Bungie has revealed more of what's coming in the last big update for Destiny, this time with a new teaser trailer.
As you can see below, the Age of Triumph update introduces a new record book that's described as being the biggest one yet. It covers various Destiny Year 3 tasks, apparently including a trip to the classic Vault of Glass raid. The Speaker also receives some new dialogue.
We'll be learning much more about Age of Triumph this Wednesday, when Bungie plans to host the first of three livestreams dedicated to the update. This is all a lead into the release of the update sometime later this month.
As its release fast approaches, a new trailer for Persona 5 has been released.
This one is a sizzle trailer that is largely comprised of cinematics from the game. Sprinkled throughout are quick glimpses of gameplay, however. These highlight some of the various minigames (like batting cages and a button-mashing video game), combat, life at school, and more. And no, I'm still not over how slick those menus look.
Persona 5 launches for PS4 and PS3 on April 4. A special steelbook version will be available for PS4 at launch, as will a Premium Edition with a soundtrack, art book, and other bonuses.
For a closer look at the game, check out our new video feature below, which features a look at another dungeon and more.
Warner Bros. will share the first official gameplay video for Middle-earth: Shadow of War this coming Wednesday, March 8. Ahead of that, the publisher has released a new teaser that offers a blink-and-you'll-miss-it look at new gameplay.
It doesn't reveal much, but it does show main character Talion riding a winged beast, possibly a Drake. The closing section shows Talion raising his sword with Orcs behind him.
The game is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and promises a "richer, more personal, and expansive world" for Shadow of War. Players can expect to see "epic heroes and villains," as well as "iconic locations, original enemy types, even more personalities, and a new cast of characters with untold stories."
Following some previous confusion over how much longer PC players would have to wait for Nier: Automata, we now know it will be a matter of only about a week.
Square Enix has confirmed that Nier: Automata launches for Steam on March 17. That's just a matter of days after its PS4 release on March 7 in the US and March 10 in Europe. The demo, unfortunately, remains PS4-only.
As with the PS4 version, a Day One edition will be available that includes bonus digital content. (Unfortunately, you won't get the t-shirt that inspired a delightfully strange video.) You'll receive most of this no matter where you buy the game, but picking it up on Steam for a limited time also nets you a special item that references Valve's loading screen logo.
The Valve character accessory allows you to adorn 2B's head with a red valve in several different places. You can see the four different looks in the gallery below.
Reviews for Nier: Automata have begun to arrive ahead of the PS4 version's launch tomorrow. You can read GameSpot's review here and see our review roundup for more.
Mass Effect: Andromeda's latest video has been released, showing off some of the game's Golden Worlds.
These planets are those designated as potential new habitats for humanity, as our species attempts to colonise the Andromeda galaxy. The video shows Suvi, your crew's tech officer, talking through these Golden Worlds. Take a look at the planets for yourself in the trailer below.
Sony today announced and launched a new feature for its streaming TV service, PlayStation Vue. You can now watch up to three live channels at the same time on the same screen.
The feature arrives just a week before March Madness begins. This is a welcome-sounding addition for NCAA basketball fans, as games are broadcast on multiple networks at the same time. March Madness games are shown on GameSpot parent company CBS, as well as TNT, TBS, and TruTV, all of which are available to Vue subscribers.
Here's how the feature works, as explained by Sony: "Just press and hold X on any live TV program from the Guide or Live TV row of the home screen to open up the selection screen for multi-view. A menu will pop up to give you an option of using either two or three multi-view screens. You can select any other live programing from the Live TV strand and start viewing multiple programs at once. The main screen in multi-view will contain audio of the programming."
You can then switch channels from within the multi-screen view by pressing the Square button. This will bring one of those shows to the main screen, which is larger than the others.
The multi-view feature is available with the PS4 Vue app today, though Sony did not say if it will come to other supported devices.
Also in its blog post, Sony said it's working on more sports-related features for PlayStation Vue, including the option to have real-time sports scores. Thankfully, there will be an option to toggle this off.
We're rounding up the best gaming deals from this week's sales circulars, along with a few choice selections from places like Amazon and Steam.
Nier: Automata
Target has an excellent deal for those in the market for multiple games. It has a buy two, get one free deal on all games (including at least some of its digital games), with the exception of those for the just-launched Nintendo Switch. This includes this week's new releases like Ghost Recon: Wildlands and Nier: Automata, as well as Amiibo figures.
Ahead of its release tomorrow, Ubisoft today published the launch trailer for Ghost Recon: Wildlands. The video sets up the story of how you're taking down a drug cartel in near-future Bolivia and also shows off some particular dramatic and exciting chase scenes and shootouts.
It also makes a point to reference how players can "team up" to take down the cartel, which is a reference to the game's four-player co-op. Wildlands, which contains the largest map ever for an open-world Ubisoft game, can also be played solo. Here's the trailer:
Disney has released the official music video for Beauty and the Beast's title track, featuring pop artists Ariana Grande and John Legend.
The song, "Beauty and the Beast," is one of the most memorable both from the movie and Disney's entire catalog. The new music video is a treat, featuring some impressively choreographed sequences and nice-looking costumes. Take a look:
The song "Beauty and the Beast" was written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy award.
This new version will be featured on the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, which comes out this Friday, March 10. It also features artists like Josh Groban and Audra McDonald.
Beauty and the Beast opens on March 17. It features Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast. In other news, a new video has come online that shows Luke Evans (Gaston) and Josh Gad (LeFou) singing the song "Gaston"--watch it here.
Wonder Woman first appeared in comics in 1941. Despite appearing in over 5,000 issues, several animated series, and a live-action television show, it took 75 years for the character to appear on the big screen. This June, Wonder Woman headlines her own origin movie.
Her appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice gave us an idea how the character would be portrayed. Because of the different origins told in the comics over the years, we had no idea what to expect for her background—until now. We visited Warner Bros. editing studio in London to talk to director Patty Jenkins, and see some footage that hadn't been shown to the public.
There may be some minor spoilers below.
Wonder Woman on Themyscira and Origin
Before watching the new footage and talking to Jenkins, we met with the Wonder Woman production liaison, Anna Obropta. Briefly joining her was senior producer Chuck Roven, Jon Berg, and president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns. Talking about Jenkins' vision, Johns stated, "This defines [Wonder Woman] like [Richard] Donner defined Superman." Those are some big words to live up to. Obropta then gave a detailed description of the Amazons' history and how the movie opens.
The movie begins in the modern day. Wonder Woman, in her civilian guise of Diana Prince, receives a package at her job in the antiquities department at the Louvre in France. Bruce Wayne located the original photo of her during WWI seen in Batman v Superman. This triggers her memories, and she thinks back to her roots with the Amazons.
We'll first see Diana on Themyscira, the Amazons hidden island, at age 8. The way we'll get the history of the Amazons is through an animated sequence from a storybook. Zeus created mankind and Ares--the God of War--became jealous of Zeus' relationship with them. Ares poisons and corrupts man, and then he embarks on killing the other gods. Zeus created the Amazons to help restore peace. When all the gods except for Zeus were killed, Themyscira was created so the Amazons could be safe. They also were given possession of the God Killer sword, the only weapon capable of killing Ares.
Diana is determined to train in order to find and defeat Ares. She does so in secret until her mother finds out. Hippolyta was strongly opposed the idea until it was seen Diana's powers exceed that of the other Amazons.
This is when Steve Trevor crashes onto the island. Trevor is an American fighter pilot working undercover for the British Army. He stole German plans and was being followed by a warship.
Eventually Trevor's words are taken seriously and Diana believes Ares is behind the war. Despite her mother's wishes, Diana is going to help Trevor get off the island provided he takes her to the most dangerous place in the war.
Wonder Woman Arrives In London
The second act of the movie deals with Diana and Trevor leaving the island and arriving in 1918 London. This is where some lighter aspects of he movie come out as she experiences tasting ice cream, seeing a baby, and seeing the current fashions for the first time. This adds some humanity to Wonder Woman. It makes her more accessible to the audience. She has human emotions and vulnerabilities.
The documents Trevor obtained are secret documents from General Ludendorff. Working with Dr. Maru (Doctor Poison), they're developing a deadly poison gas. Ludendorff is working outside the German Army. When Trevor talks to the war council, they refuse to help because they are working on an armistice. Trevor then recruits his buddies to complete their mission with Diana.
Wonder Woman is convinced she'll find Ares at the front lines. If she defeats him, the war will end. Along the way she sees some of the atrocities and repercussions of the war. She is determined to help those in need.
Reaching No Man's Land, Trevor tells her it's impossible to cross with the German soldiers gathered on the other side. She doesn't hesitate to enter the deadly battlefield. She tells Trevor and the others this is why they're here. The Germans concentrate on her with all their firepower, which allows Trevor and the others to approach from a different angle. This is the first time Wonder Woman really pushes herself in combat.
Patty Jenkins' Thoughts
Jenkins first met with Warner Bros. in 2004 to work on a Wonder Woman feature. Despite meeting with them every few years, the timing was never right. She came close again in 2008 but was unable to fit it into her schedule. She discussed being grateful to Marvel Studios when she had the opportunity to direct the first Thor film. She withdrew when she felt she wasn't the right director for it. With Wonder Woman, she wants to do a great origin story. Her dream is to make the sort of movies that impacted her as a child. She believes in aiming high and wants to make a masterpiece.
When asked about Wonder Woman's costume in the story, Jenkins stated that Diana broke into the armory on Themyscira to take the God Killer sword when she decided to leave. The costume was there and may be a mystical gift from the gods. The idea behind the bracelets isn't really delved into in the movie. The other Amazons also have them. Diana's ability to deflect bullets is more about her than the material of the bracelets.
Can we expect a new trailer? A specific release date for it wasn't given, but we can expect different footage when it's released. Wonder Woman opens in theaters on June 2.
Alien: Covenant is still two months away from release, but director Ridley Scott is already talking about the sequel. It has been reported that the follow-up is written and might start shooting soon.
In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Scott said: "You've got to assume, to a certain extent, success [for Alien: Covenant], and from that you'd better be ready. You don't want a two-year gap. So I'll be ready to go again next year."
"If you really want a franchise, I can keep cranking it for another six," he added. "I'm not going to close it down again. No way."
The site also notes that "while working on Alien: Covenant, Scott had the next instalment written."
Scott recently spoke about the decision to return to the franchise that started with 1979's classic Alien. "I saw Alien finally succumb after four films, which was a good run," he said, via Digital Spy. "[But] then they also did Alien vs. Predator, after which I thought, 'Uh-oh, that's it.' I waited a couple of years, I went back and decided to resurrect it."
Alien: Covenant arrives in theaters on May 19 in the US and May 12 in the UK. It stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, and Demian Bichir.
As part of the promotional tour for Beauty and the Beast, composer Alan Menken appeared at a Beverly Hills press conference on Sunday and played some tunes from the movie. Video from that event has surfaced, including a sequence where Josh Gad (LeFou) and Luke Evans (Gaston) join Menken on stage to sing the famous song, "Gaston."
Be sure to stick through (or skip to) the end, as Gad does some excellent ad-libbing. Here is the video, which was captured by Inside the Magic (via Entertainment Weekly):
Menken wrote the music for 1991's Beauty and the Beast alongside lyricist Howard Ashman, who died before the original came out. The new movie features songs from the original containing lines that Ashman wrote but were not included in the original.
There are also brand-new songs that Menken wrote with Tim Rice.
Beauty and the Beast opens on March 17. It also stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as Beast, Ian McKellan as Cogsworth, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, and Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, a character not seen in the 1991 animated movie and invented for the new version. The film is directed by Twilight's Bill Condon.
It is expected to have a huge opening in the US, where it could make as much as $120 million for its opening weekend, according to estimates. If it can cross $100 million, that would make it one of the biggest March openings in movie history.
The new monster movie Kong: Skull Island comes to theaters this Friday, March 10. Ahead of that, reviews for the film have started to show up.
To help you get an idea if the movie is worth your time and money, we've rounded up excerpts from a number of publication's reviews; you can see them below. Go to GameSpot sister site Metacritic to see a wider look at reviews for Skull Island.
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed By: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 118 minutes
Variety
"A reboot set entirely on the great ape's jungle island proves to be a better creature feature than either of the previous remakes." -- Owen Gleiberman [Full review]
Empire
"King Kong lives! But only just. This is an uneven adventure that's saved by the spectacle of its towering title character and the various beasts with whom he shares his island home." -- Jonathan Pile [Full review]
Polygon
"Kong: Skull Island gets what so many monster movies before it get wrong: There is humanity in the creatures, even if they can seem gigantic and monstrous at first. Vogt-Roberts understands what type of movie he's trying to create, and succeeds in pulling that off. Despite Skull Island being riddled with flaws, it's pretty hard not to have a smile on your face when Kong is on screen." -- Julia Alexander [Full review]
IGN
"There's a moment in Kong: Skull Island when one of the soldiers plays some '70s music for Reilly's Marlow, who responds by asking, 'How can you swing to this?,' confused by the heavy emphasis on electric guitars rather than a piano or saxophone. Some King Kong purists may feel that same frustration with Skull Island, but while the aesthetic of this new adventure may be very different, it ends up evoking the same feeling that made King Kong such an icon in the first place. Even if this time, it's coming to you with roaring electric guitars and napalm rather than Empire State Buildings and damsels in distress." -- Alex Welch [Full review]
SlashFilm
"Overall, Kong: Skull Island is one gnarly monster movie that doesn't hide the monsters in the darkness or create tension by having them lurk in the background. Instead, it puts monsters front and center in the spotlight, and they come through with shining colors. Kong has never been more thrilling, and his nasty opponents make for such compelling monster fights that you'll be even more disappointed in the fact that we didn't get to see Godzilla do this much in his own return in 2014." -- Ethan Anderton [Full review]
The official start to Spring is still a few weeks off, but that hasn't stopped The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red from kicking off a Spring Sale for its DRM-free PC store, GOG.
There are also bundles available, themed around things like "Our Favorite Indie Games," "Games With Wacky Weapons," "Our Favorite First-Person Games," and "Games For Foodies," among others.
Go to GOG's website to see a complete rundown of the deals. GOG's Spring Sale ends on March 12 at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET. As is always the case, there is no DRM on games sold on GOG.
Keep checking back with GameSpot for more deals news.
The upcoming Marvel show The Inhumans is currently shooting in Hawaii, and the first pictures have leaked from the set. They show Anson Mount as Black Bolt, plus a big blue plastic dog, which will presumably be turned into the giant teleporting canine Lockjaw in post-production. Check them out below, via Reel News Hawaii:
"Inhumans" filming in downtown Honolulu today. Roel Reine, Lockjaw & mystery man in black on set. Seems to take place on Oahu. Thx B 4 pics. pic.twitter.com/RZyf0bMGVw
The full cast for The Inhumans has been announced over the past week. Mount will be joined by Serinda Swan, playing the Inhuman queen Medusa, with Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal, Mike Moh as Triton, and Sonya Balmores as Auran.
An Inhumans movie was first announced in 2014, but no longer appears on Marvel's schedule. In addition, the story of the genetically created superhero race has already been explored on TV in Agents of SHIELD.
The Inhumans were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in a 1965 issue of Fantastic Four. Their first self-titled comic line ran from 1975 to 1977, and they have subsequently appeared in a variety of limited and ongoing series over the past four decades.
The sequel to 2013's horror game Outlast now has a release date. Outlast II will arrive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in just over a month, landing on April 25 for all platforms.
The game will be available in physical and digital formats, though pricing has yet to be confirmed.
Also launching on April 25 will be the Outlast Trinity, which is a physical bundle that comes with Outlast and its Whistleblower expansion, along with Outlast II.
All of this news was announced on Twitter today; here's how the reveal went down (via GameZone):
Welcome to Temple Gate. Outlast 2 will be available digitally on PC, XBOX One and Playstation 4 on April 25th. pic.twitter.com/EFzYowzhay
Outlast Trinity, a physical collection of the Outlast series will also be available April 25th for Playstation 4 and XBOX One. pic.twitter.com/OJRYjtN2Nu
Outlast II was originally planned to launch at the end of 2016, before being delayed to early 2017.
You play as Blake Langermann in Outlast II. You and your wife, Lynn, are investigative journalists who are looking into the "impossible murder" of a pregnant woman. The game is set in the Arizona, where you will uncover some horrible things and a "corruption so profound that going mad may be the only sane thing to do."
Outlast II is developed by independent studio Red Barrels, which also made the first game. The studio was founded by developers who worked on the Prince of Persia, Uncharted, and Assassin's Creed franchises.
You can listen to some eerie tracks from Outlast II's soundtrack right here.
Dawn of War III, the newest Warhammer 40k game from Relic and Sega, will launch for PC on April 27, it was announced today.
There will be three versions available: Standard, Limited, and Collector's. The Collector's edition comes with the most goodies, including the Godsplitter Daemon Hammer, as well as three mounted cloth faction banners. It also includes a lenticular art card and the soundtrack, while the game itself comes in a "premium disc book." The Limited edition, meanwhile, features the disc book, the art card, and the soundtrack.
Everyone who preorders Dawn of War III gets the Masters of War Skin Pack. This comes with skins for the game's Super Walker Elites:
The Dark Queen skin for Lady Solaria (Imperial Knight)
The Ghost Seer skin for Farseer Taldeer (Wraithknight)
The Big Kustom skin for Beauty (Morkanaut)
You still get the Super Walkers if you don't preorder, but they won't have the special skins.
"We're thrilled to tell fans know that they don't have to wait much longer to return to battle," Dawn of War III game director Philippe Boulle said in a statement. "The whole team can't wait to bring back Dawn of War, bigger and better than ever. April can't come soon enough!"
Pricing for the Dawn of War III Limited and Collector's editions was not announced.
Relic Entertainment has said the game is the "Dawn of War that fans have been waiting for."
"Our biggest units ever? Check. Giant orbital lasers? Check. Base-building, epic heroes, huge battles, it's all in there. Get ready for the biggest Dawn of War yet," said executive producer Stephen MacDonald.
Sony has released the official soundtrack for Horizon Zero Dawn on Spotify. A spokesperson told GameSpot that this is the first time that a PlayStation game's soundtrack has been released first on the music-streaming service.
The soundtrack features 80 tracks, totaling four hours of music. There is a mix of orchestral, atmospheric tracks, as well as heavier cuts with more intensity. You can listen to the complete soundtrack through the Spotify embed below.
Zero Dawn's soundtrack will be available on other streaming services later this week.
The soundtrack was composed by Niels van der Leest, Joris de Man, and The Flight.
"We started with the tribal music. We asked ourselves, 'What would a tribe sound like in the future, after they've lost most of their culture?'" Guerrilla Games music supervisor Lucas van Tol told the PlayStation Blog. "And also, 'How can we create something that sounds like tribal music, but isn't necessarily the tribal music we know today?'"
For lots more on Zero Dawn's music, read the full interview with the music team here.
"This is the first departure from the Killzone series for developer Guerrilla Games, and though you might think the team took a risk by stepping out of its FPS comfort zone to create a third-person open-world action game, you'd never know it was their first rodeo," reviewer Peter Brown said. "For every minor imperfection, there's an element of greatness that recharges your desire to keep fighting and exploring Zero Dawn's beautiful and perilous world. Guerrilla Games has delivered one of the best open-world games of this generation, and redefined its team's reputation in the process."
Nier: Automata's launch is just days away. The game comes out for PlayStation 4 on March 7 (March 10 in Europe and Australia), and with the release date now so close, reviews have started to go live for Platinum Games' action-RPG.
In our review, critic Miguel Concepcion said the game "delivers a well-executed and refined combat system, the level of which alone makes Automata well worth the price of admission." You can read more in our full Nier: Automata review.
For a selection of critics' reviews, check out the roundup below. Or for a wider critical reception, take a look at GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Game: Nier: Automata
Developer: Platinum Games
Platform: PS4, PC
Release: March 7 (March 10 in Europe and Australia) on PS4, March 17 worldwide on PC.
Price: US $60 / £42 / AU $100
GameSpot -- 9/10
"Thanks to Platinum Games' knack for riveting and gratifying combat, Automata is Yoko Taro's most exciting game to date. The combat mechanics click after hurdling a low learning curve, and the end result is a skillful dance where balletic dodges complement wushu-inspired aggression. Moreover, this multi-ending trip is generously peppered with surprises and revelations, as well as easter eggs that call back to the first game and the Drakengard series from which Nier spun off. It's a meaty, often exhilarating trek that showcases Platinum Games' and Yoko Taro's unique blend of genius." -- Miguel Concepcion [Full review]
IGN -- 8.9/10
"Nier: Automata is a crazy, beautiful, and highly entertaining journey full of nutty ideas and awesome gameplay. It may not include the most sensical story or compelling characters, but its frenzied combat--coupled with beautiful visuals and a stunning soundtrack--make it too much fun to pass up." -- Meghan Sullivan [Full review]
Game Informer -- 7.75/10
"Some parts of Nier: Automata genuinely thrilled and surprised me, but it is a constant exercise in sacrifice. Combat has improved compared to the original Nier, but it still isn't fully engaging. The progression system has cool ideas, but doesn't offer enough depth. The premise is fascinating, but it is dulled by repetition. Ultimately, tapping into the sad and unique story that flows under the surface of Nier: Automata makes these trade-offs worthwhile, but I'm disappointed by how deeply it's buried." -- Joe Juba [Full review]
Destructoid -- 9/10
"Nier: Automata is nearly as good of an RPG as it is an action game, which is a mighty tall order. It's tough to really strike that balance as many action-RPGs tend to favor one element over the other, but Platinum Games, with the help of Square Enix, has tapped into its innate ability to captivate us with combat while keeping the rest of the journey engaging." -- Chris Carter [Full review]
Netflix's hit sci-fi show Stranger Things doesn't return to screens until this Halloween, but the wait will be worth it, apparently. Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos recently said he saw the first episode of the second season and was blown away.
"I have just seen the first episode of Season 2," Sarandos told NME (via DigitalSpy). "It's fantastic--it delivers on everything that every fan wants."
The ending of Season 1 left fans with a lot of questions about what would happen next to the story and its characters, so it's good to hear Season 2 will give us some answers right at the start, it seems.
Looking for some new games? Retailer Target has announced a new Buy 2, Get 1 deal.
Now until Saturday, March 11, when you buy any two games, you'll get a third free. As usual, the lowest-priced game is free. This deal works on Xbox One, PS4, and 3DS games (among others)--but not Switch titles. That's a bit of a bummer if you were hoping to stock up on Switch titles at launch.
The next Kong movie, Kong: Skull Island, comes to theaters this Friday, March 10. Ahead of that, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts spoke to Den of Geek about a number of things, including how video games and Pokemon influenced the movie and its massive monsters.
"Shadow Of The Colossus was a huge influence on me on this movie. It's such a beautiful thing to have a boss fight where you feel sad after you've killed the boss," he said. "And the way those creatures lumber around was such a huge, huge part for me... the colossi in those games have such a slow, melancholy, morose quality to them. And the sense of scale. Honestly, Shadow Of The Colossus was one of the biggest influences on this film. Just the vibe the creatures have. I think and I hope that Kong has a similar vibe in the film."
A Shadow of the Colossus movie is in the works, but it's been a long time since we've heard anything about it.
Also in Den of Geek's interview, Vogt-Roberts talked about how one of Skull Island's monsters is at least partially inspired by the Pokemon Cubone for the Skull Crawler monsters.
"As we were designing it, I kind of gave a handful of references to people, and my best friend in the world came and did some concept work with me--this was my friend where we'd have LAN parties as a kid and, like, didn't know how to talk to girls and spent our time in a basement playing video games, drinking pop and eating junk food.
"And we're looking at this creature, and we're like, 'What does this remind us of?' Because I was, like, 'I want it to have this white face; this weird, bone-white face, and this black, scaly skin.' Both he and I were staring at it, and we had this weird moment where we were like, 'Oh my God.' We realized that we'd created this unintentional fusion of all of our nerdy childhood influences.
"Because I love Cubone. Cubone has the saddest story of him wearing his dead mother's skull on his face."
Skull Island opens on March 10. The movie stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, and John Goodman. It features the biggest Kong in movie history.
Conan Exiles went into Early Access on Steam back in January, boasting shiny trailers and an array of impressive dongs. Creative director Joel Bylos recently spoke to the press on the subject of what's next for the MMORPG, a game he describes as Funcom's "last ditch effort" to avoid bankruptcy.
It seems as though it's done its job on that front, with Bylos stating that the team was humbled at the news the game made one million dollars within the first hour of its release and ultimately recouped development costs in less than a week.
Going forward, Funcom is hoping to "work with fans to make the game better" through Early Access and plans to release the game on the Xbox One Game Preview program in the third quarter of 2017. Funcom is aiming for Conan Exiles to be out of Early Access within one year. Funcom is also planning for patches, fixes, and small content additions to ideally be released every Thursday, turning quality of life improvements around in one to two weeks. Larger, more significant content updates will also be released periodically.
The first group of larger updates will include mounts that players can find and tame out in the game's open world. We're told players will be able to steal them from others, or fight creatures and drag them back to their city to be housed in the taming area. Larger and more powerful mounts will require multiple players to capture. Another impending update will add a dye crafting system that can be used to change characters' color schemes.
Siege warfare will be added in an update coming "soonish," allowing players to craft siege weapons, wall-scaling towers, and even Trojan horses to take down enemy cities. Two siege weapons were detailed, include a trebuchet and a "corpse locker," the latter allows players to collect dead bodies, leave them to rot, then launch them at enemies to spread disease.
When sorcery is added, players will be able to experiment with necromancy by "utilizing corruption" and sacrificing base stats to gain new sorcery powers. A highland biome and new cave dungeon will get players out of the desert to defeat puzzles and combat trials, as well as discover new creatures, factions, recipes, resources, and building types.
The Purge is an end-game mechanic in which NPC armies will gather at the edges of the map. Players must build up defenses in their cities, or trick the purge armies into attacking others' cities. Purge armies will also include powerful special NPCs based on characters from the Conan fiction that players will want to capture and make use of in their own cities.
It sounds like there's lots more to come for Conan Exiles, with a $5-10 million investment planned for this year. The full launch of the completed Conan Exiles is currently slated for PC, PS4, and Xbox One within the first quarter of 2018.
The Batmobile is a key part of any Batman movie, and director Zack Snyder has now revealed what the Caped Crusader will be driving in the upcoming Justice League. Snyder posted the image of the enhanced vehicle on social platform Vero, and it can viewed on comicbook.com.
In a recent interview with Heroic Hollywood, visual effects supervisor Bryan Hirota spoke about the film's tone, and whether it would be a reaction to the negative response to last year Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. "Justice League was always the rebirth of hope and the rise," he said. "People try to say that it's a response to the backlash, and I'd definitely say that criticisms were heard. But it's not like we threw everything out and started with a blank slate.
"It's a bit like Star Wars. Empire Strikes Back? Dark movie! But then Return of the Jedi is the rise and the rebuilding of hope."
The Nintendo Switch is off to a stronger start than the Wii U, in the UK at least, it seems. GI.biz reports today that the console has sold around 80,000 units during its March 3-5 opening weekend.
This is double the number of systems (40,000) that the Wii U reportedly sold for its first weekend in 2012.
The Switch's 80,000 launch figure for the UK is not as good as the 3DS (113,000), while it is nowhere even close to the launches of the PS4 (250,000) or the Xbox One (150,000), GI.biz said.
Bear in mind that the new opening-weekend Switch figure does not come from Nintendo. Nintendo has not announced any information on Switch sales for the UK or other markets around the world.
"You can play it all in [single-player] if you want, but it is gated (you can't [continue] story after a point, but can explore or restart for [example])," producer Fernando Melo said on Twitter (via Eurogamer).
This is standard for EA/Origin Access trials. For example, Battlefield 1's trial provided unlimited access to the multiplayer (for a certain period of time), but only a few single-player missions.
The EA/Origin Access trial for Andromeda will become available on March 16 for Xbox One and PC, five days before Andromeda comes out on March 21. No version of EA Access is available on PlayStation 4.
In other news, Melo shared a new image from Andromeda's multiplayer. This picture shows the new feature, Missions, which connect single-player and multiplayer. Take a look:
On the 5th day of MP-mas, the MP dev team gave to you: a new feature in MEA - Missions. Your link between MP/SP. Play & get rewards in both. pic.twitter.com/rBRWxNRHjZ
Ghost Recon: Wildlands launches on March 7, and as such reviews have started to go live. However, since much of the game is enhanced by online co-op, many publications have elected to delay their final reviews until public servers are live and reviewers have had a little more time to explore Wildlands' Bolivian setting.
GameSpot is one such publication. You can read critic Miguel Concepcion's thoughts here, or read on for a roundup of critics' opinions below. We will continue to update this roundup as more final reviews surface.
"There's comfort in falling into a tactical routine with your buddies as you reach the perimeter of every enemy outpost. This infiltration cycle begins when you use your tiny drone to survey the stronghold and mark all visible enemies. The ability to track marked enemies through multiple walls feels like cheating, though it hasn't diminished the appeal of the many other Tom Clancy games that use this feature. The openness of Wildlands makes this feature all the more essential and helps your team decide on the best strategy. It remains to be seen whether Wildlands retains the same gadget appeal of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier later on in the game, though perhaps a drone is all the advanced tech you need in Bolivia." -- Miguel Concepcion [Full review in progress]
GamesRadar+ -- 4.5/5
"None of those recurring glitches or other, one-time bugs I experienced were game-breaking, and most of the time they resulted in a fit of laughter rather than any actual frustration, but they're definitely present. Still, it's hard to look at those shortcomings as anything other than the small unwanted side effects of building a game as massive, detailed, and rich as Wildlands is. In fact, Wildlands is so far removed from what most have come to expect from a Ghost Recon title that it could have benefitted from shedding its sub-franchise namesake and simply standing on its own. It's certainly got the legs for it." -- Mike Wehner [Full review]
Destructoid -- No score (Review in progress)
"If Wildlands proves to be a solid co-op experience, it might be an easier sell as a multiplayer game and not an immersive epic. But as a single player experience, which is the way I've been playing the game, it has the misfortune of sharing a release window with two other expansive sandbox titles. Hopefully I'll be able to definitively answer this question the closer I get to finishing this game--Wildlands might be a long one. Should you absolutely need an answer right now, based on what I've seen from all three games: Zelda > Horizon > Wildlands. Take that how you will, especially since I've spent the most time with Zelda and the least with Wildlands.
"Since I haven't seen even half of what Ghost Recon has to offer, there's no point in writing a full review at this juncture. It's a fun game, but I'm only just starting to comprehend the sheer breadth of these wild lands. The cartel mechanic makes for a slick opening, but if the campaign is as long as I suspect, there's a chance I'll be sick of it by the time the credits roll. If Wildlands can keep things interesting (and the co-op works as advertised), then I'll probably have a great time in the wilds of Bolivia." -- Mike Cosimano [Full review in progress]
PC Gamer -- No score (Review in progress)
"There's the lingering worry that, deeper into the game, this approach will start to drag. I rarely play on higher difficulty settings, but here I feel it might be necessary. Without a reason to engage in the unlock system, and a need to get new and better gear, the structure risks turning into a repetitive grind. Or maybe, in the right circumstances, it won't. I suspect the idea is to make co-op play as easy and as frictionless as possible, and that could well be the case." -- Phil Savage [Full review in progress]
The three-week delay will allow the company to implement changes inspired by fan feedback after the recent beta.
"We've worked tirelessly creating a whole new Sniper: Ghost Warrior experience set in an ambitiously crafted open world new to the series," said CI Games' CEO Marek Tyminski. "While it's an unfortunate decision to delay the game one last time, we believe these final changes will result in a better experience for players worldwide on day one.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 was supposed to launch on April 4, itself a delay from the previously intended January release. That postponement was said to be in aid of further polish and optimization.
An unrelated franchise from developer Rebellion Developments called Sniper Elite recently saw its latest release. Sniper Elite 4, which launched in February, fared well in our review: critic Richard Wakeling said the series is finally "living up to its long-standing potential." Read more in our full Sniper Elite 4 review.
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