Grand Theft Auto V is celebrating the holidays, and today GTA Online got a wintry makeover. In the latest GTA Online update, San Andreas has received a blanket of snow, there are free liveries and a free car coming on Christmas, and a new vehicle is now available for purchase.
As part of GTA V's Festive Surprise event on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, San Andreas is now covered in snow. What's more, you can throw snowballs at people. By hitting left on the d-pad or G on your keyboard, you can pick up a snowball and then throw it at NPCs or your friends.
In addition, the Albany Hermes Muscle Car is available to everyone who logs into the game on Christmas Day, you can get 5 free liveries for the Thruster. Rockstar also previously announced that it would be giving away Krampus masks on Christmas Eve. Holiday-themed clothes and masks are available for purchase at in-game stores, too.
There's also a new vehicle that you can buy at Southern San Andreas Super Autos. Called the Benefactor Streiter, it's a "combination of sleek aesthetics and raw 4x4 power." It's classified as a Sports vehicle, and you can see it in the image above.
Rockstar previously announced that GTA Online's current Premium Stunt Race is H200, and the current Time Trial is Sawmill until Christmas Day. On December 26, this switches to Double Loop as the Premium Stunt Race and Cypress Flats as the Time Trial. Everyone who participates in the Premium Races will earn triple RP, and the top three finishers will receive a big GTA$ reward. The Time Trial, meanwhile, grants a big GTA$ and RP bonus for those who beat the target time.
The next batch of Xbox One Games Pass games have been announced. Ten new titles will come into rotation to kick off 2018. This round of additions has a good mix of action, adventure, and zen for everyone.
And, from now until January 4, new Games Pass members can join the service for $1. This price only covers the first month, and each month after will be $10. For a look at everything you'll have access to, check out the full list of Xbox Games Pass titles.
Xbox Game Pass January Titles (Available January 1):
A new update is now available for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on Xbox One. This marks the second patch the popular battle royale game has received on Microsoft's console thus far, following a fairly big update that arrived earlier this week.
While the new patch isn't quite as large as PUBG's previous Xbox One update, it makes a number of quality-of-life improvements to further refine the console version, which doesn't run quite as well as on PC. In addition to addressing various crashing issues, the new PUBG update further tunes the gameplay. Recoil has now been reduced for all weapons on Xbox One, while the range for adjusting your preferred sensitivity has been expanded. The update also makes some more unspecified performance improvements. You can find the full patch notes below.
This week also marked PUBG's 1.0 release on PC after being available in Early Access of nine months. The 1.0 release brings many new mechanics to the game, such as climbing and vaulting, which PUBG creator Brendan Greene says "will change the game severely." It also introduces a new desert map called Miramar, which will also be added to the Xbox One version in a future update. You can read more about the 1.0 release in our PUBG review.
PUBG Xbox One Update #2 Patch Notes
Optimization
Continued performance optimizations
In-game
The tuning range for the general sensitivity option has been expanded
Weapon recoil reduced across the board (Xbox Only)
Team UI will now correctly display voice chat status
Additional Localization updates
Bug
A variety of crash fixes
Fixed an issue where casting bar UI remains onscreen when spectating a target who died while using an item from their inventory
The holidays are almost here, and Xbox promotions are upon us. Microsoft announced recently that you can now grab a month of Xbox Live Gold or a month of Game Pass for just $1. The sale just started today, and it runs through January 4.
This is a great deal if you want to cheaply try out a bunch of games over the holidays. For $2 total, you get access to two services which grant access to games. Xbox Live, in addition to giving you online multiplayer access, also comes with a set of free games every month. This month, subscribers can download Warhammer: End Times - Verminitide, Back to the Future: The Game, and several other titles. In January, you'll get Zombi, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, and other games. Free access to these titles only lasts as long as you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, however. In addition, you can often get an additional discount during Xbox game sales with Xbox Live.
Microsoft also announced that it's going to be giving money from subscriptions to charity. For every subscription to Live or Game Pass sold, the company will donate $10 of Game Pass to hospitals through the Game Changer charity.
For the second-to-last time this year, Xur has arrived in Destiny 2. The merchant is back for a limited time to sell a selection of Exotic gear, as well as some other new options that were recently introduced. Despite overlapping with Christmas, there's nothing too special about this appearance, but you may want to pay him a visit nonetheless. Here's where to find Xur this week and a rundown on what he's selling on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Xur has returned again to Titan, where he's in his usual spot. To find him, you'll want to fast travel to The Rig and then head directly east. Drop down a level and you'll find him hiding out in a room all on his own, where you should be able to avoid attacks from the nearby enemies.
For the second week in a row, all of the gear Xur is selling is available to non-DLC owners; previously, he sold a piece of gear that only Curse of Osiris owners could equip. This week, he has the typical lineup of items for sale, including one Exotic weapon (the SMG Riskrunner) and one piece of Exotic armor for each class. Additionally, he has the new Three of Coins for sale, which will boost your chances of securing an Exotic item while playing. He also has the new Fated Engram, which--while expensive--guarantees that you'll acquire an Exotic piece of gear that you don't already own. Here's his full lineup:
Riskrunner -- 29 Legendary Shards
Lucky Pants (Hunter Leg Armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Doom Fang Pauldron (Titan Leg Armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Wings of Sacred Dawn (Warlock Chest Armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Three of Coins -- 31 Legendary Shards
Fated Engram -- 97 Legendary Shards
The Three of Coins has proven to be somewhat controversial, with players frustrated about the boost it provides and lack of clear communication about what it's supposed to do. Bungie has since talked about Three of Coins and the effect it has; it's also acknowledged a problem when using them in Heroic Strikes.
Meanwhile, Destiny 2's The Dawning event is ongoing, providing a variety of new items to acquire. It's also marked the Destiny 2 debut of Mayhem in Crucible, but it's unfortunately been marred by an exploit for Warlocks. Bungie has revealed this won't be fixed before the end of the event, nor will it ban those who use the glitch.
The latest Call of Duty: WWII update was released today on PS4 and Xbox One, and it's coming later today to PC. It brings a host of bug fixes and improvements, and it also includes weapon balance changes to guns ranging from LMGs to sidearms.
The weapon changes are probably the most noticeable parts of the patch, and it strengthens some guns while weakening others. The MP-40 and Thompson submachine guns have both received buffs to their fire rate, which will help bring them closer to the current favorite SMG, the PPSh. Further, the patch increases the Combat Shotgun's damage range. Finally, the entire LMG class of weapons gets a movement speed buff, while the MG-15 and Lewis LMGs both get reduced recoil.
Meanwhile, the FG-42 rifle has received a significant decrease in fire-rate, a change that will likely reduce the gun's dominance in the rifle class. Finally, the Machine Pistol's damage has been nerfed.
The patch also includes some tweaks and bug fixes, including UI improvements and a fix for the Zombies glitch that allowed players to deploy more than the maximum number of mines. You can read all of the changes in the patch notes below.
Anime fans should head over to the Microsoft Store today, December 22, for some special deals on select releases. The store is currently offering a range of first seasons completely free, with big discounts on other shows and movies.
The first seasons that fans can download in HD completely free today include Dragon Ball Z, Psycho-Pass, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fairy Tale, A Certain Magical Index, and Assassination Classroom. Adding any of these releases to your library means that you can keep them permanently, and they can be watched on Xbox One and Xbox 360, plus Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8 devices.
In addition, complete passes for the additional seasons of these shows can be bought at reduced prices. For example, the next eight seasons of Dragon Ball Z can be bought for $9 each, instead of the standard $30. The live-action show Lost Girl is also part of the deal, following FUNinimation's home entertainment deal with SyFy in 2012.
In terms of movies, the Microsoft Store has 20 discounted releases for sale. These include Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Psycho-Pass The Movie, and three volumes of Rurouni Kenshin, plus the two live-action Attack on Titan films. These movies are all priced at $7 to buy, reduced from up to $15.
Loot boxes have arguably been the biggest controversy in gaming this year, especially with regards to the boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II. It seems that Apple has taken note of the backlash, as it's implemented more stringent regulations on loot box systems.
Apple updated its App Store requirements recently, adding a clause that forces developers to disclose loot box odds. Now, games with random rewards available for purchase must tell players the chances of getting each type of item in a loot box.
This is notable because the United States currently does not federally require disclosure of odds, although several countries in Asia do require it. Up until now, unless developers voluntarily gave the information, players have had no idea how likely they are to receive especially rare items in any one loot box.
Although this obviously doesn't regulate console games like Destiny 2 and Battlefront II, there are still several big-name mobile titles that will presumably fall under the requirement. Hearthstone, for example, may now have to show its card pack odds for Western audiences, something Blizzard already did for Chinese audiences earlier this year.
Loot boxes are almost certainly here to stay, but greater transparency is good, as it gives players a better idea of what they're spending money on. Hopefully this trend will continue and eventually apply to console games, as well.
When you think about massive, open-world, systems-heavy games, there's a good chance Skyrim and Zelda: Breath of the Wild come to mind. In spite of six years between them, they share a lot in common: they're enormous RPGs with ambient activity everywhere, secrets to discover, and hidden areas to complete. As it turns out, this isn't a coincidence. The Breath of the Wild developer was, in fact, inspired partly by Skyrim.
We recently sat down with game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma to discuss the genesis of Breath of the Wild and how the developer pulled off such a huge game. They explained that they didn't look to other titles for elements or features to pull from them. In fact, Fujibayashi doesn't actually play that many games at all.
"I don't actually myself play a lot of other games," Fujibayashi explained through a translator. "I obviously am well versed in them, I know what's happening in them. But this ending up in this kind of bigger open world really started from the prototype stage where, just kind of naturally by virtue of what we wanted to do in this game, we started to realize that we absolutely do need this bigger open world in order to make the kind of game that we wanted."
However, the studio did look to Skyrim to learn more about the challenges of making open-world games. Having never tackled anything at Breath of the Wild's scale before, the team needed data and material to research. According to Aonuma, Skyrim helped provide some of that data.
"In the past I've also actually said that I have played Skyrim, so it's not necessarily that I don't play games," Aonuma stated. "But we don't look at it from, 'Oh, what kind of things can we take from this game?' It's more of like, 'How can we prepare for this? What should we expect from games like this?'"
"And so we also think about how many people we might need, or how we can make it improved, or with the number of people," he continued. "We would collect data and then work and see what worked, what didn't."
In other words, it appears that even though Breath of the Wild doesn't owe its existence to Skyrim, the studio nonetheless researched Bethesda's game to help understand how to improve the open-world RPG formula. And, like Skyrim before it, it appears that Breath of the Wild is a new benchmark in the genre.
Breath of the Wild was recently given GameSpot's Game of the Year award for 2017. In our feature, critic Peter Brown explains, "Like the most meaningful and landmark games of the past, Breath of the Wild is a game that will be discussed and analyzed for years to come. Everyone agrees that 2017 was an amazing year for games, but none other than Breath of the Wild can be considered a milestone for the medium at large."
Just in case the big PSN holiday sale going on didn't offer enough ways to blow your money, Sony has launched another promotion on top of it. A limited-time flash sale is now live on the PlayStation Store, discounting a number of PlayStation games just before Christmas. However, unlike most flash sales on PSN, this one will last a big longer than usual.
Vita owners are completely out of luck with this flash sale, and there's very little in the way of PS3 discounts. PS3 owners can, however, pick up Persona 5 for $33. The two older platforms do have more games on sale as part of the existing holiday sale.
Rather than being a weekend-only event, this flash sale runs for a few extra days, ending on December 27 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. A day earlier, on December 26, we may see another set of deals added to the holiday sale, as we did this past week. That promotion offers additional discounts in many cases for PS Plus subscribers, but the flash sale offers the same pricing to all PSN members. You can see everything in the flash sale here.
If you missed out on the previous Monster Hunter World beta earlier this month, you now have another chance to try the co-op action game before it launches. The second Monster Hunter World beta is now live on PS4, and unlike the previous one, all players are able to participate in it, even if you don't have a PlayStation Plus subscription.
The beta runs from today, December 22, until 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT on December 26 (4 AM AET on December 27). Like the previous beta, it features three quests across two levels. In the Ancient Forest, you can hunt the beginner-friendly Great Jagras and the much more challenging Anjanath, while the intermediate-level Barroth lurks in Wildspire Waste. You can watch footage of us hunting the latter at Tokyo Game Show.
Each quest can be tackled either solo or with up to three other players. However, you'll need to have a PS Plus subscription in order to participate in online hunts in the full game when it releases next month. As before, it seems this beta is exclusive to PS4 owners; Capcom hasn't announced if it will hold a similar beta for Xbox One or PC yet.
Players who participated in the previous Monster Hunter World beta can jump into the second one using the same client they already installed. Everyone else can download the beta from the PlayStation Store. You'll need at least 5.47 GB of free space in order to download the beta.
Monster Hunter World releases for PS4 and Xbox One on January 26, while the PC version will arrive later in 2018. Capcom has said it plans to continue supporting the game post-launch with new monsters to hunt as free DLC. The game will also receive new DLC weapons and armor, such as a PS4-exclusive set based on Horizon Zero Dawn.
The end of the month--and year--are in sight. With January right around the corner, Microsoft has announced the lineup of free Games With Gold titles that Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download throughout January on Xbox One and Xbox 360.
As always, there are a total of four games split across the two platforms. On Xbox One, action RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III will be free for the entire month. This marks the game's launch on Xbox One, and it'll come with (unspecified) Xbox One X enhancements. Starting on January 16, it'll be joined by Zombi, the modified version of Wii U launch game ZombiU. One of the current freebies, Back to the Future: The Game, will also continue to be available during the first part of January.
On the Xbox 360 side, Tomb Raider: Underworld will be available for the first half of the month. It will be replaced by co-op action game Army of Two. As with every Xbox 360 game released through Games With Gold, these both support Xbox One backwards compatibility, meaning Xbox One owners with Gold get a total of four freebies in January.
In the aftermath of that closing, talk began to spread. With more and more games incorporating loot boxes, and single-player games not making publishers enough money to sustain AAA development--is this the beginning of the end for single-player games?
In the video above, Reboot's Mike and Jake discuss this question. For more of these chats, as well as critical video essays, watch past episodes of Reboot on YouTube or here on GameSpot.
A CatherinePS4 and PS Vita remake was announced for Japan earlier this week, but for fans across the pond, there's a bit of good news for you too. Catherine: Full Body has been confirmed to have localized versions in both North America and Europe.
Catherine fits Atlus's unique and quirky anime vibe, but isn't anything like its other showstoppers such as Shin Megumi Tensei or Persona. Instead, Catherine is part puzzle game and part dating simulator, deeply seeded in sexuality, lust, betrayal, and morality. When it first released six years ago, we gave it an 8.5 in our Catherine review.
However, the remake is causing a bit of a stir among LGBTQ+ fans of the title. Kotaku reports the original title includes a trans woman among its cast who is deadnamed and somewhat mocked towards the end of the game, outting her identity as transgender. The remake's new character Rin seems like she may be treated in a similar, disrespectful manner.
Within Full Body's trailer, we see a moment between Rin and Vincent where Vincent looks at her body in sheer horror. Nothing has confirmed that Rin is transgender, but assumptions have been made by fans and critics who are calling for fair and respectful representation of the LGBTQ+ community, which Atlus has been criticized for in the past.
The Japanese version of the game is set to release next Winter. A Western release date and pricing have not yet been announced.
As expected after services like the PlayStation Store and Steam launched their respective holiday sales, Microsoft has followed suit. The Countdown to 2018 sale is now live on the Xbox Store, discounting hundreds of games for Xbox One and Xbox 360. All of these are available now, but there will also be a new daily deal rotated in every day to keep players checking in frequently.
Many older titles are on sale as well, including Forza Horizon 3 for $25 and its expansion pass (consisting of the Blizzard Mountain and Hot Wheels DLC packs, which are both great) for $10.49. There's also a pricing quirk that returns from the Black Friday sale; The Witcher 3 sells for $20 (or $24 without Gold), but the Complete Edition--which includes its solid DLC expansions--sells for the same price for Gold members (or $25 without Gold). Other deals of note include:
More than 650 deals in all are available across the two platforms, according to Microsoft. And, as noted above, you'll also find a daily deal; the first of these is Halo Wars 2 for $16 (or $20 without Gold). You can see all the deals for yourself here; the sale runs from now through December 31.
A new selection of game discounts are now available in the US PlayStation Store. This marks the second week of Sony's big PSN holiday sale, and a load of new deals on many acclaimed PS4, PS3, and Vita games can be found in the digital store ahead of the holidays.
Many of these deals will only be available this week and end on December 26, while others will continue into January. You can find the full list of games that are on sale right now--as well as when their discounts will expire--on the PlayStation Store.
Xbox's Major Nelson has announced there won't be any more Xbox One backwards compatible games until the new year. The team is taking some time off for the holidays, he announced in a tweet, after a big 2017 for the backwards compatibility program.
Microsoft released 136 Xbox 360 games, 7 Xbox One X-enhanced Xbox 360 titles, and 13 original Xbox games for the Xbox One this year. Major Nelson said there will be more releases in the new year, which comes as no surprise as Microsoft has made it clear it's deeply committed to the backwards compatibility program now and into the future. This is especially true for Xbox 360 games; Microsoft has said it won't be releasing classic Xbox games as frequently, with the next ones not expected until Spring 2018.
Last week, Microsoft unveiled its final Xbox One backwards compatible games for 2017. The two new backwards compatibility games, both originally playable on the Xbox 360, are Earth Defense Force 2017 and the Dreamcast classic Sonic Adventure 2. The former title was a physical release, while the latter was only available on Xbox 360 digitally as a Xbox Live Arcade title.
There are now more than 400 backwards compatible games available in the Xbox library. If you own the original discs for any of them, you simply pop it into your Xbox One disc tray and begin playing. For digital games you own, they'll be waiting in the Ready to Download section of My Games and Apps. Of course, you can also purchase any of the old titles now from the Xbox Store. To see what's available, check out GameSpot's full list of backwards compatible games.
The centerpiece of the update is Pokemon Go's new AR+ mode. As its name suggests, this is an enhanced version of the game's existing AR feature, tailored around Apple's ARKit augmented reality technology. In AR+ mode, Pokemon appear closer to their actual size, and they'll be aware of their surroundings, possibly fleeing if you startle them by making quick movements. However, if you can get close enough to a Pokemon without startling it, you'll get an "expert handler" bonus that rewards you with extra XP and Stardust when you capture the monster.
Beyond the new AR+ mode, the latest update doesn't make any other particularly noteworthy changes to Pokemon Go. Along with an assortment of bug fixes, Niantic has improved the responsiveness of the Pokemon Go Plus accessory on devices that are running iOS 11. The update also makes some unspecified performance improvements. You can read the full patch notes below.
Pokemon Go's new Christmas event is now live. Like last year, players will have a chance to catch a Santa hat Pikachu during the duration of the event. It can be evolved into a Santa hat Raichu, while a Santa hat Pichu can also be hatched from Eggs. Additionally, Niantic has added 20 more Ice- and Water-type Pokemon that originally appeared in Ruby and Sapphire, including Milotic, Glalie, Sharpedo, and more.
Pokemon Go players can also still catch the game's first Gen 3 Legendary, Groudon. The massive Ground-type Pokemon is available from now until January 15. Like previous Legendaries, Groudon will appear as a Raid Boss at Gyms, and you'll need to team up with other players to defeat it before you have a chance to capture it.
Pokemon Go iOS Version 1.57.5 / Android Version 0.87.5 Patch Notes
Added the all-new AR+ encounter mode for Trainers on ARKit-enabled devices (iPhone 6s or later) running iOS 11.
Improved Pokemon Go Plus responsiveness on devices running iOS 11.
Pokemon Go's second Christmas event has now begun. Like last year's holiday event, it introduces new Pokemon to the popular mobile game, makes it easier to get your hands on Pokemon Eggs, and brings back a festive Pikachu for a limited time.
For the duration of the event, Ice-type Pokemon will appear more frequently in Pokemon Go, and players will have another chance to encounter a Santa hat Pikachu. Like last year, it can evolve into a Santa hat Raichu, and this time players have a chance to hatch a Santa hat Pichu, as well. Niantic is also adding an additional 20 Ice- and Water-type Pokemon originally from Ruby and Sapphire to the game, including Milotic, Sharpedo, Wailord, Walrein, Relicanth, and more.
What's most interesting, however, is that Niantic also teased that another Legendary Pokemon from the Hoenn region may appear in Pokemon Go during the holiday event. In the promotional artwork the studio shared today, the Legendary Water-type Kyogre could be seen among the other new monsters being added to Pokemon Go. You can take a look at the image below.
While not outright confirmation that Kyogre will be available in Pokemon Go soon, it seems to be the next Legendary in line for the mobile game. Its counterpart from Pokemon Ruby, Groudon, is currently available and is thus far the only Gen 3 Legendary to appear in Pokemon Go. Players can still encounter Groudon in Raid Battles at Gyms until January 15, 2018.
In addition to the new Pokemon, players will have a chance to earn rare items during this year's holiday event. From December 22-25, you're guaranteed to receive an Egg Incubator the first time you visit a PokeStop and spin the Photo Disc on each of those days. A variety of holiday bundles are also on sale, each of which includes a new Star Piece item that increases the amount of Stardust you earn for a limited time. Pokemon Go's holiday event runs until January 4.
Nintendo has added a couple of new rewards to the My Nintendo rewards catalog. To commemorate the upcoming 3DS release of Pokemon Crystal, the company is offering My Nintendo members discounts on a handful of Pokemon games for Wii U and 3DS.
A pair of Pokemon games are discounted for each of the two platforms. On 3DS, My Nintendo members can get 30% off of the Game Boy classic Pokemon TCG (20 Gold points), as well as Pokemon Art Academy (450 Platinum points). Wii U owners, meanwhile, can save 30% on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (140 Platinum points) and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (20 Gold points).
Each of these discounts is available until March 16, 2018, so you have plenty of time to redeem your points for any you may be interested in. You can also still find discounts on some great Mario games for Wii U and 3DS right now. Super Mario Maker is 40% off (180 Gold points), Super Mario RPG is 50% off (310 Platinum points), and Mario Kart 7 is 40% off (930 Platinum points). Those discounts are available until March 3. You can find all of the current My Nintendo rewards here.
Pokemon Crystal launches on the 3DS Eshop on January 26. It's an enhanced version of Pokemon Gold/Silver, which were re-released on 3DS this past September. Along with introducing a new subplot centered around Suicune, Crystal was the first Pokemon game to allow players to choose a female character and feature Pokemon animations during battle. As with the 3DS versions of Gold/Silver, it's compatible with Pokemon Bank, so any Pokemon you catch can be transferred to the new Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon versions.
Destiny 2's seasonal event, The Dawning, is underway. As part of that, the Mayhem mode has made its debut in the game for a limited time. Unfortunately, it's become a playground of destruction for Warlocks as a result of a glitch, and Bungie has now announced that it won't be fixed before the events ends.
Mayhem is a Crucible mode that's a bit sillier than most; the key difference is that abilities and Supers regenerate much faster than usual, and Power ammo spawns more often. This all leads to a chaotic experience--hence the name of the mode--but things are even more out of control. Shortly after The Dawning update and Mayhem went live, players discovered that Warlocks using the Voidwalker subclass had access to unlimited Super abilities, resulting in a constant hail of Void bombs from those taking advantage of the exploit.
Bungie acknowledged a problem earlier week, though it merely described it as "an issue currently impacting the Voidwalker subclass for Warlocks." It has since determined a fix won't be released before The Dawning ends. The event runs until January 9.
"As teams continue to investigate an issue impacting the cooldown for the Voidwalker Super ability within the Mayhem playlist, we have determined that the issue will not be addressed before the Dawning ends in 2018," Bungie announced on Twitter. "We will provide additional information once available."
The developer also confirmed on Twitter that it won't ban anyone who takes advantage of the problem. So if you feel compelled to let the Void bombs fly, you aren't going to risk getting in any trouble. Mayhem is ultimately not a key part of the competitive side of the game, but it's still frustrating that we'll have to do without a fix. That's especially true given that participating in the mode is a Milestone tied to The Dawning, so if you want to make the most of the event, you'll need to dive in despite the issue.
The Dawning has introduced a variety of new items to Destiny 2, though the easiest and most reliable way to obtain them is through Eververse purchases with real money. For a look at, you can check out our gallery of all the new Dawning armor and gear.
Following its recent sales, Valve has launched the next big seasonal promotion on Steam. Hundreds of PC games are now discounted through early January, offering an opportunity to expand your backlog and ensure you can fill every moment of free time you have coming up. Coinciding with this, the Steam Awards are officially live.
That's just a small sampling of what's on sale right now; you can see everything that's discounted here. Even if you're not interested in spending any money, there's still a reason to check out Steam, as you can now vote for the Steam Awards. These were nominated during a previous sale and are generally in unconventional categories, such as Mom's Spaghetti and Defies Description. A different category will be up for voting each day, and you'll receive a Steam Awards trading card each time you cast a vote. Winners will be announced on January 3.
World in Conflict and Black Flag had both been available as free downloads through Uplay earlier this month, but this week Ubisoft began a new promotion that also includes Watch Dogs. The only catch to the giveaway is that you have to sign in with or create a Uplay account; after that, though, the games are yours to keep.
If you haven't played it already, Watch Dogs is definitely worth trying out. Although Watch Dogs 2 is generally considered the better of the two, the first game is still cool and it's fun to simply mess around and hack things in the open world. You can learn more in our original review of Watch Dogs. Together with Assassin's Creed IV, this promotion could keep you occupied throughout the holidays.
We're now well into December, and this month has brought with it a new batch of free games for PlayStation Plus members. A total of six more games are now available for download to Plus subscribers, including a total of as many as four on PlayStation 4 (or five if you're in Europe).
PS4's lineup is headlined by Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, a remastered version of the 2012 Zelda-esque action game. This version includes all of the original release's DLC along with a variety of technical improvements. It's free this month alongside Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends. A PSVR freebie from November, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, remains free throughout this month, and those in Europe can also pick up That's You for free. Additionally, thanks to Cross-Buy, Forma 8 is available on PS4 in addition to Vita.
The PS3 side features Xblaze: Lost Memories and Syberia Collection, the latter of which is a compilation of the two Syberia adventure games. In addition to the aforementioned Forma 8, Vita owners can download Wanted Corp for free.
All of these games are available now for PS Plus members on the PlayStation Store. They'll be free to download until Tuesday, January 2, when Sony will replace them with the next batch of freebies. Claiming these games allows you to play them as much as you want for as long as you have an active Plus membership.
In addition to the free game downloads, PS Plus subscribers receive some other bonuses this month. Plus members got exclusive access to the Monster Hunter World beta, which ran from December 9-12 on PS4. They can also now get the PlayStation Plus Pack for free-to-play game Smite, which consists of various characters, skins, and voice packs.
Another batch of new games have been added to the Nintendo Switch Eshop. This week is another busy one for the hybrid console; a total of 18 titles launch on Switch, the bulk of which are available starting Thursday, December 21.
While no major first- or third-party titles arrive on Switch this week, the releases include a handful of games that are certainly worth your time if you're looking for something new to play on the console. Among them is the hilarious Mom Hid My Game, which was previously available on mobile devices under the much more elegant moniker Hidden My Game By Mom. Also available is the Advance Wars-inspired strategy game Tiny Metal; the Zelda-style 2D adventure game Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King; the top-down racer/shooter The Next Penelope; and the mini-game/art creator Puzzle Box Maker.
Mom Hid My Game
In addition to those games, the cartoony, Smash Bros.-style fighter Brawlout released on Switch earlier this week. A pair of titles are also arriving on December 22: the 3D roguelike brawler Heart & Slash, and the strategic board game Tactical Mind. Europe and Japan, meanwhile, receive an exceptionally rare Mario game this week: Vs. Super Mario Bros., a remixed version of the original NES game that was released in Japanese arcades.
You can see the full list of this week's Switch releases below. You can also still find a couple of great games on sale in the Eshop. Overcooked: Special Edition is $16 until December 28, while Rocket League and some of its DLC are discounted from now until January 2. You can also purchase FIFA 18 for $40 from the Switch Eshop for a limited time.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been in theaters for a week now, and is already massive box office hit. But despite the the strong critical response, film has been met with a more mixed reaction from fans, with some objecting to narrative and character decisions made by writer/director Rian Johnson. It turns out that Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill also has a few issues with how his character is portrayed. Warning, big spoilers ahead!
In a new interview uploaded by Youtube channel Jar Jar Abrams, Hamill reveals that the Luke in The Last Jedi "is not my Luke Skywalker." Specifically, the actor states that the Luke from the classic Star Wars trilogy would never end up in the place that we find him in at the start of The Last Jedi; a broken, disillusioned man who has exiled himself to a remote planet to die and take the entire Jedi order with him.
"I said to Rian, 'Jedis don't give up.' I mean, even if [Luke] had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup. But if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference," Hamill said. "But it's not my story anymore, it's somebody else's story and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That's the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I'm sorry."
Hamill went on to admit that this classic character was now in different hands, and the Luke that he still thinks of is the one that George Lucas created for his movies, "I'm talking about the George Lucas Star Wars, this is the next generation of Star Wars," he said. "I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he's 'Jake Skywalker.' He's not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.
"Listen, I still haven't accepted it completely, but, it's only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don't get upset. I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man they needed for this job."
Hamill actually spoke about his disagreements with Johnson about the direction of the movie back in April. In an interview with ABC, he said that he "fundamentally disagreed with virtually everything" that would happen to Luke in the The Last Jedi.
Another controversial aspect of The Last Jedi is the truth about Rey's parents. Despite the number of fan theories that have built up ever since The Force Awakens was released, in the new movie we discover that her parents were no one of any note. This week, Johnson defended this decision, stating, "I can understand why that answer doesn't feel good. It's not supposed to feel good. It's supposed to be the hardest thing she could possibly hear in that moment."
In December of 2015, Ubisoft Montreal's Rainbow Six Siege released to little fanfare. It was a good game, but it relied too heavily on multiplayer modes for many players, its map supply was sparse, and servers weren't always reliable. All in all, it was a mediocre release.
Cut to two years later, and it's hard to believe we've been playing the same game. Ubisoft Montreal has supported its multiplayer shooter throughout the past 24 months, adding content, revamping servers, and listening to player feedback. The player count has increased exponentially, reaching 25 million with the recent release of Operation White Noise, the last content drop of Siege's second year.
It is, to say the least, one of modern AAA gamings' biggest comebacks. Games such as Destiny 2, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Warframe, and Overwatch follow the ethos of "games-as-a-service," to varying effects. But Rainbow Six Siege is perhaps the best proof that this model can work.
In the video above, Mike Mahardy takes a deep dive into Siege, exploring the various ways it flew under the mainstream radar for so long, how it improved over the past two years, how it supported faithful players, and rewarded players who value complex gameplay.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now officially out on PC, and after a few issues that caused servers to crash, the game is playable again. The game launched overnight, after many hours of server maintenance that took the game offline. Fortunately, there's a free reward waiting for players when they log in.
For the next few weeks, players will receive a free in-game Winner Winner Chicken Dinner t-shirt, which will be dropped into your inventory after logging in. The 1.0 release comes with a few improvements to the game's stability and balance, as well. Developer Bluehole said previous adjustments had reduced stability issues, but it is expecting "progressive improvements" that should make the game more reliable in the near future.
Bluehole also said it's further strengthening cheat prevention measures in the game, after it already introduced improvements that saw a 66 percent drop in the number of players using cheats.
PUBG's 1.0 release brings many new game mechanics to the main game, including climbing and vaulting, which the game's creator says "will change the game severely." The new release also marks the debut of the new desert map called Miramar, which was recently available to try on PUBG's test servers. Players will find new types of obstacles, weapons, and vehicles in Miramar that will affect how you approach the game.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds first hit Early Access nine months ago, and has become a major success since then. The game launched on Xbox One earlier this month, available for $30 via the Xbox Game Preview program, and attracted more than 1 million players in its first 48 hours on the console. That version received its first patch earlier this week, which made "first pass" improvements to its visuals and performance and squashed a number of bugs. For details on everything new and improved in PUBG's 1.0 PC launch, you can read the full patch notes.
Double Fine's highly anticipated platformer Psychonauts 2 has been delayed. The game was originally slated to release sometime in 2018, but the developer has now confirmed that the title won't ship until at least 2019.
Double Fine broke the news today in an update on Psychonauts 2's Fig page. In the update, Double Fine revealed that production on the title is progressing and "five full level teams" are now at work on it. However, now that development has ramped up, Double Fine has realized that the project will take more time than it initially estimated.
"Now we are in full swing, we know a lot more about the size and scope of the game we are going to make, how long it will take us to make it, and the amount of time we need to make it be great," Double Fine wrote. "From those projections we know that Psychonauts 2 will not be shipping in 2018, like we originally estimated when we published the Fig campaign two years ago."
The developer went on: "We love the game we're making and we want to make sure that Psychonauts 2 is something you'll love too--a game that carries on the legacy of Psychonauts in a meaningful and special way. We're making great progress, but we want to make sure the game has the time it needs to shine."
For the D&D fans out there who sad that the only big-screen Dungeons & Dragons adventure is the terrible 2000 film starring Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans, there's some good news. Paramount has announced they are getting into the D&D business with a new film.
A Dungeons & Dragons movie was previously in the works at Warner Bros., with Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) reported to be in negotiations at one point to play the lead. That's all in the past now as Paramount now has the rights and is charting its own course in adapting the role-playing game.
Almost nothing is known about the film other than the July 23, 2021 release date, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It's not the only major release Paramount has scheduled in the coming years: The studio also has a new GI Joe film on the calendar for March 27, 2020, a Micronauts adaptation on October 16, 2020, and an unnamed Hasbro event film on October 21, 2021.
The GI Joe film is the third for Paramount. GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra starred Channing Tatum in 2009, while Dwayne Johnson took over as the lead in 2013's GI Joe: Retaliation. It was previously reported that both GI Joe and Micronauts would join MASK--another 1980s toy line--to form a movie universe based on Hasbro properties. No MASK film has been announced at this point.
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