Supergirl may be flying to the big screen soon, with a new movie adaptation. Not much is known about the still-early project, but it's likely this would be distinct from the Supergirl TV series about to enter its fourth season on the CW network.
Deadline reports that Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street, The Cloverfield Paradox) is at work on the script. The report also cites rumors, but only rumors, that this could signal a launching point for a new Superman, as it suggests DC is keen on creating a new template for future films starring the Man of Steel. Other films in the pipeline at DC include The Joker set for next October, Birds of Prey starring Margo Robbie as Harley Quinn, and a new Batman movie, likely without Ben Affleck. Aquaman and Shazam are coming soon, having just released their trailers at SDCC.
Another female-led superhero might be just what DC needs, given the critical success of Wonder Woman contrasted against the common criticisms of its other films. DC is also more open than Marvel to putting its heroes in different silos, which is how the CW's The Flash can coexist next to a completely different continuity of the same character in the cinematic universe.
In the comics, Supergirl was another Kryptonian and cousin to Kal-el, aka Superman. The character has gone through several iterations and is one of only a handful of survivors of the doomed planet, alongside Superman and Power Girl.
Blizzard is preparing to kick off this year's edition of the Summer Games in Overwatch and just showed off two more signature skins for the event. A couple of heroes are getting their own hot summer looks for the in-game event, which kicks off on August 9.
The hyper-intelligent gorilla Winston gets a baseball-inspired "Catcher Winston" skin with padding and sunglasses. Ana gets a vacation look with the cleverly named "Cabana Ana." Both are Legendary skins that will become available in loot boxes or for purchase with in-game currency when the event kicks off.
Summer Games will last through August 30. As always, it will unlock special themed skins, along with the exclusive Lucioball event--a game mode reminiscent of Rocket League. Meanwhile, Twitch Prime is partnering with Blizzard through September 3 for some special loot boxes, including items for the newest hero, Wrecking Ball.
Strike opponents out with CATCHER WINSTON (Legendary)! ⚾ Join us in Busan for Summer Games, kicking off August 9. pic.twitter.com/QrlWm6pdzs
The Summer Games event first began as an homage to the 2016 Olympic games with each character representing their country of origin. Since then, it's come back in 2017 and again this year, with more of a general summer theme.
WWE's biggest event of the summer is almost here. The upcoming PPV Summerslam will be coming to the WWE Network on Sunday, August 19. For the fourth year in a row, Summerslam will be taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Many of WWE's titles will be on the line for the major event, including a deja vu moment where Roman Reigns will take on Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
Summerslam's main card will start at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT. In the past couple of years, the bigger WWE events, like Summerslam and Wrestlemania, have had longer Kickoff Shows, which are two hours long, so expect this Kickoff to start at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT. As of this writing, WWE's scheduling for August 19 is not available, so we don't know for sure.
If you're interested in watching the event, but don't have the WWE Network, you can sign up for one month for free and cancel at any time without any contractual obligations. That means you can watch Summerslam for free and cancel right afterwards. However, if you like the service, it'll cost you $10 a month to continue using it. The WWE Network is available on gaming consoles, iOS, Android, Roku, Smart TVs, and more.
As of this writing, there are already eight matches on the card, and more than likely, there will more added. Neither of the tag team championship matches have been announced, so both of those could be stacked onto the card within the next week.
Aside from Reigns taking on Lesnar for the Universal Championship for the umpteenth time, there are some continuations of solid storylines as well as new rivalries that have some legs. Jeff Hardy will get his rematch against Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship, and hopefully, Hardy learns to wear a cup to protect himself from low blows. Additionally, Ronda Rousey will get a chance to win the Raw Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss. Hopefully, if Rousey ends up winning, she will be a fighting champion and not absent like a certain champion on the men's roster has been for the past couple of years. The card is already pretty filled out, and we're still a couple weeks away from the show.
Summerslam match card:
Cedric Alexander (c) vs. Drew Gulak (For the Cruiserweight Championship)
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Jeff Hardy (For the United States Championship)
Carmella (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (For the Smackdown Women's Championship)
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins (For the Intercontinental Championship)
Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Ronda Rousey (For the Raw Women's Championship)
AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe (For the WWE Championship)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (For the Universal Championship)
Make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, August 19 for live coverage of the event. Don't expect the demon from Hell, Kane, to be involved in this PPV in anyway though. He's currently transitioning into his new role as mayor.
We're in the thick of Season 5 of Fortnite: Battle Royale on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and iOS. As before, the latest season brings with it a selection of new challenges to complete on a weekly basis, as well as a variety of Battle Pass rewards to unlock for your troubles. This time, however, Epic has made a few notable changes to the way certain Battle Pass challenges operate. Here's everything you need to know about the newest Season 5 challenges, details on all of the ones available so far, and exactly how to get them all done.
Once again, players who purchase the Season 5 Battle Pass will get a set of objectives to complete every week, which in turn will go toward leveling the Battle Pass up and unlocking new rewards. Unlike past seasons, however, weekly challenges are now divided into two categories, Free (which are available to all Fortnite players) and Battle Pass (which are reserved for those who've purchased the Pass). That means that even if you haven't bought the Battle Pass, you'll still be able to complete certain objectives and earn rewards.
If you do decide to pick up the Battle Pass partway through the season, you'll be also able to retroactively unlock any premium rewards you've earned based on the tier that you've already reached. However, one of the advantages of purchasing the Battle Pass early is bonus XP, which is awarded for playing in general and for playing in a party with friends. Since leveling up with XP translates into Battle Stars, you'll want to grab the Battle Pass as soon as you can and take advantage of these bonuses.
There are two other types of challenges to complete this season as well: Road Trip and Drift. The former are much like the Blockbuster challenges from Season 4; when you complete all of the challenges in a given week, you'll receive a special loading screen that points to the location of a hidden Battle Star. Drift challenges, on the other hand, task you with gaining a certain amount of XP. There are five Drift challenges to complete in total in Season 5, each of which reward you with a new style option for the Drift skin. If you manage to complete four out of the five Drift challenges, you'll also unlock the Rift Edge, an alternative for the pickaxe. For a limited time, you can also complete special anniversary challenges tied to Fortnite's birthday event.
You'll find a complete list of all Season 5 challenges available so far below, along with links to our maps and guides that will help you complete them all. You can see all of the new skins, cosmetics, emotes, sprays, and other items to unlock this season in our gallery of Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass rewards.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 5 Challenges
Road Trip
Complete all challenges from any week -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 2 different weeks -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 3 different weeks -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 4 different weeks -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 5 different weeks -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 6 different weeks -- loading screen
Complete all challenges from any 7 different weeks -- loading screen
In Season 5 of Fortnite's challenges, developer Epic Games has introduced a secret Road Trip challenge that allows you to get a free Battle Pass tier, if you know where to look. To do this you need to follow a clue to a specific location. However, there are some steps you need to complete before you can do this. The first of these is to successfully finish all of the challenges from a week for the fourth time, at which point a special loading screen will be unlocked that provides the clue you need to find the hidden Battle Pass tier.
The new secret loading screen shows a bunch of Fortnite characters having a jolly old time at the pool party in Lazy Links. If you look past all the fun and frolicking to the back wall, you'll spot an image of a camel and a drinking cup, along with a picture of the Battle Star--that's the clue you need.
The location of the prize is on the road between Paradise Palms and Lucky Landing, in quadrant G9. Head over there and you'll quite easily spot the statue and the extra goodie too. Take a look at the video above to watch us track down the Battle Star, or use the images below to see a precise location map. Remember that this will only appear if you've completed all of the challenges from four different weeks.
If you're looking for something else to do, Fortnite's 5.10 content update introduced a new limited-time mode called Fly Explosives. Jump into this and you'll be outfitted with a jetpack and explosive weapons to do some high-flying damage. After spending some time in the vault, the Guided Missile has also been re-introduced, with some changes that you can read about in the patch notes linked above. For more Fortnite Season 5 coverage, including guides on previous challenges, take a look below.
Season 5, Week 4 of Fortnite is in full swing, and that means there's a bunch of new challenges to undertake. Among the latest set of challenges available to all players is one that asks you to jump through flaming hoops with a Shopping Cart or ATK. The easy part of this challenge is getting your hands on a Shopping Cart or an ATK, but from that point on you'll have to put in some legwork to find the firey hoops and hurl yourself through them. But never fear, we've got a guide here along with a map to help you find the locations of each ring you'll need. Before long you'll have that challenge done and dusted.
Statistically, finding five flaming hoops is actually a little easier than you might expect, since there's more than five on the island. The easiest way to locate them is to watch our video above and follow along. We've also got a map below pointing where the flaming hoops are, as well as details on where the ones we jumped through can be found. If you're struggling to find a vehicle, the ATK--All-Terrain Kart--can typically be found without much trouble around the buildings located at Lazy Links, Fortnite's recently added golf course.
Flaming Hoop Locations
Over the cavern west of Lazy Links
Over the ice cream van between Lazy Links and Loot Lake
South of the Tomato Town tunnel
Multiple surrounding the stunt mountain
Between the Viking village and Snobby Shores
Hills north of Flush Factory
Under the bridge where the desert biome starts
East side of the southern desert bridge, near the dinosaurs
East of Paradise Palms
The other tricky challenge for Season 5, Week 4 involves searching for a Battle Star hidden somewhere on the map. As always, Epic provides a clue as to its location, but it's purposefully vague. We've hunted it down, and put together a Search Between Gas Station, Soccer Pitch, Stunt Mountain guide, so you won't have any trouble if you use that.
Another week has come and gone, and that means a new crop of Fortnite challenges for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and iOS players to get to work on. We're now in Season 5, Week 4, and there's a full lineup of seven more challenges, ranging from fairly easy to this-is-gonna-take-a-while. You can read about those below, complete with a map and location details on how to complete the week's most difficult challenge: search between a gas station, soccer pitch, and Stunt Mountain.
This challenge is only available to those with the Season 5 Battle Pass. All you have to do for it is head to the designated location and pick up the Battle Star, which can be found in grid C5 on the map, at the base of Stunt Mountain, just northwest of Tilted Towers--it's hidden near a pale white tree. This tree is located north of the gas station and just south of Pleasant Park. You can look at the images below to see exactly where it is on the map and also get a breakdown of all the challenges. Alternatively, watch the video above to see us do the challenge.
Click images for a full-size view
Other Battle Pass-only challenges for Week 4 are more straightforward. These include dealing 500 damage to enemies with a Sniper Rifle, searching seven chests in Flush Factory, and getting three pistol eliminations. None of these need to be completed in a single match, so you can slowly make progress at your own pace over the season.
In the free challenges section, the two most straightforward challenges involve building 250 structures and eliminating five opponents in Dusty Divot. The one that will eat up some time is jumping through five flaming hoops with a Shopping Cart or an ATK; we've got a separate guide to help you find all of the hoops.
Fortnite Season 5, Week 4 Challenges
Free
Build structures (250) -- 5 Battle Stars
Jump through flaming hoops with a Shopping Car or ATK (5) -- 5 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents in Dusty Divot (3) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Deal damage with Sniper Rifles to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search Chests in Flush Factory (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search between a gas station, soccer pitch, and Stunt Mountain (1) -- 10 Battle Stars
Pistol Eliminations (3) -- 10 Battle Stars
Fortnite's weekly challenges allow players to unlock Battle Stars by fulfilling specific objectives. These range from simply taking out a specific set of enemies, to trickier challenges that involve following treasure maps. Completing these unlocks unique customisation items and also levels up your Battle Pass--if you have one. Challenges are split into two categories, with a set of quests for all players and then a second set available exclusively to Battle Pass owners.
Developer Epic Games recently launched Fortnite's 5.10 content update, which introduces a limited-time mode called Fly Explosives. In this mode, players are equipped with jetpacks and explosive weaponry to wreak havoc on their fellow combatants. The update also pulls the Guided Missile out of the vault and puts it back into play, albeit with some changes.
For those still doing Season 5, Week 3 challenges, you can take a look at out our guide on how to follow the Flush Factory treasure map and also the locations of all the Clay Pigeons. If you haven't already done the Fortnite birthday challenges, we've got a guide for where to find the birthday cakes too. Take a look below for a comprehensive list of our Fortnite Season 5 coverage. The list includes guides to all the challenges so far, as well as a gallery of the new cosmetics introduced in the latest season, among other recent developments surrounding the game.
Bandai Namco has revealed some more details on the next DLC characters coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Following the DBFZ Grand Finals at EVO 2018, the publisher shared a new trailer that gives fans another look at the game's two most recently announced fighters--base Goku and Vegeta--and reveals an entirely new one: Cooler.
The trailer, which you can watch above, begins with a reenactment of the Saiyan invasion story arc from Dragon Ball Z, showing the Z Fighters falling one by one to Nappa and Vegeta before Goku arrives and confronts the two Saiyans. The video then moves on to introduce the game's next DLC fighter, Cooler--the older brother of Frieza and the main antagonist of the film Cooler's Revenge.
This makes Cooler the second movie villain to join the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster, following Broly (who, incidentally, was recently confirmed to be the antagonist of the upcoming Dragon Ball Super film). Based on the brief footage featured in the trailer, Cooler appears to bear some similarities to his brother Frieza, although he battles in his final form, making him a much more physically imposing character.
Base Goku and base Vegeta will be available to download in Dragon Ball FighterZ beginning August 8. Those who've purchased the game's season pass will receive the two characters at no additional charge, while everyone else will be able to purchase them separately. Bandai Namco hasn't revealed how much either fighter will cost, although each previous DLC character could be downloaded for $5 US / £4 / $7.55 AU.
Cooler, meanwhile, still doesn't have a release date, although his announcement lines up with the list of leaked DLC characters discovered earlier this year. Given that the list has proven to be accurate thus far, the next and eight DLC character will presumably be Android 17--although Bandai Namco has yet to formally announce the fighter.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch on September 28. Ahead of then, Switch owners will be able to take part in a free Dragon Ball FighterZ open beta, which begins later this week on August 9. Those who pre-order the Switch version will also get a digital copy of the rare Super Famicom Dragon Ball Z game, Super Butoden.
With Mission Impossible: Fallout currently conquering the box office, Henry Cavill has found a second blockbuster role alongside playing Superman. Cavill is currently promoting Fallout, in which he plays CIA assassin August Walker, and was asked about other roles he would like to play. The answer was Geralt in the upcoming adaptation of The Witcher.
The Witcher is currently in development at Netflix, and Cavill made it clear that he would love to be involved. "The Witcher 3. I just replayed all the way through," he said, when asked by IGN about other projects he would like to be involved in. "Love that game. Really good game." Cavill was then asked specifically about playing the lead character of Geralt in Netflix's adaptation. "Absolutely," he said. "Yeah, that would be an amazing role."
The show was announced by Netflix in May, and is based on the eight-part novel series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, on which the games are also based. Sapkowski is set to work on the English language drama series as a creative consultant.
Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich recently stated that the first season will consist of eight episodes, and that the show was likely to premiere in 2020. "We're moving quickly ahead with everything--like, my head is spinning around Exorcist-style, except with enthusiasm, not evil possession--but one thing is certain: quality comes before speed," she said.
A Polish TV series based on The Witcher aired in 2002, but that has been the only adaptation of the franchise for TV so far. A Witcher movie with some big-name talent behind it was was announced for 2017, but that never happened.
As for the Witcher game series, the newest instalment was 2015's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. No new projects in the series have been announced, and developer CD Projekt Red is now working on the much-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077.
A little cross-promotional effort between the social media accounts for Octopath Traveler and the Bravely Default series may hint at something new on the way. Following a vague teaser image, the company has now made its message more explicit and promised an announcement for something to do with the Bravely series.
The original artwork (below) shows the eight protagonists with a banner thanking fans for hitting the million mark. It didn't take long for fans to notice that the shape of the artwork resembled the cover artwork of the original Bravely Default: Flying Fairy--the banner makes up her wing. A new piece of art from the Japanese Bravely Twitter account makes the connection perfectly clear, and asks fans to "look forward to the next Square Enix 11 BD game." The account name has been changed to "Bravely" with a set of five blank spaces after it.
That would be enough room for "Bravely Third," which would follow the naming convention from the sequel Bravely Second. The subtitle is one aspect to watch as the impending announcement approaches, as both "Flying Fairy" and "End Layer" contained hidden messages about their respective games.
The connection makes sense. Producers Masashi Takahashi and Tomoya Asano moved on to Project Octopath Traveler--its original codename--after finishing Bravely Second. Octopath also carries some similarities from the Bravely series, like the ability to save up attacks and unleash several in one turn. It may be that it's teasing a full sequel like Bravely Third, or the two games could be coming together for some kind of crossover event or DLC.
Best Buy has posted its latest weekly ad, which means PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch owners can peruse a new set of gaming deals on a wide range of titles both new and old. This week's sale has a little something for everyone, with strong showings in particular from Ubisoft and Bethesda. Let's dive in.
It only came out in June, but The Crew 2 is already on sale for $42. It's a versatile open-world racing game that lets you speed across the entire U.S. in an array of vehicles. The twist is that you can swap instantly between cars, airplanes, and boats. Other relatively recent discounted games include Assassin's Creed Origins for $30 and Call of Duty: WWII Gold Edtion for $40.
The Xbox One exclusives Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Recore are on clearance for $5 each. That's a killer deal--if you can find them in stock. Xbox One owners can also save $20 on a Turtle Beach Stealth 700 wireless headset, bringing the price down to $130.
The RPG remaster Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age has gotten a permanent price drop down to $20. The action-RPG Vampyr is permanently marked down to $40. And in case you want to fill your head with the stuff of nightmares, you can pick up The Evil Within 2 for $25.
Finally, it's official: preseason football has begun. If you're willing to let go of your copy of Madden NFL 18, you can trade it in to Best Buy to get a $10-off coupon for Madden NFL 19. The coupon stacks on top of the game's trade-in value, lightening the hit to your wallet for this year's installment.
We have more highlights of Best Buy's gaming deals below. And if that's not enough for you, you can check out the full list of deals here.
While comic book legend Todd McFarlane is perhaps best known for the demonic anti-hero Spawn, he also played a vital role in bringing the Spider-Man villain Venom to life. McFarlane worked for Marvel back in the late-'80s, and is credited as the co-creator of Eddie Brock, the character that was the first host for the alien symbiote. McFarlane's work on The Amazing Spider-Man helped turn Venom from just a scary costume to a fully-formed supervillain, making McFarlane one of the most iconic artist/writers of the era.
With theVenom movie set for release in October, McFarlane took to Facebook to critique the movie's representation of the character. In a new video, McFarlane is actually quite complimentary about the movie Venom, stating that he thinks it looks "pretty cool." Nevertheless, McFarlane had a few adjustments to make to the freeze frame of Venom from the latest trailer, and set about making the character look distinctly scarier. Check it out below:
Venom hits theaters on October 5. The movie stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, plus Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, and Woody Harrelson. The new trailer was released week, and it gave us the first look at what appears to be Riot, another symbiote.
In related news, McFarlane is set to make his directorial debut with a movie reboot of Spawn. The film will star Jamie Foxx as the title character, and it will be produced by Blumhouse Films, the company behind Get Out, Paranormal Activity, and the Purge movies. It was also announced last month that Foxx will be joined by Avengers star Jeremy Renner. The film does not yet have a release date but McFarlane has previously stated that he wants it to have a hard-R rating and expects the budget to be between $10-12 million.
Capcom has rolled out a new update for Monster Hunter World on PS4 and Xbox One. This marks the fourth major one the game has received since it launched for the consoles earlier this year, and it introduces a variety of Final Fantasy XIV-inspired content, including a fearsome new monster to hunt: Behemoth.
The iconic Final Fantasy boss has invaded the New World, making this the first time in Monster Hunter's history that a monster from another video game series has been featured in one of its titles. Behemoth is a particularly challenging foe; as Capcom advises on the PlayStation Blog, players will need to employ MMO-style strategies and designate tank, attacker, and support roles among the group to weather the beast's onslaught and succeed.
Behemoth also has some unique tricks in its repertoire that make it an especially fearsome monster to battle. Its Enmity causes it to focus on and "relentlessly" attack a particular target. It can also unleash the Ecliptic Meteor, a devastating attack that will cause players to instantly faint if struck. According to Capcom, the only way to avoid this blow is to hide behind smaller meteors that were summoned by Behemoth during the battle.
In addition to Behemoth, the update introduces a new set of weapons and gear inspired by the Dragoon class from Final Fantasy XIV. Players will also be able to get their hands on a new Palico gear set that turns the feline companions into a Moogle, while Cactuars can be found around the environment and even used as traps.
You can find the full patch notes for the latest Monster Hunter World update on Capcom's official blog. The update is available to download for free on both PS4 and Xbox One. It weighs in at approximately 900 MB on the former console and 1 GB on the latter.
Final Fantasy XIV players won't miss out on the crossover fun. As part of Capcom's collaboration with Square Enix, the iconic Rathalos will appear in Final Fantasy XIV beginning August 7. Players who manage to beat the monster will get Rathalos armor and a Rathalos mount.
Bandai Namco has shared some more details about its upcoming open beta for the Nintendo Switch version of Dragon Ball FighterZ. The beta kicks off this weekend and will give Switch owners their first chance to try the acclaimed Dragon Ball fighting game before it launches on the platform this September.
To participate in the beta, you will first need to download the open beta client from either the Switch Eshop or Nintendo's website. The beta begins on August 9 at 9 PM PT (12 AM ET on August 10) and runs through the weekend, concluding at 11:59 PM PT on August 11.
Players will be able to try four different game modes during the beta: Practice Battle Tutorial, Arena Match, Ring Match, and Ring Party Match. The beta will also feature the entire starting roster in Dragon Ball FighterZ, along with Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, for a total of 23 different playable characters. You can see the full beta roster below.
Dragon Ball FighterZ releases for Nintendo Switch on September 28. Bandai Namco recently revealed that the Switch version will launch with a couple of new local mulitplayer options, in particular an offline six-player Party Match mode and 2v2 and 1v1 matches. The publisher hasn't announced if these options will also be added to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions down the line.
Those who pre-order Dragon Ball FighterZ for Nintendo Switch will receive a couple of bonuses. First, they'll have immediate access to Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta at launch. Additionally, those who reserve the title will get a digital Japanese copy of Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden, a rare Super Famicom game that was never previously released in North America.
The Pokemon Company has shared some more footage of Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee, the upcoming Pokemon RPGs for Nintendo Switch. Five brief clips of the games have been posted on the official Japanese Pokemon YouTube channel (as pointed out by Pokemon fansite Serebii), and they give fans a look at some more Pokemon running around on the overworld.
Just as in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the DS, players can have any Pokemon follow along outside of their Poke Ball while they explore in the Let's Go titles. As previous trailers for the games have showcased, each Pokemon has its own distinctive way of maneuvering about; small Pokemon like Nidoran trot behind the trainer, while larger monsters like Charizard and Onix can ferry players on their backs.
The aforementioned clips show off some Pokemon we haven't previously seen following around on the overworld, such as Golem and Electrode, who both roll like a ball. Caterpie, bless its little heart, does its best to keep up by crawling slowly behind. But perhaps the most surprising is Venusaur. While you might expect the heavy Grass-type to trundle along thanks to its squat stature, the clip reveals that Venusaur actually hops like a giant toad. You can take a look below.
Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee are based on the classic Pokemon Yellow version, and just as in that game, players' starter Pokemon (Pikachu or Eevee, depending on which version you choose) will also keep you company outside of its Poke Ball. This time, players are able to pet and dress their partner Pokemon up in various costumes, as well as give them different hairstyles.
A new month is underway, which means another pair of free Legendary Pokemon are now available for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. This time, The Pokemon Company is giving away the Ruby and Sapphire cover monsters Groudon and Kyogre as part of its ongoing Year of Legendary Pokemon promotion, but as usual, you'll only have a limited time to grab them.
As with previous distributions, the way to receive the Legendaries differs depending on where you live. Once again, US residents will need to travel to a specific retailer to pick up a free download code for the Pokemon. This time, the code will be available at participating GameStop stores from August 3-26. Pokemon fansite Serebii reports that players in the UK will need to travel to Game stores to get the code.
The Legendaries can be redeemed in any seventh-generation Pokemon game, but the one you receive will depend on which version you're playing. Those with either Sun or Ultra Sun will get Kyogre, while Moon and Ultra Moon players will get Groudon. Additionally, the Pokemon will come at different levels and know different attacks based on the game you own. You can see their movesets in each version below:
Pokemon Ultra Sun
Kyogre -- Level 100 (w/Gold Bottle Cap)
Origin Pulse
Ice Beam
Water Spout
Calm Mind
Pokemon Sun
Kyogre -- Level 60
Ice Beam
Origin Pulse
Calm Mind
Muddy Water
Pokemon Ultra Moon
Groudon -- Level 100 (w/Gold Bottle Cap)
Precipice Blades
Earth Power
Fire Punch
Swords Dance
Pokemon Moon
Groudon -- Level 60
Earthquake
Precipice Blades
Bulk Up
Solar Beam
To claim your Legendary, you'll need to redeem the download code using the Mystery Gift feature from the games' main menu. After selecting Mystery Gift, choose the option to receive your gift with a code/password, and input the code you picked up from GameSpot. The Pokemon will then be downloaded into your game. Once those steps have been completed, you'll be able to pick your Pokemon up from the deliveryman waiting inside any Pokemon Center.
FIFA 19's release date is fast approaching, and publisher EA has finally unveiled more of the game's new features. Possibly the most intriguing change is an overhaul of Kick Off, which was hitherto a standard exhibition mode. In addition, FUT 19, or Ultimate Team, has replaced Online Seasons with a new sub-mode named Division Rivals.
FIFA 19's Kick Off brings more options than any pervious version of the mode. You can still play what's now called a Classic Match if you don't like change, or you can utilize any number of new options. You can specifically choose to make your match Champions League-themed, which will rebrand it with the official logos and replace commentators Martin Tyler and Alan Smith with Derek Rae and Lee Dixon; alternatively, you can do the same but for the Europa League.
You can also decide to play a two-legged match, where you play with the same two teams with each side playing at home once and away once (with the away goals rule active in the event of a draw). Similarly, you can set up a Best Of series, where you play a three- or five-match series against a friend or the AI.
The most interesting aspect of the overhauled Kick Off, however, is the ability to set House Rules. This is something many FIFA players have been doing themselves for years while playing against friends, but now EA will allow you to input special laws into your match. For example, you can prevent short-range goals from counting towards the scoreline, or force your mates to score from headers and volleys only.
Ultimate Team won't be overhauled in quite the same way, but it still comes boasting a couple of new features. Online Seasons is no more; Offline Seasons will still be available but the online equivalent is to be replaced by Division Rivals. These are weekly competitions against those of a similar skill level to you, all with dynamically updated objectives. EA says it wants to reduce the amount of grinding required in FIFA's online modes, so this year you can obtain Champion Points to gain access to the weekend's Champions competitions. FUT is also adding a Champions Channel, where you can view previous Champions matches and analyze how players performed in those games. Confirmed Icons for FIFA 19 include Rivaldo, Johan Cruyff, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Eusebio, Clarence Seedorf, Claude Makelele, and Raul.
Outside of FUT and Kick Off, we know FIFA 19 will conclude Alex Hunter's story in The Journey, while we can expect improvements to Career Mode and Pro Clubs. For more information on those and more on FIFA 19, keep an eye on GameSpot.
FIFA 19 launches worldwide on September 28 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360. That's around a month after its closest rival, PES 2019, which also has a demo out very soon. For more on EA's sporting behemoth, check out our big feature on the 19 best new FIFA 19 features you might have missed.
Crash Bandicoot's N. Sane Trilogy first launched for PS4 over a year ago, but that hasn't stopped it having a stint at the top of the UK physical games chart this summer. Helped by the launch of its Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch versions this June, the remaster trilogy is No.1 again this week according to sales monitor GfK Chart-Track, making it six weeks in a row at the chart's summit.
There's little change towards the top of the chart for the week ending August 4, with Lego The Incredibles finishing at No.2 for the fourth successive week. There is a different title at No.3 this week, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe overtakes The Crew 2, pushing Ubisoft's open-world racer down to No.4.
The only new game to enter the chart this week is the PS4 and Switch release of Hello Neighbor, which finishes at No.16.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
The first Transformers spin-off arrives later this year, with the iconic yellow VW Beetle taking center stage in the '80s-set Bumblebee. Following the new footage that was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con last month, a new poster has arrived.
The poster is simple and stylish. It shows Bumblebee sitting against a night sky, with the lights of a town behind him and lead character Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) looking up at him. Check it out below:
Bumblebee also features WWE star John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Jason Drucker (Diary of Wimpy Kid), Ricardo Hoyos (The Belko Experiment), and Gracie Dzienny (Chasing Life). It's directed by Travis Knight, who previously helmed the Oscar-nominated animated movie Kubo And The Two Strings. It hits theaters on December 21--check out the first Bumblebee trailer here.
Although Bumblebee will be with us in a few months, the future of the franchise beyond its release is unclear. When the movie was first announced, it was supposed to be the first in an ongoing spin-off universe of Transformers movies. However, last year's Transformers: The Last Knight was a financial disappointment compared to the previous four films. As a result, the Transformers movie originally scheduled for 2019 has been removed entirely from Paramount's schedules.
This follows the rumors back in February that Habsro, the toy manufacturer which owns the rights to Transformers, is planning to reboot the whole franchise. It was also reported that a new agreement with Paramount means that Hasbro will have greater control over the property, including greenlighting movie projects.
In related news, at SDCC, GameSpot spoke to John Warden, Senior Design Manager for Hasbro's Transformers line about creating the new Bumblebee toy. "This is a softer approach to Bee, both physically and emotionally," explained Warden. "He's made up of parts of a Volkswagen Beetle, the classic car. This was done deliberately to kind of allow the characters to emote in a more tender way with Bumblebee. Some of the versions of Bumblebee over the years have been very angular, complicated, lots of jagged edges."
The World Cup might be a distant memory, but the regular league season is here, and along with it comes Football Manager 2019's release date. Developer Sports Interactive has announced this year's management sim will launch for PC, mobile, and tablets on November 2.
Football Manager Touch and Football Manager Mobile--the tablet and smartphone versions--will also launch on November 2, but there's no mention of a Nintendo Switch version. Football Manager Touch 2018 came to Switch in April this year.
No new features have yet been revealed--these are coming in "late September"--but Sports Interactive did confirm the game will include the Bundesliga licence for the first time. In addition, the series has received a makeover: the long-running cover star, Manager Man, is gone, and the game's interface will be "refreshed."
Those who preorder from a "Sega-approved digital retailer or … from a participating physical retailer" will receive a 10% discount on the launch price. Those who do so digitally will also gain access to a playable beta, which "should be available roughly two weeks prior to the official street date."
We enjoyed last year's edition here at GameSpot. Critic Richard Wakeling praised the game's emphasis on player personalities and morale, as well as its new player animations and increased intelligence. Read more in our full Football Manager 2018 review.
If Disney thought the recent joint-statement from the Guardians of the Galaxy cast was the end of the controversy that has followed the firing of writer/director James Gunn, it was mistaken. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the Marvel series, has released another strongly-worded condemnation of the studio.
Bautista replied to a fan on Twitter who asked him what his plans were if Gunn was not rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. Bautista stated that he would do what he was "legally obligated" to, which suggests that he is under contract to return for the next movie. However, he went on to state that making the films without Gunn was not "what I signed up for," and that it would be "nauseating" to work for a studio that would "empower a smear campaign by fascists." Check the tweet out below:
I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn't GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who'd empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That's just how I feel https://t.co/Ym4FwruVDu
The tweets that led to Gunn's dismissal last month date back almost a decade, and saw the director joking about topics such as pedophilia and rape. They resurfaced online via conservative website The Daily Caller, and Disney was quick to sever ties with him.
Bautista was quick to condemn this decision, and remains the most outspoken cast member on the issue. The cast, which also includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel, offered Gunn their support in their statement, but stopped short of stating that he should be rehired or that they wouldn't return for Vol.3. While the movie has never officially been given a release date by Disney, it was reportedly set to start production in February 2019 ahead of a 2020 release.
Last week, it was reported that despite the statement, Disney had no plans to rehire Gunn. Variety spoke to "multiple people familiar with the studio's current thinking," and stated that, despite the support from the cast, the tweets that ultimately led to his dismissal remain totally at odds with Disney's family-friendly image.
Soon after he was fired, Gunn offered a statement in which he took responsibility for the tweets and accepted Disney's decision. "My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative," his statement read. "I have regretted them for many years since--not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don't reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.
"Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse."
Capcom has announced the next two characters coming to Street Fighter 5: G and Sagat. While both characters were already revealed, their release dates were unclear. At EVO 2018, however, it was confirmed that both characters will be available on August 6. You can watch the trailer for Sagat above and G below.
G is a brand new character to the fighting game series and is the self-styled president of the world. More information about him was provided on the Capcom Unity blog, where he's described as "a mysterious new character who wishes to unify the world as its president. He decides to spread his message in ways the modern world can understand: through social media.
"Initially, he doesn't receive much attention until Rashid comes across his videos and decides to help amplify G's message to the people. That being said, there's much more to G than meets the eye." The blog continues: "G has a unique move set that utilizes his role as the President of the World and his mysterious origins. During a fight, his Presidentiality level can be seen next to the V-Gauge in the form of an icon representing the Earth. By using G Charge, G absorbs power from the Earth to increase his Presidentiality level to 3. The higher his Presidentiality level is, the more powerful his special moves are. However, if G is knocked down, the Presidentiality level will go down."
Sagat, meanwhile, is one of Street Fighter's most iconic characters and a fan-favorite. His latest incarnation looks to be as fearsome as ever, with high damage potential and the ability to control space with his Tiger Shots.
"In Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Sagat has become a hermit in a secluded village and must overcome his inner demons," Capcom explains. "Sagat's iconic move set remains true to his past appearances in the Street Fighter series. Tiger Shot is a projectile that changes speeds depending on which punch button you press and cannot hit crouching opponents. Grand Tiger Shot (Low Tiger Shot in previous titles) can hit crouching opponents, but deals less damage and is less safe. Tiger Uppercut is a dragon punch-style attack that can be used as an anti-air or a reversal. Tiger Knee Crush (Tiger Knee in previous titles) is a quick lunge that can close the distance between Sagat and his opponent."
Both G and Sagat are available individually for $6/£6 or 100,000 Fight Money or as part of the Season 3 Character Pass for $30/£25. This pass also unlocks access to Sakura, Blanka, Falke, and Cody. Purchasing the characters also gives you their Battle Costumes with colors 3-10 and default costume colors 3-10.
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is a new, updated version of its Capcom's flagship fighting game. In GameSpot's Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition review we awarded the game a 9/10, saying it finally "feels like a complete package," after being quite barebones at launch.
"It has always been a strong fighting game that continues to get better over time, but it remained a game for genre enthusiasts. Arcade Edition, however, is a game that you can confidently recommend to anyone. Two years after its launch, Street Fighter V is finally fighting fit."
Donald Glover was working on an animated Deadpool TV show, but in March this year, the project fell apart. The show was set to air on FX, and now the network's CEO has come forward to talk about why the program got the ax. It was Marvel's decision, John Landgraf told Variety.
He said Marvel didn't want to move forward on the show that Glover and his brother, Stephen, were working on. FX would have been happy to have it, but Marvel reportedly shut it down.
"[Marvel] didn't want to do the show that Donald and Stephen [Glover] wrote," Landgraf said. "We would have done show that Donald and Stephen wrote, but it wasn't our decision. When Marvel decided not to do that show, we parted company with them as did Donald and Stephen. Now it's totally up to them [Marvel] whether they hire someone else to do a different show."
While the show isn't expected to get revived at FX, Landgraf said he thinks Marvel will move forward with the concept of an animated Deadpool TV show eventually. "I think that Marvel will revive it, because they have the rights," he said. "They own the IP and they have the rights to do an animated adult series based on any of the X-Men characters, and based on Deadpool specifically."
Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld previously told Variety that Donald Glover is a "genius" and that he's very sad his Deadpool animated TV show is not going to happen. "I'll always wonder how that would have worked out," he said.
Donald and Stephen Glover, as well as FX, released a statement in March saying the Deadpool show was canceled due to "creative differences" with Marvel, though it remains to be seen what those were. The canceled show was to run for 10 episodes in its first season, which was pegged to premiere in 2018 on FX sister channel FXX. Glover and his brother Stephen were tapped to be the program's showrunners, producers, and writers.
It would have been the second TV collaboration between FX and Marvel, following Legion in 2017. FX co-president of original programming Nick Grad said when the Deadpool show was announced that the program was aiming to be "bold, striking, and entirely original."
Deadpool 2 his theaters back in May, and it's made more than $730 million worldwide so you can pretty much expect that a third movie is on the way. Indeed, all the way back in 2016, a report said Deadpool 3 was being planned.
Madden NFL 19 doesn't officially release until August 10 (or August 7 if you buy the Hall of Fame edition), but a trial for the game is out now on EA and Origin Access. The game is picking up generally positive review scores, but as is the case pretty much every year, there have been some issues as well. A new patch is out now to fix some of these and other problems, including the Colin Kaepernick accidental censoring issue.
In addition to fixing that problem, the new update makes the game look better by updating a number of stadium exteriors and tweaking player likenesses and bodies. Additionally, the highly touted Real Player Motion feature gets improved with things like better pre-play QB signature looks, more authentic acceleration rates, and the ability for AI ball-carriers to use the new "one cut" running mechanic.
The pre-release patch also adds new commentary and makes some changes to Franchise mode as it relates to skill point progression. Additionally, the patch fixes a really bizarre bug where the camera would exit the entire stadium in some situations. You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by EA in the Madden forums.
For more on Madden 19, check out GameSpot's Review in Progress here. We're still testing the online modes, and we'll report back with a final score in the coming days.
Madden 19 Patch Notes
Key Highlights:
Authenticity: Updated various stadium exteriors, player likenesses/bodies, rosters and coaches
Real Player Motion: Improved Pre-Play QB Signatures, Players' Acceleration rates and AI-controlled ball carriers' usage of the One-Cut mechanic
Franchise: Tuned rookie generation to better match the base rosters & skill point progression for better league balance
Commentary: Added additional commentary for Franchise, MUT Solo Challenges, and more player specific content for the Legends and Rookies
Soundtrack: YG "Big Bank" track updated
Change Log:
General stability and quality improvements
Franchise Updates:
Tuned generated rookies to now have traits that are similar to base rosters
Tuned the frequency of high OVR rookies generated in the draft
Increased regression for some positions to maintain a more realistic league turnover rate
Increased XP cost of skill points for younger players, and reduced XP cost for higher OVR players
Tuned XP earned from training, awards, and goals to increase XP gain for rising stars
Reduced frequency of injuries
Reduced simulated game score results during the preseason for better realism
Tuned post game Snapshot logic to reduce shots of idle players and empty space
Visual Updates:
Resolved a bug where the camera POV would exit the stadium
Updated various stadium exteriors, player likenesses/bodies, rosters and coaches
Updated face likeness for the following players:
San Francisco 49ers' QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Buffalo Bills' QB Josh Allen
Arizona Cardinals' QB Josh Rosen
Baltimore Ravens' QB Lamar Jackson
New York Jets' QB Sam Darnold
New York Giants' RB Saquon Barkley
Kansas City Chiefs' WR Tyreek Hill
Philadelphia Eagles' K Jake Elliott
New Orleans Saints' LB Alex Anzalone
Baltimore Ravens' TE Hayden Hurst
Gameplay Updates:
Tuned Acceleration rate so players can hit their top speed faster
Fixed an issue to make QB Pre-Play audio when using hot routes to bluff on running plays
Fixed Pass Interference penalties not being called when a defender would use the cut stick mechanic vs. a receiver while running his route – this applies to all Game Styles and difficulty levels
Added ability to view Team TD Celebrations when playing online
Added coverage logic to better defend passes to the flats
Fixed an issue causing AI-controlled ball carriers to repeatedly use the one-cut mechanic during the same play
Fixed an issue to make the Audibles on the Fly interface update dynamically
Fixed an issue that was preventing users from loading into game with their selected playbook when not using an active profile
Fixed cases of players giving up on the play after a failed attempt at a fumble recovery
Fixed fumbled tosses on the following plays: I Form Pro FB Fake HB Flip, Gun Trips TE Speed Option, I Form Pro HB Toss
Tuned to decrease the frequency of defensive wins vs. double team blocks on zone plays
Fixed a missed handoff on Wildcat Trips Over Jet Sweep
Fixed issues with pre-play pass blocking adjustment interface that caused players to get stuck in the menu
Fix for blockers on kick return sometimes forming an illegal wedge, per new NFL kickoff rules
Fixed an issue causing players to repeatedly knock the ball out during fumble recoveries
Fixed an issue around the camera pointing in the wrong direction during Extra Points and Field Goals
Fixed an issue that caused receivers to go into a pass block assignment when running curl routes or after being sent in motion
Fix for defensive linemen constantly shifting back and forth when using defensive line adjustments in pre-play
Fix for receivers and/or defenders warping out of catch interactions
Fix for receivers running backwards after catching WR Screen passes
After watching you play the game and listening to your Beta feedback, we increased the speed of the QB pre-play animations and added some more clock-driven context around them while maintaining the integrity of our new approach. You can read about the QB Signatures in further detail in our earlier Gameplay Deep Dive (https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/news/2018/gameplay-deep-dive).
Tuned to make player transitions smoother from the huddle break to the line of scrimmage
Added functionality for QBs' pre-play animations to speed up when there is either 10 seconds or less on the play clock, or the game clock when it's running – under these circumstances, all QB adjustments will use Hot Route animations only
Tuned to increase the speed of QB pre-play animations
Added functionality for one free pre-play adjustment when breaking the huddle – the QB will not use an animation if an adjustment is called right after the huddle break
PC Updates:
Resolved an issue that would cause keyboard and mouse users to log out of their Origin account when entering Exhibition modes
Back in 2015, Warner Bros. and Mojang announced that It's Always Sunny star Rob McElhenney would direct the Minecraft movie. McElhenney at the time said he was looking forward to doing something "stranger and wonderful" with the movie. Now he's left the project, and the movie has been delayed beyond its previously announced May 2019 release window, apparently.
The website also reported that Warner Bros. has hired new writers, Aaron and Adam Nee (Band of Robbers), to pen the latest draft of the script. Wonder Woman writer Jason Fuchs wrote the previous draft.
McElhenney is at least the second director to leave the Minecraft movie. Night at the Museum and Stranger Things director Shawn Levy was previously attached to direct a movie that was going to be a Goonies-style adventure. However, Mojang vetoed this idea and Levy exited the project. Levy is now set to direct the upcoming Uncharted film starring Tom Holland as a young Nathan Drake.
Little is known about the Minecraft movie. Mojang COO Vu Bui stressed back in 2015 that the film is not going to be the definitive, official take on Minecraft's story--because it doesn't really even have one. "We don't want any story that we make, whether it's a movie or a book, to create some sort of 'this is the official Minecraft, this is how you play the game' thing," he said. "That would discourage all the players who don't play in that way. When coming up with a story [for the movie], we want to make sure it is just a story within Minecraft, as opposed to the story within Minecraft."
Part of what Minecraft so great is that has central, defining story but it rather an open-ended sandbox experience where players can create and do anything they want. Mojang experimented with story-telling in the Minecraft universe with its partnership with Telltale for the adventure game series Minecraft: Story Mode.
The film will be produced by The Departed's Roy Lee.
If you love reading superhero comic books, there's a good chance that a huge part of what makes them so attractive is the way they explore the regular lives of the people behind the masks. Matt Murdoch's daily courtroom drama and neighborhood philanthropy, Jessica Drew's demanding commitments as a single mother, and the multifaceted teenage dramas of Kamala Khan and other student-aged heroes are equally as engrossing as the crime-fighting adventures of their alter-egos. And when work and life clash, that's when things really get interesting.
The more mundane side of superhero stories are rarely explored in video game adaptations, and that's something Insomniac Games is openly talking about as a major point of difference in their take on Marvel's Spider-Man. In the game's first two hours, which I experienced during a recent preview tour, a large chunk of time was spent controlling Peter Parker in his mild-mannered form, as well as Mary Jane Watson. Insomniac explained that this ratio was largely indicative of the rest of the game, with major themes of mentorship and trust as something that would be explored with and without masks.
That might sound like a far cry from what's been shown of Insomniac's Spider-Man up to this point, but these moments hit all the right notes for us. The game's version of Peter Parker falls on the dweeby side, despite being old and having almost a decade of crime-fighting expertise. He's messy, perpetually behind on his bills, and isn't currently in any kind of romantic relationship, all thanks to his second life. But he takes time to visit his Aunt May and catch up with acquaintances, as well as work on science projects as part of his day job, hoping he can do some good there, too.
I spent a large part of Spider-Man's opening hours exploring interior environments as Peter, making and listening in on small talk, looking at photos and reading documents to fill out back-story, and performing research experiments--there are Pipe Dream and pattern matching minigames that can earn you experience points to spend on Spidey abilities. Mary Jane, an investigative reporter in this universe, has her own separate narrative motivations that quickly become entwined in the rest of the plot. Her interactive segments have their own mechanics, which Insomniac told us would grow and evolve over the course of the game. For more on Mary Jane's section in these opening hours, be sure to read Kallie's in-depth account.
But as happy as I was to see a big emphasis on the Peter and MJ side of things, I still had just one thing on my mind, being this was my very first first hands-on: Whether or not Insomniac's Spider-Man was going to surpass the memories I had playing Treyarch's open-world Spider-Man 2 for consoles, generally regarded as the best Spider-Man game to date, thanks to its phenomenal web-swinging mechanics. And it most definitely does, as we've previously reported. Insomniac's Spider-Man adheres strictly to the rule that Spidey's web lines need to attach to a structure, and that creates the wonderful sense of tangibility that is both essential to selling the experience, as well as creating a satisfying need for forethought when traversing New York City.
It works like this: R2 shoots out a web line, and pressing X while mid-swing will let you jump and gain height or distance, depending on where you are in your arc. Pressing X without being attached to a web line will let you perform a quick web zip, which propels you forward, allowing you to gain directional momentum without losing height, and is great for quickly changing directions. Finally, holding L2 will trigger a slowdown, allowing you to aim a cursor and hit R2 to create a direct zipline to that particular point (provided it's in range), and is a great landing technique that allows you to expertly perch on lampposts and other locations, just like a spider can.
Web swinging feels fantastic, and minor additions, such as hitting L3 to nosedive, using Circle + Triangle in tandem with the left stick to perform aerial tricks for experience points, and the motion blur when you pick up a large amount of speed, adds a lot to making the act of getting around town a pure joy. Even Central Park can be traversed by web-swinging, thankfully, so long as you pick a route with enough trees to latch onto.
Movement on the ground also feels suitably Spider-Man-like. Aside from using L2 and R2 to web zip from point to point, holding R2 acts as an Assassin's Creed-like parkour button, allowing you to easily clear obstacles, as well as run up and across the side of buildings. But if you need a break from thinking about how to get from A to B, Spidey can also just take the subway and fast travel to a different station.
The parkour button isn't the only inspiration Insomniac's Spider-Man takes from an Ubisoft series, though. In a move that took me completely by surprise, Spider-Man incorporates the archaic mechanic of tower reveals, that is, points of interest that you have to find, travel to, and solve a puzzle at in order to reveal a map of the immediate area, as well as the locations of other points of interests like side missions, challenges, collectables, and Far Cry-style outposts. Each district of Manhattan represented in the game--Chinatown, Greenwich, Financial District, Hell's Kitchen, Midtown, Upper West Side, Central Park, Upper East Side, and Harlem--has a number of towers hidden within them, which you're required to activate before you're even able to see where you're going on your minimap.
This is strange not only because the mechanic feels incredibly outdated--Ubisoft has moved on, their open-world franchises now focus on more organic discovery mechanics--but it just doesn't make characteristic sense. Insomniac has been pitching their version of Spider-Man as an experienced one, one that's been fighting crime in New York for nearly a decade, and it's incredibly puzzling that this Spider-Man hasn't internalized an intimate geographic knowledge of the city he protects. I don't believe him when he exclaims, "I'm flying blind here!" while swinging through world-famous Times Square, no matter what the tower MacGuffin might be.
Any activity revealed by towers can still be found by naturally stumbling across them, and minor Spider-Man 2-style randomly-generated events, such as car crashes and armed robberies, also can pop up unannounced, which is great to see. But the emphasis on using towers to reveal them just seems like a huge misstep, a puzzling addition that feels like unnecessary filler.
But there's still plenty of good filler in there, namely, the number of things you can stuff into Spider-Man's suit. As expected, you can unlock dozens of different Spider-Man costumes by earning experience and leveling up to gain access, and spending different tokens (earned through completing side content) to purchase them for use. Each suit comes with its own unique suit ability to assist you during the game's exciting, Batman Arkham-inspired combat system, but a nice feature is that once you own a suit, you can transfer its unique ability to a different suit you own.
For example, I immediately sought to don the Spider-Man Noir costume, which comes with the ability to stop enemies from calling backup (great for stealth approaches), but swapped that out for the Battle Focus ability from the Advanced Suit seen in the game's marketing materials. Battle Focus steadily increases your Focus meter, used in combat to heal and perform the game's cinematic takedowns. Other suits and abilities I saw included the Classic Suit (webs every enemy in sight), Scarlet Spider (creates holographic decoys), and the Spider Armor MK II (protects from bullet fire).
True to Peter's science background, you can also equip a number of unique combat gadgets, switching between them using a radial menu with L1, and upgrade their effectiveness over the course of the game. Aside from the standard web shooters, they include things like impact webbing to pin enemies to surfaces, spider drones that seek out opponents and fire energy, electric webs that stun, web bombs that are proximity triggered, web trip mines, concussive blasts, and a suspension matrix that suspends enemies in the air.
The game also has a skill tree for ability progression, featuring three branches with which to upgrade Spidey's combat and web swinging techniques. The Innovator branch focuses on web-based combat techniques, such as using webs to disarm gun-toting thugs and the ability to throw a larger variety of objects and enemies, while the Defender branch improves Spider-Man's general striking, evasion, and combo abilities, letting you earn bonuses for things like perfectly-timed dodges. Finally, the Webslinger branch largely lets you perform additional traversal moves, but also gives you access to Spidey's infamous web swing kick in combat. It also unlocks the aforementioned ability to perform tricks in mid-air for small amounts of XP and large amounts of style.
There are a number of references too, of course, found in dialogue, environment, and the game's backpack collectibles. But it's a range that can be appreciated by both casual Spider-Man fans (Spidey asking "Should we kiss?" to a hanging enemy), and fanatics (a mention of "Nazis made of bees"). There were some nice interactive touches I loved: using the attack buttons around citizens lets you wave and give high fives, with some interactions giving you XP, and J.J. Jameson now hosts a podcast Peter listens to, but you can unsubscribe in the audio settings menu.
Insomniac's representation of the Spider-Man experience plays as good as it looks, at least in its opening hours. The web swinging and acrobatic combat are instantly satisfying, but it's also wonderful to see that there's a lot more to it--a significant focus on interacting as Peter Parker and Mary Jane (which we're hoping will continue to evolve into something great), a depth of progression options and combat abilities, and many minor, but exciting details that positively colored my short experience. The opening hours had me eager to play more--even just to have more time swinging around the city--but it also reinvigorated my excitement about the Marvel universe in general. I just wish I could forget about those towers.
Epic's hugely popular battle royale game Fortnite is good for gaming because, with its low barrier to entry--it's free--and its mass appeal, it may help bring more people into gaming overall. That's according to Electronic Arts, whose executives recently commented on the phenomenon during an earnings call.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said Fortnite is helping "expand the audience" for gaming, which in turn theoretically helps EA with the holiday shopping season coming up. "Our expectation is that as they continue to expand the audience, that provides tremendous opportunity for us going into the holiday season, particularly as we think about launching Madden and FIFA and Battlefield into what is a growing player audience," he said during the earnings call.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen, meanwhile, said Fortnite has had some kind of impact on EA by virtue of people only having so many hours in the day to play games. If Fortnite is driving a ton of play time and interest, that could hurt EA and other publishers (Activision has also said it's been impacted).
"Without a doubt, [Fortnite has] been a phenomenon in the industry, and I'm sure it's taken up people's time. We have a hard time pointing to exactly where that's impacted our business, but I am sure it is taking up people's time across the industry," Jorgensen said. "But we also know that, that means more and more people are brought in to play games and will enjoy games in the future, in particular, first-person shooter games down the road."
The Walking Dead's Negan, who brutalises people with his barbed wire baseball bat Lucille, is coming to Tekken 7 as a playable character. This was announced today at the fighting game tournament Evo in Las Vegas.
Negan is coming to Tekken 7 as part of its Season 2 of content. This will also include returning characters Anna Williams and Lei Wulong. You can see the Season 2 Pass reveal trailer below.
Last year, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada said Negan would be "too weak" to be a Tekken 7 character, even with his trademark baseball bat.
with "Lucille"? Haha nice idea. He is a historic villain, but he is too weak as a fighter. IMO RT@miranbikhan Negan from The Walking Dead
Tekken's Season 1 of DLC included crossover characters such as Fatal Fury's Geese Howard and Final Fantasy XV's Noctis. Pricing for Tekken 7's Season 2 Pass hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's expected that you'll be able to purchase Negan and the other characters individually or in a pack.
In GameSpot's Tekken 7 review, Peter Brown said it was an easy game to recommend "Its diverse roster is packed with a wide range of personalities and fighting styles, bolstered by a raucous attitude that begs to be taken seriously while simultaneously mocking its more peculiar whims in the process," he wrote.
Some more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate news is on the way very soon. Before the Super Smash Bros. Melee Grand Finals kicked off at EVO 2018, Nintendo announced it is going to broadcast a special Nintendo Direct presentation all about the upcoming Smash game for Switch this Wednesday, August 8.
The Direct will begin at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 3 PM BST. Nintendo hasn't revealed how long the presentation is scheduled to last, nor has it divulged any further details on what will be shown off, only confirming that the Direct will be delivered by series director Masahiro Sakurai and will feature "new game information." You'll be able to stream the presentation on Nintendo's website and right here on GameSpot.
This marks the first new information Nintendo is sharing about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate since the game was formally unveiled at E3 this past June. During the company's E3 presentation, we learned that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature the largest roster in the series to date, with every single character from previous games returning for the Switch entry. Nintendo also confirmed that Ultimate is a new game built for Switch, not a port.
Perhaps most notably, we got our first look two brand-new additions to the roster at E3: Samus's much-requested nemesis, Ridley, and Princess Daisy. Both characters will receive their own Amiibo figures, as will returning fighters such as Wolf and Ice Climbers. Nintendo confirmed all existing Super Smash Bros. Amiibo will be compatible with Ultimate, and reprints of many previous figures will be made available later this year.
Bandai Namco has announced two new characters for SoulCalibur VI: Astaroth and Seong Mi-na. The announcement was made during EVO 2018, an annual fighting game tournament held in Las Vegas. During the show producer Motohiro Okubo appeared on stage to reveal the characters and show off a trailer for both characters.
For longtime SoulCalibur players Astaroth and Seong Mi-na will be welcome additions, as they have both been mainstays in previous titles. As with his previous incarnations, Astaroth towers above most of his enemies, and makes good on his imposing presence by wielding a giant axe. He's a powerhouse, using his incredible strength to deal huge damage and, thanks to his axe, also has pretty good range.
Seong Mi-na also has great range thanks to her longsword. She also looks to have very oppressive strings and is capable of mixing up high and low attacks very quickly. She'll no doubt be putting defenses to the test with her aggressive, speedy style of fighting. You can see both characters in action in the video above.
In late July, Voldo was also announced as a returning character, which didn't come as a huge surprise as he's one of the five characters that has appeared in every entry in the series series, making his debut in 1995's Soul Edge.
SoulCalibur VI's release date has been confirmed as October 19. Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher series has been confirmed as a guest character and will even be featured on the game's cover. Witcher developer CD Projekt Red says it is working closely with Bandai to assure Geralt looks and feels authentic in the game.
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