Update: Bethesda has confirmed with GameSpot that it filed suit again Warner Bros. and Behaviour in US District Court. It says the complaint alleges "copyright infringement, breach of contract, and misappropriation of its intellectual property." The publisher also issued the following statement:
"The case arises from Behaviour's development of a Westworld mobile game for Warner Bros. Behaviour had previously worked with Bethesda to develop Bethesda's hit game, Fallout Shelter, and under that contract, Bethesda alone owned all resulting intellectual property, including the game's copyrighted code.
"Behaviour illegally used the same copyrighted source code from Fallout Shelter to develop Westworld, and copied Fallout Shelter's game design, art, animations, gameplay features, and other elements. As a result of Behaviour and Warner Bros' unlawful conduct, Westworld is a blatant ripoff of Fallout Shelter with largely superficial, cosmetic changes.
"Bethesda will vigorously protect its legal rights in the valuable intellectual properties it owns, and take legal action whenever those rights are being infringed."
We've yet to hear back from WB but will update this story with any further information we receive. The original story follows.
Warner Bros. recently launched Westworld, a new mobile game based on the hit HBO series. Billed as an "innovative mobile simulation game," it bears a resemblance to elements of Bethesda's Fallout Shelter, in that you build and expand an underground facility. But the free-to-play title apparently goes too far with that apparent inspiration, as developer Behaviour Interactive has been accused of reusing code that it developed for Shelter.
TMZ reports that it's obtained documents related to a newly filed lawsuit by Bethesda. It states that the company hired Behaviour to work on Shelter back in 2014, before WB commissioned it to make Westworld. Bethesda alleges that Behaviour is recycling the code it used for Shelter. It's unclear at this point if it's been able to verify this in the actual code for Westworld, but it cites as evidence the fact that identical bugs Shelter suffered from early on are present in Westworld.
The lawsuit is looking to both shut down Westworld and receive compensation, though the likelihood of that at this point is unclear. GameSpot has reached out to both Bethesda and WB and will report back with anything we learn.
Aside from the aspects of the game that more strongly resemble Shelter, Westworld does have other elements to it, including dealing with the parks that are located aboveground. At launch, it focuses on content from the first season of Westworld, although there are plans to introduce things from Season 2 as it continues. At least for the time being, the game is available on both the iOS App Store and Android's Google Play Store.
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.
When it was announced that Adult Swim has ordered 70 new episodes of Rick and Morty beyond the three seasons that already exist, fans were elated. However, given that the series still isn't expected to return until sometime in 2019, the wait for new episodes was still far too long.
Thankfully, though, it's the last time fans will be stuck with a drought between new episodes. Speaking to GameSpot at E3, co-creator Justin Roiland--who was promoting his upcoming video game Trover Saves the Universe--said the creative team is already hard at work on new installments. "We have so many ideas, and now, we don't really have to worry about what ideas are going to live or die," Roiland said.
What's more, knowing how many more stories they have to tell, he believes, will keep the Rick and Morty crew from taking massive breaks between new episodes. "I think we'll be able to move a little quicker," he promised. "We're not going to have these big, long gaps between seasons. We're going to just keep the machine going and schedule staggering vacations for people so we don't burn out. It's going to just be a perpetual production, which is exciting."
If that's not the best news a Rick and Morty fan could get, what is? It's certainly more exciting than McDonald's fumbling the release of its Szechuan sauce after the show made it a pop cultural phenomenon with a simple joke in an episode.
Now it's just a matter of time until a Season 4 premiere date for Rick and Morty is announced. Hopefully, it doesn't take as long as writer and producer Ryan Ridley teased it would back in January. "I know how long the show takes to write, let alone animate, so it's just like, I'd be surprised if there was a fourth season on the air any sooner than 2019--in late 2019," he said at the time.
If you're itching for a new shooter to play, you'll be pleased to hear you can try Killing Floor 2 for free between now and Monday, June 25 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Killing Floor 2 is a co-op shooter that takes place in a zombie-infested version of Europe that's seen civilization collapse. Despite the downfall of governments and the general unrest that's going on, a group of survivors is trying eradicate the "zeds" and rebuild society.
In GameSpot's 8/10 Killing Floor 2 review, we said, "If the expansive suite of Call of Duty multiplayer modes is analogous to a buffet, Killing Floor 2's offerings are a hearty plate of meat and potatoes. The game hones in on the basic appeal of killing zombies without the complications of reaching waypoints or setting up intricate fortifications. Yet Killing Floor 2's strongest asset is in its simple yet effective combat--Tripwire could substitute the zeds for robots or Nazis and still have a solid shooter on its hands."
The reason for the free play weekend is because Killing Floor 2 just got The Summer Sideshow: Treacherous Skies update, which brings a bunch of new content to the game, including weapons, features, Summer Zeds, maps, and more.
If you choose to purchase Killing Floor 2, you can get it on sale on both platforms. PS4 owners can get it for $15 as long as they have a PS Plus membership (it's $30 without one). Xbox One owners can buy it for $20--no Xbox Live Gold subscription necessary.
Listen up, deal hunters. Now that the week is in full swing, let's take a moment to appraise the deals that have gone live this week and see what kinds of savings we can wrangle. No matter your platform of choice, from PS4 and PC to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, you can find great deals on great games. Read on to learn about all the best sales going on right now, along with highlights for some of the biggest savings.
Multiplatform
Killing Floor 2 is free to play on Xbox One and PS4 this weekend. It's a co-op shooter about taking down zombies (or "zeds") in a post-apocalyptic version of Europe. More info here.
PS4
As usual, a handful of PS4 and PS3 games are on sale this week on the PlayStation Store (ending June 25). In particular, you can get games from the Call of Duty and Sonic series for cheap. Here are some of our picks, or check here for the full slate of PlayStation deals.
Some fine games are on sale in the Nintendo Eshop for both Switch and 3DS. Below are some of our picks for games you can get great deals on right now. You can find more here.
Microsoft has refreshed its weekly Xbox sale, with a number of games getting discounts, including a whole swatch of Telltale's adventure games. And if you haven't played Diablo 3 on console yet, this deal is the one you didn't know you've been waiting for. The sale ends June 25.
The Steam Summer Sale has begun. Below are some of the best deals we've found on big PC games. You can find more here. Or, if you're looking to save money on creative indie games, check out Itch.io's big Summer Sale.
Fortnite is teasing yet another special something, and fans are once again speculating like wild about what it may mean. A missile launch appears imminent, thanks to a countdown clock connected to an evil lair that appeared spontaneously on screens across the map.
The obvious conclusion is that the battle royale game is preparing to change the map again. Following a long tease of a meteor in the sky, it hit land and created a new area as well as several hidden secrets. This countdown may signal the same thing: once the timer hits zero, the missile launches and impacts some area of the map, leaving it changed and ushering in Season 5.
Then there are wilder theories. A user on Reddit (via PCGamer) suggests that the whole event is tied to the Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere and Inca traditions. According to the theory, the countdown timer appears to be leading to Inti Raymi, an Incan religious celebration that included sacrifices to the sun god. Those sacrifices were often llamas, a de facto mascot in Fortnite.
It wouldn't be the first time Epic pulled a curveball, given that the community seemed certain that the meteor would hit Tilted Towers. Epic acknowledged the twist and had some fun with the community over it. Ultimately, the meteor hit the Dusty Depot to create the new Dusty Divot. Whatever ends up happening this time, we'll know what this countdown clock signifies soon, as the timer is slowly running out.
Fortnite has recently become a field of battle in the console war, given the game's launch on Switch. That helped put a fine point on the lack of cross-play on PlayStation 4, and Nintendo and Microsoft have seemingly teamed up to jab at Sony over the practice. Sony has been hesitant to promise a change in its policy, and a former Sony studio head recently came forward to say that based on his time at the company, the decision was all about money.
Mario Tennis Aces brings back one of the Mushroom Kingdom's oldest pasttimes, pitting its iconic characters against each other on the court. On the Nintendo Switch it's both pretty and portable, and it packs plenty of new bells and whistles for this round. A new zone shot and trick shot system brings some more subtlety to your strategy, and the multiplayer mode allows for online tournaments and matches.
But is it worth another round on the court? The critical reception is positive, with reservations. While the single-player Adventure Mode is underdeveloped and the difficulty spikes can feel unfair, the multiplayer is where it really shines. Like any good arcade sports game, the mechanics are easy to pick up and play but hard to master thanks to additional layers of complexity that were absent from some prior iterations. Check out our in-depth thoughts in our Mario Tennis Aces review-in-progress, and read on for more thoughts from around the industry. GameSpot sister site Metacritic has the wider reception.
Game: Mario Tennis Aces
Developer / Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release date: June 22
Price: US $60 / £45 / AU $69
GameSpot -- 8/10
"The Tetris Effect is in full swing here; days after the credits rolled, I still crave the satisfying thwack from a Power Shot, mentally replay matches and imagine how I might do things differently given a bit more focus and know-how. Mario Tennis Aces does what this series has done best, and improves what it's rarely gotten right prior. Fingers crossed that the online support stands up to the rest of the game after launch." -- Justin Clarke [Full review]
GamesRadar -- 4/5
"At the end of the day, Adventure Mode is only going to take you so far, and, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, it's really all about multiplayer. You can opt in for online or local multiplayer, or just pass a Joy-Con to your pal for instant split-screen, which is really where the game shines brightest - and I'm not just talking graphically, although this game is an absolute stunner. This is a game built for battling against your friends, which might seem like a weird turn of phrase for a tennis game, but absolutely works for Mario Tennis Aces." -- Sam Loveridge [Full review]
IGN -- 7.5/10
"Mario Tennis Aces is an extremely fun arcade tennis experience, colourful and dazzling to look at and smartly balanced in its back-and-forth play. With a little bit more care and depth given to the simple single-player mode and more variety added in the way of character and tournament customisation to give its multiplayer extra spice, Mario Tennis Aces could have been a true all-rounder. As it is, Mario Tennis Aces is still a lot of frantic tennis fun with friends." -- Tristan Ogilvie [Full review]
Nintendo Life -- 8/10
"We're used to seeing Wii U games transfer to Switch, but for Ultra Smash to have moved across without a substantial makeover would have been disastrous. Aces, wonderfully, is anything but that--it's a superb arcade sports game that's generous with its suite of player options and only occasionally guilty of being a little cheap in its Adventure Mode. The presentation is spot on, and the core tennis action is absorbing whether you're trading simple strokes or firing off special shots. Some animations and voice overs are identical to Ultra Smash's, but everything around them has been overhauled to quite splendid heights. This is something of a Switch Port Plus, then--not quite a whole new experience, but so improved as to be near unrecognisable next to its preceding title." -- Mike Diver [Full review]
God is a Geek -- 7/10
"Play through the story mode until you take out the first boss and you should have a good grip on how the game is played, once there I suggest you stop before the game turns you into a gibbering gibbon of pure hatred. Take that part as a tutorial and then play against your friends and you'll have a whale of a time. I put the game in front of my family members, and for the first time ever I saw interactions that wouldn't look out of place in a Switch infomercial, they were having pure, unadulterated fun and that's where this game's magic lies." -- Nick Gillham [Full review]
2018 has already proven to be a huge year for Marvel, with both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War scoring the studio two of its biggest ever hits. But there's still one more MCU movie to come, and while it's unlikely that Ant-Man and The Wasp will do quite as well at the box office business as those two blockbusters, it should still prove to be a popular and entertaining romp.
The movie hits theaters next month, and ahead of that, a new clip has been released. It's an action-packed car chase, in which Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and Luis (Michael Pena) are pursued through the streets by some bad guys. Luckily their van is equipped with Pym Particles, enabling it to shrink to a tiny size. Check it out below:
This clip follows the latest Ant-Man and The Wasp trailer, which was released at the end of May. In addition, we've recently had this TV spot, and a collection of character posters. The movie stars Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, plus Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, and Randall Park as SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo. It's directed by Peyton Reed, who helmed the first movie.
In a recent interview with Slashfilm, Reed spoke about how the movie's story stands apart from events elsewhere in the MCU. "We definitely had to deal with the ramifications post-Civil War. That was crucial to Scott and crucial to Hope," he said. "It really is fundamental in the jumping-off point about what's going on between the two of them at the start of this movie. Outside of that, what I'm really happy about is we're free to tell sort of our freestanding story.
"Once we establish that as the leaping-off point, this thing is going on over here with huge personal stakes and huge other stakes that are really separate of what's going on with Infinity War. So that, again, is something that was really, really appealing to me. We have enough stuff to track in this movie without having to sort of keep abreast of what's going on in that."
Nintendo Switch's library continues to grow, with a new batch of games now available in stores and on the Eshop. This week sees 15 titles arrive on the console, including a new Mario spin-off, a big update for Minecraft, and a free first-party demo for the system's next major Wii U port.
This week's marquee release is Mario Tennis Aces, the first Mario sports game to arrive on Switch. Developed by Camelot, the studio behind every previous Mario Tennis title, Aces shakes up the series by introducing a handful of new mechanics, such as the time-slowing Zone Speed and the powerful Zone Shots. It's also the first installment since Mario Tennis: Power Tour for Game Boy Advance to feature a story mode. You can learn more about the title in our Mario Tennis Aces review.
Other notable releases this week include the acclaimed puzzle-platformer Inside; the adorable co-op puzzler Pode; the classic Neo Geo fighting game The Last Blade 2; the top-down shoot-'em-up Gunbird 2; the Lovecraft-inspired dungeon crawler The Lost Child; and the party game Drawful 2. Switch owners can also now download the newly updated version of Minecraft, which adds cross-play support with Xbox One.
In addition to this week's new titles, Nintendo has added a free demo of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker to the Switch and 3DS Eshops. The demo encompasses three levels: Plucky Pass Beginnings, Mushroom Mesa, and The King of Pyropuff Peak. The Switch version can also be played cooperatively with a second player. You can download the demo directly here.
You can find the full list of this week's new Switch releases below or on Nintendo's website. Next week is likewise shaping up to be a busy one for the console, as a number of great titles--including Lumines Remastered, Limbo, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, and De Blob--are slated to arrive in stores and on the Switch Eshop before the end of the month.
Microsoft's zombie survival game, State of Decay 2, was the best-selling title of May in the US, the NPD Group has announced. The game launched for Xbox One and PC toward the end of the month and managed to take the number one spot on the software sales chart, edging out other big May releases like the PS4-exclusive Detroit: Become Human. Its strong debut is also impressive considering that the game is available for free for those who have an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Despite suffering from technical and performance issues, State of Decay 2 has proven to be quite popular among fans. The game attracted more than 2 million players within its first two weeks of availability. Microsoft appears to be quite pleased with the title; during its E3 2018 press conference, the company announced that it acquired State of Decay developer Undead Labs, along with four other studios.
State of Decay 2 also had a much stronger debut than its predecessor. According to the NPD Group, the game's launch month sales "nearly doubled" those of the first State of Decay, which originally released for Xbox 360 and PC back in 2013.
The second best-selling game of May was the PS4 reboot of God of War, which has now become the second best-selling game of the year to date in the US, behind Far Cry 5. Rounding out May's top three games was the aforementioned Detroit, which likewise released toward the end of the month.
In terms of hardware, PS4 was once again the best-selling platform of May, although all three major consoles--PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch--achieved "all-time unit sales highs for a May month." You can find the top 20 best-selling games of May below.
After a week of big announcements, reveals, and trailers, E3 2018 has finally come to a close. Every big press conference is over, every announcement has been made, and we've finally seen everything we possibly can across the weeklong event. There was more than enough to get excited about, but at the same time, there were some moments that were lacking.
In this feature we go over our favorite parts of E3 2018, a few of the things we wish some of the companies could've done differently, and a handful of the biggest games. This is the spot for an analysis of the major things from the show, where we discuss what went well and what went wrong.
Some of the biggest moments stemmed from high-profile game reveals; others came from the companies pushing for better representation. But where there were amazing highs, there were some debilitating lows. A selection of well-known upcoming games were missing, and some poor logistical decisions lead to stilted press conferences.
Despite all this, there was plenty of exciting news from many of the biggest companies at this year's E3. To get more information about all of announcements, check out all of the news from the press conference, all of the best trailers, and a list of all the new games announced. Otherwise, be sure to keep checking back for all of GameSpot's remaining E3 coverage.
What were some of your favorite moments at E3? What do you think could've gone better? And what about your most anticipated games? Let us know in the comments below.
Highlight: CD Projekt Red Proves Cyberpunk 2077 Has Been Worth The Wait
CD Projekt teased Cyberpunk 2077 six years ago, and for six years we have waited for the Witcher studio to share any info on the game. It wouldn't budge, and for many of us Cyperpunk began to feel more like an idea than a project that's made significant progress. Witcher 3 arrived in the meantime and blew the industry and consumers away with its gorgeous and occasionally haunting world--success that actually made Cyberpunk followers even more anxious to find out more about the talented studio's next project.
So it was that this would be the year that our questions get answered. The public still hasn't had a chance to see what Cyperpunk really is, but the press who saw the demo at E3 are all in agreement: Cyberpunk is shaping up to be a phenomenal game that may set a new benchmark for AAA game design. It's rare that a game can live up to the wildest imaginations of the most excited minds, and yet it surpasses them in many ways through incredible depth and attention to detail. Its world is raw and thoroughly advanced. It is dangerous and beautiful, and you can't help but wonder about every little detail that pops up. There's no looking back for CD Projekt Red, and we cannot wait until everyone gets a chance to see why this has been the most talked about game of the show. -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor
Highlight: Queer Characters Took Center Stage
While queer game characters are nothing new, they're still rare--and it's even more rare to see them featured front and center in a game's marketing. But this year, several of the E3 press conferences included explicitly queer characters in gameplay and trailers for big games. For many people, this is a hugely important gesture that makes gaming seem like a more welcoming and inclusive place.
Perhaps the biggest was the gameplay reveal for The Last of Us Part II. We learned that Ellie is queer in The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC, but it was another thing entirely to see her kiss a woman on Sony's E3 stage. The moment is tender, intimate, and most importantly, sincere--it's a perfect transition into the brutality of the combat that comes after, rounding out our first real look at who Ellie has become.
On Ubisoft's stage, we saw Assassin's Creed Odyssey's female playable character, Kassandra, able to flirt and romance another female character (and maybe flirting a bit with her). And at the beginning of the week, EA showed a trailer for Battlefield V that might includes two women embracing and saying "I love you"--not necessarily queer, but a reasonable enough guess given that they look nothing alike. These are more subtle examples than The Last of Us, but it points to a trend of more AAA games expanding their target demographics and the kinds of people their characters represent. Seeing that at an event as big as E3 just makes it even better. -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
Highlight: Death Stranding Still Makes No Sense
Kojima Productions finally provided a better look of the gameplay of Death Stranding but, importantly, did so without revealing too much. Thus far, very little is clear about Death Stranding. Between the babies giving thumbs up, floating ghost-like entities, and dead whales, it's been difficult to actually get a grasp on what the story is about. The gameplay reveal creates a similar air of mystery, with Norman Reedus's character hauling around a corpse. There's strange footsteps appearing on the floor, and ghostly apparitions floating in air. All the while, Reedus carefully sneaks around, with his overactive shoulder-mounted robotic arm incessantly yapping like a dog sensing danger. In typical Kojima Productions fashion, the Death Stranding gameplay trailer created as many questions as it provided answers for, which, if you're a fan of the studio, is very exciting. -- Tamoor Hussain, Editor
Needs Improvement: Square Enix's Press Conference Fell Short
Square Enix has plenty of interesting games in the works, and Microsoft featured four of them during its showcase just prior to the official start of E3. We got looks at Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Kingdom Hearts 3, Just Cause 4, and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, Surely, I thought, Square Enix would use its own E3 presentation to share new information on those games as well as the hotly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake or the intriguing Front Mission reboot teased at last year's Tokyo Game Show, Left Alive. What Square Enix went with was about 30 minutes of trailers, including the same four mentioned above.
There were a couple of interesting new announcements, to be fair, including a new Platinum Games project titled Babylon's Fall, but for such a short press conference to be dominated by repeat content was a huge letdown. Square Enix could have easily distributed the meager bits of news that appeared during its presentation to Microsoft or Sony's shows and not even bothered with its own. Rather than use E3 as a platform to excite its fanbase, Square Enix potentially dinged its reputation by posturing and building up anticipation that it never stood a chance of satisfying in the first place. -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor
Needs Improvement: The Break During Sony's Press Conference Was Too Long
Sony surprised people when it announced that its E3 2018 press conference was going to primarily focus on four of its latest games. The show started off great with an incredibly tense gameplay demonstration of Naughty Dog's highly-anticipated The Last of Us: Part II in a Church theater. While you think Sony would build off the momentum of this reveal, it instead brought the show to a complete stop, taking nearly 15 minutes to transport people from the church theater to a completely different theater nearby. All the while Sid Shuman and Shawn Layden attempted to fill in the void with insubstantial discussion and banter.
Luckily, the rest of the show turned out better with a solid string of trailers and gameplay reveals, but the damage had already been done. It's a small gripe, but I can't help but be curious as to why Sony decided to use two theater venues instead of one. -- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor
Needs Improvement: No Metroid Prime 4 Or Pokemon Switch
I didn't expect Nintendo to drop release dates for Metroid Prime 4 or Switch's Pokemon RPG, but how could the company not even acknowledge either game? We got no trailers or screenshots. We didn't even get name drops. It's like both games don't even exist.
Not hearing anything about Metroid Prime 4 is especially disappointing after Nintendo's tease at last year's E3. You'd think that would be the company's way of letting players know that the title is currently being worked on and almost ready to talk about. And yet you'd be wrong.
Now I'm worried Metroid Prime 4 is still early in development, and my dream of a 2019 release date is a far-fetched fantasy. I also really wanted to know what Prime 4's official name was going to be, and whether the game would connect the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid II: Return of Samus or finally continue Samus's story after Metroid Fusion's cliffhanger.
Hearing nothing in regards to Nintendo's new Pokemon RPG is slightly understandable, if for no other reason that doing so would probably have stolen some of Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee and Let's Go Pikachu's thunder. -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
Biggest Games: Anthem
"While playing Anthem, I had to repeatedly remind myself that I was playing a BioWare game. It's the first new IP from the veteran RPG developer in a decade, and although it falls into that particular style of role-playing and third-person shooter hybrid the studio honed with the Mass Effect franchise, this is the hardest it has leaned into that concept. With Anthem, we're seeing a major shift in what BioWare is capable of. Although it still exhibits some of the studio's role-playing pedigree, it's the vast online open-world that sets Anthem apart.
In the vein of Bungie's Destiny and Ubisoft's The Division, Anthem is a shared-world online shooter focusing on groups of players taking on new challenges and chasing new loot. But in familiar BioWare fashion, your particular Freelancer will make important narrative choices throughout the game's main campaign, altering their relationships with allies and other factions. While this sounds pretty standard, this is all housed within an online world where other players are making similar or conflicting choices in their own story.
As of now, we only know what the story is about in the broad sense: humans on a hostile alien planet, a powerful ancient presence of some form, and major world-altering events. While BioWare wasn't ready to share just how those choices will be reflected in the game for others to see, it did say they'll be surfaced in some form. With that said, the general narrative feels much more of a nebulous concept right now, and I am intrigued to see how the developer will be able to inject that familiar BioWare-style storytelling into Anthem." -- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Anthem.
Biggest Games: Assassin's Creed Odyssey
"Assassin's Creed Odyssey is three years in the making; Ubisoft Quebec conceived this entry into the long-running franchise as the team wrapped up development for Assassin's Creed Syndicate back in 2015. Ubisoft Montreal was in the process of transforming the series with Origins (that released in 2017) which gave the Quebec studio a foundation to further evolve Assassin's Creed into a full-fledged RPG the team envisioned. It's not just about the inclusion of branching dialogue or seemingly arbitrary choices during quests, though. Consequence is at the heart of making the journey through Ancient Greece something more than just another historical fiction.
During a visit to Ubisoft Quebec's studio, I had the opportunity to spend around five hours with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, starting at a point deep into the story. Many of its features jumped out immediately, like choosing to play as the female protagonist Kassandra through the entire game--regardless, I'm a mercenary on the search for lost family members in the midst of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. Docked ashore the Delos Islands following a storm, I'm immediately posed with conversation options with my shipmate Barnabas. At first, it's striking to see this in an Assassin's Creed game, but considering Odyssey's full RPG approach, having agency in what I say to others is to be expected. While I could tease out more information or evoke different responses, words can have a much larger impact in certain situations." -- Michael Higham, Associate Editor
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
Biggest Games: Control
"Remedy's reputation as a developer of great action games with compelling stories has never quite faded; even Quantum Break, despite some complications, had many redeeming qualities that its biggest detractors (like me) couldn't ignore. Chief among them was the combat system, which gave you control over time itself, allowing you to slickly thwart swarms of enemies in unusual and flashy ways. These same qualities are echoed in the announcement trailer for Remedy's next game, Control, but what you won't find in that video is the mind-bending series of events I saw during a private gameplay demo at E3.
I'm looking forward to games like Cyberpunk and Death Stranding as much as most people, but Control has quickly become my most anticipated game at the show. Circling back to combat, Control gives off similar vibes to Quantum Break, but a key difference lies in the sort of powers at your fingertips. The two abilities we saw allowed the main character, Jesse Faden, to grab objects strewn around the environment and hurl them at enemies, or bring them close to create a temporary shield. Performing these moves results in chaos as other objects get caught in the crossfire, making each encounter look messy (in a good way.) An eye-catching flurry of special effects helps complete the chaotic spectacle. These are just two of many powers Jesse will acquire throughout her harrowing journey." -- Peter Brown, Reviews Editor
For our full impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Control.
Biggest Games: Cyberpunk 2077
"CD Projekt Red's next game, Cyberpunk 2077, is a massive departure from the developer's previous efforts on The Witcher series. Instead of lush forests, picturesque fields, and towering mountains, the devs are creating a world set in the concrete jungle of Northern California in the distant future. Unlike a lot of fiction focusing on a darker future, Cyberpunk 2077 aspires to move away from grimdark and towards a more exuberant but equally cynical vision for a future where capitalism and technology has run amok.
Inspired and influenced by the original Cyberpunk 2020 pen and paper RPG, 2077 extrapolates many of the themes and iconography while capitalizing on the developer's skillset for crafting dense and visually rich environments. We saw a near hour-long gameplay demo behind closed doors at E3 2018, showcasing many of the game's systems and locales, and came out impressed by the scope of CD Projekt Red's ambitious project." -- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
For our full impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Cyberpunk 2077.
Biggest Games: Dying Light 2
"Dying Light 2 really ups the stakes when it comes to traversing a lawless open-world where danger lurk around every corner. With the original Dying Light offering a clever blend of parkour exploration and brutal combat of a zombie-survival game, the follow up to Techland's stellar open-world game plans to focus more on offering its players more freedom in movement, while letting them decide the fate of one of humanity's last stable cities. Revealed at the Microsoft Press Conference, the sequel plans to maintain the momentum that the developers have had with the original's post-launch success, while offering a more reactive and living world to explore.
During E3 2018, we had the chance to see an extended demo presentation of the game in action, showcasing its broader scope and focus on a more ambitious, adaptive narrative. Stick with many of the core features of the original game, such as freeform parkour traversal, melee combat, and other gradual characters growth--the sequel goes a bit further by making some tough choices in a far more dire and bleak circumstance." -- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
For our full impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Dying Light 2.
Biggest Games: Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is the latest entry in the tenured post-apocalyptic RPG franchise. It's the earliest game in the Fallout timeline, and it features major online components. From its recent trailers alone, the game has already captured the attention of the series' most ravenous fans. We're already imagining what sort of fights and awkward encounters we'll get into with others during our post-apocalyptic jaunt through the American wasteland.
Biggest Games: Ghost Of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is the latest game by developer Sucker Punch Productions, the studio responsible for Infamous and Sly Cooper. The game is set on the island of Tsushima during the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1294. You play as a lone samurai turned vengeful assassin--likely fighting to drive out the Mongol army from Japan.
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Ghost of Tsushima.
Biggest Games: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
"We've known that a new Super Smash Bros. game has been in development, and during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was revealed. It's an original Smash game built specifically for the Nintendo Switch, and it features every single character that has ever been included in a Smash game.
We got hands on with the E3 2018 demo of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shortly after viewing the Direct. It's a build that features a limited character and stage selection, but it gave us a good feel for how new game feels to play." -- Justin Haywald, Managing Editor & Edmond Tran, Editor/Video Producer
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Biggest Games: The Last of Us: Part II
"Sony debuted gameplay for The Last of Us Part II during its E3 2018 press conference. What Sony and developer Naughty Dog showed is just as gruesome as the previous trailer for the sequel; on top of a man getting eviscerated, we see Ellie perform a number of brutal takedowns and kills. It's definitely a lot to take in all at once, and it's also cinematic--it can be hard to tell what's pure combat and what's a cutscene-like transition.
While at E3 2018, we had a chance to speak to co-directors Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau about the game. They gave us insight into what exactly we're seeing in the trailer in terms of combat, and as it turns out, much of what looks cinematic--Ellie's perfectly timed dodges and pulling an arrow out of her shoulder--is actually within your control. That looks to be a key component in framing and shaping the intense violence in The Last of Us Part II, as well as something that can add greatly to Ellie as a character." -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of The Last of Us Part II.
Biggest Games: Resident Evil 2 Remake
"Resident Evil 2's upcoming remake rides a fine line between new and old. When it triggers nostalgic memories with its familiar characters and locales, it instantly makes you uneasy with its new retelling of classic events.
My time with the demo began in the main hall of the Raccoon City Police Department as Leon S. Kennedy--who's just as strong willed and naive as we remember. He's no longer the invincible superhero that latter entries transformed him into; he's desperate and vulnerable. These qualities should come as no surprise to fans of the original version, but the remake really leans into them, making your time spent as the rookie cop all the more tense and dire. And with higher-quality voice performances, Leon's circumstances feel grounded and believable.
It helps that the Resident Evil 4-style, third-person over-the-shoulder camera provides a far more intimate view than the original's fixed camera angles. The remake faithfully recreates the original RPD's narrow halls and pathways; its floor layout is nearly identical. The third-person perspective plays well with the labyrinthian police department, making exploration feel unsettling and claustrophobic; gone are the door-opening loading screens." -- Matt Espineli, Associate Editor
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Resident Evil 2 Remake.
Biggest Games: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
"Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and many more of From Software's games contain incredibly detailed worlds, with incredibly deep combat and an incredible number of deaths. You see, as impressive as From's previous games have been, I'm not particularly good at playing them. I'm one of those people you tell to "git gud." I play each of From's games for eight or so hours, get sick of dying, and give up.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice might be the game to break that rule. Death is no longer a barrier which must be overcome. It's no longer simply a "learning experience." Death and immediate resurrection is now a mechanic. From Software says you can use death to your advantage--fooling your enemies into a false sense of security before coming back to life and sneaking up on them using the game's light stealth mechanics. Perfect for those who--like me--are fed up of dying. From is staying coy, however, on the exact mechanics of the resurrection ability. It says you'll only be able to use it a limited number of times, and that "in no way does [resurrection] make the game easy."
Sekiro also speeds up the From formula, even moreso than Bloodborne did. Your main character--for now, simply named the Shinobi--is more agile than that of Soulsborne. He has a proper jump, which can be utilized in combat. He has a grappling hook, which can be used to gain a vantage point over the enemy. And his prosthetic limb can be customized to wield a shuriken, which you can use to propel yourself towards an enemy in a flash." -- Oscar Dayus, Staff Writer
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Biggest Games: Tom Clancy's The Division 2
"When you're looking at Tom Clancy's The Division in the broader sense, the game has shown considerable growth since its launch. After several expansions adding in new events and areas to explore, along with many updates tweaking the power grind and endgame content, Ubisoft's shared world action-RPG title slowly evolved into the game that many fans wanted when it was first released. And with The Division 2, the same developers at Massive Entertainment and Red Storm are looking to maintain that momentum with the series' next outing.
Set seven months after the initial outbreak of the Black Friday virus, The Division 2 will bring the online action-RPG to Washington D.C, which has also been decimated by mass panic, and opportunistic new factions looking to take advantage of the power vacuum. Unlike Manhattan's snow-covered wasteland from the original game, D.C. is far more lawless, made worse by an an immense heatwave driving more people to desperation. With the Division agency having gone silent, the remaining agents in the field have to reclaim control of the city. Prior to the official announcement at the Microsoft Press Conference, we got the play a short section of the game, while speaking with creative director Terry Spier about their continued sights on trying to keep things interesting for the long term.
When looking at the CG trailer, it's clear that the sense of scale, along with the stakes, have dialed up significantly. The Division 2, like its predecessor, will focus on building up your unique agent's resources as they acquire new weapons while taking on the multiple enemy factions that have taken hold of the city. Washington D.C., is about 20 percent bigger than Manhattan, which is almost a 1-to-1 recreation of the city. The developers wanted to offer a greater level of variety in the locations you'll explore, which includes more residential areas and the nearby forests outside the capital." -- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
For the rest of our impressions, check out our in-depth preview of The Division 2.
If you've ever wondered exactly how much money you've spent on Steam, Valve's got your back. The company recently launched a new tool to its game-distribution platform that lets players get an exact number on how much cash they've dropped.
This new feature should prove especially enlightening for players who primarily spend their time on free-to-play games. Now you'll be able to see exactly how much money you've spent on loot boxes, expansion packs, and DLC characters.
While on Steam, head to the new External Funds Used tool, log into your account, and then scroll to the "Total Spend" row. There's your number.
For those who are willing to share, do you think you've got the highest number? Is your total amount higher or lower than you were expecting? Leave your answers in the comment section down below.
If you're looking to up your number, Steam just launched its Summer Sale. There are plenty of excellent deals, including video games about your favorite Crunchyroll anime. The sale doesn't just cover software either. Both the Steam controller and Steam Link are on sale too.
If you're in the market for a new Xbox One, you'll want to take a look at this deal. Right now from Newegg via Ebay, you can get a 500 GB Xbox One S, plus physical copies of Battlefield Hardline and Mass Effect Andromeda, for $190. Shipping is free. That's a killer deal, seeing as the console's suggested retail price without any games is $280.
While it's not as powerful as the more expensive Xbox One X, the Xbox One S can play Blu-ray discs and 4K UHD Blu-rays and let you stream 4K content from services like Amazon and Netflix. It also offers High Dynamic Range technology, which produces richer colors, brighter whites, and darker blacks, assuming you have a compatible TV.
From our Xbox One S review: "If you don't already have an Xbox One and want an HDR/4K/Blu-ray player, then this console is a must-buy as far as I'm concerned. It's even a little cheaper than standalone HDR/4K/Blu-ray players... If you've been on the fence about the Xbox One or have been waiting for the bugs to be ironed out and the library to mature, the Xbox One S makes it a great time to jump on board. It's slim, is the only model that can be outfitted with a 2TB HDD, is priced fairly, and offers the aforementioned video features."
As for the games, they're both decent. In our 7/10 Battlefield Hardline review, we praised its multiplayer mode and episodic campaign. Our 6/10 Mass Effect: Andromeda review was less glowing, though we enjoyed its combat and variety of planet environments. Even if you don't want the games, you can sell them or trade them in, making this deal even better.
It's unclear how long it will last, though, so don't delay if you want to add an Xbox One S to your entertainment setup. You can get it here.
Life is Strange is returning for a second season, and now we know when to expect it. The episodic narrative-driven adventure game will release its first episode on September 27. We don't have any details on the new storylines, other than the game will be divided into five episodes, but developer Dontnod says more details are coming in August. Check out the announcement tweet below.
Meanwhile, pre-orders of the game will go live next week, and will be timed alongside the release of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit; it's a free, standalone game that was announced at E3 2018. Captain Spirit takes place in the same timeline and universe as Max and Chloe in Life is Strange. Some story elements and player choices will carry over in Life Is Strange 2. Get a look at the trailer for The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit in the video above. It comes out June 26 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Episode 1 of #LifeisStrange2 will release on September 27th 2018.
In other Life is Strange news, the franchise is getting a comic book series. Publisher Titan is partnering with Square Enix to release a comic line based on Life Is Strange, which is set to debut on December 4. It is available for pre-order now.
Life Is Strange's first episode was first released in 2015 and revolved around the story of Max Caulfield, who discovers she has the ability to rewind time. It was followed by a prequel called Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, which takes place three years before the original and focuses on Chloe Price. GameSpot reviewed all five of Life is Strange's episodes, and you can read them all starting with Episode 1.
There's no better way to celebrate the longest day of the year than with region-specific Pokemon. As of the summer solstice, Hoenn's Rock and Psychic-types Lunatone and Solrock have swapped regions in Pokemon Go.
Lunatone, which resembles a moon, will now appear in the Americas and Africa. Lunatone originally appeared in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire alongside Solrock. Solrock, the sunnier of the two, will now appear in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
In honor of the summer solstice, the Rock- and Psychic-type Pokémon Solrock and Lunatone have started to appear in different regions! Celebrate the longest day of the year by adding one to your Pokédex today!
Lunatone and Solrock are both rare Pokemon, so getting your hands on them might prove a bit tricky. But for those who have gotten their hands on them, both are proving to be powerful allies.
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