GTA Online players can get there hands on some slick additions to the game this week in Grand Theft Auto V. A new sports car called the Grotti Turismo Classic is now available at Legendary Motorsport. Rockstar says the Sports Classic class car is a "pure and primal" throwback to a simpler time. Check it out for yourself.
Players can really clean up for the next seven days with some big prize boosts on the Special Vehicle Race Bumblebee (locked to the Rocket Voltic). Featured as a Premium Race this week, get behind the wheel for triple RP and place in the top three to win major GTA$ rewards until April 10.
There are a few discounts for you too. Available today and tomorrow, you can get 25% off many high-end items, including the chance to grab an Executive Office to run Special Cargo and Vehicle Cargo operations. Here are the two-day deals:
Executive Offices and Executive Garages
Vehicles: Debauchee Massacro, Pegassi Tempesta
Vehicle Upgrades and Modifications: Transmissions, Vehicle Armor, Brakes Handguns
The DLC contains four new maps: Turista, a spa resort contained within the skeleton of a giant ancient creature; Scrap, which is set on an abandoned Moonbase junkyard; Archive, a post-futuristic art gallery; and Excess, which is a small-scale re-imagining of the Modern Warfare 2 map Rust.
In addition, publisher Activision has released a new trailer that shows off the add-on's Shaolin Shuffle Zombies map--check it out above.
The Zombies chapter is set in a "'70s-era New York disco-zombie fright fest," according to Activision. It stars Pam Grier--who previously appeared in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 crime thriller film Jackie Brown--as well as Paul Reubens (Pee-wee's Big Holiday, Gotham), Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Austin Powers), Jay Pharoah (Saturday Night Live, Ride Along), and Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer).
Despite some fan criticism, we enjoyed the latest Call of Duty here at GameSpot. Critic Miguel Concepcion said it offers the franchise's "best story in years," with some moments "at least as memorable and moving as any deeds from … the series' heyday." Read more in our full Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review.
If you're craving some hack-and-slash RPG action today, there's a new free demo out for Dragon Quest Heroes II on PlayStation 4 (get a look at the trailer above).
The upcoming sequel to Dragon Quest Heroes gives players the chance to play as one of 15 characters from the series. In the demo, only four characters are playable, but Square Enix says you'll get the chance to experience the game's fast-paced battle, expansive environments, and many quests.
Unlike the first game, Dragon Quest Heroes II will also feature a cooperative multiplayer mode, where up to 4 players can face off against swarms of enemies together.
The full game comes out for PS4 and PC (on Steam) April 25 in North America and on April 28 in Europe. Anyone who pre-orders the game's Explorer's Edition will get 15 in-game bonus weapons, a Dragon Quest PS4 theme, a Dragon Quest 1 hero costume, and a "Healix the Hero Recipe" you can use in Dragon Quest Builders.
Mass Effect: Andromeda developer BioWare has detailed an upcoming patch that includes "technical fixes" and also "adds a number of improvements" to the game that fans have asked for.
As detailed on the Mass Effect website, the patch will be available on April 6. Among the changes are the ability skip the lengthy transition animations that play out when traveling between planets on the galaxy map. BioWare has also improved "the appearance of eyes for human and Asari characters."
Decryption Keys, which are used to bypass the time-consuming Sudoku-like puzzle that frequently appears in the game, will cost less to purchase and will be more readily available at merchants.
Other big complaints that will be addressed in the update include "improving localized voice over lip sync" and tweaks to main character Ryder's movement when he or she is running in a zig zag pattern. Here's the full list of changes coming in the April 6 update:
Allowing you to skip ahead when travelling between planets in the galaxy map
Increasing the inventory limits
Improving the appearance of eyes for humans and asari characters
Decreasing the cost of remnant decryption keys and making them more accessible at merchants
Improving localized voice over lip sync
Fixing Ryder's movements when running in a zig zag pattern
Improving matchmaking and latency in multiplayer
Improved tutorial placement
Single-player balance changes: Ammo crates, armor, weapons, nomad, profiles, attacks, and progression
Multiplayer balance changes: Weapons, cover, and enemies
Added option to skip autopilot sequences in the galaxy map
Improved logic, timing, and continuity for relationships and story arcs
Improved lip-sync and facial acting during conversations, including localized VO
Fixed various collision issues
Fixed bugs where music or VO wouldn't play or wasn't correct
Fixed issue where global squad mate banter sometimes wasn't firing on UNCs
Fixed issue where player was unable to access the Remnant Console Interface after failing decryption multiple times
Fixed issue where fast travel is sometimes disabled after recruiting Drack until the player reloads a save
Fixed issue where Ryder can become stuck in the start of Biotic Charge Pose
Fixes issues related to some saves
Fixed issue where objective sometimes becomes un-interactable for players in multiplayer
Streaming and stability improvements
Looking further ahead, BioWare will be "rolling out additional patches which will go even deeper and look to improve several areas of the game." These areas include variety in character creation and improvements to character appearance, among others. Take a look at the full list of areas BioWare hopes to address in the list below.
More options and variety in the character creator
Improvements to hair and general appearance for characters
Ongoing improvements to cinematic scenes and animations
Improvements to male romance options for Scott Ryder
Adjustments to conversations with Hainly Abrams
BioWare has also said it will "continue to build on the APEX missions that have been running since launch" by introducing new maps, characters, and weapons. For multiplayer, April 6 will see the launch of three new chapters collectively called "The Remnant Investigation."
On March 29, following the launch of Andromeda and a wave of criticism relating to its technical flaws, BioWare released a statement assuring players it is "working around the clock to gather information and plan out solutions to improve and build on Mass Effect: Andromeda."
"In many ways, Andromeda feels like a vision half-fulfilled. It contains a dizzying amount of content, but the quality fluctuates wildly," reviewer Scott Butterworth said in his critique.
With its launch now so close, reviews have begun to emerge. In GameSpot's review, critic Kallie Plagge said the game's likeness to its ancestors is both a blessing and a curse: "Its style of gameplay is still outdated," she wrote, "[But] it's worthy of the title of spiritual successor." Check out our full Yooka-Laylee review for more.
For a selection of other critics' opinions, check out the roundup below--or for a wider view on critical opinion, you can take a look at GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Release: April 11 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC; "2017" on Nintendo Switch
Price: US $40 / £29 / AU $60
GameSpot -- 6/10
"Ultimately, Yooka-Laylee's best and worst aspects come directly from its predecessor. Despite attempts at modernizing the formula, its style of gameplay is still outdated, and it doesn't stay challenging or interesting for long as a result. But if you're looking for a faithful return to the Banjo-Kazooie formula, Yooka-Laylee certainly delivers--from the font to the music to the wealth of collectibles, it's worthy of the title of spiritual successor." -- Kallie Plagge [Full review]
IGN -- 7.0/10
"Yooka-Laylee contains all the pieces needed for a fun, enjoyable throwback to the 3D collectathons of the 64-bit era. The characters are charming and funny, your set of abilities is vast and entertaining, and four out of five of the worlds are fun playgrounds to explore. While it lacks the heart and polish of some of its incredible predecessors, it's a good reminder that this genre, once thought to be dead, still has some life left in it." -- Marty Sliva [Full review]
The Guardian -- 4/5
"What the game loses by not having had a Rare/Nintendo-sized QA department to smooth its rough edges it compensates for with a princely pile of ideas, and a lovely control scheme that only improves with elaboration. Younger players may be less willing to forgive its anachronisms but for its target audience, those ageing mourners of a lost fashion in games, it's a promise that's proven worthy of backing." -- Simon Parkin [Full review]
Polygon -- 5.5/10
"Yooka-Laylee looks the part of an updated platformer, but some of its mechanics should have stayed back in the era it came from. There was a reason we haven't seen more games like Banjo Kazooie on modern platforms, and it wasn't just because Rare as we knew it was gone; its ideas were very specific to a gameplay era that we've evolved past. Fourth-wall breaking dialog, shiny characters and lush graphics can't save Yooka-Laylee from the dated framework that it's built on." -- Chelsea Stark [Full review]
Nintendo has revealed a new BMX-themed Splatoon 2 map called Humpback Pumped Track.
The arena contains a bunch of ramps and curved edges, with bare boards and surfaces that look perfect for Splatoon 2's signature Turf War mode.
Humpback Pumped Track is the first new map to be revealed since Splatoon 2's global testfire, which concluded on March 26. That contained two stages: Musselforge Fitness (a huge gym, swimming pool, and climbing centre) and The Reef (a shopping district not far from Inkopolis Square). You can take a look at those in our livestream of the beta here.
It's unclear how many maps Splatoon 2 will contain in its final form. The original Splatoon eventually had 16, though 11 of those came after launch as part of a free map rotation system.
Insomniac Games' PlayStation 4-exclusive Spider-Man title will be released in 2017, according to Ryan Penagos, vice president and executive editor of Marvel Digital Media.
In a livestream, which was captured by Reddit user GamingSince95, Penagos was talking about Marvel's recent video game output and said "there's even more on the horizon for 2017 like Spider-Man coming to PlayStation 4 and Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC."
Insomniac's Spider-Man title was announced during E3 2016 but as of yet Insomniac, Sony, and Marvel have not officially announced a release date for the game.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have partnered for Spider-Man: Homecoming, a new movie which is set to hit cinemas in July. Insomniac's game isn't tied into this movie, but would no doubt benefit from being released this year. However, as previously stated, an official release date has not yet been specified for the game.
Spider-Man the game casts players as the iconic web-slinger in a completely original story. It takes place at a time when Peter Parker is "experienced" and "more masterful at fighting crime" in New York.
"From traversing with parkour and utilizing the environment, to new combat and blockbuster set pieces, it's Spider-Man unlike any you've played before," reads a line from the game's description.
Spider-Man, which is a working title for the PlayStation 4 game, is the first licensed game Insomniac has ever made. It is known most for the Ratchet and Clank series.
Thanks to Cross-Buy, PS4 will have a total of four games, as both of April's Vita games--10 Second Ninja and Curses 'n Chaos--are playable on Sony's home console too.
As highlighted in the video below from GTA X Scripting (via Kotaku), a new script mod brings the nanosuit from the Crysis series into the open-world game. It changes things up dramatically, as you canjump super high, push cars around with your super strength, and run extra fast. Not only that, but this mod changes the UI pretty dramatically. Here's the video:
The mod was created by JulioNIB. You can find out more about this mod and how to download it here at PC Gamer. As always, always be careful when downloading things from the internet.
The upcoming closed beta for Quake Champions will be available in Australia...eventually. id Software boss Tim Willits said in a new interview that servers in Australia will go live after North America and Europe.
"I love my Australian fans, but y'all live on the other side of the world!," Willits said in a new interview with IGN. "So we're going to move into closed beta very soon, and we are working with a major server cloud company and so we are not spinning up Australian servers until a few weeks after we go into our closed beta, so don't anyone get all upset down in Australia. We haven't forgot about you."
Willits went on to say that modern technology has made it "much easier" to get servers online in Australia. "Way more easier than South America," he said.
"So no one panic in Australia, we got you guys covered," Willits added. "But we will get you in to the closed beta after we get our servers spun up in North America and Europe--but you guys are not far behind."
The initial rollout of the Quake Champions beta will only be available for a "small group of people."
The Quake Champions beta begins on April 6 for the first wave of testers. If you haven't already, you can still sign up for the beta here.
Titled "Take Me Home," the video uses the famous John Denver song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads." The peaceful-sounding song's juxtaposition with the terrifying events happening on screen is a nice touch. Take a look:
Actress Amber Heard has uploaded a video to her Instagram page showing off the work she's putting in to prepare for her fight scenes as Queen Mera.
Heard kicks ass, quickly taking down two stuntmen in the fight rehearsal video below by spinning them on their backs (via GamesRadar). Here's the video:
This is in preparation for her part in Aquaman, which is due out in 2018. Heard will also play Mera in this November's Justice League, though her presence in that film may be smaller.
Another Aquaman character, Aquaman himself (Jason Mamoa) will appear in Justice League and of course the standalone Aquaman movie.
In the comics, Aquaman and Mera are married and often work together to keep the oceans safe.
After a two-month delay, Aquaman is now slated to premiere on December 21, 2018; bumped back from its original October debut.
Someone has created a parody of the scary first trailer for the Stephen King movie It, replacing the killer clown Pennywise with Mike Myers as the Cat in the Hat from the 2003 live-action movie.
Posted on April Fool's Day by YouTube user But Without (whose profile image is Steve Buscemi's face), the video has the wonderful all-caps title, "IT 2017 TRAILER BUT IT'S THE CAT IN THE HAT." The video is cut together nicely, and is still very scary. As you may recall about the live-action Cat in the Hat film, Myers was pretty great--if not a little unsettling--in the title role. Here's the video (via ScreenRant):
The real It trailer came out last week and racked up 197 million views in its first 24 hours, surpassing the previous record-holder The Fate of the Furious (139 million), according to Deadline.
Directed by Andres Muschietti (Mama), It opens in theaters on September 8. The movie is expected to be the first of two films--in the novel, a group of kids overcome their fears to eventually defeat the creature known as It. Years later he returns, and as adults they must work together to finish the job. The first movie will be about the children's story, while a second will chronicle the adults' narrative.
Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove) plays Pennywise, while Stranger Things actor Fin Wolfhard plays one of the children. The story takes place in a town in Maine, as many Stephen King books do.
The first of the four Avatar sequels will finally start shooting later this year, star Sigourney Weaver has revealed. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter (via IGN), Weaver said, "We're starting training, and we're starting--hmm, I probably can't say anything. We will be actually shooting it by the fall."
Going back to Weaver, the actress assures fans that the movie will be worth the wait.
"I'm telling you, these scripts are so amazing, I'm not worried about [disappointing fans] at all," she said. "Am I worried about how we're going to bring them to life? Yes, because they're so ambitious. They're so worth it. They're well worth waiting for. I'm not worried about that at all. We're trying to get it done as quickly as possible."
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are also returning for the sequel, though other casting details are unknown. We also don't know a lot about the story.
According to Worthington, Avatar 2 will emphasize the "family" aspect that Cameron has previously spoken about. "This is going to be Jake [Sully, Worthington's character] eight years later, and he's got a family now'" he said. "The world is bigger than the first one, but essentially, it's a movie about family.
"So we're not making Avatar 2," he said. "We're making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It's an epic undertaking. It's not unlike building the Three Gorges dam. (Laughs) So I know where I'm going to be for the next eight years of my life."
The HTC Vive virtual reality headset launched in April 2016. To celebrate the headset's first birthday, HTC is running a sale on the device, dropping its price from $800 to $700 later this week.
The $100 discount goes into effect for one day only--April 5--which is one year to the day after HTC Vive launched. The headset also comes with a pair of wireless controllers.
Also on April 5, which HTC has dubbed "Vive Day," the company is offering everyone a free copy of Arcade Saga (containing three arcade titles) and a free one-month subscription to Viveport.
Viveport is the just-announced subscription service (launching April 5), that lets users pick five games from an "ever-growing library of curated content" and play them as much as they want for $7/month. You can continue to play your chosen five games or pick new ones every month.
There will be more than 50 games in the Viveport library at launch, including Fantastic Contraption, Mars Odyssey, and Everest VR.
The DLC that Capcom made available to people who preordered Dead Rising 4 will be available for everyone to buy starting on April 4, the publisher has announced.
This DLC included a number of weapons such as a candy cane cross bow, a snowman helmet, and an ugly sweater, and giant green fists, as well as a motorcycle called a "Slicecycle."
These items will be available to buy for $2 each from Dead Rising 4's digital stores on April 4 (via DualShockers). You can click through the images in the gallery below to see all five of them.
Also launching on April 4 is the new single-player Dead Rising 4 DLC, "Frank Rising," which covers the events of an outbreak in Willamette where Frank becomes infected. The DLC costs $10.
After Frank Rising, Capcom will launch another expansion called "Super Ultra Dead Rising 4 Mini Golf," which is a wacky-looking mini golf mode featuring power-ups and zombies. In addition to playing on your own, there's four-player online multiplayer and local, turn-based co-op.
Like other PS2-on-PS4 games, these Jak games will be upscaled to 1080p and include Trophies. Additionally, you'll be able to use new features such as Shareplay and Remote Play.
Sony did not say if the four games will be released simultaneously or if they'll be staggered. We also don't know how much they will cost.
In the PlayStation Blog post, Sony says fans should stay tuned for more details in the time ahead.
Ahead of the movie's release next month, Fox has now published three new TV spots for the sci-fi film. The videos have ominous-sounding titles--"Run," "Pray," and "Hide"--and they deliver the chills.
Part of what makes them scary is not knowing what's coming, so that's all we'll say. All three videos are embedded below; they're pretty short, so it won't take very long to see them all.
Scott is already planning the next Alien movie, Alien: Awakening. "You've got to assume, to a certain extent, success [for Alien: Covenant], and from that you'd better be ready," he said. "You don't want a two-year gap. So I'll be ready to go again next year."
Alien: Covenant arrives in theaters on May 19 in the US.
In other news, Fox has teased this year's Alien Day, which will be held on April 26 (a reference to the planet LV-426 in the sci-fi universe). According to CBR, Fox's celebration plans include a livestream event featuring a Q&A with the Covenant cast and the reveal of some behind-the-scenes footage.
Veteran director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus) will direct and produce a World War II movie about the Battle of Britain, according to Variety.
The movie, which film company Fox acquired in 2016, will be produced by Scott's Scott Free production company, alongside Safe House Pictures.
The real-world Battle of Britain took place in the summer of 1940. As this History post explains, the clash was a turning point of World War II, as it ended with Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe, failing to take control over the UK skies, as British air force units held them back.
"Britain's decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle," History said.
There is no word yet on who will star in Scott's Battle of Britain movie or when it will be released.
Scott's next movie is Alien: Covenant, which opens in May.
Having trouble getting online with your Nintendo Switch right now? It's not a problem on your end. Currently all network services are offline as part of a round of server maintenance.
The maintenance began at 1 PM PT today, April 3, and ends at 6 PM PT. This maintenance period is for Nintendo Switch, as well as Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS.
More downtime is planned for later this week. Some network services for Switch, Wii U, and 3DS--including online play and rankings--will be unavailable on April 5. This downtime is scheduled to run April 5 at 6:45 PM PT through 8 PM PT that same day.
Sega appears to be teasing something. The developer and publisher has launched a new teaser site that features a countdown clock that ends in seven days, three hours, and five minutes, as of this writing.
People on Reddit believe the teaser may be related to the Bayonetta series, as the character's foot can be seen in the dimly lit background on the teaser page.
The header for the teaser site only says, "Coming Soon."
The last entry in the mainline Bayonetta series was 2014's Bayonetta 2, which was exclusive to the Wii U. Both entries in the franchise have been made by Japanese studio PlatinumGames. The studio's new RPG Scalebound was recently canceled.
"We've talked a lot about it internally at the company and I've written some outlines for what the game would be. And I feel really confident it would be cool if we got the chance to make it," he said.
What are you hoping to see Sega's countdown clock reveal? Let us know in the comments below!
Earlier this year, Star Wars actor Harrison Ford broke protocol when he accidentally flew his plane directly over a commercial jetliner with more than 100 passengers on board. He landed his single-engine Husky on a taxiway at John Wayne Airport in southern California, instead of the runway. At the time, it was suggested that Ford could lose his pilot's license or be fined for the mistake.
But the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement this week that Ford won't face any kind of penalty, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Ford, 74, is an experienced pilot with thousands of hours in the sky. Check out the animated GIF embedded above to see how close Ford's plane came to the Boeing 737.
"This is a pretty big mistake. It would be almost like you and I entering the freeway the wrong way," a retired airline captain told CBS News. "This could have been very bad. If he had actually struck that aircraft, it would have been a major disaster."
The February event wasn't the first airplane incident that Ford has been involved in. In 2015, he was flying a World War II-era plane and the engine gave out. He crash-landed on a golf course and broke his arm.
Ford reprised one of his most famous roles, Han Solo, in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Here's something pretty cool: Electronic Arts is sending out 2 TB external hard drives to EA Access members who have been subscribers "from the start."
Recently, people on Twitter reported receiving the surprise care package in the mail, which includes a 2 TB Seagate external hard drive, three one-month EA Access membership codes, and a note from EA.
"We figured with the 40+ games in the Vault, you could use some extra hard drive space, plus a little extra something to get your whole crew on board," reads the note from EA.
The Seagate Xbox One external hard drive normally goes for around $100, while one-month EA Access memberships cost $5, so this is a pretty sweet offer and a nice gesture of goodwill, indeed.
EA Access launched in August 2014 on Xbox One, with a PC version called Origin Access debuting in January 2016. In addition to a library of games, subscribers save 10 percent on all EA digital content and can play some games ahead of launch.
No version of EA Access is available on PlayStation 4.
In other news about EA Access, the newest game to join the Vault, Zuma's Revenge, launched on March 30. It is an Xbox 360 game that plays on Xbox One via backward compatibility.
EA Access will soon be joined by another digital game program on Xbox One. The Xbox Game Pass, a Netflix-style service that provides access to a 100-game library for $10/month, will launch later this year. By comparison, EA Access costs $5/month or $30/year.
We've now rounded up all the freebies into lists, which you can see below. We will update this post in the days, weeks, and years ahead when more games are added. EA has vowed never to remove any games from the "Vault" of freebies. "I think one of the key things is that once a game goes into the Vault it stays there, it's not going to be taken out, that's a commitment we've made," Peter Moore said.
In addition to free games, EA/Origin Access members can play some games (but not all) ahead of launch; most of the time, subscribers get a five-day headstart. Another benefit is that subscribers save 10 percent on all EA digital content, which knocks down the price of a $60 game to $54.
The service costs $5/month or $30/year.
EA Access Free Games (As of April 3, 2017)
New and upcoming games are bolded
Battlefield 3 (released on January 20)
Battlefield 4
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (released on January 20)
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