Hopefully, you all had a terrifying and horrific Halloween watching various horror movies and playing some haunting video games. However, this past week quite a few Halloween-themed television series hit the airwaves as well, and we're taking a look at four of them, even though one of them has nothing to do with horror at all. Were the new shows this past week any good or were they frightfully terrible? I feel like the Cryptkeeper right now.
Over the course of the past couple of months, we've been looking at a selection of new and returning shows and giving you a quick breakdown of what is worth watching and what you should pass on. This week, we're talking about Helltown, Stan Against Evil, Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness, and Total Divas. One of these things is not like the other.
Helltown
Based on a true story, Helltown takes the 1974 event of President Gerald Ford calling for eminent domain of Boston, Ohio, in order to turn it into a national park, which meant vacating everyone that lived in the city. From there, conspiracy theories arose about chemical spills and other government cover-ups. That's were the true story behind this special ends. Helltown is a mockumentary that revolves around the idea of an ancient beast that is killing people in the woods and of course, there's pagan cults involved as well.
What I loved about this special was the mixture of a real life event, the folklore that surrounds that event, and creating a new mythos as well. There were numerous times, before it got all super-natural, that I found myself pausing the show and looking things up: "Did Helltown really have a weird pagan problem?" There are times this show is cheesy, primarily when dealing with the supernatural beast, but overall, it's a pretty big success as you want to know more about this story and world as the show progresses. It's intriguing and well-crafted.
Is It Worth Watching?: Yes. Most of the time, Halloween-themed travel/history/food shows are awful. This one is top notch.
Helltown is available for viewing on the Destination America website, as long as you have a compatible cable service.
Stan Against Evil
Stan is having recurring nightmares involving a woman in a coffin, which is actually Evie Barret. He meets a group of witches known as the Black Hat Coven and tries to figure out what's happening to him and how to stop the dreams in the Season 2 opener of the IFC series.
Stan Against Evil is a fun show, and the premiere picks up right where the series left off. The show tries to combine horror and comedy, and at times, it's successful, mainly from John C. McGinley's titular role. However, the problem comes from the fact that the majority of the characters are written to be the comedic relief, so everyone comes off as this zany, one-liner driven, flat character. This is a bit of a letdown because the story really stands on its own. It's interesting but gets bogged down by comedy, which at times is very unfunny. In order for this show to really succeed, the supporting cast needs to be a bit more serious and let Stan drive the comedy.
Is It Worth Watching?: This is a mild watch. The story and plot are really cool, but the series's main fault comes from the fact everyone tries to be the comedic relief.
Stan Against Evil airs on Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on IFC.
Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness
Strap yourselves in for madness. Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans takes you inside his museum filled with items that are from his past adventures on the Travel Channel series, many of which he claims to be haunted. The Ghost Adventures crew, along with a good witch, a bad witch, and a vampire (why not?) spend the evening in the museum to look for ghosts.
Museum of Madness is silly. It's a bunch of people in a house filled with dolls, mirrors, and actual human remains--like the very real skull above--screaming at the walls in the dark. It's not entertaining, and if you have a scientific mindset, you'll probably hate all the pseudo-science being tossed about. That being said, what makes Ghost Adventures watchable is the history behind each place the cast visits, and that aspect is non-existent here, making this special ghastly.
Is It Worth Watching?: No.
Museum of Madness is available on-demand through your cable or satellite provider.
Total Divas
Finally, the newest season of Total Divas introduces two of my personal favorite stars from WWE: Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss. Throughout the episode, which at times has incredibly over-dramatic, obviously manufactured drama, the women deal with their rise in the WWE, which includes the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match.
This is a really cool time--in this history of WWE--for the women on the roster, as we're in the middle of the Women's Revolution. While there is a good chunk of this episode that is very unappealing to me, hearing these star's behind-the-scenes thoughts on where the division is going is intriguing. The episode is pretty funny as well, especially when the cameras follow Smackdown champion Naomi and her husband, the Smackdown tag team champion, Jimmy Uso. Someone give them their own series already.
Is It Worth Watching?: If you're an avid WWE fan, you'll probably enjoy this series.
Total Divas airs on Wednesdays at 9 PM ET on E!.
Come back next week for our thoughts on Damnation, The Curse of Oak Island, Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, and Lady Dynamite.
What we don't know is how the Xbox One X will do after launch. So we asked a bunch of GameSpot staff what their thoughts on the console were. Check out their responses below and let us know what you think about the new Xbox console in the comments. Oh, and be sure to read our Xbox One X review!
Chris Pereira | News Editor
As someone who bought a PS4 Pro right away, I'm obviously eager to get my hands on an Xbox One X. The absence of a headlining new game to showcase it is not a problem for me, as that's not really the point. This system is the console equivalent of someone who buys a new video card for their PC when the old one still works; it's meant to let you experience a better version of the games you could already play--a proposition that is certainly not for everyone, as Microsoft admits.
But I'd argue that its arrival is good news for everyone. Xbox One is four years old, and we could easily be facing a more traditional console launch in the next year--one for a system that doesn't play the games on your shelf and won't let you play with friends who decide to stick with their Xbox One. Instead, we're letting the people who care about framerate and resolution get what they desire without upending things with a completely fresh generation of hardware. I don't expect Xbox One X to sell to a massive audience, but it should make people like me happy without impacting the Xbox One owners who don't care. Seems like a win-win.
Jimmy Thang | Technology Editor
On paper, the Xbox One X features great specs and seems to be great value despite being cost-prohibitive for many. I predict it will sell extremely well into early next year, but like Phil Spencer said, it's not for everybody. Considering the Xbox One S is roughly half the price, I see Microsoft's white variant selling better overall for a long while.
If you ask me, with both the release of the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro, the traditional five-to-seven-year console life cycle is dead. It's been replaced by a quicker, more gradual release cadence. While this can be a boon to both game developers and console manufacturers, it can also make it harder for Microsoft to fundamentally rock the boat against Sony.
Its US $499 / £449 / AU $649 price point will keep it primarily in enthusiasts' hands for a while, but I believe the Xbox One X (or newer variants of it) will overtake the standard Xbox One / S in the coming years. How fast it does that will largely depend on the adoption rate of 4K TVs, how aggressive Microsoft will be willing to lower its price, and how many compelling exclusive games it will be able to deliver.
Oscar Dayus | Staff Writer
With just a few days to go until launch, there seems to be a great buzz around the Xbox One X… for seemingly little reason. It sounds powerful, sure, but I think Microsoft is lacking a big, fresh exclusive to really show off what the device is capable of, and to give me a reason to go out and buy one. After all, my original Xbox One is perfectly capable of gathering dust by itself…
Eddie Makuch | Associate Editor
When Microsoft announced the Xbox One Elite controller in 2015, some balked at its US $150 / £120 / AU $200 price point. That's more more than double the cost of a normal gamepad. Who would buy that? As it turns out, Microsoft saw huge demand and more than a million have been made. I see a similar path for the Xbox One X. At $499 / £449 / AU $649, it's double the cost of the Xbox One S. It's not for everyone. Microsoft itself has admitted as much. Microsoft has also gone on record to say the Xbox One S will sell better than the Xbox One X this holiday and into the future. So who is the Xbox One X for? Given the price point and specs, it seems to be aimed at the enthusiast crowd. Xbox One X is for those looking for the very best. While that is a smaller market than what the Xbox One S will appeal to, there are more factors to consider.
For one, if multi-platform games look and perform better on Xbox One X--as we're expecting them to given the console's extra horsepower relative to everything else out there--Microsoft gets a leg up on Sony in the messaging department. Want to play Call of Duty: WWII at its highest possible graphical level? You need an Xbox One X to do so. Microsoft is hoping to swing the pendulum back in its favor with the Xbox One X, as it was the PS4 that took the cake early on by being the most powerful console on the market. No more. Finally, it's exciting and encouraging to see consoles finally get closer to the PC space in that, if you want to spend more for better performance, you can.
Tamoor Hussain | UK Editor
I don't think Microsoft is overly concerned about hitting big sales numbers, though that would no doubt be nice for them. Phil Spencer's messaging has been clear: the Xbox One X is intended to be an option to those that want to play games in optimal conditions. At this point in time, given the price of 4K TVs, that's not a massive number of people, certainly when compared to the amount of people that have traditional HDTV setups.
Microsoft's goal with Xbox One X is to bolster its ecosystem and having the X alongside the original Xbox One and Xbox One S, in addition to Cross-Buy, is a good way to do it. Of course that makes the metrics by which it measures success a little more tricky to ascertain, but after the mixed multimedia messaging around the Xbox One's launch, the key concern for them is reminding people that they are about games. They've started to shake that off a bit but I think the One X will be what really helps them turn the corner since they can say, "This is the most powerful games console on the market." From that perspective, I think the device will be successful and it will pay dividends in the next generation, where Microsoft will be able to truly shed that baggage.
Peter Brown | Senior Reviews Editor
While I don't predict Xbox One X will translate into a watershed moment for Microsoft, I do think it's an exciting if small kick in the pants for console gaming at large. It only loosely counts as a new console (it's a refresh, albeit a significant one), but it gives players something new to consider, and hopefully greater room for developers to experiment. We may also see Sony react with new hardware of its own, at least faster than it would have otherwise. I haven't seen a reason to be head over heels for X but I'm at least looking forward to the reactions it inspires on all fronts.
Michael Higham | Associate Editor
The Xbox One X will be a slow burn. Nobody should expect it to fly off store shelves week one, but it's significant for establishing an 'upgrade path' for console games. As games start to showcase the power of the new console, its place in the gaming hardware space will be more apparent. We'll see it surpass the capabilities of the PS4 Pro and PCs within the same price range, but it's not going to make a clean break from the original Xbox One (or S) and those versions may hold back games' full realization from a technical perspective. Look at Destiny 2: it runs in 4K, but at a locked 30 FPS, and I'm willing to bet the limited framerate is for parity's sake for the game's competitive space between the different consoles. Maybe by the time the One X hardware becomes 'old,' we'll be ready for the next generation. Or maybe this is the next step towards an iterative console cycle in which companies will have to decide how generations of games are handled.
I admire the technical achievement that is the Xbox One X, but personally, it's not enough to change what I want out of games. In that regard, the new console isn't for me, and I'm not the target audience. But if you want the best version of console games without shelling out the money for an equivalent or better PC in today's market, the Xbox One X is probably for you.
Justin Haywald | Managing Editor
I'm holding out for the retail release of the HoloLens.
Pixomondo has a lot of cool projects in the works, including its latest, a digital aquarium experience situated underground below Times Square called National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey. But the company's most famous and impactful creations are, without a doubt, Game of Thrones' dragons. At the company's Los Angeles office, Pixomondo's leads told GameSpot about their newest work, as well as the surprising inspirations behind Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion on Game of Thrones.
"I think from outside, it feels like, 'How hard can it be? It's a dragon, and it looks natural, and it acts like a dragon would act,'" said Pixomondo CEO Thilo Kuther. "But the way to get there is a lot of meetings, discussions, back and forth of versions, until [we] settle on a specific one."
Pixomondo started creating Game of Thrones' visual effects, including the then-tiny dragons, back in Season 2. In subsequent seasons they began focusing exclusively on the dragons, as the beasts became exponentially more complex and demanding to animate.
"That opening discussion [back then] was, coming down to budget about the dragons, that they would not compromise--that they only have a certain amount of money for the dragons, so if it's not possible to do certain things for the money, then they'd rather not show the dragons, and cut back on the dragons if the quality's not right," Kuther said. "With every season it got clearer and clearer how complex that task was."
Daenerys's dragons are some of the most realistic ever to grace the screen. As we watched a highlights reel describing some of the studio's more impressive processes for building them, Pixomondo Executive Producer David Garber said they've accidentally fooled children into believing dragons are real. "A cute story I like to tell is, I showed this to a group of little 9-year-olds, and they said, 'How'd you get the dragon to do that?'" he said, chuckling.
It's not surprising that they look toward real life animals to determine how the dragons would move and act, but the creatures they choose as inspiration are a surprise. First off: chickens.
"When they got bigger in Season 3 and 4, there was a lot of, 'So if a dragon is this big, how can it lift itself up? What is it? Is it a bat? Or is it a bird? Is it an eagle? And the amount of energy that went into these discussions is beyond belief," Kuther said. "That's why they went to a Trader Joe's and bought a chicken, and took it apart, and said, 'So, how does that work?'"
They used that hands-on research to determine everything from how the dragons' muscles move when they're walking around on the ground to how much downward pressure they need to create with their wings to lift their bodies into the air. They even watched YouTube videos of bats and chickens flying. But as the dragons continued to increase in size--and thus in the amount of detail Pixomondo needed to create on the screen--they started going bigger in the real world too.
"If the dragon gets 10 feet size in just the body, then you see every tiny tendon underneath, and that skin starts stretching, and if it breathes in and out, then you see how the skin starts stretching over, and it's rolling over the muscle and the bones, and if you don't do this--just the breathing, if it doesn't breathe--you immediately feel there is something wrong," Kuther explained.
"There was a lot of discussions about even looking at elephants, on how skin rolls over the bones," he continued. "It stretches, it rolls over the bones, so [the animators] went for reference to see how that would look on an animal of this size."
The results of that research are evident in the Season 7 scene in which Jon comes face to face with Drogon and runs his hand along the dragon's face.
"You have an expectation of what that's going to look like," Kuther said. "That's why they looked at elephants, where there is rougher and harsher skin, but then you have, around facial areas, their skin is softer, and when you touch it with your fingers, it would actually give in. So you see the fingers pressing in a little bit. When they shoot it, they usually have a cushion where you can touch it and press your fingers in, so we're taking that information and applying it to the skin."
Pixomondo's latest project deals more directly with real world animals. The National Geographic Ocean Odyssey experience in New York lets the marine-curious walk through around nine different digital underwater environments. These spaces were created in part by Pixomondo's digital artists, and partially with photogrammetry, a process that uses thousands of photographs to create massive 3D environments, then applies those photos to the environments like stickers to create realistic-looking digital, 3D spaces. The Odyssey includes curated but realistic underwater encounters like a day in the life of a "bait ball" composed of thousands of fish, and a playful sea lion that interacts with guests, whose actions and gestures are interpreted by a Microsoft Kinect.
"It's kind of a disruption of that aquarium and zoo world," Kuther said. "You can show day and night within minutes. You can turn all animals to X-ray and show the bone structures of these animals. You can have data overlays that are not possible, and you can create moments where two animals would never survive next to each other."
The Ocean Odyssey encounter is open now in Times Square--and, of course, you'll see more of Pixomondo's work in Game of Thrones Season 8, whenever that happens.
It's clear from the marketing alone that the Justice League movie's Aquaman is not exactly the same character comic book fans love. But the actor behind Aquaman's newest incarnation had a message for fans during a Justice League press conference in London: "Stick with it."
"For the people who are like, 'He's not really Aquaman,' it's like, just wait a little bit longer," Momoa said. "Stick with it for a little bit longer."
Marvel set a template in the first phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with heroes mostly debuting in solo films before the focus shifted to team-ups and collaborations in films like The Avengers. DC is doing things differently, and Aquaman will appear first in Justice League, with a solo movie coming in December 2018.
"I want people to know that, in a year, you're going to understand where he came from, what happened to his mother, what happened to his father, and how he was treated in this world," he said. "He didn't know how to use his powers. And sometimes he saved people, and sometimes he lost people, and his human side didn't know how to cope with those things, and he would cover up those things. There's a lot of layers to this guy, and I think once we do get to the solo film and you get to see the man, he's going to take responsibility and help the world and become a king eventually."
This incarnation of Aquaman is a Zack Snyder creation, Momoa said.
"It all kind of came from Zack's mind," he said. "I mean, Aquaman wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."
"I just wanted to make sure the fans knew that this gruff character, this man who lives within the tides, and is not really accepted in two different places--we needed to know where he came from and why he is this grumpy kind of bit of an a**hole to Batman," he continued.
Momoa described himself as "a big kid" and said he couldn't help tugging on Batman's cape while on set.
"It's just surreal that I'm here playing this guy and around these guys," he said. "You'll see us all up there and you'll feel the same way."
Ben Affleck, who stars in Justice League as Batman, chimed in: "I was like, 'Who the f*** keeps pulling on my cape?'"
The questions around DC's long-awaited Justice League movie intensified when, earlier this year, longtime DC director Zack Snyder stepped down from the film. He was replaced by Joss Whedon, who had served as the driving force for much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Justice League's cast and producers addressed some of those questions, including how much influence Whedon ultimately had over the film, during a press conference in London.
"The movie is Zack's DNA," said Ben Affleck, who stars as Batman in Justice League. "The cast of the movie, the design of the movie--there's something that people who don't actually work on movies don't understand, which is how much of the work is done in prep--the casting, the sets get built, the story is written. The ship is, in essence, sailing. I found as a director you can maybe change 10%, 15% or something, on the day. Zack's ship set sail with us, and we were fortunate that when Zack was not able to continue, we got really lucky in that we got a guy who is very accomplished in his own right, and particularly in this genre, and he kind of sprinkled some of his fairy dust on our movie and finished it."
Many fans of DC's and Marvel's movies are familiar with both Snyder's and Whedon's work, and it will be natural to watch Justice League with both directors in mind. But Affleck said it will be impossible to pick out exactly who is responsible for individual scenes.
"I don't think there's any way to go back, to me, and look at those scenes and go, 'That's a Joss scene, that's a Zack scene,'" Affleck said. "It was more that they were both working together toward a common goal. Debbie [Snyder] would know better than I would, certainly, but I got the sense that Joss was working from what he had discussed with Zack before he stepped in."
Deborah Snyder, Zack's wife and frequent producing partner, spoke candidly about Justice League's production and Zack Snyder's feelings.
"I think for us, this whole thing is so bittersweet, because we have been working on this franchise for the past, you know, almost eight years, when we started developing the script for Man of Steel, and then we moved on to BVS, and also Zack developed the story for Wonder Woman, which was leading up to the point of Justice League, where these characters were finally going to come together," she said. "Not being able to complete his vision was extremely difficult. So that makes it hard."
She reiterated that Whedon and Zack had already been collaborating when Whedon took over directing. "We were lucky that we had Joss already working on script pages," she said. "And our feeling is that we're hoping people don't think about how the movie was made when they [go] to see it, because these characters are bigger than any director. They're bigger than any of us. And we love and adore these characters and we love and adore all these people here."
"It's been just a great privilege and fun to work with Zack and Debbie and all of the actors in the various films," added Justice League producer Charles Rover. "It was sad not to have Zack there, but as we've been saying, to have Joss come in, and he had already been working with Zack--and now we're just really happy with the movie and really happy with the dynamics of what we're doing."
The update will start November 14, but for more insight into what the changes will mean for players, we caught up with Starcraft production director Tim Morten at the convention. In addition to learning the team's expectations for how this update will affect the player base, we also found that there'll be a little something available for players who already own all of the Starcraft II expansions.
This transcript has been edited for content and clarity.
Starcraft II had a really big announcement in going free-to-play, that's huge for the franchise. What does that mean to you guys on the development team?
Tim Morten: For us, and this came from the dev team as something that we wanted to do, we feel like Starcraft II is such a special game. One of the things that has been confusing for the audience is how to get into Starcraft II, in its current form. We had Wings of Liberty, plus two expansions; we've had a lot of post-launch content. I think there's a lot of confusion about what you need to play Starcraft II. This just simplifies all of that, and gets the message out loud and clear: that you just download the game and play. Obviously, we love the game, so we just want to share it as broadly as we can.
But there are still some parts that you pay into, right?
Yeah, so the parts that are free when you download Starcraft II are Wings of Liberty, which is the entire first part of the game. Plus access to ranked and unranked multiplayer, plus all of the commanders to level five. Each game mode provides a tremendous amount of free content. The things that you then can pay for, if you choose to, are continuing the story. Heart of the Swarm will be free to those who already own Wings of Liberty, but if you don't, Heart of the Swarm is a charge. Legacy of the Void, Nova Covert Ops, all of that story content.
In multiplayer we offer some skins, and the war chest, which helps fund our esports events, so there's an opportunity to contribute financially that way. Then for co-op, to unlock the commanders leveling past level five, there's a charge to do that.
And if you have the first expansion, you get access to the second one.
Yeah. Basically we wanted to make sure that everybody who had already purchased the content that we're now including as part of the free-to-play Starcraft II, they get rewarded for that purchase. Their reward, if they don't already own it, is the Heart of the Swarm campaign.
Is there anything if you've already bought into everything, you already have all the expansions?
If you've already bought into everything, we're talking about some sort of digital rewards, just to acknowledge that people are veterans. But there isn't new story content that's available.
PR Representative: I think they're calling it the founder's gift. It's like a portrait skin.
That's right.
Thinking about Starcraft II, is this going to reinvigorate that player base, is it going to bring in a new audience?
The crazy thing that a lot of people don't necessarily appreciate about Starcraft II is how stable the player base has been. Of course, we saw a big surge around the original launch, but for the last five years, we've had a stable player base in terms of monthly active users. We do expect that, obviously, as we lower the barrier to get into the game and just clarify the understanding that it's free to download, more players will come in. So, we're super excited to see how many new players come try Starcraft II, or come finish the experience that they started with Wings of Liberty.
When you're talking about a stable player base, is that primarily on that multiplayer side?
It's interesting how varied the continuing player base is. Co-op, which we just launched with Legacy of the Void, that's become our single most popular game mode. I think if you add up all of the competitive modes--ranked, unranked, and custom--competitive is probably the biggest slice of current players. But even for campaign, there's a considerable number of people who grind to get all of the achievements, and come back to experience the story content. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Starcraft II Arcade, as well.
Even though that content isn't the same as Starcraft II RTS game, there is a lot of content as part of Starcraft II available in the arcade for free. And that audience is remarkably large.
Is this update changing the way you guys are rolling out any of that content, like the updates to arcade, or anything on the multiplayer side?
We do a very regular cadence of releases to keep updating and extending the game. But with each release we do, we tend to focus on one player segment. So, we have some big releases that hit multiple segments, but coming up after BlizzCon, we have a big balance patch coming out that will really change the meta of the multiplayer competitive game. I think that very much speaks to that audience. And that particular one will also have a new co-op commander, new co-op map, and we've just recently done some arcade improvements. We're going to revamp the front end for the arcade, and we are going to, in future releases, continue working on that.
Last but not least, we're always just making general improvements to the overall user interface experience, and quality of life for our players.
Speaking of the new commander, this one's definitely a big change. It's basically two commanders in one. How does that work, exactly?
This is our first time trying a two-in-one format, but the two characters from the lower end question are actually married in the story, so it seemed like a logical pairing. And they have distinctive styles--they are both Terran, but one is a bit more military and precise, and the other is a bit more commando and scrappy, in terms of her style.
There are different distinct abilities associated with each commander, and by choosing the combined commander, you have availability for all of those abilities as you unlock them and as you level up.
So you can change them on the fly? Or you just have access to more of them than you would normally?
Well, I think it's access to more, but it's also just the very distinct difference between Horner's abilities and Hans' abilities as you play through.
So, they say you shouldn't mix work and romance. Is this going to change the lore at all, or the canon? I imagine it might be a strain on the relationship.
The way the story goes, Horner was playing a poker game, and he didn't know what it was he was going to win if he won. Indeed, he won, and his prize was Mira Han's hand in marriage. He wasn't necessarily a willing participant in the outcome, because he didn't know what he was going to win, so their relationship is a little tenuous, I would say. But, she's more into it than he is, but he's fulfilled his obligation. We're really not so much changing the lore, as leveraging the tone of that relationship, which is one of the more comedic elements in Starcraft II, and trying to play that up to full effect.
Going back to the game, now that you're going to have new people coming in who didn't play before. Is there any thought given to making that a friendlier process for onboarding people who maybe never played any of the Starcraft games before?
Yeah. We put some thought into the onboarding experience for players who are coming back to Starcraft II, or for players who are new to Starcraft II. We've got a bit of handholding that happens as you start the game, to establish are you new to RTS? An RTS veteran? And help kind of instruct on what the options are. Because Starcraft II, the game modes, though they're obviously all RTS, and they have a very common experience, there's a very distinct campaign way to play the game, a co-op way to play the game, and a competitive way to play the game. The way that you learn how to play each of those modes is a little bit different.
We have a base tutorial that we revamped for Legacy of the Void that I think helps onboard pretty well for campaign and for co-op. For multiplayer, there's a little bit more to learn in terms of build order, and just even how to aproach the game. There are some other tools in the game that we direct players who are coming in towards, so they can prepare themselves for whatever mode that they want to play.
Any final thoughts?
The other stuff to know about, we do have a new co-op map that's coming out, and we are looking forward to having another season of war chests, which provides content that services players for all modes, particularly competitive mode in terms of having army skins that can be applied no matter what race you are. And that, of course, does help fund Starcraft Ski Sports moving forward. Just a tremendous amount coming for Starcraft II.
Runic Games, the studio behind Torchlight, Torchlight II, and Hob, has been shut down. In a statement published on its official website studio head Marsh Lefler confirmed the news and thanked fans for their support.
"I'm sorry to say that today will be Runic's last day open. Our focus is on our family here, and helping them find a new place to call home," reads the statement. "If you are in games and looking for some of the best talent in the industry, please email jobs@runicgames.com."
For fans of the Torchlight series, Lefler said there "will be some news coming" and he also noted that "community and multiplayer services will keep running even after the studio's lights go off."
He added: "It's been over nine years since a rag-tag team of 17 developers helped open Runic Games. We've been so lucky for the community that has supported us and made us successful. Thanks to that support, we have had the chance to meet and work with the best people in the world. Our team here at Runic has released three successful games, and over that time we have seen many changes; team members got married, kids were born, but the most important thing is that we have become a family."
Runic is the second studio to be shuttered by its parent company, Chinese publisher Perfect World Entertainment. Motiga, the developer of Gigantic, announced its closure shortly before Runic. In a statement to Kotaku, Perfect World Entertainment said Motiga "has reduced the staff of its studio" but its game "will continue to be available on our platforms."
With regards to Runic, it said the decision was part of "the company's continued strategy to focus on online games as a service."
"We're grateful to the team for all of their hard work bringing incredible experiences like Torchlight, Torchlight II and Hob to life. Runic Games will remain a part of Perfect World Entertainment's portfolio of studios, and its games will continue to be available to players, as we stay committed to supporting and growing Runic Games' beloved franchises."
Overwatch fanboys and gals, you're in for an early BlizzCon treat. Razer has just announced a new line of officially licensed PC gaming accessories inspired by Blizzard's beloved mech pilot D.Va.
The new line is on the smaller side, but includes D.Va's signature MEKA headset, a themed mouse, and mousepad. Of course, the mouse and matching pad are tastefully pink, and decked out with her cheeky bunny moniker and logo. Snag a quick peek at the line below in its announcement trailer.
While official details on the MEKA headset have not yet been released, it does appear to be a wireless headset, unlike the line's mouse. The mouse is an Abyssus Elite wired model, and is part of the Chroma line. The matching mousepad, a Goliathus model, is anti-fray and will stay flat no matter how many time you roll it up to crush your enemies.
Pricing and launch details have not yet been revealed, but you can check out the specs of the mouse and pad on the Razer website. With any luck, more details on the headset will be released soon.
Cheating isn't unfamiliar in any video game, but for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, it's becoming a serious issue. So much so that the team behind the title has publicly announced its commitment to fight cheating in its massively popular title.
"As part of our efforts to foster a safe & fair ingame environment, we are deploying new measures to combat cheaters," the team said via Twitter. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the cheaters and promise to take stronger actions against them going forward."
The developer's post on Steam mentions that the battle against cheating isn't going to end overnight, but it does want to see it to an end. The goal is to ban cheating players, but maintain a fun and safe environment for those who are simply enjoying the game as is. The next step in the team's cheat-combating endeavor is a patch coming next week to help assist with cheating detection. Feedback from players is also being requested as the team creates its anti-cheating system.
As part of its BlizzCon opening ceremony, Blizzard has revealed a variety of new content coming to Overwatch. That includes a new map called BlizzardWorld which, as the name suggests, is essentially an amusement park themed around Blizzard's various games.
If you've played any of the games, you'll immediately recognize at least one area. There's a section that resembles World of Warcraft's Stormwind, a Hearthstone tavern, Naxxramas, Flight to Duskwood, a Protoss base, a Heroes of the Storm arcade, and much more. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun for Blizzard fans.
BlizzardWorld will be playable at BlizzCon this weekend, but it won't launch in the live game until early 2018. However, those willing to jump onto the Public Test Realm on PC will be able to try it for themselves "very, very soon," according to game director Jeff Kaplan.
Before announcing what's next for World of Warcraft, Blizzard announced something old. World of Warcraft Classic allows players to dive into a legacy version of the game before it received countless updates and expansions, answering a very popular request from fans.
Unfortunately, details were very light on how this will work. Besides the name and a promise that it's coming, Blizzard had little to say about WoW Classic. Production director J. Allen Brack described it as a "larger endeavor than you might imagine," which is perhaps an acknowledgement of fans' attempts to provide a playable version of vanilla WoW.
Brack described Blizzard's goal as reproducing the experience from the original game, but without any of the launch issues players encountered all those years ago. Whether mechanics or any aspects of the game will change, how Classic is accessed, and many other questions remain unanswered. Brack discussed it only briefly, and the studio rolled a video that showed major cinematics from the game's many expansions being played in reverse.
A pair of new Heroes of the Storm characters have been announced at BlizzCon. Blizzard showed off a new cinematic trailer for the game that brings together one new addition from Overwatch and Warcraft--Hanzo and Alexstrasza.
According to Blizzard's Kaeo Milker, Alexstrasza is a ranged Support who can heal allies and transform into a dragon using her trait, Dragon Queen. Hanzo, meanwhile, is a ranged Assassin who can both take out enemies and serve as a scout.
Also coming to HotS are some other major updates to the way the game itself plays. In addition to voice chat and a refined camera, Blizzard said it plans to provide performance and laning improvements, a rework to how stealth functions, "evolved" mechanics, and more. All of this will be included as part of the 2018 gameplay update, which Blizzard will detail as BlizzCon continues. Milker also noted that we'll see "performance-based matchmaking" that better accounts for your skill level.
There's much more to come from BlizzCon. In addition to the HotS news, we've also learned that StarCraft II is going free-to-play, with players gaining access to a substantial chunk of the game without paying a dime. We'll report back as more news is shared; you can see everything announced in our roundup of the biggest BlizzCon 2017 news.
To cap off its Overwatch panel at BlizzCon today, Blizzard revealed a series of new skins coming to the shooter. A handful of these are particularly notable, as they are themed around Blizzard's other games.
A total of eight new skins were shown off, most of which are of the Blizzard game variety. These include a version of Roadhog based on Diablo's Butcher, while Zarya gets a take on Diablo's Barbarian. Maybe the most on-point of the bunch is Widowmaker's new Nova skin. You'll notice that a few of these--Reinhardt and Mei's--are based on previous cinematics. The Reinhardt one is based on the just-released story video put out today, while Mei's gives her the look from the emotional Ecopoint video. You can see all of these in the gallery below.
These skins won't arrive until early 2018. Thankfully, they won't be restricted to a limited-time loot box. Instead, they'll be available right in the standard, base loot box, allowing you to earn them throughout the year (or purchase them outright, provided you save up enough Credits).
This wasn't the only Overwatch news that Blizzard had to share at BlizzCon. We also learned about the new Overwatch hero Moira, who is a hybrid Support character who can heal in a much different manner than anyone else. We also got a look at the new BlizzardWorld map, which is essentially a theme park featuring many of Blizzard's games--Overwatch being a notable exception, as that would get a little weird.
Blizzard released an Overwatch short featuring the rocket-hammer wielding Reinhardt, and it was emotional. Titled Honor and Glory, it shows the fateful battle at Eichenwalde where Crusader leader Balderich von Adler was defeated, as well as a glimpse at a younger, more arrogant Reinhardt coming to terms with a harsh lesson.
The short clocks in at just over seven and a half minutes and manages to tell the sad, yet uplifting story of a pivotal moment in Reinhardt's career as a Crusader. Watch it in the video above.
Blizzard released this short as part of the shooter's segment during the opening ceremonies of this year's BlizzCon. It also recently revealed the game's next map, which is a Blizzard theme park called Blizzard World.
Erica, a new PS4-exclusive title developed by Flavourworks, made its debut during the PlayStation media briefing at Paris Games Week. A very brief teaser showed the game is presented entirely though live-action cinematics and doesn't have any 3D-rendered assets. Interestingly, the tease video also invited players to guide the story of the eponymous Erica through PlayLink, which allows games to be played on the PlayStation 4 using a mobile phone, as an alternative to a controller.
During Paris Games Week, Lucy and I got to check out Erica in a hands-off gameplay demo. To our surprise, we found that the player is much more involved in the experience than we initially thought they would. Another similar PlayLink title, Planet of the Apes: The Last Frontier, asks players to make decisions during key moments and the story plays out depending on the outcomes. However, Erica looks to be much closer to a traditional point-and-click adventure game.
In the demo, we were shown that players could move around environments and investigate objects to learn more about what's going on. Despite being fully live-action, players also had a high-degree of control over things like opening a box or flicking open a lighter, and objects in the environment also reacted to aggressive and soft touch inputs differently. It was quite impressive, and we decided put our overall impressions of Erica to video. You can watch that above.
Erica is currently in development for PS4 and does not have a release date yet. Sony also showed off a number of other upcoming PS4 titles at its media briefing, including the new game from Infamous developer Sucker Punch. Here's all the biggest PS4 new from Paris Games Week.
Just like that weird guy you never see for most of the year, but who suddenly appears in the summer driving an ice cream van full of treats in your area, Xur is back. This week Destiny 2's suspiciously odd merchant has popped up on Earth's European Dead Zone. That makes for another easy opportunity to expand your collection of Exotic items, which PC players in particular may still be focusing on. This also coincides with the launch of the latest Trials of the Nine (and its first appearance on PC).
To find Xur, you simply need to fast travel to the Winding Cove and then jump on your Sparrow and use the path on the left. You'll see Xur standing around above you, near the downed ship. He's been here before, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding him, but if you'd like a visual guide, check out the video above. You can see what items Xur has to sell below in exchange for Legendary Shards--as always, there's one Exotic weapon (a pulse rifle) and one Exotic armor piece for Warlocks, Titans, and Hunters each.
Graviton Lance (Pulse Rifle)- 29 Legendary Shards
Young Ahamkara's Spine (Hunter Class Gauntlets) - 23 Legendary Shards
Mask of the Quiet One (Titan Class Helmet) - 23 Legendary Shards
Nezarec's Sin (Warlock Class Helmet) - 23 Legendary Shards
Destiny 2's second-ever Faction Rally event begins on November 7 and will run run through November 13. As with the previous rally you'll have to align yourself with a faction, choosing between New Monarchy, Future War Cult, or Dead Orbit, and then head out to collect the most reward packages for your group. You can read more about Destiny 2's new Faction Rally here and see the full patch notes here.
Developer Bungie has also released a new update that impacts the Faction Rally by adjusting how Faction Tokens are given out. Each completed Strike now provides anywhere from five to nine Tokens; previously, they offered three to seven. The first Nightfall of the week (per character) provides 10 to 18 Tokens, while Heroic Public Events hand out five (down from eight). You can check out the full Destiny 2 patch notes here.
If you're still trying to complete the Leviathan Raid, you can also read our Destiny 2 raid guide. The Raid is now live on all platforms, including PC, providing a new high-level challenge and special rewards. Prestige mode for PC players is still to come, but Challenge mode is available for those on all platforms.
After a long season, it all comes down to this. Two of the premier League of Legends teams in the world meet in one final showdown for the ultimate prize.
In their semifinal match, Samsung Galaxy was able to defeat Team We by a score of 3-1. After losing the first game, Samsung Galaxy went on a tear to win the next three games while barely breaking a sweat. In their three wins they dominated in every phase of the game, taking down Team WE in less than 40 minutes per game.
The other semifinal match was not as one sided. Royal Never Give Up (RNG) took an early 2-1 lead before losing the final two games. SK telecom T1 (SKT) was able to slow down the final two games which made RNG play safer than they would have liked to. This resulted in some big mistakes that SKT was able to take advantage of. Today's World Championship Final will be SKT's fifth in the sport. They have won the previous four Finals they've participated in.
In a rematch of last year's World Championship Final we'll see Samsung Galaxy take on perennial champion SK telecom T1 in what is sure to be one of the most exciting matches of the Championships. Will Samsung Galaxy avenge last year's defeat or will SKT take home the ultimate prize once again? Tune in to find out.
A TV series based on the epic fantasy franchise The Lord of the Rings is in the works, though it sounds like very early days and it may never happen. According to Variety, Warner Bros. TV and J.R.R. Tolkien's estate are talking to Amazon about developing a series based on the novels. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly actively involved personally in the discussions. Importantly, Variety points out the rumored talks are only in the "very early stages" and no agreement has been reached as of yet.
According to Variety, WB and the estate are speaking to other, unnamed platforms for the new Lord of the Rings show, with Amazon said to be the frontrunner at this stage. WB and Amazon had no comment when approached by Variety.
Variety points out that it is a rarity for Bezos to be personally involved in negotiations regarding Amazon Studios projects. He might be doing so due to the recent turnover at Amazon Studios. Roy Price was the Amazon Studios president before leaving the company recently amid sexual harassment claims. Head of scripted programming Joe Lewis and head of unscripted programming Conrad Riggs also left Amazon recently.
Some of Amazon Studios projects include the critically acclaimed shows Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, and The Man in the High Castle.
The Lord of the Rings is one of the biggest entertainment properties on the planet, so it is no surprise at all to learn it may continue with a TV series. There are no details at all as of yet regarding what part of the Lord of the Rings story the show might cover or who would star in it. Whatever the case, it is an exciting idea for Lord of the Rings fans.
Call of Duty: WWII is finally out, and along with a new story-driven campaign, the game brings back the series' Zombies experience in the form of Nazi Zombies. This time, however, developer Sledgehammer has made some changes to the popular game mode.
Not only does Call of Duty: WWII's Zombies mode feature a more in-depth class system and abilities, it also gives you more apparent objectives to complete. The mode doesn't feature any objective markers, but you can pull up a small to-do list by pressing touchpad, which will highlight nearby points of interest for you.
While you're free to ignore the objectives in Zombies mode and just mow down undead Nazis to your heart's content, you'll need to clear some if you want to obtain the Tesla gun. In the video above, we show you all the steps you'll need to complete to unlock the powerful weapon and become a more efficient zombie-killing machine.
Call of Duty: WWII is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. In GameSpot's Call of Duty: WWII review-in-progress, critic Miguel Concepcion said the game "successfully capitalizes on the series' strengths" and called it "one of the most comprehensive and filler-free Call of Dutys in recent memory." You can see what other critics are saying about the WWII shooter in our review roundup.
GameSpot News is back to round off the week with Jess McDonell and Ed- Eddie Makuch! That's right, we swapped out hosts twice in one week and you can't do anything about it.
PlayStation Boss Jim Ryan Defends Last Of Us 2 Trailer
A new trailer for The Last of Us Part II was revealed at Sony's Paris Game Week conference, and boy, its brutality sure got a lot of people talking. Find out what PlayStation Europe boss Jim Ryan had to say about all of that.
Horizon: Zero Dawn Expansion Adds 15 Hours Of Gameplay
Wow! Can you believe Horizon: Zero Dawn was released this year? With its expansion pack, The Frozen Wilds, releasing soon Guerrilla decided to share a few details on its length and gameplay features…
Call of Duty: WWII Campaign Length Revealed
Speaking of length, we at GameSpot played through the new Call of Duty's single-player campaign and now we can tell you how long it is. Will be meet your expectations? Probably.
That's all for GameSpot News, if you've been with us every day this week, thank you and have a good weekend! If you haven't--well, maybe next week?
Xbox One X's release date is just days away, so now could be a good time to pick up some games in preparation. With that in mind, Microsoft has revealed which games are on offer as part of this week's Xbox One Deals with Gold and Spotlight sale. We also now know what Games With Gold titles that November will bring, if you'd prefer something free.
Some of the discounted games this week include XCOM 2 (US $24 / £18 / AU $28), EA Sports UFC 2 (US $20 / £15 / AU $26.23), and Styx: Shards of Darkness (US $16.50 / £13.20 / AU $25.64). In addition, The Escapists: The Walking Dead is currently on offer for US $15 / £11.24 / AU $20.21 for Gold members to celebrate the new season of the Walking Dead TV show. All these deals are available until 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET / 11 AM GMT / 10 PM AET on November 6--check out the full list here.
This year's BlizzCon has finally arrived, which means there's a multitude of news for some of Blizzard's biggest games. From the new Overwatch character reveal to the announcement of the new World of Warcraft expansion, there's a whole lot of exciting news and announcements waiting to be revealed. We've compiled all the biggest ones from the show below.
What news and announcements are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check back often as we update this article with more news and trailers.
New Overwatch Map Is A Blizzard Theme Park--Alongside a new character, Overwatch is adding a new map that fans of any Blizzard game will likely enjoy, with areas themed after Warcraft, StarCraft, and more.
StarCraft 2 Will Soon Be Free To Play--Beginning this month, players will be able to play through StarCraft II's Wings of Liberty campaign and co-op mode for no cost.
Following her announcement during BlizzCon's opening ceremony, Blizzard subsequently shared more about new Overwatch hero Moira during the game's dedicated panel. As part of that, we got a look at her first alternate skins, as well as early concept art from when she was still in development.
During the panel, Blizzard explained that Moira is a scientist, like many other characters in the Overwatch universe. However, she's different from those in that she doesn't, for instance, have aspirations to conquer the world; she's simply interested in science itself. While that makes her sound nice enough, she has no patience for those who would get in the way of her scientific advancements. Blizzard developers also shared that they wanted her to have a deep connection to existing characters, hence the backstory outlined in both her reveal and origin videos.
As seen in the gallery above, an early concept for Moira gave her tentacles. However, that would come with the expectation that the tentacles would factor into her abilities, which is not the case. She went through a variety of different forms before Blizzard finally settled on her current, shadowy look. It emphasizes her somewhat unusual-looking hands that she uses to heal teammates.
Additionally, Blizzard unveiled concept art for the first two Moira skins. You can see both of these in the gallery above; they include the cool-looking Oasis, as well as Glam, which seem to be a nod to David Bowie.
Blizzard had a lot to share about Overwatch today. In addition to revealing Moira, we also got a look at the next Overwatch map, BlizzardWorld. It's a theme park based on the developer's other games, with areas themed around StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo. On a similar note, we've also seen new Overwatch skins themed around Blizzard games; Widowmaker, for instance, is getting a new skin that makes her look just like StarCraft's Nova.
A new expansion called Kobolds & Catacombs is on the way to Blizzard's collectible card game Hearthstone, and it includes a new single-player mode. During the BlizzCon opening ceremony today, Blizzard announced Dungeon Run, a mode that Blizzard says is "nothing like we've done in the past."
Dungeon Run is a rogue-like single-player experience that's all about defeating bosses, collecting loot, and leveling your character. Players start with a 10-card deck and must defeat eight random bosses, out of 48 total possible encounters. Each time a boss is defeated, you'll be presented with a loot pile--each comprised of three cards--to choose from to add to your deck. If you lose, however, your deck is discarded and you have to start the gauntlet again from the beginning. You don't need to own any cards in order to actually play, as everything is contained to each Dungeon Run playthrough.
Dungeon Run will be a free mode that's completely separate from your normal collection. That allows Blizzard to introduce new passive upgrades (to help you progress during a run) and treasures, which are cards too powerful to introduce into the regular game. For instance, Gloves of Mugging steals three cards from your opponent's hand and gives them to you. Rod of Roasting casts Pyroblast at random until one hero or the other dies. You can see all the new Hearthstone Kobolds & Catacombs cards revealed so far in our gallery.
Other new mechanics include Legendary weapons, which are available for each class and don't necessarily deal direct damage to enemies. Unidentified Items are cards that have a base effect and then an additional effect (selected from four possibilities) that is only revealed when it is played. And Spellstones are a new type of spell for each class that levels up over the course of a match.
The Kobolds & Catacombs expansion is slated to launch in December and will be the final part of the Year of the Mammoth. Players will be able to get one card from the expansion, Marin the Fox, for free on November 6. Logging in after the expansion releases will also get you a free random Legendary weapon card.
There's something big happening in the sewers of New York City. Nickelodeon has announced the cast of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--the newest reimagining of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series--and there are some significant changes coming.
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taps into the mystic side of the story about four mutated turtles--Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael--who are raised as brothers by their mentor and sensei Splinter, a mutated rat. An official description from Nickelodeon says the series "follows the band of brothers as they encounter new allies and villains and discover a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City."
With the new story comes a new cast. Ben Schwartz (DuckTales) will voice Leonardo, described as "the self-professed 'coolest' brother possesses irreverent charm and a rebel heart." One word missing from that description to longtime turtle fans is "leader." Instead, that role falls on Raphael, voiced by Omar Miller (Ballers).
The turtle with a red bandana "is now the leader and his enthusiasm and bravado puts him front and center for most of their bizarre adventures." Michelangelo, who is "an artist and awesome skateboarder with a wild, colorful, and imaginative personality," will be voiced by Brandon Mychal Smith (You're The Worst). Finally, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley), will portray Donatello as "an unflappable mechanical genius and tech wizard whose ninja skills are second only to his coding."
While the changes in hierarchy within the Turtles will put an interesting new spin on the group dynamics within the show, the most notable change comes from the group's human friend, April O'Neil. Describing April as "a street savvy native New Yorker who is always ready to join in the fun," Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be the first time in the franchise the character is portrayed as an African-American woman. The Vampire Diaries alum Kat Graham will voice the role.
Character art will debut before the end of the year, with the series premiering in 2018. The initial season will consist of 26 episodes, airing on Nickelodeon.
While Thor: Ragnarok may be a genre departure from the other Thor movies, leaning heavily on comedy, it's not the only Marvel Cinematic Universe film trying something new. As Marvel Studios gears up for Avengers: Infinity War, the movie's directors reveal that it will be different in tone than the previous Avengers installments.
While there is still a battle to fight and a villain--Thanos (Josh Brolin)--to defeat, first the Mad Titan, who will feature as one of the main characters in the film, has a job to do. "With Infinity War, the biggest new element to the movie is Thanos and the fact that he's entering the storytelling in a very bold, strong way, to the degree that he's almost one of the leads," co-director Anthony Russo tells GameSpot sister site CNET. "We've shaped an interesting narrative around him that in some ways leans heavily on a heist film in the fact that he's going after the Infinity Stones in a much bolder, successful way than he has in the past."
Given that the Infinity Stones are scattered throughout the universe, it makes sense that they would have to be gathered before the Infinity Gauntlet Thanos is so fond of is complete. Thus far all but one of the stones--the soul stone--has appeared in a Marvel movie.
Showing Thanos jumping from planet to planet retrieving them will not only give him purpose but show his strength building, until finally confronting the Avengers. In a way, it's similar to the first films in the MCU, as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) pieced together his team. The main difference, of course, is Thanos wants to rule over the universe.
Based on what the Russos are saying, there's a good chance that could come to pass if the Avengers--and their new friends Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and whoever else happens to show up--don't get their acts together. "The entire movie has that energy of the bad guy being one step ahead of the heroes," Anthony says.
Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters on May 8, 2018.
Does Mark Strong have one more supervillain up his sleeve? After portraying SInestro in Green Lantern, Frank D'Amico in Kick-Ass and Septimus in Stardust, it looks like he just might, as the actor might end up playing the evil Doctor Sivana in Shazam, an upcoming DC Entertainment film.
In other Shazam casting news, Annabelle: Creation star Grace Fulton has joined the past of the film, per Variety. The movie will team her once again with Creation director David F. Sandberg, who is helming the DC superhero film. The actress will play a friend of Billy Batson, the young boy who says the magic word "Shazam" to transform into the hero.
Next up for DC is Justice League, which will hit theaters on November 17. The film will follow Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Aquaman (Jason Momoa) as they team up to save the world. Then, in December of 2018, Momoa will star with Amber Heard in an Aquaman standalone film.
Blizzard has revealed some significant new content for Overwatch as part of the opening ceremony at BlizzCon 2017. Most significant is the newest member of the game's playable roster of characters, as the hero Moira was announced. She's a shadowy scientist character with ties to Talon and Reaper's past who is capable of dealing damage, but is primarily useful thanks to her ability to heal teammates as a Support.
The debut trailer for Moira reveals some of her backstory--including her ties to Talon as a geneticist--and unique skills that distinguish her from other characters. Following a sort of shadowy archetype, including the ability to cast healing beams, teleports, and other bionic skills. Jeff Kaplan noted that fans want more healing characters; Moira features abilities that focus on healing her allies, but she also possesses the skills to deal serious damage when it counts.
Creative director Jeff Kaplan described the character something of a hybrid character, which is unusual for Overwatch. Kaplan said he's looking forward to seeing the character in the hands of players--even jokingly describing the characters as "OP AF." On the official site, the Blizzard revealed some for the moves that Moira can take advantage of, as outlined below.
Bionic Grasp: Using her left hand, Moira expends biotic energy to heal allies in front of her. Her right hand fires a long-range beam weapon that saps enemies' health, healing Moira and replenishing her biotic energy.
Bionic Orb: Moira launches a rebounding biotic sphere; she can choose between a regeneration effect that heals the allies it passes through, or a decay effect that deals damage to enemies.
Fade: Moira quickly teleports a short distance.
Coalescence: Moira channels a long-range beam that both heals allies and bypasses barriers to damage her enemies.
During BlizzCon's opening ceremony, the developers behind the MMO World Of Warcraft closed out their presentation with the reveal of the brand-new expansion: Battle For Azeroth. Revealing details and a new trailer showing a world in conflict, this new expansion looks to be the most chaotic and intense update the game has seen yet.
In Battle For Azeroth, players will be able to explore new areas of Azeroth, showing several uncharted areas of the world that players haven't seen before. With the new continents of Kul Tiras and Zandalar, along with several islands that explorers can travel to at their leisure, the expansion features a new level cap of 120, along with series of new dungeons and raids to take part in.
The developers claimed that this was the most ambitious update to the game in some time, which will feature a number of new changes that players can anticipate. Moreover, we also saw the reveals of World of Warcraft Classic, allowing players to replay the original World of Warcraft during its early years.
Other new elements introduced in this expansion are Island Expeditions, where three players cooperatively take on a rotating assortment of tasks on an island. You'll compete against a group of three--controlled by AI or actual players--from the opposing faction to be the first to complete everything. World PvP is also changing, with Blizzard planning to remove the PvE/PvP server distinction.
There will also be new Allied Races, which you work to bring to your faction: Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, and Zandalari Trolls for Horde, and Void Elves, Lightforged Draenei, and Dark Iron Dwarves for Alliance. You can even unlock the ability to play as that race, as pictured above; doing so will start you off as level 20.
Xbox One X releases around the world in only a few days, and players who want to get their hands on the console right away will have a chance to pick one up at midnight from GameStop. The game retailer has announced it will host midnight launch parties at many of its stores in the US on release day.
The launch parties begin on Tuesday, November 7, at 12:01 AM ET and will take place at more than 2,000 GameStop locations across the country. Additionally, GameStop will offer an extra percentage bonus when customers trade in items toward their Xbox One X purchase; Elite members will get an extra 40%, Pro members an extra 30%, and all other customers will get 20%. Those who pre-ordered the console will also receive "up to $200 credit" when they trade in their current Xbox One toward the purchase.
If you'd like to go hands-on with the new console before buying one, participating GameStop stores around the country will also have demo units available to play the next three weekends, through November 19. You can find the full list of stores that will host Xbox One X demos on GameStop's website.
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