As one of the biggest gaming conventions on the west coast, PAX West has remained a popular destination for developers to get their next big titles in front of their audience, and for fans to discover something new brand new. With indies and AAA titles out in full force, there were a lot of games to check out at private events and on the show floor.
After spending some time whittling down our picks, we drafted our selection of some of PAX West 2018's most noteworthy games. While some of these titles are quite well known, there are many others that were just recently revealed to the public, allowing us the opportunity to get first hands-on with the games. In addition to being among the first to play Streets of Rage 4 and Windjammers 2, we also got a detailed look of the upcoming Torchlight Frontiers, which will be a big change for the action-RPG series.
In addition to those games, we also saw a number of other games that possess an incredible amount of creativity and personality, which goes a long way in the eyes of passionate gamers. Along with Lab Zero Games' action-RPG Indivisible, Devolver Digital's Gato Roboto, and the chilling World of Horror, the indie scene is looking very exciting. Here are 24 games that stood out the most to us at PAX West 2018.
Though the concept of Astroneer makes it sound like Minecraft in space, in actuality it's far more advanced than the popular terrestrial-based builder ever could. Focusing on the pioneering spirit behind space-exploration, the ensuing adventures will prompt players to think big to come up with some unorthodox solutions to some of Astroneer's more complex challenges. Currently in early access, the game's approach to online exploration and base-building--allowing players to break down and recreate the environment at will--has given players plenty of options to come up with some clever solutions.
However, Astroneer is planning to shoot even further to the stars with its upcoming 1.0 update, launching this December. In order to give the community some added challenge after they've established themselves on their planets, players will eventually uncover mysterious alien monoliths while exploring--which will force players to work together to figure out their origins. Along with more planets and other new additions coming in the next update, the space-exploration game has plenty in store for its community. The sense of scale in Astroneer is already impressive, and it'll be exciting the see where the game goes from here with its ambitious new update. | Alessandro Fillari
Black Future '88 | PC
Black Future '88 pitches a dark cyberpunk world where you must climb a procedural tower and face off against waves of enemies--where death is all but inevitable. A familiar concept to be sure, but Black Future '88 brings a style all its own with a slick neon presentation and over-the-top weapons. In my demo at PAX I got my hands on a teleportation gun that swapped me with the enemies I killed. Add a second player into the mix and the game becomes a chaotic mess of color and bullets that's exhilarating to play.
Games like Dead Cells have brought fresh new takes on the roguelike genre and Black Future '88 has the potential to do this at well. It feels great to play and its use of the cyberpunk genre could make it a real winner. | Jean-Luc Seipke
The Blackout Club | PC
In The Blackout Club, you control of a group of teenagers who take matters into their own hands after discovering their town, and all the adults in it, are a part of a secret conspiracy that puts the entire world at risk. Though this premise sounds very similar to other shows and films like Stranger Things and Stephen King's IT, the co-op survival-horror experience does things a bit differently, putting players deeper into the experience of fighting the so-called "truth monster". Coming from the same developers behind games like Thief: Deadly Shadows, BioShock 2, and the underrated The Magic Circle, The Blackout Club pulls from a large pedigree of games in the immersive sim sub-genre to craft something that feels all its own.
Though it can be played solo, The Blackout Club shines when it's played with others online. With much of the game's objectives and resources randomized, each playthrough will result in some different encounters, forcing players to communicate and use their tools carefully. However, the one constant throughout your many missions is the enigmatic force known as The Shape, an invisible entity that stalks players throughout the level. And the only way for players to see is by having their characters close their eyes, and call out its location to the others. The Blackout Club shows a lot of promise, and the atmosphere it exudes is both unnerving and exciting, which makes us eager to dive back in for another round. | Alessandro Fillari
Boyfriend Dungeon | PC
For anyone who loves either social simulations or dungeon-crawling action RPGs, there is Boyfriend Dungeon. It cleverly brings both genres together by letting you, yes, build relationships with your weapons. Outside of dungeons, weapons manifest themselves as actual people with different personalities of all genders. You'll have heartfelt conversations with them, and dialogue options will determine the outcome of your dates, which turns into upgraded attributes for when you have to slash through hordes of enemies. There's a small overworld to walk around, filled with date spots, but we only had the chance to take a nice stroll around the park with our dagger Valeria.
Actual dungeons are made up of multiple floors filled with varied enemy types, but Boyfriend Dungeon shines in how fast and fluid combat feels. Responsive controls make the isometric hacking, slashing, and combo-stringing wholly satisfying, and the soothing synth-pop soundtrack makes it all the more enjoyable. We're looking forward to digging more into Boyfriend Dungeon and see where these relationships take us when the game launches sometime in 2019. | Michael Higham
Breach | PC
Breach is a co-op brawler that takes influence from several cultures' mythologies and several genres' tropes, putting them into a free-to-play game where our Earth has collided with the Mythological Earth. You and a group of friends take on levels based on a specific mythology with various styles of gameplay depending on which class you choose. For example, in Egypt, me and my teammates took on appropriately-themed enemies such as the crocodile god Sobek and the jackal deity Anubis.
I played as the Reaper class, which had me wielding a scythe and casting Death-like abilities. I had zombie-like hands rising from the ground to impede my enemies, while I ominously made my way towards them as if I was Death slowly following my next victim. Other classes I tried out let me shoot enemies from afar or attack them up close with launchers and air combos as if I was Dante from Devil May Cry--in fact, the developer was eager to admit they took inspiration from Capcom's demon hunter.
I had fun with Breach, but I felt my enjoyment was dependent on the type of class I chose: there were several others that I just didn't vibe with. I was told that Breach is taking inspiration from League of Legends in that it will be a free-to-play game that has classes on a free rotation, allowing you to buy the ones you want to keep. You can test every class before buying them, but if you're not willing to throw down money, then some rotations could prove to be obstacles. It'll be interesting to see how the game evolves once it hits Steam Early Access. | Mat Paget
Get In The Car, Loser! | PC
Road trips can often be a boring tests of patience as you head to your destination. But in Get in The Car, Loser!, it's very much about the journey you take while you're on that long stretch of road. Announced this year for PC, the developers at Love Conquers All Games, the same team behind the visual novel game Ladykiller In A Bind, brings their similar sense of lovelorn style to a new genre. Bringing together a diverse crew of queer vagabonds--including a brawler, mage, a soldier, and an always reliable driver--the road-trip romance RPG will have the party share their feelings on life, dating, and love while on their drive--stopping every so often to fuel up, and engage in some fights with monsters that get in the way.
Get In the Car, Loser! isn't shy about sharing its influences from the Final Fantasy series, with many of the battles and similar premise pulling from Final Fantasy XIII and XV respectively. However, it does a clever job of recontextualizing the party gameplay and battles from the JRPG series into a more down-to-earth and surprisingly honest story. The romance roadtrip role-playing game still has a ways to go before release, but the early look we had offered a refreshing and fun take on familiar RPG gameplay. | Alessandro Fillari
Killer Queen Black | PC, Switch
When Killer Queen was first introduced, the only way to play it was at your local arcade--which are always so few and far between. Even then, very few places were fortunate enough to house one, making it one of the more rare arcade games. With the newest version of Killer Queen, now called Killer Queen Black, it's a much more accessible take on the original, and it's set for release on PC and the Nintendo Switch. Much like the original release, two teams compete to secure enough resources to mount an attack on the opposing team's queen. However, Killer Queen Black is quite different from the arcade version.
While the original game in the arcade allows for ten players, the Black release dials it down to 8 to make a it bit more manageable for players. As the first time people can play this game out of the arcades, there's several different ways to enjoy the game. Killer Queen Black on Switch is quite the experience, allowing for multiple players to come together with several joycons and consoles. Playing Killer Queen Black was an absolute blast, and I can't wait to play it some more. | Gajan Kulasingham
Knights and Bikes | PC
I often think back to my childhood and long for those days of innocence. Childhood is kinda what Knights and Bikes is all about. You and a friend play as two virtual friends called Nessa and Demelza, as they explore the British island of Penfurzy. You run around the world, finding stuff to do, items to use, and puzzles to solve. I didn't come across any combat, but there are apparently enemies you'll have to deal with. What I got to see involved puzzle solving, high fives, and goofy activities like racing your friend.
The freedom of exploration reminds me a lot of the first time my friend and I were allowed to run around our hometown on our own. Getting into trouble, finding dumb and fun things do, and imagining grand adventures was our MO, and Knights and Bikes seems to capture that feeling quite well. I'm looking forward to jumping into it for real with a close friend. | Mat Paget
Metal Wolf Chaos XD | PC
Part of me thinks to myself, "how the hell is Metal Wolf Chaos getting remastered today?" But here we are. From Software has made a name for itself with the likes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but the developer put out the comedic Metal Wolf Chaos exclusively in Japan for the original Xbox back in 2004, and its gone on to earn cult status despite. It's a third-person mech-based shooter that puts you in the shoes of US President Michael Wilson, who is seeking revenge on Vice President Richard Hawk after he staged a military coup. Also, you're related to 28th President Woodrow Wilson.
At its core, Metal Wolf Chaos remains untouched. It plays nearly identical to its original release, clunkiness and all. Voice acting, sound effects, levels, and almost all graphical assets are just as they were 14 years ago. Thankfully the game gets native widescreen support and modern screen resolutions, but there are also bloom effects to make the lighting pop a bit more. President Wilson's mech has two firing modes that can be outfitted with different weapons on the fly, in addition to jumping and boost jets.
We'll be able to revel in all its absurdity when Metal Wolf Chaos XD launches sometime in 2019, and it'll be the first time the game gets localized and released worldwide. | Michael Higham
My Friend Pedro | PC, Switch
If Max Payne went 2D and threw any level of seriousness out the window, you'd get My Friend Pedro. This side-scrolling shooter brings together a few unique mechanics for some real wild moments. You can dive, flip, and somersault into firefights while going into a bullet time slow-mo to take down a room full of bad guys. Object physics also play a role in pulling off ridiculous stunts; for example, we kicked a frying pan up in the air, shot at it so bullets would ricochet off it to hit enemies perched on high up ledges. Core mechanics like the spinning dodge and splitting your dual-wielded weapons to shoot at both sides of the screen come in handy for staying nimble.
My Friend Pedro does move a little slower than you might expect, but given the number of things happening on screen at once, you're at least given time to devise a course of action and make your moves. Oh yeah, and your friend Pedro is that talking banana that guides you along the way. | Michael Higham
Ninjala | Switch
Ninjala takes its premise of young ninjas wielding weapons made from bubble gum very seriously. Which is to say that it goes all the way with its ridiculous premise. As a multiplayer focused online action-game, with some hints of Splatoon's sense of color and whimsy, Ninjala focuses heavily on fast-paced action to overcome other rival ninjas to reach number one. Set against the backdrop of a massive ninja tournament, you and other agile fighters will use their special bubblegum-jutsu to pull off some slick maneuver and skills.
Though there is a story mode focusing on the game's eight characters, the developers at Gung Ho have kept much of it underwraps, opting to show off more of the game's multiplayer mode. After spending a few rounds in the game, I came away excited to see more of what's to come with Ninjala, and what other bubblegum-jutsu skills there are to take advantage of. | Alessandro Fillari
Ooblets | PC, Xbox One
I'm an absolute sucker for games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, so anything where I get to run away from real life, move to a new town, and meet its citizens already has my attention. Ooblets combines farming and town exploration gameplay with something similar to Pokemon. You farm, grow, and collect Ooblets, which you can use to battle other trainers and their Ooblets. However, this game is entirely wholesome, so you're not fighting each other--no, instead you're competing in dance battles.
Unfortunately, my time with Ooblets was limited, and I was told there were areas outside of the town to explore and find new Ooblets in. I'm excited to spend my own time with it, where I can grow bonds with both the citizens of Oob and my Ooblets. It's not the type of game that benefits from short, impersonal demos; however, for the short amount of time I spent with it, I was relaxed, charmed, and happy. And that's exactly what I look for in this type of game. | Mat Paget
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw | PC
No Man's Sky took me across the galaxy, but it just wasn't the Han Solo simulator I was itching for. And if the first Rebel Galaxy was a single finger scratching said itch, then Rebel Galaxy Outlaw could be a full body scratch-fest that makes a dog's tail wag like a turbo-induced grandfather clock. I was completely enraptured with Outlaw during my brief time with it. Shooting down enemy cruisers, taking on Star Destroyers, and helping victims of spaces pirates was immediately appealing. But as exciting as the intergalactic dog fights were, that's not what has me thinking of the game weeks after playing it: it was the style that permeated every nook and cranny of this game.
It was the radio, playing everything from metal to country and rock n' roll to big band music, while I dodged enemy fire. It was the space stations that were home to aliens playing pool and people looking to hire for a job. It was the finger guns the main character shoots at her enemies before blowing them up with some carefully-aimed missiles. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw has one heck of a style, and it's one I can't wait to revisit once it releases next year. | Mat Paget
Samurai Gunn 2 | Switch
One neat surprise going into PAX West was Samurai Gunn 2, a sequel to the 2013 PC game that focuses on fast-paced multiplayer action with a sleek retro look. Once again, up to four players can slash and shoot at each other in a deathmatch that takes place in single-screen combat arenas. However, a big addition this time around is the inclusion of single-player, which consists of side-scrolling levels where you mow down enemies. Boss fights will also pit you against one of the playable characters in unique arenas with deadly obstacles to dodge.
Aside from running, jumping, and slashing, players have three gunshots or dashes per life in multiplayer. You can slash upward or downward, and swinging your sword carries momentum. You can pull of some neat tricks by adding momentum to your jumps. Each combat arena has unique conditions such as deadly spikes, sticky walls, or puddles that'll jam your gun.
New artwork was done for the game, and a digital graphic novel by French artist Valentin Seiche will also be included; characters now have their own backstory. Samurai Gunn 2 is fast and hectic, and it's set to hit the Nintendo Switch in early 2019. | Michael Higham
Steel Rats | PC
Steel Rats follows a motorcycle gang in the post-apocalypse, where the player controls its multiple members as they ride through various levels full of enemies. With its side-scrolling, motorcycle gameplay, comparisons could be made to the Trials series, though from what I played, Steel Rats is much more focused on combat and light puzzle-solving than actual platforming. The levels I played were relatively easy, though I was told the difficulty would ramp up as the game progressed.
Each character has their own unique weapon or ability to take out the robotic enemies--one of the characters I had access to used a laser of sorts to shoot enemies as you rode past them. However, each character has a blade on their front tire that can be used to break through obstacles and enemies, as well as a way to ride up walls and on ceilings. Getting through each level without stopping was tricky yet exciting, and I'll be interested to see how the later levels challenge you. | Mat Paget
Stormland | PC
You may be praising developer Insomniac right now for its wonderful work on the PlayStation 4 exclusive Spider-Man game. But the team is hard at work with its fourth VR game called Stormland. It's one of the more ambitious VR games on the horizon as its attempting to build a persistent open world that's constantly changing.
It's a first-person shooter and adventure where you're a robot that was once just a gardener who now has to protect its world from an evil robot force--not a groundbreaking premise. However, Stormland stands out by pushing the boundaries of VR gameplay-wise, especially with traversal. Artificial locomotion is the only way to walk in the world, and you'll be climbing walls, jumping off cliffs, and gliding through the air to get around the open world. You may want to get acquainted with movement in VR to see if you can handle these types of motions. Aside from that, you'll take on quests, loot for upgrades, and shoot down enemy robots, which can be done with a group of friends. The game world is said to change in physical structure every week with new objectives to mix things up.
Stormland will launch for Oculus Rift sometime in 2019. | Michael Higham
Super Meat Boy Forever | PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Super Meat Boy represents that rare game that became a classic almost the instant it was released. Its tightly tuned platforming and unforgiving challenge is rarely matched even today. I spent countless hours retrying level after level to get the perfect run, while the pile of Meat Boy bodies continued to rise.
At first glance a sequel might not seem necessary, but Super Meat Boy Forever is bringing new ideas while keeping the feel that makes the first game so good intact. As the name suggests, the Forever is an endless runner. Meat Boy auto runs while you use jump and punch to make your way through each gauntlet. The lack of direct control may feel strange as first but you quickly find that by removing the need to worry about movement, Forever refines the Super Meat Boy formula to its purest form. Levels are auto generated and adapt to your skill level. While it's hard to say how this works overall, in my time with the game's first world I found each level to be a well crafted nightmare of saw-blades and death, with no signs of the seams that put them together.
We're still not sure when Super Meat Boy Forever will finally release, but I can't wait to punish myself in the name of perfection all over again. | Jean-Luc Seipke
Torchlight Frontiers | PC
It's a difficult thing, making games in the lootfest action-RPG genre, because it will always have a Diablo-shaped shadow hanging over it. But although it may not have the brand recognition of Blizzard's iconic RPG, the Torchlight series has always been an exercise in smart, refined, and creative role-playing. With Torchlight Frontiers, developer Echtra Games is taking its oft overlooked series and bringing it into the modern multiplayer scene: its core gameplay loop of isometric combat and loot management is still intact--but much of it will now unfold within a shared world. Think: Diablo meets Destiny.
During our demo at PAX West, we saw two new classes: the robot and the dusk mage. The former uses chest-mounted cannons and interchangeable appendages, while the latter relies on alternating dark and light energy. Although the shared world components weren't present in this demo, Echtra described how the long term gameplay will take shape: you'll spend much of your time exploring an overworld populated by other human players, before diving into "private" dungeons by yourself, or with cooperative party members.
All in all, Frontiers looks promising. The core Torchlight identity is intact, with customizable characters and an array of progression options that dwarf those of Diablo 3. However, with the shared-world options making their way to the forefront, Torchlight Frontiers could set itself apart even farther with its next entry. | Mike Mahardy
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes | Switch
Suda51 is at it again with Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. However, instead of the open-world action-adventure type game we've come to expect from this series, Travis Strikes Again will be a hack-and-slash style where you tear through hordes of enemies. Co-op is at the heart of experience with one player as series protagonist Travis Touchdown and the other as Badman, father of past boss, Bad Girl. While the two are at odds, they'll need to fight together to get out of the Death Drive Mk II, which is the demonic possessed game console they're trapped in. As you'd expect from a game about game characters stuck inside games, things get meta.
While it uses the conventions of other games of this genre, the attitude and aesthetic is very much true to No More Heroes--it's crude, absurd, and relentlessly stylish. Bosses seem to be a highlight as well; during the demo at PAX West, we completed a hectic boss battle and pulled off a sweet co-op special attack to finish the fight. And yes, you still have to use the bathroom to save.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is currently a Switch exclusive set to launch January 18, 2019. | Michael Higham
Treachery In Beatdown City | PC, Switch
In Treachery In Beatdown City, an ex-MMA fighter, a boxer, and a stockbroker with skills in Capoeira team up to battle the city's most ruthless foes to save kidnapped president Blake Orama from ninjas. While on the surface Treachery in Beatdown City looks like a parody of the inherently ridiculous premise of street brawlers throwing hands with common thugs and corrupt politicians alike--which isn't too far off--it soon reveals that it's got a sharp eye for satire, shining a lot on some socially relevant topics through the lens of a beat-em-up. After finding success on Kickstarter back in 2014, the game's creator, Shawn Alexander Allen, has been steadily improving his action-RPG/beat-em-up, where super moves, suplexes, and slaps are dished out by turn.
As what is likely the first truly socially aware beat-em-up game, Beatdown City takes a far more contemporary look at the beat-em-up genre. Many of the encounters the trio face come from pushy sidewalk rappers hawking their CDs, gentrifying transplants escalating innocuous run-ins through racially motivated micro-aggressions, and dirty cops taking pride in the privilege that comes from their profession. Even though there's plenty of moments where Beatdown City revels in the familiar tropes of beat-em-up games--because there's always gotta be fresh, healthy food found in trash cans--it's not shy about telling you how it really feels, and how the brawlers now feel like outsiders in their own home. This satire of a beat-em-up game shows some grit in in places you'd least expect. | Alessandro Fillari
UFO 50 | PC
To say that diving into UFO 50's backlog of bespoke retro titles was incredibly nostalgic would be a massive understatement. Paying homage to the 8-bit era's multi-cart that were jam-packed with over dozens of games--some decent, other not so much--these multi-game offerings were expensive, but had an enticing value. UFO 50 takes this concept and runs with it, packaging 50 freshly-made retro games that show off the splendor and glory of the 8-bit era.
Coming from a collective of indie developers, including Spelunky creator Derek Yu, UFO 50's unique games cover a broad spectrum of genres and styles--all of which have their own strange twist to them. For instance, UFO 50's take on tennis features a cast of ninjas and samurai squaring off on a Kabuki stage, using their sword strikes and special attributes to get ahead of the opponent. In many ways, UFO 50 feels like a time-capsule of games that never saw release during the 1980s. From beat-em-ups, golf, platformers, shooters, and even RPGs, the compilation game packs in a lot of value into such a modest pack, which makes it a rather compelling way to relive one of the 8-bit era's forgotten gems. | Alessandro Fillari
Wandersong | PC, Switch
As you head off into the game's first 'battle', Wandersong clues you in to the type of game you're set to play. As the short Bard of average build prepares for his first encounter with a monster, the sword he struggles to wield leaves little to no effect in the fight. With no other option, the Bard relies on his singing voice, which immediately quells the monster, revealing a peaceful spirit who's impressed with his vocal talents. In Wandersong, the many puzzles, interactions, and moments of action play out through song, with the Bard showing that there's more than one way to become a hero in this musical fantasy adventure.
Wandersong plays with the adventure genre in a very whimsical way, with the protagonist engaging in battles and solving everyday problems by using his single voice. Similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the Bard's connection to town citizens is just as important as his journeys in the wild. One moment you'll quell a ghost in the town mayor's home, and in the next you'll try to cheer up a elderly person who's grown incredibly bitter. Wandersong has an infectious charm, and it does a lot to show that there's more to an adventure game than simply swinging a sword and slaying beasts in its colorful and bright world. | Alessandro Fillari
Windjammers 2 | TBD
Do you want more Windjammers? Of course you do, and thankfully Windjammers 2 is just that. The game is still in a very early state, so we were only able to play two different characters in the build, but the core gameplay remains in tact. From our short time playing, it seems that it's still fast and responsive, which is the most important factor considering the precision required for high-level Windjammers play. One new feature is that each character will have their own unique special ability, which you can execute after filling up a meter at the bottom of the screen.
For those who are unfamiliar with Windjammers, it's a fast-paced one-on-one sports game where your goal is to toss a frisbee into your opponent's net. You have different types of throws to keep your opponent on their toes, so you better be quick on your feet. The original game came to SNK's Neo Geo and arcades in 1994, and has a cult following and a strong competitive scene in France. To see the game receive a sequel 24 years later is a sight to behold. | Michael Higham
World Of Horror | PC
In World Of Horror, a small idyllic Japanese town in the early 1990s is haunted by a horrifying and grotesque supernatural presence that leaves a lasting impression. Taking inspiration from classic PC adventure role-playing games and along with the works of Japanese horror artist Junji Ito, World of Horror is an RPG-investigation game focusing on the exploits of a young girl who must use her wits and knowledge of the supernatural to solve the strange and peculiar cases behind each haunting in town, and expel the evil that lurks there.
Right from the beginning, the style and visual look of World of Horror will catch your eye. Despite the minimal 1-bit graphical style--designed entirely in MS Paint--the monochromatic visuals and tone throughout give much of the more violent and disturbing scenes an extra sense of dread. One moment you'll be investigating the hallways of the local school at night, and in the next you'll come face-to-face with ghosts and other demons with grotesque faces and bodies that hide within the darkest corners. Along with the investigation system, tasking you to find clues and the tools to survive, you'll also do battle with the monsters and possessed humans using a turn-based combat system.
As one of the biggest surprises of PAX West 2018, World of Horror definitely keeps its scares close to the vest, lulling you into a false sense of security before surprising you with some unexpected frights. And yes, there are some incredibly unnerving jump-scares to encounter in this game. | Alessandro Fillari
Young Souls | TBD
Young Souls feels like a modern take on the classic side-scrolling beat-em-up action game with RPG elements sprinkled in. You play as either Jenn or Tristan, twin siblings who are outcasts within their town. Little do the townsfolk know that Jenn and Tristan defend the human world against a hostile alternate dimension where the combat takes place. At its heart, Young Souls is a cooperative experience, and it has a seamless jump-in jump-out function for a second player to join. Combat is simple enough in the early going with a block, dodge, light attack, heavy attack, and special power, which you'll be using to clear out rooms of enemies. Boss battles also take place within dungeons for an added challenge.
Young Souls sports a charming 2D hand-painted pastel art style that gives that breathes life into the redhead duo and the world around them. There's currently no word on a release date or platforms, though we did play the early build on PC. | Michael Higham
Since the launch of Destiny 2: Forsaken, players have been hard at work getting ready for the next Raid. Though we're still in the dark about what sort of challenges the Last Wish Raid will have, we do know that it finally takes us away from the Leviathan, and will offer the most challenging six-player mission to date. But as many players discovered after finishing the main campaign, the new soft cap of 500 Power brings in a rather steep climb to overcome for Guardians looking forward to the next big activity.
Historically, the Power and Engram systems have undergone major changes and revisions with each big expansion, and Forsaken is no different. Ahead of the expansion's launch, the game has seen some updates to the frequency of loot drops and the systems that players have become accustomed to. With a minimum power level of 550 required for the upcoming Raid, players will have to take advantage of every resource and opportunity they have available to them to prepare for what's to come. With this in mind, we've come up with 5 useful tips to help you get ready for the upcoming Raid, which releases on Friday, September 14.
Finish The Campaign And Embrace The New Grind
Firstly, it's important that you finish the main campaign for the Forsaken DLC. While this may seem obvious, completing the story is the fastest way to reach level 50 and 500 power level for your Guardian. As you're taking on the story missions and Adventures throughout the campaign, you'll be swimming in new gear--mostly blue items--while getting accustomed to the new changes added into the Forsaken expansion. What's abundantly clear is that many of the alterations to Destiny 2's established systems have removed some shortcuts and dialed down certain methods players liked to use to get over the hump.
Once you reach 500 power level, you'll encounter the first soft cap for leveling. Going forward, most blue and purple gear found from ordinary drops, vendors, and standard missions will cap at 500, and you'll need to take advantage of the more challenging missions to steadily increase your power. But bare in mind, just when you start hitting your stride and rise in power, another soft-cap at 520 awaits. Just remember, there is no quick way to increase your strength; it will take time to steadily buff your character's stats from here on out.
Acquire Powerful And Prime Engrams
In order to overcome the steep climb past 500, you'll need to acquire the new type of rewards found from completing the harder bounties and milestones. Similar to the Luminous Engrams from the original Destiny 2, Powerful Engrams are the rare loot you can find from completing key missions and milestones around the various planets and activities you can take part in. These Engrams house Legendary and Exotic gear--the latter of which have also seen reduced drop rates. In addition to Powerful Engrams, Prime Engrams have also been thrown into the mix.
While the Cryptarch Master Rahool has taken a less hands-on role with cracking open Engrams--most of which unlock instantly--you'll need his help to open up Prime Engrams. Unlike Powerful Engrams, however, Prime Engrams require Prime Attunement, a special buff that comes only once a day. With the prime attunement, the special Engram can drop from powerful enemies in public events, Strikes, and Heroic missions, and from taking part in multiplayer matches. Though totally RNG-based, it's generous enough where it will only take a few missions to see a drop. Interestingly enough, Prime Attunement can stack if you don't take advantage of it on the day you receive it--it will carry over to the following day. The gains you can get from these special Engrams can offer up an increase of 5 power on the specific item, which may not seem a lot, but can go a long way in upping your strength. To sum it up, be sure to keep an eye out for powerful enemies in the strikes and heroic missions, and stay focused during PvP to get those drops.
Keep Up With Daily And Weekly Bounties
Though the usefulness of bounties took a backseat throughout the first year of Destiny 2 compared to the original game, Forsaken has brought them back in a big way. Over the course of the main story, you'll interact with many of Destiny 2's key characters, including newcomers Spider and The Drifter, along with other returning characters like Petra and the members of the Vanguard. Several of the key NPCs will offer daily and weekly bounties for you to take on. The bulk of these bounties don't require much effort and can be accomplished while engaging in other activities. While a number of these tasks will only yield glimmer, materials, and other rewards, the resources gained can be turned in for rewards to vendors and NPCs.
However, there are several high-profile bounties that are far more challenging and only come once a week. Found from Petra and Spider, some of these bounties will task you with heading to some of the more obscure areas of Destiny 2's worlds to find hidden targets. The higher-tiered bounties from Spider will have you confront the escapees from the Prison of Elders, while Petra's bounties at the Dreaming City will task you with handling many of the new location's unique events and missions, some of which are a bit more complex than they let on. But when it comes to bounties, always check in Petra and Spider to stay up to date on the newest goals they have to offer.
Head To The Dreaming City
After finishing the main story, you'll eventually gain entrance to the Dreaming City, the new end-game zone in Forsaken. While exploring the Dreaming City, you'll find several events around the map that are a bit different from what's available on the Tangled Shore and other planets. Once you visit Petra in The Strand, you can take on a number of bounties and pursuits, both of which can offer Powerful Engram rewards. From here, you can explore the area and engage with the key points within the Dreaming City.
One of Petra's pursuits tasks you with completing an Ascendant Challenge, a new weekly activity bringing Guardians to the Taken realm. By using a Tincture of Queensfoil, found from public events and chests around the Dreaming City, you'll gain access to a hidden portal on the map. Every week, this portal's location is changed from three different areas, and they can only be found after consuming the aforementioned Tincture of Queensfoil. Inside the Ascendant Realm, you'll engage with several powerful Taken while completing minor goals. It's best to complete these with a group, as you can get easily overwhelmed. Completing the Ascendant Challenge pursuit from Petra will reward you with a Powerful Engram.
However, the clear standout in the Dreaming City is the public event known as The Blind Well. Similar to The Taken King's Court of Oryx, it's a multi-tiered activity within the open world that tasks players with taking out increasingly difficult waves of Scorn and Taken. While most players can take part in the first tier challenge of The Blind Well by using a Tier 1 Charge of Light (found from most activities in the field or by purchasing them from Petra), the upper tiers are much more difficult to carry out. With that said, Tier 1 of The Blind Well is manageable. To gain a guaranteed Powerful Engram, complete the Gateway Between Worlds pursuit from Petra by clearing the activity multiple times, which will earn you an Offering. Take this item to the Oracle Engine in The Dreaming City, located in the Spine of Keres, to collect your reward.
Pace Yourself And Complete Milestone Challenges
Along with collecting Prime Engrams and completing bounties from Petra and Spider, the most important thing you can do to power up is to stay on top of your weekly and daily milestone challenges. From the director menu, you'll be able to see the available activities across the various game modes and planets that will offer up Powerful Engrams. These include vanguard Strikes, Nightfalls, flashpoint, and clearing games in the Crucible and Gambit modes. Also, be sure to keep up with your clan bounties as well, as maxing your rep can also lead to powerful engram. Along with taking on the bounties from various NPC characters, you'll be able to acquire materials and other rewards while clearing out these challenges.
As previously stated, the grind post 500 power will take some time to overcome. With the Raid requiring 550 power, and with yet another hill to climb once you hit 520, you'll need to stay on to top of all these activities and bounties in order to reach Raid status in a reasonable amount of time. With that said, there's still much to be gained from completing the game's shifting challenges, which you get you up to right power level sooner than you think.
For more info on Destiny 2: Forsaken, be sure to check out our review in progress, along with our look at the game's new lineup of Exotics for all three characters classes.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the next big step for the Tomb Raider reboot series. The game introduces additional features to stealth, combat, and progression. With these additions comes new possibilities in gameplay that you might not be aware of as you play.
Stealth offers you more options to take down enemies, and there's even changes to AI that make it possible to break their line of sight. There are new tombs and crypts to explore. And when you're not progressing through the story, you have the option to take side missions, which now contain more narrative and NPC interaction.
There's a ton of new content in Shadow of the Tomb Raider that should offer something fresh for returning players. To help better your ability to take on the challenges that lie ahead, we've compiled nine useful tips you should know before starting.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider release on September 14 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. GameSpot reviewer Edmond Tran said about the game: "Thankfully, the parts of Tomb Raider that make it really fantastic--uncovering the mystery of ancient ruins, solving impressive challenge tombs, and exploring exotic environments--are still here in Shadow, and they are just as outstanding as they have always been. But the core mechanics that have been with the series for half a decade are starting to show their limitations." For our full thoughts on the game, check out our review.
In the meantime, were there any Shadow of the Tomb Raider tips you have that you don't see here? Let us know about them in the comments below.
Take Advantage Of The Adjustable Difficulty
There are a number of ways to vary your experience with Shadow of the Tomb Raider--one of them is through its difficulty level. The game allows you to adjust the difficulty of its combat, exploration, and puzzles separately. While you can make these adjustments before you start the game, don't hesitate to hop into the options menu to change things up if you ever want some extra challenge. We personally recommend increasing both exploration and puzzles to hard; it'll help decrease your reliance on Instinct mode, which often makes the game a tad too easy at times.
If you're breezing through the game without much challenge, take a moment to experiment to see if a bump in difficulty suits you. For a more in-depth look at the game's difficulty, watch our video feature detailing why you should play the game on hard.
Stealth Players, Don't Forget You Can Break Line Of Sight!
There's a higher emphasis on stealth in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Among a variety of new tools, one of the most welcome additions is the ability to disengage from a firefight and break enemy line of sight. If you ever muck up an encounter, don't hesitate to get behind walls and move back into bushes to reassess the situation and plot out a new strategy.
Focus On Skills That Suit Your Playstyle
Shadow of Tomb Raider's skill tree is a bit intimidating and difficult to follow at first. It's separated into three categories: Seeker (Blue), Scavenger (Green), and Warrior (Red). Seeker focuses on Instinct mode and exploration skills; Scavenger has stealth skills and ammo crafting formulas; and Warrior caters specifically to combat with enhancements to Lara's weapons and physical characteristics.
While there's not much consequence in being a bit scattered with the upgrades you choose, a more focused build is far more effective in the long run. Examine the skills that work best for your playstyle and try to craft a build that enhances your tendencies in combat and exploration. For example, you might look to acquire the Chain Assassination and Owl's Vision skills early on to better deal with enemies while being aware of your surroundings during stealth encounters. On the other hand, given the limited combat during the game's opening hours, you might focus on skills that deal with resource gathering, like Hoatzin's Hunger and Viper's Nest, which both increase the amount of natural and man-made materials you pick up. Whatever you end up doing, just be sure you're choosing skills wisely.
Explore Tombs And Crypts
Tombs and crypts are more rewarding this time around, each featuring more intensive puzzles to solve and platforming challenges to overcome than previous games. While they're fun to partake in when you're not focused on progressing the story, completing them offers tangible rewards. Tombs unlock special skills in the game's skill tree, and crypts unlock special armor pieces you can craft and wear. Go out of your way to find tombs and crypts, their upgrades make completing them well worth the effort.
Craft And Wear Outfits
Unlike past entries, you can craft and equip clothing that enhance Lara's abilities. Each has their own special characteristics. For example, there are outfit pieces that'll make her harder to see during stealth sections, while there are others that give her the ability to pick up more crafting resources from the environment. These bonuses should offer you more than enough initiative to craft more outfits, but let's be real: they're pretty cool looking too. Just check out Lara's Condor outfit above.
Visit Merchants For Essential Upgrades
Merchants carry a humble offering of supplies and ammo for you to purchase, but they also sell quite a few weapon and tool upgrades that you might miss out on if you don't check their inventory. For example, the merchant in Paititi sells a knife upgrade that allows you to cut the braided rope that blocks off special areas of the game, while another in Kuwaq Yaku sells a silencer for your pistol. Make it a habit of seeing what the merchants have on sale; you never know what useful equipment you might be able to buy with your hard-earned money.
Sell Your Jade And Gold!
Speaking of money, don't forget to sell your stock of jade and gold to merchants on a regular basis. This sounds obvious, but it can be easy to pass up selling materials in favor of the game's story and various side activities. That and the game never quite specifies that they're meant for selling and not crafting upgrades. Don't stockpile your jade and gold, or else you might you'll max out your carrying capacity and potentially miss out on the opportunity to grab more during your adventures.
Don't Forget Side Missions
Whenever you arrive at a new town or accomplish an objective in the campaign, a new side mission will often unlock. Set aside time to complete these, as they're great ways to earn bonus XP, as well as unlock new weapons and equipment for Lara. Some of the side missions are also necessary to discover new Challenge Tombs and Crypts. That and they've actually got some nice writing and NPC interaction that you don't wanna miss!
Upgrade Your Shotgun ASAP
Compared to previous Tomb Raider games, there are way more close quarters enemies that rush you before you have time to line up a shot. To maximize your effectiveness in these encounters, upgrade your shotgun and pick up ammo pouch upgrades for additional shells. The shotgun is certainly one of the most useful weapons in the game, so make sure to have it ready whenever you suspect a surprise enemy encounter coming up.
When you first jump into Marvel's Spider-Man, you're likely going to be taken aback by the complexities of its combat and web-swinging. Developer Insomniac has done a great job at making each system an interesting one that allows you to be creative while also expressing yourself as a player. While web-swinging will undoubtedly be easier to pick up, you're likely going to run into some issues properly executing the right combat moves during the right situations in a fight. There's a lot to the mechanics at work and it might catch you off guard, especially if you're more accustomed to the systems of other superhero games.
Spider-Man is a much more agile and acrobatic character to play as than, say, Batman from the Arkham games. So, if you're thrown off by that, don't worry: we were too. But with enough practice, you can embrace and learn all the skills and abilities that Spider-Man has to offer and more.
To help prepare you for the challenges ahead, we've compiled 11 tips you should know before starting Spider-Man. In this feature, we outline the best practices in combat, the types of skills you should prioritize unlocking in the game's skill tree, and other habits you should follow in order to come out successful.
Spider-Man releases on September 7 on PS4. GameSpot reviewer Edmond Tran said the game is "a superior Spider-Man experience that leaves a lasting impression." You can read more in our full review. As the day goes on, look out for our in-depth guide highlighting the best skills, as well as our feature about the coolest best mods and suits mods in the game. And if you're loving what you're playing, you're in luck. The game's first DLC expansion is set to launch on October 23.
In the meantime, were there any Spider-Man tips you have that you don't see here? Let us know about them in the comments below.
Repair The Security Towers ASAP
This might seem a given, but the sooner you can repair all of the Oscorp security towers, the better. Otherwise, you're going to be staring at a completely fuzzed out map for a decent chunk of the game. An effective crimefighter needs to have full awareness of their environment, so make repairing the police towers the first thing you do.
Practice The Basics of Combat
While web-swinging is pretty easy to understand and execute, combat takes a while to wrap your head around. Spider-Man has a pretty wide range of attacks and dodges at the start of the game that require quick reflexes to properly execute. Some moves are situational, but others have to be linked together with another move to be effective. For example, the Air Launcher (Hold square) can be combined with Yank Down (Hold triangle) for a powerful slam attack to the ground that knocks back nearby enemies.
Take time to study the move list menu to watch footage of what each one does and the types of situations they're most useful in. It's best not to button mash, as later you'll acquire upgrades that reward perfectly-timed hits and dodges. If you're looking for a great venue to practice, then seek out Thug Crimes and Fisk Hideouts; there are plenty of enemies there you can test your skills against. Mastering the basics puts you in good shape for when you start unlocking gadgets and suit upgrades, which require intimate understanding of Spider-Man's repertoire to find the most powerful combinations (More on that later).
Unlock Enemy-Focused Combat Skills
Your early runnings as Spider-Man can be a bit tough when fighting against brutes and enemies equipped with shields or firearms, as they can easily fluster and overpower you if you're not careful. To help shift the odds in your favor, it's a good idea to unlock combat skills focused on hurting the different enemy types. Do you hate it when shielded enemies knock you back? Bunker Buster allows you to do the same to them and even launch them off buildings. Are you powerless to the Brute's constant pummeling? Wrecking Ball allows you to grab these meatheads and spin throw them, hurting surrounding enemies in the process.
These enemy-focused skills tend to be a bit higher up on their respective skill trees, but they're well worth getting. After all, nothing is more satisfying than dismantling the tactics of the bad guys and showing them what's what.
Web Slinging Skills Are Essential and Cool
While combat skills and defensive maneuvers are essential aspects of your repertoire, there really isn't anything more essential to the Spider-Man Experience™ than web-slinging. So if you're into that kind of thing, we would recommend diving straight into that particular skill tree first. You'll earn some very useful abilities to help you traverse the city more efficiently and make the opening hours of the game much more invigorating. Aim to get the Point Launch, Quick Recovery, and Charge Jump as soon as possible, and you'll be flying through the city in record time.
Don't Forget To Craft Suit Powers And Mods
It can be easy to get lost in the action of Spider-Man's exploits and the ensuing drama of his double life--so much so that you neglect to upgrade his suit's capabilities. There's a wealth of equippable suit mods that each grant you special combat capabilities, like slow down time after a perfect dodge, instantly shock enemies who hit you, or generate Gadget refills after performing Finishers. And suits are more than just cosmetic unlockables, they actually give you access to special suit powers that can you equip no matter which suit you wear. These powers give Spider-Man special attributes, like bulletproof armor or the ability to throw enemies without having to web them up.
All of these upgrades will be completely lost on you if you ignore them or simply stick to the ones assigned to you during the game's tutorial. Take advantage of suit powers and mods to enhance your Spidey tactics and abilities, but just make sure to check in every once in a while to see what you've unlocked for upgrade.
Diversify Your Side Activities
As you complete side activities and nab more of the game's myriad collectables, you'll earn special tokens used to upgrade Spider-Man's gadgets and craft new suit mods and powers. These upgrades require all manner of tokens to unlock, so when you're out in the world, try to diversify the types of activities you do. This way you'll always be racking in enough tokens to unlock the best Spider-Man's arsenal has to offer.
When you hover over an activity on the map screen, it'll tell you the type of tokens you'll be rewarded, as well as how many you'll get. Some activities can even be repeated for additional token rewards. As a crimefighter, you'll want to keep yourself preoccupied, but try to avoid doing the same thing over and over.
Build A One Man Army: Be Creative
As Uncle Ben once said, with new suits, comes new suit powers. Or something like that. Our memory is a bit hazy. But by combining Suit powers with your gadgets, along with the three Suit Mod slots, you're able to create some spectacular combos. For example, if you're fighting a bunch of goons, you could shoot a loaded-up Web Bomb, then let out an ear-splitting solo with the Rock Out power to send them all flying. Maybe you want to take to the skies and pair the suspension matrix with low gravity for some serious hangtime. Or you could just let your robots to do the dirty work for you: use the Spider Drone and Spider Bro for a tag team takedown.
Spider-Man's combat is all about creatively combining the effects of your gadgets, suit powers, and suit mods together for disastrous results. Be a responsible crime fighter and take time to mix n' match to see what works best. That's how Uncle Ben would've wanted it. You don't want to let him down, do you?
Ground Floor
As much fun as it is to swing through the city, there's still a whole world out there on the sidewalks to New York to explore, so take some time out of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Manning to appreciate the details on the ground floor. Give people high fives! Eavesdrop on the chatter! Check out the iconic New York City landmarks! Read the Daily Bugle! And sometimes, folks on the street might inform you about nearby crimes in the area.
Stop The Crime, Or Pay With Time
If you're a completionist and can't possibly imagine yourself NOT getting all of Spider-Man's spiffy new suits, then you're going to want to listen up. In order to unlock the final outfit (which we won't spoil here), you'll need to complete each of Manhattan's nine districts. That means finishing every single side quest, completing all the activities, and finding every collectible. This is why we cannot emphasize enough: do not skip crime activities. If you see a red exclamation icon pop up on your mini-map, make that your top priority. You'll want to complete as many as you can over the course of the main story, otherwise you're going to be spending a whole lot of time wandering the streets, searching for thugs to beat up. See a crime happening? Take 'em down. That's the Spidey way.
Seek Out Challenges
Later on, you'll come across stations that allow you to take on challenges. They might be combat or stealth focused or might have you chasing a drone across the city rooftops. Make sure not to skip these, as they'll reward you valuable tokens needed to acquire high-level upgrades for your gadgets and suit powers, especially when you break the high score record.
You Never Know What Nerdy Stuff You Might Find
Spider-Man is deeply entrenched in the character's extensive lore. As you advance the game's story, you'll notice a variety of references to the comics and movies. But if you take time to explore and look more closely at Insomniac's take on Spider-Man's Manhattan, you'll discover an abundance of Marvel references scattered all around. For example, there are several landmarks that are direct nods to famous Marvel characters and organizations. When you're not out fighting crime, be sure to set aside time to search for these references. It may not benefit your progression directly, but it's well worth doing--if only to be in awe of all the little details packed into the world.
There's always an abundance of new games that come out every month. Some are incredibly big-budget releases that we've been eagerly waiting years for while others are smaller, more surprising independent titles that no one sees coming. In addition, there's plenty of other games found near and around those releases. You get games from mid-sized publishers and even the occasional remaster or re-release of gaming's most definitive adventures.
There's a lot of exciting games coming out in the future. We recently got to see debut gameplay of Cyberpunk 2077, and we already can't wait for it. In addition, Nintendo did a Direct presentation and announced 22 upcoming Switch games. With so many games coming out year-round, it can be difficult keeping track of what's worth playing. To help keep you in the know, we've compiled all the best new games you absolutely need to play right now. The point of this feature is to focus on the latest and greatest games, so the choices you'll find here have been limited to the past couple months.
What you'll find in the slides ahead are games rated 7 or higher by GameSpot. However, you'll occasionally find some lower-rated ones that have been chosen to be included by an incredibly passionate member of our team. We won't hesitate to highlight experiences some members of our staff absolutely love--even if there are others who may not agree. The games included in this feature are ones we personally believe you should check out in some capacity. Here's a brief taste of what you'll see.
Check out the slides ahead for all the games we've highlighted as the best out right now. And as the months go by, we'll be continually cycling out the older games with the most cutting-edge experiences out now, so be sure to keep checking back as often as you can. Which new games have you been playing recently? Let us know in the comments below.
"Minor shortcomings don't detract from Insomniac's achievement in creating a game that feels like an authentic interpretation of a beloved creation. The feeling of embodying Spidey and using his abilities is astonishing, and the time spent on exploring its major characters help make its story feel heartfelt, despite superhero bombast. There have been open-world Spider-Man games before, but none so riveting and full of personality, none that explore and do justice to this many facets of the universe. Insomniac has created a superior Spider-Man experience that leaves a lasting impression, one that has you longing for just one more swing around New York City, even after the credits roll." [Read the review]
-- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor and Producer
NBA live 19 -- 7/10
"NBA Live 19 is a capable and competent basketball game that offers a multitude of different ways to play and numerous reasons to keep coming back. Its impressive attention to detail complements the strong foundation set by its presentation and gameplay. However, the AI logic and animation problems are impossible to ignore given they're at the heart of the experience the entire game is based on. These issues, combined with a lackluster franchise mode and a push towards microtransactions, detract from what is an otherwise solid basketball game." [Read the review]
-- Eddie Makuch
Divinity: Original Sin II Definitive Edition -- 10/10
"From lonely farmhouses through pitched battles with gods in far-flung dimensions, Divinity: Original Sin II is one of the most captivating role-playing games ever made in both its original and Definitive incarnations, with the latter proving that even the most complicated role-players can be ported successfully to gamepad-limited consoles. This immaculately conceived and emotion-wrought fantasy world, topped by brilliant tactical combat, make it one of the finest games of recent years, and it remains an instant classic in the pantheon of RPG greats." [Read the review]
-- Brett Todd
Planet Alpha -- 7/10
"While there are moments of frustration in its platforming, and the puzzles are relatively unsophisticated, the locations of Planet Alpha will most certainly stick with you. It doesn't matter why you're there, or what it is you're looking for. There's great pleasure in just existing on this planet, in navigating its harsh terrain and admiring its vistas, and the sheer beauty of it all makes the game's shortcomings easy to bear." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Strange Brigade -- 7/10
"The grand result is an amusing adventure that makes a powerful case for more creativity with level design, setting, and pacing in co-op shooters, without thoroughly capitalizing on all of its own best ideas. Traps and their extensive use within many of the levels are a joy, and the underpinning gunplay is strong enough to warrant a sturdy recommendation, but it all comes to a head well before it should." [Read the review]
-- Daniel Starkey
Two Point Hospital -- 8/10
"It's remarkable that it's taken so long for a spiritual successor to Theme Hospital to show up, but now that it's here, it feels like it's been well worth the wait. The exaggerated, cartoon look and relaxed approach to management make it inviting enough for most players, while the deeper aspects of its economy are enough to keep seasoned players engaged. Two Point Hospital not only re-works an old formula into something modern and enjoyable, it also iterates on the classic brand of irresistible charm and wit, making something that's truly wonderful." [Read the review]
-- James Swinbanks
PES 2019 -- 9/10
"For as long as EA continues to develop FIFA and hold a monopoly over official licences, PES will be the scrappy underdog just hoping for a surprise upset, even when it's fielding the likes of London Blue and PV White Red. The lack of licences for top-tier leagues remains a disheartening sticking point, but PES continues to make brilliant strides on the pitch, building on what was already an incredibly satisfying game of football to produce one of the greatest playing football games of all time. It might be lacking off the pitch, but put it on the field against the competition and a famous giant killing wouldn't be all that surprising." [Read the review]
-- Richard Wakeling
F1 2018 -- 9/10
"F1 2018 is brilliant, and the most complete Formula One game to date. The changes to career mode make it the strongest and most appealing it's ever been thanks to the revamped upgrade system, while the simulation-like additions to the driving model bring you closer than ever to the feeling of sitting on the grid with 1000+ horsepower at your feet, without overwhelming those who just want to jump in and drive." [Read the review]
-- James Swinbanks
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age -- 9/10
"Innovation in games is talked about a lot, but it's also great to see traditional gameplay formulas that have been around for decades presented exceptionally well. Dragon Quest XI is one of the best modern examples of this; its beautiful presentation, both visual- and story-wise, combines with a tried-and-true gameplay formula for a journey that's full of heart and soul. Once you find yourself sucked into the world of Dragon Quest XI, it's going to be hard to put down until you reach the grand finale." [Read the full review]
-- Heidi Kemps
The Messenger -- 8/10
"The Messenger takes the best parts of the action-platformers it takes influence from and reinterprets them well. With clever writing, well-designed levels, and balanced difficulty curve, the game continuously hooks you with enticing skill-based challenges and satisfying payoffs. Your character might have an immediate imperative to delivering a world-saving scroll, but the journey there is definitely one to savor." [Read the full review]
-- Alexander Pan
Into the Breach -- 9/10
"There is so much strategic joy in seeing the potential destruction a swarm of giant monsters is about to unleash on a city, then quickly staging and executing elaborate counter maneuvers to ruin the party. Into The Breach's focus on foresight makes its turn-based encounters an action-packed, risk-free puzzle, and the remarkable diversity of playstyles afforded by unique units keeps each new run interesting. It's a pleasure to see what kind of life-threatening predicaments await for you to creatively resolve in every new turn, every new battle, and every new campaign. Into The Breach is a pristine and pragmatic tactical gem with dynamic conflicts that will inspire you to jump back in again, and again, and again." [Read the full review]
-- Edmond Tran
Yakuza Kiwami 2 -- 8/10
"The tale of Tokyo and Osaka, Kiryu and Sayama's partnership, and Kiryu and Goda's rivalry remains one of the Yakuza's best stories, and Kiwami 2's minor missteps don't affect the heart of that experience. The modernization of its presentation and its mechanics elevate it, making it absolutely worth revisiting or experiencing for the first time. Yakuza is an exemplary, if flawed series that does an incredible job of steeping you in contemporary Japanese-style crime drama, and establishing an evocative sense of place. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an excellent example of the series at its best, coupling its most memorable stories and characters with its most sophisticated mechanics yet." [Read the review]
-- Edmond Tran, Editor and Senior Video Producer
Guacamelee 2 -- 9/10
"Everything about Guacamelee 2 comes off as smarter and more thoughtful than the first game, even while indulging in its self-aware shenanigans and Rick & Morty-esque dimensional hijinks. The game never stops finding new ways to hook you in, to the point that even the most painstaking and intensive playthroughs feel like they just fly by. Saving the numerous timelines in Guacamelee 2 is just as much about partaking in a marvel of devious, meticulous game design as it is about saving Juan and his family from peril." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - The Final Season Episode 1 -- 8/10
"The full scope and breadth of The Walking Dead: The Final Season has yet to be laid out, though perhaps the best hint can be found in the game's fancy, HBO-esque title sequence, showing Clementine and A.J. walking into Ericson, but also showing a silhouetted dead walker rotting away in the front yard, being overtaken by ivy, and, eventually, sprouting a yellow flower. Beautiful things are possible in the new world and the new ways to play that Telltale has laid out in Done Running. But something ugly and horrifying is likely to happen first, and it is going to be captivating to watch." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Phantom Doctrine -- 9/10
"In spite of the lackluster visuals, Phantom Doctrine succeeds in making an incredible impression with its intricate and engaging mechanics. There is a lot to admire, with a single-player campaign taking about 40 hours to complete, full of varied and interesting mainline missions and procedurally-generated side content. The ability to play as either a CIA, KGB, or Mossad agent (the latter unlocked after one complete playthrough) also offers the tantalizing prospect of different narrative perspectives. Phantom Doctrine takes the familiar framework of isometric turn-based strategy and confidently repurposes it into a unique and satisfying experience. It wholly embodies the paranoia and tension of the 1980's Cold War setting in every aspect of its numerous gameplay systems, and completely immerses you in that all-encompassing state of mind." [Read the review]
-- Alexander Pan
Flipping Death -- 7/10
"Flipping Death's logic is sometimes too ridiculous for its own good, and frustrating platforming sections add some tarnish. But the game's silly puzzles, self-aware humor, and crazy characters still make a wonderful experience filled with plenty of chuckles, which help to leave you satisfied as the credits roll." [Read the review]
-- Seamus Mullins
Madden 19 -- 8/10
"Madden 19 is an excellent football game that improves on last year's entry in almost every way. There are problems, but there has never been a football game that more authentically represents the NFL than this in terms of presentation, controls, and depth." [Read the review]
-- Eddie Makuch
Unavowed -- 9/10
"But Unavowed's greatest strength is that it maintains an admirable focus on incredible characterization that feeds into every quest and conversation. Every question you ask, every decision you make, and every sacrifice you make carries you and your team members on an impassioned journey that epitomizes the best qualities of an adventure game. It never rests on tropes, a strong sense of empathy is present through its entirety, and not only do you come to wholly understand character motivations, the way these people deal with supernatural situations helps to build a bond between them and you as a player. From its wonderfully realized locations and its inviting, three-dimensional characters, Unavowed will have you eager to discover the captivating stories lurking in the demonic underworld of New York City." [Read the review]
-- David Rayfield
Monster Hunter World (PC) -- 8/10
"Ever since the title was first announced, it was clear that Capcom was gunning for something grander than Monster Hunter Generations. It has succeeded, and this is likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been. It's not just the comparative depth of the narrative; it also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large." [Read the review]
-- Ginny Woo
Overcooked 2 -- 8/10
"Overcooked 2 undoubtedly shines in local co-op and the versus arcade modes. New recipes and obstacles provide a fresh challenge for veterans, but it remains approachable for new players with simple controls and short playtimes. The new throwing mechanic, too, adds a new dimension to both strategy and the inevitable chaos without overcomplicating things. It's a strong foundation, and with the right friends, Overcooked 2 is one of the best couch co-op games around." [Read the review]
-- Kallie Plagge, Associate Editor
Dead Cells -- 9/10
"Dead Cells is a phenomenal effort to blend together some very disparate genres into a tight, cohesive whole. It's one of the better examples of how to remix ideas without losing their individual strengths." [Read the review]
-- Daniel Starkey
No Man's Sky Next -- 8/10
"At its absolute best, No Man's Sky is a measured, gentle experience where you are rarely the agent of change, but a perpetual visitor who's constantly dwarfed by the magnitude of a universe neutral to your presence. It is not your job in these stories to colonize the universe. Your job is to comprehend it. Your job is to recognize the spirituality in it. The primary gimmick of No Man's Sky, since day one, has been awe. The best things about the Next update feed that gimmick. While features like multiplayer and base-building certainly put more proverbial asses in seats, they're also the least memorable additions to an otherwise thoughtful experience." [Read the review]
-- Justin Clark
Warioware Gold -- 8/10
"WarioWare Gold might not be entirely new, but it's the best representation available of what makes this series special. It's a true greatest hits package that showcases Wario's unique weirdo vibe, and this style of play remains inventive and thrilling 15 years after the original Game Boy Advance game. We're still hoping for an entirely new title on Switch in the future, but for now Gold is a compelling, generous victory lap." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Chasm -- 8/10
"Even when its flaws are obvious, Chasm is a well-crafted adventure, and during the more than 12 hours I spent playing through my first time, I got lost only once. That's a huge bonus in a genre where getting lost is often the most frustrating aspect. Even after I finished, I was eager to venture forth on a new adventure, to test my combat mettle against harder foes and find the one secret that eluded me the first time through. It's a shame the randomization of the world isn't that big of a deal and the challenge could be better balanced, but the superb combat and visual design ensure your time with Chasm will be well spent." [Read the review]
-- Tom McShea
The Banner Saga 3 -- 8/10
"As things come down to the wire the two separate groups become more and more interconnected, the consequences of one group's choices directly affecting the potential of the other. This exemplifies the best part about The Banner Saga 3: the feeling that every action you've made in regards to your clan for three games--the friends you've kept and lost, the decisions you've made, and the battles you've picked--will likely influence how well this finale is going to fare. The Banner Saga 3 won't have the same kind of meaningful impact if you haven't experienced the rest of the series. But if you've taken the time to journey with these characters from the very beginning, this finale is a worthwhile and cathartic end to your long journey." [Read the review]
-- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor
Semblance -- 7/10
"Because it's so short, and the puzzles never get particularly fiendish, Semblance is an enjoyable but light experience. This isn't necessarily a bad thing--it's a relaxed game, a good one to clear over a few sessions in bed or on the train if you're playing on Switch--but it also means that it doesn't feel like the game realizes its full conceptual potential. But the fact that I desperately wanted more, and that I was disappointed when Semblance abruptly ended, says more about the game's strengths than its weaknesses. This is a good idea realized and executed well, even though you're likely to come away from it wishing for just a bit more." [Read the review]
-- James O'Connor
Mother Gunship -- 8/10
"With the game's clever gun crafting system added into the mix, familiar tropes and techniques from classic shooting galleries feel super-charged in the game's randomized bullet-hell dungeons. When Mothergunship is firing on all cylinders, it's a satisfying and thrilling shooter where it really counts. With an incredibly fun and never uninteresting gun-crafting mechanic, it certainly goes a long way with its clever hook and an endless flow of enemies to gun down." [Read the review]
-- Alessandro Fillari, Editor
Fighting EX Layer -- 8/10
"On a pure gameplay level, Fighting EX Layer is an absolute treat. What it lacks in bells and whistles it delivers in pure, fun combat. This is a game made for the sort of people who will spend hours perfecting an impractical, extremely-precise combo in training mode simply for the satisfaction of having done it. If that describes you, then Fighting EX Layer will be worth everything you put into it." [Read the review]
Despite having its own unique interpretation of the web-slinger's established world, Insomniac's Spider-Man is deeply entrenched in Marvel's expansive lore. The game makes reference to several characters and entities from the comics and movies, which includes mentions of the Avengers, Damage Control, Crusher Hogan, and a lot more. If you're an avid comic book reader or even a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you're likely to catch onto these subtle nods and details. But if you're among the many who love the character but may not be familiar with the more obscure facets of his world and those inhabit it, these references might swing over your head.
During our time spent playing the game, we discovered a wealth of references and easter eggs that we'd be remiss not to share. With so many clever details to notice and discover in Spider-Man's bustling world, we've highlighted the most fascinating Easter eggs and Marvel references.
There's a lot of late game story details present in this feature, so if you haven't beaten the game, we recommend you bookmark this page and return once you've cleared the game. If that doesn't bother you, feel free to click ahead.
Spider-Man is out now and it's a fantastic game that exudes passion for the character at every turn. For our full thoughts on the game, be sure to read our review. You can also check out our guides detailing all the tips we wish we knew before starting the game, as well as our in-depth skills guide. And if you're loving what you're playing, you're in luck. The game's first DLC expansion is set to launch on October 23.
In the meantime, were there any Spider-Man or Marvel Easter eggs you discovered that you don't see here? Feel free to let us know about them in the comments below.
Famous Landmarks
There's a ton of landmarks in Insomniac's take of Manhattan. Some are real--like Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building--but others not so much. After all, this isn't our Manhattan, it's Marvel's version of the famous real-life burrough. As one of Marvel's central superhero (and supervillain) hubs, there are a ton of iconic locations packed in that Marvel fans will recognize.
The first major one folks will notice is likely the Avengers Tower located in the Upper East Side district, but there's so much more scattered around! You can find the Wakanda Embassy in the Midtown district; Peter will make a comment about King T'challa aka Black Panther, wondering if he was bitten by a radioactive panther in order to get his powers. Dr. Strange's home--the Sanctum Sanctorum--is located exactly where it should be in Greenwich Village. And there's even some deeper, like Damage Control HQ, an organization specializing in cleaning up the wreckage of superhero fights. And The Bar With No Name, which is a hidden speakeasy where supervillains can drink and relax in peace.
Spider-Man is littered with Marvel landmarks. We're only scratching the surface here, so we highly encourage you to explore and see the rest for yourself!
Mr. Phillip Chang
One of the side-missions has you helping out a fella named Phillip Chang, an ESU student who has you looking for his missing classmates. He's a resourceful guy, having developed advanced facial recognition technology that allows him to track down people via their social media feeds. Okay, maybe that sounds a bit creepy, but it helped Spidey save the day.
Anyway, Phillip Chang is actually a character from the comics; though, his origins are much different. Peter attended university with Chang and they were even labmates for a time. He was a pivotal character in a story arc involving a deadly gang known as the Tiger's Claw. In his teenage years, Chang lived a troubled life, becoming involved with an underworld organization in China. However, he renounced his ways when the effects of his criminal dealings tragically took the lives of his parents. Chang then moved to the U.S., attending college at ESU where he met Peter Parker. But this peace was soon disturbed by the Tiger's Claw, who noticed Chang's impressive fighting ability and wished to make him their leader. Of course, Chang was reluctant and refused, but this triggered a series of events that ended with Spider-Man saving Chang from the clutches of the Tiger's Claw.
Otto's AIM Contract
After losing their support from the grant committee and having all their resources revoked from them by Norman Osborn, Otto calls in some favors and takes on a few grants in order to fund his research. One of the funding partners should be instantly recognizable to Marvel fans. If you examine some of the new equipment in the lab, you'll discover paperwork detailing a grant from A.I.M. aka Advanced Idea Mechanics. Peter remarks that their reputation is a tad shady, which is a bit of an understatement if we're talking about the very same organization from the comics.
A.I.M. is a privately funded organization of terrorist arms dealers and scientists whose sole mission is to overthrow the governments of the world through the use of technology and scientific advancement. Their list of clientele and allies includes big-name supervillains, like Red Skull, Hydra, General Thunderbolt Ross, and the Serpent Society--which is an enterprise of criminals and mercenaries dressed as snakes. So yeah, pretty shady.
The Taskmaster
About halfway through the game you'll run into a shadowy figure who challenges you to complete some difficult tasks involving beating/sneaking up on goons, disarming bombs, and chasing drones. This menacing foe is none other than Taskmaster, a supervillain who battles Spider-Man every once in a while in the comics. Though, he has also made appearances in the comics of The Avengers, Deadpool, Daredevil, and more. Fighting game fans will likely recognize this skull-faced mercenary, as he was featured several years ago in the roster of Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
As you complete Taskmaster's challenges, you'll start to learn that he has what's called "photographic reflexes," which allows him to duplicate almost any physical activity he sees by simply seeing it performed once. It's literally the reason why he's setup these challenges throughout Manhattan; he wants to take you down by learning your every move. What a creep!
Screwball
In the side-mission, Internet Famous, you get wrapped up in an internet challenge that takes a turn for the worse. After scanning a QR code, you're forced to complete combat and puzzle trials under a strict time limit in order to reveal the location of a kidnapping victim. The individual forcing you to do all this is a social media personality known as Screwball, who is only trying to take advantage of your involvement with the challenge to wrack up more subscribers.
Screwball definitely has some screws loose, that's for sure. Her whole shtick is the same in the comics, committing crimes while a camera crew films her and then uploading the footage on YouTube to earn money. She makes it a point to get Spider-Man in the footage, as she acknowledges that her internet hits are even better with him around. It's worth noting that Screwball was first introduced in 2008 right around the early years of YouTube; her antics are more relevant now than ever before.
Spider-Man 2 Reference
During the latter half of the game, Spider-Man needs to make a quick save in order to stop a speeding subway train after dispatching Mr. Negative. His first attempt should be a familiar one to Spider-Man fans, as it's the same method that he used to save a subway train in Spider-Man 2. The game makes a very clear nod to this, even going as far as to having Spider-Man say "That totally worked the first time!" when it inevitably fails. Nice one, Insomniac, we see watchu doin'.
Backpack Collectibles
The game's 55 backpacks are more than just mindless collectibles you grab to upgrade Spider-Man's abilities. They each represent and inform a little about Peter Parker's life and history as a superhero. For example, you can find the last pair of glasses Peter used before he got his powers and even his Mk I web shooters! But there's a lot of other fascinating references and tidbits in-between, like a business card for Daredevil's law practice, and vials containing the blood of The Lizard and the sand of..well, Sandman--both are iconic supervillains from the comics.
There's even a lovely nod to the past with the Arm Web collectible, which Peter comments he tried to use to glide short distances, but never worked. This Arm Web is an iconic aspect of Spider-Man's early designs in the comic books by artist Steve Ditko, who often drew the character with these underarm webs for aesthetic purposes.
The references don't stop at characters and in-universe lore, though. There's a pin for the Spidey Squad, a real-life Spider-Man fan club. Peter acknowledges their presence in-game as his one and only fan club who always supports him when J. Jonah Jameson attempts to attack his reputation.
The backpack collectibles are rich with narrative details that reference both Spider-Man and Marvel history. Don't hesitate to grab them in your travels!
Yuri Watanabe's Potential Secret
Yuri Watanabe is one of your closest allies in the game. As you'd expect, she exists in the comics, but she has a much more fascinating alter ego that's not yet confirmed to exist in this game's universe. In a similar vein, Yuri is an NYPD captain and ally of Spider-Man, but at night she acts as a ghostly vigilante known as the Wraith. She's technically the fourth person to take on the mantle of Wraith, but we won't go too hard on the specifics of the history of that. What matters is that there exists a possibility that this version of Yuri could very well become the Wraith. But will it happen? Time will tell.
The Black Cat
As you'll gather, the stakeout side activity centers around a thief named Black Cat, who is alluded to have quite the history with Spider-Man. In the comics, Black-Cat is a major character. She started out as a supervillain to Spider-Man, but this ended when the two eventually fell in love. Acting as on-again, off-again romantic partners, the couple worked together on several occasions to fight crime. However, the relationship inevitably ended when Black Cat eventually fell back into her thieving ways.
Black Cat is considered one of Spider-Man's most trusted allies. However, at this point in the game's universe, she appears to be going through that same lapse she experienced in the comics. Though, were they romantic partners in this universe? That much remains unsaid. We imagine these stakeouts are a teaser for the upcoming Spider-Man DLC, titled The Heist, where Black Cat is to be prominently featured.
Dr. Morgan Michaels
In your quest to stop the "Devil's Breath" attack, you meet an Oscorp biochemist by the name of Dr. Morgan Michaels. Aside from showing remorse for his actions, you don't get much more out of him. However, this scientist is a lot more in the Marvel universe. In the comics, Michaels is better known as Morbius the Living Vampire. That's right, a vampire.
A brilliant scientist, Michaels suffered from a rare blood disease, which he attempted to solve with an experimental treatment involving vampire bats and electroshocks. Of course, this didn't work out, instead instilling in him a thirst for blood and an intense aversion to sunlight. The resulting shift in his physiology rendered him into an unstable creature of the night. He would go on to fight Spider-Man a few times, but would ultimately become an anti-hero who preys on the blood of criminals.
Those Spider-Suits!
You unlock a multitude of suits as you progress through the story. A few of them are canonical to the story, but the others are all based on Spider-Man suits from the comics and movies. Some standouts include the Stark Suit from Spider-Man: Homecoming; the Scarlet Spider suit from the infamous Clone Saga arc; and the Spirit Spider suit, which is based on an alternate-universe version of Spider-Man who returns from the dead with supernatural abilities. For the full rundown on where each Spider-Man is from, check out our feature highlighting each one and their background.
Spider-Man on PS4 has finally arrived and the word is in: the game is practically every bit the superhero simulator we were hoping for. Insomniac Games nailed the traversal, which effectively means that every moment in the game makes you feel like Spider-Man. The dramatic camera angles, the sense of speed, and the characterization of Spidey are easy qualities to love.
The sheer number of unlockables also ensures that you're never far away from a new look or skill to add to your Spider-Man fantasy. In this feature, we are going to take a look at every suit that you can earn while leveling up and completing challenges, as well their relevant reference points and suit powers.
If you're still early in the game, beware: you will be spoiled if you continue through the gallery. That said, you can also check out our beginner guides for the game, including a look at the best skills to prioritize in your unlock tree, and useful tips to keep in mind as you start off. But if you're here for suits and have no interest in our advice, read on.
The first suit we're going to look at is the one you wear at the start of the game, the classic Spider-Man suit, although it's quickly in need of repairs after the opening missions. This kicks off the beginning of a series of upgrades, all thanks to your unlikely patron, Otto Octavius.
Advanced Suit
The Advanced Suit is the first new suit that you unlock, and was designed exclusively for the game by Insomniac. Its suit power, Battle Focus, allows you to generate a charge that can be used to either heal yourself or use powerful finishing moves.
Classic Suit (Repaired)
Once you get your Classic Suit back, it comes with the suit power, Web Blossom. Trigger it to watch Spider-Man leap in the air and spray webbing on almost everything in his immediate surroundings.
Noir Suit
This suit, inspired by 2009's Spider-Man Noir comic-book run, looks cool and grants you an effective suit power. With Sound of Silence activated, enemies that become alerted to your presence will refrain from calling backup.
Scarlet Spider Suit
The origins of this particular suit are a bit unusual. It's the suit of Ben Reilly--a mysterious clone of Peter Parker--who at one point fought crime in Manhattan alongside Spider-Man during the events of infamous comic book arc, The Clone Saga. Its suit power, Holo Decoy, spawns figments of Spider-Man as he moves for a short period of time, and enemies that attack them will wind up stunned as a result.
Spider Armor MK II
This black and yellow suit was designed back in 2011 to help protect Spider-Man from gunfire, and that's exactly what it does when you activate the Bullet Proof suit power.
Secret War Suit
This suit is in reference to the 2004 Secret War comics, and its suit power is one of the most effective in the game. Trigger the Arms Race power to emit an EMP blast that stuns every enemy within a short range, freeing yourself from a swarm of bad guys and opening them up to attack.
Stark Suit
This suit made its debut in the 2016 Captain America: Civil War film and has since appeared in subsequent Marvel films: Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War. Its suit power is the Spider-Bro, a mechanical friend that can zap enemies during combat to make them drop their guard.
Negative Suit
The Negative Suit is designed to mimic the game's major villain, Mr. Negative. In addition to its unusual look, its suit power emits a devastating shockwave of negative energy.
Electrically Insulated Suit
This lightly padded suit debuted in issue #425 of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1997 when Spider-Man and the X-Men fought Electro. Activating its Electric Punch suit power charges your fists with electricity and lets you stun enemies on impact.
Spider-Punk Suit
Rock Out to blast enemies with a wave of "righteous sound" with the Spider-Punk's suit power, or simply enjoy his unorthodox superhero costume. Spider-Punk first appeared in comics in 2015, and is the alter ego of an alternate-universe version Hobie Brown aka The Prowler.
Wrestler Suit
Throwing enemies into other enemies is one of the great joys during combat in Spider-Man, and the King of the Ring suit power granted to you by the Wrestler Suit allows you to snag bad guys without having to web them up first. It seems to be the game's version of the wrestling gear Spider-Man wore on the night Uncle Ben was murdered.
Fear Itself Suit
If you just want to punch villains really hard and not bother with a lot of footwork during a fight, using the Fear Itself's suit power, Quad Damage, is the way to go.
The suit itself is based on Spider-Man's appearance from the Marvel crossover Fear Itself, which ran in 2011. The outfit has Spider-Man sporting bracelets made from Asgardian uru, the same magical metal used to create Thor's hammer.
Stealth ("Big Time") Suit
This black and green suit gives you a power that, when activated, makes you invisible to non-alerted enemies. This is a popular suit that's appeared in a lot of games since its comic debut in 2010.
In the comics, Peter developed the suit using new technology he created from his job at Horizon Labs. It's closely associated by fans with the "Big Time" storylines.
Spider Armor Mk III
If you recall what the previous Spider Armor Mk model did, then it makes perfect sense that this suit takes bullet proofing one step further. Though it won't work for sniper fire, every other incoming bullet will bounce right off of this suit and fire back at the shooter when you activate the Titanium Alloy Plates suit power.
In the comics, the Spider Armor Mk III was developed by Peter as a last resort suit to combat the Sinister Six. How fitting given its power and armored appearance.
Spider-Man 2099 Black
Spider-Man 2099 was a popular 1992 comic series that jumped ahead in time and presented a new hero behind the mask, Miguel O'Hara. The Low Gravity suit power associated with it increases your hang-time while activated.
Iron Spider Suit
The Iron Spider suits is one of the coolest in the game. It looks awesome, and comes with a suit power that causes metallic arms to rise from Spider-Man's back and attack nearby enemies. Though the original Iron Spider suit debuted back in 2006, this version was popularized in Avengers: Infinity War.
Velocity Suit
If you have a need for speed, this Velocity Suit's power Blitz will make you spring away from danger faster in combat, and send enemies flying farther than usual based on your momentum. The suit was designed specifically for the game by artist Adi Granov, who is known more famously for his art in the classic Iron Man: Extremis storyline.
Spider Armor Mk IV
This Spider Armor Mk series returns to a sleeker look for the fourth model. Its suit power can generate a temporary forcefield that protects you from all incoming damage. In the comics, the suit was created by Peter for his friend, Hobie Brown, to use in order to impersonate him. There's more to that story, but we'll spare you the details. Comics amirite?
Spirit Spider Suit
And now for something completely different. This out-there suit is based on a 2011 comic that more or less resulted in Peter Parker becoming infused with the power of the damned. This manifests itself when you use the Spirit Fire suit power, which sets enemies ablaze with mysterious blue flames.
Spider-Man 2099 White Suit
The alternate Spider-Man 2099 suit has a very useful suit power, Concussive Blast, that can send enemies flying off of buildings, making them easy one-hit-kill targets. The suit itself is the second one that O'Hara wears and it was designed by Peter during the All-New, All-Different Spider-Man arc.
Vintage Comic Book Suit
This understated suit is still rather impressive given how its rendered with a cel-shaded visual style that makes it pop. As an homage to its roots in classic Spider-Man comics, its suit power causes Spider-Man to release a series of bad jokes and one-liners that are so cringeworthy that they effectively stun nearby enemies.
Last Stand Suit
This leather-clad suit comes late in the game, which is probably for the better given how impactful its suit power can be. Using Unrelenting Fury prevents enemies, even those with shields, from blocking your attacks. This suit is a reference to a short-lived look at an alternate-future Peter Parker that appeared in 2003.
Undies
More Peter Parker than Spider-Man, swinging and kicking around in your underwear is a thing you can do if you need a laugh, but the suit power you get when you unlock this suit is no laughing matter: activate Equalizer to take out enemies with a single blow, but watch out as this punishing rule will also apply to you. Tread lightly, true believer.
Homemade Suit
This kitchy suit comes from Spider-Man: Homecoming and it can be yours if you take the time to find the 55 backpacks scattered across the map. Without a suit power, this one is more for the entertainment value of seeing Spider-Man in a funny outfit that it is a useful addition to your repertoire.
ESU Suit
Completing all of the photography challenges in Spider-Man will net you this collegiate outfit so you can proudly rep Peter Parker's alma mater--its unofficial suit power.
Anti-Ock Suit
This great-looking suit is unique to the game, and offers the very helpful Resupply suit power, which can be used to refill your gadgets when activated.
Dark Suit
The Dark Suit is earned after you complete all of the Black Cat activities in the game, and is a striking red-and-black suit with looks that make up for its lack of a suit power.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of controlling Spider-Man in the new PS4 game is the steady flow of new skills, upgrades, and gadgets to incorporate into your superhero repertoire. Peter Parker is a capable combatant from the start but he can move faster, hit harder, and protect himself from harm more easily if you take the time to dress him for success. Understanding when and how to use your gadgets is a great first step in the right direction.
Let's breakdown each of Spider-Man's gadgets, and look at some examples of when you should put them into action.
The Web Shooter is the most important tool in your kit, and one that you will use most-often throughout the game--unlike other gadgets, an empty Web Shooter only needs a few seconds to recharge. At its most basic, a single web shot is an effective means of momentarily staggering an enemy. A few consecutive shots can also be used to ensnare a target and make them available as a weight to swing around and knock over other enemies, or, if an enemy is close to a wall, a few shots will attach them to it. You'll have fun if you tinker with Spider-Man's more advanced gadgets, but if you're alert enough, you could simply get by with the Web Shooters alone--they're that effective.
Impact Web
The next step up f is the Impact Web gadget. Think of this as a weapon that fires a condensed blast from your standard shooters, one powerful enough to instantly knock back and web up a bad guy. You can only hold a couple of shots until you upgrade the gadget, but even with those added rounds it's not something you can spam on a regular basis.
When fully upgraded, the Impact Web can deploy a blast that causes the initial target to spread Spidey's web to any other enemy they come into contact with. Consider facing a crowd of enemies and treating them like bowling pins just waiting to be knocked down. Do this, and follow-up with a ground-pound attack (unlocked in the skill tree) to add insult to injury. You can also grab hold of the impacted enemies and use them as a projectile to harm or momentarily disable any other nearby enemies.
Spider Drone
The Spider Drone is a handy little sidekick that can float nearby Spider-Man and stun enemies with a beam of electricity. It is a great tool to activate if you find yourself surrounded by enemies, either to open a window of time for an escape, or, to give you a fighting chance of taking on the entire group.
Electric Web
From a tactical standpoint, the Electric Web gadget is one of the most useful and simple-to-understand of the bunch, perhaps only second to the standard Web Shooters. Like the Spider Drone, the Electric Web can stun enemies, but you get to manually pick your target.
The best part? Any enemies standing nearby your initial target will become stunned as well. It's not the only gadget for the job, but if you see a crowd of enemies running at you or simply standing by while you move about unnoticed, the Electric Web is a handy way of gaining the upper hand before entering the fray. After a few upgrades, you'll be able to stock extra electric ammo and enjoy a shocking arc that jumps farther away from your initial target.
Web Bomb
Just like the Electric Web, your Web Bomb gadget is great for crown control (it explodes webs that trap enemies within a small area) though it has a couple of distinct advantages to keep in mind. Unlike the Electric Web, you don't need to fire a direct hit. Simply aim at the environment and the Web Bomb will detonate after a few seconds and entrap anyone that comes close.
More importantly, there are many skills that allow you to manipulate webbed enemies to your advantage, compared to enemies that are simply stunned. A well-placed Web Bomb gives you plenty of vulnerable bad guys to grab with your webbing and swing around to give yourself some breathing room.
Upgrades for the Web Bomb will grant you more ammo, and increase the size of the web explosion.
Trip Mine
If you know an enemy is patrolling a specific route and want to catch them at just the right location, Spider-Man's Trip Mine is the perfect solution. Essentially, when an enemy comes close enough, the mine will explode and ensnare them.
The logical place to put a mine is on the ground or a wall, but consider that they will also stick to enemies and your opportunities get a bit more interesting. An activated mine on an enemy will essentially grab the nearest person and slam them into the original target. It's how you unlock the 'Hug It Out' trophy, and it's worth a laugh the first few times you do it.
Concussive Blast
The Concussive Blast is a useful gadget that emits a powerful sonic wave, causing nearby enemies to tumble backwards. It's useful in a lot of scenarios, but none more so than when fighting on a rooftop. A flick of your wrist is all it takes to send enemies flying over the edge, instantly knocking them out of combat.
Suspension Matrix
One of the best parts of playing as Spider-Man is controlling his antics in mid-air, and that's precisely why the Suspension Matrix is not just a useful gadget, but a fun one to boot. An enemy off the ground is also a vulnerable enemy, and with the quick press of a button you can not only zip up to your next target, but also set yourself up for a new set of combos, such as a series of melee attacks and a final web-grab-and-toss motion that sends them careening into their buddies.
In the beginning of Marvel's Spider-Man, you're not armed with many special moves in combat and web-swinging. And when you gain access to the skill tree, there are so many skills to choose from that you might wonder where to even start. Spanning three separate trees (Innovator, Defender, and Webslinger) with 11 skills in each, you're free to prioritize however you wish. Amidst all of these skills, there are some that we believe to be absolutely worth getting.
To help you be the most effective crime fighter there is, we've gathered 12 of the best skills to unlock first. In this feature, we discuss some of the most worthwhile skills and the reason why they're so useful. Though, if none of these skills suit your fancy, feel free to use our suggestions as a basis to figure out what works best for your playstyle.
It's worth noting that you can unlock all of the skills by the end of the game. However, with so few skill points to go around early on, you're going to want to spend wisely.
If all this talk of skills is getting you pumped, you can play Marvel's Spider-Man on September 7. According to GameSpot reviewer Edmond Tran, the game is "a superior Spider-Man experience that leaves a lasting impression, one that has you longing for just one more swing around New York City, even after the credits roll." You can read more in our full review. But if you're looking for more guides, you can also check out our feature detailing all the tips we wish we knew before starting the game.
Which skills do you think are most worth unlocking first? Shout your opinions in the comments below.
Perfect Dodge (Defender)
As one of the first skills you can unlock, you'd be hard-pressed not to nab Perfect Dodge an hour or two after the skill tree is made available. But we cannot understate the importance of this skill, as it clues you in on the moment an attack is about to land. Not only that, but it generates bonus Focus and automatically makes Spider-Man counter with a Web Shot to an enemy's face. Master this skill and it'll get you out of trouble more times than you can count.
Quick Zip (Webslinger)
Quick Zip is a must if you're looking to pick up some serious speed while you're web-swinging. It basically allows you to Web Zip a second time without losing altitude, which comes in handy during tense chases or the web-swinging challenges you'll take on throughout the game.
Point Launch Boost (Webslinger)
Point Launch Boost is another brilliant web-swinging skill that helps you continually build up speed and momentum by hitting jump as soon as you make contact with a point. As a souped-up version of the standard Point Launch, it massively increases the distance traveled, further contributing to your general mood of feeling like the king of the world. It's always a good idea to use if you're lagging behind in a chase, and when performed in conjunction with Quick Zip, you'll close the distance in no time.
Wrecking Ball (Innovator)
Brutes can be a handful early on, locking you out of basic punching combos with their guard and overwhelming you with constant pummeling. Aside from throwing objects at them or webbing them and punching them back, there's not much you can do to physically hurt them. But with Wrecking Ball, these once frustrating foes can be webbed and thrown with ease. It's just about as functional as a typical Web Throw, but gosh if it's not just rewarding to finally do away with these meatheads.
Bunker Buster (Webslinger)
Like brutes, shield enemies can be a bit of a hassle. While they're easy to counter with a well-executed Dodge Under, shield enemies are generally a stressor in combat that can cause you to change your attack strategy by simply existing on the field. If you're like us and hate changing plans last-minute, then invest in the path to unlock the Bunker Buster Skill. It allows your Swing Kick to knock these well-guarded nuisances on their butts.
Though, let's be real, the best time to use Bunker Buster is when you're on a rooftop where you can just knock shield enemies right off the edge. There's nothing malicious about that, right?
Throw (Defender)
Throw is...well, a throw. Performed by pressing square and then holding triangle, this tactical maneuver tosses your opponent in any direction you please. It's useful when you want to do some quick crowd control in a fight or throw any annoying brutes or gunmen off a roof. Hmm, we're starting to notice a theme here...
Payback (Defender)
Those pesky gunmen are the bane of our existence in combat, and it seems the game acknowledges this. You need only look to the appropriately named Payback skill, which lets you to perform an instant takedown on rifle and pistol enemies after a Perfect Dodge. If that sounds like your idea of a good time (we know it does), then invest in this skill ASAP.
Yank And Throw (Innovator)
Piggybacking off that sentiment of gunmen being quite annoying, Yank And Throw is another way to vent out your frustrations. All the skills preceding it are incredibly useful for disarming these enemies, but it's Yank And Throw that reigns supreme, completely disarming their weapons and hurling it right back them with concussive force.
Ground Strike (Defender)
Ground Strike allows you to smash down on the ground with explosive force--either after an air combo or when you're high up enough in the air. When a fight starts to get hectic, Ground Strike is a great way to throw enemies off balance, buying you time to retreat or set up a devastating Gadget combo. It also comes in handy when you want to land on a dime in the middle of web-swinging.
Chain Finisher (Defender)
Who doesn't want to perform two instant K.O.s in a row? Chain Finisher is a powerful skill that lets you to perform a second Finisher on basic enemies regardless of the Focus you have after performing the first one. If you're able to keep generating Focus consistently, this skill can make short work of large groups. That, and it's just straight up satisfying.
Air Yank (Webslinger)
Air Yank provides a useful way to initiate an air combo after a jump. It's also great after performing an air combo, allowing you to yank an additional enemy up to your level for another fruitful beating. You can even use it a few inches out from the edge of a rooftop to grab a foe from the safety of their perch and leave them to fall… Okay, that's the last time, we swear!
Air Tricks (Webslinger)
Air Tricks isn't so much useful as it is awesome. Have you ever wanted to feel even more cool while web-swinging? Is that even possible? Yes! Yes, it is! Air Tricks lets you perform aerial tricks to earn extra Focus and XP. While you could realistically use it to grind out XP, know that it doesn't offer you that much and that it specifically locks you out of leveling up with its earnings alone. Still, doing moonsaults all the way down after jumping off the Empire State Building has a special charm that's too difficult to pass up, especially if you're able to launch right back into a web-swing just before you hit the ground!
With the release of Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games has proven that it was the right studio for the job. And you can tell as you play it: Insomniac displays an intimate understanding of the character through the story, as well as the combat and web-slinging mechanics. It's not often that a studio gets a superhero game right, but when it does, it's fantasy wish-fulfilment of the highest order.
But all of this joy for Spider-Man has us eager for the next big game that'll do justice to another iconic comic book superhero. Marvel Games has acknowledged several times in the past that it's always looking for new studios to partner with to adapt its properties into games, and with the success of Spider-Man, it's probably looking to do more. And we're sure the owners of other big superhero properties are likely doing the same.
Naturally, this has us thinking about all the superhero games that we want and the studios we'd love to make them. After all, there are hundreds of comic book characters out there who deserve games, but have yet to get one that does them justice.
We've compiled our ideas, and we'll admit that the folks in our office have a bit of a bias towards Marvel, but you'll find a few surprise concepts based on obscure superheroes as you click ahead.
In the meantime, which game studio would you put in charge of your favorite superhero? Let us know in the comments below!
Wolverine Game By The Yakuza Developers
Wolverine has had a rather mixed offering of games over the years. While some have come close to capturing the spirit of this scrappy mutant, many attempts have fallen flat. As a Wolverine fan, I'd like to see a game based on my favorite story featuring the character, his first mini-series written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Frank Miller. Set in Japan, the series revolves around Wolverine fighting to reclaim his honor after being humiliated by the criminal father of his beloved, Mariko Yashida.
Wolverine often gets criticized for being a one-dimensional character, but Claremont's decision to compare him to a ronin gave him more nuance and depth. If it's one thing that every Wolverine game has failed to do, it's placing the character in a high-stakes emotional story. After all, there isn't much that can pose a meaningful threat to Wolverine due to his self-healing ability and adamantium claws. In fact, most Wolverine games have lacked self-awareness for how cheesy and overpowered he is.
If there's one studio that's great at handling serious melodrama with cheesy, over-the-top violence, it's the studio behind the cult favorite Yakuza series. So, who better to handle a Wolverine game than them? I can easily see the Yakuza devs taking what made that Wolverine mini-series so good and pushing it into entirely new directions. It wouldn't be too tough for them to adapt the character either, given the fact Wolverine speaks fluent Japanese and could easily fit into the worlds they typically create.
With the Yakuza studio's upcoming Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, it certainly seems like they're interested in making games based on popular intellectual properties. It would be an unusual and unorthodox move for Marvel to tap on the studio to make a Wolverine game, but it's one that I think would fit the character the best. -- Matt Espineli
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl By Double Fine
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is hands down, one of Marvel's finest books right now. Penned by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, it's genuinely and consistently funny, filled with heart and wholesome lessons to be learned. Squirrel Girl is more than a capable fighter (she's canonically beaten up the entire Marvel Universe, after all) but her typical course of action when it comes to stopping villains is just like, talking and empathizing with them, explaining situations and causing them to see the error of their ways. She's befriended Galactus, Kraven, Loki, Hydra robot Brain Drain, and even dated a Sentinel.
Her alter ego, Doreen Green, is also an incredibly capable computer science student, a skill which comes in hand for world-saving situations more often than you'd think--she taught Count Nefaria how to count to ten on one hand using binary language, for gosh sakes.
The character's propensity for comedy, conversation, and off-the-wall situations would be perfect for an adventure born from Tim Schafer and his team at Double Fine, whose games always have a strong sense of levity and charm no matter what the genre, and permeate throughout everything--from the dialogue, to the world, to flavour text. Some Pikmin-like squirrel management comes to mind as a nice mechanic, but honestly, a narrative adventure game with branching paths would be perfect for the style of heroism that Squirrel Girl succeeds at (it's also a proven formula! Check out the choose-your-own-adventure issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7). -- Edmond Tran
Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan) By Keita Takahashi
Kamala Khan is one of Marvel's most interesting contemporary heroes. As a Pakistani-American teen based in Jersey City, her inherent life situation gives her enough problems. But after getting hit with the Terrigen Mist and getting inhuman powers, she assumes the former mantle of her idol, Captain Marvel, and things get even more complicated in the way only the best teenage superhero stories can.
But more importantly, her skills revolve around her ability to EMBIGGEN! That is, growing, shrinking, and stretching her body in all sorts of manners to physically overwhelm her foes. You know who's made some great games about growing, shrinking, and stretching? Keita Takahashi of Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby fame.
That's the link. That's all I've got. I'm sure it'll be good. Marvel, I'll text you my bank details. -- Edmond Tran
Marvel: Civil War By NetherRealm Studios
While the issue of an overall lack of quality Marvel games is the real crime here, it's hard to believe that with the amount of Marvel characters in the MCU alone, no one has stepped up to create a mano-a-mano fighter for modern consoles. You wouldn't even need to think of an excuse or a new storyline for pitting all these characters against each other, because Marvel already has one!
The Civil War storyline from the films, while impactful in its own universe, was nothing compared to the ripple effect the original series had to Marvel Comics as a whole. While I can appreciate the absurdity and campiness of a game like Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, imagine the narrative quality of the writing and cinematic cutscenes of Injustice, paired with the Civil War storyline which has yet to be faithfully recreated in popular entertainment (I'm looking at you, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2). And that's before I've even brought up the fighting mechanics the studio is renowned for!
With Disney ever present in licensing, I doubt we're ever going to see The Punisher perform a fatality, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to see a "Heroic Brutality" from Dr. Strange, or what Rocket Raccoon looks like after a "Babality". -- Nick Sherman
Judge Dredd By MachineGames
2012's Dredd, the movie starring Karl Urban, is one of my favorite action flicks, and when I'm not waiting impatiently on news of a follow-up, I'm thinking about how awesome a Judge Dredd game could be if handled by the right developer. I always thought Starbreeze Studios would be a great fit, with their history of creating immersive first-person shooters that make a point of putting you into that world. However, with many of their staff leaving and the studio transitioning into more of a publisher role, I'd have to go with the studio where some of those talented developers went: MachineGames, which has carried on the first-person legacy with the Wolfenstein series.
The most recent Dredd movie is already structured like a video game. He deals with an easy-peesy crook, where we learn about his ability-changing, swiss-army-knife gun, The Lawgiver--let's call that the tutorial. We're then introduced to his new partner, a telepathic rookie, before going on to where the meat of the movie takes place: the crime-infested, slum tower of Peach Trees. Judge Dredd slowly makes his way up the tower as he fights junkies, crooks, and other baddies (sometimes in slow-motion, which yes, is explained in the story).
All of this is prime material for a video game. MachineGames is known for its exhilarating first-person shooting that's housed with beautifully crafted cutscenes, compelling stories, and interesting characters. Dredd isn't the most complex character, but there are plenty of captivating moments, both humorous and earnest, in between the flying bullets--things the Wolfenstein games have excelled at. If anyone could make a Judge Dredd game with both the high-intensity action and engaging storytelling, it would absolutely be MachineGames. -- Mat Paget
Fantastic Four By Epic Games
The Fantastic Four were Marvel's first superhero team, and I don't need to explain how each member brings a unique set of powers to the table. But I do need to ask a question: how many Metroidvanias are based on the idea of switching characters? Rather than unlock, say, a grappling hook, you could instead rescue Mr. Fantastic and then use his stretching abilities to literally reach new parts of the map. Sue Storm could use her invisibility to sneak past guards and cameras.
Now picture Epic Games' Shadow Complex, but instead of being set in a massive underground military base, it's an elaborate hideout in which Dr. Doom has trapped his nemeses. With each hero you rescue, you can access new parts of the hideout and complete various challenges. Remember the Sue Storm invisibility thing? Shadow Complex literally has cameras that lock doors if they spot you.
If four characters feels limited, Epic could explore adding Fantastic Four-adjacent heroes to the game, like the Inhumans. The team has seen plenty of temporary members over the years too--even Spider-Man joined up at one point--so there are many possibilities for more heroes to unlock. -- Tony Wilson
Task Force X / Suicide Squad By BioWare
Task Force X is created and controlled by Amanda Waller, a ruthless government official who stops at nothing to keep America safe from foreign powers. The team performs secret black ops missions, and is usually entirely composed of the criminals that the Justice League puts away.
Task Force X is nicknamed the Suicide Squad because the team's missions are always exceptionally dangerous and Waller inserts bombs into the necks of every squad member, so she can blow off the head of anyone who disobeys her. The convicts have no say in whether they accept a particular assignment or not, but each successful mission earns a year off the sentence of every surviving member.
Let BioWare make a Suicide Squad game. You'd play the part of a soldier that Amanda assigns to watch the squad for her while in the field. You'd start out with Deadshot and Harley Quinn on your team, each of which would have their unique abilities that you'd direct them to use. Between missions, Waller would order you visit the cells of other criminals, like Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost, Enchantress, and Poison Ivy, to slowly build a larger team, similar to the Mass Effect games.
The major caveat in this game would be building rapport with the criminals you'd recruit. You'd need to talk to them between missions, and then plan accordingly based on what you learned. Forcing June Moone to become Enchantress again and again might ultimately drive her to depression and suicidal thoughts. Refusing to deliver Deadshot's letters to his daughter might foster a dangerous resentment that ends with him betraying you. If any convicts get too out of line, then Waller will kill them and you'll lose that squadmate forever. -- Jordan Ramee
Star Power By Hello Games
After spying a strange star, astronomer Danica Maris is gifted with super powers that allow her to transform into Star Power, a Star Powered Sentinel. Danica is a brilliant scientist and creative problem solver, and as Star Power she can fly, breathe in space, and travel at near light speed. She also has enhanced strength and durability, as well as a sentient computerized assistant--that she nicknames Mitch--who helps her decipher alien languages and navigate between different solar systems.
Hello Games could create an incredible Star Power video game. Although Danica does occasionally kick some major butt, she's an explorer first so she doesn't necessarily need something as combat heavy as an action-RPG. Danica would rather use her powers to see the galaxy and figure out the mystery behind the disappearance of the other Star Powered Sentinels. Star Power the game wouldn't need as many planets as No Man's Sky, and Hello Games could use those extra resources to craft a few more challenging puzzles that you'd need to solve as you explored.
You'd fly around from planet to planet, needing to replenish your star energy to make longer jumps to other systems. The game would never tell you where you'd need to go next, and instead hint at a destination you'd need to find. You'd have the power to punch through an asteroid or blast a hole in a mountain, but you'd need to restrain yourself from acting out on the people you'd meet. You're a symbol of hope and peace after all. Hello Games could throw in some humorous radio conversations between Danica and her friends--like Shi, Grex, and Kaylo--and add a few aerial dog fights with Danica's enemies--like Black Hole Bill and the Void Angels--to create a little variety to space travel. -- Jordan Ramee
Captain America By Naughty Dog
It's quite an achievement that Marvel Studios has been able to make Captain America one of the most likable superheroes in its roster. After all, the character has often been seen as a boy scout by mainstream media due to his WWII-era roots. Across all Marvel Studios' output, Cap's films rank among its most universally praised, offering a slick display of drama, action, and political intrigue. Given Captain America's more recent popularity, a game starring the super soldier would be a no brainer, but who could Marvel get to handle his rich history of story arcs and characters?
Naughty Dog would be the best fit for Cap. Given their expertise in storytelling, the studio definitely has the chops to adhere to the quality of Cap's cinematic offerings, while also being able to formulate their own message with the character. In the comics, Cap's stories tends to fall more on the serious side, often dealing with political thriller plots that are packed with intriguing espionage and superhero action. Underlying the comic book heroism are themes that offer grander critiques on contemporary politics and world issues. But the best Cap stories have focused on his inner struggles with his place in the world, as well his responsibilities as a soldier. He often has to make tough decisions, some of which aren't the most heroic. Naughty Dog are masters of characterization, so they'd easily be at home with the more complex issues that Cap faces.
At the same time, there's a goofier James Bond-like super spy side to Cap that Naughty Dog could adapt well given its work on the more light-hearted Uncharted series. Imagine what one of their over-the-top action set pieces would look like if they had Cap's eccentric supervillains and all the ricocheting antics of his vibranium shield. It would be amazing! And their penchant for great feeling gameplay mechanics would surely bode well for the biggest challenge of making a Captain America game: shield combat mechanics.
As a huge Captain America fan, it would be a dream for Marvel and Naughty Dog to make a superhero game based on him. Heck, a Captain America game in general that hits all the notes the movies do and more would be a dream come true. But let's be real, what I really want is this game's sequel: a Bucky Cap/Winter Soldier game. Make it happen, Marvel! -- Matt Espineli
By Anonymous on Sep 15, 2018 08:30 pm Where does The Predator rank amongst the entire Predator film franchise? Find out as we rank all six of the movies.
I grew up in the cold northeast of America and spent my winters playing ice hockey on ponds and lakes throughout New England, so I was terribly excited when EA announced that NHL 19 will have a dedicated pond hockey mode.
Pond hockey in NHL 19 takes the form of NHL Ones, which invites players to join up with two others for a 1v1v1 shootout on outdoor rinks.
Fans watch from the sidelines, shivering in winter jackets, while animals can be seen in the background. Pond hockey is considered the purest form of the sport, and in NHL 19's pond hockey mode=, there are basically no rules and absolutely no whistles. It's all about keeping the puck, deking your opponents with skill moves, and scoring goals. There are four different outdoor rinks, and you advance to the next one each time you win. The leaderboards reset every day, so you're encouraged to come back all the time.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with senior producer Sean Ramjagsingh about pond hockey in NHL 19. We had a long chat about the origins of the mode, what forms of prototyping it went through, and how it might help the NHL franchise reach even more players. The interview is below, edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
GameSpot: How long have you been planning this, and where did the idea come from?
Ramjagsingh: I think it's an evolution to be honest with you. So if you go back even before we launched NHL 18 ... we're always about sort of authenticity. You know with an EA Sports game you're going to get to play with the real players, the real uniforms, the real arenas, and try to have as many of the details absolutely served on point. We're going to deliver that every single year. So, last year as it started with NHL 18, we started to look for opportunities to branch out and reach a wider audience and appeal to a wider audience. And lower the barrier of entry into the experience as well.
You know, as games have become sort of more complex as consoles have come through with more power and controllers now have more buttons, it's become like a barrier entry for a lot of people. So we want to try to lower that barrier of entry and that's where pond hockey came from. And then after we saw the way the Threes really resonating with people, we continued down the path of we're absolutely going to be as authentic as possible to the sport which is what we focus on in the skating and hitting to really improve our gameplay.
But then how do we move beyond these licenses that we have and the NHL and be more inclusive of hockey as it's played in all different forms around the world? What's that actually look like? You know, the NHL has the authentic version of outdoor hockey with the Winter Classic.
My earliest memories was it never really got cold enough for the pond to freeze over here very much, but a lot of my buddies are on the east coast. Their earliest memories are playing on backyard rinks and grabbing their stick and their skates and hoodie and walking out to their local pond that was frozen over for months of the winter to play. And so many stories of all the NHL players that have grown up in throughout Canada and the eastern parts of the US and really, really cold climates in the winter time. I mean, winter time was meant, you know, stories of playing in the the backyard rink 'til all hours of the rink. Or finding your nearest pond and skating on the pond with your buddies 'til all hours of the night. So part of the fabric, it's part of the culture of hockey. And so that's really where the idea came from, how do we continue to, you know, push the boundaries and have a more inclusive experience that better represents hockey as it's played in all sports around the world.
GameSpot: Did you have this in mind for any previous games?
Ramjagsingh: If you go back to the previous generation, sort of pre NHL 14, we had some of the Winter Classics in the game. Because the NHL was going down that, you know, the outdoor event path for a little bit and still are. So we put those in the game and what we saw was, it's a lot of work to create those outdoor environments. You need to have outdoor-specific lighting and models of the arenas and all those things that come with it. It's fairly substantial amount of work to create one of those outdoor arenas. And then we put them in the game and it's almost as like a novelty item. I think that's the best way to describe it. So people would be like "Awesome, I get to play the Winter Classics outdoors." Go in there, play it and play now. There was no reason to continue to come back and play it. It wasn't integrated into our online space, it wasn't integrated really into any real core modes, it wasn't in franchise mode. So it was kind of like a novelty piece; a really expensive novelty piece you can go in and check it out and then probably never go back there.
And then your buddy comes over and you probably show him once and you never really go back because there wasn't a reason to play. The fans have been asking for Winter Classics and outdoor arenas and things like that and the answer up until this year has been: we want to get back, we absolutely want to get back to that but want to find out when's the right time. When we do go back to sort of outdoor arenas, or ponds, or whatever it ends up being, we've gotta do it in a way that's integrated deeper into the product itself. It's gotta ... create motivation so people want to come back and play over and over and over.
So, when we started talking about building up the World of Chel, and creating the experiences where people, and they don't have all their friends online right now so they can't go play EA Sports Hockey League 3 v 3 or 6 v 6aAnd don't want to play in an arcade-inspired mode like NHL Threes, they can just drop in and play this outdoor Ones mode. Dial into the fact that if we know that people don't always have a half hour, you know, 20 minutes to a half hour to play a game all the time. So can we fit a shorter experience that kind of rolls over to the next experience and the next experience. Combine all those elements and create this super compelling mode outdoors that gives people a way to play more casually when their friends aren't online and tie that entire experience into the greater ecosystem of the World of Chel.
GameSpot: Are the locations based on real world places and how many of them will there be for Pond Hockey?
Ramjagsingh: Yeah, so there's four different locations that we built out and they're not authentic to anywhere specifically but they are sort of, I would say that they're absolutely inspired by places from around the world. We wanted to have that kind of progression where you start off in sort of a little parking lot playing, to the docks, and up the cove and to the main sort of arena. The main arena with Windsor being two hours away from us here in Vancouver. You know, a lot of sort of big events, Red Bull type of events happening in Windsor. Loosely inspired by sort of center stage at Windsor for one of the Red Bull events.
I think Lake Louise, another sort of beautiful place, was part of the inspiration too. You'll see featured elements of Lake Louise in there. And we just took reference from you know, some of the coolest kind of ponds around and we created our own fictitious outdoor rinks. But inspired definitely by some real world places.
GameSpot: Did you think about the wackier side of pond hockey like cracked ice and falling into the water?
Ramjagsingh: When we're in the early creative process, for all of our features, not just for outdoor Ones, and especially coming off the heels of what we did with the arcade-inspired Threes, there's lots of discussion about where does this, what is the purpose of this mode, where's this mode stand, what's the experience you want to deliver.
You know, how super core do you want this experience to be versus how casual take up of play would you want to see. What are the time considerations for the length of the experience you want to deliver. Do we want to continue down the path of arcade-inspired over-the-top? Do we want to go more over the top then we did with Threes and have like power-ups and cracking ice and people falling through the ice. In the initial brainstorm phase we went everywhere with this. And then sort of brought it back to key in on our idea of what mattered most to liven up the experience.
We explored every single option with it. The main points of contention around sort of how our arcadey- versus how core and how where should that mode have been? The original version of that mode was actually 1 v 1 v 1 v 1.
And having four players on the edge was actually a little bit too chaotic, too hard to score; the experience wasn't quite fun enough. We started experimenting with just three skaters on the ice and it ended up being super fun so that's where we landed. I guess the short answer to your question is we explored every thing from super arcade to really really hard core. We made this decision based on a lot of discussion and collaborating we did.
GameSpot: Playing with friends on the pond ... you don't normally hit people as hard as is seen in Ones. Why keep the hits in?
Ramjagsingh: I think if you could assure yourself that you're on the pond with your friends and you can throw those big hits and no one would get hurt, you might want to actually throw hits in. It's also a critical piece to maintaining the balance that we have with all different player classes. So choosing to explore or enforce the defense of using the hitting as a skill versus going more with a sniper play maker where you can't actually throw those hits and sort of taken whatever player class fits your style of play. The hits are one of my favorite things to do is the mode is when the puck ends up in the corner there. It turns into a mini game of who's gonna go in first, and risk taking the hit and is the second guy gonna go in there too and then if you're the third guy and you're gonna force your player to knock over both guys and come out there with the puck.
So it adds some really really interesting sort of gameplay elements as well. And so, a lot of times when you watch, prior to NHL 19, a lot of times when you watch the best players of the game, play our game, they rarely ever go for hits because it takes them out of position. The risk/reward isn't there for them. But you see now when you hear some of our core guys talking about outdoor Ones and talking about hitting as a feasible strategy for trying to win in Threes, it's speaks to our focus on the balance of the game with all our player classes and the way they play the game.
GameSpot: Can you talk about some of the feedback you got about pond hockey from the NHL 19 beta earlier this year?
Ramjagsingh: We played a lot with the slider of where we landed in terms of how it plays relative to core player expectations versus more casual expectations. That was where I would say the bulk of our iteration took place is just trying to get the right experience there. So we landed with something that is faster than regular gameplay, harder hitting then sort of our more authentic kind of online setting kind of gameplay as well. Then we ended up focusing a lot on our goalies. Tune the goalies and making sure the goalies were making the right reach based on having three players on the ice and things like that.
GameSpot: This mode seems like it could've been something perfect for a college dorm room or university with people just playing on the couch. Could you talk about why you wanted to make it online only?
Ramjagsingh: We started with the online space and still have the online experience and trying to create competition within that mode itself. After the beta, a lot of people have been asking for a couch version of Ones to sit in their dorm room and play with your buddies so that is absolutely something that we hear from our fans. And something we're thinking about moving forward. Where it lands, I'm not sure, but absolutely we hear the feedback that the next sort of logical step for Ones is to have a couch play version of it.
GameSpot: I'm curious what your expectations are for pond hockey considering it's really only known and fully appreciated by people who live in cold-weather places?
Ramjagsingh: Yeah, you're right and I don't think everyone's going to truly understand sort of the cultural relevance of pond hockey which is why the gameplay experience. That's why nailing the experience is and was more important than the outdoor part of it. The outdoor part is sort of the cool, kind of flashier piece, but if the experience, the gameplaying experience doesn't hold up that doesn't matter where you're playing. Whether you're playing on the moon or outdoor pond hockey.
So the experience is always sort of king in these things but understand that not everyone's going to understand the relevance and cultural relevance of pond hockey. But for those that do, they absolutely get it.
GameSpot: Do you have weather elements like snow coming down?
Ramjagsingh: Nope, no. We don't have snow coming down. We've got some animals, some wildlife in there cruising around. But you'll see. And then for each one of the different rinks, there's fours different tiers of our outdoor arenas that we have; they're all different times of day and have slightly different lighting on them as well. The final tier, the main stage takes place at night, under kind of the bright lights. So we play with lighting, not a whole lot with specifically with weather but there's some dynamic weather elements like the snow falling off the trees and then we have some wildlife too.
GameSpot: How does pond hockey progression work in NHL 19?
Ramjagsingh: You start off in sort of our tier four arena, or outdoor rink which is the parking lot. When you win you tier up, ultimately to our diamond rink, our main rink which is under the bright lights. The goal is to accumulate as many wins as you can on the main stage. At the end of every day, we'll crown a winner, a daily champion where you get huge rewards for being that guy.
GameSpot: What are some of the customisation options you can unlock?
Ramjagsingh: We have everything from cargo pants to skinny jeans to hoodies. You can wear an NHL jersey over top of a hoodie. We've got some knittable caps that are intuitive here in Canada. We've got some Canadian tuxedos in there as well. Jean jackets and things like that.
So all different types of parka jackets, pullover jackets, hoodies, all types of different pants, cargo pants, outdoor pants, things like that. We have some cool kind of skates designs as well that you can unlock. Some cool sticks, one of my favorite things that we have an NHL 94 stick that you can unlock. A lot of gear that is new to the NHL franchise and a little bit out there. The real focus for us was allowing our players to unlock different customization elements that allows them to really sort of personalize the way that they look and allowed to express themselves on the ice.
GameSpot: Can you talk about some of the other pieces of feedback you got from the beta and how that's impacting the final game?
Ramjagsingh: The most polarizing piece of feedback that we got through the beta was just around poke checking versus penalties, the balance there. I think initially day one, day two, people felt like, "how does outdoor pond hockey work when you can't get penalties," but this was probably the most polarizing event you got where the poke checking versus penalization. It took people a day or two. At first people were like, "There's way too many penalties." After day two, people are like, "It's perfect just the way it is."
GameSpot: What kind of future do you see for pond hockey in the NHL games going forward? Do you think of it as more of an experiment or more of something that really going to be in there for a long time to come?
Ramjagsingh: Pond hockey specifically I'm not sure. But I will say that sort of Pond Hockey represents to me the first step in really trying to be more inclusive of all the different forms of hockey played around the world. I think that's the macro goal for us; is just to kind of capture the different ways that the sport is played and a different sort of cultural aspects of hockey around the world. And then continue to evolve. So whether that's more ponds or authentic ponds like the ones you grew up playing on, that's one direction that we could go but we're trying, really trying to figure that out right.
What are the other leagues that are out there, the summer leagues that are out there as well. What is the role of the summer leagues, the beer leagues going on right now in Minnesota. What roles do those leagues play moving forward. So it's really about how do we continue to be, how do we continue to be as authentic as possible with our license experiences with the NHL but also be sort of more inclusive of sort of hockey that's played all around the world.
GameSpot: How much attention is it getting overall inside the studio. Has it been completely a massive undertaking that's really taken up a lot of people's time or just can you talk about the work flow dynamic and how it's changed from you know, when you didn't have it to when you have it now?
Ramjagsingh: Pond hockey, the outdoor hockey is just a one element within the World of Chel. So, the World of Chel itself, we essentially rebuilt the online cache from the ground up. One is the sort of common progression across all these multiple different modes. It was really important if you look at some of the best games out there right now that have really short, you know outside sports genre, have really short experiences that you roll right over into the next experience. It's almost harder to leave the experience as it is to stay in and play the next version of the game.
We had to rewrite our cache. So that's where the bulk of the effort went, let's rewrite the text that enables us to deliver the experiences that we delivered. Also it was foundational work for us to continue that and continue to build on, build new experiences on top and add new features toi. Whether they're another version of pond hockey, another sort of mode in itself or whether it's just optimizing the experience and the flows and the ability of people to connect with one another.
GameSpot: Is there anything else really that you think people really absolute need to know about pond hockey.
Ramjagsingh: Oh man, I mean, for me it's pond hockey is a huge pond mode to play where if you only have five minutes to maybe hop in and play five minutes of pond hockey and get through a game. If you win you roll right, next game if you lose you roll right into the next game. I think all of us had a little bit of competition built into us so it's hard to walk away from it. But the other part is, I would say is just part of a larger ecosystem of the World of Chel. It's great place to play when you're there by yourself but when your friends are online, there's other experiences that are in there too that are just as compelling.
By Anonymous on Sep 15, 2018 07:33 am Chastity and Greg break down the second season of Marvel's Iron Fist, dive into Easter Eggs and comics references, and make predictions for Iron Fist season 3. Warning: Major SPOILERS!
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