Overwatch's 27th character, Brigitte, is coming to the game for everyone across PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 20, developer Blizzard announced today. Brigitte, who is Torbjorn's daughter, is already available on Overwatch's Public Test Realm.
Brigitte is an "an engineer with peerless armor-constructing abilities," and those characteristics shine through in her abilities on the battlefield. Her primary weapon is the Rocket Flail, which has an extended range and can smash multiple opponents at once.
In addition to that, she brandishes a Barrier Shield, which can protect any teammates directly behind her. She can also toss Repair Packs to heal teammates, while her passive ability, Inspire, heals nearby allies over time when she lands blows on enemies. A full list of her abilities, as outlined by Blizzard, follows below.
Ready for a much-needed dose of adorable animals? Ahead of the release of Wes Anderson's next movie, the stop-motion animated film Isle of Dogs, the star-studded cast is introducing their characters in the most entertaining way--as dogs.
A new featurette from the movie takes audio of several of the cast and animates the dogs they play saying the words. That leads to moments that include Jeff Goldblum scatting like Duke Ellington while trying to explain his character Duke, Edward Norton's Rex repeatedly bumping his muzzle into a microphone, and Bill Murray doing what he does best: talking around the subject without actually giving away any information.
Also appearing in the video are the likes of Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Bob Balaban, and several more actors--all of whom are able to describe their characters to varying levels of success. Honestly, though, it's sort of the perfect way to encapsulate the dogs they're playing. After all, dogs are notorious for being distracted by just about anything. Clearly, the same can be said for Goldblum.
Isle of Dogs is set in a near-future Japan during a time when all dogs have been banished to an island made of garbage, due to overpopulation and a flu outbreak. It's then that a 12-year-old boy voyages to the island in an attempt to rescue his own dog. The movie is in theaters on March 23.
After a number of rumors and leaks, Square Enix has finally confirmed that the next Lara Croft game will be Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The company also announced the game's release date as September 14. It will come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC simultaneously, rather than being a timed exclusive to Xbox One like the previous game.
Square Enix says the game will be "Lara Croft's defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider," but few other details are known about the project as yet. A full reveal has been dated for April 27, and fans will be able to try the game out early at one of three events by registering at the Tomb Raider website. A teaser trailer has been released to hold you over in the meantime; take a look at that below.
The new Tomb Raider movie, meanwhile, hits cinemas on March 16. We enjoyed the film here at GameSpot; critic Michael Rougeau called it a "great video game adaptation and a decent action movie on its own." For more, check out our full Tomb Raider movie review or our review roundup.
The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection does a lot to celebrate 30 years of the series' focus on one-on-one fighting action. While Capcom has released other fighting game collections in the past, such as Street Fighter Anniversary Collection and Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, the 30th Anniversary Collection is by far the most robust compilation package ever released for the series. We recently had the chance to check out the upcoming collection ahead of its May release to all of its offerings. In addition to getting hands-on with the Nintendo Switch-exclusive Tournament Mode, we dived a bit further into the collection, and got to see just what makes this particular package so special.
The clear focus in the collection is highlighting the many major milestones of the 2D era. Featuring 12 of Street Fighter's greatest hits, the package includes the original Street Fighter, Street Fighter Alpha 1-3, Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, all three versions of Street Fighter III (SFIII, 2nd Impact, and 3rd Strike), and much more. As direct ports of the arcade releases, each game retains much of what hardcore fans can expect from the original games as they were in their traditional arcade cabinets.
Speaking of which, the collection also features a selection of filters and options for how you wish to view each game. Along with the old-fashioned normal mode, you can switch over to arcade and TV filters that show CRT-style scanlines and television tube-like curvature to each game, giving a more retro feel. A significant feature added to several of the games is the inclusion of online play for SFII Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super Turbo, Alpha 3, and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. With ranked matching and casual play supporting up to four players, you'll be able to dive into online matches against other hardcore SF fans. Unfortunately, only these select titles are online-enabled. According to the developers, they focused on offering online play for the most popular entries in the series, instead of having empty online lobbies for the least active games in the package.
The 30th Anniversary collection will also come to the Nintendo Switch--which will have a console-exclusive mode. Called the Tournament Mode, up to 8 players (across four different Switch consoles connected locally) will be able to compete against one another in Super Street Fighter II Tournament Edition as they fight their way up the ladder. During our session, we started off by picking one character and competed against the opposing player. After one round, the match finish screen instructs each player to move over to a new spot on the connected Switch units, bringing their chosen fighter and current progress with them. It sort of felt like a game of musical chairs, except with quick matches of Street Fighter. Though it felt a bit gimmicky, it's a neat feature for the Switch, and it could be a neat diversion when you have some friends around and some time to kill.
Along with the suite of games, the Anniversary Collection also comes with a special Museum Mode detailing the history and lore of the Street Fighter series. With a viewable Street Fighter Timeline, you can examine entries for each Street Fighter game along with factoids about their respective ports and the resulting impact for the franchise. Moreover, the timeline also details proposed side-games, such as how Street Fighter '89 eventually became Final Fight, along with some developer notes and art about each major milestone in the series. The bonus mode also features detailed information about each member of the roster, along with an incredibly detailed sprite viewer where you can inspect each character's individual animations for various moves across multiple games. Seeing the difference in detail between Chun-li's Hurricane Kick from the original Street Fighter II to 3rd Strike shows how much the series has improved over the years, giving some added respect for the craft that went into each title.
It was fun going through each game and checking out what they had to offer in today's age. Each entry is represented well, even featuring detailed facts about their development along with a showing of each game's arcade specific attract mode during your pre-game selection. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection looks to be the most ambitious compilation the series has seen yet, and a surprisingly educational one as well. The series has been through a lot over the years, and seeing the essential games on display in all their glory offers some neat perspective on how much the series has held up over time, and how it still remains one of the most respected franchises out there.
Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia releases next month on PC, and GameSpot got a chance to try out 30 minutes of the game. In the video above, you can see our resident Welshman Dave Jewitt gather his troops and skirmish with the English forces on beautiful snowy and grassy landscapes. As you can see, the game follows the familiar combat dynamics of the Total War series, and as Dave plays through the demo, you get to see the campaign map, showing divided Britain at a very tumultuous time in its history.
Dave played as Gwined, the Kingdom of Wales, but players will be able to play as multiple Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon, and Viking factions vying for control. Thrones of Britannia will release on April 19, and will cost $40 / £30 (a lower price point than most other Total War games). The game is currently available at 10% off for anyone who pre-orders.
The game has been revealed as the first installment in Creative Assembly's new Total War Saga brand, which will feature spin-offs that span a couple hundred years and focus on key flash points, rather than longer periods the series is known for. Despite the shorter time periods, the games will retain familiar gameplay mechanics like Faction Politics, War Fervour, and Diplomacy.
While Capcom's Devil May Cry series has gone a through a number changes over the years, the focus has always been on offering fast-paced combat with a side of self-aware humor and style. With the re-release of the Devil May Cry HD Collection out now, featuring the original Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition--and the much-maligned Devil May Cry 2--the HD collection should be a solid entry point for anyone looking to check out the series' PlayStation 2 roots. While the original games still hold up, the recent HD port unfortunately retains many of the same issues that plagued the previous release.
As a port of the 2012 HD Collection, the "new" collection for PS4, PC, and Xbox One is largely left intact. In addition to each game receiving a 1080p resolution bump (an increase from the original's 720p resolution), which includes some slightly sharper textures and characters models, the HD Collection also features a suite of side-content aimed at fans--including an in-game compendium full of concept art, soundtracks for each game, and fan art from the DMC fanbase curated by Capcom US.
While there have been some slight changes introduced for this release, including the addition of a handy return to main menu option for when you want to switch over to another game, it's largely the same package on new hardware. While it's great you can play these games on new platforms, many of the older issues from the port linger. After playing with the PS4, and then revisiting the PS3 version, we pulled together a quick rundown of each game, and how their particular HD upgrade has fared.
Devil May Cry (2001)
Released in 2001, this fast-paced and challenging romp through the dark corridors of a demonic mansion would set the tone for what the series was all about. Balancing macabre humor with the cheap-thrills of a 90s-style action game, the original DMC features a strong focus on creating a slightly dreadful atmosphere, while simultaneously injecting pulse-pounding action throughout. Moreover, DMC1 features an adjusted control-scheme to make it more in-line with how DMC2 and 3 play--particularly swapping the jump and attack buttons. While the combat and in-game graphics have held up well--maintaining a solid 60 frames-per-second throughout--Devil May Cry 1 tends to benefit the least with the upgraded resolution and visuals when compared to the other games.
These issues include strange audio quirks and bad ambient sound looping, slightly warped visual visual effects for attacks and special moves, and some occasional instances where some aspects of the environment and characters to disappear entirely for brief moments. This was a rare occurrence, when exploring some of the more active environments, and other during a combat encounter--which was rather annoying. What's disappointing about the re-release is that these original issues haven't been addressed, and many of these problems occur often in DMC1. In addition to the hiccups with the in-game action, many of the stylistic choices from the original game designed around the traditional 4:3 format--including the animated menus text--look incredibly blown out and otherwise weathered.
Despite this, Devil May Cry is still a lot of fun to play. While it's disappointing to see that the upres hasn't been kind to some of the game's already dated qualities, resulting in some muddy looking visuals, the original Devil May Cry is still a strong game with an incredible atmosphere.
Devil May Cry 2 (2003)
Coming shortly after the release of the original game, Devil May Cry 2 ultimately ended up being a poor follow-up to the original, and still stands as the weakest game of the series. With some rather clunky and sluggish combat, mostly barren environments that lacked a sense of atmosphere, and along with an uncharacteristically somber tone--DMC2 lacks the same sort of edge that the series was founded on. On top of the game's already drab and unoriginal style, visual and design aspects of the sequel have aged rather poorly--making it the most aesthetically unappealing games in the package.
Having said that, the resolution bump does give much of the textures for the characters a sharper look, giving the game's quasi cell-shaded style a much more pronounced look--making for some interesting-looking characters during cutscenes. Unfortunately, Devil May Cry 2's issues are far more than skin deep, which no HD port could fix. With that said, the sequel does feature Dante's best outfit of the series, the black and red leather--which also made an appearance in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. So there's that.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (2006)
As the crown jewel of the DMC HD Collection, Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition is the most content rich game in the package--and is arguably the best game in the DMC series. As the prequel, the game is more of a return to form, focusing on fast and challenging combat, and ditching the weirdly earnest story of DMC2 for a narrative that revelled in over-the-top action-movie machismo. The HD port keeps much of its luster. But like the other games, there are still some blemishes to be aware of.
One area the Special Edition falters in is with its presentation. The game features many cutscenes and story beats throughout, using both pre-rendered and in-game rendered cutscenes. While the resolution bump shows off cleaner and more visually pleasing upgrades to the graphics, which shine during combat and in-game cinematics, pre-rendered cinematics are cropped from the original 4:3 scenes, making for some rather unsightly and stretched out looking visuals during some key scenes. This is made worse when watching multiple cutscenes back to back, jumping between cropped and in-game rendered cutscenes. Despite these issues, DMC3 still manages to impress throughout thanks to its irreverent tone and excellent gameplay. Gameplay performs at a rock-solid 60 frames-per-second, and the upgraded resolution makes combat much more clear to follow, making DMC3--and all its combat rich mechanics--a total blast to play.
While the DMC HD Collection features a number of unsightly inconsistencies issues with its re-release, ultimately showing how much the series has aged since its debut, the trilogy of games still retains the feel and fast-paced action of the series. I still have fond memories of experiencing the games on the PS2, and playing through this trilogy again brought back all those feelings of excitement and frustration during the challenging combat encounters. The HD Collection is a solid way to experience the original games for those that haven't already. And for those returning to the action, you'll find that Devil May Cry's patented action hasn't quite lost its edge yet.
Fortnite's recent Teams of 20 mode has come to an end, but players won't have to wait long to jump into the next limited-time event for Battle Royale. Epic has revealed that the next special mode coming to the popular free-to-play game will be Blitz, and it kicks off on PS4, Xbox One, and PC early next week.
As previously detailed, Blitz mode features much shorter match times than usual, which Epic says results in "faster [and] more intense matches." The maximum duration of a match in Blitz mode is 15 minutes, and each one begins with the storm circle already closing in.
To go along with the shortened match times, Epic has adjusted loot availability in Blitz mode. Most notably, the likelihood that treasure chests and ammo boxes will spawn during a match has been significantly increased. Likewise, the spawn interval of Supply Drops and their descent time has been decreased, while Floor Loot spawns "nearly 100% of the time." Harvest resources have also been doubled, and resources found in loot has been increased.
Blitz mode begins in Battle Royale on March 19. Epic hasn't announced an exact end date for the event, but limited-time modes typically run for a week. You can find more details about Blitz mode on the official Fortnite website.
Following a day-long delay, Fortnite's 3.3 patch is now available on all platforms. It removes Smoke Grenades from Battle Royale and introduces a new weapon in their place, remote explosives, which can be detonated from a distance. The update also adds Supply Llamas, a new form of loot drops that can be found hidden in unusual locations.
Twitch users have regularly been treated to free titles and in-game bonuses as a perk for having Amazon Prime, and now a bunch of new freebies are up for grabs. The streaming service has now kicked off its expanded Free Games With Prime program, giving subscribers a chance to snag a total of five titles at no cost.
For a limited time, Twitch Prime members can download the tactical stealth game Shadow Tactics, which was the winner of the fan-selected Twitch Prime Indie Amplifier promotion, for free. Another Indie Amplifier game, Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation, is also available to download right now, as are two returning freebies: Superhot and Oxenfree. Rounding out the selection of this month's free games is Mr. Shifty, which has up until now never been offered through the service.
All five of the aforementioned titles are available to download at no charge until March 31. Like other freebies offered through Twitch Prime, they're all yours to keep permanently, though you'll need to use the Twitch desktop app in order to install them. You can claim each title right from the Prime Loot notification icon next to Twitch's search bar.
In addition to those games, Twitch Prime members have one more freebie to claim this month: the original Devil May Cry, which is available through the service until April 6. Fortnite players can also grab a free Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack that includes exclusive items for both Battle Royale and Save the World modes.
Steven Spielberg's long-awaited adaptation of the virtual reality bestseller Ready Player One finally arrives later this month, and a new trailer has been released. This gives us our best look yet at the blockbuster, which stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Like the series of classic movie-inspired posters that were released last week, the new trailer taps into the vein of nostalgia that has driven much of the marketing so far. There's references to Jurassic Park, King Kong, and Back to the Future--not to mention the music of '80s pop superstars A-Ha. Check it out above.
Ernest Cline's novel was published in 2012, to huge acclaim. It is set in a dystopian future and focuses upon a teenager who enters a virtual reality world in an attempt to find three "Easter eggs" left by its eccentric creator.
In an interview Collider, Spielberg admitted that while the film maintains the novel's nostalgia for the 1980s, there is be one major omission. "I've cut most of my movies out," he said. "Except for [Back to the Future's] DeLorean and a couple of other things that I had something to do with, I cut a lot of my own references out.
"I was very happy to see there was enough without me that made the '80s a great time to grow up. I think one of the reasons I decided to make the movie was that it brought me back to the '80s and lets me do anything I want, except for with my own movies."
Ready Player One premiered at the SXSW festival last weekend, and a host of Twitter reactions are now online. On the whole they are very positive, with many critics stating that the movie taps into the same mix of spectacle and emotion that made Spielberg's movies so popular in the '70s and '80s. It hits theaters on March 29.
Following a day-long delay, Epic Games has released the newest update for Fortnite. The 3.3 patch adds new content to both Battle Royale and Save the World modes, with the former getting several new features.
First up for Battle Royale is a new weapon, remote explosives. These are pretty self-explanatory, allowing you to place a bomb and then detonate it from a distance. These appear to be ideal for dealing with player-built fortresses. They are a Rare-level rarity item and their addition has resulted in Smoke Grenades being "vaulted," meaning those are no longer available in-game for the time being. Remote Explosives come in stacks of four, with a maximum of 10.
Remote explosives can be found in treasure chests or supply drops, as floor loot, or through Supply Llamas, another of this patch's new features. These are essentially treasure chests found in unusual locations that will reward you with good loot.
Also notable is that a new limited-time mode, Blitz, launches on March 19; it consists of more fast-paced matches that feature a 15-minute time limit. Various bugs have also been fixed, and Epic says it's made improvements to the visual effect when you're hit by a bullet that should make it easier to tell which direction it came from.
For Save the World players, a new Spring It On chapter, Luck of the Storm, is now available with new rewards, including St. Patrick's Day-themed heroes. Epic has also made some changes to stat caps and rolled back patch 3.2's adjustments to critical chance.
Patch 3.3 is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One--maybe Drake will be diving back in to check out its new additions. You can see everything that's changed in the full patch notes on Epic's website.
Are you ready for your next look at Avengers: Infinity War? After releasing a teaser during the Super Bowl, there hasn't been much in the way of video from the film. Luckily, Marvel Studios has announced the next trailer for the superhero film will be released the morning of Friday, March 16.
Infinity War finds nearly all of the superheroes in the MCU--except those on the Netflix shows, sorry Jessica Jones--uniting to fight a common threat in Thanos. The intergalactic warlord is seeking control of the Infinity Stones, which would essentially allow him to destroy the universe.
It seems games based on the Warhammer 40,000 property are coming in thick and fast these days, between Total War: Warhammer, Dawn of War 3, and Warhammer Vermintide 2. Each one is drastically different from the next, so fans of the sprawling fantasy universe usually have something or another to cater to their gaming tastes.
The one major genre that Warhammer hadn't touch until now is action role-playing games in the style of Blizzard's Diablo. And that's where Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor: Martyr comes in. Developed by NeocoreGames, which has been given its own corner of the Warhammer universe to build its story within, Martyr features a story-driven campaign that takes players to the 41st Millennium, where players are tracking a signal from a lost ship.
In addition to the single-player, there's separate multiplayer mode where they can team up with up to three other Inquisitors to battle heretics, mutants, and Chaos Daemons, while earning loot. Unique classes that have abilities that compliment a variety of battle strategies will be available, and players will be able to customise and develop them to better suit their style. Other gameplay elements such as destructible environments and a cover system offer the opportunity to take a more strategic mindset into engagements.
Interestingly, the larger community will be able to decide the fate of planets through battles, though NeocoreGames has been tight-lipped on the exact nature and scope of this for now.
Either way, it's something that fans of the ARPG should keep their eye on. In the video above, Warhammer superfan Dave Jewitt sits down with Diablo-lover Tamoor Hussain to discuss Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor: Martyr, explaining how its fresh take on many of the fundamental gameplay ideas from titles like Diablo and Torchlight could accommodate his need for dungeon exploring and tiny monster killing.
Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor: Martyr is expected launch on Xbox One, PS4, and PC on May 11.
A new update is now available for Fortnite, which means players can now find some new items and content in both Battle Royale and Save the World modes. However, there's one weapon in particular that will no longer appear in the game--at least, for now.
Following Fortnite's 3.3 patch, smoke grenades have now been moved into the "Vault," effectively removing the item completely from Battle Royale. This doesn't necessarily mean that smoke grenades won't eventually return to the game, but for the time being, players will no longer be able to find them as loot during a match.
Epic explained that the reason smoke grenades are being moved into the Vault is because the items "are just not being used quite as much as we wanted them to." However, the developer says it may potentially rework and reintroduce the grenades to Battle Royale at some point in the future when it feels they're "ready."
Smoke grenades are the second weapon to be moved into the Vault thus far, after the SMG was removed from Battle Royale last month. "As we add more weapons, consumables, and other item types, we want to make sure that the balance of itemization isn't ruined," Epic said at the time. "Expect more items to be released (and likewise vaulted!) in the future. And of course, items will often come back out of the Vault when the timing is right."
While smoke grenades may be gone, a new weapon has taken their place in Battle Royale. Following the 3.3 update, players can now find and use remote explosives. As their name suggests, these can be placed on the map and detonated from a distance. The update also introduced Supply Llamas, a new form of loot drop that can be found hidden in unusual locations.
Since an Overwatch update released in February, complaints have emerged about Sombra. Specifically, her hack has been deemed too effective following the changes made in that patch, and now Blizzard has confirmed that it plans to dial things back a bit in a future update.
Designer Geoff Goodman shared the news on Overwatch's forums in response to a thread calling for Sombra to be nerfed. Among other things, the February patch decreased the cast time of her Hack ability and expanded the number of abilities it blocks. Goodman confirmed that the next patch to be released will address some of the complaints about how Hack now works.
The first change involves imposing a two second cooldown whenever Hack is interrupted by damage. According to Goodman, "With this change, Sombra will have to be more careful about choosing when and who to hack instead of just holding down the button and waiting for people to miss and/or reload etc."
Blizzard's other adjustment involves line of sight. As it stands, there is a 0.1 second period of time at the end of Hack's cast where it can't be canceled by abilities like Tracer's recall or Zarya's shields, or by Sombra losing sight of her target. The video below was shared in the initial post of the thread and shows off cases where Sombra is able to complete a Hack in situations where she seemingly shouldn't.
Goodman explained that the 0.1 second window "exists so [Hack] doesn't constantly get broken by very small line of sight blockers such as light posts and signs, etc." Blizzard has decided to remove this window and instead use "multiple LOS checks to make sure the small LOS blockers are still not a problem. In addition to this, we're speeding up the update rate of her hacking so that it is more responsive in checking for these fail conditions. The combination of these things means it should be much more reasonable to respond to a hack targeting you."
He concluded, "The intent of all of her recent changes is still to increase her overall strength and viability. We're keeping a close eye on her to make sure she lands in a good place."
There's no word on when the patch with these changes will be coming. We also don't yet know when Overwatch's new character, Brigitte, is due out, but she's been available on the PC version's Public Test Realm for some time now. As such, a full PC, PS4, and Xbox One release for her may not be far off.
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