Black Friday is right around the corner, and like many other retailers, Target has released its ad well in advance to let people plan ahead. There are quite a few game deals to be had in its sales circular, although the heavy focus is on PS4 and Xbox One; there's nothing for PC gaming fans to take advantage of, and seemingly little for those on Nintendo platforms.
Unlike the Walmart and Best Buy Black Friday ads, Nintendo Switch is not featured at all, even at a regular price. Similarly, there's no sign of PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, although the older iterations of those consoles will be on sale. You can pick up a 1 TB PS4 for $200, while a 500 GB Xbox One S drops to $190 with a bonus $25 Target gift card. Target's ad lists both of these console deals as doorbusters, a term it liberally uses throughout--it even applies to the special green Zelda 2DS. We've designated doorbuster deals as such in the lists below; it's unclear how limited stock will be, but some of these offers may run out shortly after Target stores open their doors.
On the accessory side, the most notable deal is PlayStation VR for $200. This is just the headset itself, meaning you would still need to purchase the PS4's camera in order to use it. Still, that's an attractive option for those uninterested in the camera and bundled game you can get on sale for $300 or $350 elsewhere. Additionally, all PS4 DualShock 4 controllers drop to $40, while a selection of Xbox One controllers will also be $40. The ad states that "all" Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus memberships will be $10 off, but only the $60, 12-month cards are pictured. It's unlikely you'll get $10 off the cheaper, short-term subscription cards.
As for games, there are quite a few on sale. However, it's unclear if certain deals apply to all platforms--for instance, Just Dance 2018 is $30 on Switch, which may or may not also be true of Xbox One and PS4 versions. The ad also states there will be more games available at the various price tiers, so at this point we don't know everything that's discounted.
Below, you'll find the comprehensive list of everything we know will be on sale on Black Friday at Target. Store time openings vary by state, so check with your local store to be sure. You can also check out our in-depth lists of other retailers' Black Friday deals through these links:
2017 has been a big year for Sega's iconic mascot, Sonic. The blue blur starred in two major releases this year, the first of which, Sonic Mania, garnered widespread acclaim from fans and critics for the way it successfully recaptured Sonic's glory days. Sega followed it this month with Sonic Forces, a new 3D installment that blends classic and modern Sonic gameplay and gives players the ability to create their own Sonic characters.
Critics have now weighed in on Sonic's newest adventure, and the reception has been decidedly mixed. GameSpot awarded it a 5/10 in our Sonic Forces review, saying the game "falls short due to frustrating design choices and inconsistent level design."
Other reviews for Sonic Forces are available online as well, and as usual, we've rounded up a sample of them below. For a broader look at what critics are saying about the game, be sure to visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Game: Sonic Forces
Developer: Sonic Team
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: November 7
Price: US $40 / £35 / AU $60
GameSpot -- 5/10
"For years the Sonic series has come up short in its 3D games. It wasn't until Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations that the series was able to grasp a semblance of quality that could change the perception of the series as a whole for the better. Sonic Forces ultimately fails to advance the mechanics of previously successful 3D Sonic games, or present them in their best light. A mediocre platformer at best, Sonic Forces manages to do nothing more than reinforce long held stereotypes against Sega's beloved blue blur." -- Matt Espineli [Full review]
IGN -- 6.9/10
"On top of the joy of creating and playing as your own character, there's a lot of goofy charm that makes Sonic Forces hard to be too disappointed with. The graphics are colorful and engaging, and the music is a pumping backdrop for extreme team-ups, super-speed cinematics, and lots of ruminations on the power of friendship. There are some really fun levels in the mix, too, and surprisingly strong boss fights make for some unexpected highlights. But Sonic Forces doesn't build on its handful of good ideas as much as it should, and it screeches to a halt just as it seems to hit its stride." -- Heidi Kemps [Full review]
Polygon -- 5/10
"Sonic Forces creators' good intentions and interesting ideas don't amount to much in a game so clumsy and limited in design. It certainly doesn't help that Forces follows right on the heels of Sonic Mania, a game that not only demonstrated a more focused design sensibility but also did a far better job of realizing its creators' ambitions. Forces may have had a larger budget than Mania, but it feels like the poorer creation all around. Unless your dearest dream has always been to play a Sonic game as your own original fan art character, Sonic Forces doesn't have much to offer." -- Jeremy Parish [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 2.5/5
"Sonic Forces has one defense; that it's a great-looking, fan-serving, accessible Sonic for the hedgehog's younger audience. With Sonic Mania pitched as the Sonic for real gamers, that's all it needs to be. Well, that's not good enough. Sonic's younger fans deserve a game with more imagination and more chance to discover, learn and build their Sonic skills, and the Mario series shows it's possible to do this in a game that appeals to fans both young and old. Sonic Forces does not." -- Stuart Andrews [Full review]
Game Informer -- 6.5/10
"Despite my multiple gripes with Sonic Forces, I still enjoyed the adventure. 3D Sonic games still aren't to where they should be after such a long time of iteration and experimentation, but through improved gameplay and level design, Sonic Forces continues the series' evolution in the right direction." -- Brian Shea [Full review]
EGM -- 7/10
"Sonic Forces mashes together everything from Sonic's history, from 2D/3D mechanics to over-the-top action spectacle pieces. The new customizable hero feature breathes fresh life into the franchise, but the 3D gameplay it uses overpowers the game's attempt to combine what has made the different eras of Sonic work." -- Evan Slead [Full review]
Another FIFA 18 update has been released, and although it only appears to introduce a pretty small change, it actually fixes a pretty big exploit. Until now, it was possible to trick AI-controlled opposition into fouling you if you went into the corner and shielded the ball. In FUT, this could be utilized to get enemy players sent off and to hence win easily in Squad Battles and boost your rewards significantly.
Now, EA has fixed the issue. The patch notes for the latest update state the developer has "removed the chance for the CPU AI controlled player to receive a second yellow card when trying to push or pull an opponent, with the exception of an attacker who is through on goal and 1 on 1 with the keeper." This doesn't apply to human controlled players, however.
FIFA isn't quite at that stage yet, but it does have plenty of live content updates throughout the year. A different FIFA 18 patch dropped just a couple of weeks ago, FUT continues to evolve each week, and FIFA 18 for Switch was also updated recently.
In other FIFA news, EA says the US national team's failure to qualify for the men's World Cup for the first time since 1986 will not affect the franchise's sales. "The World Cup is the world's largest sporting event and it is followed by all people around the world who love soccer or football, depending on what they call it where they come from," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said. "Does it heighten their enjoyment if their national team is participating? Of course. But we don't see people stopping watching a World Cup just because their team is not there. As you think about the US in particular, we are a very multicultural country." For more on the popular sports game, check out our feature on FIFA 18 vs PES 2018.
Of all the types of American regions featured in games, the one least explored is the country's vast open rural landscapes. It's one of the intriguing aspects of Far Cry 5's Montana, a sense of anticipation in exploring its diverse terrain as you take on a malicious cult that has claimed the land as their own. Based on our most recent interview with creative director Dan Hay, we learned more about the nuances of rural America as envisioned by Ubisoft Montreal and how this land in conflict promises to deliver a layered experience driven by the allies and enemies you meet.
GameSpot: So from what I've gathered so far, The Father's siblings are managing the map's various regions controlled by the cult. But it seems like you're also giving the player that Far Cry style of freedom of focusing on one region at a time or allowing them just slowly picking away at each one.
Dan Hay: Without going into micro detail, I think the key thing for us was to create story bubbles, and opportunities to discover things. Sometimes when we're authoring a story like this, it seems like all of the characters of the world are cursed with all the knowledge on Earth. You walk to them, you ask them a question, and they seem to know everything that's going on. I like the idea of meeting characters in the world that don't really have a clue what's going on, and they're only aware of what's going on in terms of what they can see in front of them. They can be speaking based on what's going on in the north, but they don't know or they're hearing something else that's going down in the south. What that does is create friction. We want to give fish-hook opportunities to the player. These NPC's friends have been taken from them, they don't know where those people are. They're stuck in the middle of the world. They don't have the knowledge of a lot of what's going on. And yes, you'll have the opportunity to jump between regions controlled by the cult. You can go and meet John, and do everything in John's area. At any time, you can head up to Jacob and Faith's region.
I guess that's one of the drawbacks of a cult. That no matter how organized, they probably don't have the wherewithal or the resources to actually fully control the land. Are they all relying on walkie-talkies?
We did a little bit of work to figure this out. How do these communications tools work? How far would it go? I think it's somewhere in between 12 and 25 miles, depending on what's around you. It's believable for us that if that first moment when things go south, that the cult is getting on CB radios and they're going, "Hey guys. This is what you need to do."
But not everybody knows what's going on at the same time, and that creates an interesting series of events. For a while, this allows you to fly under their radar. Then, once you begin to get this notoriety, you get to build this resistance, and the cult turn their attention more towards you.
Do you think you can probably delay getting The Father's attention if you spread your accomplishments across all the regions evenly?
That's an interesting question. The way that I would answer that is if you decide to go into John's region, and you decide to head directly for the community of resistance fighters, then you go right at the cult, John is going to know who you are really quick. John is going to offer a proportional response against what you do.
If you don't, if you go out into the world and you smack a bit on John's area, then you smack a bit on Faith's, and then go back to Jacob's, there's definitely a period where you can do more and maybe fly under the radar a bit. It's not the intention of the game to be able to provide all those opportunities, but it's something that can happen just as far as the way the game is set up.
It's interesting that this isn't a cult that actually has had multiple generations rooted in the Hope County. Is this approach of buying up cheap land typical?
I don't know if it's typical, but it's valid. We wanted to be able to make it so that the cult went to this place, chosen specifically because it's remote, and because there's an opportunity for them to be able to own it and take over the community. We didn't feel like it needed to be something that had existed for a long time.
I like the idea that The Father had this epiphany when he was younger. It wasn't something that was handed to him from his father. I think if we had made it so that The Father inherited this leadership role, then this isn't really his cause or it's something that's just a belief that's been passed down. Instead, he was once a relatively average person and then he made the conscious effort based off what he was seeing and what he heard. He chose to remove himself from what you considered to be regular society and moved to this place to build a separate community because he believes the end of times is coming. That makes him much more interesting as a person.
Thinking about the resistance factions of the other Far Crys, would you say that this new set of groups is a little bit more unified despite their diverse backgrounds?
It feels like it could be unified. We've created a really interesting set of events where personalities that you meet in Fall's End may not be the personality types that you meet in previous games. Their motivations for how they push back may not be the same. If you head up north, you're going to get a completely different group people who are pushing back against Jacob. They may all end up being unified in terms of what they're doing and how they operate. In terms of what drives them, in terms of how they move, in terms of the resources they have at their disposal, and how prepared they were for this event, they're completely different.
When you knew you were going to set the game in America, was there ever the thought of a more suburban or urban setting?
I think what's interesting about Montana was that it had an interesting flavor of a little bit of both. Did we ever have conversations about that? I vaguely remember us talking about different locations. We very quickly stuck with an idea of being in a rural community and making it feel like small town America.
We wanted to put you in a situation that was different and unique. We've all driven down those dusty roads in wherever it is that we're from. We end up going out in the wilderness, and you feel this sense of "Okay. I'm shedding the tapestry of urban, and I'm moving into the wilderness."
It's really interesting for us to tell the stories of people that have been cut off for a little while and make their own rules.
When you think about the different types of settings in prior Far Crys, Montana is the furthest thing from the islands Far Cry 3 and I doubt that it'll match the verticality of Far Cry 4. What would you say is the one aspect of this new map that sums it up?
Maybe it's a good thing that I'm struggling to come up with just one thing. What's really interesting is when we were making Far Cry Primal, we did those Beast Master quests, and we're like, "Whoa. Okay. Hold on. There's something really cool here." So, that says "You know what? For Far Cry 5, let's explore the relationship with coop AI." And that's what lead to Boomer. And then, let's start talking about guns-for-hire and people that you bring in with their unique personalities and abilities.
What we do is like throwing a rock in the water and see how it ripples and see what we want to make it, and I think that we're evolving through each of these franchises. But I cannot come up with just one thing. When I look back on what I was doing in Far Cry 4, I was doing a lot. I was wingsuiting, sneaking, sniping, and you're right, verticality was a big thing, and it felt like I was always attacking from above or I was stealthily going through the space. There's just a ton of stuff that I can do in Far Cry 5. I've struggled to come up with just one experience.
What is the most inviting aspect of this rural setting that will discourage players from habitually using fast travel as often as possible? I imagine you'll want them to soak in the land, so to speak.
One of the things that we as a team had a conversation about is that when you spend time in the States, there's something magical about getting inside a muscle car and just driving down the road. You feel like a badass. Something as simple as that or getting into a cult vehicle and hearing the sounds of the station that they play and all the hymns that are playing. It's just something about making the world believable. And so, when I get into a classic car, and I drive down the highway in our version of Montana and I just look at the landscape, it feels very real to me.
By Anonymous on Nov 14, 2017 11:22 pm Rocket League is now out on the Nintendo Switch so Erick and Rob get back into their cars to score some hot goals. (Sponsored by Rocket League)
We had the chance to try Disney's Star Wars Jedi Challenges. It's an augmented reality game compilation, but unlike other AR experiences like Pokemon Go or games built on Apple's ARKit, you have to put on a headset to play it. The headset is designed by Lenovo and is perhaps most similar to Microsoft's HoloLens. Perhaps the biggest distinguishing factor between the two is that Lenovo's solution requires a smartphone.
The device comes with a sleeve for your phone, and you simply need to download the Star Wars Jedi Challenges app before you slot it in. The headset is equipped with a 60Hz screen and uses mirrors to reflect augmented reality projections within your field of view.
Unlike the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift VR headsets, Lenovo's AR headset doesn't block the environment around you, but merely augments it by projecting additional characters and objects into your room that aren't actually there. The Jedi Challenges package comes with a tracked Lightsaber and a spherical light beacon that you put on the floor so that the headset's two cameras can tell where the ground is. Disney advises using the device indoors away from sunlight so it can work most effectively.
Using these accessories, the first thing we did was whip out our Lightsaber to duel Darth Maul. Turning on the Lightsaber and seeing it woosh out with the infamous sound effect is very satisfying. From here, we could physically hack and slash away at the Sith Lord, who was walking around our studio trying to take us down with his double-sided Lightsaber. The game requires that you block attacks, and highlights where you should position your Lightsaber to do so. Mixed in between your hacking and slashing, these moments can feel very much like quick-time events (QTEs).
Once we brought Darth Maul to his knees, we moved onto a level where we fought a bunch of droids shooting at us from off in the distance. Using our Lightsaber, we could deflect their blasts back at them. As they marched closer, we could slash them apart. Disney asserts that there are many enemies in this mode and that the challenge will progress so that we'll face tougher foes like Kylo Ren and Darth Vader, who have their own unique abilities and attack patterns.
Moving onto the strategy game mode, Jedi Challenges had us looking down at tiny troops on the floor. The ground beneath us was split down the middle with our base on the left and the enemy AI base on the right. It felt like a tower-defense game. We could summon turrets down onto the battlefield below along with additional clone troopers to ward off incoming enemy droids. This game mode employs a timed cooldown mechanic for summoning troops, and towards the end of the battle, we eventually got access to Obi Wan Kenobi. When we plopped the Jedi down onto the battlefield, he wreaked havoc and lead us to victory.
The last mode we played was Dejarik, which is perhaps better known as the Star Wars chess game. Here, we picked three monsters and took turns moving forward to attack the enemy team on the far side of the virtual table. It played like a simple version of a traditional turn-based tactics game. While we only played a few minutes of it, each monster among the 10 or so that were available to choose from featured different strengths and weakness, which suggests some depth to the mode.
The Disney representative we spoke to said that there are plans to incorporate multiplayer between two headsets in the future, and that the company is experimenting with developing additional non-Star Wars games to take advantage of the headset.
All in all, the company says you should expect roughly a dozen hours of gameplay in total. Considering that the entire package is $200, Star Wars Jedi Challenges is not quite in impulse-buy territory, and seems more tailored for Star Wars enthusiasts at the moment.
We've known for some time now that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is getting a new desert map, but publisher Bluehole has revealed few details about it. Thankfully, some very dedicated fans have datamined the new PC 1.0 test servers and found what appears to be the layout of the new map.
Reddit user bizzfarts uploaded the below image showing what the new arena looks like. It should be noted that many of the location names are likely placeholders, to be replaced by final titles when the map eventually arrives. User Art_7s, meanwhile, uncovered images of a new jet ski vehicle, along with a minibus, pickup truck, and what appears to be a new gun. You can take a look at a couple of the images below; click the links to see more on Reddit and Imgur.
Test servers for PC 1.0 were initially slated to go live earlier this month but were delayed as the test build was deemed to be "not stable enough," according to a blog post from the development team. "Right before opening the test servers, we concluded that the test build was not stable enough and decided to postpone the test." The servers are now live however, and their testing period has been extended by one day. "Testing will end Wednesday evening PST, Thursday morning CET," developer PUBG Corp explained.
On top of climbing and vaulting, players will also get to test out PUBG's revamped ballistics, which have been adjusted to improve gameplay balance and make them more realistic. Most notably, the development team has added a drag effect on bullets that affects their trajectory curve. Additionally, weapon accuracy has been tweaked according to their real-life counterparts, resulting in some weapons experiencing a slight accuracy nerf or buff.
PUBG releases in full on PC and on Xbox One via the Game Preview program later this year. For more, check out some official images of the new desert map.
If you didn't pre-order the Deluxe Edition, you can still purchase it and gain access to Battlefront II right now. On console it will cost you US $80 / £80 / AU $120, compared to the standard edition's US $60 / £60 / AU $100, but the Deluxe Edition will also get you instant access to Kylo Ren and Rey, plus a number of upgrade packs containing attachments and abilities for use in multiplayer.
As the game is now available, Star Wars Battlefront II reviews have begun to surface around the web. In our initial verdict, Alessandro Fillari wrote: "While its main narrative feels unresolved, and the general loop of the multiplayer carries a number of issues, Battlefront II still manages to evoke that same sense of joy and excitement found in the core of what the series is all about. But as it stands, the biggest hurdle that Battlefront II will need to overcome--for its simultaneous attempts to balance microtransactions with genuine feeling of accomplishments--is deciding on what type of game it wants to be." Read more in our full Star Wars Battlefront II review-in-progress.
Much of Battlefront II's launch has been overshadowed by the game's handling of microtransactions. EA's response to fan concerns about the title's loot boxes became the most-downvoted Reddit post ever, before the company decided to change the cost of some of Battlefront II's heroes at the last minute. Sadly, EA developers have received death threats in the wake of Battlefront II's loot box and microtransaction controversy.
Mario may be headed to the big screen once again. 24 years after the failure that is the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, Nintendo is reportedly nearing a deal to make an animated movie based on the hit franchise.
That's according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports that Nintendo is in talks with Illumination Entertainment, a subsidiary of Universal Studios responsible for movies like Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Minions. The WSJ says the two companies have been speaking about the prospect for a year but that a deal is now "close" to being signed. As you'd expect, neither company is talking about the deal publicly just yet.
Nintendo has famously been hesitant to allow its franchises to be adapted into movies. The aforementioned Super Mario Bros., released in 1993, was a critical and commercial failure, although it did leave us with a truly magical cinematic moment. The WSJ notes that Hollywood has long been interested in Nintendo properties, given their worldwide success.
The report states that Nintendo would want to play a creative role in the film, and that series creator Shigeru Miyamoto (now a Representative Director with the company) will potentially serve as a producer. Miyamoto has previously experimented with film, even releasing a series of Pikmin shorts. Last year, Nintendo made it clear it was interested in expanding to films but that it would like to do "more than just license something."
Illumination could make several movies as part of the deal, but a source said that only one is planned for now. We'll report back as we learn more. Separately from this, Nintendo is working with Universal on a theme park.
The latest pair of Pokemon games, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, arrive for 3DS this week, marking the series' final installments on the dual-screen handheld. Not quite sequels nor remakes, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are more accurately described as the definitive versions of last year's games, Sun and Moon, changing some of their story elements and introducing new features, Pokemon, and characters to make the experience a bit different from their predecessors.
Ahead of their release, reviews for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have begun appearing online, and critics agree that fans of the original games will enjoy this return trip to the Alola region. We've rounded up a sample of reviews and their scores below. For a wider look at what critics think of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, be sure to visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic. We've also put together a guide of the differences between Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to help you decide which version is right for you.
Games: Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon
Developer: Game Freak
Platform: 3DS
Release date: November 17
Price: $40 / £40
GameSpot -- 8/10
"Though they aren't very different from their predecessors, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon make enough changes to stand apart as the definitive version of the seventh generation games. An overly complicated story is offset by charming details that bring even more life to the most vibrant Pokemon region to date, and small fixes iron out the shakier parts of the original journey. If you make it through Alola a second (or even first) time, you'll be rewarded with a fun-filled and uplifting Pokemon adventure with its own share of spoilery surprises in store." -- Kallie Plagge [Full review]
IGN -- 9/10
"I was fine with the lack of of mid-gen Pokemon expansions over the past few years, but I'm glad Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon exist as Pokemon's swan song on the Nintendo 3DS. These upgraded versions not only have everything I enjoyed about Sun and Moon, but augments them in important ways by making small but meaningful changes to the story, expanding the selection of available Pokemon, and even making some small tweaks to the world. Unless you played through both Sun and Moon extensively and have already collected every Legendary Pokemon, it's easy to recommend to any Pokemon fan." -- Casey Defreitas [Full review]
EGM -- 8/10
"Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon serve as the definitive editions of Pokemon Sun and Moon, and that means that if you have strong opinions already about the original games, there's not much in the new ones that will likely sway your mind either way. Systems are a little more convenient, cutscenes a little more polished. A new selection of available Pokemon can make completing your Pokedex that much easier, while a few fun new minigames, plot changes, and the occasional new area to explore leave fun surprises in store for those who have memorized every inch of Alola. Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon don't do much to push the series as a whole forward--but given the giant leaps that the original Sun and Moon already took, maybe they don't need to." -- Emma Schaefer [Full review]
Destructoid -- 9/10
"I already got my fill of Pokemon Sun and Moon, as you can clearly see from my completed 'dex, but that didn't stop me from reliving it all over again with Ultra. Just keep in mind that if you're hoping that the entire 'leveling process' is going to be different this time, and that you'll be entering a completely brave, new world--you're going to be disappointed." -- Chris Carter [Full review]
Destiny 2's latest weekly reset has taken place on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, marking the end of the latest Faction Rally event and kicking off Victory Week, which means there's a new Legendary weapon available for purchase. Bungie has also shifted the Flashpoint to Titan and rotated the selection of items available at Eververse. Most significantly, the weekly reset has introduced the next Nightfall Strike: Savathun's Song. Here's what to expect in terms of Modifiers, Challenges, and rewards.
The first of the two Modifiers is Momentum. This causes health and shields to only regenerate while you're sprinting; standing still is essentially a death sentence; crouching behind an object for cover won't be a viable strategy this week. Luckily, if you do need some extra time, you can get it through the other Modifier, Timewarp: Anomalies. This presents you with objects scattered through the mission that you can destroy to extend the Strike's time limit.
In terms of Challenges, the always-present Speed of Dark is in effect, which requires you to finish the Strike with at least five minutes left on the timer. Unbroken tasks you with dying fewer than three times. And The Best Defense asks you to shoot down 15 projectiles during the final boss fight before finishing off Savathun's Song.
The reward for completing the Nightfall is Powerful gear. This is one of the only ways to obtain such gear, and they're among the best items you can get your hands on. It's also an easy way to increase your Power level past 265, which presents a difficult point to surpass for many players. If you haven't hit 265 yet, you may want to wait until after you've raised your Power level to grab the Nightfall reward. This Nightfall will be available until the next weekly reset, which occurs at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT / 8 PM AEDT on Tuesday, November 21. Keep in mind, Destiny 2's weekly reset time will change with Curse of Osiris's release.
If you still need to unlock the Nightfall, you'll have to complete two Strikes and approach the suggested Power level of 240 before Zavala lets you take part. Traditional matchmaking is not available, but in its place we have Guided Games, providing players with the opportunity to be matched up with members of a clan for the mission (which requires a Nightfall Ticket). Alternatively, clan members can sign up to serve as guides through the Nightfall. Doing so does not require a Ticket. Although they're imperfect for now, changes are on the way for Guided Games.
The second-ever Faction Rally event in Destiny 2 has come to an end, and we have a winner. Following Dead Orbit's win during the first event, New Monarchy has emerged victorious during the second. As a result, The Tower has been decorated appropriately (as you can see below), and Victory Week is officially underway.
Victory Week sees the three factions stick around for one additional week, during which time you can continue to cash in any Tokens you earned (including those acquired through the Faction Token exploit). You can see all of the Faction Rally gear, weapons, and armor up for grabs in our gallery to get a sense of what you might be able to earn. Keep in mind, however, that only the first 30 rewards packages you receive can include gear; after that, you'll only receive shaders.
More significantly, Victory Week also presents you with the opportunity to purchase the winning faction's Powerful weapon. New Monarchy's win is not terribly surprising, given the sword it teased if it won. Honor's Edge is an Adaptive sword whose quick attacks do extra damage immediately after pulling it out. It's available to purchase for 1,000 Glimmer to those who joined New Monarchy during the event, or 50,000 to everyone else.
This Faction Rally event marked the first one on PC, but it was a slightly new experience for everyone. Ahead of its launch, Bungie released a Destiny 2 update that adjusted how Tokens were earned, increasing rewards for some activities and reducing them for others. Most significantly, it did away with the Token rewards for destroying enemy resources in Lost Sectors. Instead, Fireteam members would each earn three for looting the chest at the end of a Lost Sector.
However, this resulted in the aforementioned exploit, which allowed players to partially leave and then re-enter a Lost Sector to loot the chest again without having to earn it. How this might have factored into the final results of the Faction Rally--which determines the winner based on number of rewards packages earned--is unclear. Bungie did not patch the exploit, but all players had the same access to it.
There has been much speculation about Ben Affleck's future as Batman in DC's superhero movies over the past few months. Last week, the star seemed to suggest that his future as the Caped Crusader was in doubt. He has now confirmed that he is looking to leave the DC universe.
Speaking to USA Today, Affleck revealed that the standalone Batman movie that is set to be directed by War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves is now only "something I'm contemplating." Affleck then went on to state, "You don't do it forever, so I want to find a graceful and cool way to segue out of it."
Affleck's comments are in line with the story that The Hollywood Reporter ran in July, which stated that DC is considering "gracefully" easing Affleck out of the role that he first played in last year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Affleck, who appears as Batman in this week's Justice League, was originally set to star in, direct, and co-write the Batman movie. However, he stepped down as director in January and since then the direction of the film has clearly changed. While Reeves has stated that Affleck is still involved, he has also confirmed that the star's script would no longer be used. Although the movie is frequently referred to as The Batman, it does not yet have a confirmed title or release date.
As reported by Deadline, Miller has taken Warner to court in his native Australia, alleging that the company reneged on paying him a multimillion-dollar bonus for Fury Road. The director claims that the studio agreed to pay him a $7 million bonus if the movie's budget came in at under $157 million. Although it went overbudget, Miller states that it was decisions by Warner that caused delays and cost overruns.
In a statement to Deadline, a Warner spokesman said, "We disagree and will vigorously defend against these claims." The site also notes that the studio attempted to get the case moved outside of Australia, but the country's Supreme Court last week ruled that it would be litigated there.
Mad Max: Fury Road starred Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, and Nicholas Hoult. It made $378.4 million worldwide and was nominated for ten Oscars, more than any Australian film in history.
In 2015, Miller stated that there were two Mad Max movies in development. "This film was green lit three times and fell over three times over a decade," he said. "We went to shoot with Mel Gibson back in 2001, but then 9/11 happened, and the American dollar collapsed against the Australian dollar close to 30 per cent, so we lost that amount of budget overnight.
"We were then rained out of Australia. The desert rained for the first time in 15 years, and we ended up in South West Africa, Namibia. But in this process, we had dug down deep into the backstory, not only of the characters, but of every vehicle. How the steering wheels became religious artefacts and things like that.
"So we ended up with two scripts, without really trying," Miller added. "We're talking to the studio about it as we speak, but which one of the two stories will happen next, I'm not so sure."
Rocket League is now out on the Nintendo Switch so Erick and Rob get back into their cars to score some hot goals. (Sponsored by Rocket League)
How to drift, race and off-road rally your way to victory in Need for Speed Payback, brought to you by EA.
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