By Anonymous on Jul 04, 2018 09:51 pm Star Wars: Battlefront II, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, and more all use loot boxes to drive microtransactions--but are they really that bad? We discuss the pros and cons of the phenomenon in Versus. Fighting for loot boxes is Will Potter and arguing against them is Oscar Dayus. Watch and decide who you think argued their case better in our poll!
HBO's classic gangster drama The Sopranos, widely credited as one of the most influential TV shows of all time, is on the way back. The show ended in 2007, but in recent months there have been reports of a prequel movie being in development. It has now been reported that Thor: The Dark World's Alan Taylor will direct the film.
According to Variety, Taylor will helm the film, which is titled The Many Saints of Newark. The script has been written by Sopranos creator David Chase, alongside Lawrence Konner, who also worked on the show. The site states that the movie is set is in Newark, New Jersey, during the 1960s, at a time when there was a lot of racial tension between African-American and Italian residents. Although no casting news has been announced, the film is expected to feature younger versions of some of the characters from The Sopranos.
Thor: The Dark World and last year's sci-fi flop Terminator: Genysis are Taylor's highest profile credits, but he also has an impressive background in TV. He directed multiple episodes of The Sopranos as well as acclaimed shows such as Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and Boardwalk Empire.
The Sopranos ran for 86 episodes, from 1999 to 2007. The late James Gandolfini starred as mob boss Tony Soprano, a role for which he won three Emmys and a Golden Globe. The show itself was the first cable show ever to be nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and was crucial in pushing HBO towards original programming.
In time for 4th of July celebrations, Epic Games has released a new emote for Fortnite. As with most of Fortnite's emotes, it's a simple and charming little animation that has your character light up a sparkler, wave it about for a little bit, and then toss it aside.
You can buy the Sparkler emote from the in-game item shop for 200 V-Bucks. Take a look below to see the animation in action, courtesy of the official Fortnite Twitter account.
In related news, Fortnite: Battle Royale has been updated with the Playground LTM (limited-time mode). Although the mode originally launched on June 28, it was taken offline after server issues arose. A week of testing and bug fixing later and Epic has made Playground LTM available again on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.
Playground is designed to be a "low-pressure environment" similar to a private server. It enables players to explore the map and hang out with up to three friends, free from the risk of being eliminated by other people. It's a good place to check out weapons, practice, and refine strategies.
A Fortnite update (version 4.5) has also added a few new weapons to the Save the World and Battle Royale modes. Perhaps most notable among these is the Drum Gun for the Battle Royale mode, which is described as a "hybrid weapon that combines the stopping power of a rifle with the suppressive ability and fire rate of an SMG." On top of that, there's the Stink Bomb and Stars and Stripes Heroes. You can find out more about all the new Fortnite update and see the full patch notes here.
Fortnite Season 5 is set to start on Thursday, July 12, at 1 AM PDT / 4 AM EDT / 9 AM BST / 6 PM AET. Players can still finish up Season 4's challenges to level up their Battle Pass and unlock any remaining rewards. If you need help completing the challenges, take a look at our full Season 4 challenge guide.
Today is the anniversary of America's birth. But it's also the release day for The First Purge, because the filmmakers have the subtlety of a lead pipe. Perhaps if this continues, this will be the new Independence Day tradition, the way the Saw movies always debuted on Halloween.
Today, in celebration of America's independence, we're ranking the disturbing, unsettling masks from the Purge franchise. It's the central irony of the films; Purging is supposed to be an annual release of everyone's true selves, but lots of people hide their faces while doing it.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Stay safe out there.
35. The Weird Cone Mask Guy: The Purge: Election Year
He's a member of Uncle Sam's crew from the third movie. I don't even know what this is. It's definitely the worst costume amongst a bunch of fantastic ones.
34. The Demon Mouth: The Purge: Anarchy
Apparently, this guy is a WWE fan and loves Finn Balor. It's nice to know that wrasslin' survives America's collapse.
33. The Raver Skull Girl: The First Purge
From what we can see from the trailer, the first annual Purge started out with a massive rave and not nearly as much killing as one might expect. But take a look at Raver Skull Girl. She definitely knows what's up.
32. Benjamin Franklin: The Purge: Election Year
No doubt, the booziest of our founding fathers would have embraced the annual Purge. Inventing the Franklin stove has nothing on state-sanctioned murder.
31. The Blackface Purger: The Purge: Election Year
This was the first mask in the third movie, and it let us know that Election Year would be a much more obvious satire of America. It's based off a well-known racial caricature, right down to its wide eyes and pitch-black face.
30. The Statue of Liberty (Version 2.0): The First Purge
This was the promotional poster for the fourth movie. But it's more cool-looking than creepy, and it's definitely a step down from the Lady Liberty in the third movie.
29. The Clownface Girl: The Purge: Election Year
She's one of the Candy Bar Girl lackeys from the third movie. She's a typical "scary clown." Other Purgers spent a little more time on their costumes the night beforehand, though. C+.
28. The Mace Wielder: The Purge: Election Year
This is a confusing tangle of metal and wire, like he just walked out of a second-rate Thunderdome.
27. George Washington: The Purge: Election Year
The founding father of our country went from chopping down cherry trees to chopping off heads.
26. Anime Lamb Girl: The Purge: Election Year
A minor member of Candy Bar Girl's crew, Anime Lamb Girl is there in one scene and gone in the next. Maybe she got smart and went home.
25. Patrick Henry: The Purge: Election Year
"Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
24. The Lingerie Model: The Purge: Election Year
One of Candy Bar Girl's lackeys, she was the sexiest Venom symbiote on Purge night.
23. The Salesman: The Purge: Election Year
This guy deserves an elbow to the mouth for jumping in front of and startling his potential customers. It's hard enough to deal with the annual Purge without this guy messing with you before sunset.
22. The Window Man: The First Purge
That's just unwholesome. What the hell is that? We don't know. And we don't want to know.
21. The Deformed School Boy: The Purge
Preppy jock meets Eyes Wide Shut. This was the best screencap of him from the entire film; he took a bullet to the head almost immediately after entering the Sandin household. Unfortunately for him, creepiness doesn't equate to peripheral vision.
19. & 20. The Two Skipping Girls: The Purge
The Purge was the last film cameo for Joan Rivers, seen here with daughter Melissa. (Not really, but can you see the resemblance?)
18. The Blue-Faced Ape Man: The Purge: Anarchy
This primate with an overbite had a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance, but was definitely scary. The filmmakers paid careful attention to lighting him; the half-in-light, half-in-shadow effect is an oldie but a goodie.
17. The Bird Flipper: The Purge
He's upset, because not only is he deformed, he also has a receding hairline.
16. The Massive Raver Devil: The First Purge
The filmmakers finally got tired of beating around the bush. They put a big ol' Satan head right in the trailer for the new movie.
15. Chainsaw Girl: The Purge: Election Year
Wearing a surgical mask whilst brandishing a chainsaw was a particularly witty, dark-humored joke in the third movie.
14. The Interrupter: The Purge
The design of this guy's mask is actually pretty scary. But The Interrupter lasts too fleetingly to make an impact. He rants for exactly three seconds before Polite Leader gets tired of listening to his crap and shuts him up, permanently.
13. The Hipster Lumberjack: The Purge
Of course the Seattle hipsters are part of our dystopian future.
12. The Flukeman: The First Purge
Apparently, the massive Flukeman from The X-Files took a break from popping out of toilets to star in this new film.
11. The Polite Leader: The Purge
He only wears his mask for a few seconds before taking it off for the remainder of the movie. But the gang's leader probably has the most iconic look, because he was used in all the promotional shots. The actor, Rhys Wakefield, has such an expressive face, that he looks more exaggerated with his mask off than on.
10. The Half-Skull Biker: The Purge: Anarchy
Aside from the God Leader's, this is the scariest mask from the second film. The missing jaw makes him look a bit like Shao Kahn, if Shao Kahn decided to join a biker gang.
9. The Guy in the Hoodie: The Purge
Here's the worst jump scare of the first film--the payoff after stumbling aimlessly in the dark for 40 minutes.
8. The Motorcyclist: The Purge: Anarchy
Vroooooom!! The weird fencing-helmet-meets-motorcycle-helmet looks terrifying.
7. Abraham Lincoln: The Purge: Election Year
Born in a log cabin from humble means, Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, is widely considered our greatest president, thanks to his firm leadership, preservation of our Union, and good humor.
6. Uncle Sam: The Purge: Election Year
Uncle Sam didn't need help looking more freaky than he already is. "I WANT YOU! To participate in the annual Purge!"
5. The Big Pig: The Purge: Election Year
A massive, stuffed, bloody pig costume is disturbing enough. But the oversized pacifier crammed into its mouth seals the deal.
4. Betsy Ross: The Purge: Election Year
After sewing the first American flag, Betsy Ross loved it so much that she painted it on her face.
3. The Candy Bar Girl: The Purge Election Year
This is why you don't piss anybody off the day before the annual Purge. If I had a store, and I saw someone stealing a candy bar? She can take the whole box, as far as I'm concerned. Just don't show up with your fabulous, murderous crew the following day.
2. The Waving God: The Purge: Anarchy
The leader of the main gang from the second movie, he makes the most of his screen-time with a weak, cloying wave that sent chills down our spines.
1. The Statue of Liberty: The Purge: Election Year
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Lady Liberty (Version 1.0) has a DIY, punk rock look to her, with light-up, X-ed out eyes and a burnt looking face. She's a perfect send-up and subversion of America under the New Founding Fathers, and that's what makes her No. 1.
With the start of summer comes Steam's annual summer sale. This time around, Valve has introduced a new theme, dubbing this edition the Steam Intergalactic Summer Sale. Despite the name tweak, you know what to expect: 2018's sale brings discounts on a massive number of games. Valve says more than 10,000 are on sale right now, which is a staggering total. That's far too many for anyone to hope to parse through, but that's where we come in.
Rather than wade through countless pages of discounted titles, we've rounded up a selection of worthwhile games that you should consider buying before the sale ends--and that's coming up quite soon. The specific amount you'll save varies greatly, but we've asked GameSpot's staff for their favorite deals, and we've come up with a selection that runs the gamut from big-name, triple-A games to lesser-known (but nonetheless excellent) titles. Whether you're looking for shooters, RPGs, strategy games, or something else, we've got you covered.
The Steam Intergalactic Summer Sale, like recent sales on the platform, is relatively straightforward. Valve has done away with the daily and flash deals, as well as voting; you don't have to check in every eight hours to avoid missing out on what you're looking for. That might have done away with some of the excitement of past Steam sales, but it does make shopping much easier, as you can rest assured that anything you buy now isn't going to be discounted more heavily later in the sale. If you're specifically looking for cheap stuff, check out our recommendations for Steam sale games under $5.
This sale does feature one wrinkle, which is where the "intergalactic" aspect comes in. Steam's homepage allows you to jump into what's called the Summer Saliens game, which sees you head to planets and save various games that have been abducted by aliens. You'll earn XP and unlock new abilities, RPG-style, although it's all rather simplistic. While perhaps not worth playing for long on the strength of its gameplay, you may want to dive in anyway, as doing so can earn you Steam trading cards. More notably, defending certain planets enters you to win a corresponding game, with your odds increasing as your Salien stays on the same planet for longer.
The Steam Summer Sale runs from now until July 5, and a variety of anime is also on sale. Be sure to let us know your picks for worthwhile deals, as well as what you plan to pick up, in the comments below.
Agents of Mayhem - Total Mayhem Bundle | $16.05 / £13.21 (72% off)
Agents of Mayhem takes Saint Row IV's pure insanity and cranks it up to 11. Canonically taking place after the Gat Out of Hell "recreate earth" ending, Agents of Mayhem is a story of bad vs. evil. I loved the diverse range of personalities, races, and sexualities that compose the lovable rogues that make up MAYHEM, an organization set on destroying the evil terrorist group known as LEGION. My favorite agent is Daisy, an ex-roller derby girl with a knack for cussing, drinking, having sex, and handling heavy weaponry, but I also loved the the queer logistics officer Friday, storytelling ninja Scheherazade, and loud-mouthed Safeword (who's this universe's version of Saint Row's Kinzie Kensington). -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
Where EA's SimCity (2013) dropped the ball, Cities: Skylines picked it up, and it ran. It ran far, wide, and it's never stopped, even to this day. The city builder has positively delivered everything that anyone has ever wanted out of this kind of game, and has seen a steady stream of expansions over the past three years. But even if you're just interested in trying the vanilla experience during this Steam sale, Cities: Skyline's incredibly accessible modding options, and its amazing community will give you more than enough content to gorge on. There's a lot of joy to be had in city building and management games, and Cities: Skylines is the definitive game in the genre. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
Danganronpa is a murder-mystery story taken to the weirdest extremes. When a group of gifted high school students awakes in their new school, they find that all the exits have been sealed. Then, their new headmaster--a robotic bear named Monokuma--tells them that in order to leave, they have to murder a classmate and fool the survivors. It's up to you to successfully investigate each grisly (yet colorful) murder and maybe figure out who's the mastermind behind the sadistic setup along the way. Now mostly concluded after the release of Danganronpa V3, Danganronpa is one of my favorite game series of all time. Getting both Danganropna 1 and 2 for this price is an absolute steal. -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
If the recent release of Dark Souls: Remastered hasn't gotten you to try out From Software and Hidetaka Miyazaki's fantastic Souls series, maybe the heavily discounted Dark Souls III will. Dark Souls III takes the dilapidated world of the Souls games and adds new lands to discover, a quicker pace to the combat, and plenty of upgrades to the multiplayer, all while maintaining the strong world and level design that has made the series stand out so much. While I don't personally find the game to be as strong of an entry into the series as Dark Souls or Bloodborne, I could not put this game down when I first picked it up. For players looking for a rewarding game with challenge, I could not recommend the game more. -- Dave Klein, Video Producer
Dead Cells takes the DNA of Dark Souls, Castlevania, and a heavy dose of roguelike to create something that's more than the sum of its parts. This addictive and thrilling side-scrolling adventure boasts a bevy of tense moments, challenging bosses, and satisfying combat.
The core of the game is based on growing with each run, as every failure brings new lessons to learn, items to unlock, and points to take with you into the next life.
With a huge array of weapons, skills and playstyles, Dead Cells is a game that epitomises the "one more try" style of play. After your first few deaths, you'll be hooked and hungry for success. -- Dave Jewitt, Video Producer
Divinity: Original Sin 2 | $35.99 / £23.99 (20% off)
I have, admittedly, never actually finished Divinity: Original Sin 2, and yet there are few games on Steam (included in this sale or not) that I'd recommend more highly. Like its predecessor, it's such an ambitious game that it's astounding that it's able to pull it off so effectively on all fronts. Original Sin 2 is chock-full of fascinating characters and a seemingly endless array of ways to approach any given situation. While it puts up a real challenge (at least on difficulties other than its lowest), I've not managed to make it to the end because what's most difficult is resisting the urge to restart and try a different way of handling many of the game's scenarios. Original Sin 2 might be more expensive than many of the games on this list, but its combination of an excellent narrative, numerous secrets to uncover, and complex combat--all wrapped in an extremely replayable package--make it well worth the price of entry. -- Chris Pereira, News Editor
If you haven't played 2016's Doom reboot yet, now's a good time--publisher Bethesda announced a sequel, Doom Eternal, at E3 this year. This new Doom is self-aware in its intensity, with its high-octane demon-slaying madness backed by an over-the-top metal score. It's both a return and an homage to the corridor shooting of the series' past, but modern touches also make it feel like a step forward for the series. As a bonus, the classic Doom levels hidden in each mission are both fun to find and provide the perfect amount of nostalgia. -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
I'm usually not a huge fan of roguelike games, but something about Everspace just kept dragging me back for more. Stressing over every jump between sectors, while trying to simultaneously circumnavigate challenging fights and monitor my fuel cost, kept me constantly on edge. The mindless humdrum of outfitting a new vessel would quickly replace every frustrating death, and I'd promise myself I'd get a little bit further on my next excursion. I enjoyed solving the overarching mystery in the main storyline, but Everspace's tight controls and hectic dogfights were what drew me into its quiet beauty. -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
About 15 minutes into Forgotton Anne, I was curled up on the couch and weeping, after mistakenly profiling an illegal immigrant as a terrorist and getting him killed. Forgotton Anne never gave me a chance to catch my breath, though, and continued to dole out emotional punches. This adventure-platformer threw me into a role I've never played before: an officer who enforces border control. Anne must squash a rebellion that threatens her and that of her master, and the player chooses whether or not she goes about that task with any mercy. I'll admit, I was fooled by the pretty Studio Ghibli-style art into thinking this would be a game for kids. I was so wrong. -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
There's a good chance that, by now, you're one of the incredible number of people who have bought Grand Theft Auto V. If not, this is as cheap as it's ever been, making it easier to buy a copy for you and a few friends. And you'll want to play with friends, because there aren't many games like GTA Online and its heists. These multi-part missions that have you working in tandem with friends (or strangers, if you're less fortunate) are among the most fun I've ever had with a multiplayer game. Dodging a military jet in your biplane until you can pick up your friends who are breaking someone out of prison makes for an unforgettable, tense experience. GTA 5's single-player remains enjoyable, and buying it on PC gives you access to mods, but this is well worth the price of entry for GTA Online alone. -- Chris Pereira, News Editor
An iconoclast is a person who destroys a religious image or symbol, and that's the exact role you take on in this indie Metroidvania title. I didn't find Iconoclasts' puzzles or platforming segments to be all that challenging, but the game makes up for these faults with dozens of intense boss battles, a wonderful cast of characters, and a nuanced narrative. It's been a while since a video game's story really made me stop and think about the consequences of my in-game actions, and whether I was playing the role of the hero or the villian. Despite the protagonist's silence, Robin also makes for a fantastic hero, whose adorable emotes and expressive poses convey her helpful yet naive nature. -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
From the creators of FTL comes hands down, one of 2018's best games. Into the Breach is tactical strategy boiled down to its purest elements, with completely transparent mechanics that let you know exactly what the enemy is going to do next, and what effect your hypothetical actions will have before you make them. This alone makes every single turn a satisfying brain-churn that has you poring over all the game's exciting and multi-faceted cause-and-effect systems. With dozens of unique mechs, it's a sincere joy to experiment and replay Into the Breach again and again and again. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
As developer Team Ninja admits, Nioh is a game that was deeply inspired by Dark Souls. It combines Souls' mechanics with the action and combo mechanics of Team Ninja's previous franchise, Ninja Gaiden. While the game can be brutal with a steep learning curve, I absolutely loved the depth to its combat and gameplay. The game is set in Feudal Japan, with winding and interconnected level design, and the enemies are various Yokai, or supernatural monsters pulled straight out of Japanese folklore, all serving to give the game a unique style and feel. Souls fans have been split on Nioh, but I found the game stands out on its own, and the moment Nioh 2 was announced at E3 this year, my knee-jerk reaction was: YES! I want more of that! -- Dave Klein, Video Producer
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition | $9.99 / £7.49 (50% off)
When pressed for time and trying to explain what makes Ori and the Blind Forest so special, I tell people that it's a Meat Boy-Metroidvania--intense platforming balanced against exploration and wonder. It gets the point across, but the reality is that it's so much more than that. The gorgeous art style and animation mix with fine-tuned controls that make the whole experience feel smooth as silk. The fable-like story is a resonant one about empathy and love. It's one of the best games to have come out in the last few years, and absolutely deserves more attention before the sequel arrives in 2019. -- Steve Watts, News Writer
I sincerely hope you're skipping this entry because you've already played and finished this game, because Papers, Please is one of my favourite games of all time. It's a modern classic where premise and mechanics marry together beautifully with difficult moral choices, strict consequences, and an unavoidable imperative for self-gain. You play an immigration inspector on a politically tumultuous Eastern European border, charged with inspecting and cross-referencing documents, controlling the flow of people, and correcting following protocol above all else. Hidden amongst civilians are spies and terrorists, but also sympathetic stories of innocent people caught by the riptides of war, trying to hang on to a semblance of life. Where does your loyalty lie: To the job that's keeping your family fed, to the greater good, yourself, or potentially, something else? How far are you willing to push your moral compass? Paper, Please is a masterpiece through and through, and it makes stamping passports feel like the most satisfying feeling in the whole world. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
Prey is arguably one of the most underappreciated and overlooked games of 2017. It captures so much of what I love about immersive sims, particularly in its environmental storytelling--emails, notes, and other personal items weave the stories of who was on the space station before everything went wrong, and piecing things together takes careful attention to detail. Each part of the station also presents you with multiple ways to solve a problem, be it getting past an enemy Typhon or getting into a locked room, and all those things combined make traversal and exploration rewarding. The new DLC is just one more reason to pick Prey up while it's on sale. -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
I've put around 300 hours into Stardew Valley between the PC and Nintendo Switch versions, and it's become one of my favorite games I've ever played. I'm a big proponent of the Switch version now, but if you don't have one or prefer playing on PC, now's your best chance to try it out. Stardew Valley is everything I ever wanted Harvest Moon games to be, and it's made even better by its complex characters and surprisingly heavy themes. I don't want to spoil anything, but this is a game where you get out what you put into it--and there's a lot to discover. -- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
On its face, a game like SteamWorld Dig shouldn't have worked, much less warranted a sequel. A modern-day rogue-like Dig Dug, SteamWorld Dig carried an oddly relaxing gameplay loop: burrow your way underground, find some loot, come back up and spend it on upgrades, repeat. Its sequel, SteamWorld Dig 2, improves on the predecessor in every way, offering better upgrades, more character customization options, and challenge rooms for the truly enterprising spelunker. Sometimes you just want more of a great thing. -- Steve Watts, News Writer
The masters of grand historical strategy, Paradox Interactive, released their ambitious spacefaring 4X game Stellaris a couple of years ago, but if you haven't played it yet, you're definitely better off coming into it now. As is typical, the Swedish developer has improved the game significantly with free updates and meaningful expansions over time and addressed many concerns. Beginning with a single planet, you'll expand your empire, discover new galaxies, inhabit new worlds, meet new alien races, and see where your interactions with them may lead. Stellaris is certainly a complex 4X game, but like other Paradox titles, once you begin to internalise it, gain momentum, and appreciate the myriad nuances to its systems, you'll probably never think about playing anything else for a good, long while. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
I hope no PC devotees out there will get upset when I say that one of the most innovative tactical strategy games of the past decade was born as a console game, and is anime as hell. Valkyria Chronicles puts some strange twists on its alternate version of World War II, but that doesn't deny the fact that its battle system is unique and fun. You plan and order troops in a turn-based fashion with a top-down strategy phase, but then need to personally move an ordered troop or vehicle in a real-time third-person mode and line up their shots. It may sound arduous, but it's incredibly satisfying and exciting to actually do. Its beautiful watercolour art direction has aged very well, and with Valkyria Chronicles 4 coming out on PC and consoles later this year, you might as well see what the fuss is all about. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
If you're a fan of over-the-top action games and you haven't played Vanquish, then you haven't lived. Directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, the magnum opus of PlatinumGames' resume contains incredibly fast-paced shooting with an emphasis on movement. Equipped with a high-tech battle-suit with jet-boosters, you'll charge head-first through bullet-hell scenarios, gunning down robotic foes as you constantly dodge, vault, slow-down time, and famously, butt-slide at great speed. It's one of the most invigorating actions games of the past decade, and it has a dedicated command to smoke a cigarette. You owe it to yourself to play Vanquish. -- Edmond Tran, AU Editor / Senior Video Producer
The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition | $19.99 / £13.99 (60% off)
If you ask me (and many others who have played this remarkable action RPG), The Witcher 3 is the best game of this generation. It's huge, gorgeous, well-written, mature, and exceedingly fun to play. The dark fantasy world it's set in is perfectly rendered and unlike any other you'll find in all of games. Despite its sense of finality, here's hoping it's not the last game we'll get to play in this world, with these characters. It's a great ride. -- Chris Reed, Commerce Editor
By Anonymous on Jul 04, 2018 05:30 am With the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp this week, Dave dives into the full comic book history of Ant-Man - from Marvel's original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, to Scott Lang, to Eric O'Grady!
Seems like Hollywood directors are really feeling the 80's nostalgia lately. Childs Play is getting a reboot so Chucky can return to haunt our nightmares.
In the original Child's Play franchise from the 1980s, a family is plagued by a doll that's possessed by a serial killer. MGM is being very hush-hush about the plot details, but Collider reports that it will follow a group of kids squaring off with a new age version of Chucky that's more technologically advanced. The film will be produced by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith, who also produced It.
Whether it will be a true horror film or more of a jokey version in the vein of the later films in the original franchise is unclear. It begins production in September in Vancouver and it will be directed by Lars Klevberg who also directed the horror movie Polaroid. Tyler Burton Smith will write the script; he wrote Kung Fury 2 as well as the video game Quantum Break.
There's no release date for the Child's Play movie yet, but according to The Hollywood Reporter , MGM is eager to get started.
Tom Cruise finally found someone to take the highway to the danger zone with him. Top Gun: Maverick, a follow-up to the original 1986 film, is already in production and now the team behind the film has found the young actor who will play the young protege of Cruise's character, Maverick.
According to Variety, Miles Teller (Fantastic Four) has won the coveted role of Goose's son. In case you don't remember Top Gun--go rewatch it, already--Goose, played by Anthony Edwards, was Maverick's co-pilot, though he died during the events of the film. With Teller playing the child of Goose, it can only be assumed his wife (Meg Ryan) was pregnant in the film.
Teller wasn't the only actor up for the role. Variety reports that among those who tested with Cruise were Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Apocalypse). As for who else is in the cast, it was previously revealed that Val Kilmer would be returning to reprise his role as Maverick's arch-nemesis, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky.
Top Gun: Maverick is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously collaborated with Cruise on the 2013 movie Oblivion. The director has also previously revived another 1980s property when he directed 2010's Tron: Legacy.
This particular sequel has been in development for years, with the original film's director Tony Scott looking to return behind-the-camera. Following his death in 2012, it was revealed that the other parties involved were still interested in making the film, with Kosinski's involvement being announced in 2017.
By Anonymous on Jul 04, 2018 04:28 am To celebrate Independence Day, Mat picked 10 of the most fun, awe-inspiring, and awesome movies about being an American to get you ready for your grillin' and chillin'.
Following its apparent leak on the Australian Microsoft Store, Sega has confirmed pricing and release details for the upcoming Shenmue I & II collection. The combo pack will launch for PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam on August 21, and it'll retail for the budget price of US $30 / £25 / AU $49.95.
First announced during the Sega Fes fan event earlier this year, the Shenmue I & II collection combines both Dreamcast classics together in one package. The games come with a handful of improvements, although they aren't true HD remakes or remasters. Among the new features players can enjoy are modern and classic control schemes, an updated user interface, scalable screen resolution, and both English and Japanese voiceovers.
Shenmue was created by famed game designer Yu Suzuki, who directed a number of Sega's arcade hits, including Out Run and Virtua Fighter. The first title originally launched for Dreamcast in 1999. At the time of its release, it had the distinction of being the most expensive video game ever created. Its sequel, Shenmue II, arrived in 2001, although it would only be released on Dreamcast in Europe and Japan. The game would be subsequently ported to the original Xbox the following year.
Both games cast players in the role Ryo Hazuki, a young martial artist on a quest to avenge his father's death and ultimately uncover the secret behind a mysterious relic known as the Dragon Mirror. The titles were renowned for their impressive open world, deep battle system, and variety of minigames. You can learn more about each in GameSpot's original Shenmue review and Shenmue II review.
A third installment in the series, Shenmue III, was announced during Sony's E3 2015 press conference. The game is currently in development for PS4 and PC, and like its predecessors, it is being directed by series creator Yu Suzuki. Shenmue III was originally slated to launch this year, but was delayed into 2019 in order to further refine the game. Publisher Deep Silver recently revealed that Shenmue III will require a whopping 100 GB of storage space on PC.
Due to the nature of the platform, PC has the broadest array of games you'll find anywhere. With the majority of those games playable on modern hardware, save for occasional instances where current operating systems don't support certain games, that means you have a Herculean task in front of you when deciding what to buy and play.
Similarly, whereas console and handheld games see discounts on a more irregular basis, there are constantly sales on places like Steam, GOG, Humble, Itch.io, and so on. But sale or not, there are plenty of years-old games that are now low-priced but nevertheless worth playing.
As such, it can be downright overwhelming when you decide to pick up something you haven't played before. You have decades of games to choose from. Even if you set yourself a price limit--say, $20 in the US--that does very little to actually reduce the number of games you have to consider. And that's where we come in.
Above, we're rounding up some of the best games you can find on PC for no more than $20. Due to what's described above, this is far from comprehensive--it's simply impossible to highlight every noteworthy PC game that you can pick up for relatively cheap. But we've assembled a list of games that we think you'll be quite pleased to play, and we'll continue to expand the selection over time.
All of these games are regularly priced at no more than $20--whether or not there's a Steam sale going on. There's usually such a promotion not far off, which means you can get these already budget-priced games for even cheaper. If you're looking for picks based on what's on sale, we've got recommendations for the best Steam summer sale 2018 deals.
Into the Breach ($15 / £11.39)
From the creators of FTL comes hands down, one of 2018's best games. Into the Breach is tactical strategy boiled down to its purest elements, with completely transparent mechanics that let you know exactly what the enemy is going to do next, and what effect your hypothetical actions will have before you make them. This alone makes every single turn a satisfying brain-churn that has you poring over all the game's exciting and multi-faceted cause-and-effect systems. With dozens of unique mechs, it's a sincere joy to experiment and replay Into the Breach again and again and again. -- Edmond Tran
Gunpoint is a brilliant blend of comedy, stealth, and puzzle games. It puts you in the role of a spy who breaks into various secure buildings using two key tools. The first of these is the Crosslink, which lets you rewire gadgets throughout the building to suit your needs--letting you set up elaborate traps that can result in a guard being knocked off his feet by a door swinging open into his face. Your other standout ability allows you to fling your character around, which presents you with an opportunity to go flying through windows to stylishly and hilariously take out guards. Both the guards and your your character can be taken out in one shot, which requires you to plan out your moves in advance. And thankfully, actually pulling them off is every bit as satisfying as you'd hope. -- Chris Pereira
I sincerely hope you're skipping this entry because you've already played and finished this game, because Papers, Please is one of my favourite games of all time. It's a modern classic where premise and mechanics marry together beautifully with difficult moral choices, strict consequences, and an unavoidable imperative for self-gain. You play an immigration inspector on a politically tumultuous Eastern European border, charged with inspecting and cross-referencing documents, controlling the flow of people, and correcting following protocol above all else. Hidden amongst civilians are spies and terrorists, but also sympathetic stories of innocent people caught by the riptides of war, trying to hang on to a semblance of life. Where does your loyalty lie: To the job that's keeping your family fed, to the greater good, yourself, or potentially, something else? How far are you willing to push your moral compass? Paper, Please is a masterpiece through and through, and it makes stamping passports feel like the most satisfying feeling in the whole world. -- Edmond Tran
Devil Daggers offers a level of simplicity you don't often find in shooters. It's a fast-paced game in the mold of classic FPSes like Quake, but it takes on elements of roguelikes as you're stuck in an arena and tasked with surviving for as long as possible. You have only a single weapon with two modes of fire--one in the style of a rapid-fire machine gun, and the other like a shotgun--and an endless wave of monstrous enemies to defeat.
There's not much more to it than that, and it's common for runs to last no more than 30 seconds to a minute. The visuals are modest and there is not a tremendous amount of complexity going on, but Devil Daggers offers a satisfying, super-intense loop as you strive to last longer and longer. With your replay being uploaded for others to watch, it's an ideal high-score-chasing game that you'll come back to time and again. -- Chris Pereira
I hope no PC devotees out there will get upset when I say that one of the most innovative tactical strategy games of the past decade was born as a console game, and is anime as hell. Valkyria Chronicles puts some strange twists on its alternate version of World War II, but that doesn't deny the fact that its battle system is unique and fun. You plan and order troops in a turn-based fashion with a top-down strategy phase, but then need to personally move an ordered troop or vehicle in a real-time third-person mode and line up their shots. It may sound arduous, but it's incredibly satisfying and exciting to actually do. Its beautiful watercolour art direction has aged very well, and with Valkyria Chronicles 4 coming out on PC and consoles later this year, you might as well see what the fuss is all about. -- Edmond Tran
There have been plenty of light gun-style arcade shooters over the years, but only one has let you deal with foes by typing on a keyboard. The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is the latest and greatest evolution of the Typing of the Dead series, and it remains as enjoyable as ever. Rather than taking aim with a cursor or a light gun, here you type away various words and phrases to dispatch the undead. Aside from the game's B-movie-inspired comedy, the actual words you type can be a consistent source of humor. And with the PS3 version of House of the Dead included, as well as co-op support for two players, there's more than enough variety to keep things feeling fresh. -- Chris Pereira
Nex Machina ($20 / £4.49)
Nex Machina developer Housemarque has been focused almost exclusively on twin-stick shooters for the last decade. Starting with Super Stardust HD and running through games like Resogun and Dead Nation, it's experimented with different spins on the genre. Nex Machina feels like the culmination of those efforts, offering intense, high-octane action that constantly has you analyzing your surroundings and your options for disposing of enemies. It's an incredibly fun and satisfying experience to pick up and play, but it also features a variety of wrinkles and secrets for high-score chasers. Add in the gorgeous, neon-infused visuals, and you've got the finest output of Housemarque to date--which makes it all the more upsetting that the studio has decided to shift gears and go in a different direction. Still, you won't find a better example of its work than Nex Machina. | Chris Pereira
"Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2 creates an exciting dynamic where ghosts are still dangerous, but the overall game is more forgiving than the original--and it's more entertaining as a result. Arcade ports tend to be games we play in short bursts--mostly for the nostalgia factor. Pac-Man: Championship Edition 2 certainly relies on that nostalgia to a point, but it handles the classic game in a way that plays with expectations to surprise you. It's the same game enhanced in the right directions to be make an old concept fun, innovative, and challenging all over again." -- Jason D'Aprile
"Minit's lives might only last 60 seconds, but its extremely well-thought-out world design and engrossing loop of progress make it a curse-filled adventure that is worth dying the world over for. Its throwback to classic visuals aren't done for aesthetic alone, as none of its gameplay systems scream antiquity. It's a slickly presented adventure that continually manages to surprise you with every new area you uncover or item you procure, pushing you to pick away at its seams to uncover every drop of what it has to offer. With a delightful ending and more promised after its first run of credits, Minit is far more than just a collection of seconds." -- Alessandro Barbosa
"[T]he purity of N++ is still its greatest appeal, a stripped-down representation of the skills that many gamers have come to know as innate, given free reign in some of the best level design ideas in the industry. N++ may represent an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' sort of expansion, but the exhilaration that it continues to offer speaks to the idea that it may have been perfect to begin with." -- Justin Clark
N++ represents the latest and greatest version of the stellar platforming series, packing together a positively massive number of levels--there are more than 4,000 in all, none of them procedurally generated. With local co-op support, online leaderboards, and a stellar soundtrack, N++ has a case as one of the best platformers you're find on PC, and it comes in at a budget price.
Lumines Remastered ($15 / £13.49)
"You wouldn't think a game about arranging colored blocks into rectangles could be this interesting and this engrossing. At the heart of Lumines is an ingenious design, which someone theoretically could have dreamed up years ago, but no one did until now. And at the soul of Lumines is something that you might call completely pure. You wouldn't expect a game like this to incorporate most all of what's good about gaming--the sights, the sounds, the trancelike experience, the option of competition--but Lumines does all that." -- Greg Kasavin (2005 review)
Lumines Remastered, as the name suggests, is an HD remaster of the classic puzzle game for modern platforms. It also features some small adjustments, including a Trance Vibration option that lets you sync controllers to the music to "feel the bass across your body," as developer Enhance puts it. Those who buy it within two weeks of its June 26 launch will get some deluxe DLC for free, including wallpapers, a soundtrack, and avatars.
SteamWorld Dig 2 ($20 / £15)
The first SteamWorld Dig was most notable for its distinct blend of mining mechanics and Metroid-style exploration, but it ended right as it began to come into its own. Its sequel is twice as long and puts that added runtime to good use, as both the story and mechanics are given time to flourish. The game put you in control of a steambot named Dorothy searching for her missing friend, Rusty--the protagonist of the first game. There's a surprising sense of momentum that runs through the adventure; it's as if developer Image & Form sifted the original in a pan, removing its redundancies while expanding upon what made mining treasure and exploring so fun in the first place. The result is a brilliant and varied evolution of the first game that not only expands upon its hybrid formula but presents it in its best light. Where the first game was a diamond in the rough, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a polished jewel. | Matt Espineli
Roguelikes (or at least roguelike elements) have been one of the most popular trends in gaming over the past handful of years, but few have taken as interesting of an approach to the genre as Crypt of the NecroDancer. It tasks players with navigating a dungeon to the beat of the music. Rather than simply move in the direction you wish or attack the enemy that's in your path, you and your enemies' actions are tied directly to the (always excellent) soundtrack. It's essential that you always be doing something--not taking an action at the next beat resets your combo, meaning you'll earn less gold or deal less damage, depending on the items you've acquired. Particularly as the music becomes more fast-paced, this lends a real sense of tension and excitement to every moment: you need to constantly be considering your next action while accounting for how nearby enemies will react to your movements. It's an experience with few points of comparison, but it's nonetheless one that you'll certainly want to try. | Chris Pereira
Playdead games won the admiration of its now-large audience when it released Limbo, a slow-paced puzzle-platformer that relied heavily on the use of light and negative space. For the studio's follow-up, Inside, it delivered yet another somber world to explore. It presents a tale that unfolds effortlessly before your eyes as you advance from one scene to the next, with nary a word from any of its characters. Through the power of inference and suggestion, you realize the infiltration of a malicious organization and bear witness to its sinister deeds. Inside will test your ability to think creatively, but it's the narrative--and the way it's delivered--that makes it a game worth playing. Inside reinforces the notion that, sometimes, less is more. | Peter Brown
Although it's a game arguably best-suited for VR, Thumper is an incredible experience however you play it. It provides a unique blend of rhythm-based gameplay and action--what the developer calls "rhythm violence"--that provides a far more intense version of the basic mechanics you see in other rhythm games. With an incredible soundtrack and levels well-suited to chasing high scores, Thumper is a game with the potential to stick around in your recently played section for a long time. | Chris Pereira
Point-and-click adventure games have experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, and Thimbleweed Park--from adventure game legends Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick--is a prime example. The X-Files-inspired journey puts you in the role of two FBI agents that bear more than a passing resemblance to the classic TV show as you relive the glory days of adventure games. While it's also available on console (including Switch, where it's portable), playing on PC means getting the ideal control scheme of a mouse and keyboard. | Chris Pereira
Vertical arcade shoot-em-ups typically deal with far-flung futures where an ace pilot is defending Earth from a swarm of technologically advanced aliens. By taking place in an alternate timeline where Mars was colonized by England in the 17th Century, Jamestown immediately sets itself apart from its peers. The unique, tongue-in-cheek setting goes a long way to make the game enjoyable, but it's the excellent gameplay that makes Jamestown easy to recommend. You have multiple attack ships to choose from, each with their own weapon loadouts and special abilities. They are easy to control and feel distinct enough that you won't mind replaying levels to extend your time with the game, all the while combating cleverly constructed swarms of enemy ships that gradually escalate from level to level. It's not as punishing as most games in its genre, but the progress you make as you inch your way towards the conclusion feels rewarding nonetheless. | Peter Brown
Pyre, the latest from Supergiant Games, diverges from the action RPG gameplay the studio is known for. The fantastical, hand-painted art by Jen Zee returns. A western, electronic, trip-hop fusion soundtrack from Darren Korb also makes a comeback. But instead of controlling a single protagonist who destroys the enemies in their path in search of answers, Pyre revolves around a mystical sport that's played in an underworld populated by those who've been exiled from the normal world. You are The Reader, found in Purgatory (where reading is forbidden) by a band of exiles who befriend you. The Rites are rituals of sport that determine your worth, and this is where the meat of the gameplay happens.
In a Rite, you assemble a team of three from a pool of allies you meet along the way. You face another team of three and fight for the single orb placed in the contained arena with the objective of dunking or shooting the orb into the other team's goal (or Pyre). Only one player from each team can move at any given moment. Each type of player has a varied skillset that can make the sport easier, depending on your playstyle. It sounds like a bit much at first, but once you get a hang of the flow, there's just nothing quite like it. Many have described it as Rocket League meets Dota meets Transistor. Outside of sick orb dunks is the intriguing visual novel-style story about sacrifice and the ties that bind. | Michael Higham
Transistor, the follow-up to Bastion, would take many of the striking features of that game (like the hand-painted art style, for one) but twist them for a sci-fi, cyberpunk tale. Red was a singer who had her voice physically stolen in an attack on the city of Cloudbank, and she's the one you control in this unique isometric action RPG. The Transistor, a sword-like weapon that killed a man in the attack, becomes Red's tool for fighting back against an army of robots known as The Process, controlled by an evil collective known as The Camerata. Yes, it has a lot going on, but that's how it is with Supergiant's games. The Transistor glows and speaks; it trapped the consciousness and voice of the man it was used to kill, which means this dead man becomes Red's companion throughout the game, similar to the narrator in Bastion (also voiced by Logan Cunningham). What sets Transistor apart is that it incorporates a layer of strategy on top of the action RPG gameplay. There are countless permutations to Red's movesets since each individual move, or functions, can be mixed with another to create an attack which can be used to make short work of enemies that took over your neon-lit city. You also get to pause the action for a limited timeframe to craft a plan of attack and come up with clever ways to string together functions.
Not only does Transistor's soundtrack stand out for its folk-tinged electronica, but it's the focal point for characterization and acts as a driving force from start to finish. Music is at the forefront and Darren Korb's vision for complementing the futuristic world is fully realized, which makes Transistor an absolute joy to play. | Michael Higham
Supergiant Games' debut, Bastion, set the stage for everything else the developer created. This isometric action RPG tells a gripping story of a world destroyed by a catastrophic event referred to as The Calamity in the city of Caelondia. You control Bastion's protagonist, The Kid, who is led by the charismatic narrator named Rucks in a journey to piece the city back together. Very few survivors are left, and hostile monsters litter Caelondia, which is the impetus to put a varied arsenal of melee and projectile weapons to use. The Bastion acts as a sort of home base that slowly comes together as you progress and collect cores at the end of each level.
Rucks' deep, instantly recognizable voice (that of Logan Cunningham) adds a level of grandeur to the story that's superbly supported by a truly remarkable soundtrack (by Darren Korb) that's vaguely Celtic, Western, and trip-hop all at the same time. Bastion's fantastical hand-painted art style (by Jen Zee) breathes life into a world nearly devoid of it, torn apart by a conflict of different cultures. These elements came to be staples of Supergiant's work, and Bastion is still a sterling example of the team's ability to craft a game that's both fun and heartfelt. | Michael Higham
This is admittedly a bit of a cheat, as you're best off buying Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, which includes all three of the campaigns released so far (and more content to come) for $25. But just $10 will get you a single campaign which is more than worth the price of entry. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment puts you in the shoes of one of the main game's antagonists, Specter Knight, as he takes his own unique journey through the same levels featured in the original game. As with Plague Knight's campaign, the unique mechanics at play here (like the dash attack) make for a much different experience. You would be best-served by starting with the base Shovel Knight campaign, but whichever version you play, you'll be treated to a modern take on retro platformers that bests many of the classics it draws inspiration from. | Chris Pereira
Celeste may look like another pixelated platformer with a youthful protagonist, but it quickly transforms into a brutal, tightly orchestrated gauntlet of death that only the best players can master. It challenges you to traverse spike-lined caverns with a modest selection of skills, with alternate pathways that push your mettle even further as you strive to acquire every last hidden item. You will die hundreds of times, but with quick restarts and a catchy soundtrack, there's never any downtime to wallow in defeat, only a new opportunity to show the game what you're made of. The action and difficulty curve are accompanied by a surprisingly engaging story that adds just the right amount of context to make your arduous journey feel justified, and to solidify Celeste as one of the biggest surprises so far of 2018. | Peter Brown
You may have heard that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the final Metal Gear game to feature the involvement of series creator Hideo Kojima, has flaws. The last chunk of the game involves replaying earlier missions with small tweaks, and certain late-game story content was consigned to a special edition bonus feature. Despite all of that, The Phantom Pain stands as a seminal example of what an open-world action game can be. While still retaining much of what makes a Metal Gear game so distinct, it presents players with a vast open world and the ability to tackle its challenges in many, many ways.
The mechanics of Ground Zeroes have been fine-tuned, and you can leverage them in a multitude of ways as you take part in the game's consistently excellent, thrilling missions. Just as enjoyable are the emergent hijinks you'll encounter along the way, and all of this is made better by the consistent progression of building up your own personal army. Although it's undoubtedly an experience best played after playing making your way through the prior games, The Phantom Pain is a game that everyone should ultimately try. It holds up now, even after a few years; all that's changed is the price tag. | Chris Pereira
There's no shortage of Metroidvania titles out there, but Iconoclasts stands tall as much more than a simple game about exploring the world while solving puzzles and fighting bosses. Sure, you swing a wrench that can interact with objects and whack enemies over the head, but the magic of this game goes far deeper than the tools at your disposal. Iconoclasts is a story about conflict: science vs. religion, nature vs. technology, old vs. young. And that serves as an incredible backdrop for dynamic characters that extend far beyond their 16-bit look. It's worth playing just to see where they--and you, as the mechanic Robin--end up. | Tony Wilson
Overcooked is like a Mario Party mini-game blown up into its own standalone experience in the best way possible. It's a game that becomes exponentially better when played with at least one other person. What starts out as a relatively tame game where you help each other chop some vegetables and get them served on a plate becomes a frantic rush to put out fires, get ingredients distributed between two moving vehicles, and other ridiculous scenarios. | Chris Pereira
Undertale watches you. It knows you through your actions. You don't have to hurt anyone, but you can hurt everyone. The consequences are hardly laid bare, but they are always alluded to in this retro-style RPG by independent developer Toby Fox. Undertale is both a culmination of the most chilling creepypasta and the most adorable, lovable characters you could imagine. It's all wrapped into a throwback turn-based RPG that incorporates dialogue trees in combat with elements of the bullet hell style for its combat.
One of Undertale's greatest achievements is its ability to portray emotion and frame scenes through writing and an old-school art style. However, the most impactful piece of the puzzle is music: Its soundtrack evokes such a strong emotional response that very few games capture. The cozy, heartwarming jingle that plays in Snowdin town makes you wish you could chill at the local bar Grillby's with its diverse community of monsters. Papyrus' theme is equal parts silly and catchy, perfectly encapsulating the character himself. Hotland's tense, foreboding rhythm gets an electronic remix in a later stage that empowers you to push forward. The list goes on, but the point is that Undertale's masterful use of music becomes inseparable from the story it tells.
It's a sort of love letter to Earthbound, but Toby Fox crafted a game that should be respected in its own right. Very few games evoke heartbreak, terror, and joy as powerfully as Undertale in such a short period of time; and in that regard, it's one of the best independent games ever made. | Michael Higham
Axiom Verge is another take on the Metroidvania style, but it distinguishes itself through its wide variety of weapons and tools--most notably, the Address Disruptor, which affects the environment and each enemy type in different ways. It's also a game with an impressive sense of scale and no shortage of secrets to uncover, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Add in an excellent soundtrack and tantalizing story, and there's a lot to like here. | Chris Pereira
Despite being over six years old, Fez is still worth playing today. While it initially presents itself as a 2D game, it quickly reveals a third dimension and unfolds into something truly special as a result. You can rotate the game's seemingly 2D environments in 90-degree increments, which allows you to bring elements from the background into the foreground, often to reveal a hidden path. It's a tricky system to wrap your head around at first, but with a simple selection of puzzles to get you going, you can pick it up in no time. From this point on, Fez pushes you to contort your problem-solving techniques as it escalates to truly complex brain teasers that introduce cryptic symbols to match the ever-more-mysterious atmosphere. It's one of the few truly unique games around, and with the sequel cancelled long ago, it seems that will be the case for the foreseeable future. | Peter Brown
Created by members of the Sonic fan-hack community under Sega's watch, Sonic Mania exudes passion and reverence in its recreation of nostalgic visuals, sounds, and level designs. But the game isn't content with senselessly regurgitating the past; rather, it expands upon the familiar with new ideas of its own and delivers plenty of inventive concepts that diversify and build upon the series' fast-paced level design. Sonic Mania is smart and interpretive in its approach, leveraging the strengths of its design and visuals to craft not only the best Sonic game ever made, but an amazing platforming experience overall. If you've enjoyed Sonic at any point in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Sonic Mania. And even if you're not a longtime fan, the fast-paced platforming on display is a fantastic introduction to Sega's beloved blue blur. | Matt Espineli
The Sexy Brutale is a quirky little puzzle game co-developed by Tequila Works, the studio behind beautiful adventure game Rime. Its essentially Groundhog Day: The Game--you play through the same day over and over, but with each runthrough you learn more about the creepy mansion you find yourself in. After seeing one character shoot another, you might go and find the gun and prevent the bloody murder by replacing real bullets with blanks. A number of these murders are interconnected--solving one puzzle might prevent one murder, but that could change another branch of time elsewhere in the house. There's no way of preventing every murder in one go, but discovering and tinkering with the different timelines is where the fun lies. Suffice it to say, we've played it over and over again--groundhog day indeed. | Matt Espineli
Being a roguelike-style shooter, Enter the Gungeon naturally draws comparisons to games like The Binding of Isaac and Nuclear Throne. And while that does offer a decent starting point for understanding what to expect, Enter the Gungeon manages to rise above being a pale imitator. It feels fantastic, with a dodge-roll ability that allows you to satisfyingly evade damage with a well-timed use. There are ridiculous weapons, such as those that fire bees or a gun that shoots guns which themselves fire bullets. The well-crafted procedurally generated environments help to keep each run feeling fresh, as do the wide variety of items and secrets to uncover along the way. And co-op support makes for an especially fun, chaotic experience (although it's unfortunate that the second player isn't able to play as the different characters that the main player has access to). The entire game is also overflowing with personality and color, making for an experience that is as fun to look at as is to play. | Chris Pereira
Hit farming sim Stardew Valley has made its way to consoles with very few compromises, outside of the PC version's access to mods. Regardless of platform, it's an excellent take on the Harvest Moon formula, with a laid-back small-town atmosphere, tons of work to do, and bachelors and bachelorettes to date. But the valley also has its mysteries, and the added intrigue makes it easy to pick up, hard to put down, and rewarding day after day. Even though it has nothing to do with the Harvest Moon franchise, it's easily the best "Harvest Moon" game in years. | Kallie Plagge
Battle Chef Brigade puts you in control of an aspiring young chef named Mina as she fights to become the best cook in the land. But this isn't your typical cooking game; rather than choose from pre-set ingredients in front of you to make a simple dish, you actually have to hunt and gather them yourself, making use of Devil May Cry-like battle system to eliminate them in the wild. You then have to take what you gather back to your kitchen, throw it in a pot, and cook it in a match three mini-game.
Frame this within an Iron Chef-like cook off where the clock is ticking against you and you'll have an idea of what you're getting into. The juxtaposition between the two core mechanics of hunting and cooking make for a tense, fast-paced experience that's both memorable and fulfilling. | Matt Espineli
Furi ($20 / £15)
Fans of Japanese action games will instantly love Furi, as it utilizes a twitch-based combat similar to fan-favorite games in the genre, like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Its premise is simple: you play as a nameless silver-haired swordsman who must fight his way out of imprisonment, facing off against a gauntlet of deadly bosses.
Aside from its striking presentation, Furi's most memorable quality is its fast and frenetic combat, which is punchy, nuanced, and elegantly simple. It combines mechanics from both hack-and-slash games and shoot 'em ups, challenging you to handle switching between gameplay styles at a moment's notice in the midst of a fight. If you're a sucker for challenging action games, Furi should be at the top of your list for $20 games to buy. | Matt Espineli
A throwback GTA Online mode aside, Grand Theft Auto has long since moved on from the classic top-down perspective of its earliest games. Retro City Rampage carries on that legacy, offering an open-world crime game in 8-bit style. What could have easily been a mere GTA clone, however, is distinguished with copious pop culture references and a distinctly arcade-style feel to its gameplay. This DX edition offers additional content not seen in the original version of the game. -- Chris Pereira
"West of Loathing's focus on maintaining a flexible, open-ended nature and lighthearted, humorous feel keeps you engaged in what feels like an imaginative pen-and-paper Dungeons and Dragons campaign, led by a game master whose only goal is to make sure you're laughing and having a fun time. West of Loathing's visuals are monochromatic, but there's enjoyable comedy painted between every line, a pitch-perfect Spaghetti Western soundtrack, and a full spectrum of role-playing possibilities to choose from that make it a consistently enjoyable madcap cowboy jaunt." -- Edmond Tran
By Anonymous on Jul 04, 2018 03:03 am Fortnite's limited-time Playground mode on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and mobile is a great way to get better if you don't get griefed first.
The Purge movies have always been about the 1% versus the 99, the privileged against the underprivileged--the rich trying to exterminate the poor by pitting them against one another while sitting safe in fortified ivory towers. In the previous three movies, that theme served as the core, beneath a veneer of fantastically stylized violence, with gangs of roving murderers draping their cars with Christmas lights and donning exaggerated masks over preppy school uniforms. In The First Purge, that thin surface of fantasy is gone, leaving only a crude, gratuitous, vaguely exploitative movie about the government openly and mercilessly exterminating poor people.
Like The Purge: Anarchy, the second in the series, The First Purge wants to suggest that, with scattered exceptions, normal people aren't inherently violent enough to Purge. They need a push, and that shove comes from the New Founding Fathers of America, the government that, in this movie, just recently emerged as the third option in America's two party system and seized power from Republicans and Democrats alike. The First Purge explains how the NFFA was able to pull it off: Much like the politicians in power today, they exploited people's fear. The movie spends an opening montage citing a grab bag of real world social unrest, from the Black Lives Matter movement to a housing crisis worse than 2008's.
Now, it's time for an "experiment" that Marisa Tomei's Dr. Updale, a scientist working with the NFFA, promises will give the American people the outlet they need for all their hate, anger, and aggression. There's an unintentionally silly scene late in the movie when Updale, seeing the actual results of her "experiment," utters dramatically, "What have I done?" It's unclear what results she was expecting from this whole thing.
The movie centers on a handful of characters on New York's Staten Island, the isolated site of this first, experimental Purge. (Through their public representative Arlo Sabian (Patch Darragh), the government issues some hazy explanation about the island's demographics being representative of the country as a whole, but behind closed doors the NFFA readily admit they just want to kill poor people.)
Dmitri (Y'lan Noel) is a drug kingpin who wants to keep his neighborhood safe while protecting his product and his business. Nya (Lex Scott Davis) is his ex-girlfriend, a conscientious protestor who opposes the experiment. Her little brother, Isaiah (Joivan Wade), was supposed to get off the island, but secretly stayed behind to get revenge on Skeletor (Rotimi Paul), a violent drug addict who attacked and humiliated him. These characters and those surrounding them--every single person the movie follows during the experiment--are non-white, while almost everyone actually causing violence during the Purge is white.
Early on, there are isolated scenes of NFFA officials interviewing Staten Islanders about their pent up rage, then offering them monetary compensation for remaining on the island and actively participating. The government implants them with tracking devices and issues them high tech contact lenses that will record the night's events so the results can be broadcast to the world. Glowing red, green, or blue in the darkness, these contacts are one of the movie's only creative aesthetic liberties, although they often verge on looking silly.
But when the would-be Purgers throw block parties instead of tearing one another apart, the NFFA sends in militaristic bands of mercenaries dressed in the regalia of the KKK, white supremacist biker gangs, and masked, Nazi-like soldiers. At times, The First Purge is hard to watch, and not in the fun way that horror movies are supposed to make you hide behind splayed fingers. Whatever thin veil of subtlety this series ever possessed is gone from this movie, murdered by flocks of heavily armed drones the New Founding Fathers of America sent to make sure the citizens of Staten Island "participated" in the experiment.
The First Purge doesn't hesitate to mirror real world events, and never to its benefit. At one point, off screen (thankfully), a group of white mercenaries disguised as a biker gang guns down dozens of black, hispanic, and Asian people huddling for safety in a church--something that more or less happened in real life just three years ago. Later, white soldiers rampage through a towering housing project, systematically, inhumanly slaughtering the hundreds of non-white people inside, room by room and floor by floor. There were points in The First Purge I could have been watching last year's Detroit, a movie about the real life terror inflicted on black people by white cops during Detroit's 1967 12th Street Riot. That's not imagery you want to evoke lightly, yet The First Purge uses it readily, in between scenes of cackling homeless ladies setting traps in alleyways and Dmitri's gang members eagerly arming themselves to the teeth.
When Nya gets her foot caught in a trap and attackers burst from a grate nearby, hands scrabble furiously at her crotch. Running away, she yells behind her, "P***y grabbing motherf***er!" Somehow, despite being completely out of character, that line is predictable, too. It's the exact kind of low-hanging fruit this movie hungrily plucks, scene after scene.
There's nothing fun or thrilling about watching white people dressed up as real world hate groups efficiently murdering innocent victims. The Purge series' veneer of fantasy is gone. It's too on the nose, and it knows it. That The First Purge is a prequel means the people we see suffering in it are doomed to at least another 25 years of annual violence and oppression, a fact you'll be acutely aware of as the dawn breaks on the first experiment, the few survivors limp down the street, and the tastelessly summoned Kendrick Lamar song "Alright" ("Alls my life I had to fight…") thumps into life over your theater's speakers.
2016's The Purge: Election Year ended on a hopeful note. That movie tried to mirror the real world too, but the real life politics it mimicked turned out much differently than the film's. In 2018, we could have used a movie where, for once, the good guys won. The fact that series creator James DeMonaco, who's written all four entries and directed the three before this, chose to give us a prequel instead is empirical evidence that he may be out of good ideas.
A new month is now officially underway, and with it comes another batch of free titles for PlayStation Plus subscribers. As per usual, July's PS Plus lineup consists of six games divided up across PS4, PS3, and Vita, all of which are available to download at no charge through the end of the month.
Headlining PS4's selection of freebies is Heavy Rain, the narrative-driven game from Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream. Heavy Rain originally launched for PS3 back in 2010 and was re-released on Sony's current-gen console in 2016. Joining it is Absolver, a unique and flexible third-person adventure/fighting game in which players can fully customize their fighting style.
On the PS3 side, Plus subscribers can now download the classic 3D platformer Rayman 3 HD, as well as Extreme Exorcism, a retro-style platformer in which players hunt their own ghosts. Extreme Exorcism is available in place of Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess, which was initially announced to be one of this month's free PS Plus titles. The game is also playable on PS4 via Cross-Buy.
Finally, Vita owners can download the acclaimed adventure game Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma and the action game Space Overlords for free this month. Like Extreme Exorcism, the latter also supports Cross-Buy with PS4, getting you four possible freebies on that platform in July.
All of the aforementioned games will remain free to download for PS Plus members until next month, when they'll return to their regular prices. You can see the full list of July's free PS Plus games below. Subscribers also still have a few more days to grab another game at no charge, Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Activision's first-person shooter will remain free for PS Plus members through July 11.
Dragon Ball Super is the newest Dragon Ball anime series, starting in 2015 and ending earlier this year. It follows Goku and his friends after the defeat of Majin Buu, and while things start off peacefully, they don't stay that way for long. Now, thanks to a big deal from Microsoft, you're able to download the explosive first season of the series for free, and if you're hooked, you can buy the following three seasons at a big discount.
In a listing spotted by Wario64, the Microsoft Store is giving away the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball Super for free (its regular price is $27). You can also buy Seasons 2-4 for $13 each (a big markdown from their regular price, also $27 each). You can watch the episodes on an Xbox One, or get them on your PC, Hololens, or mobile device. The deal won't be around for long; Microsoft says the prices will expire on July 10.
Dragon Ball Super is the first Dragon Ball anime with an original story in 18 years. It's the official sequel to Z, with Toriyama involved in production, and its early episodes cover the events of the films Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F. Thanks to a partnership between Crunchyroll and Funimation, the English sub is widely available. If you aren't interested in buying this version from the Microsoft Store, check out these other ways to watch below:
And if you're in the mood to watch even more Dragon Ball, from the beginning to Z and beyond, check out GameSpot's guide on how to watch all Dragon Ball series.
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