Hearthstone's next expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, launches at some point in August. It introduces another 135 cards to the game, a good chunk of which have already been revealed.
In the gallery below, you'll find every Knights of the Frozen Throne card that's been shown off so far. These include cards with a new keyword, Lifesteal, which heals players based on the damage that it does. There are also Legendary Hero cards, which replace your character with a modified Death Knight version when played; these come with a new ability and look.
In addition to new cards, Knights of the Frozen Throne includes new single-player content--something the most recent expansion, Journey to Un'Goro, did not. Earlier this year, Blizzard made changes to how new expansions and single-player Adventures are rolled out. Knights of the Frozen Throne's single-player component is different than those in the past, as it comes with a set of free missions, including a prologue, two wings of three boss fights each, and a final battle against the Lich King. Completing the prologue will net you a random Legendary Hero card, while finishing each wing will also get you a card from the expansion. If you make your way through everything, you'll also obtain a card pack.
A special, one-time pre-order offer is available for Knights of the Frozen Throne, allowing you to buy 50 card packs for $50. Doing so also gets you a special card back, pictured above along with some new artwork.
Dean Hall is best known for his work on the popular DayZ mod and game, but he's been working for a while now on a new title: Stationeers. Today, Hall announced that the space-station management game is scheduled to launch into Early Access this September.
In a post on Steam, Hall explained that the release window is dependent on ensuring that Stationeers is at a sufficient level of playability. Although Hall said that work on the game is coming along nicely, the developer still needs to eliminate some bugs before releasing it to the public.
"Our current plan is to release in September," he explained. "However, this date would be delayed if we do not think the game is ready. We will communicate this if it happens, and the reasons why. I just think we should be a little more public now about our expected targets, as it also helps internally put a little pressure on the team."
"We'll certainly delay the release until we have [a] solid complete game loop and very good stability," he continued. "We've achieved very good performance now with very smooth gameplay. We have some fairly nasty bugs remaining out of our refactoring, but we don't expect them to take too long."
Hall has received criticism in the past for extremely long Early Access periods for his games. DayZ, for example, originally launched in Early Access back in 2013, and it's still in Early Access now. In the Steam post about Stationeers' release window, Hall seemed to acknowledge this criticism while also defending the necessity of Early Access.
"One of the reasons we wanted to do Early Access with this game is so that it would evolve with the community through development," he stated. "Early Access is a great way to restrict the number of customers, yet still build a very focused community. It allows us to gauge the real interest in the game and scope it correctly without the danger of overscoping and bankrupting the studio.
"Above all else, I want this to be like we did Out of Ammo's EA but on a larger scale. I suppose I want to try and do Early Access 'right' based on what I've learned myself and from others."
In Stationeers, players attempt to manage a space station either solo or with other players. According to its Steam description, it has "fully functioning atmospherics, science, power, engineering, medical, and agricultural systems." Players are tasked with exploring space to find resources, mine asteroids, and create better stations.
The first image of Domino from the upcoming superhero sequel Deadpool 2 has been released. It shows the character, played by Atlanta star Zazie Beetz, recreating a familiar promotional shot from the first movie, but with Deadpool himself acting as a rug. Check it out below, as tweeted by star Ryan Reynolds:
Reynolds and Beetz will be be joined by Josh Brolin, playing Cable. Brolin has documented his transformation into the hulking mercenary on Instagram; in May, he revealed the exhausting workout regime that he underwent to get into shape, while this post showed him having make-up put on for the role.
In related news, it was announced in May that an adult animated Deadpool show is on the way. The currently untitled series will be overseen by Atlanta star and creator Donald Glover with his brother Stephen, who will both act as showrunners, producers, and writers. It is being developed for FXX, the sister channel to FX, and the 10-part first season will premiere next year.
There's been no shortage of crazy and incredible mods made for Grand Theft Auto V, but most of them stay within the bounds of San Andreas. At this point, though--years after the game's original release--a group of modders apparently decided that the city was feeling a little stale and wanted to expand. And so they created a mod that takes GTA V to the final frontier.
Grand Theft Space, as it's called, is an ambitious mod that aims to let you explore space and battle with aliens. It's still in development, but the trailer that the team released gives a glimpse of a mod that's already awesome. Check it out below.
You can see from the video that you'll be able to blast off into space in a shuttle, explore the solar system, careen around the moon in a buggy, and meet new NPCs. You can see a list of features that the mod team is working on here.
"The earth has been alone in this galaxy since the very moment it was formed, but far far away in another galaxy, there was intelligent life peering at the people of earth for a millennium," modder Sollaholla wrote. "This life was not the friendly life we would like to believe. The NASA research team have found remnants of alien spaceship parts scattered around the state of San Andreas. We never thought that these intelligent life-forms would ever reach our planet; but they're coming and they're not on our side. It's your mission to take out these alien scum before they reach earth."
There's no set official release date for the mod yet; the modders say that it'll launch "when we think it's ready," Sollaholla said.
If you're already in love with Rick and Morty, it won't surprise you to read this: It's not a dumb show. A dumb show, in its third season, might have been content to do just a dumb Mad Max tribute episode. Rick and Morty, of course, did something better.
Don't misinterpret this; Rick and Morty Season 3 episode 2, "Rickmancing the Stone," is absolutely a great Mad Max parody. It's just that, unsurprisingly, it does the smart show thing, and uses that joke to say something more.
The season 3 premiere--which, don't forget, aired earlier this year on April 1--established one very important plot point: that Beth and Jerry are getting a divorce. It's a long time coming, considering what happened when they tried couples counseling.
The show couldn't just leave it at that--Beth and Jerry are divorced, life goes on, cue hijinks. Back in Season 1, Rick and Morty might have briefly seemed like the kind of show where the world could end in one episode and everything would be back to normal in the next. But over the course of Seasons 1 and 2 it gradually became clear that Rick and Morty takes its continuity seriously. Just look at the way the show has regularly addressed the fact that the original Rick and Morty of the world in which our protagonists currently reside are buried in the backyard, a humdinger of a gag from Season 1 that seems to have scarred our Morty for life.
This show deals not just with a persistent narrative, but with emotional continuity as well. So of course it had to really deal with Beth and Jerry's divorce before we could move on.
The third season's second episode saw Rick, Morty, and Summer venture to an alternate world in which Mad Max-like gangs of mutant bandits roam the wastelands of a post-apocalyptic earth. They quickly dispatch the bandits' Immortan Joe-like leader and take up residence, all mainly to avoid Jerry, whose earnest fretting over divorce-related issues like "who gets custody" has begun to annoy everyone involved.
Summer is all too eager to get away. Morty is a little more sympathetic to his father's sad feelings, but he follows them through the portal nonetheless. Beth has nothing but disdain for her estranged husband. And Rick, as always, is actively rooting against him. But there's more to this episode than just getting away from Jerry. As "Rickmancing the Stone" continues, it becomes clear that the kids are using their time in the post-apocalyptic wasteland to work through their parents' divorce.
"Stop standing in the driveway talking about custody, and either tell her you want to stay married, or get on with your life!" Morty yells, as his enormous, roided-up arm punches a man's head clean off in the Blood Dome. "But whatever you do, stop being a baby, and act like a man!"
As Morty expresses his frustration, the wasteland allows Summer to embrace her newfound nihilism. Nothing matters to her anymore, so this mutant society's kill-or-be-killed rules suit her just fine. She throws herself in headlong by hooking up with Hemorrhage, making sure she'll never have to return to the real world (not accounting for Rick's interference, of course).
Morty isn't quite as committed, although he'd be fine spending weekends there, or visiting home once in a while to do a load of laundry, as he tells Rick.
Good things can't last, of course. Morty, who's grown unnaturally attached to his gigantic ghost arm, eventually faces that truth.
"Maybe the lesson we've learned is that, whether it's our parents' marriage, a glowing green rock, or an awesome giant arm, sooner or later we've got to let it go," he realizes, before Rick helps him finish off the guy his arm had been drowning in a bathtub.
Summer, a little closer to adulthood than her brother Morty, is meanwhile forced to view her parents' separation in a different light as her relationship with poor old Hemorrhage falls apart. (Well done there, Rick.)
Throughout it all demented mutants scream that their blood is made of gasoline, dousing their faces with spraypaint and blowing themselves up on the backs of spiked cars. Hemorrhage wonders dreamily about the before-fore time, before the boom-boom, when he might have been a child. The Mad Max jokes are on point. But they're not the point. And with "Rickmancing the Stone," Rick and Morty proved once again that, in spite of itself, it's one of the most intelligent and emotionally rich shows on the air.
HBO is the latest high-profile entertainment company to have been targeted by hackers. It has been reported that "written material" for the network's hit fantasy show Game of Thrones is among the content that has been released online following a cyber attack.
According to Entertainment Weekly, hackers have obtained 1.5 terabytes of data from HBO. So far, an upcoming episode of the sports comedy Ballers and new anthology drama Room 104 have apparently been put online, as well as written material from next week's episode of Game of Thrones. The group responsible have claimed that more stolen material is to follow.
HBO did not comment specifically on the stolen items but did issue a statement: "HBO recently experienced a cyber incident, which resulted in the compromise of proprietary information. We immediately began investigating the incident and are working with law enforcement and outside cybersecurity firms. Data protection is a top priority at HBO, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the data we hold."
This followed an incident earlier this year, when a hacker claimed that he had stolen the latest season of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black, and was similarly demanding a payout from the streaming giant. The biggest studio hack to date was the infamous attack on Sony's servers in 2014, when over 100 terabytes of data was uploaded online.
Spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7 episode 3 below
The final scene of Game of Thrones Season 7 episode 3, "The Queen's Justice," saw the esteemed Diana Rigg, as Olenna "The Queen of Thorns" Tyrell, fire a quarrel of truth directly into Jaime Lannister's gut. But beyond being another epic Olenna own--demonstrating just how badass the Tyrell matriarch is, even in the face of her impending death--her admission that she was the one responsible for Joffrey's murder is more important than you might have realized.
The crux of it lies in one of the things the show did differently from the books. Toward the end of Season 4, Jaime helped his brother, Tyrion, escape his death sentence and flee King's Landing. They left one another as loving brothers, but Tyrion took a detour to murder their father, over which Jaime became understandably upset.
The act drove a blood-soaked wedge between them. Jaime risked everything to help Tyrion, and Tyrion repaid him by betraying their family and murdering Tywin. It's hard to see how they could ever bury that hatchet, especially now that Tyrion is serving as Hand for the Lannisters' greatest enemy yet.
But that escape played out differently in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books. In the third novel, A Storm of Swords, Jaime helps Tyrion escape the Red Keep's dungeons, just as he did in the show. But they don't part amicably, because Jaime--knowing he may never see his little brother again--uses the opportunity to confess his guilt in a decades-old betrayal that scarred Tyrion for life.
The show actually alluded to this, all the way back in Season 1, episode 9, "Baelor." Tyrion told Shae, who he'd just recently met, about his first love, a woman named Tysha. Tyrion had married Tysha, a commoner, and when his father Tywin found out, he accused her of being an opportunistic whore and made Tyrion participate as she was raped over and over. It was a horrendous event that shaped Tyrion for the rest of his life--and not for the better.
In the book, Jaime confesses to Tyrion that Tysha actually wasn't a whore--that was a lie Tywin invented and Jaime reinforced. In return, Tyrion tells Jaime that he did, in fact, kill Joffrey (which, of course, he did not. But he was feeling a little vindictive). Then he wanders off and murders Tywin and Shae.
Here's why this matters: Olenna's confession that she poisoned King Joffrey absolves Tyrion in Jaime's eyes, at least of that particular crime. In the show, Jaime may never forgive his brother for murdering their father. The books, as usual, might be a different story.
It became clear long ago that the show is telling a different tale from the books, especially now that they've passed the source material and ventured entirely into unknown territory. That means that things that play out on the screen probably won't happen the exact same way if Martin ever gets around to releasing the final Song of Ice and Fire books. But the show's events might still reveal the shapes of things to come in the books, and this may be one of those times.
The rift between Jaime and Tyrion in the show happened because Tyrion betrayed his brother and murdered their father. In the books, that rift opened a few crucial minutes earlier, when Jaime confessed that he'd allowed Tyrion's first wife to be viciously abused, then lied to Tyrion about it their entire lives. In light of the shock that must have caused Tyrion, the violent actions that followed are slightly more understandable than in the show, and Jaime might have more grounds to forgive him.
One longstanding question for book-readers has been: How can Jaime forgive Tyrion if he thinks Tyrion killed his son, Joffrey? The TV series may have just provided the answer.
In the show, Tyrion never lied to his brother about killing Joffrey, and Jaime never really believed that he had. Jaime's anger toward his brother stems not from that, but from the events that followed. So Olenna's confession, while shocking, won't fully absolve Tyrion in Jaime's mind.
Olenna's confession will surely matter on the show--hopefully it will finally catalyze a real rift between Jaime and Cersei, because their incest is getting seriously gross. But if this episode's final scene plays out in any similar way, shape, or form in the books, it will matter even more on the page than it did on the screen. In writing, Olenna's final act of spite will have a gleaming silver lining: Providing a body in which Jaime and Tyrion might be able to bury that hatchet after all.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced a number of new villains to the Star Wars universe, such as Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Snoke, and General Hux. One character who didn't get much screen time was Captain Phasma, played by Gwendoline Christie (who portrays Brienne on Game of Thrones). Now Christie has hinted that fans can expect more from Phasma in the upcoming The Last Jedi.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Christie explained that Last Jedi director Rian Johnson allowed considerable collaboration in the development of the characters. "Rian invited me to read the script, have my thoughts and then to come and discuss it with him," she said. "I was really thrilled to have an opportunity of a forum where I could put my ideas forward and have some back and forth about where we felt things were and where we felt they can go.
"What I can tell you about the next Star Wars film is I think Rian does an exceptional job of going deeper, of going further, and really exploring what these relationships are."
In May, two new characters were revealed--DJ, played by Benicio Del Toro, and Laura Dern's Vice Admiral Holdo. Director Rian Johnson also teased one of the movie's new locations, a "casino city" called Canto Bight.
"[It's a] Star Wars Monte Carlo–type environment, a little James Bond–ish, a little To Catch a Thief," he said. "It was an interesting challenge, portraying luxury and wealth in this universe. I was thinking, okay, let's go ultra-glamour. Let's create a playground, basically, for rich assholes."
The Last Jedi also stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Andy Serkis. It hits theaters on December 15, 2017.
Nintendo has announced a release date for Monster Hunter Stories, the next 3DS-exclusive installment in Capcom's long-running franchise. The game launches in the US on September 8.
Unlike other games in the Monster Hunter series, Stories is not a cooperative action game, but a turn-based RPG. The title features a much more colorful art style than previous installments and puts players in the role of a Monster Rider. Players will have to collect and hatch monster eggs and use each beast's unique abilities to navigate the world and battle enemies. The game also features armor and weapon crafting like a more traditional Monster Hunter title, as well as a variety of sidequests and a multiplayer battle mode.
Nintendo has also announced that a free demo of Monster Hunter Stories will soon be available to download from the 3DS Eshop. The demo arrives on the service on August 10. Players who choose to download it will be able to transfer their save data over to the full game when it releases. You can get a closer look at Stories' different art style and gameplay in the new trailer above.
Update: If you're intent on driving the Regalia in Forza Horzion 3, you'll want to be sure you qualify for it by the deadline. Asked if you'll be able to purchase the car as DLC or otherwise obtain it in the future, a Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot, "We currently don't have plans to offer the Final Fantasy XV Regalia in Forza Horizon 3 as separate DLC in the future." That doesn't necessarily mean it will never be available again, but at this point there's no guarantee that it will be.
Original Story: Final Fantasy XV won't be the only game where you can drive the Regalia for much longer. Microsoft has revealed the car driven by Noctis and company is on its way to last year's excellent racing game, Forza Horizon 3.
First announced earlier today at ChinaJoy 2017, the massive E3-esque show taking place in China this weekend, Microsoft shared the news with a look at the car in action. It features a 7.2-liter supercharged V12 with a maximum of 536 horsepower. Check it out in the trailer above.
You'll be able to get your hands on the car for free by having played Forza Horizon 3 (on Xbox One or PC) or Final Fantasy XV (on Xbox One) by August 1. Forza players will receive it through the in-game message system, while Final Fantasy XV players will get an Xbox Live message with a code that can be redeemed for the car.
It's unclear if you'll be able to purchase the car as DLC or obtain it through other means. Microsoft previously offered Halo's Warthog as a drivable vehicle in Horizon 3 for free if you had played certain Halo games, but it also later offered it through an in-game event.
Microsoft does have another upcoming game--Forza Motorsport 7--that it could have potentially brought the Regalia to, but Horizon 3's less serious style of racing seems like the better fit for a crossover like this. That game launches on October 3.
Horizon 3 could have marked the first time you'd be able to take the Regalia off-road. However, a Final Fantasy XV update earlier this year finally afforded players the freedom to drive the car without rails, rather than being restricted to roads only. The RPG will also soon support multiplayer.
Nintendo has announced the official release date for the latest version of Yo-kai Watch 2, called Psychic Specters. The 3DS game has been a long time coming (it originally debuted in Japan in 2014) and Nintendo had previously said it was due out this fall. Now we know it will hit stores on September 29 and cost $40.
Psychic Specters will allow players to "hop on the Hexpress to a new resort area," called Gera-Gera, which is one of the new locations you can explore. There are also 12 new quests, including one that delves into the origins of the mysterious Darknyan, and the ability to befriend 15 Wicked Yo-kai. The game comes with an expanded version of the Yo-kai Watch Blasters local co-op mode, with new bosses to defeat. Check out the new teaser trailer below.
Like the previous versions of Yo-kai Watch 2, Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls, you get the original core game plus extras. Psychic Specters includes all the Yo-kai from Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls, but if you already own these games you can transfer your save data to the new version and gain access to bonus dungeons, bosses, and exclusive Yo-kai. It's unclear what extras having saves from both versions gets you (if anything).
For more on Yo-kai Watch 2, check out our updated review featuring details about the two previously expanded versions.
The July update for Final Fantasy XV is now live. This month's patch adds the long awaited set of Power Rangers-like combat suits to the game and gives players another chance to participate in a limited-time in-game event.
Starting today, players will finally be able to get their hands on the Magitek Exosuits, a special set of armor for Noctis and his friends. Donning the Exosuits makes the party invincible for a full 30 minutes, though the suits can only be used once per day. The Magitek Exosuits were originally intended to be released as part of the game's paid DLC Booster Pack this past February; however, Square Enix delayed the costumes due to their similarities to the ones worn by the Power Rangers in the recent reboot film. To make up for the delay, the publisher is offering the armor for free to all players. The Magitek Exosuits were also redesigned to further differentiate them from the Power Rangers; you can see a comparison of the old and new designs below.
New vs. Old Magitek Exosuit designs
In addition to the Magitek Exosuits, this month's update adds a new Cross Chain system to the game, as well as an additional quest to undertake. The biggest feature from the update, however, is the return of the Moogle Chocobo Carnival. This limited-time event originally ran back in February and features special carnival-themed games, items, and quests to experience. As before, however, players will need to have either the Holiday Pack or Holiday Pack+ DLC installed to participate in the event. The former pack is free to all players, while the latter is only available to those who purchased the game's Season Pass. Square Enix says the Moogle Chocobo Carnival will run until "late September."
August is just hours away, meaning time is running out to claim the PlayStation Plus games for July. Today marks the last chance for Plus subscribers to add six games to their library for free.
You can grab the free Plus games through the PlayStation Store links below. The PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, August 1, with August's new Plus freebies, including Just Cause 3 and Downwell.
It's the end of the month, and that means Xbox Live Gold subscribers will soon have a new slate of free games to download. Today marks the last opportunity to grab part of the existing lineup of freebies.
While it's already too late to grab one of the month's Xbox 360 games, three of July's free games are still available for Gold members to claim. On Xbox One, you can grab Grow Up and Runbow right now; the latter will remain free until August 15. And on Xbox 360, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is free through the end of today. Like all Xbox 360 games offered through Games With Gold these days, it's playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
You can grab all three games through the Xbox Store links at the bottom of this story. The first of August's Games With Gold freebies are set to arrive tomorrow, August 1, and include Slime Rancher and Bayonetta. The former makes its Xbox One debut tomorrow, allowing you to pick it up for free right out of the gate.
Last week it was reported that DC was spending $25 million on reshoots for the upcoming superhero team-up Justice League. However, the most curious news wasn't the cost, it was that Superman actor Henry Cavill will be reshooting his scenes with a full mustache, which will then have to be digitally removed in post-production. Now more details of the process involved have emerged.
Cavill is currently filming Mission: Impossible 6, for which he has grown the facial hair. The extensive Justice League reshoot schedule means that Cavill will have to work on both movies simultaneously, leaving Warner no option but to edit the moustache out of his Justice League scenes. In an interview with Business Insider, VFX expert Dave Fleet explained the complexity of digital facial hair removal.
"If we were to remove a beard [or mustache], we would have to digitally re-build the actor's face behind the hair mass," he said. "We would need to build a 3D model of the face and then shade the surface of the skin to look realistic. We would then need to track the 3D model to the movement of his head and potentially re-animate his mouth. The amount of lip animation would depend on how much of the original beard occluded his lips. We would need to paint out the parts of the beard that extend beyond his shaven face."
Fleet went on to explain that it can take up to six weeks to edit a moustache out of a one=minute clip. It is unknown how much footage Cavill needs to reshoot, but it goes without saying that many fans will be watching his top lip carefully when the film arrives in November.
Cavill himself also commented on the issue this week, with a jokey post on Instagram. He stated: "There has been no discussion over whether to shave or not to shave for the JL reshoots, simply a relentless campaign to put an end to the seemingly inexorable conquest of this despotic 'stache. It is not a question of IF I should shave--it is a question of how can we possibly be victorious against such a beast without bringing our own doom raining down upon us."
Justice League stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. The film also has Amber Heard as Mera, JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf. A new trailer premiered at San Diego Comic-Con last week--you can check it out here.
Those in the market for a cheap way to play 3DS games will soon have a new option in the United States. Nintendo has announced the revival of a years-old 2DS bundle that launches in August.
The bundle consists of a white-and-red 2DS (not to be confused with the New 2DS XL) and a digital copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2 (not to be confused with Super Mario Bros. 2). It also comes with a 4 GB SD card, just as this same bundle did when it was offered in European markets back in 2014. It launches in the US for $80 on August 25.
The 2DS lacks the clamshell design of other 3DS models but is capable of playing 3DS game--albeit without any 3D functionality--with the exception of the small number of games exclusive to the New 2DS XL and New 3DS (such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D). New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the 2012 side-scroller that distinguished itself from other games in the series by placing an emphasis on collecting coins.
Nintendo only just launched the New 2DS XL in the US last week. While the New 3DS has been phased out, the standard 2DS remains one of the three pillars of the 3DS hardware business. Earlier this year, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime explained the reason for having so many versions of the 3DS available simultaneously and why the New 2DS XL was introduced.
"The Nintendo 2DS really focused on that entry level gamer," he said. "The four-, five-, six-year old that is just getting into gaming, but wants to play Mario Kart, wants to have a Super Mario Bros. experience, wants to play Pokemon. And we feel with Nintendo 3DS XL at $199 that it's a fully-featured product, that it is, if you will, the Cadillac of handheld gaming. And then we heard from consumers, 'Boy, I wish there was something in between.'"
In addition to the New 2DS XL, last week saw the release of two new 3DS games from Nintendo, although it appears neither one is as stellar as you might have hoped. You can check out our Miitopia review and Hey Pikmin review for our thoughts on each game.
August is nearly upon us, meaning it's almost time for a new selection of free games from Microsoft and Sony. The latter has revealed what games PlayStation Plus members will be able to download for free starting on August 1. As usual, there's a total of six games divided evenly across PS4, PS3, and Vita.
On PS3, the games include Super Motherload and Snakeball. Those with a Vita can pick up Level 22 and the excellent Downwell, which also features Cross-Buy with PS4, getting PS4 owners a total of three games this month.
These games will be free to download for Plus members beginning next Tuesday, August 1. You can still pick up all of July's free Plus games until then.
As an additional bonus over the next six weeks, Plus members in the US can rent select movies from the PlayStation Store for 99 cents each. The current title is The Lego Batman Movie; it will be followed by Logan, Power Rangers, Kong: Skull Island, Boss Baby, and Ghost in the Shell.
With August so close, Microsoft has finally announced the list of games that Xbox Live Gold members will soon be able to download for free. As always, it includes four total games: two for Xbox One and two for Xbox 360.
On the Xbox One side, the month starts out with Slime Rancher, the first-person sim game where you manage a farm of adorable slime creatures. It's been in Early Access on PC for some time, but August 1 marks its official release, meaning Gold members will get it for free right out of the gate. On August 16, Trials Fusion, the latest game in the excellent platforming-with-bikes series, will become free.
In terms of Xbox 360 games, the first half of the month features stellar character action game Bayonetta, while the second half will offer Red Faction: Armageddon. Both of these games are also playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility; Armageddon is a new addition to the program.
Unlike its predecessor, Destiny 2 is coming to PC in addition to consoles. While PC players will have to wait longer than those on PS4 and Xbox One to get their hands on the full game, a beta is set to begin soon to give them a taste of what to expect.
The PC beta's early access period begins on August 28; this is open to anyone who pre-orders the full game (which also gets you an Exotic weapon). If you don't pre-order, you'll still be able to get in with the launch of the open beta just a day later, on August 29. The beta will conclude for everyone on August 31, barring an extension, like the one we saw for the recent console beta.
Bungie finally announced when PC players will be able to play the Destiny 2 beta in its Weekly Update recently. In addition, the studio also shared what kind of PC you'll need to run the game.
Bungie recommends that you have a pretty beefy machine to run the game, which isn't surprising considering Destiny 2's graphical and processing complexity. For processors, Bungie recommends that you have at least an Intel Core i5-2400 or AMD Ryzen R5 1600X. For GPUs, meanwhile, the studio suggests an Nvidia GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon R9 390. 8 GB of RAM is recommended, too.
Interestingly, Bungie also gives a few suggestions in case you're looking to upgrade your PC to better run the beta. The studio suggests upgrading to an Intel Core i5-7400 CPU and an Nvidia GTX 1060 6 GB GPU.
Finally, if you want to go all out and run Destiny 2 like Bungie does at events, the studio shared the specs for its "Event Machine." To build such a rig, you'll need the high-powered Nvidia GTX 1080Ti 11GB GPU and Intel i7-7700k processor.
You can see the full list of specs below; Bungie warns that these specs could change by the time the game launches in full. The beta begins for people who have pre-ordered the game on August 28, while it opens to the public on August 29. It ends on August 31. Destiny 2 officially launches on PC on October 24.
Ark: Survival Evolved's full release has been delayed, developer Wildcard has announced. The final game will now launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 29.
The open-world title was previously scheduled to launch on August 8 after being available in early access for more than two years. Wildcard said the three-week delay is because the process of going gold and going through certification "took a little longer than expected."
"We're deeply apologetic for those who were negatively affected by the delay," the company stated. "It sucks, it wasn't what we had wanted nor planned but [it's] where we currently stand. We wanted to address this sooner but did not want to make any statements until we were completely sure of what was going to happen."
The game's new Ragnarok map will also launch on console on August 29, the same day as a big PC patch will arrive for the arena. Wildcard says the additional time allows "further development of the map," teasing that fans can "expect a gigantic update, even bigger than we initially thought."
Release day will see Ragnarok grow in size by one quarter, says Wildcard. The update will introduce "new biomes, a coastal Wyvern canyon, an epic boss encounter, new engrams, and something secret the Ragnarok team are cooking up."
Elsewhere in the announcement, Wildcard says it will mostly be focusing on PC and multiplayer updates in the coming weeks, though it says console users will receive the updates too, eventually. Check out the studio's plans in detail here.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle stars Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth once more, while new members of the cast include Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Julianne Moore. It's directed by Matthew Vaughn. The first Kingsman film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, was also directed by Vaughn; it was one of 2014's biggest surprise hits, making $414 million worldwide.
At the SDCC panel, Berry spoke about her character, brainy agent Ginger Ale. "I can't say I've always chosen to be that [type of character], so it was a departure from what I usually do," she said. "Ginger does her thing, but I'm not necessarily beating butts.
"The stunts were really crazy! I mean, I haven't seen things like this in a movie before. Matthew has really pushed the envelope and [has] gone really far forward with some of the things you see in the movie."
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is released on September 20, 2017.
Niantic was quick to stress that no other planned events--including those in Japan, France, Spain, and Germany--are affected by the delay. "We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you understand that our priority is to ensure a great experience for Pokemon Go trainers in Europe and around the world," the company stated.
However, it seems the news may not be all bad. The developer concluded by saying, "As a special surprise, we understand that some Pokemon that are rarely seen in Europe will be appearing soon in certain European cities for a brief time. Keep your eyes peeled!"
The European events were set to offer players in the continent the chance to catch region-specific creatures not often seen there. It seems those Pokemon--including Farfetch'd, Heracross, Kangaskhan, and more--may now be unlocked for more users to make up for the delay.
"Technical issues with our game software caused client crashes and interfered with gameplay for some users," CEO John Hanke said. "A more protracted problem was caused by oversaturation of the mobile data networks of some network providers. This caused many attendees to be unable to access Pokemon Go or other Internet services. Network congestion also led to a login issue which affected some users able to access the Internet."
In other Pokemon Go news, a new update is out now, bringing with it a number of bug fixes and re-introducing Team Instinct's leader, Spark. Check out the full Pokemon Go patch notes here.
Crash Bandicoot's N. Sane Trilogy has once again seen off competition from Nintendo's Splatoon 2 to come top of the UK physical sales chart this week. The PS4 exclusive sealed a fourth week out of five at No.1 since launch, meaning the Switch shooter has to settle for No.2 for the week ending July 29.
Elsewhere, Bethesda enjoys a resurgence this week with Fallout 4, Doom, and Dishonored 2 taking No.4, No.5, and No.6, respectively. Finally, the week's three new releases enjoy mixed performances: Nintendo's Miitopia and Big Ant's Rugby League Live 4 finish at No.7 and No.8, respectively, but Nintendo's other new game, Hey! Pikmin, is all the way down at No.29 in its debut week.
"Lack of player input and randomness makes Miitopia feel like a slow slog you mostly watch rather than play," wrote our critic, Heidi Kemps. "It's certainly cute, and it boasts the typically high production values you expect from Nintendo in terms of visuals, music, and dialogue. However, the fun of seeing Miis you put in various roles do goofy things wears thin after just a few hours, and while the game can reignite a bit of that initial joy when you add new Miis to the game at certain milestones, you still have to trudge through a lot of repetition to get there. If you're looking for a deep, engrossing game filled with Miis of your making, I'm sorry to say that adventure is in another castle." Read more in our full Miitopia review.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
One of the biggest storylines in gaming this year is Microsoft's Xbox One X. The super-powerful $500 console launches in November, and Ubisoft believes it could have a big impact on the industry overall. Speaking to GameSpot, CEO Yves Guillemot started off by saying Assassin's Creed: Origins, which Microsoft is a marketing partner for, takes "good advantage" of the console.
He went on to say that he's encouraged by the move by Microsoft to focus on power for the Xbox One X instead of a peripheral like Kinect. The decision to include Kinect with every Xbox One was a much-criticised move, and Microsoft eventually un-bundled the camera.
"We did a deal with Microsoft on Assassin's Creed: Origins, which is taking really good advantage of the power of the machine," Guillemot said. "We like very much what they are doing because instead of having a Kinect or something this time the industry went after more power for the machine, so more immersion, better AI, and overall better games.
"We like that because it means the industry will grow because the better the experiences, the more people want to have it. We think it has a good potential. If Microsoft is really behind it, it can do well."
The Xbox One X launches on November 7, priced at $500, a price point that some analysts believe is too high and could hurt the system's ability to appeal to a wide audience. For its part, Microsoft has always described Xbox One X (which was previously known as Project Scorpio) as a "premium" console. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been open in saying he believes the lower-priced Xbox One S will sell far better than the Xbox One X.
Keep checking back with GameSpot for more from our conversation with Guillemot. We met up with the Ubisoft executive on a trip to Ubisoft's offices in Singapore and Shanghai. Ubisoft paid for GameSpot's travel and accomodation.
As part of the ongoing development of the immensely popular PC shooter Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, the title is adding some new animations. As you can see in the animated GIF below, shared by Playerunknown himself, Brendan Greene, some of the animations include the character rolling into cover.
Check out the GIF below, but be aware that it's only a work in progress, so things could change when the animations are eventually rolled out.
In other news about Battlegrounds, Playerunknown has announced that the Battlegrounds leaderboard will be reset again on Tuesday, August 1. Going forward, the leaderboards will be reset on the first of every month to test the game's ranking algorithms and other systems.
"All data from the previous seasons is saved, and while we don't have a history system yet, moving forward we will enable this in the game and you can view your match records from the previous seasons," Playerunknown said.
He added: "We understand that these seasons may seem short, but for us to fully balance the ELO ranking system, we need to update frequently based on data from the previous seasons' rankings."
Capcom might make more Nintendo Switch games. After the success of Ultra Street Fighter II, which performed ahead of expectations, the Japanese publisher says it's now "starting to prepare" more Switch versions of its games.
According to Wall Street Journal writer Takashi Mochizuki (via Game Informer), Ultra Street Fighter II sold 450,000 copies, which, as noted, exceeded Capcom's own estimates for the title.
Capcom: 450K is 1Q figure for Ultra Street Fighter II, above its expectation. Also "starting to prepare" multiple Switch-version titles.
As part of Capcom's earnings report last week, the publisher said Ultra Street Fighter II for Switch was a "smash hit." The company didn't say what its sales projections for the game were, but whatever the case, it looks like you can expect more Switch titles from Capcom in the future.
Ultra Street Fighter II launched in May for Switch. An updated version of the original Street Fighter II, it adds several new modes, updated graphics, and two new characters, Evil Ryu and Violent Ken. A new cooperative mode lets two players fight together against AI enemies, and players can also flip between original and updated visuals by pressing a button. Players will now also be able to change characters' costume colors.
The game also introduces Way of the Hado, a first-person fighting mode that uses motion controls. Although Ultra Street Fighter II is a 2D sprite-based game, Way of the Hado is 3D and uses assets from Street Fighter IV. You can see gameplay of Way of the Hado here.
What Capcom games would you like to see come to Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below!
Halo 5: Guardians is losing one of its multiplayer lists. Developer 343 Industries announced in its latest weekly blog post that Team Skirmish will be removed from the matchmaking hopper on Thursday, August 3. Why? There are too few people playing, apparently. 343 said the playlist has a "consistently lower player population."
This has had a negative impact on the Team Arena and HCS playlists, too, due to the overlap between them, so 343 is removing Team Skirmish altogether--and there are no plans to bring it back.
"It's never fun to take away something that players (even if it's a relatively small group) have become accustomed to and it's not something the team takes lightly, but sometimes it's unavoidable," 343 said. "That being said, the sustain team will continue to evaluate and look for opportunities to integrate some of the maps and modes that were unique to Team Skirmish into other playlists."
343 has a dedicated "sustain" team that looks into how it can tweak the Halo 5 multiplayer experience to keep it fresh and exciting. Player figures "ebb and flow," and 343 changes things up in what it believes are ways that benefit the people still playing. Sometimes this can mean removing a playlist altogether.
Game of Thrones Season 7 continued tonight with the third episode, "The Queen's Justice." You can read GameSpot's breakdown of the episode's biggest moments here. Fans are curious about what's coming next, and now HBO has released a preview for the fourth episode, "The Spoils of War." You can see the spoiler-filled video below.
The episode itself airs Sunday, August 6 on HBO.
Game of Thrones cinematographer Robert McLachlan told Radio Times (via WinterIsComing.net) that Episode 4 is "definitely going to impress people." He teased that Episode 4 was "uncommonly" difficult to produce, though he didn't explain why.
Counting Episode 4, there are only four more episodes are still to come, as this is a shortened, seven-episode season. A trailer released at Comic-Con revealed more of what's to come this season, while an accompanying panel shared some insight.
After the events of last week's episode of Game of Thrones, it's hard to think about anything other than the future of House Greyjoy. While Euron stole the spotlight the week prior, the episode titled "The Queen's Justice" had the viewer's attention focused elsewhere. Here is this week's biggest moments.
Warning: Spoilers are coming.
"The Queen's Justice" proved to be a fitting name for the episode, as the most important moments revolved around Cersei Lannister getting revenge on those who have wronged her in the past. It proves once again that there's a threatening meaning behind the commonly used phrase, "A Lannister always pays his debts."
Last week, Euron Greyjoy ambushed his dissenters at sea, taking Yara Greyjoy, Ellaria Sand, and Ellaria's daughter, Tyene. This week, Euron brings his captured prize before Cersei, who has some interesting plans for the Sands. She locks them in a dungeon and explains to both the gagged prisoners that she will kill Tyene in the same way Ellaria killed Myrcella Baratheon, by way of a slow-acting poison. Ellaria will stay in this dungeon and have to watch her daughter die right in front of her. While there is an antidote, the chances of Tyene making it out alive seem incredibly slim.
That wasn't the only moment that Cersei got justice on those who have killed her brood. Jaime and the Lannister army take Highgarden, home of the Tyrells. There, Jaime meets with Lady Olenna and discusses the plans Cersei had for her, which include being dragged through the streets of King's Landing. However, Jaime tells her that she can die painlessly by drinking some poison, which he puts into her wine. After Olenna drinks it, she informs Jaime that it was her who poisoned and murdered King Joffrey Baratheon, and Jaime should pass that information along to Cersei. Up until this point, Cersei believed Tyrion had killed her son. Once again, the audience doesn't see Olenna's death, but she got the last laugh.
This season is all about the race to take the Iron Throne, and Cersei's attempt to defend it, and while the audience is led to believe it's going to be an all-out-war, Cersei proved numerous times during the episode that she's a bit more cunning than people give her credit for. This is more of a game of chess than a battle. She removed the majority of her troops from Casterly Rock in order to take Highgarden and get rid of an enemy on the battlefield. She's two steps ahead of everyone else and thinking a bit more strategically for the war.
Here are some other big moments from "The Queen's Justice:"
Melisandre leaves Dragonstone in order to head to Volantis.
Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow have their first meeting at Dragonstone. While the conversation between them is stand-offish and tense, eventually, Daenerys agrees to let Jon mine the Dragonglass beneath the castle, in order to make an ally, even though she doesn't believe in the White Walker stories Jon is telling her.
Theon gets pulled out of the water by another Greyjoy ship. Luckily, it wasn't one of Euron's men.
Euron continues to hurl hilarious insults at Jaime Lannister. The man is sinister, but his dialogue is incredibly entertaining.
Sansa Stark has taken charge of Winterfell and prepares for winter. Bran returns to the city, and he explains to Sansa he cannot be the Lord of Winterfell because he's the three-eyed raven, which is a confusing concept to his sister.
Jorah Mormont is cured of greyscale and will head off to reunite with Daenerys. His life was saved because of the surgery performed by Samwell Tarly. The Archmaester is proud of Samwell's work but will not reward him because Samwell disobeyed a direct order.
As briefly mentioned earlier, the Unsullied took Casterly Rock with ease, thanks to Tyrion's knowledge of the sewer system--as well as some secret passageways. However, Euron's fleet showed up and destroyed the Unsullied's ships.
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