"Warlocks weaponize the mysteries of the universe to sustain themselves and devastate their foes." While this caption of Destiny 2's mage isn't incorrect, it's not especially helpful as the only descriptor for the Warlock when deciding your class.
Now that the game is finally out on PC, we've fleshed out the strengths and benefits of each Guardian, so you know what you're getting into, whether that's playing within your stylistic comfort zone or experimenting with an unfamiliar role. Included in this primer are descriptions of the first subclasses you get with each class, which you automatically obtain shortly after the prologue.
The Titan is the go-to if you want to feel like a space marine, a powerhouse that can turn the tide of battle on its sheer strength. In skilled hands, it can stand its ground in a firefight, partly due to its two class ability barriers. Its vertical ability, Lift, modifies mobility with increased height, control, and your initial momentum burst. They're versatile tanks and unlocking multiple subclasses will allow you to further emphasize offense or defense.
You start off with the defense-centric Sentinel, the new Void element Titan subclass that replaces the previous game's Defender. Its passive abilities reward melee actions with defensive benefits, shields and health restoration to be exact. If you're having that Captain America itch, one of the Code of the Aggressor passive abilities grants you a extra shield throw, complementing the Sentinel Shield super. Its melee prowess makes it primed and ready for the frontline, supported by its various barriers. If you feel your fireteam lacks defensive support to balance out its offense, this subclass is for you.
Hunter
If you're used to playing the rogue, try your hand at the Hunter, the Guardian known for its agility, craftiness, and stealth. All classes feature some form of mobility, but the Hunters take it up a notch using exclusive dodge skills, with bonuses in weapon reloading or melee energy. It also upgrades its double jump with a triple jump, high jump, and strafe jump. If you like feeding off your situational awareness in large spaces, the Hunter's prowess in ranged combat and talents in getting out of dicey situations will suit your needs.
If you like complementing this nimble class with the melee expertise of a samurai, you'll be pleased with the Hunter Arcstrider subclass to start, which replaces the Bladedancer from the first game. Its super, the Arc Staff is an energy staff you wield acrobatically against your foes. The two passive ability paths capitalizes on the fleet-footedness of this subclass. Following the Way of the Wind offers benefits in increased sprinting, shortened dodge cooldowns, and reduced damage with using the Arc Staff. Way of the Warrior is suited for the more assertive type, granting dodge recharges and attack damage boosts as you amass kills.
Warlock
Warlocks are Destiny 2's space mages. Compared to the other classes, the Warlock's mobility leans toward horizontal movement, making it tough to target. Its team-healing benefits are only overshadowed by its potent attack spells. As the support class of Destiny 2, this Guardian is best in the hands of those are actively aware of where your fireteam is at all times. This is to take advantage of the Warlock's main class abilities: Healing Rift, which is a close proximity healer, and Empowering Rift, which increases attack.
The Warlock Dawnblade replaces the previous game's Sunsinger and this starting subclass is best suited for those who look to take full advantage of the Warlock's mobility. It's super, Daybreak, strikes from the sky, turning Solar Light into lethal blades. The Dawnblade's wings aren't just for show. By choosing the Attunement of the Sky passive abilities, you can recharge energy with airborne kills. Winged Sun and Icarus Dash lets you attack and dodge midair, while Swift Strike are flaming melee attacks briefly boosting your movement and reload speed. If you want to get the most out of Daybreak, choose Attunement of the Flame. It has a set of passives that enhances the super especially if you're the bloodthirsty type.
The Xbox One X is set to launches on November 7. Releasing alongside it is Super Lucky's Tale, which is one of the first games designed to take full advantage of Microsoft's upcoming console. We had a chance to speak with Playful Corp CEO Paul Bettner to get the game developer's take on just how powerful the system is.
In our in-depth hardware-focused interview, Bettner suggests that the Xbox One X can deliver performance on par with a high-end PC and confirms that it's a console that's capable of delivering true 4K experiences.
GameSpot: In terms of processing power, how much faster would you say the Xbox One X is over the Xbox One? And, if you guys have had a chance to use the PlayStation 4 Pro, could you compare it to that as well?
Paul Bettner: Super Lucky's Tale is only an Xbox game, so we've never compared the performance running on PlayStation because it's a Microsoft title. These questions are tricky to answer because performance is, at least the way we look at it, measured across several different sectors, like what the CPU can do, especially what the GPU can do, and then memory bandwidth, and the ability of the machine to actually get out of the way and let the game run as fast as possible. There have been powerful consoles, obviously, in the past, but sometimes they're held back by an underlying architecture that doesn't really let us tap into the full performance of the system.
It's probably the closest Microsoft's ever gotten to delivering true high-end PC performance in a console type form factor. - Paul Bettner
I have an engineering background, but I'm not actually doing engineering on the project, but just speaking a bit for our engineers and just what I've seen as we've been working on it, it's probably the easiest console that we've ever worked with to get it to be high-performance. I hope our engineers don't hate me for saying that because I don't think that their job was easy by any means! But I mean that going from not having the console in our hands to getting our first dev kit to getting the game running solidly at 4K, 60 Hz, is the fastest that we've ever gone from getting new hardware in our hands to tapping into the full performance of the box. 4K, 60 Hz on a device that's small and low-cost, relatively speaking, compared to a high-end TV, is no joke. It's not easy to hit that level of performance, just generally, consistently, so yeah; high-level, we've been really impressed with the raw horsepower of the box, but really, the overall architecture lets us tap into that and doesn't get in the way of our game performance.
Playful's Super Lucky's Tale will release alongside the Xbox One X.
How would you say the Xbox One X compares to a modern gaming PC?
Well, at the time that we got the Xbox One X in our hands when we were first doing some of our initial tests, we had Super Lucky's Tale still running on PC and we are shipping it on PC, so people can do the comparisons themselves when the game launches because it's an Xbox Play Anywhere game, which means you can buy it once [digitally] and it's available on Windows and on Xbox. But from our own work, we saw ... And I said this at E3 when we first announced the game too, we were just kind of shocked by how close the performance was between the Xbox One X and the high-end PC that we were working with at the time. Most of our developers have high-end PCs, and doing those initial builds, getting the game initially up and running around the E3 time frame on the Xbox Dev Kit that we have. Our expectation was, "Well, clearly we're gonna have to change some things to get it to run as fast as it's been running on our PCs," but [laughs] there was really very little that had to change. Almost right out of the box it was performing at the level of a high-end PC and that's ... I mean, people will see that when they get their hands on the box coming out in a few weeks, but it's probably the closest Microsoft's ever gotten to delivering true high-end PC performance in a console-type form factor.
As it pertains to the PC space, what GPU do you think it most closely aligns with?
That's hard to say. We haven't directly compared it ... And you know, so many things working, it's very dependent on the game. Some games, they're not necessarily GPU-bound, but we're actually ... Super Lucky's Tale is kind of right in the middle; we have a decent amount of particle simulation and physics and stuff running so that we're doing a pretty good job of utilizing the CPU and the GPU at the same time. It's really hard to tell, actually. It depends on the games. It's definitely within the realm of [Nvidia's 10-series cards], ranging from the 1060 to 1080. It's somewhere in that range, looking at the comparisons that we've done, but it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison of exactly where it's at as it really depends on the games and the CPU and things like that...it's like current generation of Nvidia [hardware]. With a new console, I'm used to it being at least a generation or two behind, but that's not how this box has been performing for us. It's very current gen, which is amazing.
Lucky's Tale is gonna run in 4K. Is that native 4K (non-upscaled}? And will it also support HDR?
It is truly native 4K. It's not supporting HDR--actually, it's unclear. We keep doing these experiments. I think the first version that launches won't have HDR. It may be coming in the future, but we haven't committed or announced it yet. The reason for that is more complicated. The Xbox obviously supports HDR out of the box, and I love HDR, it's awesome, but the tool change for building HDR content, especially the engines like Unreal and Unity, it's not as clear-cut. There's a lot of things that go into making a game look good on HDR displays. If you just look at our studio, the way that it works, not all our developers have HDR displays hooked up, in fact only a few do, so authoring HDR content really requires setting up an entire HDR tool chain, and we just started doing that a couple months ago. so it's really more on us to …it's a content development challenge, and so we're getting spun up with it, but I think it's gonna be a little while longer before we have a full HDR tool chain up and running at the studio. But the box is just sitting there waiting for us to do it, we'll get there!
"I'm gonna wanna play all my console games on an Xbox One X for the foreseeable future." - Paul Bettner
Okay. Piggybacking off of that, what are your thoughts on 4K and HDR as a developer?
They're amazing...But again, if I had to pick, my personal ordering of what's important, I would probably pick frame rate first. The fact that, especially for a platforming game, running it through 60 Hz contributes greatly to how the game feels and how easy it is to control and how responsive it feels. For me, that's actually the most important thing is to be able to render a high-fidelity environment at 60 Hz.
Secondly, for me, is 4K. Most people can see the difference that it makes, especially, if they have a 4K monitor. And we are running in native 4K. HDR is more subtle and like I said, I think… Tuning the look of a game to fully take advantage of HDR displays is kind of cutting edge for our industry right now. There are studios that, I think, that are getting great work on the frontier, like I've just been playing Uncharted. That game does a really good job of taking advantage of the full dynamic range that HDR can provide. They've been doing that for a while, but I think that the industry, we're all kind of tooling up and gearing up to be able to make content that takes full advantage of HDR displays. That's probably more of a next year thing, and that kind of matches the rollout of the technology itself in terms of consumer adoption of HDR displays. It feels like there's a decent amount of them in households today. And from here going forward, all displays are going to be HDR, and I'm sure all our games will be that going forward as well.
Do you think the Xbox One X has enough graphical horsepower to natively render the more graphically demanding games at 4K or will rendering shortcuts like checkerboard rendering have to be used?
I think that most all of the games that you would play today on a high-end PC, that the Xbox One X can render those at 4K full frame rate. That's the amazing thing about it. Now, of course, as you would expect, progress on the PC front is non-stop, so there'll be a next generation of GPUs coming out soon, I'm sure, and will enable even further advancements in what's possible graphically. And next year's PCs are gonna be able to do things that this year's technology can't do, but at least in terms of the games that people are familiar with today, and the fidelity that people would want to see those games at, when they get their hands on the Xbox One X, they're gonna see that it's delivering that high-end PC performance. And especially more so than what other consoles can do right now, it is a pretty significant step beyond anything else on the market in terms of performance.
Graphically, you mentioned that it performs somewhere between a GTX 1060 and a 1080.
Yeah, somewhere in there, just depending on the games, obviously.
GPUs like the GTX 1060 and 1070, some of them will struggle to run the most graphically demanding games on PC at 4K. Do you chalk it up to optimizations on the Xbox One X that allow it to bridge that performance gap?
Yeah, so this has always been the case. When developing a game for a console, there's just a lot more that is possible in terms of maxing out memory bandwidth and utilizing the architecture of the system to the full advantage for the game's performance that you can't necessarily get when you're running in a more managed environment like the operating system on a PC. That gap is not as wide as it used to be... I think that consoles several years ago, you were running straight on the metal, there was barely even an operating system at all. These days, there's a little bit more of a layer between the game and the hardware, but still, the ability for an application or a game to give access to the raw power of the hardware on the console is still beyond what's possible on non-console platforms...The gap is narrowing a bit but for developers like us, when we have the ability to specifically target that fixed platform and we can make optimizations because we know exactly what the architecture is on the Xbox. That's something that you can't do on a PC because we have to target a much wider range of hardware, so that's why generally, and certainly in our case, we're able to squeeze more performance out of the equivalent hardware on a console.
Do you think that that performance gap is shrinking in part because consoles have become much more like PCs with their x86 architecture?
It's actually on both sides, so yeah, that's one reason. Another reason is there are more things the consoles are doing in the background than they've done before, like operating system level things. I mean folks [at Sony and Microsoft] have done a really good job of making sure that stuff never consumes more than a certain amount of the device, and the game has the majority of what's there. But the other actual aspect of it is that on the PC side, and even on the Mac side, there have just been continued developments in graphics APIs like Metal, for instance, on the Mac where you get more direct access to the metal access then used to be the case. There's less layers of abstraction there. But still, there's just always gonna be an advantage in being able to build for a fixed hardware platform that isn't gonna change, and you don't have to worry about different hardware configurations that customers have. That is always going to enable a greater performance advantage. ...The challenge is ... So you ship a game on a PC, you can't just target that one graphics card, you have to create a game that ships across all these different configurations, but on the console, you can squeeze every last ounce of performance out of it, because you know that every customer has the exact same silicon.
Can you describe the differences between Super Lucky's Tale on the Xbox One X vs. the regular Xbox One?
Sure. So the main difference is no 4K, the other big difference... The Xbox One S should run 1080p, and I think that across several games that are shipping on both those platforms, that's similar. Like the Xbox One X is a device made with 4K, on the Xbox One S it's 1080p performance. In Super Lucky's Tale's case, the other difference is that the game doesn't all run at 60 Hz on the Xbox One S. I think the majority of the game runs at a locked 30 frames per second, or 30 Hz, on the Xbox One S, whereas the Xbox One X is entirely 4K 60Hz. And the PC version is dependent on what kind of hardware you have.
Is there a part of you that hopes more people will play the game on the Xbox One X over its regular Xbox One counterpart for better visuals and higher frame rate?
That's a great question! Not necessarily, I think that ... I'm very much a fan of Microsoft's strategy. This generation of hardware, this is the first time ... And I think not a lot of people have noticed this or recognized this, what Microsoft is doing, because this is the first time really that you have the launch of a new console generation alongside hearty support for the previous generation and Microsoft saying, "You know what? You can buy either of these consoles and we're gonna continue to ship great games that work across this entire ecosystem. If you decide to upgrade, because you just got a brand new 4K TV and you wanna get the absolute best performance out of it, you can go get an Xbox One X and, in fact, the games you bought on your Xbox One S will continue to work. You don't have to re-buy them, you can just upgrade."
That's a brand-new thing in the console market, so from my perspective, our mission at Playful is to build IP that people love and get it into as many people's hands as possible, so I love the fact that the enormous Xbox One S audience is gonna get to play this game on the same day as the Xbox One X, the brand-new Xbox One X audience. And I love that for the consumers that care and really want that high-end experience, that we're giving that to them, and it's probably one of the best-looking platforming games that I've ever seen. And the Xbox One S players get something that is pretty much the best looking on their piece of hardware for their 1080p TV also. So if I were talking to someone about it and saying, "Do I encourage one way or the other," I'm just happy the largest possible audience gets to play the game.
Microsoft has sort of made it an onus for developers to make games compatible across the Xbox One X and the Xbox One. Does this philosophy hold back the Xbox One X in unleashing its true performance in any way?
That's another really good question. So I can't speak to ... what it's like for different game developers. Like we were saying earlier, the performance profile on different games is very different, but in our case, it was actually a fairly seamless thing. Like the performance delta between 1080p 30 Hz and 4K 60 Hz is very similar across these two pieces of hardware. The amount of extra pixels and fidelity that we're pushing on the Xbox One X is ... There's not a lot of difference between what we had to do to get the game running on the Xbox One S at 1080p 30 Hz and the Xbox One X at 4K 60 Hz, so that was a great advantage for us in building this one game for both those platforms. If that's the case for other developers, that's phenomenal because there's almost no porting effort involved. You can build the game and, if you're automatically targeting the higher resolution and higher frame rate, or even just the higher resolution that the Xbox One X can do and features like HDR, then you get those and you kind of gracefully step down to the Xbox One S level of performance by just going to a lower resolution and not doing the additional HDR and post-processing effects, that kind of rendering overhead, without a ton of other differences between those two.
But I think there will be developers that push the Xbox One X even further than we have. I mean, we're one of the first to get the dev kit and we're one of the first games shipping natively on this device, but it's always the case that once more people get their hands on the hardware and have worked with it for longer that they start squeezing even way more performance out of it, and so the gap between the two devices is probably gonna grow over time. The Xbox One, at this point, is a well-understood piece of hardware that has a lot of the optimizations and that work has already been done, but for the Xbox One X, that's just starting.
Is there anything that might be surprising to our readers about the Xbox One X or your experience working on it?
So I'm a game developer and also a gamer, so as a game developer having had the Xbox One X for six months now and having worked with it, played with it, it's clear to me that I'm gonna wanna play all my console games on an Xbox One X for the foreseeable future, until the next generation comes along, I guess. There is quite a performance gap, and performance advantage in this piece of hardware, and so, I just know since I've been making games for a long time that as the developers begin to release their titles for this platform that they're going to look and play better.
The novelty item comes after a line in the premiere episode in which Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) asks Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) if he was wearing his "s***in' pants." Why? "Because you are about to s*** your pants," Negan tells the terrified preacher.
It's yet another colorful and very classy turn of phrase from the show's chief villain. The character is no stranger to throwing out creative vulgarity to get his point across--well, that and bashing people's skulls in with his trusty baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. This time though, the comment ended up becoming a product that was first revealed by Chris Hardwick on Talking Dead--The Walking Dead's aftershow.
Clearly, AMC realizes how silly the item is, with a description reading, "As seen on Talking Dead, here's your chance to own a set of Negan's S****in' Pants! Lucille approved, they're guaranteed to shut that s*** down. Pre-order your box today!"
According to the site, those diapers will begin shipping on November 15 to those who buy them ahead of time. Talk about a perfect holiday gift for a fan of The Walking Dead who has everything.
All it takes is $19.95 to buy one of the strangest pieces of merchandise for one of TV's most popular shows. Once they arrive, though, use them at your own risk. After all, as the box says, these will not protect you from Negan, even if they are the "top rated diaper in Pee-Pee Pants City."
The latest batch of deals are now available in the US PlayStation Store. This marks the second week of Sony's Sale of the Dead, which offers discounts on many PS4, PS3, and Vita games that are perfect for Halloween, while a new spotlight sale features Danganronpa and other titles from NIS America.
The spotlight sale offers some very sizable discounts on select NISA games across all of Sony's platforms, and those with a PS Plus subscription will save an additional percentage off many of the titles. On PS4, players can purchase the recently released Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony for $45 ($51 without PS Plus). Danganronpa 1-2 Reload is also on sale for $24 ($28), while the series' spin-off Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls for $10.49 ($13.49). Other PS4 games on sale include:
The NISA sale runs until October 31. You can find the full list of discounted titles here. You also have until October 31 to save on some great horror games for all Sony platforms, including Resident Evil 7 ($30/$36), Killing Floor 2 ($16/$20), and Dying Light: The Following ($21/$24), among others. You can find more discounted titles here.
Assassin's Creed Origins introduces a variety of new features, such as the ability to scout areas with an eagle you control, enlist the support of animals, and take part in a Horde-style mode. It also features a new gear system, which means you'll be rewarded with cool equipment for completing certain tasks.
Case in point is the Isu Legendary armor set featured in the video above. It's a reward for finding all the star constellations in the game, and although it's purely a cosmetic set, we still think it's worth the effort. (The stylish gear resembles what you can earn in Destiny 2's Trials PvP mode.) The video above shows it off in Origins' Arena mode.
We've also got a new gameplay video showcasing an animal in Origins that you probably don't usually associate with viciousness: hippopotamuses. But these do in fact present a danger to the game's inhabitants, as you can check out in the video below, which highlights a side mission with some dangerous hippos.
After the success of Logan, it should come as no surprise that the creative team behind the movie is looking to keep the franchise moving forward. Where does the saga of Wolverine go now that Hugh Jackman has retired his claws, though?
According to Logan director James Mangold, who confirms a script is in the works, X-23--otherwise known as Laura (Dafne Keen)--could be the future of the franchise. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Mangold says it's Wonder Woman that may have made the project a possibility. "Patty [Jenkins'] success with that film only solidifies more for studios that there's less to fear with a female protagonist," he says. "The more that keeps getting hit home, that ends up giving me more space turning around and going, 'Well, here we are with a female protagonist. That's incredible. And what are we going to do with her?' And that's where we are with that [the Laura script] right now, dreaming."
Still, even in the dreaming stage, knowing a script for a movie about X-23 is in the works is a very exciting prospect. The character was a breakout hit in Logan, and the end of the movie left plenty of room for her character to develop.
As for what kind of movie it would be, not even producer Hutch Parker--who recently wrapped filming on X-Men: Dark Phoenix--is sure. "It may not be in the same exact tonality or with the same genre orientations as Logan," he says. "But I think part of what has been opened up in this universe to all of us now is, drawing on different genre traditions, there are new pathways to be opened for new characters that populate this universe."
Given that Logan allowed producers to go outside of the box when it comes to what is normally considered a comic book movie, why not further play with that idea for an X-23 spin-off? Granted, any follow-up to Logan is most likely going to share its affinity for bleak outlook and vicious fight scenes.
That said, a film that follows Laura as she leads a new group of young mutants through a dystopian future sounds like an instant winner. Hopefully, it will eventually come to pass.
Despite developer Bungie's origins in PC gaming and no shortage of demand, the original Destiny never released on computers. The wait for the series' debut on computers has been a long one, and now, almost two months after its launch on consoles, Destiny 2 is finally available on PC.
Destiny 2 runs on Blizzard Battle.net; its launch marks the first time a non-Blizzard game has been available through the platform. Just yesterday, Blizzard released an update for its desktop app to introduce new social functionality and add gifting features. Bungie has stated that anyone experiencing issues with the Play button not appearing should simply restart the app; other issues are outlined here. Also be sure to grab the latest Nvidia driver or AMD driver, depending on your hardware.
A total of 13 games for the original Xbox can now be played on Xbox One. This includes some of the platform's best games, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Ninja Gaiden Black. Here's the full list of what's now supported on Microsoft's current-gen console:
If you still have physical copies of any of these laying around, you can pop them into the system and begin playing. Alternatively, you can purchase digital copies through the Xbox Store to play. Bear in mind, while you will see visual improvements (particularly on Xbox One X, where games will run at 4K), most games use 4:3 aspect rations. Additionally, online multiplayer is unavailable because Xbox Live support for original Xbox games has been shut down. However, you can still play local multiplayer--including games that offer system link, which can connect Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One consoles together.
Unfortunately, you shouldn't expect to see new Xbox games added to the backwards compatibility list on a regular basis. Microsoft said the next set of original Xbox titles will arrive in Spring 2018. By contrast, we rarely go for more than a few weeks without new Xbox 360 games being made backwards compatible.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been an unprecedented success on PC, even though it's still in Early Access, and a Xbox One release is on the way. Now, PUBG's developer has announced that the game will get a physical version for the console too.
At E3 2017, Microsoft announced PUBG would be a "console launch exclusive" for the Xbox One and would be releasing in late 2017. While we still don't know when exactly to expect the game on the console, the game's Twitter account has just revealed that you will be able to buy a physical version of the game.
Microsoft is also reportedly working to keep the game an Xbox One exclusive for longer, attempting to delay PUBG's possible release on PlayStation 4 or other consoles. Developer Bluehole hasn't confirmed or denied the reports, which also suggest it's in discussions with all major console companies. Instead, Bluehole says, "[T]he team is solely focused on bringing the best game possible to Xbox One and PC," with nothing further to announce at this time.
The next pair of Pokemon games, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, are quickly approaching their November 17 release date, and ahead of their launch, Nintendo has been giving away a ton of free items and Pokemon for the previous Sun and Moon versions. Many of the giveaways have already ended, but there are still plenty of rare freebies for Sun and Moon players to get their hands on.
We've rounded up all of the distributions that are currently running for Pokemon Sun and Moon, as well as a few that will be available for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon when those versions launch. We'll be updating this list as more giveaways are announced, so check back often to see what free items and Pokemon you can get.
Pokemon Sun/Moon Free Gifts
Mega Stones -- Ends Oct. 31
Mega Stones are exceptionally rare and valuable in Pokemon Sun and Moon. When equipped to their corresponding Pokemon, Mega Stones allow it to Mega Evolve during battle, often changing its type and giving it a considerable stat boost. Nintendo is giving away several batches of Mega Stones that aren't normally available in Sun and Moon, all of which are redeemable via a universal download code. Input the following codes in Mystery Gift by October 31 and you'll receive these Mega Stones:
Players in the US can pick up a free download code for Charizard from the electronics department in Target stores. The popular Fire-type Pokemon comes at level 50, is equipped with the Red Card item, and knows the moves Dragon Dance, Flare Blitz, Fly, and Earthquake. As with other download codes, you need to input your code via Mystery Gift to receive Charizard. The distribution runs until October 14, and you have until February 4, 2018 to redeem your code.
Marshadow -- DONE
For a very limited time, players can pick up a free download code for the Mythical Pokemon Marshadow. Those in the US can get the code from GameStop, while players in the UK will have to visit "participating retailers." This is the first legitimate way Sun and Moon players can obtain the rare Fighting/Ghost-type, which comes at level 50 and is equipped with Marshadium Z. It also knows the attacks Spectral Thief, Close Combat, Force Palm, and Shadow Ball.
Pikachu
To celebrate the release of the Pokemon series' 20th anniversary film, Pokemon The Movie: I Choose You, The Pokemon Company is giving away six different versions of Ash's Pikachu for Sun and Moon. To receive a Pikachu, enter the code PIKACHU20 in Mystery Gift. However, you can only receive one of the six Pikachu, and the version you get depends on when you enter the code. The full Pikachu distribution schedule is below.
Players who purchase either Pokemon Gold or Silver from the 3DS Eshop by September 21, 2018 will receive a bonus download code for the Mythical Pokemon Celebi. The code can be redeemed in Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon. We've outlined the steps you need to take to find and redeem the code here.
Magearna
Unlike other Mythical Pokemon, the Steel/Fairy-type Magearna is available not through Mystery Gift, but via a QR code. After defeating the Elite Four and completing the main story, you can use the QR Scanner feature to scan the below code. After doing so, visit the Antiques shop in Hau'oli City and pick your Magearna up from the deliveryman waiting there. The Mythical Pokemon comes at level 50 and knows the moves Fleur Cannon, Flash Cannon, Lucky Chant, and Helping Hand.
Shiny Silvally -- Ends Nov. 13
Beginning October 23, players in the US and Canada can pick up a free download code for a shiny Silvally from GameStop and EB Games stores. The distribution will run until November 13. Players in the UK will also have a chance to get the rare Pokemon at participating GAME stores from November 3-16.
Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Free Gifts
Rockruff -- Ends Jan. 10, 2018
Purchase either Pokemon Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon by January 10 and you'll receive a special Rockruff as a free bonus. This Rockruff will only evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc, a new variant of the popular wolf Pokemon that is exclusive to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
We're nearing the release of Assassin's Creed Origins, with the launch of Xbox One X not much further off. Provided you're patient enough to wait for the latter, you'll be able to take advantage of Xbox One X enhancements in Origins, a taste of which you can get in the video above.
In the gameplay clip, we scale the Great Pyramid of Giza and soak in the view before getting down in the most obvious way possible: by sliding down it. From there, we hop aboard a camel and engage in a chase before finally infiltrating part of a base. You can see all of this above.
Xbox One X renders Origins at 4K for those with 4K displays and offers supersampling for lower-resolution screens. It also offers "higher quality architectural models, vegetation, rocks and display[s] them at longer Draw Distances in dense environments like the grand cities of Alexandria and Memphis," according to Ubisoft. Xbox One X game enhancements will vary from title to title, with each developer allowed to decide how to leverage the system's power.
Injustice 2 is getting a PC release. Today, Warner Bros. Interactive confirmed the acclaimed superhero fighting game will be coming to Steam later this fall. The port is being handled by Polish studio QLOC, which was also responsible for porting another NetherRealm fighting game, Mortal Kombat XL, to PC.
While Warner Bros. has yet to announce a release date for the PC version of Injustice 2, players will be able to try it for themselves very soon. Beginning tomorrow, October 25, an open beta will be available to download and play through Steam. Warner Bros. hasn't specified how long the beta will be available or which characters it will include.
Injustice 2 is already available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game released this past May for the two platforms to critical acclaim. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Injustice 2 review; critic Peter Brown said of the title, "NetherRealm has delivered a fighting game that can be enjoyed by new players and pros alike in ways that go beyond pure competition." The upcoming PC release may not be the game's last port, as NetherRealm boss Ed Boon says he likes the idea of bringing Injustice 2 to Nintendo Switch.
Things have been very quiet on the Metal Gear front, with little word on the status of Metal Gear Survive in recent months. That will change very soon, as Konami has teased that some kind of news will finally arrive this week.
In a message posted on Metal Gear's official Twitter account, Konami simply states, "Announcement coming tomorrow. Stay tuned." There's no specific time or clue as to what we can expect; we only know to look for whatever it is tomorrow, October 25. The tweet was accompanied by the image below.
Metal Gear Survive is the first game in the franchise to be released since series creator Hideo Kojima parted ways with Konami. It's a noticeably different sort of game, set in an alternate reality after the events of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes where you have to deal with what amount to zombies--something Kojima finds odd. It also features cooperative multiplayer as a key component, and is due out for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can watch a gameplay demo of it from last year above.
After originally being due out in 2017, earlier this year, Survive's release was delayed until early 2018. We'll hopefully get a sense of whether that's still the case as part of tomorrow's news.
On top of this week's selection of deals for Xbox Live Gold members, Microsoft is holding another Shocktober sale in the Xbox Store. For a limited time, players can find a big range of discounts on some great horror games for both Xbox One and Xbox 360.
On the newer console, Xbox Live Gold and Silver members can save 50% on the acclaimed new entry in Capcom's survival-horror series, Resident Evil 7. The standard edition is available for $30/£26.50, while the Deluxe edition runs for $45/£35. The game's DLC is also discounted; the Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 expansions retail for $6/£4.79 and $9/£7.19, respectively, while the game's season pass is $27/£22.49.
A number of classic Resident Evil games are on sale for Xbox One, as well. Players can find discounts on Resident Evil HD ($8/£6.40), its prequel Resident Evil 0 ($10/£8), and Resident Evil 4 ($8/£6.40). Resident Evil Revelations and Revelations 2 Deluxe Edition are also on sale. The games run individually for $14/£11.19 and $12/£10. If you'd like to pick up both, you can purchase them together as a bundle for $30/£26.24.
Other notable games on sale for Xbox One right now include:
You can find the full list of discounted titles on Major Nelson's blog. The Shocktober sale runs through Halloween, while this week's regular selection of Xbox Live Gold deals will be available until October 30. As an added bonus, players can get free metallic finishes for D-pads and triggers on any custom Xbox Design Lab controller purchased during the Shocktober sale. There's also a surprising number of major titles launching within the next few days, making this a particularly busy week for gamers on all platforms.
The Marshadow distribution may have just ended, but Pokemon Sun and Moon players can now add a new Legendary Pokemon to their teams. Beginning today, GameStop and EB Games stores in the US and Canada will be giving away a shiny Silvally.
Like other Pokemon distributions, the shiny Silvally will be available via a free download code. The Pokemon is level 100 and comes equipped with a Gold Bottle Cap. It also knows the following four moves:
Multi-Attack
Parting Shot
Punishment
Scary Face
To get your shiny Silvally, select Mystery Gift from Sun and Moon's main menu and choose the option to receive your gift via code/password. When prompted, input the code you received at either GameStop or EB Games and you'll be able to claim the Pokemon from the deliveryman waiting inside any Pokemon Center.
Along with a cast of fan-favorite characters, Steven Universe: Save the Light, the upcoming Steven Universe RPG for PS4 and Xbox One, will feature a handful of new characters. Today, Cartoon Network revealed another Crystal Gem who'll be making her debut in the title: Hessonite.
Described as a "pompous Homeworld commander," Hessonite is the Crystal Gem allied with the game's other original character, Squaridot. Hessonite is the one responsible for stealing the Prism from Steven at the start of the adventure, and she intends to restore into a powerful Gem weapon. You can take a look at the first artwork of Hessonite below.
Like Paper Mario, Save the Light is a 2D RPG that features a turn-based battle system with action commands. Players form a party out of popular Steven Universe characters and must press the correct button at the right time in order to defend yourself against enemies and deal more damage when you attack. You can watch 20 minutes of gameplay footage from the title above.
Steven Universe: Save the Light launches for PS4 in North and Latin America later this month, on October 31. The Xbox One release will follow globally three days later, on November 3. The game will only be available digitally and will cost $25.
IO Interactive has announced Hitman - Game of the Year Edition, which will include the base game as well as all the content released as part of Season One, and a new campaign called "Patient Zero." Hitman - Game of the Year Edition will be available digitally for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC from November 7.
According to IO Interactive, the Patient Zero campaign will feature four missions that take place in reworked versions of existing areas, and will have "new dialogue, briefings, and audio tracks."
"After the routine elimination of a target, a contingency plan to unleash a global pandemic is triggered and Agent 47 must race against the clock to prevent a virus from spreading," reads the new campaign's description. "This four-mission campaign spans different locations in the game, each one re-worked from the original settings with new gameplay opportunities, disguises, characters, challenges, gameplay mechanics, AI behaviour and HUD elements. Bangkok, Sapienza, Colorado and Hokkaido look and feel completely different with a new time of day and new custom music created by the composer for Season One, Niels Bye Nielsen."
There will also be "new Escalation Contracts, new weapons, new suits, new challenges, improvements to existing features, and new lighting enhancements," as well as "a few surprises" on top of that. Take a look at a list of all the new content below.
Hitman - Game of the Year Edition
Hitman: The Complete First Season
Patient Zero Campaign
Clown Suit and themed weapon: Corky the Clown is back! This fan-favourite from Blood Money returns in Hitman and his red wig, colourful socks and giant shoes look better than ever! Not only does the clown suit look great, but it's the only way to carry his signature weapon without attracting attention. A New Bat will trigger custom sound and visual effects every time it is used.
Raven Suit and themed weapon: Where tactical meets practical and stylish, you'll find the Raven Suit. This is the perfect choice for Agent 47's sniper operations. The Raven Suit is black and charcoal with the finest gloves and pockets for every tool. The Sieger 300 Ghost is a unique ICA variant of the Sieger 300 and the all-black rifle perfectly matches the Raven Suit for high-precision, high-damage long-range engagements. It's got a supressor, an extended scope with four levels of zoom and the Marksman perk, which allows you to improve your aim and slow time.
Cowboy Suit and themed weapon: The Cowboy suit is steel blue on patriotic white and comes complete with a beautiful set of albino alligator boots, sunglasses and a cowboy hat as pure as Colorado snow. Naturally, the belt buckle is the size of your fist. Accompanying this suit is The Striker; a magnum pistol that packs one hell of a punch. Not only does it have increased damage at all ranges, it also knocks back targets and has piercing rounds.
Three themed Escalation Contracts: We've created a new Escalation Contract for each new weapon/suit combination. You'll be dressing in each new suit and using each new weapon as you complete Escalation Contracts with some brand new complications based on some new gameplay mechanics. We've themed these new features with each suit to make for some unique experiences. Each Escalation comes with a new starting location unique to that Contract and all of the Escalations are made up of three stages, so expect the challenge to ramp up quickly--one of the Escalations reaches seven targets, something we've never done before in this game. Completing each Escalation Contract will unlock the corresponding weapon to be used in all locations across the entire game, which means that Clown Only, Striker Only runs are now possible.
Elusive Targets in Hitman will also restart in November, which means those who missed the brief window to kill an Elusive Target will get a second chance. "Reactivated Elusive Targets will still be time-limited and if you've already completed or failed an Elusive Target, that record still stands and cannot be altered," explains IO.
Hitman - Game of the Year Edition will be available for $60. IO is offering those who already have everything from Season One the new content for $20 through the "GOTY Upgrade." This can be purchased by "anyone who purchased all episodes individually or previously purchased the Intro Pack/Upgrade Pack combination."
On November 7, a Hitman patch will also be available and will introduce a number of changes to user-interface, as well as enhancements for Xbox One X. Take a look at the details on that below.
A redesigned UI with a new colour scheme and visual style: A fresh new look across the board and re-organised menus to make it easier to find what you're looking for.
New Contracts Mode features: 'Trending' helps you find the most popular contracts, making sure you can easily find a new challenge. We're also adding 10 'Conditions' that will add huge depth to Contracts Mode, such as restricting disguise changes or requiring players to use a specific exit. Anyone who creates a contract will be able to toggle these conditions to set a more defined challenge for their contract.
Major lighting improvements to all missions: New colour grading, readjusted HDR adaptation rules and re-designed skyboxes mean that our locations look more vivid, vibrant and lifelike.
Commemorative Elusive Target Unlock: If you played any of the Elusive Targets we released during Season One, we're giving you an in-game coin to commemorate your progress and thank you for your support.
Xbox One X Enhancements: A whole host of enhancements are on the way for Xbox One X owners, including options for native 4K and a higher framerate. Specific details to come in a Xbox-specific blog post.
Tobii Eye Tracking support for PC: Enhance your killer instincts with Dynamic Light Adaptation, Extended View and a new special feature added specifically for Hitman. Find more details here.
Various fixes and improvements: Full release notes will be published closer to 7 November. That should be enough time to start thinking about your default loadout for each location.
Bandai Namco has shared a lot of exciting news about Dragon Ball FighterZ today. On top of announcing a release date for the highly anticipated fighting game, as well as an upcoming open beta for PS4 and Xbox One, today the publisher revealed the first details about the game's DLC character pass.
Following the game's launch, players will have the option to purchase the FighterZ Pass, which grants access to a slate of DLC characters "at a discounted price." The pass costs $35 and gives players access to eight new characters when they're released. Bandai Namco hasn't hinted at which characters will be included, but they'll come alongside their respective stamps and lobby avatars.
So far, Bandai Namco has revealed 18 characters for Dragon Ball FighterZ, including fan favorites like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Future Trunks, and Android 18. Most recently, we learned that two more villains, Nappa and Captain Ginyu, will also be playable characters. You can see all the Dragon Ball FighterZ characters in our roundup.
Dragon Ball FighterZ releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in the US and Europe on January 26, 2018. PS4 and Xbox One players who pre-order the digital version will get early access to the game's open beta, though Bandai Namco hasn't revealed any timing details. Pre-ordering the title also unlocks Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta early.
Assassin's Creed Origins launches in the same year that Ubisoft celebrates the series' 10-year anniversary. It's been a series of many ups and downs, filled with interesting ideas, bold reinventions, more than a few missteps, and its fair share of crippling technical issues. Nevertheless, it's been a series that's interesting to follow for both fans in the thick of it, and onlookers at a distance.
Ahead of Assassin's Creed Origins' release date on October 27, GameSpot decided to dig deep into the franchise and fully explore its history. In his History of Assassin's Creed video feature, which you can watch above, Jean-Luc Seipke delves into the origins of Ubisoft's blockbuster series, right from its inception as a new Prince of Persia title, and tracks its evolution--for better or worse--over the years.
Check it out if you're looking for a trip down memory lane, or a quick overview of the entire series ahead of the launch of Assassin's Creed Origins. For those gearing up to play the game, check out GameSpot's Assassin's Creed Origins: Everything You Need To Know, where you'll find all the essential features we've written, gameplay videos, and PC spec requirements.
After a few delays, the Spider-Man spin-off Venom has started shooting. The movie stars Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, and Michelle Williams, and is set for release in October next year.
The start of production was revealed by the movie's official Twitter account. A first behind-the-scenes image was also released--it doesn't exactly give much away, but it does show Hardy looking very happy to be on set. Check it out below:
Hardy was announced in the lead role in May. He plays Eddie Brock; in Marvel's comic books, Brock is a photographer and rival to Peter Parker, who becomes a host for the parasite Venom and sets about to destroy him.
Venom is directed by Ruben Fleischer, who previously helmed the horror comedy Zombieland. The movie was originally set to begin production in early September, but a series of delays postponed the shoot until now.
The film is the first of Sony's Spider-Man spin-offs; although Spider-Man features in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony still owns the movie rights to the character. There was initially some confusion about whether Venom will be part of the MCU, and whether Spider-Man could appear in any of the spin-offs. Both Marvel boss Kevin Feige and Spidey actor Tom Holland have stated that the two universes are entirely separate. However, in June, former Sony boss and Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Amy Pascal suggested otherwise, before subsequently switching to Feige's position.
Following its release in Japan and Europe, Nintendo will soon bring the SNES-themed New 3DS XL to the US. The limited edition console launches in the region next month, on November 27.
Unlike the European version, which was identical to the Super Famicom-themed New 3DS XL that released in Japan, the US version sports a design based on the region's distinctive purple-and-gray SNES. The top flap looks like the classic console's Power, Reset, and Eject buttons, while the bottom resembles the SNES's cartridge slot. You can take a look at images of the handheld below.
The SNES edition New 3DS XL is available to pre-order now on Amazon. It retails for $200 and includes a download code for Super Mario Kart, the debut installment in Nintendo's popular mascot racing series. The SNES edition New 3DS XL is listed as an Amazon exclusive, though it's unclear whether the handheld itself or the Super Mario Kart bundle is exclusive to the online retailer. We've followed up with Nintendo for clarification.
If you're more interested in the New 2DS XL, Nintendo will also release a special edition Poke Ball-themed handheld next month. The Poke Ball New 2DS XL launches on November 3 and retails for $160, making it a cheaper alternative for those still looking to pick up Nintendo's great handheld console.
Fall is typically the busiest time of year for new game releases, and this year is no exception. This week in particular, though, is certainly the busiest of the season and maybe even the entire year.
Things get wild on Friday, October 27. We've more frequently seen publishers choose to release their games on Friday in the US, as has been customary in Europe for some time. Three different companies have chosen this particular Friday to release their high-profile games: Nintendo with Super Mario Odyssey (Switch), Bethesda with Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PC, PS4, and Xbox One), and Ubisoft with Assassin's Creed Origins (PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
Any of those would ordinarily be the biggest game in a given week (if not month), and yet they face stiff competition from each other in even claiming to be the largest title for a single day. And if the games themselves weren't enough for you to buy this week, they crowd the release slate further, with Mario Odyssey receiving new Amiibo figures and Origins featuring a number of special editions best conveyed through scientific notation.
That's four major releases happening in the space of four days. And those somehow don't represent everything coming out this week, either, as Just Dance 2018 arrives on October 24, joined by a number of smaller games: Hidden Agenda, Knowledge Is Power, Rapala Fishing: Pro Series, and more. That's to say nothing of the many digital-only releases that will arrive on the various console stores--recent weeks have seen dozens of new Switch games--and Steam, which attracts a constant stream of new games.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the follow-up to 2014's The New Order. It once again centers around B.J. Blazkowicz and his struggle to overthrow the Nazi regime. This time around he's trying to set up a second American Revolution with the help of a militant group of resistance fighters.
With the game's release date set for October 27 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, we've compiled our most important features and gameplay videos detailing everything you need to know about Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Check back often as we update this article with our in-depth review, additional articles, and videos.
Features
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus maintains the same action-heavy gunplay of its predecessor. The game features a variety of weapons, most of which can be dual-wielded. New this time around is a cover system to aid your approach in a firefight. For more of our impressions about the game and its provocative depiction of a Nazi-occupied America, check out the features below:
Every Cinematic Cutscene So Far--We collected every cutscene we have seen so far for Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus and put them all into one handy video for you. Be warned, this video is packed with spoilers.
Delivering A Nuke To Area 52 Gameplay--BJ Blazkowicz is back at it again! This time our well armed friend is fighting through a train to deliver a nuke to Area 52.
A live-action movie based on the hit Nickelodeon TV show Dora the Explorer is on the way, and action movie veteran Michael Bay is going to produce it. Really. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bay--who is perhaps best known for the Transformers series--is producing with Andrew Form and Brad Fuller from his Platinum Dunes company.
The Dora movie is being written by The Muppets and Neighbors writer Nick Stoller. The film is expected to stray from the TV show in that it will follow a teenage Dora who moves to a city to live with her cousin Diego and go on their own adventures. The show, which ended in 2014 after 172 episodes, followed a 7-year-old Dora. She teamed up with a monkey named Boots and a sentient map named Map on her adventures. A big jerk fox named Swiper tries to get in the way all the time. We'd expect all of these characters to move forward with the movie, though specific plot points are being kept under wraps.
Paramount is releasing the live-action Dora movie, which is expected to hit theatres in 2019.
In 2012, CollegeHumor released a trailer for a fake Dora the Explorer movie starring Ariel Winter from Modern Family. It's pretty great, filled with gunfights and explosions. We can't imagine Paramount's movie would be anywhere near this adult or absurd, but it's all we have to go on for now. Check out the trailer above.
Nintendo has announced it will host a Direct event for its mobile Animal Crossing game. The direct will take place on October 25 and the pre-recorded broadcast will stream on YouTube from 12 PM JST (October 24 at 8 PM PT / October 25 at 7 AM BST). According to the Japanese Nintendo Twitter account, it will last 15 minutes.
The Animal Crossing mobile game was originally scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2017, but was delayed into Nintendo's next financial year. This means the game's launch could be anytime up until March 31, 2018.
Nintendo attributed the reason for the delay to the launch of Fire Emblem Heroes and Super Mario Run, the first two mobile games released as part of its partnership with DeNA. Fire Emblem Heroes launches February 2, while Super Mario Run launched for iOS on December 15, 2016.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto previously said the company will continue to focus on crafting original games to mobile, rather than porting old ones. This has been the case for Mario, which appeared on iOS and Android devices as an auto-runner, and Fire Emblem, which was released as a new free-to-play entry in the series.
In his Super Mario Run review, critic Peter Brown awarded it a 7/10, saying "it's easy to fault Run for various reasons, but it's hard to totally lose appreciation for how well it's brought the series' core gameplay to smartphones."
He added: "It's a shame to find that it's on the easy side and bereft of a long-lasting platforming adventure, but it's the sort of game that you'll be happy to have in your pocket."
Kallie Plagge's Fire Emblem Heroes review, meanwhile, awarded it a 6/10. "When the incentive to keep playing is to be able to keep playing, it's easy to burn out on Fire Emblem Heroes," she said. "Aside from obtaining your favorite characters--if you even care about that--Fire Emblem Heroes becomes less and less rewarding as time goes on.
"Grinding can only be fun for so long before chasing rare allies becomes a chore, and in that sense it caters to two ends of a wide spectrum while offering little incentive for anyone in between."
Unlike its predecessor, Destiny 2 will release on PC. Although players have had to wait longer for it, there's not much longer left now. Destiny 2 doesn't launch on PC until October 24, and for those of you that didn't pick it up on Xbox One and PS4, the PC version features a variety of improvements and differences compared with its console counterparts. To help you get an idea of what to expect from the PC release of Bungie's hotly anticipated sequel, we've gathered all of the essential details below. Take a look and you'll find detailed information on everything from what's different, to recommended PC hardware specs, and how it works with Blizzard's Battle.net client.
Unfortunately, if you didn't try it already, the Destiny 2 PC beta has already passed. For more on the game, check out our Destiny 2 review. We also have tons of Destiny 2 guides, tips, and tricks for those who have already begun playing on consoles or are simply looking to get a head start on how things will work on PC.
Destiny 2 PC Release Date and Differences
The PC version is confirmed to have release date on October 24, while the Xbox One and PS4 versions are already out, having launched on September 6. Bungie has announced the game's servers will become available at 10 AM PT on October 24, which works out to 1 PM ET / 2 PM BRT / 6 PM BST / and 4 AM the next day in Australia. We've spent time with the computer version and have highlighted the key differences with Destiny 2 on PC.
Destiny 2 PC Minimum Requirements and Recommended Specs
While there may be changes made for the final release, Destiny 2's PC beta brought a list of minimum and recommended system specs. Additionally, Bungie provided a list of hardware for those looking to upgrade their systems, with CPU and GPU minimums and recommendations.
Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit (Recommended)
Hard drive space
68GB available hard drive space
Bungie System Specs Used at Events
CPU: Intel i7-7700k
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti 11GB
Destiny 2 Pre-Loading
Pre-loading for Destiny 2 is officially underway. If you've pre-ordered the game through Battle.net, you can download the game now so that it's ready as soon as Bungie's servers come online.
Texture Anisotropy (Anisotropic Filtering, up to 16x)
Texture Quality
Shadow Quality
Depth of Field
Environmental Detail Distance
Character Detail Distance
Foliage Detail Distance
Foliage Shadow Distance
Light Shafts
Motion Blur
Wind Impulse
Render Resolution
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Chromatic Aberration
Film Grain
Destiny 2 PC Control Scheme
The PC version uses a relatively straightforward control scheme, which you can see in the image below. It's worth noting that the controls are completely customizable.
Destiny 2 Doesn't Use Dedicated Servers
Unfortunately, the game will use peer-to-peer servers. However, this doesn't work quite the same as in the previous game; when Bungie explained why Destiny 2 doesn't use dedicated servers, it noted that you'll never run into a host migration situation.
Destiny 2 PC Impressions
During our hands-on time with the game, we found the mouse and keyboard support to be a welcome addition. It enhanced the overall feel of multiplayer, though it did seem to make the single-player portions we played easier than we anticipated. You can check out our analysis of the PC beta for a technical look at the game; for further impressions of the PC version, watch the video below.
If you're hoping the game is dramatically different from the original Destiny, you may be in for a disappointment, but those seeking a refined version of that game will likely be pleased. You can read our impressions of the full game on console in our Destiny 2 review diary and Destiny 2 review-in-progress.
Destiny 2 Uses Blizzard Battle.net
Destiny 2 uses Blizzard's desktop app. It's the first game not directly developed by Blizzard to appear on the platform. Activision and Blizzard have changed its name several times recently, but moving forward it will be referred to as Blizzard Battle.net.
Destiny Progress Doesn't Transfer to Destiny 2
Unfortunately, Destiny 1 power, possessions, and Eververse-related items and currency will not transfer over. While your character's appearance will not be abandoned in the sequel for console owners, there's no word if it'll support any kind of transfer from console to PC.
Also of note is that Fullbright's adventure/exploration game Gone Home is free on Xbox One all month long. You can see the full rundown for October 2017's Games With Gold lineup below. Click any link and it will bring you to the game's Xbox.com download page.
Microsoft should roll out a fresh set of weekly Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals in the next day, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more. Also, you can see October 2017's free PlayStation Plus games here.
After launching for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in September, Bungie's Destiny 2 comes out for PC on October 24. Bungie has announced the game's exact unlock time and revealed the final PC requirements. Servers will become available at 10 AM PT on October 24, which works out to 1 PM ET / 2 PM BRT / 6 PM BST / and 4 AM the next day in Australia. Check out the map below to find out precisely when Destiny 2 unlocks where you live.
Bungie also today announced the final minimum and recommended specs for Destiny 2, following the preliminary specs from the beta. You need 68 GB of free space to install Destiny 2, while Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 are supported operating systems. You can check out the full minimum and recommended specs in the image below, which Bungie shared in a recent blog post.
The PC version of Destiny 2 will be available at physical retailers and through Blizzard's Battle.net, but not Steam or other digital stores. That's notable because Destiny 2 is the first non-Blizzard game to be offered on Blizzard's PC gaming platform. For more, check out GameSpot's roundup of everything you need to know about Destiny 2 on PC.
Provided you're willing to pre-order the game, you can also get a head start on downloading it. Pre-loading for Destiny 2 on PC has begun on Battle.net. Even on a fast connection, 68 GB will take some time to download, so this ensures you'll be able to jump right into the action on release day.
For those looking for something festive, Destiny 2's new winter activity, which is called The Dawning event, has been revealed. It includes the ability to play hockey at the Farm, and throughout Destiny 2's playable areas there will also be snowballs you can throw at enemies to do damage. Of course, there's also new gear. You can see all the details on Destiny 2's winter event here.
Assassin's Creed Origins' release is drawing near, and developer Ubisoft has revealed the minimum PC specs and system requirements you'll need to play. The company says that optimizing the game for PC play has been very important, as has making the game accessible to players on a wide variety of systems.
"The PC version was developed in parallel with all the other versions by the main team in Montreal, in collaboration with our PC-dedicated team in Ubisoft Kiev," said Jose Araiza, the coordinating producer on Assassin's Creed Origins. "This approach was adopted while the game features were being designed, making PC and mouse-and-keyboard controls a full part of the equation from the get-go."
Araiza said the minimum system requirements will be the same as Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which released two years ago. "This means that the range of supported machines is wider than ever," he said.
Assassin's Creed Origins comes out on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on October 27. It's the latest instalment in a series that has been around for a decade, and if you need help catching up on the story, check out our look back at every Assassin's Creed game. In the meantime, here are the minimum and recommended system requirements.
Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400s @ 2.5 GHz or AMD FX-6350 @ 3.9 GHz or equivalent
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD R9 270 (2048 MB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
RAM: 6GB
Resolution: 720p
Video Preset: Lowest
Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Assassin's Creed Origins is the latest entry in the long-running Assassin's Creed franchise. Unlike past games, which continually pushed the ancestor timeline forward, this entry is a prequel. Set in Egypt, you play as Bayek, a warrior whose struggle against the corrupt forces of the time leads him towards becoming the first Assassin.
With the game's release date set for October 27 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, we've compiled our most important features and gameplay videos detailing everything you need to know about Assassin's Creed Origins. Check back often as we update this article with our in-depth review, guides, additional articles, and videos.
Features
Unlike its predecessors, Assassin's Creed Origins is an action-RPG; it sports a multi-faceted skill tree, damage hit points, and equipment with varying statistics. In addition, everything you do feeds into an overarching progression system that steadily improves your character's strength and abilities over time. For more about the game's mechanics and story, as well as our impressions of it thus far, check out the features below:
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