
Alternate-lighting Hacienda map variant now in rotation.
Weapons
Ballistic Profiles
Ballistic profiles on SMGs and pistols changed to hitscan to create consistency with other weapon classes in Multiplayer.
MOG 12
Dragon Breath Operator Mod damage reduced to increase pellets required for a one-shot kill at long range.
Daemon 3XB
Now requires at least six bullets to finish off a target with full health (up from five).
Added a third extra magazine.
Switchblade X9
Reduced 6-shot kill range from 19 meters to 13 meters.
Reduced 7-shot kill range from 25 meters to 19 meters.
Reduced 8-shot kill range from 31 meters to 25 meters.
Ballistic Knife
Addressed an issue preventing players from using Dual Wield and Extra Blades at the same time.
Game Modes
Prop Hunt
Added Morocco and Summit to map rotation.
Addressed an issue in Prop Hunt where players could sometimes spawn inside of other players.
Closed an exploit in Prop Hunt where props could hide under the map.
Capture the Flag
Added Frequency and Jungle to map rotation.
Domination
Players will no longer join Domination matches that are almost over.
Heist
Added Humiliation finishing moves to Heist.
Create-a-Class
Addressed an issue where MKII Weapons were not progressing attachments and camos properly.
Scorestreaks
Drone Squad now takes longer to target players equipped with Cold Blooded.
Addressed an issue where players using in the Gunship could have their camera stuck in a non-functional state.
Addressed an issue where the Hellstorm would sometimes self-destruct upon deployment.
Addressed an issue where a player using the DART could end up seeing a teammate's Hellstorm deployment view.
Miscellaneous
Addressed an issue where players could bounce far away from one other when sliding into one another.
Addressed an issue where Zero's Ice Pick would not hack the Sentry or RCXD.
Featured Playlists (June 25 – July 2)
PS4/Xbox One
Capture the Flag
Endurance Moshpit
Barebones Objective Moshpit
Prop Hunt
Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit
Blackout
Medals
Medals now available in Blackout for in-game actions including reviving and assisting teammates, eliminating a Duo or Quad, taking down zombies, scoring a multikill, and more.
Players earn Merits when Medals are achieved.
Equipment
Sentry now available in Stashes and Supply Drops in all Blackout modes.
Sentry deals lower damage compared to its MP counterpart, acting as a nuisance/alert system in Blackout.
Humiliations
Humiliation finishing moves now available to use against downed enemies in redeploy modes.
Death Effects
New "Numbers" Death Effect now rewarded for completing Outfit Missions in Blackout.
Target is taking direct aim at Amazon Prime Day by launching its own storewide Deal Days sale, which competes directly with Amazon's mega annual sale on July 15 and 16. As if the dates didn't make clear enough Target's intent here, no membership is required to take advantage of the sale, alluding to Amazon requiring a Prime subscription to take advantage of its sale. Target REDcard holders will also get an additional 5% off of everything, and there will be free, two-day shipping on all orders $35 and up (and all orders period for REDcard holders). We'll keep you posted on all the best gaming and tech offers as the dates grow closer, both for Target Deal Days and Amazon Prime Day.
In the meantime, Target is now offering a sale with 30% off games for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch if you order online and then pick-up in the store. Soon after Target announced Deal Days, Amazon revealed that it is matching prices on many of the games included in Target's pick-up sale, but without the need to go pick them up in a physical store. Spicy! While both situations are surely unrelated, an arms race on deals can only mean good things for your wallet.
With E3 2019 in the rearview mirror and the fall release blitz still in the distance, deals season for gaming is in full swing. While you wait for Prime Day and Target Deal Days, you can check out Steam's summer games sale, which just launched with some of the biggest discounts on PC games all year. Plus, don't miss Fanatical's Red Hot summer sale, which generally matches or even surpasses some of Steam's prices thanks to a 10% off promo code. Many Fanatical games are available as Steam keys. You can also check out our tips for getting the most out of Prime Day, since it's just a few weeks away.
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