By Mat Elfring on May 03, 2018 12:24 am
The latest trailer for Marvel's next movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp, just dropped, and it looks like a fun, ground-level superhero movie. Finally, a comic book movie where the stakes aren't, "Some bad guy is going to kill us all if we don't stop them" (we hope). While the Ant-Man sequel won't be on a cosmic level with Thanos and company, the new trailer does introduce us to a new threat--Ghost--and some connections to Marvel comics. So what's the second trailer all about? We're breaking down a few of the important moments from this trailer to see what we can learn about the movie as a whole. There weren't too many major moments, but it does give us a good idea of when the movie takes place and how this movie delves into the secret history of super-powered people in the MCU. If you haven't seen the latest Avengers movie, there may be some minor Infinity War spoilers here, but don't worry; it's nothing major. And if you want to catch up on all the MCU movies before seeing the latest Avengers joint, you may want to watch them all in order. Ant-Man and The Wasp features Paul Rudd returning as Scott Lang, while Evangeline Lilly stars as the other titular character, the Wasp--Hope Pym. We also get Michael Douglas back as Hank Pym and Michael Peña as Luis. The cast also expands with a number of new actors; most notably, it seems the addition of Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Randall Park. Like the first movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp is directed by Peyton Reed. Its release date is set for July 6 in the US, but UK audiences will have to wait nearly an extra month, as it doesn't arrive in theaters there until August 3. Speaking with Modern Myth Media last year, Reed shared some of his plans for the new movie: "For me, as a comic nerd, I have always thought of Ant-Man and Wasp as a team. That's a lot of what the second movie is really about--how they work together, and what their personal and professional relationships are like. To show her finally fully formed in this movie is really exciting. We really get to introduce this character into that universe. To me she's not a supporting character in this movie. It's every bit as much her movie as it is Scott Lang's." Read on for the full breakdown of trailer #2.
It Takes Place After Civil War, Before Infinity War
In the opening scene, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is talking to his daughter, and she asks, "How long have you been Ant-Man again?" He tells her that it hasn't been long, as we see a giant Ant-Man riding on the back of a truck, chasing an SUV. Because of the costume, we know this takes place after Captain America: Civil War and because we learned in Infinity War that Scott is no longer on the run from the government and on house arrest. We're assuming that what he's doing here is super-illegal, or he's working with the government to stop these baddies.
This Tiny Building Is A Major Part Of The Movie
We saw in the first trailer that Pym is on the run, and he shrunk down his entire building. This is not the same Pym Technology Headquarters from the first film, as that was destroyed. This one if more discreet, and in this scene, it's in the hands of Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins). He will be a featured villain in this film. In the comics, Burch is the head of Cross Industries, an advanced weapons manufacturer. While he mainly messed with Tony Stark by claiming Stark's old Iron Man suit rights, it's easy for that character to transition into Ant-Man's world. In the scene above, he's most likely trying to steal all of Pym's technology for himself to manufacture.
Luis And Friends Have A Security Company
One of the highlights from the first movie was Luis (Michael Pena). Apparently, Luis and the heist team from Ant-Man has gone legit. From the looks of the scene, Luis is working for or running a security company, as behind him are electronic locks and other security equipment.
Who Is Ghost?
Both Ant-Man and Wasp will be fighting Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who can phase through objects. In the comics, the Ghost suit was worn by John Morley, and he first appeared in Iron Man #219 back in 1987. The character was a mercenary for hire who sabotaged corporations, many of which were corrupt. In a sense, he was a vigilante for hire. Although, many times, corporations were hiring him to destroy their competition. His suit, which he claims he invented the tech for, can allow the user to phase through matter, become invisible, and disrupt electronic devices.
Lots Of Quantum Realm
The Quantum Realm was established in Ant-Man and used again in Doctor Strange. When Pym Particles make a person or object subatomic, said thing enters this alternate dimension where space and time are irrelevant. Lang went into the Quantum Realm at the end of Ant-Man--this is also where Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp, ended up--and Doctor Strange briefly visited it when the Ancient One sent him travelling through numerous dimensions early on in his solo film. In the comics, this place is called the Microverse, but Marvel changed the name for the big screen, most likely because Paramount owns the movie rights to Micronauts, which was formerly part of Marvel.
Pym Tech Isn't Just For Costumes Anymore
In Ant-Man, we saw people shrink using Pym Particles as well as objects that Lang threw his shrinking discs at. Now, that technology is housed in a van, shrinking the automobile and everyone inside of it. The tech has an old-school look to it though, so maybe this is something Pym developed decades ago that he's kept locked in a warehouse.
Dr. Bill Foster And Project Goliath
At the end of the trailer, Lang is talking to Dr. Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) about Project Goliath and how both men have used Pym Particles to grow. Black Goliath, as he was referred to in the comics, first appeared in Avengers #32 in 1966. Foster worked alongside Pym--who was going by the name Goliath--and developed his own version of the growth formula. He became a superhero and eventually changed his name to Giant Man. Sadly, Foster met his end during Civil War, when he was killed by Ragnarok, a cybernetic clone of Thor.
By Array on May 03, 2018 12:05 am
The first four months of 2018 have already seen some great TV shows, including Westworld, Altered Carbon, The End of the F***ing World, Black Lightning, Everything Sucks, and the return of Jessica Jones. But there's loads more to come. While fans will have to wait until 2019 before we get more Stranger Things and Game of Thrones, there are still a ton of small screen goodies worth getting excited about. There's the return of some of 2017's best shows (Mindhunter, Ozark, Black Mirror), more offerings from Marvel and DC, some lavish reworkings of classic sci-fi and horror properties, and a handful of intriguing new titles. So here's the biggest TV shows to watch over the rest of the year...
Arrested Development Season 5
Netflix, May (probably) Even the most optimistic comedy fan doubted that much-loved comedy Arrested Development would return after it was cancelled back in 2006, but in 2013, that's exactly what happened. Unfortunately, Season 4 was met with a mixed response from fans, many of whom disliked the unusual structure that focused on one character at a time. Nevertheless, it was clearly popular enough for Netflix to greenlight a fifth season. We don't know exactly when the continuing misadventures of the Bluth family will hit the service, but creator Mitch Hurwitz has promised it "real soon," so it will almost certainly be this month. In addition, a re-edited version of Season 4 hits the service on May 4, which should make for fascinating viewing and will hopefully solve some of the issues that fans had with the original version.
Safe
Netflix, May 10 Dexter star Michael C. Hall stars in this new crime drama, which hits Netflix this month. It's created and written by best-selling author Harlan Coben and focuses on a grieving widower whose daughter goes missing, leading to a variety of buried secrets coming to the surface. It's set in the UK, and although it's initially a bit weird to hear Hall with a British accent, it still looks like a gripping ride.
Rocky and Bullwinkle
Amazon, May 11 Although the original run of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends ended in 1964, it is considered one of the greatest cartoons of all time. The characters have remained part of pop culture ever since, via reruns, DVD releases, video games, and the 2000 movie, and they are now set to return to screens. The new show is produced by DreamWorks Animation, who have had recent success with shows likes Voltron: Legendary Defender and Trollhunters, and it premieres in May on Amazon. Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose look and sound much as they ever did, the villains are still vaguely Russian-sounding, and it's refreshing to see that the show has kept the more basic 2D animation style of the original. Welcome back, guys.
13 Reasons Why Season 2
Netflix, May 18 The first season of Netflix's teen drama was one of the most controversial shows of 2017, with its harrowing depiction of suicide dividing many critics and viewers. Season 2 arrives this month, and creator/showrunner Brian Yorkey has stated that although the show will still continue to deal with some heavy subjects--including sexual assault and gun violence--it won't be nearly as graphic. While Season 1 took its name from a collection of cassettes left by the tragic Hannah, this one uses a series of polaroid photos to tell its story.
Cloak and Dagger
Freeform, June 7 On the fact of it, the upcoming Marvel show Cloak and Dagger seems similar to Hulu's own Marvel series Runaways--runaway teens coming to terms with their emerging superpowers. But Cloak and Dagger, based on the popular '80s comic book, should make for a more darker and emotional ride. Aubrey Joseph and Olivia Holt play two kids who are living on the streets of New York, using their control over darkness and light to fight a drug epidemic sweeping the city.
Marvel's Luke Cage/Daredevil
Netflix, June 22 (Luke Cage) Iron Fist and The Defenders may have cracked the impeccable partnership Netflix cemented with Marvel but that doesn't mean all hope is lost with the comic book giant's street level heroes. While Frank Castle came in to disrupt Marvel's small screen universe, it's clear that Daredevil and Luke Cage still have more work to do.
Sharp Objects
June, HBO The HBO drama is inspired by Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. The series stars Amy Adams as a journalist who heads home after a stint in a psychiatric facility, only to find herself investigating the murder of two girls. If you take the tone and subject matter of Flynn's previous work (Gone Girl) and add Jean-Marc Vallee's (Big Little Lies) directorial skills into the mix, it's easy to see Sharp Objects' edgy allure.
Jack Ryan
Amazon, August 31 Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan has been portrayed by almost as many actors as James Bond, in a much shorter space of time; John Krasinski will be the fifth star to play the character since 1990. According to director Daniel Sackheim, this new 10-part TV adaptation of Clancy's best-selling spy novels will take Harrison Ford's more down-to-earth interpretation as the basis for the character, rather than the more heroic version played by Ben Affleck and Chris Pine. And of course, Krasinski is now the director and star of one of the year's biggest movies--A Quiet Place--ensuring that Jack Ryan will get plenty of attention when it premieres in August.
Doctor Who Season 11
BBC, October It's always exciting when a new actor takes on the role as the iconic Timelord, but the debut of the thirteenth doctor this October is a really big deal. Jodie Whittaker replaces Peter Capaldi and is the first woman to play the Doctor. Whittaker had a brief appearance at the end of the recent Christmas Special, but fans will have to wait until October to see how her portrayal differs from previous incarnations. There's a new showrunner too, as Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall succeeds Steven Moffat. Finally, the Doctor's assistant is to be played by comedian Bradley Walsh.
The Purge
Syfy The Purge is one of the most successful horror franchises of recent years--the three movies to date have made more than $319 million worldwide on modest budgets, and the fourth movie is set to hit theatres in July. But if that weren't enough, there's also a 10-episode TV show on the way. It's being produced for Syfy and will be overseen by franchise creator James DeMonaco, who also wrote and directed the first three films. It's set once more in a dystopian future where the annual Purge allows citizens to get all their violent, criminal impulses out, and according to early reports, will focus on a Marine who returns home to protect his sister on Purge Night. There's no premiere date yet, but it was recently announced The People v. O. J. Simpson director Anthony Hemingway will helm the first episode, so there's a good chance we might see it before the year is out.
Maniac
Netflix Maniac will probably be one of the weirder series of the year. Given the names attached, though, the show comes with huge buzz. Cary Fukunaga helms the dark comedy, which stars Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, and Justin Theroux. The story centers on a patient living in a psychiatric hospital who escapes reality by living his life inside a fantasy world maintained solely inside his own mind. It sounds bonkers, but if Fukunaga brings the same sensibilities he brought to True Detective, the network may have a winner on its hands.
Titans
DC digital channel While the quality of DC's movie output has been variable (to say the least), its roster of TV shows remains remarkably consistent. Titans is the latest addition. A live-action version of the Teen Titans, it's been in development since 2014, but shifting channels and cancelled pilots has meant very slow progress to the screen. But it is finally set to premiere in 2018, on DC's currently untitled new digital service. Australian actor Brenton Thwaites (Gods of Egypt, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) plays Dick Grayson/Robin, leading a team of young superheroes that includes Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Netflix The Coen Brothers are coming to TV. That sentence alone should get people excited. The duo--who brought classics like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men to the big screen--will both write and direct a new western anthology series for Netflix. The six episode program will star Tim Blake Nelson, with each episode following a different character and story. Not much else has been announced regarding the series, but that's fine. The Coen Brothers are coming to TV and that's pretty awesome.
The Umbrella Academy
Netflix A comic book property outside of Marvel's purview is on its way to Netflix. The Umbrella Academy comes from the mind of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. The series tells the story of some not-pregnant women who suddenly give birth to a bunch of superpowered babies. Taking place in an alternate timeline--one where JFK is still very much alive--the story follows seven kids as they undergo training to save the world. Ellen Page has been tapped to star in the program, and Way will serve as producer.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Amazon, TBC The classic 1975 movie Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the most distinctive movies of that decade; it's a haunting, dreamlike drama about the mysterious disappearance of a group of Australian schoolgirls while on a trip to the Outback in 1900. Amazon is bringing a new version to the small screen later this year, and the first trailer suggests it will expand on the story of the original while keeping its super-creepy vibe. It stars Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones) as the school's headmistress, and the cast also features Orange is the New Black's Yael Stone and Samara Weaving, who starred in last year's Netflix horror comedy The Babysitter.
The Twilight Zone
CBS: All Access Since anthology TV shows are all the rage now, it seems only right that the granddaddy that started it all come out of retirement. Jordan Peele (Get Out, Key and Peele) and Simon Kinberg (Deadpool, Logan) have teamed up to bring a new Twilight Zone to the masses. Sure, multiple versions of The Twilight Zone have graced the big and small screen over the past 60 years--some better than others--but now seems like the perfect time for the series to return.
Ozark, Season 2
Netflix When Ozark premiered last year, many compared it to Breaking Bad, both in terms of its plot (an ordinary family man who chooses a life of crime) and its mix of violent thrills and dark humor. But the show quickly grew into its own thing and emerged as one of 2017's most enjoyable original series. Season 2 already has a teaser and has been shooting since last fall, so there's a good chance of it arriving in 2018. Jason Bateman returns as money-laundering dad Marty Byrde, with Laura Linney as his estranged but equally duplicitous wife Wendy. As Bateman says: "It's a good escalation of everything as far: danger, the business challenges, and--domestically--our relationship."
Watchmen
HBO Zack Snyder's Watchmen movie was visually stunning, to be sure. The story, however, was a bit lacking. Is it possible a TV series is the right way to go? We'll soon see, as HBO has tapped Damon Lindelof (LOST, The Leftovers) to helm a small-screen adaptation of Alan Moore's iconic graphic novel. There's huge buzz behind the series, but fans have sort of been left in the dark on what to expect. Will this draw from Moore's comic, the 2012 prequel story, or DC's 2017 sequel, Doomsday Clock?
The Haunting of Hill House
Netflix Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Gerald's Game) is one of the best horror directors working today, and 2018 will see him turn his talents to TV. Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV, this is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, which was also turned into the classic 1963 movie The Haunting (the less said about the 1999 remake the better). Annabeth Gish (Sons of Anarchy, The West Wing) stars as Mrs. Dudley, the caretaker of a haunted estate, with roles for Timothy Hutton (All the Money in the World) and Gerald's Game's Carla Gugino. Flanagan has written and directed the whole 10-part series, and this could be one of the year's great horror shows.
Luther, Series 5
BBC Fans of Luther were both excited and dismayed when the series returned for a two-episode fourth season in 2015. With a busy actor like Idris Elba playing the title role, sometimes schedules can be tight. That said, it looks like Elba has donned his signature tweed coat for another go-round as brilliant detective John Luther. We don't know what sort of gruesome crimes he will be investigating, but one thing is for certain: Idris Elba is at his best when the world is at its worst. Right now, John Luther is the hero we need and deserve.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Netflix Channeling the success of Riverdale, another Archie Comics story was in the works at The CW. But due to their concern of having too many witch shows--the network's Charmed reboot is still on the horizon--the untitled Sabrina the Teenage Witch series was handed over to Netflix. The series will explore the origins of the half-witch, half-mortal as she battles the evil forces that threaten her friends and family. Tonally, Deadline describes the series as being "in the vein of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist."
Mindhunter Season 2
Netflix This is another Netflix show without a confirmed release date, but star Jonathan Groff has said that the second season of the period crime thriller is to start shooting early this year, so a late 2018 premiere is possible. The first season of Mindhunter showed that producer David Fincher was just at home with small-screen serial killer thrills as he is in movies such as Zodiac and Seven. The balance between a seriously dark crime procedural and a beautifully performed, character-driven drama was exceptional, so hopes are extremely high for Season 2.
Black Mirror, Season 5
Netflix Netflix has confirmed that Charlie Brooker's hugely acclaimed sci-fi anthology series will return for a fifth season. While the streaming giant is yet to announce a release date, the previous two seasons arrived a year apart, so there's good chance we might see Black Mirror Season 5 before the end of the year. Season 4 was the strongest season to date, so expect the next one to deliver more disturbing but darkly funny predictions about the way technology continues to shape our lives. Can't wait.
Castle Rock
Hulu The Stephen King renaissance has shown no sign of slowing down and with Castle Rock, Hulu's aiming to bring the author's story universe to the small-screen. The program's cast features names like Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard, and Melanie Lynskey. But what makes Castle Rock so special is the connected nature of the anthology series itself. Fans should expect to see familiar stories, characters, and themes that originated in the author's previous works. There may be a decent wait before Pennywise the Dancing Clown returns to the big-screen, but that's okay. We're about to head back into Shawshank Prison, and that's pretty dang cool.
By Array on May 02, 2018 08:58 pm
Every Battle Pass Reward In Season 4 Of Fortnite
Epic Games has launched a major new update for Fortnite officially kicking off Season 4. This means new weekly challenges, skins, and much more have arrived for players to obtain on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile. A select number of rewards are up for grabs for all players, but the majority are reserved exclusively for players who purchase the Battle Pass. The Season 4 Battle Pass costs 950 V-Bucks--the same price as previous Battle Passes. That works out to around $10 / £8. You can progress through the Battle Pass's tiers by collecting stars by playing and fulfilling certain objectives; alternatively you can purchase them using more V-Bucks. Season 4 runs through July 9. Here's everything you need to know about Season 4's Battle Pass. Among the items you'll find in the premium tier of the Battle Pass are new skins, gliders, emotes, and loading screens. Also new are sprays, a type of cosmetic introduced in this patch that allow you to essentially spraypaint an image onto an object in the world. In the images above, you can see all of the major new items included in the Season 4 Battle Pass. Bear in mind, these are all cosmetic; nothing will actually impact gameplay directly. In terms of playable content, Fortnite has received numerous additions in recent months. Epic has consistently added new content to the game, including new weapons, items, map areas, limited-time modes, and more. Additionally, the infamous comet has finally hit, changing areas of the map and introducing gravity-defying Hop Rocks. The comet's impact has specifically created Dusty Divot, but there's also the new Risky Reels area shown in the Season 4 trailer. More intriguing are the hidden underground bases that players have already begun to discover. One of these houses a large missile silo and generally looks to be a sort of supervillain lair. It's unclear how this factors into the ongoing "story" of sorts that Battle Royale is home to, but Epic clearly has plans to continue evolving the game outside of new weapons and things of that nature.
By Mat Elfring on May 02, 2018 08:21 pm
Time for another PPV, just nine days after Greatest Royal Rumble. On Sunday, May 6, Backlash will come to PPV and the WWE Network from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. At least women will be allowed to compete at this show, which starts at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT. As always, a Kickoff Show will air both the WWE Network and YouTube one hour before the main card. The big deal with Backlash is that it will consist of both Raw and Smackdown superstars, as all WWE events from now on will feature wrestlers from both shows. Additionally, there are a couple crossover matches at this event, including one for the Intercontinental Championship. The main event for the evening will be Raw's Roman Reigns vs. Smackdown's Samoa Joe, who recently returned from injury. Luckily, because of the new dual-branded PPVs, the next WWE event won't be until June 17 for Money In The Bank, which will be in Rosemont, IL. This will help cut back the big events from 16 in 2017 to 12 in 2018. More could be announced for this year, but that's currently how many WWE has on the docket. For now, however, there is Backlash, and make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday for live coverage of the event.
Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn aren't making any friends since moving to Raw a few weeks ago. Now, they'll have to fight the biggest men on the Monday night show, Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman. This really feels like a case of Raw trying to find a place for three big stars and strapping Lashley to it just because. Hopefully, this won't be a squash match, and we're giving the win to the big dudes. Our prediction: Strowman and Lashley win
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Randy Orton
(For the United States Championship) Randy Orton will get a rematch for the United States Championship at Backlash, after losing the title at Wrestlemania. Both men are Grand Slam Champions, meaning they've held four of the major WWE titles during their careers. During an episode of MizTV, The Miz tried stirring the pot between Hardy and Orton, which didn't go to Miz's liking. This match is being booked as a pretty straightforward face vs. face match. This is early in Hardy's run with the title, so I'm giving the win to him, so he can keep his solo run going. Our prediction: Jeff Hardy wins
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass
Every WWE fan is waiting for Daniel Bryan to take on The Miz, and we'll get there. However, standing in Bryan's way is Big Cass, who just returned after injury and is super jealous that Bryan's return is getting all the attention. Will Cass get his revenge for Bryan stealing his spotlight? Alright, this storyline is weird and forced, but I like that it's a speedbump on the way to Bryan fighting Miz. This won't be a one-and-done match though. Cass will get the win here, and the two will have a rivalry, leading into Money in the Bank. Our prediction: Cass wins
Carmella (c) vs. Charlotte
(For the Smackdown Women's Championship) At the Smackdown after Wrestlemania, Carmella cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and won the Smackdown Women's Championship; however, she couldn't have done it if the IIconics [sic] hadn't given Charlotte a huge beating in the ring prior to the match. Now, Charlotte wants a rematch, and she'll get one at Backlash. Carmella is known for winning big events using classic heel tactics, so I am thinking that's going to happen one more time here. Our prediction: Carmella wins
Seth Rollins (c) vs. The Miz
(For the Intercontinental Championship) If Miz doesn't win this match, this will probably be the last time we see him have a battle for the IC Championship for now. Seth Rollins is still a new champion and already has a bit of a friendly rivalry going on with Finn Balor. Because Miz is now on Smackdown, where the United States Championship is, I'm giving the win to Rollins, so he can progress on the Monday night show. Our prediction: Rollins wins
Nia Jax (c) vs. Alexa Bliss
(For the Raw Women's Championship) Much like the Smackdown Women's Championship, Raw's title is on a new face, and before the champ can move on to a new contender, the past rivalry has to be wrapped up. However, the battle between Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss is far from over. There is a lot of bad blood between the two, but Jax won't come out on top this time. Bliss will come out the victor, and the two will have a rubber match at Money in the Bank in June. Our prediction: Bliss wins after interference
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (No DQ Match)
(For the WWE Championship) If seeing AJ Styles get punched in the crotch when the ref isn't looking is your thing, then you'll love this match. The Styles/Nakamura rivalry has been phenomenal--pun intended. Both these men are fantastic storytellers in the ring and the rivalry between them has been the highlight of Smackdown. This will be the third match between the two, with Styles winning the first one and the second ending with a double countout. I'm thinking Nakamura will win here, and the two will fight each other, one more time, at the next PPV. Our prediction: Nakamura wins Secondary prediction: Styles gives a low blow to Nakamura
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
Brock Lesnar has been throwing around Roman Reigns like a ragdoll, even though Reigns should have won the cage match at Greatest Royal Rumble. Reigns has made it known he's frustrated with the champion and the WWE Universe deserves better, but he's full of excuses. That's where Samoa Joe comes in: He's had enough of Reigns' recent complaints and wants to shut him up the only way he knows how. There aren't a lot of stakes in this match, and it's more of a homecoming for Joe, who's been injured for months. Because of this, I think Joe is getting the win. Our prediction: Joe wins
By Michael Higham on May 02, 2018 02:33 am
The Duke Remastered - The First Xbox Controller
The Duke Remastered - The First Xbox Controller
Hyperkin is known for its catalog of retro gaming accessories and the latest throwback peripheral available is the original Xbox controller, commonly referred to as The Duke. This rendition is nearly identical to the first gamepad released alongside the Xbox back in 2001 that was swiftly replaced in 2002 with the more sensible Xbox S controller. Whether it be for nostalgia's sake or genuine affinity for the ergonomics of this hulking controller, the original design is back with a few modern touches that are detailed throughout this photo gallery. Seamus Blackley, one of the leaders in marketing the first Xbox console, expressed excitement earlier this year around CES 2018 and stated, "I discovered to my horror and fascination that The Duke was an object of nostalgia and comfort and happiness and childhood memories, and all these people with big hands saying it was the only controller that was comfortable." Blackley comically recalled, "I contacted Phil [Spencer, Head of Xbox], who is a buddy of mine, and asked, 'Phil, is this crazy enough to do?' and some of the hardware guys who were there when the Xbox was on the drawing board said we should absolutely do it." The Duke is compatible with the Xbox One and PC, and it works exclusively through a wired USB connection. The controller is available now on Microsoft's store, but on May 15 at GameStop for $70 USD / £70 GBP.
What's In The Box?
What's In The Box?
Not much comes in the package; just the controller and the thick nine-foot USB cable. You should note that the USB port on the controller is wedged in a way for the packaged cable to fit perfectly into; other cables may not fit here.
The Old Green Logo
The Old Green Logo
When you hook it up to an Xbox One or PC, the old Xbox startup graphic plays on the round LED screen at the center of the controller then stays on a static image identical to the original gamepad's logo.
A Closer Look At That Power Button
A Closer Look At That Power Button
The center display also functions as the power button like the Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers.
Same Design, But A 3.5mm Audio Jack
Same Design, But A 3.5mm Audio Jack
Holding and using The Duke is exactly as you'd remember in terms of button placement, analog stick grooves, and ergonomics but with a few modern touches. A 3.5mm audio jack sits at the bottom of the controller, which makes plugging in headphones much easier.
Left/Right Shoulder Buttons, A New Addition
Left/Right Shoulder Buttons, A New Addition
One of the other design changes comes in the form of newly added shoulder buttons. These are the RB and LB bumpers on the modern Xbox controllers that also function as the Black and White buttons, which is necessary to play most games.
Slanted Face Buttons
Slanted Face Buttons
Those colorful jellybean-shaped A, B, X, Y buttons feature the same inward slant, for better or worse. The smaller Black and White buttons reside atop the face buttons and remain functional.
That Sweet 8-Way Directional Pad
That Sweet 8-Way Directional Pad
The D-pad may look awkward, but the grooves made it easy to change directions without lifting your thumb. This was key for fighting games, but the design was ultimately scrapped in subsequent iterations of the Xbox controller.
Left/Right Triggers And Ergonomics
Left/Right Triggers And Ergonomics
The deep grooves on the handles made the Duke easy to grip, and the design is identical here. Also, the left and right triggers have a silky smooth pull.
Compared To The Original Duke
Compared To The Original Duke
Alongside the original Duke controller, you can see how the Duke was faithfully recreated by Hyperkin. Of course, the center logo that only appears when plugged in, shoulder buttons, and designation of Start/Select to Menu/View buttons would give away which is which.
No Need For Expansion Slots
No Need For Expansion Slots
Of course, there's no need for expansion slots that were used for memory cards, so those are gone with the new Duke.
Compared To The Xbox S Controller
Compared To The Xbox S Controller
When looking at the Duke and its successor, the Xbox S controller, you can see how Microsoft opted for a more sensible and compact design in 2002. The face buttons were realigned, Black and White buttons were moved down, start and select were moved to the side, and the D-pad and analog sticks had a makeover.
Compared To The Xbox One Controller
Compared To The Xbox One Controller
The newest Xbox One controller shows that not much has changed since the Xbox S remodel all those years ago. But compared to the Duke, it's needless to say that modern controllers make more sense.
Will You Be Getting A Hyperkin Duke?
Will You Be Getting A Hyperkin Duke?
Whether it's nostalgia or sincere love for the Duke, the $70 price tag might be a lot to ask. Are you interested in getting your hands on this controller? Let us know in the comments below!
By Meg Downey on May 02, 2018 02:00 am
Avengers: Infinity War spoilers ahead!
After ten years and 18 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become pretty self sufficient. While Avengers: Infinity War was obviously drawing its major plot points and some fun scenes straight from its comic book source material, the majority of the movie was actually layered with callbacks and references to other MCU movies--and some of them may not have been all that obvious. So if you didn't happen to brush up on your MCU history, or if you decided not to do the 31-hour long marathon prior to your Infinity War viewing, don't worry too hard. We're looking out for you. Here is a breakdown of Infinity War's biggest Easter eggs, references, and callbacks to previous MCU movies and beyond.
1. Asgardian Refugees
Infinity War opens with a distress signal from an Asgardian refugee ship in the process of being attacked by Thanos and the Black Order, so if you skipped Thor: Ragnarok, this might have been a little out of left field for you. Ragnarok ended with Asgard being completely destroyed by the demon Surtur, with the survivors narrowly escaping on a spaceship. The post credits sequence, however, showed that same ship coming face to face with Thanos's fleet, apparently just moments before the start of Infinity War.
2. We Have a Hulk
In a last ditch effort to get Thanos and his Children off their ship, Loki attempts to con him into a fight with the ultimate punchline "we have a Hulk." This is a callback to Iron Man pulling nearly the exact same move on Loki himself back in the first Avengers movie. Apparently Loki's learned a few lessons since then.
3. Loki and the Tesseract
It was Loki's possession of the Tesseract that ultimately sealed the Asgardian refugee ship's fate. But until that moment, we weren't actually technically sure that he even had it. Loki was shown giving the Tesseract a suspicious glance during Thor: Ragnarok as he moved through Odin's vault before the ultimate destruction of the planet, but the camera cut away before we saw if he picked it up or not. Unfortunately, the fact that he did really isn't a surprise--Loki's infatuation with the Infinity Stones has been a major motivating factor in just about all of his betrayals dating back to the first Avengers movie (and it was in just about every trailer).
4. The Stark/Potts Wedding
Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are engaged! But we knew that, of course, because we actually got to see him pop the question back at the very end of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Apparently Pepper said yes, though it happened offscreen, because things definitely seem to be going pretty well these days--at least until the whole Thanos thing happens.
5. That's the Cauldron of the Cosmos
After being summoned by Doctor Strange, Tony wastes no time using sacred artifacts in the Sanctum Sanctorum as his personal furniture. The Cauldon of the Cosmos that Tony takes up leaning on is one of Strange's time-bending tools from the comics which allows him to look into the past and alternate futures.
6. Rhodey's Price
We briefly see James Rhodes out of his War Machine armor discussing the Sokovia Accords, where he talks about the "price" he's paid for his choice to sign. This is a direct nod to his tragic accident after the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War--which also happens to be why he's wearing a harness over his hips and legs. The accident left him with limited mobility, maybe even partially paralyzed from the waist down.
7. Even the MCU loves Spongebob
During their first encounter with Cull Obsidian and Ebony Maw, Tony wastes no time in tossing out a couple of witty rejoinders. He calls the Maw "Squidward" before properly engaging him in the fight--and while the resemblance is certainly uncanny, the Maw doesn't seem all that bothered by the comparison.
8. Strange's Parlor Tricks
Poor Doctor Strange is no stranger (get it?) to people not quite taking his powers seriously. During he and Tony's first fight side-by-side, Tony makes a wisecrack about Strange making "balloon animals," which places Tony squarely in the ranks of the dubiously canonical MCU late night hosts club where this Jimmy Kimmel sketch exists.
9. Rocket's Prosthetic Problem
When Rocket, Groot, and Thor arrive on Earth during the battle for Wakanda, Rocket almost immediately teams up with (or, rather, is picked up by) Bucky Barnes. First, he wants to know how much for Bucky's gun--not for sale--then, he wants to know how much or Bucky's metal arm. Bucky rolls his eyes by way of response, but Rocket's not that worried. He's gonna get that arm. Rocket's love for prosthetics, especially cybernetic enhancements, dates all the way back to the first Guardians of the Galaxy's scene in the Kyln prison. And honestly, at this point, it's a borderline fetish. He doesn't make good on his promise to disarm the Winter Soldier this time around, but hey, there's always Avengers 4.
10. Like Footloose?
During their first encounter, Drax urges Star-Lord to tell Tony, Peter, and Strange about the "dance off to save the universe," which gets a predictably mixed reaction from the Avengers. He's of course referring to the final battle with Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1, in which Peter started, well, dancing to distract Ronan from the Power Stone. Peter's love of Kevin Bacon and Footloose were his inspiration for the move.
11. Space McDonalds
During their first major encounter with Thanos, Quill snaps that he looks like "Grimace" who, of course, is one of the classic McDonalds mascots--more specifically, the giant purple chicken-nugget shaped guy. Grimace was originally introduced as "Evil Grimace" in, uh, McDonalds lore(?) so Quill's probably more accurate here than even he realizes.
12. The Collector's Infinity Stone
While Thor explains the situation to the Guardians of the Galaxy during their first encounter, he tells them The Collector in Knowhere has the Reality Stone. When they assure him that isn't possible because "only an idiot" would entrust a Stone to someone like The Collector, Thor fires back "or a genius." His defensiveness is rooted in the fact that two of his close friends -- Sif and Volstagg -- were actually the ones to give the Stone over to him in the mid credits scene of Thor: The Dark World.
13. Reality Warping with Mantis and Drax
During their first big fight with Thanos in Knowhere, Mantis and Drax are two of the Reality Stone's most obvious victims. Drax is turned into a heap of cube-shaped stone and Mantis is unfolded like a spool of ribbon. Don't worry--they both get better the second Thanos leaves. Their temporary "deaths," however, were actually direct call outs to the fates of Nebula and Eros in the original Infinity Gauntlet comics mini series.
14. The Fate of the Power Stone
Thanos actually starts the movie with one Infinity Stone already set into the Gauntlet -- the purple Power Stone, which he got by "destroying Xandar." We got a firsthand look at both Xandar and its ruling body, the Nova Corps, during the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, where the stone was left in their care.
15. The Iron Spider Suit
The end of Spider-Man Homecoming is actually where the Iron Spider suit was introduced, but Peter rejected it the first time around. Thank goodness Tony kept it around, or things would have gotten pretty dicey for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in this movie.
17. Torturing Strange
While Ebony Maw holds Doctor Strange captive on his spaceship, he uses a series of crystalline needles to effectively try and torture the Time Stone out of his grasp. This is a repurposed scene from the comics event Infinity, where Strange is actually imprisoned by the Maw in his own mind and tortured in a strikingly similar way.
18. Teen Groot is a Gamer
Teen Groot is a pretty relatable kid, considering he's actually an all-but-immortal tree alien. He spent about 80% of his time on screen in Infinity War with his face buried in a video game, the title of which is actually a double Easter Egg. It's a reference to both the game Defenders and Marvel's Defenders, the team of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage who currently exist in the strange liminal space of the Netflix MCU.
19. The Blue Man
The Russo Brothers continue their valiant efforts to blend the MCU and the world of Arrested Development after Civil War's Bluth Stair Car cameo. This time, it was Tobias Funke himself, in full Blue Man regalia, locked away in the Collector's vault. Apparently he blew himself straight into space.
20. The White Wolf
Bucky Barnes, the (ex?) Winter Soldier, is brought into the fray by T'Challa as he enjoys what looks like a pretty quiet, pastoral life. If you're confused as to exactly what happened to Bucky between the end of Captain America: Civil War and this moment, look to the post credits scene of Black Panther, where we see Bucky wake up in Wakanda, his brain washing "cured" by T'Challa's sister Shuri.
21. Doctor Strange's Time Stone
Like Thanos, Doctor Strange also starts the movie in possession of an Infinity Stone, but he didn't exactly destroy an entire planet to get it. The story of Strange and his relationship to the Eye of Agamotto, the locket in which the stone is kept, can be found in -- surprise! -- Doctor Strange, where he used it to defeat the ancient cosmic demon Dormammu.
22. Bruce Banner's Green Problem
Bruce Banner spends the entirety of Infinity War completely unable to transform into the Hulk. While we're still not exactly sure why that is, a lot of hints can be found in Thor: Ragnarok, where we learned that, prior to ending up on the ill fated Asgardian refugee ship, he spent several years on the planet Sakaar unable to turn back into Bruce Banner. It's also possible that Hulk simply doesn't want to emerge again after being defeated by Thanos in Infinity War's opening scene. The two of them have a lot to work out, and not a lot of time to do it.
23. The Secret Avengers
There's still quite a bit of tension between the two separate factions of the Avengers in the wake of Civil War, which is why it's actually a pretty big deal that Vision and Wanda were having their little romantic liaisons even now. It's also why Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Natasha Romanoff were able to burst into the scene like a well oiled machine when Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight attacked--they've been spending the last two years operating as fugitive superheroes.
24. Vision's Consciousness
While Vision obviously has the Mind Stone, a major element of Infinity War's plot revolves around the idea that more than just the Stone is what's keeping him sentient. Bruce banner rattles off a list of different sources for Vision's identity including himself, Tony Stark, Jarvis, and Ultron as different AI consciousnesses that are working and learning from one another inside him. We actually see this in action during Vision's creation back in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he's first introduced as a repurposed body Ultron intends to hijack.
25. Killed by a Dark Elf
While Rocket tries to (awkwardly) console Thor prior to their arrival at Nidavellir, Thor gives a pretty bleak run down of his family history. We just watched Thanos murder Loki at the start of this movie. The sister? That's Hela, the villain of Thor: Ragnarok, which also happens to be the movie where Odin died. His mother who was killed by a Dark Elf? That's Friga, who was murdered by Malekith in Thor: The Dark World. And the "best friend," of course, was Heimdall, who also died in Infinity War's opening.
26. Off to Vormir
It may not look like much on screen but the planet Vormir actually is a place from Marvel comics--it's just not a very populated or important one. Vormir is a relatively backwater planet in one of the many arms of the Kree Empire, populated by lizard-like people who apparently have all either died off or peaced out for the MCU incarnation.
27. Keeping up with the Quills
When Peter tries to one-up Thor's tragic backstory, he talks about his traumatic experiences with his father--which also just so happens to be the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. There we learn that Peter's father is actually Ego, the Living Planet, who seduced and impregnated his human mother in the process of trying to create a perfect heir.
28. Welcome to Nidavellir
To replace his lost hammer Mjolnir, Thor, Rocket and Groot travel to a place called Nidavellir, home of an ancient and magical forge built around the heart of a dying star. Nidavellir is actually one of the "nine realms" of Marvel's Norse mythology, recast for the MCU to actually be a totally independent planet-slash-space station rather than some sort of alternate dimension.
29. Watching the Sun Rise
Thanos's final moments in the film show him living out his own prophetic wishes--he wanted to watch the sun rise on a universe grateful for his accomplishments. This moment is actually borrowed and repurposed from the Infinity Gauntlet mini series where Thanos becomes a humble farmer after having his eyes opened to the truth of his endless quest to woo Mistress Death.
30. Calling Captain Marvel
In the final moments of the post-credits scene, we see that Nick Fury has sent a distress signal using what looks suspiciously like a very sci-fi 1990s beeper. The symbol on the screen loads as a gold star across a blue and red background--an icon associated with Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, who is set to debut in her very own solo movie come 2019.
By Michael Rougeau on May 02, 2018 02:00 am
Avengers: Infinity War spoilers ahead!
Like any war, Avengers: Infinity War had casualties. Lots of them. Marvel comics fans expected this ending, but that didn't make it any less impactful. By Infinity War's ending, Thanos had claimed all six Infinity Stones, which gave him the power to wipe out half the universe's sentient life with a snap of his fingers. So naturally, he did. There were plenty of ways the Avengers and their allies could have prevented this throughout the movie. Doctor Strange could have let Tony Stark die instead of giving up the Time Stone, and Gamora could have let Thanos kill Nebula rather than guiding him to the Soul Stone. Star-Lord could have kept his cool despite learning of Gamora's death, and Thor could have "gone for the head," as Thanos himself put it. All the characters who disintegrated at the end of Avengers: Infinity War can (and probably will) come back through some sort of magic in Avengers 4 next year. But for now, they're dead as dead can be. And don't forget the other characters who lost their lives earlier in the movie--chances are they're actually gone for good. So as far as we know, here's every character who died in Avengers: Infinity War.
1. Heimdall
Thor's friend Heimdall bites it in the opening scene after Thanos attacks the Asgardians' ship.
2. Loki
Loki also dies in the opening scene, after trying rather unwisely to shank Thanos.
3. Gamora
Thanos throws Gamora off a cliff to her death to secure the Soul Stone.
4. Vision
Vision dies when Thanos tears the Mind Stone from his head. No surprise there.
5. Ebony Maw
Ebony Maw gets iced when Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange Aliens him out of his own ship.
6. Corvus Glaive
Vision kills Corvus Glaive with his own weapon.
7. Proxima Midnight
Proxima Midnight gets cut down by a giant space lawnmower in Wakanda.
8. Cull Obsidian
Cull Obsidian is defeated and killed by Bruce Banner in the Hulkbuster armor.
9. Bucky
Bucky got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
10. Black Panther
T'Challa got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
11. Groot
Groot got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
12. Scarlet Witch
Wanda got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
13. Falcon
Sam got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
14. Mantis
Mantis got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
15. Drax
Drax got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
16. Star-Lord
Peter Quill got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
17. Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
18. Spider-Man
Peter Parker got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
19. Nick Fury
Nick Fury got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
20. Maria Hill
Maria Hill got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
21. Half of everyone here
Yes, half of everyone else on Earth got disintegrated when Thanos snapped his fingers.
22. The Collector?
Presumably, Thanos killed the Collector when he visited him offscreen.
23. Valkyrie?
It's unclear what happened to Valkyrie--did she die when Thanos attacked? Thor must think so, or he would have tried to rescue her. Hopefully she'll pop up again.
24. Korg?
Taika Waititi's beloved stone warrior may have gone out when Valkyrie did--or maybe not.
25. All the other Asgardians?
Thanos absolutely decimated the Asgardians' ship just before Infinity War's opening scene, so hopefully we'll learn in a future MCU movie whether any of them survived.
By Matt Espineli on May 02, 2018 01:43 am
Let The BattleZ Begin
Dragon Ball FighterZ's roster is packed with familiar faces from all across the massively popular anime series. Fan favorites like Vegeta, Goku and Trunks are all accounted for, but there's also a wealth of other well known characters present. With so many characters to keep track of, we've compiled all the base game and DLC characters for your reference. There are a ton of characters to play as, which can be demanding for both beginners and veterans of fighting games. Many of the series' most beloved characters inherit a wealth of fighting game archetypes. If you need help grasping game's fundamentals and how to best play each character in the roster, read our Dragon Ball FighterZ beginner's guide. Though, if you'd rather see all the cool references the game makes to the series with its characters and stages, you can view our gallery highlighting all of the game's Easter eggs and references. Suffice to say it, there's a ton of fantastic references present in the game's large roster. And it only continues to grow thanks to the addition of DLC characters, like Super Saiyan Blue Vegito, Fused Zamasu, Bardock, and Broly. Which characters do you play the most? Let us know in the comments below. And for more on the game, check out our Dragon Ball FighterZ review, as well as our feature containinggameplay videos, essential news, and everything else you need to know.
Vegito (Super Saiyan Blue)
Vegito is the resulting fusion of Goku and Vegeta, and he naturally boasts characteristics of the two Saiyans. Like Vegeta, he's a brash and confident warrior, which comes across in his moveset; in his reveal trailer, you can see him throwing kicks while his arms are casually crossed.
Fused Zamasu
Fused Zamasu is a major antagonist from the Dragon Ball Super series. As his name suggests, he's the resulting fusion of Zamasu and his counterpart, Goku Black. Retaining the arrogance and self-entitlement of Goku Black and Future Zamasu, he believes himself to be the embodiment of justice and a figure of divine brilliance and absolute authority.
Bardock
Bardock is the father of Goku and Raditz, and led a squad of mercenaries that travel to various planets and bring down their defences so that Frieza could take them over and sell them off. Bardock revolts when he learns Frieza intends to wipe out the Saiyans on Planet Vegeta, however is killed by Frieza's Supernova energy ball, along with the rest of his planet. His sons, however, survive.
Broly
Broly is a legendary Super Saiyan who appears once every 1000 years. In his normal state, he wears a special crown which is used to restrain his power and prevent him from transforming into a Super Saiyan. Broly has an unquenchable thirst for battle and, in combat, is consumed by his rage. He is one of the most powerful and deadly Super Saiyans in existence.
Android 16
Android 16 is the sixteenth iteration of Dr. Gero's powerful series of advanced artificial humans. Unlike his more hostile siblings, he demonstrates deep compassion towards all living things. Despite his gentle demeanor, Android 16 is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his siblings from danger.
Android 18
Android 18 is the eighteenth iteration of Dr. Gero's powerful series of advanced artificial humans. When she's first introduced, she follows Gero's orders to kill Goku. However, her rebellious attitude causes her to deviate from this plan, inevitably leading to her and her brother, Android 17, murdering Gero in cold blood. Regardless, Android 18 eventually joins the Z Fighters due to the kindness and compassion they exhibit towards her at the end of the Cell saga.
Android 21
Android 21, a new character designed by Akira Toriyama, is a central figure in Dragon Ball FighterZ's story mode. She's a scientist with an intellect similar to Dr. Gero. While she wears a white lab coat and has a human-like appearance in the game's cutscenes, her playable form sees her with long white hair and pink skin similar to iconic villain Majin Buu.
Beerus
Beerus is the God of Destruction of Universe 7. As a God, he sleeps several years to several decades straight, and once he awakens, he destroys planets in his administrative zone.
Captain Ginyu
Captain Ginyu is the leader of the eponymous Ginyu Force, a squadron of elite mercenaries working for Frieza to conquer planets. He's a strict, yet compassionate leader who legitimately cares about the wellbeing of his teammates. As one of the few men who reveres Frieza, he is very loyal and follows any order he gives him.
Cell
Cell is one of the primary antagonists of the Androids arc, the third major saga in Dragon Ball Z. A mad scientist named Dr. Gero designed him to be the ultimate fighter by giving him numerous advantageous genetic traits and abilities.
Future Trunks
Future Trunks is Vegeta's and Bulma's son from an alternate timeline. While the couple eventually gave birth to him in the main timeline, this version of the character comes from an alternate era where the world was devastated by the Androids. Future Trunks first appeared in the aftermath of the Frieza Saga, having travelled back in time to warn the Z Fighters about the oncoming threat of the Androids, as well as to deliver medicine to Goku that would cure him of the heart disease he died from in the alternate timeline.
Frieza (Final Form)
Frieza is the emperor of the universe who's responsible for obliterating nearly the entire Saiyan race, which in turn caused the myriad conflicts present in Dragon Ball's earlier arcs. Frieza has a massive ego, believing that he is the most powerful life form in the universe.
Gohan
Gohan is the elder son of series protagonist Goku and his wife Chichi. While he shares his father's strength and courageous spirit, he tends to pull away from fighting and only resorts to it as a means of defending his family and friends.
Gohan (Adult)
Like his younger self, adult Gohan is a courageous warrior with a strong sense of justice. Years after he defeated Perfect Cell, he would protect the citizens of Satan City under the identity of Great Saiyaman and would go on to become an even more powerful warrior when his potential was unlocked by the Old Kai.
Goku
Goku is the main protagonist of the entire Dragon Ball series. He's a Saiyan that was originally sent to Earth as an infant with a mission to destroy it. However, he ended up losing his memory not long after landing, which caused him to grow pure-hearted. Goku constantly trains hard to become a powerful fighter, which often results in him saving the universe in the process.
Goku (Super Saiyan Blue)
Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (SSGSS) form, also known as Super Saiyan Blue, is an incredibly powerful form introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. Goku describes it as occurring when a "Saiyan with the power of a Super Saiyan God further transforms himself into a Super Saiyan."
Goku Black
Goku Black is secretly a Supreme Kai apprentice Zamasu, who used the Super Dragon Balls to steal the body of Goku. He uses the power that he inherited from Goku's body to rid the universe of all mortals.
Gotenks
Gotenks is the brash and headstrong fusion of Goten and Trunks. Despite his youth, he's an immensely powerful fighter, though his impulsiveness tends to cause him to blindly rush into a battle.
Hit
Hit aka "Hit the Infallible" is a legendary assassin from Universe 6. He's considered the strongest member of Team Universe 6, a group of the most formidable warriors in Universe 6 assembled to participate in the Tournament of Destroyers.
Innocent Buu
Innocent Buu is the first and the least evil of Majin Buu's forms. He's the result of Kid Buu (the original and pure form of Majin Buu) absorbing the Grand Supreme Kai.
Kid Buu
Kid Buu is the original and pure form of Majin Buu, reverting back to this state after Goku and Vegeta removed Innocent Buu and all of the other fighters he absorbed. Kid Buu's erratic nature and unpredictability makes him the monster's most dangerous form.
Krillin
Krillin is the best friend and ally of Goku. He is known as one of the most talented human martial artists on Earth. While he is often overpowered by many of the series' antagonists, he remains a courageous and loyal fighter that rarely backs down from a fierce battle.
Nappa
Nappa is an elite Saiyan warrior and comrade of Vegeta. He was once a general of the Saiyan Army, but after his race's demise, he began working for Frieza. This would eventually lead him on a mission to defeat Goku. Despite putting his all into assisting Vegeta to accomplish that task, he was inevitably killed by the young prince for his incompetence and failure.
Piccolo
Piccolo, otherwise known as Piccolo Jr., is a Namekian and also the final child and reincarnation of the Demon King Piccolo. He was once an enemy of Goku, but after forming a close bond with Gohan in Goku's absence during the Saiyan Saga, he changes his ways and becomes a permanent member of the Z-fighters.
Vegeta
Vegeta is the crown prince of the fallen Saiyan race. He first appeared as a villain, who worked alongside Frieza and his minions. However, he turned against the villainous emperor in favor of fighting alongside the Z fighters, all while striving to become the most powerful fighter in the universe.
Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)
Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (SSGSS) form, also known as Super Saiyan Blue, is an incredibly powerful form introduced in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. Vegeta achieves Super Saiyan Blue form through ki control in Dragon Ball Super.
Tien
Tien is a disciplined and reclusive martial artist, and one of the strongest fighters on Earth next to Krillin and Yamcha. He's a descendent of an ancient race known as the Three-Eyed People. When he's not supporting his allies in their efforts to defeat powerful foes threatening Earth, he's usually spending time training with his lifelong best friend, Chiaotzu.
Yamcha
A former desert bandit, Yamcha was once an enemy of Goku, but quickly reformed and became his ally. He's a brave and talented martial artist who often assists the Z-fighters whenever trouble arrives; though, this begins to vary as the series goes on and more powerful foes are introduced.
By GameSpot Staff on May 02, 2018 01:42 am
Tips To Build Your Chances Of Survival
While you might be familiar with the battle royale genre--games that stick one player (or a small team) on a map where they fight against others to be the last one standing--Fortnite: Battle Royale is a bit different. The game takes the basic premise of the genre and adds its own twist that changes everything: You can instantly construct stuff like walls and stairs, allowing you to build fortifications to protect yourself and create your own tactical advantages. Fortnite drops you onto an island with 99 other players, and the last player (or team) left alive wins. Though it's similar to games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, plenty of small differences make Fortnite into a very distinct experience. Knowing what to carry, when to shoot, and what to build are essential if you're going to be the last person alive on the island. You won't find a tutorial in Fortnite: Battle Royale, so when you drop onto its island, all you have are your wits and whatever you can find along the way. Here's everything you need to know to get a strong start--and maybe survive long enough to find yourself a minigun. Got any tips you don't see here? Let us know in the comments below. And if you're already a Fornite: Battle Royale veteran, check out our advanced tips guide, the six biggest mistakes that beginners make, and our guide covering all the things that we wish we knew before playing the game.
Pick Your Landing Zone And Avoid Other Players
Fortnite: Battle Royale starts with 100 players dropping out of a vehicle (in this case, a flying bus) onto an island below that's littered with weapons. Check your map at the outset and watch the flight path carefully--where you land is your first big decision in Fortnite, and it can help you get off to a fighting start. Your first order of business is weapons, and if you're new to the game, you'll also want to try to avoid other players. Weapons are mostly found inside buildings, so pick a drop location with a few structures, but try to avoid major settlements or towns along the flight path early on. Those places have great gear, but also attract a ton of players; you'll want to avoid a fight straight off until you've gotten a little more comfortable with the game. Usually, it's best to hold off jumping for a few seconds to pick your spot and stay away from the largest pack, which usually jumps as soon as the doors open. You can also set waypoints on your map screen, making it easier to locate any structures or settlements you've got in mind for looting. You'll start your jump by skydiving, but at any time, you can follow the onscreen prompt to deploy your glider. Flipping to your glider early will make you fall slower, allowing you to cover much more distance. Use this to get away from other likely drop points that other players might be headed to, but don't take too long--the faster you hit the ground and gear up, the better. Be sure to keep an eye out for other players dropping nearby as you head down, to avoid getting ambushed or falling into a fight. Your goal is to survive, so as you're learning the ropes, it's best to let other players take each other out, rather than go looking for a battle.
The Storm Is Your Greatest Enemy
Like PUBG, Fortnite matches are dictated by "the circle"--or, in this case, "the storm." Near the start of each match, a large circle will appear on the map in a random position, dictating the eye of the storm. Outside of this circle, the approaching clouds will damage and kill you. A timer in the corner of your screen notes when the storm will contract, creating a new, tighter circle. Over the course of the match, the storm will close in more and more, shrinking the play area on the island and forcing everyone closer together until only one (or one team) remains. This means that paying attention to the circle's location and the timer are your top priorities. You can't just run to the center of the first circle that appears in a match and stay there, because smaller circles won't always have the same center point. Often, the movement of the circle means you'll have to make a run for it to escape the storm, leaving you vulnerable to attack. Always keep the circle in mind, and know where you need to be. The best practice is to get there quickly and carefully.
Gather Resources First
When you first land on the island in Fortnite: Battle Royale, you'll be armed only with your melee pickaxe. You can fight people with it... but that's not especially effective, and will get you killed against pretty much any other weapon. The pickaxe's main use is for bashing through structures and gathering resources, the latter of which is one of the first things you want to do--provided you're far enough from other people that it won't immediately draw attention. Breaking up anything causes a commotion; for instance, you might destroy some vehicles to get a decent bounty of metal, but you risk triggering its alarm and broadcasting your location to other players. To start: Smash walls, structures, and (especially) trees, and gather yourself at least 300 units of wood. This will supply you with key materials that can keep you alive. If you switch to the building menu, you'll see that you can cycle through a few structures, like floors, roofs, walls, and stairs. You'll need resources to build those things, so gather materials quickly before taking off toward the circle. It's much safer taking time to gather materials in the early game than it will be later on, and you can smash just about anything to get the wood, brick, and metal necessary to make stuff.
Practice Building (Especially Under Fire)
With your resources in-hand, you'll want to spend your first few matches learning the ways that buildings can help you. Building structures is Fortnite's claim to fame--and using structures creatively will get you out of trouble, help you traverse the map, and provide cover in a firefight. You don't want to be building constantly, but you need to get comfortable with the system, so that you can make whatever you want as fast as possible when things get hairy. The build menu lets you choose a structure, its material, and its location very quickly. Once you click the button to start building something, it constructs itself automatically. This means that even under fire, building is a viable option: If you start to take fire, you can lay down a wall ahead of you to absorb some of the incoming bullets while you use it as cover and shoot back. Ramps get you over otherwise impassable terrain and can help you create instant high ground that give you an advantage over other players. It's a system that you definitely shouldn't sleep on, because it can give you serious advantages. Just note that structures make noise as you're constructing them, and messing around in the build menu can leave you vulnerable. Player structures are also visually very conspicuous. The various materials have their pros and cons, too; brick and metal sound like the stronger materials at first blush, but using them in construction takes longer than wood, and they can be tougher to find. In touch-and-go battle situations when you need immediate cover, wood is usually the right call, while brick and metal are better saved for endgame fortifications when you expect to be in tougher fights.
Gear Up
As soon as you hit the ground, it's time to hunt for weapons, so head into a building and grab whatever's there. All your usable items go into one of five inventory slots, located on the bottom of your screen (that goes for guns, as well as health and support items). You'll want to get armed with whatever you can find straight away--but don't be afraid to drop things in favor of better weapons. Weapons come in several varieties. You'll find close-range shotguns and long-range assault and sniper rifles, as well as pistols, SMGs, and occasionally rocket launchers and more. Weapons also have rarity classifications: Weapons with white auras around them and white icons in your inventory are the most common and also the weakest; green are uncommon and a little better; blue are rare and better still; purple are epic; orange are legendary; and gold are mythic. As a general rule, the higher the tier of the gun--and the better it is. Rarer weapons are often more accurate and more powerful, and come with add-ons like silencers or scopes. Swap out more common guns for rarer ones during the course of the match to increase your firepower. You'll find a lot of these rarer guns in treasure chests, which are hidden in buildings. These are indicated by a glowing gold light and a humming sound, but they're usually hidden behind walls that you might have to destroy (or attics that you'll need to build stairs to reach). Always try to seek out chests, as they have valuable gear--such as bandages and shield potions--as well as guns. You'll definitely need all the supplies you can get if you want to be a contender in a match's late game.
Keep Quiet
The large scope of Fortnite: Battle Royale's island means that players can spread out quite a bit. Finding other people and avoiding detection are two of your main concerns in a given match, because it's easy to get ambushed or taken out from afar. Especially as matches go on and the play area contracts, you'll be closer to players--and they'll be able to hear you moving around, building, and shooting. Sound and silence are essential tools to victory, and good speakers or headphones is highly recommended to help you get a bead on what's happening around you and locating the source of sounds. Running is a noisy way to move around, and sprinting is even louder, and even kicks up some dust behind you. You can reduce your movement sounds by crouching and moving more slowly, but note that even rotating your character creates the sound of footsteps. Doors also make a ton of racket, but in Fortnite, you'll often find it's possible to jump through a window and avoid doors entirely. You'll also want to avoid shooting unless absolutely necessary, as the sound is like raising a flag on your location--although silenced weapons help with that issue a great deal. Finally, gathering resources with your pickaxe and building stuff makes a lot of noise, often for an extended period of time. These are essential to survival at Fortnite, but always be aware that when you smash or build things, you might be giving away your location.
Don't Fight Unless You're (Pretty) Sure You Can Win
Firefights in Fortnite, as in other Battle Royale games, can start out looking like clear victories and quickly become disasters. Your greatest advantage at all times is surprise, but you only have one life to live. This crucial fact means that often, it's better to ignore another player and stay hidden (if you can't get the jump on them), rather than attack them and risk losing it all, even when you have great weapons. Aiming in Fortnite is a little harrowing as well, which can make actually hitting other players tough at any kind of range. First off, you'll want to pick the right gun for the job: Up close, even a fairly common-level shotgun can be devastating with a headshot, while further away, assault rifles and sniper rifles can take people out before they know what hit them. Take your time, line up your shots, and make sure your opponent is within range so that you take them down before they can react. Survival is your most important goal, so use discretion: If you're not confident you'll be able to take down whoever's in your sights quickly and cleanly, you're probably better off letting them go.
Be Careful In The Open
Players used to PUBG know that the game often consists of sprinting across open ground, trying to get to a closing circle. In Fortnite, moving into the open is just as harrowing, because the cartoonish art style makes you more visible at a distance--and you can't get any lower to the ground than a crouch. This means picking your path when you move in the open is an essential skill to learn, and the players who live the longest typically minimize their time in the open or move smartly to different positions to avoid getting caught. First, use structures and cover like cliffs and boulders to your advantage, to protect your back or sides and limit the areas you have to keep an eye on. Next, move quickly while in the open, and carefully and slowly when you're in cover. The human eye is built to detect movement, so you're safest when you're not in motion. You can occasionally hide among pine trees or in bushes to make yourself even tougher to spot. You'll also want to make use of Fortnite's third-person perspective to position your character to peek around corners and through doorways before you enter them, and avoid walking into an ambush (or right into someone hiding in a corner, out of your line of sight). Another quick tip: Close doors behind you. It's an easy way to make it less obvious that you're in a building, and this makes it tougher for other players to track you.
Drink Shield Potions As Soon As You Find Them
Health in Fortnite: Battle Royale is divided into two types: your player health, which is a green bar on the bottom of your screen, and your shield, which is a blue bar--each topping out at 100 points. Shield depletes before health, and when your health is gone, you're dead. You won't start the match with a shield, however, so you'll have to find one. Treasure chests are the places where you'll often find health items--and in particular, blue shield potions. These take up a space in your limited inventory, and since you won't start the match with a shield, it's usually best to drink these as soon as you find them, as your shield lasts until it takes damage. Shield potions come in two types. Larger shield potions give you 50 shield points, and can be stacked twice to double your health; smaller shield potions give you 25 shield. Only the larger potions can push you up to 100, though: If you use two small shield potions, you'll top out at 50 shield points. Note that shields won't protect you from falling damage, so take care of yourself. If you can find health items like bandages and medkits, you'll likely want to hang onto them for later use (bandages give you 15 health to a max of 75, while medkits will heal you fully). A rarer healing item called Slurp Juice--which comes in a purple bottle--replenishes your shield and gives you back health over time at a rate of one point per second for 25 seconds, making it more versatile in a sticky situation. Even rarer Chug Jugs are also extremely useful, fully restoring your health and shield, but requiring 15 seconds of your time to use.
Watch For Player Buildings
As matches wear on, you're likely to start seeing player fortifications. The good news is that player buildings are usually square, blank, obvious towers... so you'll usually see them from a distance. They're great indicators of where players are staked out, so if you ever spot a tower or other fortification, you should absolutely approach it with caution--it usually means someone's waiting with a scoped rifle, hoping to take down passersby. Often, when you're on the ground and spot a tower, it's best to keep clear of it. Usually, fortifications suggest that players are well-stocked and ready for a fight from a distance--and if they're up high, they typically have a line-of-sight advantage. If you're looking to fight someone in a tower or other structure, you're going to want strong weapons. The newly added minigun can chew up materials like wood and brick pretty well, and tough-to-find rocket launchers can absolutely devastate fortifications. You should always try to bring the right tools for the job. Fall damage can play a big part in some of these fights. If you can destroy the bottom of stairs or the supports of a tower, you might be able to collapse it altogether, so pay attention to how you can use the environment and the construction to your advantage.
Never Trust Cover
No cover in Fortnite is foolproof. Just about everything in the game is destructible--not just player-constructed fortifications. Even buildings on the map can all be wrecked with the right weapons; locations that feel safe generally aren't, and every wall can be destroyed in the middle of battle. This means that even when you're hiding out or grabbing cover in a firefight, you should always be prepared to move, strafe, run, and otherwise do your best to avoid fire. Walls won't save you--and especially late in the game, the likelihood of someone bringing along a rocket launcher or minigun to a battle increases tremendously. Those things annihilate cover pretty easily, so learn not to rely on it. Mobility is often your greatest ally, so jump and build to give yourself additional advantages in battle.
Be Careful When Looting Defeated Players
Fights in Battle Royale games are almost always close calls that fill you with adrenaline, and taking down another player always comes with a rush of relief. Don't let your guard down, though; every time you fire your gun, you announce yourself, and the loot that players drop when they die makes those locations targets for other players. Immediately after winning a fight is when you need to be extra-careful. Instead of rushing up to a dead player and going through all their gear (which can leave you very vulnerable), it's often better to take a beat, grab cover, and survey the situation. Other players might be attracted to the gunfire or spot the loot as you're on your way to grab it, allowing them to get the drop on you. Similarly, you might be able to use the dead player's loot to get the drop on them. Being careful is key to survival in Fortnite: Battle Royale--so play smart, and always expect another player lurking nearby. The same goes for the supply drops, which occasionally get ejected into the sky by the party bus as it flies overhead. The drops have great loot, but almost always attract a lot of attention, so approach them carefully.
Use This Time To Learn
Most of these tips are geared toward teaching you how to keep yourself alive in Fortnite, and it can be tempting at the start to hole up inside a building deep in the circle with the first gun you find, trying to outlast everyone else. You might even find yourself getting into the top 10 players in a match without firing a shot. It's worth it to experiment in Fortnite: Battle Royale, especially early on. Learn your capabilities and get a handle on how other people play the game. In other words: Go get yourself killed. Finding good weapon locations, discovering how to use buildings effectively, and getting used to how guns handle in firefights is all part of what it takes to win in Battle Royale games. Fortnite matches pit you against 99 other players, so the likelihood that you're going to lose is extremely high. Embrace it, and use your first matches to build skills rather than hide out in an attempt to win. You'll do better in the long run when you start to learn the ins and outs of the game, as well as what you're comfortable with and how you can best succeed. You can also spectate other players once you're dead, which can clue you in on how more experienced players approach the game--it's a highly useful learning tool.
By GameSpot Staff on May 02, 2018 01:41 am
What We Wish We Knew
When you first pop into the free, competitive multiplayer Battle Royale version of Fortnite: Battle Royale--without first buying its cooperative counterpart--you'll find a lot that doesn't get explained. Fortnite: Battle Royale offers no tutorial to guide you through its essential mechanics, so it's up to players to discover its nuances, mostly through rigorous trial and error, spectating other players, and dying. The Battle Royale mode also features a whole bunch of guns, materials, structures, and items to learn about and understand, as well as how they interact with each other and the game's systems. Fortnite is full of little tricks and idiosyncrasies that aren't immediately obvious, especially with its emphasis on gathering resources and building structures as part of its combat. Once you know them, however, they'll make you a much more effective player. Here are the 12 things we wish we knew about Fortnite: Battle Royale before we started playing. Got any tips you don't see here? Let us know in the comments below. And if you're new to Fornite: Battle Royale, check out our beginner's tips guide and the six biggest mistakes that beginners make, but if you're more advanced, be sure to read our advanced tips guide. You can also check out our guide on how to build more effectively.
Aiming Matters When Gathering Resources
Whenever you start hammering away at a wall, tree, or pile of rocks to gather resources, you'll notice that a weird blue icon appears on the thing you're smacking. That little marker turns gathering resources into something more active than just holding a button down for a few seconds. You want to move your crosshair over each new blue icon with every swing of your pickaxe. This earns you the most resources you can get with each hit, and increases your harvesting efficiency--which means you'll grab more building materials and leave yourself less vulnerable.
The Shotgun Is Highly Effective
It shouldn't always be your main weapon, but it's a pretty good idea for you to have a shotgun on-hand whenever possible--even a weak one. Fortnite's shotguns have decent range and a big spread (at least for the time being), which means they're great catch-all guns for dropping already-injured targets. Time and again, we've seen players use shotguns as the clean-up hitter of their arsenal; they might fire a rocket in the vicinity of an enemy to knock out their shield, or hit them with a rifle as they close the gap, but the shotgun is often the weapon that closes the deal. Don't be afraid to use it at close- to mid-range. And aim high, because headshots can be very painful.
Crouch And Shoot
A lot of the guns in Fortnite aren't quite as accurate as in some other shooters, and that can make for tough fights, especially when you engage players at long-range. It's possible to increase your guns' accuracy in a lot of cases, though. Whenever possible to do so safely, keep still and crouch--it'll increase your accuracy, helping you take down other players more quickly. That doesn't mean you should stop dodging and stand still in the open during a heated battle... but if you spot someone on the move and are thinking about opening fire on them, you'll have an advantage if you get low and keep still.
Build To Save Yourself From Falling
Fall damage is a big deal in Fortnite. High locations are good places to set up and watch for other players, and when you get good at building, going vertical and taking the high ground is a very effective strategy. Falling off those places can be deadly, though, since shields don't absorb fall damage. Always remember that you can save yourself by using the build menu to quickly drop structures beneath you as you fall; so long as you're close enough to the wall of a tower or a cliff, you can instantly build a floor or ramp beneath you that can stop your descent and save you from certain doom. Use this trick to quickly make your escape from fortifications when someone starts shooting at you with rockets, or when you need to descend a cliff in a hurry. It's a lot easier than trying to find items to heal yourself.
Shield Potions Are Essential
Finding good guns is one thing... but really, the best way to make it through any given fight is to find shield potions. Fortnite doesn't effectively explain how its health system works, but the handiest thing to know is that blue shield potions make you more resilient to incoming fire, and they make a world of difference in any given firefight. As you loot in Fortnite, always drink shield potions right away to fire up a shield immediately, and stockpile the potions that you can't use immediately. They're worth carrying around; your character can drink a small shield potion in about two seconds, which is just fast enough to get you back on your feet as you duck around a corner or build a few quick walls to escape from an enemy.
You Have An Inventory Screen
It's not immediately apparent if you haven't played Fortnite's Save the World mode, but you have more than just the small inventory rundown at the bottom of your screen. You can access a much bigger, more detailed inventory menu--find it by pressing Up on the directional pad if you're playing with a controller, or "I" on a keyboard--and it shows everything you're carrying, including how much ammo of each type you have. The inventory menu gives you rundowns of your guns' statistics, including effective range and damage per second, which can help you decide what to hold onto and what to toss. That's the other handy thing about the inventory menu: It offers you the option to drop weapons onto the ground. Use that to hand off guns, items, or ammo to your teammates, or just to organize your inventory so that you always play with guns and items of specific types in the same slots. The repetition of knowing where you keep heals or certain guns can make it a lot easier for you to switch in a hurry.
Use Bushes And Trees For Concealment
Fortnite's cartoonish art style means that player silhouettes are pretty obvious at a distance--especially when you add in the dust trails left by sprinting across open ground. But you can find a few good places to hide, especially if you're smart about it. While many bushes are solid, you can slip inside some of them, which mostly conceals your character and make you tough to spot at a distance. The same is true of many pine trees, which you can generally duck beneath; these offer decent concealment, especially from above. Stealth can take you a long way if you're patient and don't move too much when sneaking up on people. By the same token, don't ignore those light green bushes around you. Smart players treat them like they might always be concealing someone, especially in the endgame of a match. Putting a shot or two into a bush will quickly reveal if anyone is hiding in it: Watch for the blue flash of their shield taking damage.
Throw Up Some Walls To Protect Downed Teammates
Once you hear it, it seems like a no-brainer, but this is one of those things that's easy to forget if you're used to playing other Battle Royale games. In Fortnite, you want to try to think about how you can solve problems by building--and creating a few quick fortifications can buy you precious extra seconds while you heal a teammate who has been knocked down by gunfire. Just remember to use wood if you're currently under fire; it'll build the fastest, and it can take the most punishment from other players immediately after being deployed. If you're in a rough battle situation, though, you might need multiple layers (or you might just need to leave your friend hanging while you take out the attackers).
Open Doors (Usually) Mean A Place Has Been Looted
Savvy players know that doors can tell you a lot. An open door on a building might mean someone's inside; more often, it means that someone has at least been through that building and taken all the good stuff already. By the same token, closing doors behind you is a good way to throw off other players, or to catch the unwary in ambshes. In our experience, not only are the outer doors of untouched buildings always closed in Fortnite, but so are the inner ones. If you step into a structure that you think is full of loot and start seeing open doors between rooms, it should put you on guard--it might mean someone is lying in wait ahead. Open doors are also a good indicator of buildings that you can skip altogether, to avoid wasting time searching places that have little to offer.
Traps Are A Thing
Traps are a holdover from the cooperative campaign version of Fortnite, and they pop up in Battle Royale to change some situations significantly. You'll find them occasionally in loot drops or certain locations (like mines), and you can deploy them on structures. They don't have a ton of uses, since so much of the Battle Royale experience consists of quickly hurrying from one building to the next, looting as fast as you can--but they do come up every now and then. Traps are great for leaving behind in a seemingly unlooted building in order to ruin the day of someone following you, or to place on your towers to dissuade anyone sneaking up below you. When heading into buildings, it's good practice to stand beside the front door and look inside to check for an ambush; when you do that, take a glance upward too, to ensure you're not about to stumble into somebody else's devilish plan.
The Boogie Bomb Is The Best
If you find the elusive grenade known as the Boogie Bomb, grab it. This thing is the goofiest weapon you can add to your arsenal in Fortnite right now, and it's hilarious as well as useful. When it explodes, everyone caught in its radius is forced to start dancing for five seconds, leaving them completely vulnerable to you cruising up and taking them out. It's especially handy for when you find a couple of other players already battling it out--with one bomb and a quick trigger finger, you can humiliate your opponents, eliminate them, and steal all their stuff.
Getting Good At Building Is How You Win
Grappling with all of Fortnite's systems can be tough--especially if you're using a controller. Between switching guns and building structures, the game has a lot of buttons to keep track of, and a lot of items to switch through with the shoulder buttons. But no matter what platform they're using, the best Fortnite players are expert builders. They've trained themselves through repetition to quickly construct walls, towers, bridges, and ramps in order to save their lives in the heat of battle, or give themselves a ridiculous advantage using height and cover. Though Fortnite has a lot in common with other Battle Royale games like PUBG, building is what sets it apart. If you come to this game expecting to play it like PUBG, you're going to get shut down over and over again by players who've learned to love carpentry. Get good at farming resources quickly and erecting structures even faster, if you want to be competitive!
By GameSpot Staff on May 02, 2018 01:39 am
Pro Tips
Players who are keen on winning have a lot of things to keep in mind if they want to succeed in Fortnite: Battle Royale. The game marries the last-player-standing multiplayer competition of the battle royale genre with resource-gathering and building mechanics, and knowing the ins and outs of both are the only way to win. Not only do you need to outsmart and outgun other players-- you need to effectively use your building capabilities to traverse the map, fortify your positions, and beat out the competition. Players who've been around the block in Fortnite's single-player campaign have no doubt picked up a lot of tactics, strategies, and pieces of information that can help elevate them to multiplayer success. For everyone else, it can be tough to pick up on all of Fortnite's idiosyncrasies and hidden bits of information--especially since the free Battle Royale mode doesn't include a tutorial. Use these 10 tips to get an edge over the other 99 players in your Fortnite: Battle Royale match. Do you have any advanced player tips? Let us know in the comments below. But if you're new to Fornite: Battle Royale, make sure to read our beginner's tips guide, as well as our guide covering all the things we wish we knew before playing the game. You can also check out our video guide on how to build more effectively.
Use Headphones
It really is tough to overestimate how crucial sound is in Fortnite. You'll use it to catch people sneaking up on you, zero in on enemies who are shooting at you, and track players for ambushes. You're at a disadvantage listening to the game over your computer speakers, TV speakers, or even a sound system, when compared to players who are armed with a quality pair of surround sound headphones. Sound is possibly the best tool in your arsenal in Fortnite, so make sure you're able to use it as effectively as possible.
Speed Is Key Early On
As you get the hang of the map, you'll want to move as fast as you can to find good weapons early. That starts with your jump from the game's flying party bus at the beginning of each match: If you're confident in your fighting abilities, pick a spot with lots of buildings, and dive straight for it. Avoid falling over hills and other high-elevation areas, as these will cause your glider to auto-deploy sooner than if you dive toward lower-elevation spots like water or canyons. The idea is to fall to earth as fast as you can, so that you can beat other players to the guns--and take them down. While it's good for new players to close doors behind them to protect themselves, once you're used to the flow of the game, you don't have to worry about hiding yourself nearly as much. Get into a building, find what's useful, and move on as fast as you can--the ol' "loot and scoot" approach. Acquiring high-quality guns early will set you up for success against players who have weaker gear than you, so get used to moving on to new locations quickly, and looting as much as you can as fast as you can. Just be cautious about it, so that you don't bumble into an ambush.
Don't Pick Up Everything
Among the best habits you can make as you advance your Fortnite career is to be discerning about what you pick up and what you leave behind. It's tempting to snatch up everything you come across--because you never know when you might want to switch between a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun, right? In practice, though, you'll probably use one or two guns for most of a match, unless you've got the rarer and more useful ones like sniper rifles, miniguns, and rocket launchers. Having a handful of white or green pistols that you don't intend to use will just slow you down when it comes time to switch out for better loot. Instead, make quick decisions about what you need and what you don't, and act accordingly. Stopping to manage your inventory can leave you vulnerable, so grab only what you really need, and learn to ignore the less useful loot. Also: While you have to manually pick up weapons and items, ammo gets picked up automatically... so if you're looking at a pile of loot and all you want are the bullets, save time by just running over it to avoid accidentally picking up the wrong stuff.
Double Up Your Guns For Added Damage
While you're being discerning about what guns you pick up, remember that two of the same weapon can actually be pretty useful--particularly when it comes to the pump shotgun and the bolt-action sniper rifle. By having two of these guns in adjacent inventory slots, you can avoid the wait between shotgun pumps or sniper reloads, and instead just switch to your second version of the gun to fire a second shot immediately. The quick switch can be tough to get used to, but with the power that this move affords you, it's worth training yourself to switch rather than wait to reload. It's a great way to maximize your lethality against other players.
Chop Down Trees For More Wood
Where you get your materials matters. Especially early on, you want to grab as much wood as you can manage, as it's highly useful in battles and for protection. You can bash down buildings and break up boxes for wood with your pickaxe--but as it happens, these dispense less wood than trees. Pick the right tree, and you can gather up 40-plus units of wood from a single node, quickly filling up your materials and giving you plenty to use in a pinch. Pine trees whose green portions reach close to the ground tend to be the best, but it's worth experimenting as you play, to learn where on the map you can get the most materials fastest. The same is true with other materials. Brick walls yield some brick, but piles of rocks out in the wilderness are even better. You can also get a decent haul of metal from destroying vehicles, but be wary: Sometimes, smashing up a car will set off its alarm, which can draw other players to your location.
Wood Trumps Metal (In Certain Cases)
Materials in Fortnite have a few little quirks. Generally, wood is the weakest material, while brick is a little stronger, and metal is the strongest. In practice, this means that wood structures can take the least amount of damage before they break altogether, brick structures have more health than wood, and metal structures have the most health. Heavier materials come with drawbacks, though. Brick structures take longer to build (and reach full health) than wood structures do, and metal takes the longest. Wood really shines when it comes to quickly dropping walls in the middle of a firefight. The thing is, a freshly spawned, incomplete wood wall starts with more health than a freshly spawned, incomplete brick or metal wall (100 health points for the wood, 70 for the brick or metal). That means a wood wall can save you from more shots when you're building in the heat of battle than the other two materials. The easiest way to think about it is this: A fresh wood wall will collapse after two close-range shotgun blasts when you first drop it; a brick or metal wall will collapse after only one shotgun blast. Use wood for firefights, and save your brick and metal for stronger fortifications closer to the end of a match.
Take (Or Build) The High Ground
High ground will win you fights in Fortnite, and that doesn't just mean high hills or cliffs--although these offer better vantage points in general. In firefights, practice quickly building upward as you fight enemies. You can drop walls and then ramps to protect yourself as you climb, and shooting down on other players nets you more headshots and damage, while offering you better protection. Quickly making a ramp surrounded by walls means that you can jump up and take potshots at enemies below while also making yourself extremely tough to hit. When you can, build up for the advantage... and if the other player is trying to get above you, try to get higher or force them to change locations, to take their advantage away. Just make sure to quickly pop wood walls in front of your ramps, lest the other player blast them out from under you. Hitting the bottom of a ramp will collapse it, and the damage you take from falling could cost you the fight (and the match).
Watch For (And Mark) Supply Drops
Every so often, the flying bus will drop a supply crate. The crates' drop positions are marked by blue smoke grenades on the ground, and they float down on balloons once they're dropped. These crates contain some of the best loot in the game, including the minigun and rocket launcher, so they're definitely worth your attention--but they're likely to attract other players, too. Supply drops are great places for an ambush, and one way to pin down where the drop will be is to "mark" it. Like just about everything in Fortnite, supply drops are destructible, and you can damage their balloons from afar with your gun. Doing so causes the crate's health bar to pop up, which stays on your screen even if structures or other things obstruct your line of sight to the crate itself. Marking crates means that you can more easily get to them when they hit the ground, but be ready to fight anyone else with the same idea.
Use The Storm To Your Advantage
The ever-advancing storm--the circle that constantly contracts to make the play area smaller and smaller--is a danger that you constantly need to avoid in Fortnite. It also affords some benefits, however. While the storm damages you when you're in it, for much of any given match, that damage is not immediately deadly. You can sometimes use this tactically; the edge of the storm is a great place to catch desperate players as they scramble to get to safety. Conversely, you might be able to duck through the tough-to-see-through edge early in the match to lose anyone in the eye of the storm who's battling you (although that's a tough gamble, and not for everyone). Especially in a match's endgame, the storm can be a tool as much as it is a danger. It lets you ensure that you won't be attacked from behind when you keep close to its edge. If you're more centrally located and can take up a good position, the shrinking circle can help you as it forces players to either take storm damage, or move toward you and open themselves up to attack. It's important to always stay aware of the circle--but as the match draws toward its end, keep thinking about where you can set yourself up to use the storm as a weapon against your enemies.
Complete Daily Challenges To Earn V-Bucks
V-Bucks are Fortnite's premium currency, which can be used to purchase cosmetic items to make your character wear cooler clothes or deploy more fun emotes. The best way to get an effective amount of V-Bucks is to buy them with real money. If you're willing to put in the time, it's also possible to earn a few just by playing the game--but it'll take you a while. Playing Fortnite earns you experience points based on your performance in a match, and each time you earn enough, you level up, which earns you one "Battle Star." After grabbing 10 Battle Stars, you advance to a new "tier," and at certain tiers, you unlock new emotes and other items. It's possible to earn tiers faster by completing Daily Challenges, which are listed on the Lobby screen when you log into Fortnite. Challenges require you to complete special actions, like killing a set number of players with a specific gun. Challenges give you a bunch of experience points and five Battle Stars for completing them, which can help you earn tiers a lot quicker. If you're playing for free, you can earn 100 V-Bucks roughly every 14 tiers (which isn't very much). Your return on investment is slightly better if you pony up the money to purchase the V-Bucks for a "Battle Pass," which will run you 950 V-Bucks--or a little less than $10 ($9.99 buys you 1,000 V-Bucks). The Battle Pass puts you on a different, much more rewarding tier track, allowing you to earn a lot more cosmetic gear as you level up. The Battle Pass track also includes V-Bucks, dishing out 100 V-Bucks once about every seven tiers, but it also comes with experience point boosts that can get you there quicker.
Recent Articles:
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment