When Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, fans had much to celebrate, not least that a new series of movies in the blockbuster franchise was on the way. There was however one decision that many fans were less happy with--the decision that the Expanded Universe of spin-off novels, comic books, TV shows, and video games was no longer to be part of Star Wars canon. Now, Star Wars Story Group member Leland Chee has spoken about what he believes was one of the main reasons for this decision.
The Star Wars Story Group is a division of Lucasfilm dedicated to overseeing ongoing franchise storylines and maintaining continuity. Speaking to Syfy's Fandom Files podcast, Chee suggested a reason why the entire 30-year-old Expanded Universe was rebranded as Star Wars Legends, and no longer part of "official" franchise story chronology. It's down to the death of one central character--everyone's favorite Wookiee, Chewbacca.
"For me it came down to simply that we had killed Chewbacca in Legends--a big moon had fallen on him," he said, referencing the 1999 novel The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, in which Chewie sacrifices himself to save Han. "Part of that [original decision] was Chewbacca, because he can't speak and just speaks in growls, he was a challenging character to write for in novels. Publishing had decided they needed to kill somebody, and it was Chewbacca."
"But if you have the opportunity to bring back Chewbacca into a live action film, you're not gonna deprive fans that," he added. "There's no way that I'd want to do an Episode VII that didn't have Chewbacca in it and have to explain that Chewbacca had a moon fall on his head. And if we were going to overturn a monumental decision like that, everything else was really just minor in comparison."
Chee subsequently clarified that this wasn't an official Lucasfilm statement on the decision to retire the Expanded Universe. "Chewbacca and the Legends decision is my personal rationalization," he tweeted. "The decision was made long before I joined the Story Group."
A new Fable game is in the works at Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, according to a new report. Eurogamer's sources say the new title will be a "story and character-focused open-world action RPG," as opposed to a spin-off such as the multiplayer-centric Fable Legends or motion-controlled Fable: The Journey.
Regarding the rumors, Fable co-creator Simon Carter told Eurogamer he has "slightly mixed feelings." He continued: "On the one hand it's great for the UK games industry, and very pleasing that Fable isn't dead; indeed, it will be lovely to play one as a punter without coming out in hives.
"On the other hand it is a little curious to get rid of the team that is uniquely expert in making Fable, and then try and make Fable. Fable is a weird game, and a tough one to deconstruct for a new team. That said, the team in question is very talented, and I'm sure they'll do a fantastic job."
Fable was created in 2004 by Peter Molyneux's company, Lionhead, and its sister company Big Blue Box. Each further game in the main series was made by Lionhead until Microsoft closed the developer down in 2016, canceling Fable Legends in the process. Fable has been dormant since, though Microsoft still retains the rights to the series and is therefore free to task other developers with making new entries. Eurogamer's report states Microsoft's desire to revive Fable was in part inspired by Sony's Horizon Zero Dawn and its critical and commercial success.
Playground's last game was 2016's Forza Horizon 3. The company has released a new Forza Horizon title every two years since 2012, and that pattern would suggest a fourth entry in the spin-off series would be due this year. A second team could allow for the development of both a new Forza Horizon title and a new Fable game concurrently, however as yet the company has not officially confirmed either title. The studio's founder, Ralph Fulton, has said Playground would not be abandoning racing games altogether.
"Our business with Forza over the last six, seven years has been great for us," he said in February 2017. "It remains the cornerstone of our business--we're not running away from racing, we still feel passionate about making new racing games and delivering new experiences for our players.
"Horizon 3 was a watershed game for us--it's certainly our best-reviewed game critically, it's our most commercially successful game as well. It's the first time we've experienced that commercial breakout hit phenomenon--the other games have been successful but not on the level of this one. We want to keep doing that. In a way, that game took six years to make. So we want to keep developing that skillset and pushing new boundaries."
2018's first big Fortnite update is scheduled to launch this week, Epic Games has announced. Among a number of other things, this patch makes some significant changes to the Battle Royale map, both adding new areas and changing the look of existing ones.
Epic has released the patch notes for update 2.2.0, which debuts on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on January 18. It includes the previously announced map overhaul showcased in the video below, which sees a number of areas added. These are primarily located on the western half of the map and include a new city area and a series of underground mines. Epic has also updated the various "biomes," as it calls them, so that the swamps, mountains, and so on have a more distinct look and feel to them.
The patch notes also outline a change that has already gone into effect: the removal of friendly fire. This is due at least in part to a desire to reduce frustration stemming from players who deliberately kill their teammates. Whether the change sticks around long-term remains to be seen, as Epic states, "This is exploratory and subject to change. We will be closely evaluating this and want your feedback!"
With this update installed, players will have less trouble reviving teammates when there are pickups nearby, as reviving now receives priority. The Scoped AR will no longer be found in supply drops, and the look of its scope has changed to be more modern and usable. A variety of visual improvements have been introduced; these include players interacting with grass and foliage when walking through it and the addition of water effects when you enter or leave a body of water. Load times are also said to be dramatically reduced on consoles, and voice chat will be available in the pre-game lobby.
Fortnite's Save the World mode also receives some attention in this patch, although that primarily comes in the form of bug fixes. However, Epic has made some changes to Commander XP so that even low-value items yield XP when crafted from the main menu.
Update 2.2.0's launch coincides with the end of Battle Royale's Winter event. However, Save the World's event has been extended until January 24. Additionally, Battle Royale players who purchase the Season 2 Battle Pass will gain five free tiers once Season 3 begins. Those eager to make progress during the current season can purchase ten tiers for the price of six for a limited time. You can check out the full patch notes on Epic's website.
Sony has rolled out a new selection of game deals in the PlayStation Store. As was the case last week, this week's batch of deals is very slim, with only a handful of discounts available on PS4, PS3, and Vita, but players may still find something worth picking up on their console of choice.
Space Hulk is also discounted on PS3, running for $14 on the older console. Vita owners, meanwhile, can also pick up Windjammers, Claire: Extended Cut, and Corridor Z--all of which support Cross-Buy with PS4--for their aforementioned prices. You can find the full list of this week's discounts on the PlayStation Store.
Nintendo held a surprise Nintendo Direct Mini just last week, during which it revealed a bunch of new games for its Switch console. But the company isn't finished yet: it's now teasing something else for Switch, with a full reveal scheduled for just a few hours' time, on Wednesday, January 17 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET / 10 PM GMT (that's 9 AM AEST on January 18).
"Tune in to discover a new interactive experience for Nintendo Switch that's specifically crafted for kids and those who are kids at heart," read a post on Nintendo's website. Nothing else has been revealed about the new game so far, but it sounds as if it's to be a new family-centric title.
Microsoft's new Netflix-style subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, is now available. For $10/month, subscribers can play more than 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games (via backwards compatibility) on Xbox One as much as they want for as long as the title is available. The catalog will be refreshed on a monthly basis as a small number games are added and others removed.
Microsoft says it aims to stock the Xbox Game Pass library with titles across a number of popular genres, including action, adventure, shooter, puzzle, strategy, and RPG. Below, you can find a complete list of every game available currently through Game Pass. [Updated with February 2017's new games.]
Current Xbox Game Pass Titles
Xbox One
10 Second Ninja X
Bard's Gold
Blood Bowl 2
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
The Bridge
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
The Bug Butcher
Casey Powell Lacrosse 16
Costume Quest 2
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition -- coming February 1
D4: Darks Dreams Don't Die
Dead Island: Definitive Edition
Dead Rising 3
Deadlight: Director's Cut
Defense Grid 2
Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition
Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition
Dirt Rally
Electronic Super Joy
F1 2015
Farming Simulator 15
The Flame in the Flood
Gears of War 4
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition
The Golf Club
Halo 5: Guardians
Halo: Spartan Assault
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition
Halo Wars 2 -- coming February 1
Hue
IDARB
JumpJet Rex
Knight Squad
Kyub
Layers of Fear
Letter Quest: Grimm's Journey -- coming February 1
Xbox One's game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, will add another batch of games in February. Starting next month, subscribers will be able to download and play eight more games, including one of Microsoft's biggest exclusives of 2017, Halo Wars 2.
Aside from being a platform exclusive, the real-time strategy game is a notable addition due to the recent launch of the Xbox One X. Halo Wars 2 is among the 100 games to receive an Xbox One X enhancement update so far. As such, Game Pass provides a relatively cheap way to take the improvements for a spin if you have an X.
On the Xbox 360 side, there's only a single new game for the month, though it is a good one: Fable Anniversary, a remastered version of original Xbox RPG Fable. It's playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
All eight of these games will be available to download on Game Pass on February 1. The Netflix-style service allows you to download (not stream) and play full games for as long as you're a subscriber. You can see everything that's playable in our list of all the Xbox Game Pass titles.
It's been a quiet period for new additions to the Xbox One's backwards compatibility library. Following a number of additions in November, Microsoft's BC team took a break for the holidays, leaving us without any new titles for several weeks. Now, the first new releases of the year have arrived, with several more Xbox 360 games now being playable on Xbox One.
There are three new arrivals in all. The most noteworthy of the bunch is Far Cry 2, the excellent open-world first-person shooter. It's joined by another shooter, Sniper Elite V2, and racing game Driver: San Francisco, which is the most recent entry in the Driver series.
All three are now playable on Xbox One. If you own a physical disc, you can simply pop that into the system to begin playing. Digital copies can be found in the Ready to Download area of the My Games and Apps section on the console, or you can buy the games directly through the Xbox Store. As it happens, Far Cry 2 is among the Xbox games on sale this week.
Nearly 150 games were added to the backwards compatibility list last year, including the first original Xbox games. Those are not expected to be added as frequently as Xbox 360 games; the next batch is due out sometime this spring. There's no set schedule for new Xbox 360 games, but in the past we've typically seen additions come no more than a week apart. For a look at what's already playable, check out our list of all the Xbox One backwards compatible games.
Monster Hunter fans in the United States won't have to resort to importing if they want their PlayStation 4 to herald their love of the series. The new special-edition version of the PS4 Pro is officially coming to the US, Canada, and Europe alongside a new standalone version of the white PS4 Pro system in the former two countries.
Dubbed the Rathalos edition, the Monster Hunter World-themed console features the likeness of the Rathalos enemy on the top of the console in a subtle grey, along with red highlights. The top of the system also features the game's logo in gold, while the front is adorned with gold symbols. The system comes with a special red World controller, a physical copy of World, and some digital content. That includes a dynamic PS4 theme and two in-game bonuses: the Origin armor set and Fair Wind charm.
This package is priced at $450/£380, which is actually a slight discount if you were planning to pick up both a PS4 Pro and World. (The game features visual and performance enhancements when played on a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X.) However, if you're interested, you'll only be able to pick it up at one retailer in the US, as it's a GameStop exclusive. Sony notes on the PlayStation Blog that quantities will be "very limited" when it launches on January 26, the same day as the game itself. There's no word on an AU release yet.
Alternatively, those in the market for a PS4 Pro will soon be able to pick up the Glacier White version of the system, which had been previously bundled with Destiny 2. Like the Rathalos bundle, this will be a GameStop exclusive in the US, where it will be available for the standard $400 later this month. In Canada, it will only be available through EB Games for $500 CAD. The color was already available in Europe.
The success of 2016's Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them proved that movies set in the world of Harry Potter can succeed without the boy wizard. The sequel is titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and it hit theaters later this year. We're still waiting for a trailer, but in the meantime, Warner has released some new images.
Most of the movie's main characters are featured, including the young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), the villainous Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Vinda Rosier (Poppy Corby-Tuech), Tina (Katherine Waterston), and Jacob (Dan Fogler). Check them out below:
There has been some controversy about the casting of Depp, following allegations of domestic abuse made against the actor by his now-ex-wife Amber Heard. In December, director David Yates defended Depp's involvement. "There was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something," he said. "I can only tell you about the man I see every day: He's full of decency and kindness, and that's all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesn't tally with the kind of human being I've been working with."
Last week, Daniel Radcliffe, who played Potter in the original movies, commented on the issue. "It's a very hard thing for me," he told Entertainment Weekly. "[But] I can see why people are frustrated with the response that they were given from that. I'm not saying anything that anybody hasn't already said--and this is a weird analogy to draw--[but] in the NFL, there are lots of players arrested for smoking weed and there is other people's behavior that goes way beyond that and it's tolerated because they're very famous players. I suppose the thing I was struck by was, we did have a guy who was reprimanded for weed on the [original Potter] film, essentially, so obviously what Johnny has been accused of is much greater than that."
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald releases on November 16, 2018 release, and, according to Potter creator JK Rowling, will be the second of five movies.
Following the latest round of maintenance, a new update is now available for Destiny 2 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, while the new Faction Rally event is live. As expected, the hotfix patch doesn't make any sweeping changes, though it does make an important tweak for some players. Here's exactly what it does.
The patch notes consist of only a single sentence: "Players who do not own Curse of Osiris now have the ability to earn Season 2 rewards within Faction Rallies and Iron Banner." This was an expected adjustment, but it's nonetheless good news for anyone without the first DLC expansion, Curse of Osiris.
Bungie's plans for seasonal content were originally much different and would have required players to purchase DLC to continue accessing them. This resulted in a great deal of anger in December after the release of Curse of Osiris, when non-DLC players suddenly found they had access to less of the game than before. The month's Faction Rally event was canceled as Bungie worked to reverse course on how seasonal content would work. However, The Dawning went on as planned, albeit with all players allowed to participate.
As a result of that cancellation, we have not seen a Faction Rally or Iron Banner event since the start of Season 2, which began with Curse of Osiris's release. The first Season 2 Faction Rally is now underway, bringing with it new gear for players to earn. Season 2's first Iron Banner will begin later this month, on January 30.
A lot of uncertainty currently hangs over the DC movie universe--there are currently three movies scheduled for release, but many more in various stages of development. One of these is the standalone Flash movie, which will focus on the Flashpoint story from DC's comic books. The film has already lost two directors, but it has now been reported that replacements have been found.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are in talks to direct Flashpoint. Daley and Goldstein wrote the screenplay for Marvel's Spider-man: Homecoming, as well as the comedy hit Horrible Bosses. As directors they also helmed 2015's Vacation and the upcoming comedy thriller Game Night.
The title Flashpoint was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017. It's a reference tothe 2011 Flash comic event that put Barry Allen, The Flash, in a very different universe than his own.
Speaking at the ACE Comic-Con, McFarlane explained that his movie would be very different from other recent R-rated comic book adaptations. "It's funny in Hollywood, if you say you want to do an R-rated movie, they go like 'Oh like Deadpool and like Logan?'" he said, via The Playlist. "For me, no. Deadpool, to me, was a PG-13 action movie. It just had some naked butts and a couple f-bombs. Other than that, I thought it was the same PG-13 formula.
"I'm talking R. I'm talking that there will not be a lot of fun, there will not be any stupid lines in it. I never like my hero to make a joke right when the jeopardy was at its highest. I felt that if my hero wasn't afraid right now, why should I be? I want my heroes to go 'S**t, what do I do now?'"
In an interview last year, McFarlane was asked how confident he was about his ability to direct the movie, which will be his debut. "I didn't used to draw comic books and I drew comic books and I won awards," he said, via Deadline. "I don't know how to read music and I have a Grammy Award. I'm spending my own money so who cares if it doesn't work out? It's a $10 million budget movie, and [a studio] would just get a 22-year-old punk director. I just want to be the old punk directing it."
The Spawn comic book was first published in 1992 and was massively popular, with the first issue selling 1.7 million copies. However, the 1997 film adaptation received a negative critical reception and underperformed commercially.
If you're in need of new shows and movies to stream this week, Netflix is ready. The streaming service is adding quite a bit of content for the week, including your first taste of 2018 Winter Olympics programming.
While the Olympics don't kick off until February 9, NBC is debuting a two-part special, 2018 Olympic Winter Games Preview: Meet Team USA & Go for the Gold. The specials--which are available now--will only be streaming for a limited time, getting removed from Netflix at the conclusion of the games. In them, you'll get to know the athletes on Team USA and their stories leading into the Olympics.
If the winter games aren't something you're interested in, though, there's still plenty to watch on Netflix. New seasons of Friday Night Tykes, Grace and Frankie, and Trolls: The Beat Goes On all arrive this week, along with movies like Dallas Buyers Club and Wild Hogs.
Microsoft has rolled out a new batch of game discounts for Xbox One and Xbox 360. A big selection of titles are on sale for both platforms this week, and you don't need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to take advantage of most of them.
As per usual, the bulk of this week's deals are available on Xbox One, but only a handful of discounts are reserved for Xbox Live Gold members. Those with Gold can pick up the ever-popular Grand Theft Auto V for $30 / £27.50, while an assortment of microtransaction bundles for the game are also on sale for Gold subscribers. Additionally, Halo 5: Guardians Digital Deluxe Edition is $30 / £21, L.A. Noire is $30 / £26.24, Slender: The Arrival is $2 / £1.60, Defunct is $10.49 / £8.74, and Feral Fury is $2.50 / £2.
On Xbox 360, Gold members can get Red Dead Redemption for $9 / £7.49, which is also playable on Xbox One thanks to backwards compatibility. Additionally, the game's Undead Nightmare expansion is available for $5 / £3.37. All 360 owners, meanwhile, can find discounts on various Far Cry titles and DLC, including Far Cry 4 ($12 / £4), Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon ($6 / £4), and Far Cry 2 ($6 / £2.69), which was just added to Xbox One's backwards compatible library.
The above deals will only be available until 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET on January 23, giving you a week to take advantage of them. You can find the full list of this week's Xbox game discounts on Major Nelson's blog.
You can see the full January 2018 Games With Gold lineup below. February's games have not been announced as of yet, but we'll report back as soon as they are.
January 2018 Games With Gold
Xbox One
Back to the Future: The Game - 30th Anniversary Edition (December 16 - January 15)
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III (January 1-31)
Likewise, 2018 is shaping up to be a great year for the hybrid console, too. In the video feature above, we run through the year's most anticipated games. There are those that we already know well, like Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2; sequels to beloved niche games, such as No More Heroes follow-up Travis Strikes Again; and those that we know virtually nothing about, like Fire Emblem, which is an exciting question mark given the franchise's pedigree. We also have a gallery looking at these games, as well as dives into the most anticipated PS4 games, Xbox One games, and PC games of the year.
Xbox One may have had a slimmer lineup of exclusive games than either PS4 or Nintendo Switch in 2017, but the new year is certainly shaping up to be a busier one for Microsoft's console. Following the launch of its powerful Xbox One X last November, Microsoft is turning its attention to expanding its roster of first-party titles, with a solid selection of games that can only be found on Xbox One (and PC, thanks to the company's Play Anywhere program) lined up throughout the year.
In the video above, we take a look at the most anticipated games coming exclusively to Xbox One in 2018. On top of some titles that we've already known about for quite some time, such as Sea of Thieves, the anticipated pirate game from storied developer Rare, Xbox One owners have a slate of exciting games to look forward in the coming months, from high-profile releases like State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 to some intriguing indie titles like Ashen and The Last Night. You can also see all of the year's big Xbox One exclusives in our gallery.
Those certainly aren't the only big games coming to Xbox One this year, as a number of major multiplatform releases like Red Dead Redemption 2 are slated to arrive in the next few months. Microsoft will also continue to bolster the Xbox One's library by making even more original Xbox games backwards compatible. The first batch of original Xbox games arrived back in October and added classics like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Ninja Gaiden Black, and Microsoft has said that another selection will be available sometime this spring.
The Humble Monthly Bundle for February has been revealed. It includes Civilization VI and two DLC packs--the Australia Civilization and Scenario Pack and the Vikings Scenario Pack--for only $12.
Each Humble Monthly Bundle gets you a mystery assortment of games. Paying the $12 subscription fee early grants you access to Civ 6 immediately, with six other games to follow on February 2. Civ 6 released in 2016 and normally costs $60.
The February Bundle coincides with the release of Rise and Fall on February 8. Humble also recently tweeted a deal that gets you a $20 store credit when you purchase the Monthly Bundle annual plan. You can check out all the details on the Humble Bundle website.
With the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ drawing closer, Bandai Namco Games took to Twitter to release info about the required specs needed for the game's PC version. The game will release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on January 25. Developed by Arc System Works, the same team behind the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series, Dragon Ball FighterZ possesses a visual style that mimics the popular anime.
In addition to the specs listed below, the publisher offered more details about pre-order bonuses for the game, which include early access to Goku and Vegeta's Super Saiyan Blue forms, along with exclusive avatars to use in the in-game lobby. Moreover, pre-ordering the game will give you access to the pre-launch beta. The game is currently available to pre-order on Steam.
The PC specs are surprisingly modest, potentially allowing older machines to run the game well. And the game's Unreal 4 graphics engine is also used by other notable fighting games, including Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V, which are all well-optimized on PC.
For more info on Dragon Ball FighterZ, stay up to date with us on GameSpot, where we'll have our full review later this month. And be sure to check out the opening cinematic, and how you can play the pre-launch beta.
Looking for a way to ring in the new year that involves little more than your couch and a TV? Luckily for you, the start of a new month means new movies and TV shows added to several streaming services--including Hulu.
In terms of movies, there are a number of standout titles being added to the streamer, but none quite as excellent as both films in the Bill & Ted series. Both Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey arrive on January 1, along with movies like Zodiac, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Karate Kid 1-4, and Grizzly Man.
For TV, new seasons of Fear the Walking Dead, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Homeland all arrive. January will also see the addition of many cooking shows, with new episodes of Cutthroat Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, Cupcake Wars, and Great Food Truck Race among the titles arriving.
2018 is here, and January is bringing with a variety of new content to streaming services. Amazon has announced all of the movies and TV shows coming to Prime Video this month--and there is some great content coming to kick off the New Year. [Update: Due to the shutdown of Anime Strike, Amazon Prime Video is also now home to some of its anime content.]
The 10th season of the BBC's sci-fi show Doctor Who arrived on January 1, along with Darren Aronofsky's chilling drama Requiem for a Dream. Also now out is Sam Mendes' Oscar-nominated (and very sad) movie Revolutionary Road and David Fincher's thriller Zodiac. Quentin Tarantino's first movie, Reservoir Dogs, also came to Amazon Prime on January 1.
Coming on January 12 is the first season of the Amazon Original show Electric Dreams, which stars Bryan Cranston, Anna Paquin, Timothy Spall, and Steve Buscemi. At the end of the month, you'll be able to see the new 2017 entry in Vin Diesel's xXx franchise, The Return of Xander Cage. You can see Amazon Prime's full lineup below, as rounded up and compiled by GameSpot sister site CNET.
New to Amazon Prime, January 2018
January 1
The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish (Amazon original)
All is Lost
American Ninja
Assassination
Avenging Force
Babel
Baby Mama's Club
Black Rain
Brothers
Burning Blue
But I'm a Cheerleader
Capote
Coming Soon
Cool World
Cross Bronx
Dangerous Curves
Drop Dead Sexy
Doctor Who, season 10
Evolution
Flawless
Freedom Writers
Hamlet
Highway
Horsemen
Hustle & Flow
Invaders from Mars
Love and Death
Love Story
Murphy's Law
Platoon Leader
Pretty Bird
Primitive
Requiem for a Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Revenge of the Ninja
Revolutionary Road
Richard the Lionheart
Show of Force
Six Degrees of Separation
Step Into Liquid
Street Smart
The Perfect Weapon
The Presidio
The Wraith
Thelma & Louise
Uncommon Valor
Words and Pictures
Zodiac
January 5
The Devil's Double
January 6
Grimm, season 6
January 7
A Ghost Story
January 9
Prime Suspect: Tennison, season 1
January 12
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, season 1 (Amazon original)
Update: Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is now free on PS4 as well as PS Vita in the US. However, you may have to 'purchase' the game on PS4 and PS Vita separately, since it is not normally part of Sony's Cross-Buy scheme. The below text has been altered to reflect the change. Original story follows.
It's the start of a new month--and a new year--which means more free games are now available for PlayStation Plus subscribers. January's allotment of free PS Plus games are out now on the PlayStation Store, meaning that titles like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Batman: The Telltale Series have temporarily dropped to the low, low price of free for paying subscribers.
Mankind Divided is the headlining PS4 freebie this month. The dystopian cyberpunk role-playing game casts you as Adam Jensen and tasks you with catching a terrorist group, which you can do by being a stealthy detective or a tech-enhanced killing machine, or some mixture of both.
As for Telltale's Batman game, this is the first season of the story and puts players in tricky situations as both Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego. The decisions you make will have some consequence on the relationships around you, and the overall story.
Other PS4 freebies in January include the wacky and fun party game That's You! (if you're outside of North America) and StarBlood Arena (which requires PlayStation VR). Additionally, PS Vita's free games, Uncanny Valley and Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, are both free on PS4, too. You may have to 'purchase' Psycho-Pass on PS4 and PS Vita separately, however, since it is not normally part of Sony's Cross-Buy scheme. Note that in Europe and Australia, Psycho-Pass is only free on PS Vita, not PS4. Finally, PS3 owners get Sacred 3 and The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 for free.
You can see January 2018's full PS Plus lineup--covering PS4, PS3, and Vita--below, or you can claim them on the PlayStation Store.
A new year means a new selection of movies and TV shows arriving on Netflix. We're now well into January, and this month, a number of films, shows, and specials will debut on the streaming service, including several Netflix Originals.
The most notable arrival is the Batman series of films. Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin are all now available to stream, having been added as of January 1. Additionally, Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins have also debuted. They were joined by all four movies in the Lethal Weapon series, National Treasure, and The Godfather trilogy.
When it comes to TV, January has brought new seasons of originals One Day at a Time, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Grace and Frankie, and The Adventures of Puss in Boots. Among other arrivals are all five seasons of Showtime's Episodes, the second season of Colony, and a new batch of Eastsiders episodes.
Sadly, along with the arrivals come the months departures. Leaving Netflix in January are seven Saw movies, several Pokemon animated films, and The Addams Family, for starters. Perhaps most importantly, all six seasons of Lost disappeared from the streamer on January 4. So if you've been meaning to revisit that cursed island, it's time to clear out your schedule.
The regular season of the inaugural year of the Overwatch League is officially underway this week. As the premiere esports circuit for the game, it's a massive undertaking by Blizzard, an entire year in the making. It'll feature over 100 players from around the world, with 12 areas playing host to them: Boston, Dallas, Florida, Houston, London, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and two in Los Angeles. Whether you're an avid Overwatch fan or a curious onlooker who has never escorted a payload, our explainer provides essential facts, from how the season will flow to how you can watch the matches in person. We also have a guide on how to watch Overwatch League online.
How is the season structured? The regular season, which has now begun, consists of four stages. Each stage lasts five weeks, with the final one ending on June 16. Incidentally, this end date is the Saturday after the E3 Expo. The first part of the Overwatch League schedule kicked off on January 10.
What are the big prizes? The prize pool awarded at the end of each stage is $125,000. The Overwatch League champions will be awarded $1,000,000.
Where is the tournament held? Blizzard opened an arena in Burbank, where all the Overwatch League matches will be held. This state-of-the-art facility features multiple sound stages, control rooms, player lounges, and even a Blizzard merchandise store. The arena already played host to the Overwatch Contenders matches and the Hearthstone Championship Tour.
$20 for the weekday (half day) events; begins at 4PM
$30 for the weekend (full day) events; begins at 11AM
The first day of regular season is sold out.
How can I track the season progress outside of overwatchleague.com? You track your favorite teams, keep up with league news, and set alerts using the Overwatch League app. You can even customize spoiler settings so you can watch completed matches without knowing the outcome in advance.
Are there new skins? Blizzard has released a new Overwatch update which, among other things, adds new skins. A lot of skins. There are 312 in all, with each character getting one for each of the League teams. You can see all of the new skins in our gallery, and you'll be able to snag one for free. You'll have to purchase others; you can read more about how you get the new skins here.
How many teams and divisions are there? There are 12 teams, split evenly into two divisions. They're made up predominantly of American teams, although the players come from all over the world. Mirroring the NFL, there are two Los Angeles teams, the Gladiators and Valiant. There also three international teams, the London Spitfire, the Seoul Dynasty, and the Shanghai Dragons.
Atlantic Division
Boston Uprising
Florida Mayhem
Houston Outlaws
London Spitfire
New York Excelsior
Philadelphia Fusion
Pacific Division
Dallas Fuel
Los Angeles Gladiators
Los Angeles Valiant
San Francisco Shock
Seoul Dynasty
Shanghai Dragons
Check out our gallery where you can learn about the teams' backgrounds, ownership info, and other fun facts.
The inaugural season of the Overwatch League has officially begun 12 teams split into 2 divisions will play for the next six months to see who is the ultimate Overwatch champion, while competing for a prize pool totaling $3.5 million. Unless you're fortunate enough to make it to Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California, you're going to have to watch the matches online.
Here are the details on where, when, and how you can keep up and follow your favorite teams during this first week of the Overwatch League regular season. In the meantime, you can start getting your hands on new Overwatch League skins in-game.
How and Where: Simply go to overwatchleague.com where live matches play out through an embedded Twitch livestream. Past matches will be archived under the site's Videos tab. You can also catch the matches directly on Twitch.com and at mlg.tv, or through the embed below.
You can also track your favorite teams, keep up with league news, and set alerts using the Overwatch League app. You can even customize spoiler settings so you can watch completed matches without knowing the outcome in advance.
The Overwatch League and Twitch are also developing innovative rewards and other programs for fans, which will bestow the league's most steadfast viewers with unique Overwatch League in-game items with exclusives. More details about insider content and additional rewards for the biggest fans, as well as Cheering with Overwatch League Cheermotes, will be announced as they become available. The matches will be broadcast on multiple channels with three different languages: English, French, and Korean.
When: Here is the schedule for the first week of the first stage, which runs from January 10 to January 13 (times are in PST).
January 10, Wednesday
4PM - San Francisco Shock versus Los Angeles Valiant
6PM - Shanghai Dragons versus Los Angeles Gladiators
8PM - Dallas Fuel versus Seoul Dynasty
January 11, Thursday
2PM - London Spitfire versus Florida Mayhem
4PM - Philadelphia Fusion versus Houston Outlaws
6PM - Boston Uprising versus New York Excelsior
January 12, Friday
4PM - Los Angeles Valiant versus Dallas Fuel
6PM - Florida Mayhem versus Boston Uprising
8PM - San Francisco Shock versus Shanghai Dragons
January 13, Saturday
11AM - London Spitfire versus Philadelphia Fusion
1PM - New York Excelsior versus Houston Outlaws
3PM - Seoul Dynasty versus Los Angeles Gladiators
Click here to learn more about Overwatch League including facts about the season structure, how to buy tickets, and what apps you can download.
The variety of historical settings of Assassin's Creed games has always been one of the highlights of the series, as it's fascinating to explore a dynamic, living recreation of Victorian England or Ancient Egypt. Previously, however, if you simply wanted to explore the cities and environments of the games, you still had to put up with some combat and storyline.
Today, Ubisoft announced the release date and price for a new mode, called Discovery Tour, for Assassin's Creed Origins that allows players to learn more about Ancient Egypt without the pressure of questlines or combat. It's designed specifically as an educational experience, and it'll let you see the entire world at your own pace.
There are two main components to Discovery Tour. First, the mode opens up the entire world to free-roaming, and quests and combat are turned off. This way, players can simply wander through the cities, villages, and deserts to see what Ancient Egypt might have been like.
Secondly, Ubisoft will also add daily guided tours to the game to provide players with a way to gain specific knowledge of Egyptian society and history. These tours will be curated by historians and Egypt experts.
Discovery Tour will be available as a free update to anyone who owns Assassin's Creed Origins on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 20. In addition, it'll be available as a standalone download for $20 only on PC.
In other news, Ubisoft announced that the first piece of DLC is coming to Assassin's Creed Origins on January 23. Called The Hidden Ones, it adds a new region, storyline, weapons, and more. In addition, a new patch was released today that improves the behavior of tamed animals and allows you to sell back outfits, among other things.
In Metal Gear Survive, you play a custom character who is the physical opposite of Metal Gear Solid 5's Venom Snake. This spin-off is an exercise in constant deprivation, where your stamina is limited and you have to seek out food and water, which you have to cook and purify respectively if you don't want to get sick. This is assuming you have the proper camping tools to being with, which you have to craft. There's also the matter of zombies infesting key mission areas, in a setting far away from what anyone would call "home". It's new territory for a Metal Gear game both literally and figuratively. And after a four-hour preview session with the single player story mode, plus one multiplayer session, we were left more curious than excited for the full game.
Almost every Metal Gear game has had some supernatural element, but Survive takes things to another level, or another dimension to be precise. Taking place after the events of The Phantom Pain, the soldiers of Mother Base--along with the base itself--find themselves transported through a wormhole into another reality. Tracking down your brothers in arms and finding a way back home is the main goal of the story.
Our demo started in Survive's third chapter, about an hour after the start of the story. Based on our initial missions, you can expect a lot of training-style goals and on-boarding. Collecting motherboards and learning how to gather water felt like chores rather than the more engaging objectives you typically find in a Metal Gear Solid game. At least there were a ton of zombies in key areas to keep us on our toes.
As you try to stay alive, you learn early on that you lack the diverse skills of the Metal Gear protagonists who've earned the codename Snake. Your stamina is grossly in short supply and you start off with only basic melee attacks. And if the the mission requires exploration into the map's foggy sections, you'll also have to manage your oxygen. It's a relief that normal walking speed is sufficient in getting away from zombies, provided you manage your stamina well. It remains to be seen if the undead can run later in the game.
These persistent demands on your well being feed into Metal Gear Survive's crafting component which, if this preview demo was any indication, plays a huge part in the overall experience. As with many other survival games with crafting, what you think you'll need to construct first might not be the most useful gear. And naturally, what you make will be limited by the ingredients you have, leaving you wondering what components should be saved and what should be used immediately.
We found that crafting fences--which you can construct instantly, provided you have enough resources--are a huge help in corralling zombies for easy slaying with your starter staff. Depending on how to lure zombies in missions areas, you can reach your objectives without having to killing everyone, although it would be in your best interest to craft more efficient weapons like a machete or handgun. That's because vanquished zombies drop kuban, the currency you spend to level up. Given the wide and diverse skills you can unlock in the Survivor class--the first of four classes--there's the potential that your custom soldier can one day be as talented as Big Boss.
This character progression incentive paired with the appeal of the multiplayer mode is what Konami is hoping will keep players interested in the long run, especially since the story takes only 20 hours to complete. Our brief session with the four-player co-op online mode echoed the base defense aspects of Fortnite, while burdening us with the aforementioned stamina and skill limitations from the story mode. Moreover, we discovered that the zombies in the easiest difficulty are at level 10, whereas our team ranged from levels 2 to 4. We didn't last very long.
For as much as we're not yet convinced of the long term appeal of Metal Gear Survive, we have to give what we've seen so far credit for going all in on its demanding survival-centric gameplay. The level of resource gathering and crafting isn't unusual for an open world zombie game, but in the context of the Metal Gear franchise, it's the biggest design departure since Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It was also comforting to see this spin-off retain some degree of the series' sense of humor, particularly when you send animals through mini wormholes rather than the Fulton balloon system from The Phantom Pain.
Check out our other coverage from this hands-on preview session:
With just a month to go before its release, Konami has confirmed some major details about Metal Gear Survive, the first new entry in the series since series creator Hideo Kojima left the company. One of the biggest new pieces of information we learned during a recent preview session was that the game will require a constant internet connection to play, even for single-player. This is not totally unheard of in gaming, as Destiny 2 and other online-focused games require a persistent internet connection across all modes.
Konami said Metal Gear Survive requires a constant internet connection so the game can offer a "seamless" experience as players move between single-player and multiplayer. "Metal Gear Survive's online connectivity requirements were built to support a seamless integration between single player and co-op. This will also enable us to provide ongoing content post-launch."
Another detail we learned that Metal Gear Survive will have a microtransaction store where players can purchase virtual currency. Coins are available to purchase with real money (specific price points were not disclosed) or through standard gameplay, as is the case in many other AAA games. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain also offered a number of microtransactions, so this is nothing new for the series. You can check out the image above to see what's available to buy in Metal Gear Survive's store, including Boost Passes for various durations of time, but bear in mind that the game is not finished and as such, things could change.
In terms of length, Konami brand manager Jennifer Tsang told GameSpot that you can expect the game to take you 15-20 hours to play through the campaign. Of course, your mileage may vary, as everyone plays games differently. Also, the game has co-op and multiplayer so there are more reasons to come back and play more beyond the campaign.
Finally, Konami confirmed more details about Metal Gear Survive's upcoming beta. It will begin on January 18 and wrap up on January 22. For lots more on Metal Gear Survive, you can check out all of GameSpot's previous written and video coverage.
In Metal Gear Survive, the lost members of Mother Base will do whatever it takes to endure in a hostile alternate-dimension populated with dangerous zombie-like creatures and other enemy combatants. Focusing more on survival and resource-gathering as opposed to the series' familiar stealth-action gameplay, players will have to scrounge for supplies, craft new gear and equipment, and rescue other survivors across the lands.
While Survive retains much of the core mechanics found from Metal Gear Solid V, it goes about its core gameplay a bit differently, tasking players to strengthen their character and their base with the materials procured out in the field. In the early hours, you'll find yourself in the role of the Survivor, one of four unique classes in Metal Gear Survive. But as you advance in rank and acquire more resources, you'll unlock additional classes that open up new skills and upgrade the core attributes--strength, vitality, dexterity, and endurance--for your character. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the starting Survivor class--including the perks and bonuses that can be unlocked.
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