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Updates from GameSpot Image Galleries GameSpot Image Galleries In the 04/11/2018 edition: All The New Overwatch Skins Available In Latest Update 6 Ways Krypton Destroys Superman Canon WWE Wrestlemania 34: Ronda Rousey's Debut Match Was A Highlight Reel The Best WWE Wrestlemania 34 Moments And Biggest Surprises Avengers: Infinity War: What Do The Infinity Stones Do? The Best Xbox One Games So Far (As Of April 2018) Xbox One's Best Cheap Games Available Now Far Cry 5 Guide - 9 Tips For Designing A Great Arcade Map PS4's Best Cheap Games Available Today The Biggest Movies to Watch in 2018 Super Smash Bros. Switch: 20 Characters We Want Put On The Roster The Best Cheap Nintendo Switch Games Out Now Spider-Man PS4: 9 Important Things We Want To See Wrestlemania 34: Every Time WWE's Cameras Cut To John Cena In The Crowd The Best Nintendo Switch Games Out Now (As Of April 2018) All The New Overwatch Skins Available In Latest Update By Chris Pereira on Apr 11, 2018 12:05 am Blizzard has launched the latest update for Overwatch. Dubbed Overwatch Archives 2018, it's effectively this year's iteration of the Uprising even from 2017. It introduces a variety of new content, but as always the case, the highlight for many are the newly added skins. A total of eight Legendary skins have been added. Fans of Moira, Reaper, Winston, Hanzo, Mei, Doomfist, Sombra, and Lucio are all in for a treat, as those characters have new attire to equip. These can be obtained through the current loot box, which also contains a total of 60 new items. More than 100 cosmetics from last year's Uprising event are also available once again and include things like highlight intros, emotes, and more. You can see all of the new skins above, along with some of the other new cosmetics you can now get your hands on. Another big component of this update is the Retribution Brawl. Along with the returning co-op Brawl from Uprising, this new limited-time PvE mode is set eight years before the events of Overwatch. It focuses on a mission involving Genji, McCree, Moira, and Reyes (who ultimately becomes Reaper, hence his new skin), whom you'll play as in this mode. There's also another version that lets you play as any character you wish. Either way, you'll be playing on a version of a new map, Rialto, that will also be available in PvP. The update is live now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One and runs from April 10-30. You'll have until then to collect any of the cosmetics you want and take part in the Retribution Brawl. Reaper Legendary Skin Reaper Legendary Skin Hanzo Legendary Skin Hanzo Legendary Skin Doomfist Legendary Skin Doomfist Legendary Skin Lucio Legendary Skin Lucio Legendary Skin Winston Legendary Skin Winston Legendary Skin Moira Legendary Skin Moira Legendary Skin Sombra Legendary Skin Sombra Legendary Skin Mei Legendary Skin Mei Legendary Skin 6 Ways Krypton Destroys Superman Canon By Chris E. Hayner on Apr 10, 2018 08:37 pm How Krypton is freeing itself from decades of Superman mythology The arrival of Krypton on Syfy comes at a time when comic book TV is redefining classic superheroes that have been the focus of attention for almost a century. Whether it's the way Gotham is tackling the Batman mythos or the continuously growing universe of heroes on Arrow and The Flash, it's anything but business as usual for DC comics on TV. That's what makes Krypton so interesting. While it tells the story of Superman's family and his home planet, it's set generations before the Man of Steel is even born. While it may sound like that makes for a boring story given fans know Superman's story goes, this is a show that's not really concerning itself with comic book canon thanks to the arrival of a time-traveling Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos). GameSpot spoke with the cast of Krypton during a group interview to discuss the ways it deviates from Superman's typical canon and what it means for the future of the series. Make sure you give Krypton a shot when it airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on Syfy. 1. Adam Strange's time travel changes everything The very notion of somebody coming back in time from the modern day is bound to make you think it will completely alter the timeline. With Adam Strange, that is absolutely the case. "The second Adam Strange comes back into time," star Cameron Cuffe (Seg) says. "The timeline is irrevocably changed. Things could change and things do change." Executive producer Cam Welsh agrees, explaining, "I think because now that Adam Strange has traveled back in time, the timeline that we know from canon has now changed. That's really what's built into the premise of the show is can you rewrite history, and what are the dangers that can come out of that." 2. Adam also provides Seg with a link to future generations of the House of El Thanks to Adam's arrival, it provides evidence to Seg of his family's future, which will no doubt shape how he views his own fate. "[Adam has] been there, he's been to the future, he's from the future. He knows Clark, he's met Clark," Cuffe says. "Clark is his friend. Having this guy on Seg's side, it makes him listen and it plays into the ideas that Seg does hold deep down, but [that] feel very far removed from who he is." 3. The Zod family may not be so bad after all The introduction of Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell) as a love interest to Seg was an interesting choice, given the bad blood between the Houses of El and Zod by the time Superman is born. As Campbell explains, though, Lyta is really nothing like the infamous General Zod--at least not yet. "I think like all young people she has that idea that she wants to change things, and she wants to be different, and she wants to rebel against her parents," she says. "And she's very emotional, as you are when you're young, and she's in her first love and all that sort of thing. So I think it's quite interesting over the series looking at how that develops and how things change. And also that question of, as you get older, do those things start to fall away?" 4. In fact, could the House of Zod be the source of morality Seg is lacking? Tyrannical, Lyta is not. She's merely a young woman trying to do what's right in the world--something Seg could learn a thing of two about. "She's a way more moral character than Seg is," Cuffe admits. "She in many ways is Seg's moral core, and he learns so much from her." 5. The wild card that is Nyssa Vex While Superman fans have met the ancestors of a lot of these characters before, there is one piece of the puzzle that is a total mystery, and her name is Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day). She's a mysterious character who could swing toward good or evil. However, her family has no notable place in Superman canon. Though, perhaps, that's going to change due to Adam Strange altering the timeline. As Day tells GameSpot, her character does have a motive and it's one that will be revealed sooner than later. "As time goes on yes definitely she definitely does lean one way and again at the end, we're not quite sure if that was genuine, we don't know but I can tell you for sure in this season she definitely does lean towards one side," the actress teases. 6. There are no heroes and villains The comic book history of Superman is filled with absolutes--there is good and there is evil. Superman is unabashedly good as he works to save the world from the likes of Lex Luthor, General Zod, or any other forms of ultimate villainy that come his way. Krypton is a different story. Instead of dealing with good vs. evil, it operates somewhere in between. "There are no goodies and baddies. No one in this show is putting on a costume and fighting crime. There is no freak of the week," Cuffe says. "Everything is changed at the end of every episode. The status quo changes, the relationships change, there are consequences to every action, so even when you win, it's at a cost. Also, there are wonderful shades of gray. We have no villains on the show, there are no heroes on the show, everyone believes they are doing the right thing." That's how you wind up with Superman's ancestor being a conman or the House of Zod having the moral high ground. It's taking what fans recognize as the norm and turning it on its head, constantly shifting alliances. WWE Wrestlemania 34: Ronda Rousey's Debut Match Was A Highlight Reel By Mat Elfring on Apr 10, 2018 07:45 pm The leadup to Wrestlemania 34 featured lots of doubters about the career of newly signed UFC fighter Ronda Rousey, and I was one one of them. Her first segments were a mixed bag and the story itself received a lukewarm reception. However, Rousey silenced every single critic--including myself--with her Wrestlemania 34 performance. Rousey is happy with how things played out: "Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise. I really believe it now." She lost her last two bouts in the UFC, which took their toll on the fighter. It was well documented that she went through a bout of depression after her loss to Holly Holm. Luckily, she's in a much happier place now after her Wrestlemania debut. It may have had a shaky start, but very quickly, we all realized that Rousey has what it takes to make it in the WWE. Her match, where she teamed with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, featured highlight after highlight, spot after spot of incredibly memorable moments. We captured some of the best ones from every involved in the match, and you can check them all out by clicking on that arrow to the right. If you're looking for more great Wrestlemania moments, why not check out a gallery featuring every time the cameraman cut to John Cena, the final results for the entire PPV, and the ongoing saga of Braun Strowman being a cartoon character. The Best WWE Wrestlemania 34 Moments And Biggest Surprises By Mat Elfring on Apr 10, 2018 07:43 pm Wrestlemania 34 is over, and we're all in the middle of a wrestling hangover between WWE, NXT, RoH, Progress, and all the other events that happened over the April 7 weekend. It was a long couple of days filled with bodyslams, grand entrances, and children winning tag team titles. During WWE's Wrestlemania PPV--which was seven hours long--there were a plethora of amazing moments that fans will remember forever. Some of them were epic battles between rivals, some were betrayals, and some were just too silly not to talk about. Ronda Rousey had her very first WWE match, and it was so much better than anyone thought it was going to be. Undertaker showed up in spectacular fashion and beat Cena in a squash match. Then, there was Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, which was probably the biggest disappointment of the night. Here are some of the most memorable moments and biggest surprises from the event, so if you haven't seen Mania yet, there are some spoilers coming up. If you're looking for more Mania action, check out our full results of the evening and the rest of the pieces on our Mania page, including a whole bunch of John Cena reaction shots from the audience. Return Of Bray Wyatt We haven't seen Bray Wyatt since he was defeated at The Ultimate Deletion last month. Wyatt reappeared during the Andre The Giant Battle Royal to help Matt Hardy win the match. Mustafi Ali Channels His Inner Sub-Zero 205 Live star Mustafi Ali wore an elaborate costume to the ring with a light-up mask and a glove that shot a laser out of the palm. He recently tweeted out a picture of the costume with the phrase "Be the light" attached. Naomi Is The First Women's Battle Royal Champion After quite a battle for the first-ever Women's Battle Royal, which included some nice standout moments like the women of NXT getting a "NXT" chant going, Naomi was the last woman left standing. Some Entrances Had CG New to Wrestlemania this year was CG added to some of the entrances. The Miz, Asuka, New Day, and a few others got CG layovers during wideshots of their entrances. The funniest part of Miz's was that the phrase "hot wife" was one of Miz's attributes listed. Balor Club Is For Everyone Sporting the new "Balor Club is for everyone" shirts, Finn Balor came out to a sea of fans cheering him on from the stage, wearing rainbow-colored leggings. Balor is a strong supporter of the LBGT community. Seth Rollins Wins The Intercontinental Championship After an incredible match against The Miz and Finn Balor, Seth Rollins won his first Intercontinental Championship. He is now a Grand Slam champion, meaning he has won the United States, Tag Team, WWE, and IC Championships during his career. Charlotte's Entrance One of the most epic entrances of the evening came from Smackdown Women's Champion Charlotte, who came out to the ring surrounded by gladiators. The Streak Is Broken Everyone was shocked when Charlotte beat Asuka, ending her winning streak in WWE. However, Asuka was a good sport and congratulated Charlotte on her win. Triple H's Extravagant Entrance If Triple H is in a match, you better believe the entrance is going to be over-the-top. He and Stephanie McMahon came to the ring on motorcycles, with green lasers all over the arena. Such A Long/Epic Entrance Both Stephanie and Triple H did his trademark water spit before entering the ring as well. Ronda Lifting Triple H Ronda Rousey's first match was filled with highlights, but one of the best was when she lifted Triple H in a fireman's carry. Undertaker Finally Showed Up After hours of the camera cutting to John Cena sitting in the crowd--which happened a few too many times--The Undertaker finally showed up to fight Cena. His ring gear, which was left in the center of the ring at Wrestlemania 33, appeared with Cena watching in the background. More CG, Followed By A Long Taker Entrance CG lightning hit Taker's costume in the ring, and it disappeared. He then did his walk down the entrance ramp with Cena waiting for him inside the ring. The Only Memorable Moment From Cena/Taker While Cena/Taker redeemed the Dead Man's match from last year's Mania against Roman Reigns, it wasn't exactly a barn burner. We saw Taker hit all his traditional moves, but the best moment came midway through the match. Cena was attempting to hit the "Five Knuckle Shuffle," and upon hitting the ropes, Taker sat up, scaring Cena, who fell right on his butt. Daniel Bryan Returns For longtime wrestling fans, Daniel Bryan's entrance video was emotional. It showed clips of people around the world--in schools, at work, and at sporting events--all doing the "Yes!" chant. Bryan Submits Sami Zayn Bryan spent half the match "hurt" on the outside of the ring, but when he returned, he dominated in the ring and ended up submitting Sami Zayn to win the match. Bryan Embraces His Wife After his win, Bryan went to ringside to give his wife, Brie Bella, a hug and kiss. She supported him when he wasn't cleared to wrestle, and Bryan said numerous times that her words gave him the will to keep pursuing his dreams. Nia Jax Dominated Alexa Bliss Nia Jax finally got her revenge on Alexa Bliss and gave her a gorilla press slam during their match. This led Jax to winning her first Raw Women's Championship. It's about time. Shinsuke Nakamura's Entrance Was Epic Nakamura's entrance opened with Nita Strauss playing his theme. She plays with Alice Cooper and has been called the greatest female guitarist. More Nakamura Shinsuke came out to a sea of people playing violins and drummers playing his theme. It was one of the most memorable entrances of the evening. Nakamura Presents AJ Styles The Championship After an intense battle, Nakamura presented Styles with the WWE Championship with humility. It was a truly impressive moment for both stars. And Turns On Him However, Styles' moment in the sun didn't last too long as Nakamura gave him a low blow. Braun Strowman Recruits A Child To Be His Tag Partner For weeks, we've been trying to figure out who Braun Strowman's tag team partner is, and at Wrestlemania, Strowman picked a child named Nicholas from the crowd to be his partner. And They Win The Raw Tag Team Titles In one of WWE's weirdest moves yet, Strowman and Nicholas won the Raw Tag Team Championships. Strangely enough, it works and was one of the highlights in what was expected to be a boring match. Brock Escapes Wrestlemania As Champion The main event of Wrestlemania was pretty boring, even though the finish was one of the biggest surprises of the evening. While the crowd at the Superdome chanting things like, "this is awful," Lesnar surprised the world by beating Roman Reigns and retaining the WWE Universal Championship. Avengers: Infinity War: What Do The Infinity Stones Do? By Meg Downey on Apr 10, 2018 03:40 am Avengers: Infinity War is almost upon us, so now is a good time to start digging into the nitty gritty of the most famous MacGuffins in comics: the Infinity Stones. Six stones, six colors, six specialized power sets. The Infinity Stones have been haunting the Marvel comics universe in one form or another since the '70s, and the MCU since 2011. They've changed colors more than once, been given power upgrades, even different names, but at the end of the day, they still represent the biggest, scariest, and most destructive force Marvel superheroes can face. But what makes each stone different from the next? What does it matter that one stone is for "Mind" and another is for "Time?" Aren't "Space" and "Reality" the same thing? What does "Soul" even mean? Well, we're so glad you asked. Click through to find out what the Infinity Stones do, both in the comics and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When you're finished here, we have plenty more Infinity War primers: Every character confirmed in Infinity War Where everyone is leading up to the big fight Who's likely to die in Infinity War MCU story recap leading to Infinity War Infinity War's Black Order, explained Time (Comics) Bright green in color, the Time Stone gives its wielder the power to--you guessed it--travel through time. However, it's not quite as simple as popping in and out of the past and future like Doc and Marty. Instead, the Time Stone provides the chance to peer into the time stream itself, giving whoever is able to use it the ability to change or modify the past, present, and future by literally adjusting the way time flows in any given moment. Think of it less like a Delorean or a Tardis and more like a never ending, perpetually unspooling look into all the potential timestreams within the Marvel Universe. It can be used to trap people in time loops, calculate possible outcomes of events, and change the trajectory of history. Currently, the Time Stone is in the possession of the Super Skrull. Time (MCU) The cinematic Time Stone is housed within the Eye of Agamotto, currently held by Doctor Strange. As far as we can tell, this version of the Time Stone has a paired down (but still quite powerful) version of it's comics counterparts power set. In Doctor Strange, Stephen used the stone to reverse the flow of time to save Hong Kong and later forced Dormammu into a time loop within the Dark Dimension. Since then, we haven't really had a chance to see Strange use the Eye or really test its powers-- although, after his most recent cameo in Thor: Ragnarok it's probably a safe bet that he's been doing his best to explore the potential of the Stone, and keep an eye out for any encroaching threats that might be after its power. Mind (Comics) The currently yellow Mind Stone has powers revolving around telepathy and telekinesis. Typically entrusted to powerful psychics like Professor Xavier, the Mind Stone typically augments and enhances the pre-existing metal prowess of whoever wields it, though it certainly can empower someone who has never shown any sign of mind-based superpowers if it has to. In its most powerful form, the Mind Stone can form a sort of universal hivemind, linking the brains of every sentient thing in the galaxy and bending them to the will of one central intelligence. As of right now, the Mind Stone is in the possession of Turk Barrett, otherwise known as Stilt-Man, the D-List Daredevil gag villain. No, really. Mind (MCU) Formerly contained within the blue crystal at the end of Loki's Chitauri scepter in the first Avengers movie, the cinematic Mind Stone was unearthed (and turned yellow) in the sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Instead of falling into any one person's hands, however, the Mind Stone was almost immediately absorbed into an artificial android body, where it combined with Tony Stark's AI butler, Jarvis, and brought the Vision to life. Since then, the Mind Stone has lived in Vision's forehead. We've gotten some small glimpses as just what it can do (beyond, you know, granting inorganic objects sentience) via Vision's array of superpowers, but beyond shooting energy beams and allowing him to fly and become intangible, the Mind Stone's abilities are still pretty mysterious. It is, however, likely the one thing that is keeping Vision alive in his current form--so it's probably a safe bet that removing it from him would be pretty bad. Lethal, even. Reality (Comics) Maybe one of the most esoteric of the bunch, the red Reality Stone has the power to literally manipulate and change reality itself. This means it can actually bend (or break) the laws that govern the way the world works. If the wielder of the Reality Stone wanted, for instance, up to be down and the sun to be the moon, the Reality Stone has the power to make that happen. In its most powerful form, the Reality Stone can actually make entirely new realities all together from scratch. It is currently in the hands of Captain Marvel. Reality (MCU) Featured in the often derided Thor: The Dark World, the MCU's Reality Stone was introduced as a sort of glowing red dust or liquid known as Aether--but the extent and real nature of its powers are still largely mysterious. In The Dark World, the Aether is shown to be able to turn regular matter into "dark matter" when its bound to a "host." Unfortunately, the host is also slowly consumed by the Aether's energy, so it must be wielded by someone strong enough to not succumb to it completely. While in use, the Aether is apparently almost limitless in size, consuming whole buildings, threatening whole planets with "infinite destruction" (whatever that means.) By the end of The Dark World, the Aether has been contained in a small box and handled to The Collector, who presumably still has it. Soul (Comics) The orange Soul Stone stands apart from its six siblings by being the only "sentient" Infinity Stone. It has the innate, conscious desire to "collect" souls, which it does by pulling them from their mortal bodies and imprisoning them within itself in an alternate dimension. It can keep the souls it harvests trapped inside indefinitely, giving whoever is actually weidling the stone unlimited access to the thoughts and memories of its prisoners. The Soul Stone can also use what is known as the "cold light of truth" to extract information out of people or "revert" them back to their most basic forms (think less forcing things to de-evolve and more changing people so that their physical body matches who they actually are.) The Soul Stone is currently held by Ultron who is physically and mentally fused to Hank Pym. Ultron's first contact with the Soul Stone immediately pulled Pym's soul into its prison; however, so despite Ultron still physically looking like his creator, the genocidal robot is firmly in the driver's seat. Soul (MCU) The only Infinity Stone yet to be revealed, the MCU's Soul Stone remains a complete mystery. However, according to the Infinity War prelude tie-in comics, the live-action Soul Stone is one of the most powerful and dangerous of the bunch--but where it is, what it does, and how it can be stopped still remain to be seen. Power (Comics) The purple Power Stone is all about energy. Its abilities revolve around granting its wielder access to all the energy (i.e. all the power) that has ever or will ever exist in the universe--sometimes that power manifest internally, a boost in stamina or strength, etc, sometimes it manifests externally, an infinite power source for a machine, a super strong battery--you get the idea. As long as its energy-related, the Power Stone can mix things up. Also, unsurprisingly, the Power Stone can be used to amplify the effects and abilities of its fellow Infinity Stones, making them all the more dangerous when combined. The Power Stone currently sits with Drax the Destroyer. Power (MCU) Introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, the Power Stone was originally contained within a dull looking grey orb that eventually broke open to showcase a glowing purple gem. Similar to the Aether, the Power Stone's abilities are rather nondescript. In its raw form, the Power Stone is incredibly dangerous--even fatal--to handle. It has the ability to create giant explosive bursts of energy, empower those strong enough to hold it with enhanced durability, strength, and stamina. It can even, if used correctly, destroy whole planets. The Power Stone is currently being kept by the Nova Corps. Space (Comics) The blue Space Stone's primary and most obvious power is its ability to teleport its user wherever they want, regardless of distance. If it's somewhere the holder can picture in their mind, the Space Stone can take them there. It can also bend the laws of space to allow its wielder to appear in multiple places at once, seemingly without any real limitations, meaning the Space Stone in the correct hands at full power could effectively create as many duplications of that person as needed. Right now, the Space Stone is being kept by a recently resurrected Wolverine. Space (MCU) First shown as an artifact known as the "Tesseract" the Space Stone was introduced as the prize of the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. It was used to power various Hydra experimental weapons with an extremely volatile blue energy that seemingly vaporized anyone it came in contact with instantaneously. Whether or not the Tesseract's victims are actually killed or if they're somehow just teleported (or perhaps atomized and then teleported) away is still up for debate. Similar to the Power Stone, it seems to be impossible, even fatal, for humans to touch unprotected. Since World War 2, the Tesseract has changed hands a few times, traveling all the way to Asgard where it was kept in safety in Odin's Vault for a while, before it was ultimately stolen by Loki at the end of Thor: Ragnarok. The Best Xbox One Games So Far (As Of April 2018) By Kallie Plagge on Apr 10, 2018 03:37 am Best of the Best Xbox One launched over four years ago, and a ton of games have come out in that time. As such, it can be hard to sort through all those games and decide what to play. Luckily, we at GameSpot have played tons of Xbox One games over the years. In this feature, we've collected the best Xbox One games so far. This includes many of the games that have received an 8 or higher on GameSpot, and we've prioritized games that were nominated for our Best Xbox One Game list in the years those games released. For more Xbox One games, see our roundups of the best cheap games on Xbox One, and make sure to check out our gallery of the Xbox One exclusive games confirmed for 2018 as well as the biggest Xbox One games of 2018 for everything coming to the console. Monster Hunter: World -- 8/10 "Ever since the title was first announced last year, it was clear that Capcom was gunning for something grander than Monster Hunter Generations. It has succeeded, and this is likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been. It's not just the comparative depth of the narrative; it also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large." [read the full review] -- Ginny Woo Celeste -- 9/10 "It's a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I'd been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain." [read the full review] -- Oscar Dayus, Staff Writer What Remains of Edith Finch -- 9/10 "Developer Giant Sparrow managed to strike the delicate balance between joy and sorrow in 2012's The Unfinished Swan, but What Remains of Edith Finch transcends even the latent sadness of that game, finding the beauty--even sometimes the fun--in what's always fundamentally a tragedy. It's not often that a game's plot slips past the bitterness of grief to finally get to the acceptance, but that's the triumph in What Remains of Edith Finch. Ultimately, if the game has any resemblance of a moral, it's that the bravest, most beautiful thing every one of us does is choose to keep going, despite knowing what's coming." [read the full review] -- Justin Clark Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus -- 9/10 "The New Colossus never lets you forget who and why you're fighting. Nazi brutality is on full display, from the blown-out, irradiated remains of Manhattan to each of the resistance members, who all carry mental scars if not physical ones. You're never given a chance between cutscenes, missions, and even downtime on the U-boat to lose sight of the Reich's cruelty. Wolfenstein's tense gameplay elevates this further by giving you the power to truly resist--and come out of each battle ready for another fight." [read the full review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Sonic Mania -- 9/10 "Sonic Mania methodically uses its sentimental appeal to great effect, but in the process, it heals the wounds inflicted by its most disappointing predecessors and surpasses the series' best with its smart and interpretive design. An excellent 2D platformer, Sonic Mania goes beyond expectations, managing to be not only a proper evolution of the series' iconic formula, but the best Sonic game ever made." [read the full review] -- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor Cuphead -- 8/10 "Everything you've heard about Cuphead is true. It is a difficult side-scrolling shooter with relentless boss battles that demand rapid-fire actions and reactions. Think for too long, and you won't stand a chance against the game's toughest enemies. Battles may only last three minutes at most, but they feel far longer when you know that you can only absorb three hits before you have to start from scratch. When you are navigating your way around bullets, smaller enemies, and pitfalls, while simultaneously trying to damage your primary target, toppling Cuphead's imposing bosses is both a monumental and rewarding task." [read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Assassin's Creed Origins -- 7/10 "Assassin's Creed has undergone many changes in its long and storied history, and Origins feels like the first step in the start of a new journey. It has its fair share of problems, but the vision for its future is one worth pursuing." [read the full review] -- Alessandro Fillari, Editor Stardew Valley -- 9/10 "On the surface, Stardew Valley is a game about farming, but there are more adventures awaiting curious players beyond cultivating a rich and bountiful garden. From mining and fishing to making friends and falling in love, Stardew Valley's Pelican Town is stuffed with rewarding opportunities. As modern day woes give way to pressing matters on the farm and within your newfound community, Stardew Valley's meditative activities often lead to personal reflection in the real world. It's a game that tugs at your curiosity as often as it does your heart." [read the full review] -- Mary Kish Resident Evil 7: Biohazard -- 8/10 "By the end of the campaign, I was ready for the game to be over, but that's okay. RE7 ends just as it starts to outstay its welcome, and after the fact, I felt like I'd survived a truly harrowing journey. The boss fights may be slightly inconsistent and certain sections might drag after a while, but RE7 is still a remarkable success. It has a clear vision and executes it with impressive patience and precision. By returning to horror, Resident Evil has once again become something special." [read the full review] -- Scott Butterworth Night in the Woods -- 9/10 "Both intensely personal and widely relatable, Night in the Woods doesn't just tell a story--it gracefully captures complex, often unpleasant feelings and experiences. From the quiet melancholy of doing nothing on a rainy day to the emotional vacuum of severe depression, I felt deeply, sometimes too deeply, while wandering through the cartoon-animal version of a small Midwestern town. Its witty writing and character development keep its crushing existential themes grounded, making Night in the Woods one of the most evocative games I've played in a long time." [read the full review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Overwatch -- 9/10 "Overwatch is an exercise in refined chaos. There are multitudes of layers hiding beneath the hectic surface, and they emerge, one after another, the more you play. This is a shooter that knows how to surprise, one that unfolds at a frantic pace, one that takes a handful of great ideas, and combines them into something spectacular." [read the full review] -- Mike Mahardy, Video Producer Battlefield 1 -- 9/10 "EA DICE splendidly interprets the early 20th century as a world in technological transition while humanizing the war's participants through well crafted, albeit fictional, narrative vignettes. Combined with an enthralling multiplayer component, the overall result is the studio's best work since Battlefield: Bad Company 2." [read the full review] -- Miguel Concepcion Titanfall 2 -- 9/10 "Titanfall 2 demonstrates a vitality that its predecessor couldn't. Whereas the first Titanfall kept up its breakneck pace throughout the entirety of every match, Titanfall 2 understands that sometimes, dialing things back for a few moments can make the long run much more enjoyable. In many ways, Titanfall 2 feels like the game Respawn should have made in 2013. It's a fantastic sequel. It's a fluid shooter. It's a spectacular game." [read the full review] -- Mike Mahardy, Video Producer Dishonored 2 -- 8/10 "Any time I'm given a choice between stealth and action, I go stealth. I love the hold-your-breath tension of hoping a guard didn't spot you and the hard-earned triumph of executing a perfectly timed plan. Dishonored 2 delivers that sneaky satisfaction, arming you with stealth essentials like hiding bodies, peering through keyholes, and silent takedowns. But it's also an incredible engine for gleeful chaos, one so engrossing and amusing that I kind of accidentally beat the entire campaign raining hilarious, elaborate death on my enemies." [read the full review] -- Scott Butterworth Forza Horizon 3 -- 9/10 "With Forza Horizon 3, Turn 10 and Playground Games affirm the series' status as the driving game for everyone. The new emphasis on off-road options isn't at the expense of traditional races, thanks to the sheer volume of activities. All the while, Playground Games' calculated kitchen-sink design philosophy and rich reward system persistently tempt you to explore beyond your comfort zone, whether it's gifting your first Ariel Nomad buggy or reminding you that stunt races can impress thousands of fans. Enhancing your own brand might feel like a strange motivation to hit the road, but pulling off sick e-drifts on a mile-long series of curves makes the PR work worthwhile." [read the full review] -- Miguel Concepcion Inside -- 8/10 "This is a beautiful, haunting, and memorable game, a worthy follow-up to Limbo. Its puzzles, although rarely difficult, are engaging complements to the story. The real achievement of this game, though, is the way that it crafts its narrative: detailed environments convey the bizarre world that you travel through; introspective moments are filled with minimalist sound design and just the barest touches of music; and the things you must do to complete your journey force you to confront the realities of humanity, freedom, and existence." [read the full review] -- Alex Newhouse Dark Souls III -- 8/10 "Dark Souls III is a game of valleys and peaks, down through dungeons and up over castle walls. It's a plummet into places we shouldn't be--an escape from places we don't belong. But of course, we fight our way through the darkness, and find our way out. There are a few stumbles along the way, but in the end, Dark Souls III is well worth the riveting climb." [read the full review] -- Mike Mahardy, Video Producer The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -- 10/10 "Where the Witcher 2 sputtered to a halt, The Witcher 3 is always in a crescendo, crafting battle scenarios that constantly one-up the last, until you reach the explosive finale and recover in the glow of the game's quiet denouement. But while the grand clashes are captivating, it is the moments between conflicts, when you drink with the local clans and bask in a trobairitz's song, that are truly inspiring." [read the full review] -- Kevin VanOrd Halo 5: Guardians -- 8/10 "Halo 5: Guardians is fueled by new ideas and propelled by some of the boldest changes to this storied franchise yet. Some of these changes fail, but others succeed, and although Halo 5 falters at times, it whisks us through black holes and across war torn tropical islands at a rapid pace. We can only surrender to its velocity." [read the full review] -- Mike Mahardy, Video Producer Rise of the Tomb Raider -- 9/10 "Rise of the Tomb Raider's first shot pans over the vast, foreboding landscape we'll soon come to know. In many ways, it functions as a promise on the part of Crystal Dynamics: there are big things ahead of us. And at the end of Lara's journey, after we've seen her through this adventure, and experienced everything the world has to offer, it's clear that promise was kept." [read the full review] -- Mike Mahardy, Video Producer Ori and the Blind Forest -- 9/10 "It consistently surprises you with new tricks: gravitational divergences, new ways to move through its spaces, and carefully designed levels that require you to think quickly and respond. It is not as snappy as, say, a typical Mario platformer, seeking instead a broader gameplay arc stretching across a single, interconnected world. It's a superb and thematically consistent approach that allows Ori and the Blind Forest to build joy on a bed of heartache, adding a new layer of mechanical complexity with each ray of hope." [read the full review] -- Kevin VanOrd Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain -- 10/10 "There has never been a game in the series with such depth to its gameplay, or so much volume in content. The best elements from the past games are here, and the new open-world gameplay adds more to love on top. When it comes to storytelling, there has never been a Metal Gear game that's so consistent in tone, daring in subject matter, and so captivating in presentation. The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is." [read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Fallout 4 -- 9/10 "Fallout 4 is an engrossing game that lures you in with mystery and the promise of adventure. Its wretched wasteland can be captivating, and you never know what odd person or settlement lies around the next bend. Fallout 4 uses its dark world as a canvas for exciting combat and gripping stories, and when you dig deeper into its post-nuclear-apocalypse version of Boston--defending yourself from violent scavengers and using your wits to climb social ladders--you become attached to the new you, and ultimately invested in the fate of your new world." [read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor -- 8/10 "This is a great game in its own right, narratively disjointed but mechanically sound, made up of excellent parts pieced together in excellent ways. I already knew what future lay in store for Middle-earth as I played Shadow of Mordor; I'm hoping that my own future might one day bring another Lord of the Rings adventure as stirring as this one." [read the full review] -- Kevin VanOrd Dragon Age: Inquisition -- 9/10 "Inquisition's characters and world recall the grand gestures of the original Dragon Age, even though the game as a whole is so structurally different to its predecessors. It offers the thrill of discovery and the passion of camaraderie. It features a glee club called The Sing-Quisition, and a dwarf with writer's block. It establishes connections with its world in big ways and small, with the sight of a titanous temple and the smirk of an Orlesian commander in love. Dragon Age: Inquisition is a wonderful game and a lengthy pilgrimage to a magical world with vital thematic ties to one we already know." [read the full review] -- Kevin VanOrd Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition -- 8/10 "Lara herself is so well crafted that I grew attached to her exploits and was sad to say goodbye when the credits rolled. And the exquisite visual design is so breathtaking that I continually found myself staring at the scenery instead of pushing onward. Tomb Raider is a great reinvention of this enduring franchise that made me eager to see where Lara goes in her future." [read the full review] -- Tom McShea Forza Motorsport 5 -- 9/10 "All of this combined makes Forza Motorsport 5 an outstanding improvement to an already excellent racing franchise. It's far more than just a great racing sim, or a gorgeous showcase for the types of feats the Xbox One hardware is capable of. This is a game built on the romantic thrill of motorsport in all its forms, and that love for its subject matter is all but impossible to resist." [read the full review] -- Shaun McInnis Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag -- 9/10 "There's an incredible scope to what you can do in Black Flag, with a level of harmony between its component parts that encourages you to try it all, and a story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing. If there was ever any question that Assassin's Creed needed something ambitious to get the series back on track, Black Flag is that game and then some." [read the full review] -- Shaun McInnis Xbox One's Best Cheap Games Available Now By Kallie Plagge on Apr 10, 2018 03:36 am High Quality, Low Price Xbox One has been around for over four years now, but the 4K-capable Xbox One X has only been around for a few months. Whether you're a day-one adopter or new to Xbox, it can be difficult to sift through the store and figure out what to play. And yes, there are jokes about how Xbox One doesn't have any games, but that's not true! There's plenty to play on Xbox, and your options are good even if you're on a budget. From newer indies to discounted AAA games, we've picked out the best games you can get for $20 or under (around £16) on the Xbox store. This only reflects digital prices; there are games you can get on sale at other retailers, but these games are consistently this affordable. For more games on a budget, see our roundups of the best cheap games on PS4 and on Switch. And make sure to check out our gallery of the Xbox One exclusive games confirmed for 2018 as well as the biggest Xbox One games of 2018 for everything coming to the console. Celeste -- $20 / £16 Celeste may look like another pixelated platformer with a youthful protagonist, but it quickly transforms into a brutal, tightly orchestrated gauntlet of death that only the best players can master. It challenges you to traverse spike-lined caverns with a modest selection of skills, with alternate pathways that push your mettle even further as you strive to acquire every last hidden item. You will die hundreds of times, but with quick restarts and a catchy soundtrack, there's never any downtime to wallow in defeat, only a new opportunity to show the game what you're made of. The action and difficulty curve are accompanied by a surprisingly engaging story that adds just the right amount of context to make your arduous journey feel justified, and to solidify Celeste as one of the biggest surprises so far of 2018. | Peter Brown Inside -- $20 / £16 Playdead games won the admiration of its now-large audience when it released Limbo, a slow-paced puzzle-platformer that relied heavily on the use of light and negative space. For the studio's follow-up, Inside, it delivered yet another somber world to explore. It presents a tale that unfolds effortlessly before your eyes as you advance from one scene to the next, with nary a word from any of its characters. Through the power of inference and suggestion, you realize the infiltration of a malicious organization and bear witness to its sinister deeds. Inside will test your ability to think creatively, but it's the narrative--and the way it's delivered--that makes it a game worth playing. Inside reinforces the notion that, sometimes, less is more. | Peter Brown The Sexy Brutale -- $20 / £16 The Sexy Brutale is a quirky little puzzle game co-developed by Tequila Works, the studio behind beautiful adventure game Rime. Its essentially Groundhog Day: The Game--you play through the same day over and over, but with each runthrough you learn more about the creepy mansion you find yourself in. After seeing one character shoot another, you might go and find the gun and prevent the bloody murder by replacing real bullets with blanks. A number of these murders are interconnected--solving one puzzle might prevent one murder, but that could change another branch of time elsewhere in the house. There's no way of preventing every murder in one go, but discovering and tinkering with the different timelines is where the fun lies.And with it being playable on Switch, you can live the same day countless times anywhere you want. Suffice it to say, we've played it over and over again--groundhog day indeed. | Matt Espineli Halo 5: Guardians -- $20 / £15 Halo 5: Guardians is the biggest and boldest Halo game ever. The campaign tells an intriguing story where Master Chief is could potentially be the bad guy, and another team is tasked to hunt him down. Though the overall narrative did not exactly pay off, the campaign pushed the franchise forward with its more open level design that offered a new feeling of freedom. On the multiplayer side, Halo 5 is arguably the series' strongest offering to date. The core modes like Arena are there and have never been better, and Forge mode has allowed modders to create some truly incredible creations. But what's more exciting is the 24-player Warzone mode, which gives Halo's multiplayer a sense of scale that it never had before--and it's a lot of fun. At $20 (or free with an Xbox Game Pass subscription), Halo 5 is absolutely worth checking out. | Eddie Makuch Crypt of the NecroDancer -- $15 / £12 Roguelikes (or at least roguelike elements) have been one of the most popular trends in gaming over the past handful of years, but few have taken as interesting of an approach to the genre as Crypt of the NecroDancer. It tasks players with navigating a dungeon to the beat of the music. Rather than simply move in the direction you wish or attack the enemy that's in your path, you and your enemies' actions are tied directly to the (always excellent) soundtrack. It's essential that you always be doing something--not taking an action at the next beat resets your combo, meaning you'll earn less gold or deal less damage, depending on the items you've acquired. Particularly as the music becomes more fast-paced, this lends a real sense of tension and excitement to every moment: you need to constantly be considering your next action while accounting for how nearby enemies will react to your movements. It's an experience with few points of comparison, but it's nonetheless one that you'll certainly want to try. | Chris Pereira Enter the Gungeon -- $15 / £11 Being a roguelike-style shooter, Enter the Gungeon naturally draws comparisons to games like The Binding of Isaac and Nuclear Throne. And while that does offer a decent starting point for understanding what to expect, Enter the Gungeon manages to rise above being a pale imitator. It feels fantastic, with a dodge-roll ability that allows you to satisfyingly evade damage with a well-timed use. There are ridiculous weapons, such as those that fire bees or a gun that shoots guns which themselves fire bullets. The well-crafted procedurally generated environments help to keep each run feeling fresh, as do the wide variety of items and secrets to uncover along the way. And co-op support makes for an especially fun, chaotic experience (although it's unfortunate that the second player isn't able to play as the different characters that the main player has access to). The entire game is also overflowing with personality and color, making for an experience that is as fun to look at as is to play. | Chris Pereira Stardew Valley -- $15 / £12 Originally released on PC, hit farming sim Stardew Valley has made its way to console with very few compromises (aside from the lack of mods, if that's something you care about). It's an excellent take on the Harvest Moon formula, with a laid-back small-town atmosphere, tons of work to do, and bachelors and bachelorettes to date. But the valley also has its mysteries, and the added intrigue makes it easy to pick up, hard to put down, and rewarding day after day. Even though it has nothing to do with the Harvest Moon franchise, it's easily the best "Harvest Moon" game in years. | Kallie Plagge Sonic Mania -- $20 / £16 Created by members of the Sonic fan-hack community under Sega's watch, Sonic Mania exudes passion and reverence in its recreation of nostalgic visuals, sounds, and level designs. But the game isn't content with senselessly regurgitating the past; rather, it expands upon the familiar with new ideas of its own and delivers plenty of inventive concepts that diversify and build upon the series' fast-paced level design. Sonic Mania is smart and interpretive in its approach, leveraging the strengths of its design and visuals to craft not only the best Sonic game ever made, but an amazing platforming experience overall. If you've enjoyed Sonic at any point in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Sonic Mania. And even if you're not a longtime fan, the fast-paced platforming on display is a fantastic introduction to Sega's beloved blue blur. | Matt Espineli Overcooked -- $17 / £13 Overcooked is like a Mario Party mini-game blown up into its own standalone experience in the best way possible. It's a game that becomes exponentially better when played with at least one other person. What starts out as a relatively tame game where you help each other chop some vegetables and get them served on a plate becomes a frantic rush to put out fires, get ingredients distributed between two moving vehicles, and other ridiculous scenarios. | Chris Pereira Thimbleweed Park -- $20 / £17 Point-and-click adventure games have experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, and Thimbleweed Park--from adventure game legends Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick--is a prime example. The X-Files-inspired journey puts you in the role of two FBI agents that bear more than a passing resemblance to the classic TV show as you relive the glory days of adventure games. Playing on any console means dealing with a gamepad-based control scheme (as opposed to the more natural mouse controls on PC), but Switch makes up for this with touchscreen support when played in handheld mode. | Chris Pereira Thumper -- $20 / £16 Although it's a game arguably best-suited for VR, Thumper is an incredible experience however you play it. It provides a unique blend of rhythm-based gameplay and action--what the developer calls "rhythm violence"--that provides a far more intense version of the basic mechanics you see in other rhythm games. With an incredible soundtrack and levels well-suited to chasing high scores, Thumper is a game with the potential to stick around on your home screen for a long time. | Chris Pereira Axiom Verge -- $20 / £16 Axiom Verge is another take on the Metroidvania style, but it distinguishes itself through its wide variety of weapons and tools--most notably, the Address Disruptor, which affects the environment and each enemy type in different ways. It's also a game with an impressive sense of scale and no shortage of secrets to uncover, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Add in an excellent soundtrack and tantalizing story, and there's a lot to like here. | Chris Pereira Bastion -- $15 / £12 Supergiant Games' debut, Bastion, set the stage for everything else the developer created. This isometric action RPG tells a gripping story of a world destroyed by a catastrophic event referred to as The Calamity in the city of Caelondia. You control Bastion's protagonist, The Kid, who is led by the charismatic narrator named Rucks in a journey to piece the city back together. Very few survivors are left, and hostile monsters litter Caelondia, which is the impetus to put a varied arsenal of melee and projectile weapons to use. The Bastion acts as a sort of home base that slowly comes together as you progress and collect cores at the end of each level.Rucks' deep, instantly recognizable voice (that of Logan Cunningham) adds a level of grandeur to the story that's superbly supported by a truly remarkable soundtrack (by Darren Korb) that's vaguely Celtic, Western, and trip-hop all at the same time. Bastion's fantastical hand-painted art style (by Jen Zee) breathes life into a world nearly devoid of it, torn apart by a conflict of different cultures. These elements came to be staples of Supergiant's work, and Bastion is still a sterling example of the team's ability to craft a game that's both fun and heartfelt. | Michael Higham Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain -- $20 (not discounted in UK) You may have heard that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the final Metal Gear game to feature the involvement of series creator Hideo Kojima, has flaws. The last chunk of the game involves replaying earlier missions with small tweaks, and certain late-game story content was consigned to a special edition bonus feature. Despite all of that, The Phantom Pain stands as a seminal example of what an open-world action game can be. While still retaining much of what makes a Metal Gear game so distinct, it presents players with a vast open world and the ability to tackle its challenges in many, many ways.The mechanics of Ground Zeroes have been fine-tuned, and you can leverage them in a multitude of ways as you take part in the game's consistently excellent, thrilling missions. Just as enjoyable are the emergent hijinks you'll encounter along the way, and all of this is made better by the consistent progression of building up your own personal army. Although it's undoubtedly an experience best played after playing making your way through the prior games, The Phantom Pain is a game that everyone should ultimately try. It holds up now, even after a few years; all that's changed is the price tag. | Chris Pereira Far Cry 5 Guide - 9 Tips For Designing A Great Arcade Map By Array on Apr 10, 2018 03:02 am Dos and Don'ts In addition to the campaign and regular online modes, Far Cry 5 features an impressive map editor for the Arcade mode. It lets you create your own maps and game types for other players to try out, but not every map is created equal. To help you out, we've put together nine tips for designing a great map; you can also check out the video version for visual inspiration. For more on Far Cry 5's Arcade, check out our video guide with more general tips on how to use the map editor, and get inspiration (or an idea of what not to do) with the best and worst maps available in the mode now. For guides on Far Cry 5's main modes, see our feature highlighting nine tips we wish we knew before starting and our video guide discussing general beginners tips to follow. Far Cry 5 is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Be sure to read our Far Cry 5 review for our full thoughts about the game. In other news, Ubisoft announced Far Cry 5's Season Pass, which takes you to settings like Mars and the Vietnam War. We also recently learned more about how to access the game's live events and the special rewards you earn by completing them. You can also find out more about how the game's microtransactions work in our detailed explainer. Give Your Map Depth Yes, it can be a pain to carve out terrain, and yes, you can still make a flat map interesting. However, when was the last time you took a walk outside? Nature isn't flat. Just adding some elevation can make a world of difference. Make rolling hills, dig valleys, mold rivers. And don't forget to use the smooth tool to even out those rough edges. The idea is to give your map some verticality so it's interesting to play and explore. Don't Make It Too Big It's tempting to make a huge map, but they present their own set of challenges. After all, the bigger the map, the longer it's going to take to fill it up with interesting things to do. However, if you have time to make a big map, you're going to need to consider your budget, as you can only fit so many assets into the map before running out of memory space. For example, you can cover empty map with loads of trees, but that'll quickly exhaust your budget. In order to learn the skills required to create better maps, we recommend starting small with your map and slowly growing outward. Add Textures One thing that separates the top-rated maps from the rest is that they have textures. It's super easy to add textures, and they make a world of difference. You can even change the default texture to whatever you want within seconds. Just click on the grid texture, hit change, and pick whatever you want. Stick To A Theme For your first few maps, it's a good idea to decide on a theme before you begin. For example, if you're making a snowy map, don't add palm trees. It sounds obvious, but keeping to a theme can help guide your design. Don't Make Your Map Unnecessarily Difficult Difficulty is good! No one wants a cakewalk of a map (unless they're trying to grind for XP), but spawning in, say, a tiny pit filled with Yetis or heavy enemies isn't fun either. Instead, try to ramp up difficulty as the player progresses through your map. Also, don't cram your map with 80+ enemies and ask the player to kill everyone. There are exceptions, but for the most part, be reasonable with the challenges you set forth for players. Don't Make The Enemies Dumb While it's not the most intuitive set of tools, you do have some flexibility with enemy AI. You can give them things to do, areas to defend, and places to go. This is something that can wait until the end, but if you are trying to make a map that tells a story and feels alive, it's definitely an important step. Adjust The Environment The environment tools are how you set the mood of your map. You can adjust time of day, wind force, fog, the backdrop, and post FX. Seriously, this is what brings your maps to life. With the environment tools, you can turn a simple collection of trees into a dark, eerie forest. Don't Forget Boundaries This is typically one of the last things to do when making a map. Once you've figured out the size of your map, use the map limits tool. This will give your players a death countdown if they get a little too adventurous. For PC: Learn The Hotkeys Knowing the hotkeys on PC can help speed up the map-making process significantly. We've listed them below. Gameplay Modifiers: M Select: 1 Move: 2 Rotate: 3 Snap: 4 Objects: 5 AI Management: 6 Texture Painter: F1 Add Vegetation: F2 Roads: F3 Environment: F4 Bump: F5 Raise/Lower: F6 Flatten: F7 Ramp: F8 Terrain Set To Height: F9 Smooth: F10 Noise: F11 PS4's Best Cheap Games Available Today By GameSpot Staff on Apr 10, 2018 01:40 am PlayStation 4 is now more than four years old, and in that time it's amassed a substantial library of games. It was difficult to keep up with all of the quality releases even if you were onboard from day one; for those who have picked up a PS4 late, the number of games now available can be positively overwhelming. You're unlikely to ever play everything PS4 has to offer, but we're here to help you ensure you play some worthwhile games without breaking the bank. As is to be expected from a system that's now several years old, there's a wide array of games that can be picked up for quite cheap. We're highlighting many of the best games that can be had for no more than $20 on the US PlayStation Store. Be sure to let us know your recommendations in the comments below. 2018 is poised to grow the PS4's library even further, with high-profile releases like God of War, Spider-Man, and Red Dead Redemption 2 on the way alongside a variety of lesser-known hidden gems that you should be excited for this year. Nex Machina Nex Machina developer Housemarque has been focused almost exclusively on twin-stick shooters for the last decade. Starting with Super Stardust HD and running through games like Resogun and Dead Nation, it's experimented with different spins on the genre. Nex Machina feels like the culmination of those efforts, offering intense, high-octane action that constantly has you analyzing your surroundings and your options for disposing of enemies. It's an incredibly fun and satisfying experience to pick up and play, but it also features a variety of wrinkles and secrets for high-score chasers. Add in the gorgeous, neon-infused visuals, and you've got the finest output of Housemarque to date--which makes it all the more upsetting that the studio has decided to shift gears and go in a different direction. Still, you won't find a better example of its work than Nex Machina. | Chris Pereira Journey Plenty of games have stunning graphics, or heart-wrenching stories, or interactivity that stands head and shoulders above other offerings. Journey manages to have all of those and still amounts to more than the sum of its parts. Between traversing glittering sand and soaring to new heights with the help of your mystical scarf, you'll uncover hidden murals that hint at the game's story. For all that it does, Journey is also commendable for the conventions it abandons. The game does away with traditional dialogue and narration, preferring instead to let players interpret the adventure for themselves through sights and sounds. You won't need to experience it alone, though. In most cases you'll share your journey with another player-controlled character who you communicate with only through audible chirps. While the turmoil of accidentally losing your new friend hits hard as the environment becomes more threatening, finding them again and keeping them close in times of hardship is an unforgettable emotional experience. The unmistakable style in developer Thatgamecompany's design colliding with Austin Wintory's enchanting soundtrack makes Journey a unique experience that can't be missed. | Jess McDonell Sonic Mania Created by members of the Sonic fan-hack community under Sega's watch, Sonic Mania exudes passion and reverence in its recreation of nostalgic visuals, sounds, and level designs. But the game isn't content with senselessly regurgitating the past; rather, it expands upon the familiar with new ideas of its own and delivers plenty of inventive concepts that diversify and build upon the series' fast-paced level design. Sonic Mania is smart and interpretive in its approach, leveraging the strengths of its design and visuals to craft not only the best Sonic game ever made, but an amazing platforming experience overall. If you've enjoyed Sonic at any point in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Sonic Mania. And even if you're not a longtime fan, the fast-paced platforming on display is a fantastic introduction to Sega's beloved blue blur. | Matt Espineli Fez Despite being nearly six years old, Fez is still worth playing today. While it initially presents itself as a 2D game, it quickly reveals a third dimension and unfolds into something truly special as a result. You can rotate the game's seemingly 2D environments in 90-degree increments, which allows you to bring elements from the background into the foreground, often to reveal a hidden path. It's a tricky system to wrap your head around at first, but with a simple selection of puzzles to get you going, you can pick it up in no time. From this point on, Fez pushes you to contort your problem-solving techniques as it escalates to truly complex brain teasers that introduce cryptic symbols to match the ever-more-mysterious atmosphere. It's one of the few truly unique games around, and with the sequel cancelled long ago, it seems that will be the case for the foreseeable future. | Peter Brown Axiom Verge Axiom Verge is another take on the Metroidvania style, but it distinguishes itself through its wide variety of weapons and tools--most notably, the Address Disruptor, which affects the environment and each enemy type in different ways. It's also a game with an impressive sense of scale and no shortage of secrets to uncover, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Add in an excellent soundtrack and tantalizing story, and there's a lot to like here. | Chris Pereira Bloodborne The beauty of video games is how you're able to set foot in worlds you'd never want to visit in real life. Such is the case with Yharnam, the central locale of From Software's Bloodborne. You're a visitor and a hunter in a land without hope. Practically all its inhabitants are possessed with a zombie-like affliction and they want you dead. Still, every locale is inviting in its own haunting and disturbing ways; the more oppressive the environment, the more engrossing Bloodborne feels. The surrounding European-inspired architecture is as thoroughly pervasive as it is detailed. Between the gothic spires and array of imaginative melee weapons, Bloodborne often feels like an unofficial successor to Castlevania. Its enemies range from spectral maidens to more frighteningly supernatural creatures that bear much of the game's H.P. Lovecraft influence. And even if its gameplay and brutal combat borrows heavily from the studio's marquee series, Dark Souls, Bloodborne still manages to stand on its own. Bloodborne's backstories are less opaque than that of Dark Souls' mysteries, but that doesn't make this PlayStation 4 exclusive any less intriguing. | Miguel Concepcion Undertale Undertale watches you. It knows you through your actions. You don't have to hurt anyone, but you can hurt everyone. The consequences are hardly laid bare, but they are always alluded to in this retro-style RPG by independent developer Toby Fox. Undertale is both a culmination of the most chilling creepypasta and the most adorable, lovable characters you could imagine. It's all wrapped into a throwback turn-based RPG that incorporates dialogue trees in combat with elements of the bullet hell style for its combat. One of Undertale's greatest achievements is its ability to portray emotion and frame scenes through writing and an old-school art style. However, the most impactful piece of the puzzle is music: Its soundtrack evokes such a strong emotional response that very few games capture. The cozy, heartwarming jingle that plays in Snowdin town makes you wish you could chill at the local bar Grillby's with its diverse community of monsters. Papyrus' theme is equal parts silly and catchy, perfectly encapsulating the character himself. Hotland's tense, foreboding rhythm gets an electronic remix in a later stage that empowers you to push forward. The list goes on, but the point is that Undertale's masterful use of music becomes inseparable from the story it tells. It's a sort of love letter to Earthbound, but Toby Fox crafted a game that should be respected in its own right. Very few games evoke heartbreak, terror, and joy as powerfully as Undertale in such a short period of time; and in that regard, it's one of the best independent games ever made. | Michael Higham Overcooked Overcooked is like a Mario Party mini-game blown up into its own standalone experience in the best way possible. It's a game that becomes exponentially better when played with at least one other person. What starts out as a relatively tame game where you help each other chop some vegetables and get them served on a plate becomes a frantic rush to put out fires, get ingredients distributed between two moving vehicles, and other ridiculous scenarios. | Chris Pereira Iconoclasts There's no shortage of Metroidvania titles out there, but Iconoclasts stands tall as much more than a simple game about exploring the world while solving puzzles and fighting bosses. Sure, you swing a wrench that can interact with objects and whack enemies over the head, but the magic of this game goes far deeper than the tools at your disposal. Iconoclasts is a story about conflict: science vs. religion, nature vs. technology, old vs. young. And that serves as an incredible backdrop for dynamic characters that extend far beyond their 16-bit look. It's worth playing just to see where they--and you, as the mechanic Robin--end up. | Tony Wilson Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain You may have heard that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the final Metal Gear game to feature the involvement of series creator Hideo Kojima, has flaws. The last chunk of the game involves replaying earlier missions with small tweaks, and certain late-game story content was consigned to a special edition bonus feature. Despite all of that, The Phantom Pain stands as a seminal example of what an open-world action game can be. While still retaining much of what makes a Metal Gear game so distinct, it presents players with a vast open world and the ability to tackle its challenges in many, many ways. The mechanics of Ground Zeroes have been fine-tuned, and you can leverage them in a multitude of ways as you take part in the game's consistently excellent, thrilling missions. Just as enjoyable are the emergent hijinks you'll encounter along the way, and all of this is made better by the consistent progression of building up your own personal army. Although it's undoubtedly an experience best played after playing making your way through the prior games, The Phantom Pain is a game that everyone should ultimately try. It holds up now, even after a few years; all that's changed is the price tag. | Chris Pereira Celeste Celeste may look like another pixelated platformer with a youthful protagonist, but it quickly transforms into a brutal, tightly orchestrated gauntlet of death that only the best players can master. It challenges you to traverse spike-lined caverns with a modest selection of skills, with alternate pathways that push your mettle even further as you strive to acquire every last hidden item. You will die hundreds of times, but with quick restarts and a catchy soundtrack, there's never any downtime to wallow in defeat, only a new opportunity to show the game what you're made of. The action and difficulty curve are accompanied by a surprisingly engaging story that adds just the right amount of context to make your arduous journey feel justified, and to solidify Celeste as one of the biggest surprises so far of 2018. | Peter Brown Shovel Knight This is admittedly a bit of a cheat, as you're best off buying Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes all three of the campaigns released so far (and more content to come) for $25. But just $10 will get you a single campaign which is more than worth the price of entry. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment puts you in the shoes of one of the main game's antagonists, Specter Knight, as he takes his own unique journey through the same levels featured in the original game. As with Plague Knight's campaign, the unique mechanics at play here (like the dash attack) make for a much different experience. You would be best-served by starting with the base Shovel Knight campaign, but whichever version you play, you'll be treated to a modern take on retro platformers that bests many of the classics it draws inspiration from. | Chris Pereira Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection If there was one first-party PlayStation 3 series that was deemed essential, Uncharted would be it. The Tomb Raider-inspired mix of treasure hunting, puzzle solving, and gunplay was a fitting match for Naughty Dog's penchant for character-driven action-adventure games. Every installment has it share of large set-piece moments, but these dramatic sections do not overshadow the games' engaging journeys of Nathan Drake and his many collaborators. And even though Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is considered by many as the series' high point, the first and third games are nonetheless rich in delightful archeological discoveries and engrossing battles. Experiencing the first three games remastered on the PlayStation 4 is a no-brainer, especially when Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection was handled by Bluepoint Games, the studio responsible for the recent Shadow of the Colossus remake. Upgrading this trilogy to 60 frames per second alone is enough to command the attention of any Uncharted fan, let alone any fan of the genre. The addition of a photo mode, improved textures, and new Trophies only sweetens the deal. | Miguel Concepcion Bastion Supergiant Games' debut, Bastion, set the stage for everything else the developer created. This isometric action RPG tells a gripping story of a world destroyed by a catastrophic event referred to as The Calamity in the city of Caelondia. You control Bastion's protagonist, The Kid, who is led by the charismatic narrator named Rucks in a journey to piece the city back together. Very few survivors are left, and hostile monsters litter Caelondia, which is the impetus to put a varied arsenal of melee and projectile weapons to use. The Bastion acts as a sort of home base that slowly comes together as you progress and collect cores at the end of each level. Rucks' deep, instantly recognizable voice (that of Logan Cunningham) adds a level of grandeur to the story that's superbly supported by a truly remarkable soundtrack (by Darren Korb) that's vaguely Celtic, Western, and trip-hop all at the same time. Bastion's fantastical hand-painted art style (by Jen Zee) breathes life into a world nearly devoid of it, torn apart by a conflict of different cultures. These elements came to be staples of Supergiant's work, and Bastion is still a sterling example of the team's ability to craft a game that's both fun and heartfelt. | Michael Higham Transistor Transistor, the follow-up to Bastion, would take many of the striking features of that game (like the hand-painted art style, for one) but twist them for a sci-fi, cyberpunk tale. Red was a singer who had her voice physically stolen in an attack on the city of Cloudbank, and she's the one you control in this unique isometric action RPG. The Transistor, a sword-like weapon that killed a man in the attack, becomes Red's tool for fighting back against an army of robots known as The Process, controlled by an evil collective known as The Camerata. Yes, it has a lot going on, but that's how it is with Supergiant's games. The Transistor glows and speaks; it trapped the consciousness and voice of the man it was used to kill, which means this dead man becomes Red's companion throughout the game, similar to the narrator in Bastion (also voiced by Logan Cunningham). What sets Transistor apart is that it incorporates a layer of strategy on top of the action RPG gameplay. There are countless permutations to Red's movesets since each individual move, or functions, can be mixed with another to create an attack which can be used to make short work of enemies that took over your neon-lit city. You also get to pause the action for a limited timeframe to craft a plan of attack and come up with clever ways to string together functions. Not only does Transistor's soundtrack stand out for its folk-tinged electronica, but it's the focal point for characterization and acts as a driving force from start to finish. Music is at the forefront and Darren Korb's vision for complementing the futuristic world is fully realized, which makes Transistor an absolute joy to play. | Michael Higham Pyre Pyre, the latest from Supergiant Games, diverges from the action RPG gameplay the studio is known for. The fantastical, hand-painted art by Jen Zee returns. A western, electronic, trip-hop fusion soundtrack from Darren Korb also makes a comeback. But instead of controlling a single protagonist who destroys the enemies in their path in search of answers, Pyre revolves around a mystical sport that's played in an underworld populated by those who've been exiled from the normal world. You are The Reader, found in Purgatory (where reading is forbidden) by a band of exiles who befriend you. The Rites are rituals of sport that determine your worth, and this is where the meat of the gameplay happens. In a Rite, you assemble a team of three from a pool of allies you meet along the way. You face another team of three and fight for the single orb placed in the contained arena with the objective of dunking or shooting the orb into the other team's goal (or Pyre). Only one player from each team can move at any given moment. Each type of player has a varied skillset that can make the sport easier, depending on your playstyle. It sounds like a bit much at first, but once you get a hang of the flow, there's just nothing quite like it. Many have described it as Rocket League meets Dota meets Transistor. Outside of sick orb dunks is the intriguing visual novel-style story about sacrifice and the ties that bind. | Michael Higham Jamestown+ Vertical arcade shoot-em-ups typically deal with far-flung futures where an ace pilot is defending Earth from a swarm of technologically advanced aliens. By taking place in an alternate timeline where Mars was colonized by England in the 17th Century, Jamestown immediately sets itself apart from its peers. The unique, tongue-in-cheek setting goes a long way to make the game enjoyable, but it's the excellent gameplay that makes Jamestown easy to recommend. You have multiple attack ships to choose from, each with their own weapon loadouts and special abilities. They are easy to control and feel distinct enough that you won't mind replaying levels to extend your time with the game, all the while combatting cleverly constructed swarms of enemy ships that gradually escalate from level to level. It's not as punishing as most games in its genre, but the progress you make as you inch your way towards the conclusion feels rewarding nonetheless. | Peter Brown Thimbleweed Park Point-and-click adventure games have experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, and Thimbleweed Park--from adventure game legends Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick--is a prime example. The X-Files-inspired journey puts you in the role of two FBI agents that bear more than a passing resemblance to the classic TV show as you relive the glory days of adventure games. Playing on any console means dealing with a gamepad-based control scheme (as opposed to the more natural mouse controls on PC), but Switch makes up for this with touchscreen support when played in handheld mode. | Chris Pereira Thumper Although it's a game arguably best-suited for VR, Thumper is an incredible experience however you play it. It provides a unique blend of rhythm-based gameplay and action--what the developer calls "rhythm violence"--that provides a far more intense version of the basic mechanics you see in other rhythm games. With an incredible soundtrack and levels well-suited to chasing high scores, Thumper is a game with the potential to stick around on your home screen for a long time. | Chris Pereira Inside Playdead games won the admiration of its now-large audience when it released Limbo, a slow-paced puzzle-platformer that relied heavily on the use of light and negative space. For the studio's follow-up, Inside, it delivered yet another somber world to explore. It presents a tale that unfolds effortlessly before your eyes as you advance from one scene to the next, with nary a word from any of its characters. Through the power of inference and suggestion, you realize the infiltration of a malicious organization and bear witness to its sinister deeds. Inside will test your ability to think creatively, but it's the narrative--and the way it's delivered--that makes it a game worth playing. Inside reinforces the notion that, sometimes, less is more. | Peter Brown Crypt of the NecroDancer Roguelikes (or at least roguelike elements) have been one of the most popular trends in gaming over the past handful of years, but few have taken as interesting of an approach to the genre as Crypt of the NecroDancer. It tasks players with navigating a dungeon to the beat of the music. Rather than simply move in the direction you wish or attack the enemy that's in your path, you and your enemies' actions are tied directly to the (always excellent) soundtrack. It's essential that you always be doing something--not taking an action at the next beat resets your combo, meaning you'll earn less gold or deal less damage, depending on the items you've acquired. Particularly as the music becomes more fast-paced, this lends a real sense of tension and excitement to every moment: you need to constantly be considering your next action while accounting for how nearby enemies will react to your movements. It's an experience with few points of comparison, but it's nonetheless one that you'll certainly want to try. | Chris Pereira SteamWorld Dig 2 The first SteamWorld Dig was most notable for its distinct blend of mining mechanics and Metroid-style exploration, but it ended right as it began to come into its own. Its sequel is twice as long and puts that added runtime to good use, as both the story and mechanics are given time to flourish. The game put you in control of a steambot named Dorothy searching for her missing friend, Rusty--the protagonist of the first game. There's a surprising sense of momentum that runs through the adventure; it's as if developer Image & Form sifted the original in a pan, removing its redundancies while expanding upon what made mining treasure and exploring so fun in the first place. The result is a brilliant and varied evolution of the first game that not only expands upon its hybrid formula but presents it in its best light. Where the first game was a diamond in the rough, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a polished jewel. | Matt Espineli The Biggest Movies to Watch in 2018 By Dan Auty on Apr 10, 2018 01:23 am We're more than a quarter of the way through 2018, and in terms of cinema, there's already been a mix of huge hits, critical smashes, and inevitably, a few disappointments. Black Panther has smashed records, and there's another Marvel movie--Avengers: Infinity War--only a couple of weeks from release. The second Star Wars spin-off soon arrives in the shape of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which will focus on the early adventures of the iconic space smuggler, and Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the sixth Mission: Impossible movie, Fallout. Beyond these big tentpole franchises, other crowd-pleasing favourites are set to return. There's more dinosaur action in the Jurassic World sequel, the much-anticipated Deadpool 2, DC's Aquaman, and several movies from cinema's busiest star, Dwayne Johnson. The first of Sony's Spider-Man spin-offs arrives in the shape of Venom, we'll find out if there's life in the Predator franchise, and the classic Halloween series returns just in time for, well, Halloween. So here's what you can look forward to over the rest of the year... Rampage One of several movies that will star the ever-busy Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in 2018, this is an adaptation of the classic '80s arcade game. Johnson plays a scientist who must face dozens of huge, crazed mutated animals as they run amok across America. From the trailers so far it looks the wild stuff, as our hero does battle with marauding wolves, crocodiles, and gorillas. Rampage is directed by Johnson's San Andreas director Brad Peyton and also stars Naomie Harris, Malin Åkerman, Joe Manganiello, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Release date: April 13 Super Troopers 2 Hitting theaters on the very appropriate date of April 20, Super Troopers 2 is the crowd-funded sequel to the cult 2001 comedy. All the key members of the Broken Lizard comedy team return for this second movie, which sees the hapless Vermont troopers sent to the Canadian border, to a town that was thought to be Canadian soil but is actually part of the US. "We essentially have to impose US law on a bunch of Canadians that aren't at all happy about it," Broken Lizard member Paul Soter said about the movie. Release date: April 20 Avengers: Infinity War Black Panther is amazing and Ant-Man and the Wasp looks like huge fun, but it's Avengers: Infinity War that promises to be the defining Marvel movie of 2018. The culmination of a decade of interconnected superhero storytelling, the movie will feature every major hero from the MCU to date in a fight to stop the evil Thanos and the universe-threatening Infinity Stones. Captain America: Civil War proved that directors Joe and Anthony Russo are adept at juggling multiple characters, and if the first trailer is anything to go by, this will easily be the most spectacular Marvel movie to date. Until Avengers 4 arrives in 2019 that is. Release date: April 27 Cargo Fantasy and comic book fans know Martin Freeman for a number of important roles, including Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit trilogy and Everett Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Freeman takes on the lead role in Cargo, an Australian post-apocalyptic survival thriller that hits Netflix in May. He plays a man who becomes infected with a pandemic that will transform him into a terrifying creature within 48 hours, leaving him little time to find someone to look after his young child. The tense first trailer was released recently, and it looks like the blazing heat and barren landscapes of the Outback are a perfect setting for this post-apocalyptic drama. Release date: May 18 How To Talk To Girls at Parties While Neil Gaiman's classic comic book Sandman seems to be getting no closer to the screen, fans of the iconic writer will want to check out this adaptation of his 2007 short story. It's a romantic sci-fi comedy, in which a teenager falls in love with a girl from an alien world, set against the backdrop of the punk scene in late-'70s London. It features rising star Alex Sharp (To the Bone) and Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, Super 8) and is directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who made the equally extravagant musical comedy Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Expect a wild mix of music, romance, comedy, and some outlandish visuals. Release date: May 18 Solo: A Star Wars Story The second Star Wars spin-off has been marked by much behind-the-scenes turmoil, with original directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller being replaced during production by Ron Howard, leading to months of extensive reshoots. But last year's Rogue One emerged unscathed after similar production problems, and Howard is an experienced veteran of dozens of crowd-pleasing movies. The adventures of a young Han Solo is something that Star Wars fans have wanted to see for decades, and with a hugely talented supporting cast (Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton) backing up Alden Ehrenreich (Han) and Donald Glover (Lando), we're excited for this one. Release date: May 25 Deadpool 2 Deadpool was one of the 2016's biggest cinematic surprises--not only was it the most successful R-rated movie of all time, it outgrossed every other movie in the X-Men universe. So expectations are high for the sequel. The movie lost original director Tim Miller early on due to creative disagreements with star/producer Ryan Reynolds. But with John Wick co-director David Leitch on board and a cast that includes the return of Morena Baccarat, T.J. Miller, and Brianna Hildebrand, including the much-anticipated movie debuts of Josh Brolin's Cable and Zazie Beetz's Domino, everything is in place for bigger, badder, and more outrageous follow-up. The marketing campaign has refused to play by the rules; expect the movie to do the same. Release date: June 1 Upgrade Writer and actor Leigh Whannell is best known for his association with director James Wan--together the pair created the Saw and Insidious series, two of the biggest horror franchises of the last two decades. Whannell made his directing debut with 2015's Insidious 3 and is now stretching out beyond that series with his second movie, Upgrade. It's a high concept sci-fi thriller, in which a quadriplegic man is given a chance to get revenge on those who killed his wife and left him paralysed, via a computer chip that not only allows him to walk again, but also unleash massive amounts of violence upon his enemies. Like Insidious, Upgrade is produced by horror specialists Blumhouse, and if the recent red-band trailer is anything to go by, it's going to be tons of unwholesome fun. Release date: June 1 Ocean's Eight The long-awaited reboot of the hit heist comedy series, Ocean's Eight showcases an all-female team, led by Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), sister of George Clooney's Danny Ocean from the previous trilogy. She assisted by the likes of Cate Blanchett, Helen Bonham Carter, Rihanna, and Mindy Kaling, and the first trailer suggests that it will match the fast-moving funny style of the earlier movies. It's directed by Gary Ross (The Hunger Games). Release date: June 8 The Incredibles 2 Pixar's long-awaited sequel to its 2004 superhero family smash The Incredibles was originally set for a 2019 release but having switched places with Toy Story 4, we now get it a whole year earlier. Although the first teaser gives little away, we do know a few plot details. At Disney's D23 convention this summer, director Brad Bird revealed that the movie take place immediately after the end of the first movie, and will focus more on Elastigirl's superhero adventures, while Mr. Incredible is now a stay-at-home dad, trying to deal with the increasingly powerful baby Jack-Jack. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, and Samuel L. Jackson all reprise their roles, with Toy Story veteran John Ratzenberger playing the villainous Underminer. Release date: June 15, 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Jurassic World wasn't just the fourth part in a series of big dinosaur movies; it was an absolute box office monster, and currently stands as the fourth biggest film of all time. For the follow-up, acclaimed Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona takes over from Colin Trevorrow, who remains on-board as producer and co-writer. Meanwhile Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprise their roles. Trevorrow has described the movie as a "Spanish horror thriller"(in reference to Bayona's earlier hit Mama) but most exciting is the return of Jeff Goldblum, who starred in Steven Spielberg's original Jurassic Park way back in 1993. Release date: June 22 Sicario: Day of the Soldado The drug cartel thriller Sicario was one of the most gripping movies of recent years, and hopes are high for this follow-up. Director Denis Villeneuve and star Emily Blunt aren't returning, but the movie is in good hands. Director Stefano Sollima is best known for the brilliant Italian crime drama series Gomorrha, and Benicio Del Toro is set to reprise his role as a former undercover agent turned morally ambiguous enforcer Alejandro. This time the movie focuses on attempts by the CIA to incite an all-out war between rival drug gangs in Mexico; writer Taylor Sheridan has said that "if Sicario is a film about the militarization of police and that blending over, this is removing the policing aspect from it." Release date: June 29 The First Purge The Purge series has proved to be one of the most successful horror franchises of recent years, and expectations are high for this fourth entry. The First Purge looks set to continue the mix of scares, action, and biting social commentary. As the title indicates, it's a prequel that looks at the creation of the single night of legalised crime known as The Purge, and the first trailer suggests that it's lost none of its gory, satirical bite. Release date: July 4 Ant-Man and The Wasp The first Ant-Man was a welcome contrast to the likes of The Avengers and Captain America: Civil War. As much of a heist comedy as a superhero movie, it featured a winning lead role from Paul Rudd and put the emphasis much more on character and humor than huge CG-driven action sequences. With Avengers: Infinity War due in May, Ant-Man and the Wasp should be a good follow-up two months later. Evangeline Lily reprises her role as Hope Van Dyne, who now fights alongside Ant-Man as The Wasp, with Michael Douglas and Michael Pfeiffer as her parents. We don't know what direction the movie will go in this time, just that director Peyton Reed promises "an entirely different genre template." Release date: July 6 The Nun James Wan's The Conjuring was one of most successful horror movies of recent years, inspiring not only a prequel, but two spin-offs focusing on spooky doll Annabelle. The latest movie in this horror series is The Nun. It's set before the other four movies in the series so far, and focuses on the investigation into the earlier life (and death) of Valak, the terrifying demon nun from The Conjuring 2. Wan co-wrote the screenplay, and it's directed by Corin Hardy, who previously helmed the acclaimed low-budget shocker The Hallow and is about to start shooting the remake of The Crow. Expect plenty of scares. Release date: July 13 Skyscraper Another of Dwayne Johnson's 2018 action epics, this China-set thriller stars Johnson as a retired FBI hostage rescue agent who now works as a security assessor for the world's biggest skyscraper. While the first trailer doesn't reveal the specific dangers he must face while working in the world's most advanced building, we know they involve explosions, shooting, and lots of jumping. That said, it looks a bit less comedic than many of The Rock's other movies, as evidenced by the fact he has a prosthetic leg and a greying beard. All will be revealed in July. Release date: July 13 Mission Impossible 6: Fallout The Mission: Impossible series might be more than 20-years old, but on-set injuries aside, star Tom Cruise shows no signs of slowing down. Fallout sees Rogue Nation's Chris McQuarrie return to the directors chair, with Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, and Alec Baldwin all reprising their roles from previous movies. Superman star Henry Cavill joins the cast, as does his controversial moustache. Expect plenty of insane action. Release date: July 27 The Meg Based on the best-selling 1997 novel, this big-budget shark thriller has been in development for several years and finally arrives this summer. Expendables star Jason Statham plays an expert diver who faces off against a 70-foot monster shark which is causing mayhem off the coast of China. The recent shark movie The Shallows was a great small-scale thriller with a limited location, but with a budget in excess of $150 million, expect The Meg to deliver something way more spectacular. Release date: August 10 Slender Man Slender Man is the fictional horror character that first appeared as a viral internet myth in 2009 and has gone onto become a notable part of modern pop culture. It's somewhat surprising that it's taken nearly a decade for an official Slender Man movie to be made, but 2018 finally sees Hollywood's take on this urban legend. The movie's first trailer makes it looks like a pretty traditional teen horror movie, with disappearing kids, freaky long-haired children, spooky woods, and lots of weird, quickly cut imagery. But there are plenty of horror fans who have been waiting a long time to see the character on screen, and director Sylvian White is not a newcomer to the genre, having previously directed such horror TV shows such as The Originals and Sleepy Hollow. Release date: August 24 The Predator Although the original Predator is an '80s action classic, the movies that have followed have ranged from interesting but flawed (Predator 2) to completely terrible (Alien vs Predator). The Predator is writer/director Shane Black's attempt to get the franchise back on track. Black's impressive resume ranges from writing Lethal Weapon to directing Iron Man 3, and as a young actor he even had a role in original Predator. We're yet to see any footage from the movie, but the plot details we know so far suggest that it will focus upon a group of traumatised prisoners who do battle with Predators in a suburban setting. Black himself has said that he only agreed to make the film if he could do it on a big, blockbuster scale, while still delivering the sci-fi horror goods. Release date: September 14 Venom Although the deal between Disney and Sony has ensured that Spider-Man is currently part of the former's Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie right to the character ultimately remain with Sony. As a result, the studio is launching its own interconnected universe of characters from the canon of Spidey comic-books. Venom is first up; it stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a photographer who ends up with superpowers after he is taken over by the alien parasite of title. It's directed by Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer, and the impressive supporting cast includes Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, and Riz Ahmed. Release date: October 4 First Man Given Neil Armstrong is the most famous astronaut ever, it's surprising that he's never had his own biopic until now. First Man is set between 1961 and 1969 and tells the story of Armstrong's preparations for his history-changing journey to the moon. It stars Ryan Gosling as the man himself and is helmed by Gosling's La La Land director Damien Chazelle. The impressive cast also includes Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, and Pablo Schreiber. Release date: October 12 Johnny English Strikes Again While it's unlikely that a third Johnny English film was high on anyone's most-anticipated movies list for 2018, the previous two spy spoofs were major box office hits, earning more than $320 million worldwide. Johnny English Strikes Again sees Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson return as the inept superspy, who this time must thwart a master hacker. As the first trailer reveals, English travels to France with his loyal sidekick Bough to track his enemy down--and also launch missiles at French cyclists. Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson co-stars, alongside Olga Kurylenko, who appears to be parodying her role in the 2008 James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. Release date: October 12 Halloween The Halloween series might be one of longest-running and most profitable horror franchises in movie history, but most fans would agree that every entry hasn't necessarily been a good one. The last time Michael Myers stalked the screen was in Rob Zombie's hugely divisive remakes a decade ago, but now, on the 40th anniversary of John Carpenter's original movie, the killer also known as The Shape is back. Plot details for this latest Halloween are under wraps, but it's got an impressive pedigree. It's directed by acclaimed indie auteur David Gordon Green and produced by Blumhouse Films, which has scored major successes in recent years with the likes of Get Out, Paranormal Activity, and the Purge movies. Original star Jamie Lee Curtis returns, and if that wasn't enough, Carpenter himself is creatively involved and potentially providing another iconic soundtrack. Could this be the Halloween reboot that finally gets it right? Release date: October 19 The Grinch The classic Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Saved Christmas was adapted into a hit Jim Carrey movie 18 years ago, and a new animated version hits the screen in November. Doctor Strange and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch will provide the voice of the Holiday-hating title character, and the first trailer arrived last week. The movie was actually meant to be released last year, but the trailer is colourful and fun and the movie will hopefully be worth the wait. Release date: November 9 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald The Harry Potter series might have finished in 2011, but the wider movie universe goes from strength to strength. The success of 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them led to the announcement of a further four movies, the first of which arrives in November. Eddie Redmayne returns as Newt Scamander, with Jude Law as the young Dumbledore, who enlists the help of Newt to help defeat the dark wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). David Yates directs once more, from a screenplay by Potter creator JK Rowling. Release date: November 16 Widows Ocean's Eight isn't the only high-profile heist movie coming our way in 2018. Widows is the latest film from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) and is written by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. The movies focuses on four women whose husbands are killed in a failed heist, who then decide to finish the job themselves. It's based on a British TV show of the same name from the 1980s, and the star-studded cast includes Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Liam Neeson, and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya. Films like 12 Years and Shame proved that McQueen can deliver prestigious, acclaimed dramas, so hopes are high that he is equally adept at making edgy crime thrillers. Release date: November 18 Creed 2 While most thought that the legendary movie boxer Rocky Balboa had finally hung up his gloves, the 2015 spin-off Creed not only gave the character one of his finest movies, it paved the way for director Ryan Coogler to get the job of directing Marvel's wildly successful Black Panther. Coogler won't be back for the sequel, but star Michael B. Jordan is, once again playing the son of the original movies' Apollo Creed. Rocky creator and star Sylvester Stallone is back too, as both co-star and co-writer. Steven Caple Jr. directs this time, and it's rumoured that Creed 2 will bring back another iconic character from the original series--Rocky IV's Russian powerhouse Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). Release date: November 21 Ralph Breaks the Internet The 2012 animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph was a critical and commercial hit, and the sequel arrives in November. It focuses on the arcade game villain-turned-hero of the title, who this time enters the internet after the arcade his game lives in goes online. John C. Reilly is the voice of Ralph, with Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Taraji P. Henson, and James Corden also part of the voice cast. Release date: November 21 Aquaman The DC universe has had a bumpy ride so far, with only Wonder Woman connecting with both audiences and critics. But there's every reason to be hopeful that Aquaman could do the same. Director James Wan is a skilled genre operator, whether delivering crowd-pleasing horror (Saw, The Conjuring) or blockbuster action (Furious 7), and there's a killer cast that includes Patrick Wilson, Willem Defoe, Nicole Kidman, and '80s action icon Dolph Lungren, plus Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Amber Heard as Mera. Wan recently debunked the rumour that the film would be overstuffed with multiple villains, and promises an "emotional and powerful" origin movie. Release date: December 21 Super Smash Bros. Switch: 20 Characters We Want Put On The Roster By GameSpot Staff on Apr 10, 2018 01:21 am Dream Fighters After much anticipation, Nintendo finally confirmed that Super Smash Bros. is officially coming to Nintendo Switch. And what's even better news is that the game is actually releasing this year. Naturally, this has us pretty ecstatic, and we're already speculating which characters we want to return or debut to the game's roster. While characters who have been in past entries, like Ice Climbers and Falco, are obvious choices for our staff's most hardcore fans, we're also eager to see characters from other Nintendo franchises and third-party games make appearances. Here are the 20 characters we want to see the most in Super Smash Bros. on Switch. As of writing, we don't know if the upcoming game will be an updated version of Super Smash Bros. Wii U or an entirely brand-new game. If it is a port, it could follow the model of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which offered a slew of new features on top of including all existing DLC. There are plenty of other Wii U titles that deserve a second chance on Switch as well but Smash Bros. is undoubtedly the most obvious candidate. Nintendo has remained ambiguous about what form this game will take. Which characters do you want to appear in Smash Bros. for Switch? Let us know in the comments below. In recent news, a Super Smash Bros. Switch tournament is going to be held at this year's E3. For more on the recent Nintendo news, check out GameSpot's roundup of all the recent Nindies Nintendo Direct news and our roundup of all the mid-March Nintendo Direct news, which includes release dates for some of the most exciting upcoming Switch and 3DS games. Captain Toad Super Smash Bros. rosters are generally dominated by the expected heroes and villains. What I want to see is another character like Animal Crossing's Villager who is a little more unconventional. Captain Toad may seem harmless, but the idea of him transforming into a fighter who can go toe-to-toe with Bowser, Ganon, or precious Mario (you know Captain Toad hates him and his proclivity for jumping and hogging the spotlight) would get me more interested in the Switch edition of Smash than anything else. While sure to be just one part of an expansive roster, making Captain Toad playable in Smash would help to provide Switch's Treasure Tracker re-release with some additional attention. He may not have the makings of a prototypical fighter, but to me that's what would make him more interesting. I'd be curious to see how Nintendo finds a workaround for his inability to jump--maybe he could throw his backpack into the air before leaping. He has a variety of tools and abilities at his disposal in Treasure Tracker (a pickaxe, an off-screen turnip gun, the ability to pull things out of the ground) that could be leveraged as weapons in Smash. And imagining a matching Treasure Tracker stage--one that messes with camera perspectives--is even more exciting. Captain Toad may not have the glitz and glamor of other names, but his unique nature would make him a worthwhile member of the roster. | Chris Pereira Crash Bandicoot Crash never made it into PlayStation All Stars, but he deserves a chance to throw down. With the N. Sane trilogy making its way to Switch, I think it's time for everyone's favorite marsupial to do the same. Crash's moveset is so easy to envision: spinning attacks, throwing wumpa fruit, and a Final Smash that slaps a golden Aku Aku mask on his face, charging him up like some kind of Australian Super Saiyan. If Crash were added to the roster, elements of his games could also be incorporated into the Smash universe. Maybe a standard mask could be picked up by anyone. Maybe the game's signature crates could be added to Smash's group of containers like barrels and party balls. One thing's for sure: making Crash a playable character should also mean Coco joining as an assist trophy. Let's talk stages. The Crash Bandicoot series has been all over the world, from the Great Wall of China to Ancient Egypt to a crazy techno-centric future. Why not take the "warped" mentality of Crash 3 and have fighters bounce between those crazy locations? I can already picture Neo Cortex floating around in the background of the outer space phase of the map. | Tony Wilson Toon Zelda/Tetra The Smash Bros. series has seen many Links: Young Link, Toon Link, regular Link, and now, what looks like Breath of the Wild Link. But there's only one Zelda. Zelda/Sheik is one of the standout characters, of course, but it's time for something new. Tetra is a badass pirate queen with a sword, and her Princess Zelda transformation has a bow with light arrows--among other possible weapons. (Her Hyrule Warriors incarnation has a pistol, for example.) She's scrappy, she's sassy, her pirate ship is already a Smash stage, and she already has an Amiibo. Even if she didn't transform like her standard counterpart, Tetra or Toon Zelda would both make sense among the ranks of the top Smash fighters. And it's about time. Plus, I just really want Wind Waker HD to come to Switch. | Kallie Plagge Ice Climbers The Ice Climbers were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee as representatives of the NES era of Nintendo's history. As a single entity, Popo and Nana were different from the other fighters; if the NPC-controlled Ice Climber was knocked out, you could still fight, just without team moves. Fighting as them was just really...well, cool. Popo and Nana got shafted in Smash 4. Supposedly cut due to the 3DS' limited processing power (and the fact that there probably won't be another game in their series soon, if ever, so they weren't a high priority), the Ice Climbers only appeared as a trophy. But the Switch solves one of those problems, at least! And if what Masahiro Sakurai says is true, and the Ice Climbers were fully functional in the Wii U version, it's not too much to ask to bring them back in the next Super Smash Bros. | Kallie Plagge Geno Since his debut in Super Mario RPG, fans have been clamoring for ♡♪!? (also known as Geno for those who struggle to pronounce his true name). While a true Super Mario RPG sequel will likely never happen, there is hope for the badass Star Road warrior to appear in Smash. When Nintendo started to release character announcement trailers for the Wii U and 3DS versions, I'd sit on the edge of my seat hoping he'd be revealed every time. When it came to the final DLC character reveal, Nintendo found a way to get my hopes up, only to crush them instantly. They showed off Geno, but not the way anyone wanted. We were told Geno was available...but as a Mii Gunner costume. While I was happy to see they acknowledged his existence, it was still disappointing to see he was still not a playable fighter. If he were to be added, he'd make an excellent ranged fighter and a welcome roster addition compared to the influx of sword-based fighters in recent games. Geno Beam (or even Geno Flash) would be perfect as a charge attack and Geno Whirl could be used similar to Samus's missile with the side-B attack. For a Final Smash, Geno Blast would look gorgeous as rays of light come flashing down to devastate his opponents.While I know deep down that it's a long shot, I'm still hoping that somehow he'll find his way onto the roster. With the inclusion of Square Enix's Cloud in the most recent version, the door is now open for Geno. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting his arrival. | Gajan Kulasingham Isaac One of the most exciting aspects of every Super Smash Bros. release is seeing which forgotten Nintendo characters the developers have plucked from obscurity and added to the roster. Not only is it fun to see old mascots completely reimagined on a modern console, but in many cases, an appearance in Smash Bros. heralds a revival for their series--as was the case with Kid Icarus after Pit appeared in Brawl. While Golden Sun may not be as well-known as some of Nintendo's other franchises, I'd still love to see its main protagonist, Isaac, join the fray. Despite his brief tenure in the spotlight (only three Golden Sun games have been released thus far, the latest of which starred not Isaac but his son, Matthew), Isaac is perfectly suited for Smash Bros. thanks to his special abilities. As an Adept, he's capable of wielding Psynergy, magic-like abilities that would form the basis of his moveset. To further set him apart from other fighters, he could equip different Djinn during a match, which would alter the Psynergy spells at his disposal. And for his Final Smash, Isaac could call upon one of Golden Sun's many other over-the-top summons, such as Judgment, to deliver a devastating, screen-consuming attack. Moreover, Isaac isn't a complete stranger to Smash Bros.; he appeared as an Assist Trophy in Brawl, so it would hardly be a stretch for him to make the leap to playable character. The Smash series may already have a glut of swordsmen on its roster, but I think Isaac has enough unique skills in his repertoire to make a great addition--and if it would help pave the way for a new Golden Sun game on Switch, so much the better. | Kevin Knezevic King K. Rool For every great hero, there is a villain that helps define them. For Batman, there is the Joker. For Mario, there is Bowser. And for Donkey Kong, there is King K. Rool. The Kremlings leader has been around since Donkey Kong Country and has frequently opposed the Kongs. Being such an iconic foe to a popular Nintendo character makes his absence in Smash Bros quite perplexing. If King K. Rool were to be added, he'd easily be classified as a heavyweight character--of which there is a significant need in the Smash Bros. games. With so many smaller, faster characters in the game, adding more powerhouse fighters would definitely be a welcome addition. He'd even have a vast array of costume options based off his various appearances in the DK Country games, such as Kaptain K. Rool, Baron K. Roolenstein, and King Krusha K. Rool. As for attacks, he has a wide amount of gadgets at his disposal, which could be attached to his basic attacks. This could make him a fun powerhouse character capable of dealing significant melee damage up close but also have the option of utilizing ranged attacks. I'd be excited to see him added, but I'm honestly surprised he hasn't been in a Smash game already. | Gajan Kulasingham Crono The Chrono series, outside of the thoroughly excellent DS re-release and the not-so-good PC port, has been silent for a long time. But aside from the business and development reasons that the seminal RPG only received one semi-sequel in Chrono Cross, a character crossover with the next Smash Bros. actually makes some weird sense. The biggest argument for Crono is that Cloud was playable in Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. The protagonist from Final Fantasy VII is a staunchly third-party character from a Final Fantasy game that never came to a Nintendo console, so there's at least a precedent for that level of crossover. The Final Fantasy VII Remake gives a reason to elevate Cloud's profile (so maybe Aeris or Tifa would be a more-likely candidate). But Crono is such an outstanding character from developer Square's past and its long-running relationship with Nintendo. The other reason that Cloud makes a good fit is that, despite being yet another character with a sword, his reliance on multi-character attacks mean that he'd have his own unique identity, moveset, and visual flair. Crono is a long shot character, especially since unlike Final Fantasy, there isn't an official high-definition 3D model of the character available. But who would've guessed that Cloud, Ryu, and Bayonetta would ever be in a Smash game? | Justin Haywald Professor Layton The austere professor with his oversized hat may sound like an odd fit for Smash, but as an iconic representative of puzzle gaming on the DS, Professor Layton is long overdue for a spot on the SSB roster. The best examples for how Layton would work in a fighter is Phoenix Wright, who made an appearance in various Vs. Capcom fighting games, or a character like the peaceful Animal Crossing Villager. Not having a ready-made assortment of combat abilities doesn't rule out their effectiveness in a wacky game like Smash. And as we've seen from several of Layton's adventures, he's an accomplished fencer, so he's ready to throw down with a weapon when the situation calls for it. And Layton could also introduce fun, interactive stages that play off his previous adventures. Hand-drawn village backgrounds that open up to unlock puzzles, and maybe the characters on the screen would have to try to solve some of the simpler ones in order to avoid hazards from hitting everyone one the screen. Layton has been a dream addition to Smash for me for a long time, and figuring out how he'd fit into the game doesn't feel like a terribly difficult puzzle. | Justin Haywald Ridley As Samus Aran's arch-nemesis, the Space Pirate leader Ridley seems like a perfect candidate to go head-to-head with the Metroid hunter in the Smash Bros. arena as a playable fighter. Aside from the intergalactic bounty hunter and the Metroids that she hunts, the fire-breathing boss is one of the most recognizable characters in the series--who seems to always survive the last battle by the skin of its razor-sharp teeth. Despite never having been playable, Ridley has already made several appearances in past Smash games, most notably as a boss in Brawl's Subspace Emissary story mode. It's about time that Samus' nemesis became a playable character, and Ridley's fighting style, which is focused on fast, hard-hitting moves, along with a large set of wings that give it great speed and agility, can make Ridley a welcome change from the other heavy-set characters like King Dedede, Bowser, and DK. Moreover, Ridley's many appearances throughout the Metroid series also opens up the opportunity to let players choose from different incarnations of the character. I mean, who wouldn't want the chance to play as the cybernetically enhanced Meta-Ridley to battle Samus in one of the Metroid-inspired levels? | Alessandro Fillari Tharja Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS has no shortage of Fire Emblem characters. To be honest, by the time Corrin and Roy rolled around as DLC I was starting to get sick of them, however, Tharja could add something unique to the roster. Unlike Roy, Marth, Lucina, and Ike, Tharja is a Dark Mage and she could specialize in ranged-attack spells. Sure, Corrin and Robin had a fair amount of medium-range attacks, but in most cases, you'd still want to keep your foes close. Tharja could utilize a flashy set of dark spells to deliver powerful blows from afar, and quick on her feet to escape close range fighters. The likelihood of Tharja coming to Smash is slim, but I think she would add much more character and personality to the roster than Robin and Corrin did. | Jake Dekker Kass While Breath of the Wild was very much Link's show, there was one character who always knew how to make his presence known throughout the young(ish) champion's quest throughout Hyrule--and it always started off with the faint sound of an accordion in the distance. Kass, the traveling storyteller, could spin a memorable yarn about Hyrule's past, but I'd like to think he can also hold his own in a fight against other Nintendo characters. While we don't ever see Kass fight, that certainly hasn't stopped Nintendo from turning normally passive characters--like Wii Fit Trainer or R.O.B.--into powerhouses on the battlefield. As a member of the bird-like Rito tribe, Kass has the natural gift of flight, potentially making him an agile character in a fight. However, his true gifts lie with his accordion and oratory talents. Much like in Breath of the Wild, Kass can use the power of song to grab the attention of anyone nearby as they listen to him tell the tale of the surrounding environment. While this may seem a bit gimmicky, Super Smash Bros. tends to shine most when it comes to characters that has a specific purpose. And often times, those characters prove their worth and find an audience among fans. And I for one think that Kass has the potential to prove himself on the battlefield. | Alessandro Fillari Waluigi If Waluigi can't get his own game, he should at least be added to the Super Smash Bros. roster. Wario has been playable in two previous Smash games, but Luigi's rival, Waluigi, has never been included. Now is the time. Waluigi has already made appearances in Smash as a collectible trophy and assist trophy, and in Brawl, Luigi has a black and purple color swap to make him look similar to his arch-rival. If he's already a part of the Smash universe, then making him playable is an easy transition. Smash Bros. on the 3DS and Wii U had plenty of Nintendo heroes on their rosters and not enough villains. The Switch version's roster could only benefit from adding another fun, fan-favorite antagonist like Waluigi to liven things up with his personal brand of mischief. Throughout the years, his popularity has only been growing. He's sassy, cunning, relatably self-hating, skilled, and ridiculous. Just think about how campy and glorious his taunt would be. It's Waluigi time. | Chastity Vicencio Shovel Knight Shovel Knight hits things with a shovel. I want to hit Kirby with a shovel. Honestly, it's as simple as that. Shovel Knight has been one of the best 2D throwback platformers in recent years, a game that perfectly captures the spirit of the NES era while making smart tweaks to make it more palatable for modern sensibilities. That's an excellent fit for a fighting game that oozes Nintendo spirit if you ask me. The game features a wide variety of upgrades that Shovel Knight (who can be male or female) can utilize to take down foes, so there's more than enough options to make Shovel Knight a distinctly interesting Smash character if brute shovel force isn't enough. And look--he's already got an Amiibo, so that's basically his ticket to ride. It's Shovelling Time! | Edmond Tran Rex Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was one of Nintendo's biggest games of 2017, so it would only be fitting to see it represented in the newly revealed Super Smash Bros. for Switch. Naturally, the most logical choice for a Smash fighter from the game would be its protagonist, Rex, but just as in his own adventure, he should come with a few Blades in tow to make him a truly unique addition to the roster. Whereas Shulk (Smash Bros.' other resident Xenoblade character) is able to use the Monado to grant himself different buffs, Rex could derive his abilities from the Blade he currently has equipped. Like Pokemon Trainer from Brawl, he could swap between the Blades during a match, with each granting him a different set of special attacks. Of course, Pyra would be his primary Blade, but he could also have two others--such as Roc and Nia--at his disposal, just as in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. And for his Final Smash, Pyra could transform into Mythra to rain down a powerful Sacred Arrow attack over the entire field. Not only would Rex be a fun addition to the roster, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 would make a fitting basis for a new stage. The game is filled with beautiful vistas and fantastical fauna, which could make for some rather interesting stage hazards--imagine having a match interrupted by a powerful Named Monster that forces all players to temporarily team up with each other to take down. As the face of one of Nintendo's most ambitious Switch games to date, Rex certainly deserves a spot on the Smash roster. | Kevin Knezevic Falco This might seem like an odd pick considering Falco will most likely be in the game, but as a diehard Melee fan, I want the Falco of old. Super Smash Bros. Melee is my most played game of all time, and Falco was my main man...err...bird. I liked him because of his side-A attack, which acted as a super strong KO kick that would send players flying off stages at moderate percentages. Newer revisions of Falco changed his kick to a much less effective arm-swinging swipe move, which isn't nearly as potent. Falco's shine was also very useful in Melee. Players could use it to perform combos, but later revisions had the shine shoot out of him, which removed these abilities. He's just not the same. As a die-hard old-school Falco fan, I just want Nintendo to return Falco to his glory days. | Jimmy Thang Star Wolf Even though Melee is my most-played game of all time, I didn't particularly care for Brawl when it came out. I didn't like the slower pace of the game, and the inclusion of tripping didn't help either. One character that I did love, however, was Star Wolf. His skillset matched with my playstyle perfectly. He has a strong side-A that could finish people, decent recovery moves, an effective arial game, and is equipped with a stunning projectile laser. I was dismayed to hear that he wouldn't be in the Wii U version, considering Nintendo doesn't often remove characters from Smash. I'm hoping Star Wolf makes a comeback and retains his moves. | Jimmy Thang Snake Super Smash Bros. has always a been cool way to have a bunch of your favorite Nintendo characters fight it out, and the idea easily invites other game characters to join the fight. But back in 2008 my wildest dream came true. Often said as a joke amongst my friends I always wanted a character from Metal Gear, my all time favorite series, to show up and that is exactly what I got with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was show time. Snake is an interesting character mostly due to the fact that he is one of few realistic-looking individuals in a roster of cartoon-y ones. He pulls a lot of his attacks from Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2, but a lot of his mannerisms come from Metal Gear Solid 3. He is a very range-heavy character, but if someone gets in close, he still has a lot of great tools at his disposal to even the playing field. He is a fun character to play with lots of tricks, and I really enjoy all of the small details they put in for fans of the MGS series. They could even incorporate some new stuff from MGSV; maybe just change him to be Punished Snake! From his silly codec taunt conversations about all of the characters to his vast arsenal of weapons rivaling any of the metal Gear games, Snake deserves to come back to Smash. | Ben Janca Porky Minch Technically, Porky has already made an appearance in Super Smash Bros.; in Brawl, he was one of the boss characters that Ness and Lucas face while fighting in the Subspace Emissary. But that only proves that he make an excellent addition to the fighting game roster. Although Giygas is the Big Bad in Earthbound, Porky is the malevolent being's willing accomplice. And as the Earthbound sequel, Mother 3, shows, Porky is a resourceful villain who's able to rise above his previous failures to become even more powerful and dangerous. And his appearance in Smash could also bridge the gap between his sniveling uselessness in Earthbound and his powerful but decaying form in Mother 3--a Porky that's just coming into his own powers but also relies on sophisticated gadgetry to pummel his foes. Most of all, I just want Porky in the game so that there's another direct Nintendo connection to the Earthbound/Mother series. I still haven't given up hope of a Western release of Mother 3...and the Switch would be the perfect console to get that long-awaited port. | Justin Haywald The Champions Of Hyrule The reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros. on Switch all but confirmed that Link from Breath of the Wild will be in the game. But I hope Nintendo will include more Breath of the Wild characters, like the Champions: Revali, Daruk, Urbosa, and Mipha. It would be awesome to see them all added into the game as four separate characters, but realistically, I could see Nintendo making them a single character slot--similar to Pokemon Trainer from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Having the ability to play and freely switch between Revali, Daruk, Urbosa, and Mipha sounds complicated to implement. After all, having access to four separate movesets seems like it would be both a mechanical and balancing nightmare, but I'm holding out for the possibility of the Champions being playable. Imagine launching an opponent upwards into the air with Revali's Gale, and then switching to Daruk to smash them down with his Boulder Breaker. You could even have Mipha revive you if you happen to accidentally get launched out of a stage. There are a ton of cool possibilities available for the Champions, and given Breath of the Wild's financial and critical success, they ought to be put in the game in some form. At the very least, I hope Nintendo incorporates their moves into Breath of the Wild Link's moveset, or creates an entire stage devoted to them and their Divine Beasts. | Matt Espineli The Best Cheap Nintendo Switch Games Out Now By Array on Apr 10, 2018 01:18 am Quality Games On A Budget There continues to be no shortage of high quality games to own and play on Nintendo Switch. There are Nintendo's flagship titles, like Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Kirby Star Allies, and a variety of other Switch games you may have missed. And if you's interested in revisiting fantastic games from the recent past, the game has ports for bige name games like Bayonetta 2, Skyrim, L.A. Noire, and Doom. However, there's also a burgeoning selection of games that cost no more than $20 on the console's Eshop. These low priced games are not a concept exclusive to Switch, nor is this system the only place to play them. But given the system's a little over a year in, it's remarkable how the platform is abursting at the seams with fantastic games to play. In the gallery above, we've highlighted Switch games that are available now for no more than $20 on the Eshop. This is far from a comprehensive list, but if you're looking for a cheap Switch game to pick up, you can't go wrong with any of these options. Many are not Switch exclusives, but it's often the best platform to play them on, thanks to newly added features or the sheer convenience of having a version you can play both on a TV and on the go. These games are presented in no particular order; they're simply titles that are worth a look. Be sure to check back often as we update this gallery with more awesome budget games. And while you're here, check out our features detailing all the Wii U games we want ported to Switch, 13 things we want to see from the console, and the best games on the console as of 2018. Celeste ($20 / £18) Celeste is a magical game that will challenge you in a multitude of ways. Its platforming is really, really hard, and you'll likely get frustrated at your fumbling fingers for failing a jump or at your slow brain for not figuring out how to get to the next safe zone. But when you get to that checkpoint, it's satisfying to know your fingers and brain aren't, in fact, useless. More than its platforming, though, Celeste's story is challenging. The main protagonist, Madeline, is faced with a horrible journey--both climbing a mountain and battling her own mind--and at times it's not easy to watch her suffer. The game's writing is such that it's easy to project that suffering onto yourself, and that can make it tough to face playing the next level. But you should absolutely do so, because it's a story with an ending worth the struggle and a cast of characters so endearing you'll be rooting for them to succeed. Just expect to fail a few leaps of faith along the way. The Sexy Brutale ($20 / £18) The Sexy Brutale is a quirky little puzzle game co-developed by Tequila Works, the studio behind beautiful adventure game Rime. Its essentially Groundhog Day: The Game--you play through the same day over and over, but with each runthrough you learn more about the creepy mansion you find yourself in. After seeing one character shoot another, you might go and find the gun and prevent the bloody murder by replacing real bullets with blanks. A number of these murders are interconnected--solving one puzzle might prevent one murder, but that could change another branch of time elsewhere in the house. There's no way of preventing every murder in one go, but discovering and tinkering with the different timelines is where the fun lies. And with it being playable on Switch, you can live the same day countless times anywhere you want. Suffice to say, we've played it over and over again--groundhog day indeed. Crypt of the NecroDancer ($20 / £18) Roguelikes (or at least roguelike elements) have been one of the most popular trends in gaming over the past handful of years, but few have taken as interesting of an approach to the genre as Crypt of the NecroDancer. Originally released on PC and other platforms before making its way to Switch in 2018, NecroDancer tasks players with navigating a dungeon to the beat of the music. Rather than simply move in the direction you wish or attack the enemy that's in your path, you and your enemies' actions are tied directly to the (always excellent) soundtrack. It's essential that you always be doing something--not taking an action at the next beat resets your combo, meaning you'll earn less gold or deal less damage, depending on the items you've acquired. Particularly as the music becomes more fast-paced, this lends a real sense of tension and excitement to every moment: you need to constantly be considering your next action while accounting for how nearby enemies will react to your movements. It's an experience with few points of comparison, but it's nonetheless one that you'll certainly want to try. Battle Chef Brigade ($20 / £18) Battle Chef Brigade puts you in control of an aspiring young chef named Mina as she fights to become the best cook in the land. But this isn't your typical cooking game; rather than choose from pre-set ingredients in front of you to make a simple dish, you actually have to hunt and gather them yourself, making use of Devil May Cry-like battle system to eliminate them in the wild. You then have to take what you gather back to your kitchen, throw it in a pot, and cook it in a match three mini-game. F rame this within an Iron Chef-like cook off where the clock is ticking against you and you'll have an idea of what you're getting into. The juxtaposition between the two core mechanics of hunting and cooking make for a tense, fast-paced experience that's both memorable and fulfilling. Enter the Gungeon ($15 / £11) Being a roguelike-style shooter, Enter the Gungeon naturally draws comparisons to games like The Binding of Isaac and Nuclear Throne. And while that does offer a decent starting point for understanding what to expect, Enter the Gungeon manages to rise above being a pale imitator. It feels fantastic, with a dodge-roll ability that allows you to satisfyingly evade damage with a well-timed use. There are ridiculous weapons, such as those that fire bees or a gun that shoots guns which themselves fire bullets. The well-crafted procedurally generated environments help to keep each run feeling fresh, as do the wide variety of items and secrets to uncover along the way. And co-op support makes for an especially fun, chaotic experience (although it's unfortunate that the second player isn't able to play as the different characters that the main player has access to). The entire game is also overflowing with personality and color, making for an experience that is as fun to look at as is to play. Furi ($20 / £18) Fans of Japanese action games will instantly love Furi, as it utilizes a twitch-based combat similar to fan-favorite games in the genre, like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Its premise is simple: you play as a nameless silver-haired swordsman who must fight his way out of imprisonment, facing off against a gauntlet of deadly bosses. Aside from its striking presentation, Furi's most memorable quality is its fast and frenetic combat, which is punchy, nuanced, and elegantly simple. It combines mechanics from both hack-and-slash games and shoot 'em ups, challenging you to handle switching between gameplay styles at a moment's notice in the midst of a fight. If you're a sucker for challenging action games, Furi should be at the top of your list for $20 Switch games to buy. SteamWorld Dig 2 ($20 / £15) SteamWorld Dig 2 expands on its predecessor in a number of welcome ways. It looks much nicer, with a better soundtrack and more interesting story, but it also expands on progression. A new mod system allows you to tailor your character to your particular style, and the varied environments provide an incentive to keep digging and new challenges to contend with. Digging your way through blocks remains an enjoyable gameplay mechanic, and particularly with optional waypoints disabled, exploring the depths of this world is a real treat. Read our SteamWorld Dig 2 review Picross S ($8 / £7.19) Switch's entry in the Picross series, Picross S, doesn't do anything radically new, and it doesn't have to. It offers the straightforward, streamlined pleasure of its sudoku/nonogram-style gameplay on the go. It's the kind of game that's perfect to have loaded up on Switch--you can easily jump in for a quick puzzle (or eight) while you're on the go or in between sessions of other games. There's plenty to do with 300 puzzles, and simultaneous two-player multiplayer support gives you a way to ease newcomers into the series. Stardew Valley ($15 / £11) Like many other games on this list, Stardew Valley feels particularly well-suited to the portable nature of Switch. The system makes it easy to boot up the game for a quick day on the farm no matter where you are, and the controls work surprisingly well--though they could still use some refinement (possibly through the addition of touch controls, which are absent). The game remains a charming take on the Harvest Moon formula and provides a nice, peaceful complement to many of the more action-oriented games on Switch--particularly in lieu of a new Animal Crossing. Read our Stardew Valley review Golf Story ($15 / £13.49) Even if you're not a fan of the real-world sport, there's an undeniable appeal to golf games. Golf Story goes beyond simply letting you hit the links, though, taking the form of a traditional RPG that just happens to revolve around golfing. It features a charming story and a delightful, reactive world to explore, along with some trademark Australian humor. Read our Golf Story review Sonic Mania ($20 / £16) Sonic Mania marks the latest attempt to recapture the 2D glory days of the Sonic franchise, and it more than succeeds. Fantastic level design and a real sense of speed help to scratch that nostalgic itch, but it also stands as a solid game among its contemporaries. Our review goes so far as to even say it might very well be the best Sonic game ever. In light of Sonic Forces' deficiencies, at least Sonic fans have good Sonic game to play on the system. Read our Sonic Mania review Overcooked ($20 / £18) Multiplayer games that can be played with a single Joy-Con are a real treat--wherever you go with the system, you're able to easily play together with another person. And that's good news for Overcooked, a game that becomes exponentially better when played with at least one other person. What starts out as a relatively tame game where you help each other chop some vegetables and get them served on a plate becomes a frantic rush to put out fires, get ingredients distributed between two moving vehicles, and other ridiculous scenarios. Read our Overcooked review Thimbleweed Park ($20 / £15) Point-and-click adventure games have experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, and Thimbleweed Park--from adventure game legends Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick--is a prime example. The X-Files-inspired journey puts you in the role of two FBI agents that bear more than a passing resemblance to the classic TV show as you relive the glory days of adventure games. Playing on any console means dealing with a gamepad-based control scheme (as opposed to the more natural mouse controls on PC), but Switch makes up for this with touchscreen support when played in handheld mode. Read our Thimbleweed Park review Retro City Rampage DX ($15 / £13) A throwback GTA Online mode aside, Grand Theft Auto has long since moved on from the classic top-down perspective of its earliest games. Retro City Rampage carries on that legacy, offering an open-world crime game in 8-bit style. What could have easily been a mere GTA clone, however, is distinguished with copious pop culture references and a distinctly arcade-style feel to its gameplay. This DX edition offers additional content not seen in the original version of the game. Read our Retro City Rampage review Fast RMX ($20 / £17) The likelihood of a new F-Zero game doesn't seem terribly high, but Fast RMX is the next best thing. It offers a similar style of high-speed, futuristic racing, with support for local and online multiplayer (including single Joy-Con play) and wide variety of levels. It's also a good-looking game, running at 1080p and 60 FPS. Read our Fast RMX review World of Goo ($10 / £9) It's been around for years, and the Switch version doesn't bring any new content to the table, but now is as good a time as any to play World of Goo if you haven't already. Its construction-based puzzles that task you with creating structures and other objects to fulfill a variety of objectives are still as well designed as ever, making this a worthwhile addition to your Switch library. The one noteworthy distinction with this edition is the addition of local co-op multiplayer (absent from most other platforms); it's also one of the few games to put the Joy-Con's IR pointer to use. Read our World of Goo review Little Inferno ($10 / £9) Another of Tomorrow Corporation's game, Little Inferno also doesn't bring anything new to the table for Switch if you're playing by yourself. But if you have a friend, it introduces a new local co-op multiplayer mode not seen on other platforms. For the uninitiated, Little Inferno involves throwing stuff into a furnace and watching it burn for cash (which is then used to buy more stuff to burn). Despite that simple premise, there is a deeper puzzle system at work here where you have to burn different combinations of objects together to fulfill certain requirement. It's relatively short but features a surprisingly intriguing story and has a cat plushie that poops when burned, so it really checks all the boxes. Read our Little Inferno review Gonner ($10 / £9) Switch's portable nature lends itself well to quick, pick-up-and-play roguelike games. Gonner is an ideal example, blending procedural generation with action-platforming as you blast your way through countless enemies. With a distinct visual style and seemingly endless replayability, it's another great match with the platform. Graceful Explosion Machine ($13 / £10) Shoot-em-ups are not well-represented on Switch, but Graceful Explosion Machine nicely fills that void. Rather than presenting you with an endless stream of foes, it presents confined, handcrafted levels and a variety of distinct weapons with which to dispatch your enemies. Dealing with weapon cooldowns and figuring out the ideal order in which to deal with enemies becomes a game unto itself, and this all takes place within the confines of a cute, colorful world. Severed ($15 / £12) Severed is one of the few games on Switch that can only be played in handheld mode, due to its mandatory touchscreen controls. It's a dungeon crawler with a twist, as you're tasked with slicing your way through enemies you encounter by swiping on the screen. But beyond the enjoyable gameplay and slick visual style, Severed's story is the real highlight, as you experience the tale of a one-armed warrior named Sasha. Read our Severed review Shovel Knight ($10-$25 / £9-£22.49) This is admittedly a bit of a cheat, as you're best off buying Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes all three of the campaigns released so far (and more content to come) for $25. But just $10 will get you a single campaign which is more than worth the price of entry. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment puts you in the shoes of one of the main game's antagonists, Specter Knight, as he takes his own unique journey through the same levels featured in the original game. As with Plague Knight's campaign, the unique mechanics at play here (like the dash attack) make for a much different experience. You would be best-served by starting with the base Shovel Knight campaign, but whichever version you play, you'll be treated to a modern take on retro platformers that bests many of the classics it draws inspiration from. Read our Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment review Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together ($20 / £18) Snipperclips was overshadowed at launch by the hype around The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it remains one of--if not the--best multiplayer games on Switch. Although it can be played solo, cooperative play is where Snipperclips truly shines. You work together to solve relatively simple challenges--get this ball into the basket; pop some balloons--by overlapping your characters and cutting chunks out of one another. This allows you to shape your partner into a tool that can be used for the task at hand. There's little else like it, on Switch or elsewhere. One thing to note is the new Snipperclips Plus version, which offers additional content; owners of the base game will be able to purchase its additions as DLC. Read our Snipperclips review Thumper ($20/£16) Although it's a game arguably best-suited for VR, Thumper is an incredible experience however you play it. It provides a unique blend of rhythm-based gameplay and action--what the developer calls "rhythm violence"--that provides a far more intense version of the basic mechanics you see in other rhythm games. With an incredible soundtrack and levels well-suited to chasing high scores, Thumper is a game with the potential to stick around on your Switch's home screen for a long time. Read our Thumper review Axiom Verge ($20 / £15) Axiom Verge is another take on the Metroidvania style, but it distinguishes itself through its wide variety of weapons and tools--most notably, the Address Disruptor, which affects the environment and each enemy type in different ways. It's also a game with an impressive sense of scale and no shortage of secrets to uncover, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Add in an excellent soundtrack and tantalizing story, and there's a lot to like here. Read our Axiom Verge review Spider-Man PS4: 9 Important Things We Want To See By GameSpot Staff on Apr 10, 2018 01:16 am Web-Slinging Wishes PS4-exclusive Spider-Man is set to release on September 7. First announced at E3 2016, Ratchet & Clank Developer Insomniac's game adaptation of the famous web slinger has been a longtime coming. And with the upcoming release of God of War, all eyes are starting to turn towards Spider-Man. In the last two decades, Spider-Man has seen more good game adaptations than bad ones. Memorable high points include Spider-Man 2: The Game and Web of Shadows, but it's clear Insomniac has a high standard of quality to live up to. After all, the studio has been responsible for many of Sony's most iconic franchises, so fans have eagerly hoping the studio can deliver. But what does Insomniac need to do to make a new Spider-Man game stand out? We have a few more than a few ideas, seen in this gallery of nine things we want from the game. Some of our ideas include giving the game a great emphasis on gadgets and skills than beating up goons, revamping what it means to be an open-world Spider-Man game, avoiding telling an origin story, and much more. Up until now, news on Spider-Man on PS4 has been scarce. The game's release date was finally announced and new gameplay has been released showcasing city exploration and webslinging. For a look at how Spider-Man is shaping up, watch the game's latest story trailer. And if you'd like more insight on how Marvel Games is overseeing development of Spider-Man and its licensed games as a whole, read our interview with Marvel Games vice president and executive producer Mike Jones. What would you like to see in Spider-Man on PS4? Let us know in the comments below. And if you're eager to see what the other exclusives on PS4 are, then check out our in-depth gallery covering all the biggest PS4 exclusives coming in 2018. You can also look at our galleries detailing all the Xbox One exclusives, PC exclusives, and Switch exclusives. Greater Emphasis On Gadgets And Abilities Over Fisticuffs Much like the Batman Arkham series, combat in Spider-Man games has leaned toward beat-em-up style brawling. Yes, Spider-Man does tend to finish his fights with some sort of webbing-based flourish but it would be a positive change if his other talents and gear took the spotlight. Better combat integration of his even his most well-known powers like wall crawling and superhuman reflexes would add depth. It Feels Like An Insomniac Game We'd love to see Insomniac's talents for imaginative weapons and gadgets make their way into the game, even if it sounds weird for Spider-Man at first blush. From webware to spider-bots, there's five decades worth of gadgetry to dive into, ripe for reinterpretations by the talents responsible for Ratchet & Clank. And we hope Ted Price and his crew have the creative license to invent new gadgets for Peter Parker. A New Kind Of Spider-Man Open World Insomniac is also experienced in open-world designs, a high point being Sunset Overdrive. There are a number of Spider-Man games with expansive open worlds but none interpreted with the same surrealist and involving flavor as Sunset City. As a standalone game with no attachments to any of prior Spider-Man stories (including last year's Homecoming film), Insomniac's can make this one of the most original video game interpretations of New York City in a long time. No Random Muggings Just because it seems mandated that open-world Spider-Man games have to be set in New York City doesn't mean that it has to always have random muggings. It was an especially involving component in The Amazing Spider-Man 2's morality system, where your status as a hero or menace was determined by how many crimes you stopped. This feature ultimately felt like a chore, where disinterested players were unfairly classified as a menace. Being guilted into saving someone from a mugging doesn't always make for great gameplay, especially when you were in the middle a more compelling story mission. No Origin Story It seems like anyone with a remote interest in Spider-Man already knows his origin, with some thanks to the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films. Not only is the classic origin tale involving Uncle Ben unnecessary but so is any kind of origin-focused exposition. It'd be great to jump into the game with a version of Peter Parker who has already has a grasp of both his great power and responsibilities. Focus On Peter Parker (And Miles Morales) Speaking of Peter Parker, not enough games have paid attention to Spider-Man's real identity and his young adult challenges, particularly with his love life. It wouldn't be a stretch to hope for story-driven interludes that take inspiration from Life Is Strange or the many episodic Telltale games. And the fact that another Spider-Man, Miles Morales appeared at the stinger of the E3 2017 video for the game only makes the prospect of a Parker-Morales meet-up all the more intriguing. Classic Spider-Man Attitude One of the qualities of the better Spider-Man games in the past was their well-crafted dialogue, often bringing out Spider-Man's moxie, much to the frustration of his foes. This next game is all the more promising thanks to its experienced writing staff, which includes veteran comic book writers Christos Gage and Dan Slott. From what we've seen and heard, this latest handling will portray the web-slinger as the familiar smart aleck fans expect. Mixing Up The Villain Roster Yes, Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin are popular for a reason, but for a series that's been around since the early 1960s, there's a wealth of sinister source material to mine. Having Mister Negative is a good start but how about Boomerang or even Crime Master? Insomniac can give the recurring villains like Black Cat, Rhino, Shocker, and Scorpion a break. Side-Missions That Matter Just because side missions are optional doesn't mean they're not worth the player's time. Some of the best side missions in the Arkham games have through-lines that last the entire length of the game. Speaking of mission choice, there'd be great replay potential if the narrative locked you out of one mission if you accept another, and with endgame repercussions. For example, what would happen if you flaked out on a date with MJ because you decided to stop a bank heist? Wrestlemania 34: Every Time WWE's Cameras Cut To John Cena In The Crowd By Mat Elfring on Apr 10, 2018 01:11 am Cena Engaged In A Delightful Conversation If you've been keeping up with WWE, then you know John Cena's Road to Wrestlemania has included countless segments where he's challenged the Undertaker on live television only to never hear back from the Deadman. So, Cena decided that he was going to go to Wrestlemania as a fan. And that's exactly what John Cena did; he spent time during the Kickoff Show and a good chunk of the main card, sitting on the floor and watching with the rest of the fans, before running backstage to prepare for his match. How do we know this? Because the camera couldn't stop cutting back to him to get a reaction. Here is every time the camera cut to Cena during Wrestlemania 34 for the couple hours Cena was there. While you're at it, make sure to check out our live coverage of the event, including the Cena vs. Undertaker match, which we predicted Undertaker to win. Excited--And Possibly Tipsy--Cena With Great Wrestlemania Seats Cena On The Edge Of His Seat A Perplexed Cena Cena Ordering More Beer And A Popcorn Cena Applauding Himself On The Big Screen Cena Debating Whether Or Not To Be In Daddy's Home 3 The First Time A Fan Was Interviewed During Wrestlemania Cena Wondering If He Left The Oven On Cena Whistling Cena Wondering If He Left The Garage Door Open Cena Realizing He Doesn't Know The People Next To Him The Ref Informing Cena He's A Distraction To WWE's Production Cena Goes For A Jog John Cena Returns In A Fresh Shirt The Best Nintendo Switch Games Out Now (As Of April 2018) By Matt Espineli on Apr 10, 2018 12:58 am The Best Switch Games So Far The release of the Nintendo Switch a little over a year ago marked the beginning of an new era for Nintendo. With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as its major launch title, the Switch quickly rose to the top of console sales charts and dramatically increased Nintendo's revenue. And in the year since its launch, there has been no shortage of fantastic games coming to the hybrid console, from huge first-party games like Mario and Kirby to indie darlings like Owlboy and Celeste. The library only seems to be expanding and improving with every consecutive release. In this feature, we're taking a look back at the best Switch games so far. This includes games that have received a score of 8 or higher on GameSpot since the console's release, as well as reviews for new games and updates to reviews of older games that were ported to Switch. Check out our choices for the best games released on the Switch. And with the console's library continuing to expand, make sure to check back often as we update this feature over the coming weeks and months. For an analysis of Nintendo Switch's first year, be sure to read our retrospective feature discussing the console's various successes and failures. In addition, you can also check out our features detailingall the Wii U games we ported to Switch, 13 things we want to see from the console, and the best Switch games under $20. Bayonetta 2 -- 10/10 "But it's a challenge you'll want to experience again as soon as you put down the controller. Bayonetta 2's combat is so expertly constructed, and its presentation so joyously insane, that you'd have to try so very hard to get bored of it all. In a year filled with the promise of ever more elaborate experiences on all the shiny new hardware, that Bayonetta 2--a homage to classic game design and escapism--should be the most fun I've had playing a game all year is unexpected. But maybe it shouldn't have been. After all, its predecessor still stands as one of the finest games of its genre. To have surpassed that with Bayonetta 2, and to have created a game that will be remembered as an absolute classic, is nothing short of astonishing." [Read the review] -- Mark Walton Celeste -- 9/10 "It's a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I'd been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain." [Read the full review] -- Oscar Dayus, Staff Writer Dragon Quest Builders -- 8/10 "The excellence of Dragon Quest Builders illustrates the versatility of this 30-year-old franchise as much as it speaks to the engrossing appeal of Minecraft-inspired creation. The story-advancing draw of quests goes hand-in-hand with the depth of a crafting system that cleverly uses monster drops as some of the game's building tools. Whether you want to focus on completing assignments or build with no specific purpose, the game is feature-rich enough to suck up untold hours, even if this happens to be your first Dragon Quest experience." [Read the review] -- Miguel Concepcion, Editor The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- 8/10 "The original version of Skyrim is still an immense, engrossing RPG, and the quality, number, and variety of its quests makes it as easy to become lost in its world as ever. With the addition of Zelda-themed gear that's actually useful--and the fact that you can play anywhere--the Switch version of Skyrim is a great excuse to revisit a much-loved RPG." [Read the full review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Golf Story -- 8/10 "It can take a little while for the narrative to ramp up in Golf Story and for you to feel like you've really cultivated the skills of a champion, but based on the sheer scope of what the game delivers, there's likely something for everyone to enjoy whether their shtick is mini-golfing or terrorising delinquents with frisbees. It has successfully captured the trappings of yesteryear's RPGs, and the witticisms and idiosyncrasies of the characters you encounter are a great palate cleanser between rounds. Switch has had a swathe of indies hit its eShop recently, but if you're looking for something that'll give you satisfaction in terms of an interesting story and a rewarding mechanic, then Golf Story is certainly par for the course." [Read the full review] -- Ginny Woo Gorogoa -- 8/10 "Few games take the concept of altering reality to as artistic a level as Gorogoa. This labor of love made chiefly by one developer is a gorgeous and intriguing puzzle game that works because of its stunning art and intelligent puzzle design. Far from a traditional game, Gorogoa is a slow and methodical trip into the surreal." [Read the full review] -- Jason D'Aprile Kirby Star Allies -- 8/10 "Star Allies is yet another Kirby game, but it's up there with some of the best. It's an artistic showcase, and a great opportunity for co-op platforming. The one real complaint you can levy at it is that it gates off its more challenging aspects, but the fact that they are present to begin with will please anyone who's grown weary of the series' painless platforming." [Read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild -- 10/10 "No matter how gorgeous its environments are, how clever its enemies are, and how tricky its puzzles get, the fact that Breath of the Wild continues to surprise you with newfound rules and possibilities after dozens of hours is by far its most valuable quality. It's a game that allows you to feel gradually more and more empowered yet simultaneously manages to retain a sense of challenge and mystery--which, together, creates a steady, consistent feeling of gratification throughout the entire experience. Breath of the Wild is a defining moment for The Legend of Zelda series, and the most impressive game Nintendo has ever created." [Read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle -- 9/10 "Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle exudes off-beat optimism that never dissolves. It's a consistent delight, no matter how challenging the road becomes, because Kingdom Battle's unique turn-based tactics system is in every way a pleasure to engage with. Coupled with the annoyingly infectious allure of Rabbids, and the always delightful, colorful world of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is an implausibly engrossing formula that is positively challenging and endlessly charming." [Read the full review] -- Edmond Tran, Editor Mario Kart 8 Deluxe -- 9/10 "For Mario Kart fans, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe might look like more of the same with small Double Dash-inspired tweaks. But thanks to a series of updates both big and almost unseen, it's the version of Mario Kart to get. If you don't own a Wii U or skipped out on Mario Kart 8 the first time around--or even if you've played it before--Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is worth your time. It plays beautifully on Switch in both handheld and docked mode, and its core racing is as exciting as ever. And, most notably, it completely revamps the original's lackluster Battle Mode, rounding out an already great racing game." [Read the full review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Mr. Shifty -- 8/10 "Mr. Shifty isn't a huge game in terms of length, but the three- to four-hour campaign is ample. It's like a shot of adrenalin, offering an exciting, intense experience, and it's easy to forgive the game's performance flaws when it so consistently makes you feel like a badass." [Read the full review] -- James O'Connor NBA 2K18 -- 8/10 "NBA 2K18 is a hardcore sports simulation. If you want to get good, you have to put in the work. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to improve your skills no matter how you want to play. And the fact that there's so much to do is a bonus, because on the court, NBA 2K18 is also an amazingly well-crafted experience." [Read the full review] -- Seth Macy Night in the Woods -- 9/10 "From beginning to end to epilogue, Night in the Woods is ultimately open to individual interpretation. How you relate to it depends on your own experiences and choices, including Mae's dialogue and who you decide to spend time with. Though its charming and angsty story works well on its own merits, it's special because of how it prioritizes conveying emotion over telling a straight narrative." [Read the review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Owlboy -- 9/10 "Owlboy is consistently charming and surprising, and when its final act doubles down on every front, it's bittersweet to see it end. As you relish the outcome of the final battle and watch the closing cutscene, you can't help but reflect on the beginning of your adventure and how far the world and its inhabitants have come. You'll never be able to play Owlboy for the first time again, but the memories of its magic moments stick with you. This is more than a treat for fans of old-school games; Owlboy is a heartfelt experience that will touch anyone with an affinity for great art and storytelling." [Read the review] -- Peter Brown, Senior Reviews Editor Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2 Plus -- 8/10 "Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2 creates an exciting dynamic where ghosts are still dangerous, but the overall game is more forgiving than the original--and it's more entertaining as a result. Arcade ports tend to be games we play in short bursts--mostly for the nostalgia factor. Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2 certainly relies on that nostalgia to a point, but it handles the classic game in a way that plays with expectations to surprise you. It's the same game enhanced in the right directions to be make an old concept fun, innovative, and challenging all over again." [Read the review] -- Jason D'Aprile Puyo Puyo Tetris -- 8/10 "Overflowing with colorful personality, Puyo Puyo Tetris revels in its weirdness. It provides solid versions of both puzzle games and merges the two in bizarre, frantic ways that adds a fresh dash of style to these long-running series. With an array of game variations spanning single-player, along with on- and offline multiplayer, it's an incredibly meaty package that should satisfy gamers for a long time to come." [Read the full review] -- Jason D'Aprile Rive -- 8/10 "Rive is demanding, but it pushes the kind of near-thoughtless play that shoot-em-ups strive to achieve. When faced with an onslaught of enemies and environmental hazards, you'll have to think fast or die. Rive also doesn't run all that long, but what's here is excellent, top-notch action, and the game delivers some of the most memorable moments in a shoot-em-up in years." [Read the full review] -- Daniel Starkey Rocket League -- 9/10 "For people new to the game, they have a lot to look forward to regardless, as it's one of the most fascinating sports games in memory. Nevermind if you don't like soccer or couldn't care less about the growing esports community. Rocket League is a unique game that redefines the concept of what a sports game can be, and Psyonix continues to support it with new content on a regular basis. It's been around for a while, but now that it's on Switch, there's no better time to give it a shot." [Read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment -- 8/10 "Specter of Torment is a finely-crafted 2D platformer that is satisfying in all respects. Simply controlling Specter Knight--flying through the air and slicing through enemies--is a joy in itself, and being able to push your ability to control these skills in overcoming the game's cleverly-designed and challenging levels is always an exhilarating feeling. Specter of Torment is a focussed, polished, and satisfyingly challenging game that's well worth experiencing whether or not you've had the pleasure of playing Shovel Knight." [Read the full review] -- Edmond Tran, Editor Sonic Mania -- 9/10 "Sonic Mania methodically uses its sentimental appeal to great effect, but in the process, it heals the wounds inflicted by its most disappointing predecessors and surpasses the series' best with its smart and interpretive design. An excellent 2D platformer, Sonic Mania goes beyond expectations, managing to be not only a proper evolution of the series' iconic formula, but the best Sonic game ever made." [Read the full review] -- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor Splatoon 2 -- 8/10 "At first glance, Splatoon 2 seems very similar to the first game. But all the small changes, and even the bigger ones in single player and League Battles, make for a fresh take on the already unique shooter. If you played a lot of the original, the sequel has enough to keep you coming back, and if you're new to the game, it's a fantastic place to jump in." [Read the full review] -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor Stardew Valley -- 9/10 "The sheer number of things to accomplish in Stardew Valley can keep you interested beyond the original three in-game years you need to reach the end of your story--you may just want to start over rather than continue on. You'll work quite hard to gather enough money for your first horse, so that you can quickly move to the mines to get a mineral to complete a bundle at the community center. It's all centered around whatever it is you want to accomplish that day. And that's truly what makes Stardew Valley such a lovely experience, it encourages you to go out and be the best you can be, in whichever task that brings you the most joy. Stardew Valley motivates naturally, with blissful optimism." [Read the full review] -- Mary Kish SteamWorld Dig 2 -- 9/10 "Every advancement Dig 2 makes to its story and mechanics strengthens your initiative to progress. There's an overwhelming sense of momentum that runs through the adventure; as if developer Image & Form sifted the original in a pan, removing its redundancies while expanding upon what made it so fun to persistently play. In your quest to acquire every upgrade and explore every nook and cranny, there's no shortage of hidden collectables to discover. And with post-game content that unlocks after you unearth every secret, the desire to keep digging intensifies. Dig 2 manages to not only be an exceptional successor, but a great adventure in its own right. Where the first game was a diamond in the rough, Dig 2 is a polished jewel." [Read the full review] -- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor Super Mario Odyssey -- 10/10 "Odyssey is sustained beyond its major milestones not only through colorful worlds and hidden challenges, but through the sheer joy of controlling Mario, who's never felt more responsive or dynamic in action. Even with everything new that's been introduced, Nintendo's forward-thinking platformer retains the series' classic handcrafted appeal, which is even more impressive when you realize how densely packed each kingdom is. Mario's latest outing is big, bold, and bursting with new ideas, and like Breath of the Wild, is another instance of Nintendo going above and beyond to redefine our expectations. It's a shining example of refined creativity, and another crown jewel for Switch that is without equal." [Read the full review] -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor Recent Articles: You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website. https://Gamefeed.us10.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=b01828b2bfdd2acf079c9de40&id=55a5ab23e0&e=96854223cb&c=ebddcb0e52 Gamefeed https://Gamefeed.us10.list-manage.com/profile?u=b01828b2bfdd2acf079c9de40&id=55a5ab23e0&e=96854223cb demo-mailchimp-gamefeed15032015@mailcatch.com VCard: Gamefeed Gamefeed Mumbai, Mh 400001 Add us to your address book