The Steam Summer Sale is now live, which means you're either jumping for joy at the money you'll save, or locking your wallet in a safe until the sale ends. One way or another, the PC game deals during the annual sale have a knack for making your money disappear. The sale runs between June 21 and July 5, so make sure to grab the games you want before it's over.
Things appear to be more straightforward than usual this year. Instead of having daily deals and flash sales on certain games, all of the deals seem to be permanent from the beginning to the end--at least so far. That might make this sale a little less exciting than in past years, but it's nice that you don't have to keep checking in multiple times a day to see if anything you want to buy is on sale. There is, however, a free browser game you can play on Steam's homepage.
The sale isn't limited to software, either. The Steam controller is on sale for $34 (down from $100), and Steam Link--which lets you stream Steam games to your TV--is on sale for $2.50 (which is 95% off its usual price of $50).
That only scratches the surface of this year's Steam Summer Sale. You can view the whole thing here.
As the end of Fortnite Season 4 draws near, Week 8 challenges are now available for players to tackle, provided they've purchased the Season 4 Battle Pass. There are a variety of tasks for Battle Royale players to complete on PC, PS4, Xbox One, mobile, and (as of E3) Nintendo Switch, including Hungry Gnomes and searching between a bear, crater, and refrigerator shipment. Here's where to find the locations of the key challenges and how to complete them all.
First up is one that asks you to search Hungry Gnomes. This is as simple as approaching one of these gnomes and searching it in the same way you'd open a chest, but it of course involves tracking them down first. You need to search seven in all, and luckily, there are many more than that on the map; however, there's no in-game indication of where you should begin your hunt. The one bit of help you do receive is a telltale noise the gnomes make when one is nearby, as it says "yummy yummy" in an odd voice. Among the locations where you'll find gnomes:
arena east of Junk Junction
Greasy Grove
Lucky Landing
Retail Row
Risky Reels
Tilted Towers
Tomato Town
Week 8's other more difficult challenge is one that's labeled as Hard by Epic. It asks you to search between a Bear, Crater, and a Refrigerator Shipment. As always, that's the only clue you get--you'll need to know the map well if you hope to do it on your own. In this case, the location you want to head to is just on the border of the I6 and I7 zones, southeast of Retail Row. The Battle Star you have to collect can be found just north of a house next to a gas station, as pictured below.
The remainder of Week 8 is fairly straightforward, though that doesn't necessarily make all of it easy. Search chests in Salty Springs is as simple as repeatedly landing there at the start of a match and grinding your way to the seven you need--be sure to head for rooftops so you can easily check attics. If you're hoping to do the related challenge, search seven chests in a single match, you'll want to avoid Salty Springs--other players are likely to be swarming the area in search of chests. Instead, your best bet is to head far away from the Battle Bus's flight path and avoid conflict at all costs.
Another challenge has you deal 250 headshot damage to opponents; just do your best to aim high, and you can grind your way to this one. Likewise, you can get three suppressed weapon eliminations by just getting your hands on one and using it at every opportunity. And again, that's true of eliminating three opponents in Pleasant Park--start enough matches there, luck into a weapon before someone else, and you should be able to take care of it without too much trouble. For both of the elimination challenges, your best bet is to attempt this in a solo playlist, so that you can avoid dealing with revives.
If you're looking to complete older challenges, check out our complete Season 4 challenge guide. Doing these allows you to rank up your Battle Pass, unlocking new skins and other rewards.
Fortnite Season 4, Week 8 Challenges
Deal Headshot Damage to opponents (250) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search Chests in Salty Springs (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search 7 Chests in a single match (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search Hungry Gnomes (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Hard: Search between a Bear, Crater, and a Refrigerator Shipment -- 10 Battle Stars
Online shopping is likely to get more expensive in America soon. The United States Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states may now require online retailers to collect state sales taxes. The 5-4 decision sided with the state of South Dakota against online retailers Wayfair, Overstock.com, and Newegg.
CNET reports that this overturns a standing 1992 decision that prevented states from collecting sales tax from online retailers that had no physical presence in their state. Instead, consumers themselves were expected to voluntarily submit the required taxes--and many did not.
States have long complained that they were losing millions in tax revenue, while giving online retailers an advantage over brick-and-mortar shops. This ruling is likely to lead other states to start requiring sales tax from online retailers, which in turn will be required from the consumer at checkout.
In the majority decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that the realities of consumer habits have changed drastically since the 1992 decision. Mail-order sales in 1992 were only $180 billion, while online sales last year topped $450 billion. Kennedy also said the previous ruling effectively created tax shelters for retailers. In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that this change could disrupt online marketplaces as a whole, and therefore should be in the hands of Congress rather than the courts.
South Dakota's suit stemmed from a law requiring sales taxes for any out-of-state seller that delivers more than $100,000 worth of goods. That position was to target huge retailers, without hitting smaller shops who sell their wares through eBay and Amazon.
Stocks for several major online retailers dropped in response to the news, including Amazon, Wayfair, and eBay.
Some things are simply too good to be true. With the latest wrinkle it's adding to its service, MoviePass is quickly becoming one of those things. Though it originally announced it would allow users to see a movie every day for the price of $10 a month, the months that have followed have brought caveats as MoviePass tries to recoup some of the money it's spending on tickets.
Among the changes the service has attempted is a revamped plan that offered only four movies a month, removing the option to see a film more than once, blocking access to certain movies, and changing lineups of theaters the service can be used in. However, the newest change is likely going to take money out of the pockets of customers.
According to Business Insider, MoviePass will be introducing surge pricing on certain films beginning in July. That means movies with a high demand will also require MoviePass customers to pay an extra fee--which starts at $2--for a ticket. This is troubling for a few reasons. First and foremost, while the charge could start at $2, MoviePass doesn't note a ceiling on the surge prices. Furthermore, it will be up to the service to determine which movies are "high demand." So if you enjoy seeing big movies on opening weekend, get ready to pay.
"At certain times for certain films--on opening weekend--there could be an additional charge for films," MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe explains to Business Insider.
To soften the blow of the new charges, MoviePass is also adding some new features, which will arrive in August--but watch out, those are also going to cost you extra money. The service is planning to add options to add premium options like IMAX and 3D by the end of August, for small fees. Additionally, MoviePass is expected to add an option that allows you to buy an additional ticket for a friend that's not a member of the service. According to Lowe, the second admission will cost "somewhere near the retail price of the ticket."
These changes comes as MoviePass begins facing even more competition in the movie ticket subscription space. Previously, Sinemia made a splash by allowing admission to any theater and any format--including IMAX and 4DX--but for fewer tickets in a month. Now, the AMC theater chain has also announced its own service, which offers three tickets a week to any screening at the chain's theaters.
Sometimes a movie gets so close to greatness you can taste it as strongly as the goopy spit dripping from the mouth of the dinosaur whose face is hovering directly above yours as you lie prone and helpless on the jungle floor. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a hell of a ride, an exciting, terrifying, and funny follow-up that will have you at full attention until it ultimately sags in its third act, drooping under the weight of promises it makes, but fails to follow through on. That's what third movies are for, apparently.
Fallen Kingdom's basic plot has been somewhat unclear in some trailers, so I won't spoil it. But the setup is that, following the new park's destruction in the first Jurassic World, the now dinosaur-filled island has grown volcanically active. All the dinosaurs there are going to die in the impending eruption, effectively triggering a new extinction event, unless someone intervenes. Bryce Dallas Howard's returning character Claire Dearing now works as an activist looking for any way to save the dinosaurs. And she's wearing highly sensible shoes this time, as the movie deliberately conveys.
There's a note of satire in the early scenes, as Claire talks to members of Congress on the phone and Jeff Goldblum (in his one meager appearance in this movie) gives a grandiose speech about life finding a way without technically uttering those exact words. A news ticker underneath makes a vague joke about the president being an idiot. But the movie's social commentary lacks any real bite--unlike its CG stars--which serves to tangibly blunt its impact later on.
As Claire gets roped into a dubious rescue scheme, she of course can't do it without on-again/off-again beau, the unstoppable "beefcake" (to borrow the movie's own term) Chris Pratt as Owen Grady. Pratt continues to be utterly, inoffensively charming, while Grady is still a less funny version of Star-Lord. They're both would-be white knights, too, although much like Gamora, Claire proves she's plenty capable of fighting her own battles.
Anyway, all that story basically takes place in the first act, and from there, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes to some surprising places. Its biggest problem is that it simply doesn't go far enough; there's some fantastic setup in the first half for things that wind up going differently than you'll hope, or events that they clearly wanted to save for Jurassic World 3. This movie's climax almost goes in a fun new direction from what we've come to expect in this movies, but instead limply falls back on the familiar: a rain-drenched, pseudo-horror cat-and-mouse between a singularly dangerous dino and a handful of human characters. It's well done, but we've seen it before, and Fallen Kingdom diverts its own great setup to get there.
The dinosaurs themselves have never looked better, from a briefly glimpsed underwater leviathan to Owen's hyper-intelligent raptor pal, Blue. Fallen Kingdom frequently places its characters--and the camera--uncomfortably close to the CG beasts, and their every detail stands out wonderfully. The original Jurassic Park--which is 25 years old--holds up incredibly well today, but it's amazing to see how far special effects have come.
Fallen Kingdom's action actually peaks fairly early in a jaw-dropping sequence whose nature I won't spoil, but which runs the gamut from dino jaw-snapping narrow misses to an explosive chase/escape sequence that had me on the edge of my seat for several minutes on end. There's a weightiness to the action that some CG-heavy movies lack, with dinosaurs and people alike throwing their weight around appropriately. Given the gargantuan subject matter, it's much appreciated.
Fallen Kingdom also introduces a handful of new characters of varying disposability, including James Cromwell's aging dino philanthropist Ben Lockwood (who apparently was John Hammond's partner in Jurassic Park lore, though he hasn't appeared before now), Justice Smith's sniveling Franklin, Rafe Spall's buttoned down Eli Mills, and more. Daniella Pineda stands out among the new additions as a young activist/dinosaur doctor who doesn't hesitate to pick up a gun and start getting s*** done the second she feels threatened. She's the polar opposite of Claire in some ways, although the movie thankfully feels no need to pit them against each other in any contrived ways.
Like many a sophomore film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom serves most of all as set-up for a third, potentially very exciting dinosaur movie. From its opening scene, the movie gets one thing across with extreme effectiveness: There's always a bigger dinosaur. And given Fallen Kingdom's success--despite its faults--we're going to keep paying to watch those dinosaurs eat people for the foreseeable future.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is out now in the UK, and hits theaters June 22 everywhere else.
Netflix's Luke Cage Season 2 is very nearly upon us, and you might be excited to start binge watching the second it launches. But it's been a while since we last caught up with Luke and the residents of the MCU's Harlem. It's been almost a year since the first season of Defenders dropped, and almost two since Luke Cage season 1.
But don't panic--we've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know if you're looking to jump right into season 2 without going back and revisiting everything that came before.
And if you want to know more about Luke Cage Season 2 before its release on Netflix this Friday, June 22, watch the latest trailer and read about the new season's secret weapon.
1. What's Luke Up To?
When we left Luke at the end of Season 1, his cover had been blown and his identity as ex-con Carl Lucas exposed, and he was arrested for escaping prison--but don't panic! In Defenders, we saw his name cleared by Foggy Nelson, allowing him to finally walk free without the ominous weight of his past looming over his head.
Still, Harlem is largely in chaos. Luke may be a free man now, and one who isn't actively keeping any secrets, but his position as Harlem's hero is anything but solid. Luke's left to figure out exactly where he fits into the jigsaw puzzle that makes up his neighborhood's complicated network of communities now that the whole city knows exactly who he is and what he can do. Being functionally invincible may paint a target on Luke's back 24/7--and while Luke may be invulnerable, the people around him are less fortunate.
2. What happened to Misty Knight?
In Season 1, we watched as Misty Knight slowly transitioned from intrepid NYPD detective bent on solving the mysteries surrounding Luke Cage's identity to one of Luke's closest and most reliable allies--though the two of them don't always see completely eye to eye in their methods. Misty set her sights on criminal mastermind Mariah Dillard and her associate Shades, but was ultimately unable to prove their guilt. Later, during the events of Defenders, she lost her right arm saving Claire Temple from a scheme designed by the Hand. She was last seen recovering in a hospital owned by Danny Rand.
She may be down, but she's far from out. Misty's been seen in season 2 promos sporting what looks like a prototype of her bionic arm, a staple of her character's comic book counterpart, so she's obviously going to be heading back into the fray very soon.
3. Who's Mariah Dillard again?
Mariah was an ongoing element of Season 1, a dirty politician turned full on gangster when she brutally murdered her cousin Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes. Thanks to her powerful connections (and the expertise of Hernan "Shades" Alvarez) she managed to dodge all legal fallout from her actions and even try to frame Luke Cage for the deed. The subsequent investigation and fallout nearly cost Luke his life and ultimately sent him back to prison.
Mariah formed a temporary alliance with Diamondback, who she wound up framing for Cottonmouth's murder when things began to fall apart in earnest. With her ice cold business sense and willingness to do whatever it takes to get her way, Mariah managed to avoid all consequence for her actions in the first season and, by the look of things, is back to try her hand at becoming Harlem's queen once and for all.
4. What's up with Diamondback?
Unlike his fellow snake-named villain Cottonmouth, Willis "Diamondback" Stryker actually did survive the first season. Following his framing by Mariah, Diamondback was sent back to prison, where doctor Noah Burstien--the person responsible for the experiments that gave Luke his powers--offered Diamondback the chance to "become stronger."
We have yet to see Diamondback in any promotional material for season 2, but it's clear he's not totally off the table.
5. Who's Shades?
Hernan "Shades" Alvarez is a man of many allegiances. After working with both Cottonmouth and Diamondback, Shades decided to align himself with Mariah at the end of Season 1. Shades has a personal stake in Harlem's future, despite his hard-to-pin-down motives--he was a close associate of the infamous Mama Mabel Stokes growing up, which is what lead him to both Cottonmouth and Mariah's inner circles as an adult.
Shades is a tricky person to pin down, and although he ended Season 1 in Mariah's pocket, it's difficult to imagine him staying there for too long. He prefers to be on the winning team, even if he has to get his hands dirty to get there.
6. What about the rest of the Defenders?
Things didn't end especially well for the newly formed team after their first official outing. Sure, they put a stop to the Hand, but they "lost" Matt Murdock in the process (he didn't actually die, but they all think he did). We've seen Jessica in the post-Defenders world in her second season, and she doesn't seem to have (or want) much to do with her fellow superheroes. We last saw Danny Rand stepping up to patrol Hell's Kitchen in Daredevil's absence, which will make it pretty easy for him to drop by Harlem when Luke needs him for season 2.
What, exactly, Danny is going to be doing when he shows up is still very much up in the air. Luke and Danny did have some heart to heart moments in Defenders, but they're still a ways off from having the Power Man & Iron Fist raport of their comic book counterparts.
Though she's not "officially" a Defender, Colleen Wing, master martial artist and Danny's current girlfriend, is also set to appear in season 2. We last saw her visiting Misty in the hospital after she lost her arm. The two apparently became friends, as we've seen the drinking together in a recent season 2 trailer.
It hasn't been especially long since Overwatch's last new character and map were added, but Blizzard seems to already be teasing what the shooter's next playable hero or locale. It's very all very mysterious for now, but based on the teasers released in the past, we can expect several follow-ups in the coming days.
This first teaser is accompanied by the words "Calm before the storm." It shows what looks like an alleyway with a variety of sprays and posters on the wall. Among these is one of Lucio, one calling for rights for Omnics (essentially robots), and another calling for "no robots." It's possible some hidden clue awaits, but there's nothing that immediately stands out. Check it out for yourself below.
As it stands, Overwatch has a total of 27 characters. The most recent of the bunch was Brigitte, a Support character who can can heal teammates, equip a barrier shield, and stun enemies. So far, Blizzard hasn't given any indication of what to expect from the next character, nor do we know when they will be released. As always, though, any new addition to the roster has the chance to dramatically shake up the game, both for casual players and on the competitive/Overwatch League side.
We can expect new characters for Overwatch to continue to roll out, as Blizzard doesn't seem keen on moving on to an Overwatch 2. "What people might not realize is the team now is significantly bigger than what it was when we shipped the game, and we have put all of that into working on the live game and the new maps, heroes, and events like Anniversary," the studio said recently. "At least for the time being, [supporting Overwatch] is our focus right now, and we're excited to work on this game."
With the recent launch of Fortnite: Battle Royale on Nintendo Switch, Sony's reluctance to allow cross-play has again become a hot topic. As was the case following Rocket League's release, the company has yet to offer a satisfying reason for why PS4 players can't join up with those on Xbox One and Switch. With a newly updated version of Minecraft now available for Switch that enables cross-play with Xbox One, a new trailer doesn't waste its opportunity to tout that functionality.
Indeed, the entire purpose of the new 34-second ad, which you can watch above, is to drive home the fact that you can seamlessly play Minecraft with Xbox One players on Switch (and vice versa). In fact, we even see an Xbox One controller used by a player throughout, and the video ends with a bisected screen featuring the Xbox One and Switch's signature green and red colors and their respective logos. Nintendo subsequently sent out a tweet mentioning Xbox, which you can see below.
This is no doubt meant to tout the game rather than serve as some sort of veiled shot at Sony, though it's likely to only encourage fans to keep up the pressure on the company to reverse its decision. Sony does allow cross-play with PC and mobile, but throughout this generation, it has prevented support for the feature with competing consoles.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 21, 2018
John Smedley, a former developer at Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment), recently stated that Sony's decision is all about money. "[W]hen I was at Sony, the stated reason internally for this was money," he said in a tweet. "They didn't like someone buying something on an Xbox and it being used on a Playstation. simple as that. dumb reason, but there it is."
Smedley also encouraged fans to continue pressuring Sony, though it's unclear if that will have any effect. Sony has provided a range of reasons over the past few years for why it doesn't allow cross-play. Most recently, amid the frustration that stemmed from Fortnite's release on Switch, Sony released yet another statement that reveals very little.
"We're always open to hearing what the PlayStation community is interested in to enhance their gaming experience," a Sony representative said to the BBC. "Fortnite is already a huge hit with PS4 fans, offering a true free-to-play experience so gamers can jump in and play online.
"With 79 million PS4s sold around the world and more than 80 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network, we've built a huge community of gamers who can play together on Fortnite and all online titles. We also offer Fortnite cross-play support with PC, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, expanding the opportunity for Fortnite fans on PS4 to play with even more gamers on other platforms."
Like other battle royale games, Fortnite: Battle Royale offers a wide variety of ways that any match can play out. But come to the final circle of a round, and you likely know what to expect: Players building elaborate defenses and wielding shotguns and rocket launchers. It can get a bit tiresome, and Victory Royales can feel out of reach for those who aren't experts at building. Developer Epic Games is aware of all this, and it's looking to mix things up.
In a post on Fortnite's website, Epic explained that it plans to "continue to make changes to evolve the game to give players multiple ways to counter each other in combat, and create more strategies to win the game." It also specifically addresses the notion that building is the only way to win: "It's important to support a variety of late game strategies, that don't boil down to 'just build lol.' We strongly believe that the evolution of Fortnite supports a wide range of play styles and counterplay. Currently, the superiority of shotguns, rockets, and uncapped building are such a dominant play style in the final circle that most other strategies are being drowned out."
Epic said it's already made some changes to address these concerns and will continue to do so. Weapon balance is being looked at, as is the resource economy, which it said includes something like a cap on the number of resources you can hold. The "next few weeks" will see Epic continuing to look at changes it can make, and it says it wants to hear from players about what they want to see.
"You should be able to find Victory Royales through multiple strategies," it said. "Shotguns should be strong, but other weapons have room to grow. Not every encounter should have to end in a build-off. We want to empower you to showcase your skill, strategy, and tactics in all variety of ways."
The ability to build ramps, walls, and floors was initially the thing that most distinguished Fortnite from competitors like PUBG, but Epic has done an impressive job in expanding the game since launch last year. Just how much it's willing to deemphasize the need to build to win remains to be seen, but it's a positive sign to see that it's willing to address what can feel like a stale endgame experience.
The indie gaming hub Itch.io is having its Summer Sale right now. Between June 19-26, you can pick up a whole heap of independent PC games at discounted rates. Nearly all genres are accounted for in the sale, plus a bunch of games that don't fit neatly into any genre.
What games might be worth a look? Necrosphere is on sale for $2.50. It's billed as a super-challenging Metroidvania with only two buttons: left and right. Before you buy, you can play a web version here to see if you like it. The vampire-hunting game Slayer Shock puts you in a college coffee shop in Nebraska and has you run missions save humans and hunt bloodthirsty enemies. It's on sale for $6, down from $20.
The quirky Twine game Arc Symphony is on sale for $2, as is the retro-style arcade shooter R-Coil. If ancient horrors are more your speed, you can grab the Lovecraftian game Eldritch for $1.50 as well. Or there's always the "first-person destructive cat simulator" Catlateral Damage, on sale for $2.50.
As you can probably tell, there's a lot of variety on offer here, so no matter what kind of games you're into, you can find something worth trying. You can see the full list of games on sale here or check out some of the ones that caught our eye below.
A new month has arrived, which means a new slate of games are on the horizon. Between the excitement of E3 2018 and this month's upcoming releases, gaming fans have a lot to look forward to in June. This month sees some notable titles arrive on each platform, from the Switch port of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus to a new Mario sports game and the latest title from Life Is Strange developer Dontnod.
As always, we've rounded up a list of the biggest games launching this month below, giving you a handy way to keep track of what's in store for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC in June. For a broader look at all of the major games coming to each platform throughout the rest of the year, be sure to check out our comprehensive list of game release dates in 2018.
Jurassic World Evolution (PS4, Xbox One, PC) -- June 12
Arriving on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 12, Jurassic World Evolution is a theme park sim that challenges players with managing their own Jurassic Park. They can choose which types of dinosaurs they'd like to hatch and what types of attractions and amenities they'd like to build to attract guests to their park. The game also features Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm.
This month's big Switch release is Mario Tennis Aces, the first Mario sports game to arrive on Nintendo's hybrid console. Developed by Camelot, the studio behind every previous Mario Tennis game, Aces introduces a number of new mechanics, such as the time-slowing Zone Speed and the powerful Zone Shots. It also features the first story mode in the series since 2005's Mario Tennis: Power Tour.
Rounding out this month's biggest releases is The Crew 2. Ubisoft's open-world racing game arrives on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 29, and it builds upon its predecessor with a few new mechanics, most notably vehicle transformations. In this installment, players can switch between a car, boat, plane, or other vehicles on the fly to seamlessly race across different types of terrain.
According to Twitter, there were nearly 15 million #E3 tweets during E3 2018. The largest spike occurred on June 12 between 9-10 AM ET when Nintendo's Direct was airing. In that one hour, there were 890,000 tweets using the E3 hashtag. Most of them originated from the United States. Japan, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France followed.
Nintendo also generated the most conversation in Twitter moments during E3. The most popular Twitter moment focused on the release date for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Though neither moment reached the same height, both the announcement of Ridley as a Super Smash fighter and The Elder Scrolls VI's trailer reveal were also quite popular.
Despite Nintendo taking the gold for Twitter coverage this year, @Bethesda, @Ubisoft, @PlayStation, and @Xbox were all the number one worldwide trend during their respective press conferences.
During E3 2018, the most Tweeted about topics were:
By Anonymous on Jun 21, 2018 09:58 pm Learn all about the season 4, week 8 challenges for Fornite. Filling in for the usual Fortnite boys Nick and Erick, are Ben and Sam.
Following its reveal during Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation, Bandai Namco has announced a release date for the Switch version of Dragon Ball FighterZ. The acclaimed fighting game launches for Nintendo's hybrid console on September 28.
As was the case with the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions, players who pre-order Dragon Ball FighterZ for Switch ahead of its release will get a few bonuses. First, reserving the title will grant immediate access to two characters--Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta--at launch.
On top of that, those who pre-order the Switch version will get an exclusive bonus: a digital Japanese copy of the rare Dragon Ball Z game Super Butoden, which was released for the Super Famicom (Japan's equivalent of the SNES) back in 1993. You can see a screenshot of the game running on Switch below.
Despite the Switch's comparatively weaker hardware, Dragon Ball FighterZ holds up well on the console. We had an opportunity to go hands-on with the Switch version just prior to E3 and found it to be a strong port that maintains the feel and style of the game. You can watch footage of us playing it in tabletop mode above.
Dragon Ball FighterZ first released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in January. The game was developed by Arc System Works--the studio behind the BlazBlue series--and was a critical and commercial success. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Dragon Ball FighterZ review and called it "a Dragon Ball fighting game that can go toe-to-toe with the best of the genre."
In other Dragon Ball news, Bandai Namco revealed a new DLC pack for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. A release date for the pack hasn't been announced, but it is slated to arrive for all versions soon and will introduce a new playable character to the game: Super Baby Vegeta from Dragon Ball GT. You can see screenshots of him below.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is available for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. It was likewise well-received by fans and critics. GameSpot gave it a 7/10 in our Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and said it is "among the best games to emerge from this beloved franchise."
Whether you're reminded of vicious raptors hunting terrified children, placid Brachiosaurus strolling verdant hills, or a scientist reaching elbow-deep into a mound of Triceratops dung, the words "Jurassic Park" can evoke some pretty powerful memories. Jurassic World Evolution reinforces these associations with its take on dino-park management, and all the good and bad that comes with such a brazen endeavor. It can be a bit clumsy at times, but Evolution ultimately finds a comfortable middle ground between establishing deep mechanics and maintaining accessibility for the average dino enthusiast.
Your venture kicks off with a warning from Dr. Ian Malcolm--voiced by Jeff Goldblum himself--who ruminates about the inevitability of disaster before dropping you straight onto the first of the game's five main islands. To successfully run your new park, you need to maintain a variety of dinosaur species and build facilities to protect and entertain paying customers. Do well enough and you unlock additional islands for your expanding park, each with a new curveball to keep you on your toes, be it aggressive weather systems, unique financial constraints, or limited construction options.
After learning the basics of construction and dinosaur creation, you're introduced to the three divisions that make up your park's staff: science, entertainment, and security. Each division will offer contracts that, when completed, give you cash and raise your reputation with that division. This unlocks further items and buildings for research, as well as that division's story mission. While contracts are a good source of money in the early game, they come with an odd complication: completing contracts for one division lowers your reputation with the other two. This creates a nonsensical balancing act that, whilst not difficult to overcome in the long run, feels arbitrary in context.
Building a good dinosaur park isn't as simple as putting down some fences, incubating dino eggs, and sitting back to watch them majestically take their first steps into the world. You'll need to manage everything from dig sites and DNA extraction to general park maintenance via your rangers--who will fill feeders, fix fences, and keep everything in working order. In an awesome twist, you can manually control the rangers' Jeeps or helicopters from a close third-person perspective, leading to some surprisingly beautiful and memorable moments as you mingle with the great beasts inhabiting your park.
If you've played any kind of park management sim before, you'll feel right at home with how everything works thanks to streamlined controls and an elegant UI. Console players can similarly rejoice as controller configurations are surprisingly intuitive, making navigating everything a breeze.
With the exception of cash, all your research and item progression is shared across each of the islands, and you can freely move between them at will once they're unlocked. If you've got something you want to research but you're struggling with funds in your current park, switch back to your previous one and spend their money on it instead. Although it would be a time saver to simply let you funnel cash from one park to another, going back to old parks never feels you're like taking a step backwards. Research progression is skewed so that you'll unlock the next park before you've unlocked all the research items in your current one, so you'll always feel like you're achieving something worthwhile, even if that means re-visiting old areas.
Interestingly, unlike most other park management sims, you can't speed up the flow of time while waiting for tasks to complete, but it's not as detrimental as it sounds. It's rare that there isn't something in the park needing attention, and more often than not you'll be thankful for the time.
Each of the dinosaurs in your menagerie have particular needs--some are placid, solitary creatures who are super chill, while others are quick to go on high alert. Put a herbivore in a pen full of meat-eaters and it will (understandably) panic. Put two aggressive meat-eaters next to each other and they'll probably fight to the death, unless you can get your rangers in there to tranquilize and then separate them both before any real harm is done. Learning the differences between each species is an important part of keeping your park operating smoothly. But even when things are going well, calamity never feels that far away.
From rampaging dinosaurs and tropical cyclones to internal sabotage, there's always something ready to trash your hard work. While dealing with these hazards can be exciting in your early hours, the fifth time your Ankylosauruses make a break for it because they don't like being around other dinosaurs can get tiresome. Attacks on park goers can initially be costly; later on, when you've got money to burn, a few lawsuits digging into your bottom line doesn't matter much. But while the lack of surprises and stakes after 20 or so hours is a bummer, it's never enough to take away from the joy of watching your creations live out their lives in structures you've meticulously designed and maintained.
Evolution captures the essence of Jurassic Park while being a good park management sim in its own right.
When your coffers fill up, you can really cut loose with how you build up your parks across each island. A maxed-out park is a sight to behold as thousands of guests wander the attractions. Hotels let you increase your parks' capacity to house more people, while shops and arcades will keep them entertained for when they aren't gathering in one of the many viewing platforms that line the fences keeping your dinosaurs in. When it's all working, it's like watching the components of a well-oiled machine tick over. Though it's similarly fun, albeit sadistic, to watch a full park of guests scramble for the emergency shelter when you trigger the alarms.
If there's one word that could easily describe Jurassic World Evolution, it's "faithful." Taking control of a ranger behind the wheel of a Jeep in the rain and sidling up to a pack of socializing Stegosaurus is as epic as it sounds and is a definite highlight, as is releasing a newly recovered species into your park. Despite the campaign stumbling over itself and losing focus towards the end, Evolution captures the essence of Jurassic Park while being a good park management sim in its own right.
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