Far Cry 5 is receiving some major quality-of-life improvements in its latest patch. Title Update 4 has just launched for the PC version, with the patch coming to PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game on Monday, April 9.
The biggest changes come in the form of stability improvements and changes to co-op play and Arcade Mode. Overall, Ubisoft is promising fewer crashes and better connectivity for co-op play and for PvP matchmaking in Arcade Mode. For details, check out the full patch notes further down.
Monster Hunter World's first-ever seasonal event, Spring Blossom, is officially underway on PS4 and Xbox One. It offers a few weeks of new and returning activities to take part in, but the main attraction right now is the new gear--both armor and a greatsword weapon--for you to get your hands on. Here's what's available and how to get it all.
Spring Blossom Tickets are a newly added item for the event. You'll receive one as a login bonus, and more are available by completing Limited Bounties. These are then used to craft new items, including the armor.
The new Blossom armor is available in both Low Rank and High Rank variants, and you'll be able to see it at the Smithy as soon as you log in. Each piece of the Low Rank version requires a certain number of Earth Crystals to craft, as well as one Spring Blossom Ticket. The High Rank version requires Carbalite Ore, as well as three Spring Blossom Tickets per piece. That's a total of 15 tickets if you want to craft the full set. Here are the armor skills for each piece:
Blossom Headgear -- Honey Hunter (1)
Blossom Vest -- Quick Sheath (1)
Blossom Cuffs -- Paralysis Resistance (1)
Blossom Coat -- Scoutfly Range Up (1)
Blossom Boots -- Recovery Speed (1)
As for the new greatsword, you can now forge Wyvern Ignition, the weapon designed by a fan. Unlike the new armor, this won't show up at the Smithy by default. Instead, you'll first need to complete a new event quest called Every Hunter's Dream. This is a five-star Arena quest where you'll hunt a Rathalos and Paolumu, with a limit of 50 minutes or three faints. The reward is 7200z and Master Craftsman's Blueprints.
These Blueprints are one of the materials needed to craft the weapon, along with Dragonite Ore, Paolumu Webbing, and Rathalos Marrow. Two are needed for the base weapon (Wyvern Ignition "Steel"), while three more are needed for the upgraded version (Wyvern Ignition "Impact"). The upgrade also calls for Elder Dragon Blood, Firecell Stones, and a Wyvern Gem.
You'll have the duration of the Spring Blossom event to collect the necessary materials. The event runs until April 19 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET (1 AM BST on April 20) and also includes a special design for the Gathering Hub, the return of all Event Quests, daily Limited Bounties, and more.
Ubisoft has announced plans to combat toxicity in the Rainbow Six Siege community. The ambitious plan has already identified some key changes coming relatively soon, but the announcement notes it will be focusing on this problem over the span of years. The ultimate goal is to track and manage negative behavior while also implementing features to encourage positive behavior.
For starters, Ubisoft says it is already tracking its chat for racial and homophobic slurs, with different tiers of bans based on severity: 2 days, 7 days, 15 days, or permanent. These aren't necessarily a progressive system, though. A particularly egregious player could go straight to the perma-ban without having earned the others as warnings first.
In the near future, the team plans to implement better methods of detecting team-killing. The details are scant, since the company doesn't want to reveal too much about the current shortcomings of the current kill detection system, but that change is planned for Season 2 of Year 3, likely placing it sometime this summer.
Further out, Ubisoft plans to let you mute text chat, voice, both, or neither on a per-player basis. It is also working on a chat filtering tool that will automatically censor offensive words and provide a notification that they had crossed a line. It will be tracking the players who trip the censor excessively. Both of those changes are planned for Season 3.
"These short-term changes will begin to address toxicity, but we do not plan to stop there," the announcement read. "We are serious about tackling the issues surrounding the potential for negative player experience, and we will share any further changes with you prior to their implementation."
The years-long commitment reaffirms that Ubisoft is looking at Siege as a live game. After a rocky start, it has developed into a huge mainstay with a devoted following. Like any game with a large community, though, it's bound to attract some troublemakers. Overwatch similarly announced new measures recently. If you'd like to hear a more good-natured and friendly type of arguing about it, check out our new debate series Versus. In the debut episode we pit Siege against Overwatch for multiplayer shooter supremacy.
We have a fresh look at the very un-fresh zombies in State of Decay 2, thanks to a hands-on at PAX East. In the video above, we look for salvage at a convenience store, only to run into fellow survivor and charm school failure Fito. It all culminates in defending our base from a zombie attack. This isn't a final build, but it gives us a better idea of what to expect from the game when it arrives.
State of Decay 2 is slated for PC and Xbox One on May 22, at a budget price of $30 for the standard version. The Ultimate edition will instead cost $50, which will also net you early access on May 18, an Xbox One copy of State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition, and the Independence and Daybreak DLC packs for SoD2. Pre-ordering will also net you some exclusive goodies.
Microsoft is also putting out a Collector's Edition of physical goodies: a latex zombie mask, steelbook case, a brain-shaped case stand, a 4 GB USB thumb drive that actually looks like a thumb, and an iron-on patch. It costs $70, but doesn't actually include the game, so you'd have to shell out an extra $30-50 depending on which edition you want to get.
As with all Microsoft first-party games, State of Decay 2 will be included in the Xbox Game Pass, the $10 per month subscription service. That initiative began with the recently launched Sea of Thieves.
Could your Xbox avatar use a little freshening up? Are you getting bored looking at your character in the same clothes every time you sign in to play? If so, you'll be pleased to hear you can now deck out your avatar with Avengers: Infinity War gear for free. Just check out this page on the Xbox Store to grab all 12 items. It's all part of a promotion for the Avengers: Infinity War movie, which opens April 27.
You can dress your avatar in suits to make them look like Captain America, Thor, Star Lord, Black Panther, Iron Man, or Black Widow. You can wrap them in Dr. Strange's cape and don Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet. And if your avatar is feeling lonely, you can give them companions like Groot, Hulk, or Rocket. Notably absent is Hawkeye, who has also been notably absent from the upcoming movie's trailers and posters.
If reports are to be believed, Xbox avatars should be getting a major shakeup sometime this month. At last year's E3, Microsoft announced it would offer avatars with more diverse and inclusive customization options. That still hasn't come to fruition, although The Verge reports the new avatar system will launch for all users in April. Microsoft hasn't announced a specific date.
In the meantime, you can pretend your avatar is a superhero by "purchasing" the Avengers items for free.
The Road to Wrestlemania is long, tough, and tiring, and not just for WWE superstars. GameSpot has been keeping you up to date with everything revolving around WWE's biggest event in 2018, Wrestlemania 34. This year's edition is coming to you from the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, April at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT. Believe it or not, there are still tickets available for the event, with the cheapest going for $50 and the most expensive costing $7,350.
This year's card is extremely stacked, with 14 matches--including Cena/Undertaker--happening over the course of seven hours. One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the lead-up to Mania is Daniel Bryan being cleared to return to wrestling, which led to him teaming with Shane McMahon to take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. In addition, John Cena has been begging Undertaker for a match at Wrestlemania 34 for the past month, and no match has been confirmed yet, but it's totally still going to happen, right?
Here's a collection of our biggest stories revolving around Wrestlemania to get you pumped up for the April 8 event. Make sure to come back to GameSpot for live coverage of Wrestlemania and individual full match recaps right after they air on Sunday.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has very quietly added a new mode called War on PC. The new mode--which is essentially Team Deathmatch--adds respawns, a mechanic not seen in PUBG's standard battle royale mode.
Players are condensed into a small, static area on Erangel, meaning lives don't last long. The selection of weapons and gear depends on the settings picked by the game's host, so you could spawn with any number of items. War mode is available now but only as a custom game, meaning only PUBG Partners can start and host matches--though anyone can join an already-created session.
The mode was not announced by developer PUBG Corp. or publisher Bluehole, with no mention of it anywhere on social media or on the game's forums. It's therefore unclear how long War will be available for. It could be a timed mode, similar to the game's other new way of playing, Tequila Sunrise, which went live just recently and features close quarters, shotgun-based combat.
In other PUBG news, a new patch has just been released for the game, bringing with it bug fixes and the new Killer Spectate mode that allows you to watch the player who killed you during the rest of the match. If your killer dies too, you'll be able to continue watching the player who killed them. Meanwhile, PUBG's upcoming map, currently in the testing phase, now supports players who want to play as Squads on Codename: Savage. This is limited to PUBG's experimental test server. You still need a beta key to access the map, and you can sign up to receive one the PUBG website.
It's unlikely that many Marvel fans will feel shortchanged by the number of superheroes in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, but there have been a couple of notable absences from the trailers and posters so far. Ant-Man and Hawkeye are nowhere to be seen, and as was reported last month, the actor's names don't even feature on the latest poster. While we still don't know whether Ant-Man will appear, co-director Anthony Russo has spoken about Hawkeye's role in the movie.
Unsurprisingly, Russo didn't provide any specific details, but he did confirm that there was a reason we hadn't seen anything of actor Jeremy Renner yet. "All will be explained when people see the movie," he told Total Film (via Gamesradar). "It's all tied into the story."
"Hawkeye, coming out of Civil War, is in the same position that Cap and Falcon are at the end of that movie," he said. "[They] were on Cap's side coming out of the Civil War. Some made certain decisions and others made other decisions that led to different paths in them dealing with oversight in this movie in a different way. So Hawkeye's on his own journey in this movie."
Anthony Russo also revealed that we won't learn much about the back story of Infinity War's big villain Thanos. "We were considering showing [Thanos'] backstory," he said. "But ultimately felt it wasn't necessary for the movie." Nevertheless, the director did explain that the movie will be "told from Thanos' point of view," which is something the directors spoke about last year.
Earlier this week, the Russos released an appeal for fans not to spoil any of the movie's big surprises through a note they posted on Twitter. They said of the April 27 film not to "spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn't want it spoiled for you." Following this, Spider-Man actor Tom Holland released his own excellent response.
It's a big weekend for fans of fights, because UFC 223 is happening on Saturday, April 7, and Wrestlemania 34 goes down Sunday, April 8. It's a big weekend for Xbox One owners with Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, too. They can play WWE 2K18 and EA Sports UFC 3 for free all weekend long. To play the games, just find them in the Xbox Store on your Xbox One and click "Free Trial."
The free trial for WWE 2K18 ends on Sunday, April 8. If you choose to purchase the game after trying it out, you'll be pleased to learn it's currently on sale at a number of outlets. And all progress you make in the trial version will carry through to the full game.
UFC 3 players get a slightly wider window to play, as the promotion lasts until Monday, April 9. But take note that the trial only lets you play for five hours unless you have EA Access, in which case you can play for 10 hours. Both UFC 3 and WWE 2K18 are enhanced for Xbox One X.
As for the games themselves, well... in GameSpot's WWE 2K18 review, Richard Wakeling wasn't fully enamored with it, giving it a 5/10. He wrote: "WWE 2K18's in-ring combat is fundamentally flawed, and will be as divisive as it often is. Yet there's no denying the inherent joy derived from performing your favorite Superstar's signature moves."
Our UFC 3 review was more favorable, with the same reviewer scoring it 8/10. He wrote, "EA Sports UFC 3 is a tense, exciting, and dynamic recreation of the stand and bang aspect of mixed martial arts. There's a fluidity to the way it moves, and a satisfying feel and unpredictability to the way fights can unfold that demands your engagement. The grappling still needs plenty of work, and one would hope this is something EA Canada addresses in the next iteration; yet these shortcomings become easier to overlook because of the accomplishment of its redefined striking. When it comes to the art of combat, few sports titles do it better."
Wrestlemania is quickly approaching. The 34th annual installment of WWE's biggest event of the year takes place on Sunday, April 8, coming to the Superdome in New Orleans. The match card for the event is still being filled out, and there is room for a few more matches.
That being said, there are plenty of rumors drifting around the 'net about additional matches, future plans for wrestlers, and surprise returns of injured wrestlers. One longstanding rumor that came true this past week was Daniel Bryan being cleared to wrestling once again. What else could come true? We rounded up some of the most believable ones coming from wrestling insiders.
Take these rumors with a grain of salt as not all rumors end up coming true. We'll be updating piece throughout the upcoming weeks to let you know what's confirmed and what we heard wrong.
Daniel Bryan's Future
Daniel Bryan has to go in for medical testing after every match. While many are saying Daniel Bryan is the healthiest star in the company, part of the superstar's new agreement requires him to get a doctor's evaluation after every match. (via Cagesideseats) At Wrestlemania, he'll be teaming with Shane McMahon to take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. The stipulation for the bout is that should Owens and Zayn win, they get their jobs back on Smackdown Live.
Owens and Zayn Will Remain Fired
Should the duo lose their bout to Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania 34 and remain fires, they ay will be drafted by Raw. (via Ringsidenews)
Is AJ Styles Injured?
According to Styles himself, he is working through pain at the moment--as many WWE superstars do. However, he claims he is not injured and will be ready to shine at Wrestlemania when he defends the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura. (via IGN)
Will Cena/Taker actually happen?
After weeks of buildup, John Cena is heading into Wrestlemania without any actual confirmation that he will be fighting The Undertaker. He called the deadman out multiple times to no response at all and claims he is now going to Wrestlemania as a fan. According to a report, Undertaker has been training for the match for months and will be at Wrestlemania to confront Cena. Whether that means viewers will get the full match Sunday--or merely a challenge for Wrestlemania 35--remains to be seen. (via Cagesideseats)
Big Cass Will Return
Remember Big Cass? He's been injured since Summerslam last year, and apparently, Cass has been telling people his leg has healed up, and he's cleared to wrestle again. It's unclear if he'll be at Wrestlemania this year, even if it's just for a quick spot in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal or perhaps as Braun Strowman's mystery tag team partner. If not Wrestlemania, then Cass could return at Raw the next night. (via PWInsider)
WWE's Plans For Asuka
Get ready for a long Asuka run. She's a shoe-in to win the championship at Wrestlemania against Charlotte, and the plan is for her to defend it for a year, leading to Wrestlemania 35 where she takes on Ronda Rousey. (via WrestlingNews)
The Greatest Royal Rumble On WWE Network
The Greatest Royal Rumble, an event taking place on April 27 in Saudi Arabia, will air on the WWE Network. It will be broadcast live, beginning at 11 a.m. ET, and will include a kickoff show.
[UPDATE 3/26]WWE announcedthat John Cena will be taking on Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble, and both the Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Championships will be on the line for the event. Also, Samoa Joe is advertised for the event. Does this mean he'll make his return at Wrestlemania, the Raw after Mania, or will this event be his first show back? Tickets for the event go on sale on March 31.
Hulkamania To Run Wild Again?
Hulk Hogan hasn't been a part of WWE since July 2015, but that could change. Hogan is allegedly in talks with WWE to make his return. As to what he would do in WWE is the real question. With Shane McMahon spending less time on tv and Daniel Bryan going back to wrestling, there are a couple of positions open on Smackdown for a new commissioner or general manager. At this time, WWE stated it does not have a contract with Hogan but it has confirmed it's spoken with him. (via PWInsider)
[UPDATE 3/26] There are plenty of rumors revolving around where Hulk Hogan will fit in WWE if he returns. He's is reportedly being considered to become Smackdown General Manager as Daniel Bryan will go back to wrestling full time. WWE has not released any additional statements regarding Hogan's status.
We'll learn if more of these rumors are true during Wrestlemania weekend, which takes place April 6-8.
The acclaimed strategy game Crusader Kings II is currently free on Steam for a limited time. And to be clear, this isn't a "free play weekend" kind of thing. If you download it now, you get to keep and play it forever.
This is a good thing, because Crusader Kings II happens to be terrific. Released in 2012, this colorful game puts you in charge of a European kingdom in the Middle Ages and asks you to expand your power in any way you choose. You can advance your position using war tactics, diplomacy, scheming, or a combination of all three.
From our Crusader Kings II review: "After you choose a starting point somewhere between 1066 and 1337, you play as any head of state from the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire to the king of a tiny territory long since absorbed by a larger nation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages: picking a powerful empire grants you more military and financial resources, but it also saddles you with a collection of barons, dukes, and counts whose ambitions aren't always aligned with your own."
You also have to pay attention to your family members, because this is a multigenerational affair. Once one leader kicks the bucket, you take control of the heir to the throne. With so many things to keep in mind, Crusader Kings II is a complicated game that can take some time to wrap your head around. "But," as our reviewer concludes, "if you allow that fact to scare you off, you'd be doing yourself a grave disservice. Crusader Kings II makes it an absolute delight to rewrite history one small step at a time."
A number of expansions have been released over the years, but they're not included with the free download. You can even find some Game of Thrones mods if you dig around. Regardless, you can't beat getting a good game for free. It's unclear when the deal will end, so grab Crusader Kings II for free on Steam now.
Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing: monsters to hunt. Monster Hunter World has kicked off its Spring Blossom Fest event, which adds seasonal decorations, daily activities, and of course, some new loot to obtain with special Blossom Tickets. It runs until April 19 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET.
During the festivities, the Gathering Hub is decorated with flowers and other springtime accoutrements. Event Quests will be running throughout the festival, starting with a quest for the community-designed Wyvern Ignition Great Sword. Starting on April 13, players can start an Event Quest to earn the Mega Man armor. It gives your Palico a boxy look and it plays classic Mega Man tunes according to your selected weapon.
The Spring Blossom Fest will also be running daily Limited Bounties. These should give you a reason to continue logging in, even after you've gotten your hands on the new weapon. You'll receive Blossom Tickets throughout the event--both for logging in and for completing Limited bounties--that can then be cashed in for rewards, including armor. You can also equip the Handler with a new outfit, as pictured below. We've also got a guide on how to get the new greatsword and armor.
Capcom is keeping the Monster Hunter World train rolling with pretty frequent updates. Its first big update added the fearsome Deviljho, but the game has sported plenty of smaller updates and events besides that one. We've seen fairly constant changes, tweaks, and rotating costume events, like the launch event for Horizon Zero Dawn gear. Most recently it added a very odd helmet for the discerning monster hunter who has everything.
The spring anime season has just begun, and that means lots of new shows, new seasons of your favorite series, spinoffs, and more. This weekend is especially packed; among the premieres is the anime adaptation of Persona 5, but there are a few big shows to keep an eye on as the season kicks off. Here are all the notable shows premiering this weekend.
First up is Persona 5: The Animation, which has the same premise as last year's acclaimed RPG. A-1 Pictures, which worked on Persona 4: The Golden Animation, is producing this series as well. You'll be able to watch the first episode on April 7 on Crunchyroll in the Americas, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. You can also watch it on Hulu in the US.
Smash-hit superhero series My Hero Academia is returning with Season 3 on April 7. It'll be available on Crunchyroll and Hulu in Japanese with English subtitles, while Funimation will be streaming the English dubbed version. Funimation recently tweeted that the first episode's dub is delayed; the site will be streaming the subbed version in the meantime and resume simuldub streaming with episode 2.
Next is a spinoff of popular series Sword Art Online. Called Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, the series follows a female gamer whose avatar dresses in all pink, and the in-show game features a battle royale mode. SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online also premieres on April 7 and will be available on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
Lewd food anime Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma starts back up again this weekend as well. The first episode of the second half of season 3 (which sounds complicated but is common in anime) premieres this weekend on Crunchyroll. Be warned; it's NSFW.
Finally, the reboot of classic '70s series Cutie Honey, Cutie Honey Universe, premieres this weekend. It's being produced as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of creator Go Nagai's work in anime and manga. While no streaming service has been announced, Cutie Honey Universe has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in a ton of regions outside Japan (via Crunchyroll), so be on the lookout for it soon.
Wrestlemania 34 is right around the corner, and aside from the PPV itself, the entire weekend is filled with events like NXT Takeover on Saturday and the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday evening. Each year, the WWE honors wrestlers who have worked with the company in the past who made a lasting mark on wrestling as a whole.
This year, WWE is honoring seven former wrestlers and adding another person to its Celebrity Wing as well. These iconic wrestlers will join the ranks of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Andre The Giant. Interestingly enough this year, Jeff Jarrett will be inducted. Jarrett had an off-and-on stint with WWE during the New Generation and the Attitude Eras between '92-'99, but he's most known for the creation of TNA wrestling, which began in 2002. He had a tumultuous relationship with TNA after controlling interest went to Robert Carter. However, Jarrett deserves credit for helping with the careers of current WWE superstars like Bobby Roode and AJ Styles.
The only woman headed to the Hall of Fame this year is Ivory. She began her career in GLOW under the ringname Tina Ferrari. She was the only member of the GLOW federation to have a notable career outside of the show. Aside from her in-ring work at WWE, Ivory was known for some of the storylines she was involved with, including being a member of Right to Censor, a stable during the height of the Attitude Era that wanted to make WWE more family friendly.
WWE Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees:
Goldberg (Inducted by Paul Heyman)
Ivory (Inducted by Molly Holly)
Mark Henry
The Dudley Boys (Inducted by Edge and Christian)
Jeff Jarrett
Hillybilly Jim
Kid Rock (Celebrity wing)
You can catch the Hall of Fame ceremony on the WWE Network on Friday, April 6, as well as replays on the streaming service after the event concludes. As of this writing, the time for the event has not been announced. Also, make sure to check back with GameSpot in the upcoming weeks for more Wrestlemania-madness and live coverage of the PPV!
One of the most interesting aspects of covering professional wrestling is the ongoing attempt to separate truth from fiction. When I interview WWE superstars, I ask myself, "Are these the performers' opinions or their characters' opinions?" When a press release goes public, "Are its contents legitimate, or are they part of a meta-storyline that will lead to a match?" This deliberate blur is a key to wrestling's appeal, but it's also frustrating for people who want the unvarnished truth. Which brings us to Shane McMahon and his recent bout of health issues.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attacked Shane on the March 13 episode of Smackdown. The beatdown started in the ring, and it continued into the backstage area. Owens and Zayn wrapped a chair around Shane's head and slammed him into the ring post. They powerbombed him onto a metal riser. And afterwards, WWE released a statement addressing the attack: "He sustained a laryngeal contusion when the steel chair was wrapped around his head and thrown into the turnbuckle," WWE medical staff said. "He was then thrown onto the metal rack, which resulted in trapezius and rhomboid strains."
This seemed consistent with the scripted attack on the show. But then on March 26, WWE announced that Shane was now suffering diverticulitis. "Shane developed a massive infection due to acute diverticulitis and was hospitalized for several days in Antigua before being flown back to a New York-area hospital, where he is currently being treated with heavy doses of antibiotics," explained WWE. "The doctors in New York have also discovered that Shane suffered an umbilical hernia during the attack, which will require surgery once the infection has been eradicated."
What's so interesting about this medical update is that it's posted on the exact same site and reported with the same level of seriousness, as the storyline injuries. But the last sentence, about the newly discovered "umbilical hernia" suffered during the storyline attack, muddies the truth even further.
It would seem, with so many storyline injuries and real injuries, that Shane McMahon could not compete at Wrestlemania 34. But on the March 28 episode of Smackdown, Daniel Bryan announced that he and Shane would be taking on Owens and Zayn in a tag team match.
And that's when it occurred to me, even though the feeling had been building for a bit: I don't want to see Shane competing in this match if he's just going to do what he always does: jump off tall stuff. It's not fun anymore to watch him risk his life for what appears, on the surface at least, to be a midlife crisis, or a bizarre manner of currying favor with his father and sister.
In a Vice Sports article from 2016, Ian Frisch reported on a meeting that occurred between Shane McMahon, author James Frey, and Vince McMahon in March 2012, in which Shane proposed that he take over all of creative. At one point, Shane had also been an Executive Vice President of WWE, but he resigned his position in 2010 to pursue business opportunities in China. Now, he was returning to his family's company for a piece of his legacy.
By doing so, he would undercut his sister, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, and his brother-in-law, Executive Vice President of Talent Paul Levesque (known by his wrestling name Triple H). And understandably, the two of them were beside themselves when they heard about this surprise meeting.
Vince declined the offer. And Shane did eventually return to appearing on camera in 2016--this time as an on-screen character. He was the commissioner of Smackdown, but he held no real executive authority; he was reciting scripted lines, just like everyone else. For someone who reportedly attempted a backdoor coup four years prior, this was a bizarre demotion. He once hoped to supplant his sister; now, he would be taking his marching orders from her. A casual observer might look at this and see an opportunist, lying in wait, for the right opportunity to seize power.
Because of this, Shane McMahon's infamous daredevil stunts are increasingly awkward to watch. While he still held an executive position in WWE, his antics had a weird sort of heroism; he was risking his life for the good of the company--a company that he would one day be running.
But without that motivating factor, it smacks of desperation--like he's trying to bleed his way back into a family business that he voluntarily left--not the other way around. He's 48 years old, and he's still cracking his ribs and suffering concussions--for no discernible end and no discernible purpose, other than to say that he can, and to feed off crowd chants like, "You still got it!" But it's not like he ever had it to begin with. Shane still needs a skilled worker--like AJ Styles or Kevin Owens--to put on a good match.
Shane's stunts do not meaningfully improve any match because 90% of the time, they are contextually separate from any story that match is telling. It's just a freak show at this point; he might as well bite the head off a chicken while he's at it. And moreover, he's doing these stunts, where he could literally die, in front of his young kids. It reminds me of that scene in Beyond the Mat where Mick Foley's crying kids watch him take close to a dozen unprotected chair shots to the head. But at least that was unplanned; Shane knows that he's falling off the roof of Hell in a Cell. And his luck may run out eventually.
At Wrestlemania 34, Shane will have three of the best wrestlers in the company--Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Daniel Bryan--carry him to a decent match. But his actual contributions will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. He's just going to jump off more tall stuff. Again. And if this is Shane's convoluted strategy to make his way back to the executive table, he's going to be very disappointed.
GameStop always has deals going, and this week is no different. A handful of big franchises are on sale for substantial discounts. Some of the biggest price cuts are on 2K games. Specifically, you can get WWE 2K18 and NBA 2K18 for half off, or $30 each.
In his WWE 2K18 review, GameSpot's Richard Wakeling wasn't overly thrilled with the quality of the game, giving it a 5/10. He wrote: "WWE 2K18's in-ring combat is fundamentally flawed, and will be as divisive as it often is. Yet there's no denying the inherent joy derived from performing your favorite Superstar's signature moves." But with Wrestlemania 34 around the corner, you may want to try your hand at the Undertaker-John Cena match.
Our NBA 2K18 review was more favorable, with Seth Macy scoring it 8/10. He wrote, "This year's entry is incredible in so many ways, from graphics, to soundtrack, to the different modes and ways to play hoops. It becomes clear early on that the fastest and easiest way to progress is by spending real money, slightly marring an otherwise tremendous experience."
If you're looking to leave the real world, GameStop has PlayStation VR and Vive headsets at their new permanent prices, which are $100 less than they used to be (not a GameStop-exclusive deal). PlayStation VR The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Bundle now costs $350 and comes with the camera and two Move controllers. If you already have a PS4 camera, you could get the basic PSVR headset package for $200. PC owners may be interested in a Vive headset, which is now available for $500.
Ubisoft recently confirmed plans for a second year of content for Ghost Recon Wildlands. Now, we have an idea of an exciting addition that may be coming in one of those future updates: some kind of appearance by Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher.
A new teaser trailer has been released that features Fisher speaking about heading to Bolivia, the setting of Wildlands. It also references his relationship with the game's Ghosts, the squad of playable characters. We don't actually hear Fisher's name used, but the silhouette--and accompanying night-vision goggles--leave little doubt about who we're looking at.
Notably, the voice seems to be that of Michael Ironside, the longtime voice actor for Fisher. Ironside was absent from the most recent game, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, with Eric Johnson taking over the role. What this means, if anything, for future Splinter Cell games is unclear.
The teaser video concludes by saying more information will be shared on Monday, April 9, so we don't have long to wait to find out exactly what Fisher's role in Wildlands will be. We know a new update is coming to the game on April 10, but only its additions to Ghost War have been detailed. Each of the four major updates for Wildlands in Year 2 will carry some kind of theme, and perhaps this one will be centered around Splinter Cell. Ubisoft previously offered a Wildlands crossover event with the limited-time Predator update.
Blacklist was released in 2013 and is the latest game in the Splinter Cell series. There's been no official word about a sequel (or a remaster), though Ubisoft's CEO did tease Splinter Cell news of some kind last year. Meanwhile, a Splinter Cell movie starring Tom Hardy is in the works.
If you could use a little darkness in your life, head over to Steam and download This War of Mine. It's free to play from now until April 8. The reason? Developer 11 Bit Studios is gearing up to release its next game, Frostpunk, which comes out later this month.
Be aware that This War of Mine isn't a no-strings-attached freebie. You can only play it from now through the weekend. If you want to keep playing after that, you can purchase it for its current sale price of $6.
This War of Mine isn't your typical war game. You play as a group of civilians struggling to survive in a war-torn city. To stay alive, you need to scavenge for food and medicine, while avoiding gun fire from soldiers and other civilians who are only looking out for themselves. You'll have to make some tough decisions along the way.
In our This War of Mine review, Justin Clark called it "an oppressively somber 2.5D version of The Sims, rendered in a beautiful, but portentous, constantly moving pencil art style." So it's probably not for everyone.
"Is this a game you want to play? No," the review concludes. "Is it a game anyone with a beating heart should play? Yes. A million times yes. It's a longform exercise in empathy, a sobering piece of work that fills in the blanks left when all we see of war are the headshots. It's a much-needed course correct in the current shoot-first-ask-questions-never gaming landscape that supposes war is won because one supreme bad guy caught a bullet through his brainstem. No: It's won when the people who lived under his boot get to go home."
If that sounds like your kind of game, you can download This War of Mine from Steam here.
A new week-long PlayStation sale has just kicked off, bringing with it a number of deals on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games. While games from a few other publishers appear on the list, Telltale Games has gone all in and dropped the price on its PlayStation games across the board this week. So if you've been thinking of picking up a Telltale adventure game, now would be a great time to do it, because the discounts range between 25 and 80 percent off.
The Walking Dead games also get deep price cuts during the sale. The breakdown of those prices is below. A quick warning, though: avoid The Walking Dead Collection, which includes all of the games in a single purchase. It's on sale for $30, which is actually a little pricier than buying the games individually.
If you're the type of person who likes to buy in bulk, take a look at the Telltale Mega Collection, which is on sale for $78. It includes the Walking Dead games, the Batman games, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones, and Tales from the Borderlands.
Non-Telltale highlights in the sale include WWE 2K18 Digital Deluxe Edition available for 55% off at $40 and Windjammers getting its price cut in half to $7. A bunch of PS4 themes and avatars are also in the mix.
There's a lot going on in this sale, so head to the PlayStation Store to check it out. Most of these deals will be live until April 10.
The Xbox One Spring Sale may be in full swing on the Xbox Store, but that didn't stop Microsoft from putting on its regular Deals With Gold sale this week. But with so many (seriously, so many) games being on sale already, this week's additions look kind of lightweight by comparison.
But don't let that stop you from taking a look, because you might want one of these games in your life. And if you can get it on sale? All the better. Before we get into it, remember you have to be an Xbox Live Gold member to get the sale prices for these Deals With Gold sales. If you're not a Gold member, you still have plenty of options over in the Spring Sale.
Xbox 360 owners don't have as many new deals to peruse this week, but Enemy Front is down 85% and only costs $6 (£5.24) and Farming Simulator 15 is 75% off, at $5 (£4). Both of those games have expansion packs that are also available for discounted rates.
If this week's Games With Gold sale makes you yawn, take a peek at the Spring Sale. It's loaded with great games at great sale prices.
A Way Out is barely a week old, but game director Josef Fares has already started on his next project. The outspoken developer said in a tweet on April 5 that it was officially the first day of breaking ground on his next game. "Today is officially the start of the next game and I'm INCREDIBLY exited!!!!!! I love making videogames and can't wait to show it!" he said. That's a lot of exclamation points.
Naturally, with work just starting on the game, he didn't give much indication of what exactly it will be. So far, though, Fares's games have heavily used dual perspectives as the narrative hook. First in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, one player controlled both boys simultaneously with each control stick. Similarly, A Way Out can only be played cooperatively. That seems to be a design curiosity for Fares, so it wouldn't be surprising if his next game follows suit.
With the cooperative play a key element of A Way Out, though, Hazelight and EA kept the barrier to entry from being too high by only requiring one copy. Fares estimated that the full experience will last 6-8 hours. In GameSpot's A Way Out review, Oscar Dayus lamented the tonal inconsistency but still found the co-op experience worthwhile. You can check out a broader range of reviews for more.
The next Avengers movie, Infinity War, opens later this month--and it's expected to have one of the best openings in the history of movies. Variety reports that Infinity War is expected to make between $175 million and $200 million during its opening weekend.
If it can top $175 million, it will become just the eighth movie in history to do that. Only five have opened to $200 million or more. You can see a rundown of the biggest opening weekends ever below.
It has already been a huge year for Disney, which owns Marvel. Black Panther made an incredible $1.3 billion at the global box office. After Infinity War, Disney has more huge releases lined up, including Mary Poppins Returns, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and The Incredibles 2.
Infinity War opens on April 27. It is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who recently asked fans not to spoil any of the movie's big surprises. The movie features basically all of the Marvel superheroes you can, while Josh Brolin joins the cast as the bad guy Thanos. Hawkeye hasn't been seen in the posters or trailers so far--and there is a reason for that.
With Wrestlemania 34 kicking off on Sunday, April 8, it's officially Wrestlemania weekend. That means lots of fans have pile-drivers and suplexes on their minds. What can you do with all that pent-up hype? You don't want to bruise your family or friends, so the healthiest outlet is to funnel it into a wrestling game. And wouldn't you know it, a number of retailers have WWE 2K18 on sale just in time for the big event.
Best Buy has WWE 2K18 on sale for $30 on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. If you're a Gamers Club Unlocked member, you can buy it for $24 on any console. GameStop also has all WWE 2K18 for all platforms on sale for $30. It even has the digital editions available for the same price. If you want the season pass included in your purchase, GameStop has the Deluxe Edition for PS4 and Xbox One for $45.
Thanks to a special promotion, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can actually play the game for free this weekend. Just click on the Gold Member area on the home dashboard. If you choose to purchase the game from the Xbox Store, you can get the standard edition for $35 ($30 with Gold) and the Deluxe Edition for $54 ($45 with Gold).
Now let's sum it all up, beginning with the least expensive option and going up from there. Xbox One owners with Xbox Live Gold can play WWE 2K18 for free this weekend. If you want to buy the standard edition, the best possible deal is from Best Buy with Gamers Club Unlocked. If you're not a Gamers Club Unlocked member, you can grab it for $30 at any of the retailers above. And the best deal for the Deluxe Edition is on the PlayStation Store, for $40.
Let the wrestling begin.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
HBO has released the first full trailer for Fahrenheit 451, the upcoming adaptation of the Ray Bradbury classic. This look heavily features Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon, setting the stage for the film's central conflict.
Like the novel, Fahrenheit 451 imagines a dystopian future in which books are made illegal and firemen burn them to restrict their knowledge. Jordan plays Guy Montag, a young fireman who starts to doubt their mission and comes into conflict with his mentor, fire captain Beatty (Shannon). The new trailer shows Montag happily showing a book-burning to assembled children, but before long he begins to ask a few too many questions.
Joining them are Sofia Boutella, Lilly Singh, Laura Harrier, and Marton Donovan. It was written and directed by Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes). HBO will premiere it in May.
Far Cry 5 has gotten accolades for its appearance, and for good reason. Its graphical fidelity is fantastic, and it features everything from gorgeous vistas to detailed homes and villages. But here at GameSpot, we think that it's possible to make any game look awful.
This week on Potato Mode, we take a hatchet to Far Cry 5's visuals and make it look like a cross between a horror movie and a PlayStation 1 game. Joey and Nick first turn down or off every visual option in the menus, showing what it'd look like if you wanted to run it on, say, a low-end laptop.
However, they're not satisfied with that. Delving into its game files, they thoroughly wreck its graphics, turning it into a glitchy mess full of detextured polygons, dead eyes, and broken shadows. It's a glorious disaster, and you can watch the whole video in the embed above.
You can watch a new episode of Potato Mode every Friday; last week featured Joey and Nick taking Sea of Thieves and turning it into a neon-green nightmare. Also be sure to check out our Far Cry 5 hub for tips, guides, and more on the different modes in the game.
We finally know that Insomniac's new Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4 is coming out in September. But that's not all we learned about the anticipated Sony exclusive this week.
Game Informer asked creative director Bryan Intihar 114 rapid-fire questions, and among the things he revealed is that there are no microtransactions and that the game is locked at 30 FPS on PS4 and PS4 Pro. Additionally, he confirmed that Mary Jane is a playable character.
The game will look and run a little better on PS4 Pro
But it's locked at 30 FPS on both systems
Mary Jane is a playable character, and she will "surprise a lot of people." At this point in the story, she knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
The game's open world is "several times" bigger than that of Insomniac's last big game, Sunset Overdrive.
Will there be microtransactions? "Hell no."
Will we see Uncle Ben's death? "Hell no."
DLC is planned for after launch.
There is a crafting system.
You can take selfies with civilians and high-five them.
In other news, Insomniac has announced premium versions of Spider-Man, along with some DLC. The $150 Collector's Edition comes with a statue, artbook, and in-game content. Check out GameSpot's further coverage here to see all the available versions.
Epic Games has launched the next set of weekly challenges in Fortnite: Battle Royale. Following the release of a new content update, players on mobile, PC, PS4, and Xbox One who own the Season 3 Battle Pass can now tackle Week 7's challenges. These involve the usual mixture of tricky objectives and those that will simply take some playtime and luck to complete.
Nothing this week deals with the newly added Vending Machines. In terms of the more straightforward challenges, you'll need to head to Lonely Lodge to search a total of seven chests. You'll also want to hang onto any shotguns you come across, as another challenge has you deal a total of 1,000 damage with them. Two of this week's "Hard" challenges also require some specific circumstance: one asks you to get three eliminations using a suppressed weapon, while another tasks you with eliminating three enemies in the vicinity of Shifty Shafts. All of the aforementioned objectives can be completed across a series of matches, so feel free to slowly whittle away at them.
One objective that is more challenging asks you to search a chest, ammo box, and supply drop in a single match. For the former two, you'll want to head indoors and check out attics in particular. As for the supply drop--the special chests that are periodically dropped onto the map--you'll need to keep an eye out for when one comes in. There's a specific sound effect that plays when one is dropped. Battles often ensue around supply drops due to their desirable contents, and that's only likely to be intensified because of this challenge. As such, this is one you may want to consider waiting some time to complete.
The remaining two challenges are the trickiest of the week without any help. One is deemed a Hard objective and asks you to follow the treasure map in Retail Row. As always with these treasure maps, you don't actually have to find the map--you can simply go right to where they would direct you, which in this case is in the hedge maze in Wailing Woods.
Your other more involved challenges asks you to search the Hidden Gnome in different named locations around the map. You'll have to inspect a total of seven, although there are quite a few more than that on the map. Every named location is home to one, and you can tell you're closing in on it when you hear its laughter. We'll have a video guide to help you find these soon.
As with all weekly challenges, you have the full season--through the end of April--to complete these. That means it's not too late to purchase the Battle Pass and go back to take on all of the Season 3 challenges so far. Doing so allows you to rank up the Battle Pass more quickly, which in turn allows you to get your hands on its many rewards.
Fortnite Week 7 Challenges
Search Chests in Lonely Lodge (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal damage with Shotguns to opponents (1,000) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search a Chest, Ammo Box, & Supply Drop in a single match -- 5 Battle Stars
Search the Hidden Gnome in different Named Locations (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Retail Row -- 10 Battle Stars
A new Fortnite update has added yet another wrinkle to Battle Royale: Vending Machines. By finding one, you can trade in the materials you've collected during the match in exchange for a variety of items. You'll tend to see these machines in the same spots, but they are not fixtures. Below, we've detailed the common locations and where to find them, as well as exactly how they function and what prices are like.
You'll find Vending Machines all around the map--typically indoors, if our experience is any indication, though we've also found one that was outdoors. Each one has three items for sale and will gradually rotate through them. You can wait for it to change to the item you want to purchase, or you can hit the machine with your pickaxe to make it jump to the next of the three.
Vending Machines are each randomly assigned a rarity level at the start of a match, as the patch notes explain. They then sell items at that specific rarity--one for each material type (wood, stone, and metal). You'll need a specific amount of that material to buy the corresponding item, though you're free to buy as many items as you wish, provided you can afford it. That may put a renewed emphasis on collecting materials with the pickaxe, even for players who don't care about building. Here's how much items will cost at each rarity:
Common (white) items -- 100 materials
Uncommon (green) items -- 200 materials
Rare (blue) -- 300 materials
Epic (purple) -- 400 materials
Legendary (gold) -- 500 materials
In terms of finding the Vending Machines, they're scattered all across the map, but they don't always appear in the same spots. You can see what it's like to interact with some in the video above, and we've also compiled the map you see above, which combines the discoveries of Reddit user clizzythegod with those we've found ourselves. As you'd expect, you'll most easily find Vending Machines in high-density areas like Pleasant Park, Tilted Towers, Salty Springs, and Retail Row, but there are others in unnamed parts of the map.
Vending Machines were added as part of Fortnite's 3.4 content update for mobile, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This is part of developer Epic Games' new plan to roll out new content every other week. These content updates won't individually require you to download anything, as it seems the additions will be included as part of earlier patches. The 3.4 content update has also kicked off a new limited-time mode, High Explosives v2, and made weapon balance changes.
The start of spring is a great time to be an Xbox One owner. Microsoft has kicked off its big seasonal sale, introducing some major deals on many of the system's latest and greatest games. Another great thing about this Spring sale: it's on for a while. Most deals are available for the next two weeks. [Update: Microsoft has expanded the sale by adding new Deals With Gold offers. And if you're overwhelmed by everything in the Spring sale, check out our recommendations.]
If you've been wanted to pick up Call of Duty: WWII, it's available for download for $49.79 ($45 with Gold). The Digital Deluxe version is $83 ($75), down from $100. There's also a Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2 bundle available for $82.49 (71.49).
One of the biggest games of last year, Assassin's Creed Origins, is also on sale. You can pick it up for $42 ($36). There are also a deal on the Deluxe Edition for $49 ($42) and the Gold Edition for $70 ($60). If you're in the mood for even more Assassin's Creed action, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is $15 ($12), Assassin's Creed Syndicate is $50, Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Edition is $25 ($20), and Assassin's Creed Unity is $15 ($12). The Assassin's Creed Triple Pack, which includes Black Flag, Syndicate, and Unity, is $54 right now ($45).
Hulu isn't playing around. The streaming service is not only adding a ton of new movies in April, but it will present the Season 2 premiere of its biggest original series--the Emmy-winning The Handmaid's Tale.
The show, which stars Elizabeth Moss and will see Marisa Tomei appear as a special guest in Season 2, returns on April 25. That day, the first two episodes will become available for streaming, with new installments following every Wednesday.
As for movies, Hulu is massively beefing up its film library with the addition of several classics, franchises, and animated favorites. April will see the arrival of Con Air, Friday the 13th, six The Land Before Time films, and the original Carrie.
Unfortunately, there's a bit of bad news. While the streamer is adding dozens of titles, there are also some that will disappear on April 30. This is your final chance to stream All Dogs Go To Heaven, An Officer and a Gentleman, Look Who's Talking, Red State, and Mystic Pizza, among other films.
You can take a look at everything coming and going on Hulu below. After that, check out Netflix and Amazon Prime Video's offerings for the month of April.
Arriving on Hulu in April
April 1
60 Days In: Complete Season 3 (A&E)
American Pickers: Complete Seasons 15 & 16 (History)
Ancient Aliens: Complete Season 12 (History)
Counting Cars: Complete Season 6B (History)
Fixer Upper: Complete Season 4 (HGTV)
Flea Market Flip: Complete Season 4 (HGTV)
Flip or Flop: Complete Season 6 (HGTV)
Gangland Undercover: Complete Season 1 (History)
House Hunters: Complete Season 108 (HGTV)
House Hunter's Renovation: Complete Season 8 (HGTV)
Intervention: Complete Seasons 15 & 16 (A&E)
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath: Complete Season 2 (A&E)
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