It's a new month, and that means a whole slew of new content is coming to Hulu, from movies you'll want to watch again, to TV series you missed, to brand-new original series you'll want to check out. Because October is the home of the holiday Halloween, there are a few horror movies you might want to watch. We're breaking down what's new this week--and with it including the first of the month, there's quite a lot to check out.
Kicking things off this past Monday, October 1, was a ton of new content. Movies of note include the original The Blair Witch Project, American Psycho, Wes Craven Presents: They, and all four movies in the [REC] series. If horror isn't your thing, there are some very funny comedies that came out on the 1st, including Hot Tub Time Machine and both Ace Ventura movies.
Later this week, you can watch The Nightmare Before Christmas and the American remake of The Eye. Because Hulu is more of a TV-centric subscription service, there are a few TV seasons to check out as well, although quite a few are reality series like Hoarders Season 9 and Nightwatch Season 3. As far as originals go, the new horror anthology series Into The Dark: THE BODY has begun airing on Hulu.
Check out everything coming out this week below, and you'll find everything coming out for Hulu in October here.
Available October 1
60 Days In: Complete Season 4 (A&E)
America's Book of Secrets: Complete Seasons 1 & 2 (History)
American Pickers: Complete Season 18 (History)
Ancient Aliens: Complete Season 4 (History)
Bob's Burgers: Season 9 Premiere (FOX)
El Clon: Complete Season 1 (Telemundo)
Escaping Polygamy: Complete Season 3 (Lifetime)
Family Guy: Season 16 Premiere (FOX)
Hoarders: Complete Season 9 (A&E)
Hunting Hitler: Complete Season 3 (History)
Intervention: Complete Season 20 (A&E)
Kingpin: Complete Season 1 (History)
Little Women: Atlanta: Complete Season 4 (Lifetime)
Little Women: LA: Complete Season 6 (Lifetime)
Married at First Sight: Complete Season 5 (Lifetime)
Nightwatch: Complete Season 3 (A&E)
The Simpsons: Season 30 Premiere (FOX)
Storage Wars: Complete Season 11 (A&E)
The Curse of Oak Island: Complete Season 5 (History)
Undercover High: Complete Season 1 (A&E)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
American Psycho (2000)
American Psycho 2 (2002)
An Eye for an Eye (1966)
Anaconda (1997)
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
The Armstrong Lie (2013)
The Arrival (1996)
Barbie Presents: Thumbelina (2009)
Beacon Point (2017)
Bees Make Honey (2017)
Bitter Moon (1992)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows (2000)
Blue Steel (1989)
Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Call Me (1988)
Capture (2017)
Charlotte (2017)
Child's Play (1988)
Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992)
Cinderella Man (2005)
Closer (2004)
Cocaine Godmother (2017)
Comic Book Villains (2002)
Daddy Day Care (2003)
Dark Blue (2003)
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Death Wish 2 (1982)
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993)
Election (1999)
Evangeline (2015)
Extreme Justice (1993)
Flyboys (2006)
Frank and Jesse (1994)
Frank & Johnny (1991)
Frida (2002)
Galaxy Quest (1999)
The Glass Shield (1994)
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Gordy (1995)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Heist (2015)
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
The House of Spirits (1993)
How to Get Girls (2017)
Insomnia (2002)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)
Jim Norton: Please Be Offended (2012)
Joe the King (1999)
Kicking & Screaming (2005)
Kicking and Screaming (1995)
The Long Riders (1980)
More than a Game (2009)
Mullholland Drive (2001)
Music and Lyrics (2007)
The Music Never Stopped (2011)
The Night We Never Met (1993)
No Vacancy (1998)
Once Bitten (1985)
The Others (2001)
Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)
The Peacemaker (1997)
Pieces of April (2003)
Platoon (1986)
Prancer (1989)
The Presidio (1988)
The Prophecy (1995)
Raging Bull (1980)
Reasonable Doubt (2014)
Rec (2009)
Rec 2 (2010)
Rec 3 (2012)
Rec 4 (2015)
Robocop (1987)
Robocop 2 (1990)
Robocop 3 (1993)
Rust and Bone (2012)
Scary Movie (2000)
The Second Arrival (1998)
The Simone Biles Story (2018)
Six Weeks (1982)
The Son of No one (2011)
Split Image (1982)
Stage Beauty (2004)
Stand Up Guys (2012)
Starship Troopers (1997)
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre II (1986)
Trees Lounge (1996)
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Wes Craven Presents: They (2002)
Wild Bill (1995)
Zombies of Mass Destruction (2010)
Available October 2
The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)
Available October 3
Dheepan (2016)
Ma Ma (2015)
RBG (2018)
The Eye (2007)
Available October 4
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (Dubbed): Complete Season 1 (Crunchyroll)
The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Complete Season 8 (Bravo)
The Gospel According to Andre (2018)
Available October 5
Into The Dark: THE BODY: Series Premiere (Hulu Original)
La Diosa Coronada: Complete Season 1 (Telemundo)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta: Complete Season 10 (Bravo)
It's a brand-new month, and those signed up for Amazon Prime will get a whole new batch of movies and TV series to watch as of Monday, which was October 1. Additionally, one of Amazon's biggest original series returns for a new season. Let's take a look at all of this week's additions--which is quite a sizable list thanks to the start of a new month.
Those looking for TV series to watch for the first time or binge all over again have quite a few choices now that the new month has begun. Both seasons of the Edgar Wright comedy Spaced will be available to stream. The series follows flatmates Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Hynes), two twenty-somethings living together in London. If you're a fan of Shaun of the Dead, this is a must-watch series. Also, every season of the classic sitcom Growing Pains is coming to Amazon for those looking for a nostalgia trip.
There are a ton of movies coming to the service as well on the first of the month, including the sci-fi/action movie Starship Troopers, which surprisingly still holds up. If you're looking for something a bit more scary--since Halloween is right around the corner--you will want to check out [REC] 4, Candyman, Child's Play, Flatliners, and of course, Nightbreed, which is one of the most underrated horror films of the '90s.
Finally, the hit Amazon series The Man in the High Castle comes back for a third season. The series is based on a Phillip K Dick novel from 1962 where the Allies lost World War II. Originally, this season was supposed to come to Amazon sometime in 2017.
Check out the full list of what's arriving this week, and see what's coming to Amazon for the rest of October.
October 1
Series
Growing Pains, Seasons 1-7
Happily Never After, Season 1
Paradox, Season 1
Pushing Daisies, Seasons 1-2
Ravenswood, Season 1
Scorned: Love Kills, Season 1
Silent Witness, Seasons 1-21
Spaced, Seasons 1-2
The Thick of It, Seasons 1-4
Trust, Season 1
V., Seasons 1-2
Movies
88 (2015)
[REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014)
5up 2down (Getting High) (2006)
A Boy Called Hate (1995)
Adventure Scouts (2008)
Almost Mercy (2015)
America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014)
American Meltdown (2004)
Among Thieves (2009)
An Affirmative Act (2010)
An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
An Eye for an Eye (1966)
Appetite (1998)
Assassins' Code (2011)
Bad Karma (2002)
Being Canadian (2015)
Beta Test (2016)
Betrayal (Lady Jayne: Killer) (2003)
Bitter Moon (1992)
Blue Ridge Fall (End of Innocence) (1999)
Blue Steel (1989)
Boricua (2004)
Break A Leg (2005)
Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Call Me (1988)
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
Caroline? (1989)
Carrie (1976)
Casting Couch (2013)
Child's Play (1988)
Cold Deck (2015)
Comic Book Villains (2002)
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Ct (1989)
Counter Measures (1998)
Creator (1985)
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Dark Blue (2003)
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Deadly Closure (Armed and Deadly) (2010)
Death Wish 2 (1982)
Deceptions (1985)
Destination Wedding (2018)
Diabolique (1996)
Dirty Work (Bad City) (2005)
Driving Force (1988)
Duress (2009)
Election (1999)
Extreme Justice (1993)
Flatliners (1990)
Flyboys (2006)
Foreign Fields (2000)
Frank and Jesse (1994)
Frankie & Johnny (1991)
Frauds (1993)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Funny Money (2006)
Game Changers (2017)
Get Smart (2008)
Go Against the Flow (2016)
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Gone Dark (2003)
Good Enough (2017)
Handsome Harry (2009)
Happy Event (2011)
Henry's Crime (2010)
Homage (1995)
Honeymoon (1997)
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
I am Dina (2003)
Il Sogno Nel Casello (2005)
Imagine a School....Summerhill (2008)
Imagine I'm Beautiful (2014)
In Her Defense (1998)
Intimate Affairs (2001)
It Ain't Pretty (2017)
Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)
Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
Jigsaw Man (1983)
Jim Norton: Please Be Offended (2012)
Joe the King (1999)
Judgement in Berlin (1988)
Kalamity (2010)
Kalle and the Angels (1994)
Kettle of Fish (2006)
Kicking and Screaming (1995)
La Mission (2009)
Leading Man (1996)
Leave Me Behind (2008)
Legend (1985)
Let Me In (2010)
Life of Significant Soil (2017)
Love & Rage (2000)
Marine Life (2001)
Meeting Spencer (2010)
Men Without Jobs (Planet Brooklyn) (2004)
More Than a Game (2008)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
My Name is Water (2017)
Nightbreed (1990)
No Vacancy (2004)
Nora (2000)
Once Bitten (1985)
Once Upon A Scoundrel (1974)
Orange County (2002)
Oxenfree (2017)
Pieces of April (2003)
Poltergeist lll (1988)
Ponchao (2013)
Prancer (1989)
Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy (1993)
Psychoanalysis (2015)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rap Sheet: Hip Hop and the Cops (2006)
Reasonable Doubt (2014)
Recipe for Love (A Mi Me Gusta) (2008)
Regresa (2009)
Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Road from Erebus (2000)
Robocop (1987)
Robocop 2 (1990)
Robocop 3 (1992)
Sample People (2000)
Satan's Little Helper (2004)
Saving Banksy (2017)
Second to Die (2001)
September Morning (2017)
Sexting (2011)
Silver Hawk (2004)
Six Weeks (1982)
Something to Cheer About (2002)
Somewhere Slow (2013)
Spin (2003)
Split Image (1982)
Stage Beauty (2004)
Stand Up Guys (2012)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Strange Bedfellows (2004)
Sugar Mountain (2016)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre II (1986)
The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Arrival (1996)
The Black Knight Returns (2008)
The Breakup Artist (2003)
The Cell (2000)
The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
The Face of an Angel (2015)
The Fog (2005)
The General (1998)
The Guilty (1999)
The Hard Ride (2011)
The Hustle (2008)
The Illusionist (2006)
The Long Riders (1980)
The Myth of the Male Orgasm (1994)
The Number 23 (2007)
The Peacemaker (1997)
The Perfect You (Crazy Little Thing) (2002)
The President's Mistress (1978)
The Presidio (1988)
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
The Raven (1963)
The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989)
The Second Arrival (1998)
The Secret Life of Archie's Wife (Runaway Heart) (1990)
The Serpent's Kiss (1997)
The Skeleton Key (2005)
The Strangers (2008)
The Uninvited (2009)
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Threshold (1981)
Throttle (2005)
Tim Tebow: On a Mission (2012)
Train Driver's Diary (2015)
Trees Lounge (1996)
Wild Bill (1995)
Winter Break (2002)
Winter Passing (2005)
Year of the Gun (1991)
Zombies of Mass Destruction (2010)
October 2
Series
Extrano Enemigo (Prime Original series), Season 1
Barbelle, Season 1
Birth Stories, Season 1
Movies
Mighty Good: The Beatles (1977)
Never Goin' Back (2018)
October 5
Series
The Man in the High Castle (Prime Original series), Season 3
It's the first week of October, and the streaming service giant Netflix is dropping quite a bit of content this week. From movies, to original series, to TV series, to stand-up specials, and more, if you're looking for something new to watch, there is a ton to choose from right now. Let's take a look at what hits this week.
Kicking things off on Monday were 30 new additions, including the 1984 classic fantasy/adventure The NeverEnding Story. Follow the story of Bastian, as he steps into a fantasy world and rides around on a Luck Dragon, which is dragon that looks suspiciously like a dog. Other movies from October 1 to check out are Billy Madison, Black Dynamite, and Empire Records.
Also, you can check out Season 4 of Fox's Gotham. There is a really fantastic arc during that year featuring Jerome, who is pretty much the Joker. You'll have 22 episodes to get through, so make sure you have a comfortable seat. There is only one other TV series hitting Netflix this week, and that's the webseries Little Things, which is about the life of a young couple. It comes to the service on October 6.
As for Netflix originals, there are plenty to choose from, including Season 2 of the animated comedy Big Mouth, Little Things Season 2, and the movie Malevolent. All of these come are now live on the streaming service. Check out the full list of things arriving to Netflix this week below, and check out everything coming out in October.
Available October 1
Angel Eyes
Anger Management
Billy Madison
Black Dynamite
Blade
Blade II
Blazing Saddles
Empire Records
Gotham: Season 4
Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain
Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny
Must Love Dogs
My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship
Mystic River
New York Minute
Once Upon a Time in America
Pay It Forward
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Rumble in the Bronx
She's Out of My League
Sommersby
The Dead Pool
The Devil's Advocate
The Green Mile
The Lake House
The NeverEnding Story
The Shining
V for Vendetta
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Available October 2
Joe Rogan: Strange Times-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
MeatEater: Season 7-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Available October 3
Truth or Dare (2017)
Available October 4
Creeped Out-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Violet Evergarden: Special: Extra Episode
Available October 5
Big Mouth: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dancing Queen-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Élite-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Empire Games-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Little Things: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Malevolent-- NETFLIX FILM
Private Life-- NETFLIX FILM
Super Monsters Save Halloween-- NETFLIX FILM
Super Monsters: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Rise of Phoenixes-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL (Streaming Every Friday)
October is here, and Amazon Prime Video has a whole slew of brand new content for you to binge, from movies to TV series to original content. There is a long list of new stuff being added, but we have a few suggestions for you to check out. Here's what you have to look forward to in the upcoming month.
Because Halloween is right around the corner, you're probably looking for a few scares, and Amazon Prime has you covered. October 1 brought with it Clive Barker's Nightbreed. Craig Sheffer plays Aaron Boone, a rebel who is drawn to a place called Midian, where deformed monsters live. Boone becomes one of the monsters himself, and a serial killer tries to make Boone a scapegoat. It is Barker's most underrated film as a director or writer. Additionally, the Jim Carrey horror/thriller The Number 23 hits the service, and while it is not a good movie by any means, it is an entertaining movie to watch.
As far as Prime Originals go, The Man in the High Castle has returned for Season 3, and Lore gets a second season on October 19. Also, the Amazon children's series Tumbleleaf gets a Halloween special on October 19.
Below, you'll find a full listing of everything coming to Amazon in October. The vast majority of the service's releases for the month came on October 1. If you're looking for more subscription service releases for October, check out what Hulu and Netflix have in store this month.
Everything Coming To Amazon Prime In October 2018
October 1
Series
Growing Pains, Seasons 1-7
Happily Never After, Season 1
Paradox, Season 1
Pushing Daisies, Seasons 1-2
Ravenswood, Season 1
Scorned: Love Kills, Season 1
Silent Witness, Seasons 1-21
Spaced, Seasons 1-2
The Thick of It, Seasons 1-4
Trust, Season 1
V., Seasons 1-2
Movies
88 (2015)
[REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014)
5up 2down (Getting High) (2006)
A Boy Called Hate (1995)
Adventure Scouts (2008)
Almost Mercy (2015)
America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014)
American Meltdown (2004)
Among Thieves (2009)
An Affirmative Act (2010)
An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
An Eye for an Eye (1966)
Appetite (1998)
Assassins' Code (2011)
Bad Karma (2002)
Being Canadian (2015)
Beta Test (2016)
Betrayal (Lady Jayne: Killer) (2003)
Bitter Moon (1992)
Blue Ridge Fall (End of Innocence) (1999)
Blue Steel (1989)
Boricua (2004)
Break A Leg (2005)
Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Call Me (1988)
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995)
Caroline? (1989)
Carrie (1976)
Casting Couch (2013)
Child's Play (1988)
Cold Deck (2015)
Comic Book Villains (2002)
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Ct (1989)
Counter Measures (1998)
Creator (1985)
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Dark Blue (2003)
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Deadly Closure (Armed and Deadly) (2010)
Death Wish 2 (1982)
Deceptions (1985)
Destination Wedding (2018)
Diabolique (1996)
Dirty Work (Bad City) (2005)
Driving Force (1988)
Duress (2009)
Election (1999)
Extreme Justice (1993)
Flatliners (1990)
Flyboys (2006)
Foreign Fields (2000)
Frank and Jesse (1994)
Frankie & Johnny (1991)
Frauds (1993)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Funny Money (2006)
Game Changers (2017)
Get Smart (2008)
Go Against the Flow (2016)
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Gone Dark (2003)
Good Enough (2017)
Handsome Harry (2009)
Happy Event (2011)
Henry's Crime (2010)
Homage (1995)
Honeymoon (1997)
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
I am Dina (2003)
Il Sogno Nel Casello (2005)
Imagine a School....Summerhill (2008)
Imagine I'm Beautiful (2014)
In Her Defense (1998)
Intimate Affairs (2001)
It Ain't Pretty (2017)
Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)
Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
Jigsaw Man (1983)
Jim Norton: Please Be Offended (2012)
Joe the King (1999)
Judgement in Berlin (1988)
Kalamity (2010)
Kalle and the Angels (1994)
Kettle of Fish (2006)
Kicking and Screaming (1995)
La Mission (2009)
Leading Man (1996)
Leave Me Behind (2008)
Legend (1985)
Let Me In (2010)
Life of Significant Soil (2017)
Love & Rage (2000)
Marine Life (2001)
Meeting Spencer (2010)
Men Without Jobs (Planet Brooklyn) (2004)
More Than a Game (2008)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
My Name is Water (2017)
Nightbreed (1990)
No Vacancy (2004)
Nora (2000)
Once Bitten (1985)
Once Upon A Scoundrel (1974)
Orange County (2002)
Oxenfree (2017)
Pieces of April (2003)
Poltergeist lll (1988)
Ponchao (2013)
Prancer (1989)
Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy (1993)
Psychoanalysis (2015)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rap Sheet: Hip Hop and the Cops (2006)
Reasonable Doubt (2014)
Recipe for Love (A Mi Me Gusta) (2008)
Regresa (2009)
Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Road from Erebus (2000)
Robocop (1987)
Robocop 2 (1990)
Robocop 3 (1992)
Sample People (2000)
Satan's Little Helper (2004)
Saving Banksy (2017)
Second to Die (2001)
September Morning (2017)
Sexting (2011)
Silver Hawk (2004)
Six Weeks (1982)
Something to Cheer About (2002)
Somewhere Slow (2013)
Spin (2003)
Split Image (1982)
Stage Beauty (2004)
Stand Up Guys (2012)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Strange Bedfellows (2004)
Sugar Mountain (2016)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre II (1986)
The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Arrival (1996)
The Black Knight Returns (2008)
The Breakup Artist (2003)
The Cell (2000)
The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
The Face of an Angel (2015)
The Fog (2005)
The General (1998)
The Guilty (1999)
The Hard Ride (2011)
The Hustle (2008)
The Illusionist (2006)
The Long Riders (1980)
The Myth of the Male Orgasm (1994)
The Number 23 (2007)
The Peacemaker (1997)
The Perfect You (Crazy Little Thing) (2002)
The President's Mistress (1978)
The Presidio (1988)
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
The Raven (1963)
The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989)
The Second Arrival (1998)
The Secret Life of Archie's Wife (Runaway Heart) (1990)
The Serpent's Kiss (1997)
The Skeleton Key (2005)
The Strangers (2008)
The Uninvited (2009)
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Threshold (1981)
Throttle (2005)
Tim Tebow: On a Mission (2012)
Train Driver's Diary (2015)
Trees Lounge (1996)
Wild Bill (1995)
Winter Break (2002)
Winter Passing (2005)
Year of the Gun (1991)
Zombies of Mass Destruction (2010)
October 2
Series
Extrano Enemigo (Prime Original series), Season 1
Barbelle, Season 1
Birth Stories, Season 1
Movies
Mighty Good: The Beatles (1977)
Never Goin' Back (2018)
October 5
Series
The Man in the High Castle (Prime Original series), Season 3
October 6
Movies
A Prayer Before Dawn (2017)
Night of the Living Deb (2016)
October 11
Series
Mr. Robot, Season 3
Movies
Monster's Ball (2001)
Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
October 12
Series
The Romanoffs (Prime Original series), Season 1
October 13
Movies
The Yellow Birds (2017)
October 14
Movies
Bleeding Steel (2017)
October 16
Movies
Devil (2010)
Manieggs: Revenge of the Hard Egg (2014)
October 17
Movies
Donnie Darko (2001)
The Daniel Tiger Movie: Won't You Be Our Neighbor? (2012)
October 18
Movies
Slice (2018)
October 19
Series
Lore (Prime Original series), Season 2
Tumble Leaf Halloween Special (Prime Original series), Special
October 20
Movies
Black Water (2018)
October 25
Movies
Daddy's Home 2 (2017)
October 26
Movies
Bad Samaritan (2018)
You Were Never Really Here (Prime Original movie) (2017)
By Anonymous on Oct 06, 2018 12:00 am Mat Elfring and Chris Hayner attended the Titans premiere at NYCC. After watching the first two episodes, they're here to give you their first impressions. Is Titans too dark and edgy or does it find the right balance?
After nearly a year and a half since the Switch's launch, Nintendo has finally rolled out the console-hybrid's online service. While it now requires players to pay for online play, you do at least get some nice perks. The most noteworthy among them is access to a library of Nintendo Entertainment System games. What's more: each game now supports online multiplayer functionality, so you won't need a second player to be in the same room with you. Even games that didn't originally come with multiplayer support have been given light multiplayer functionality via the addition of a cursor system where your second player can point at the screen and even applaud.
The release of Nintendo Switch Online's NES library got us thinking about all the games we want to be added in the future. After all, more are slated to release in the months ahead. We have our own ideas as to what should appear on the service. In this feature, we've highlighted 13 games we'd love to see appear on the service and talk about how each would benefit from the added online functionality. For your reference, check out our comprehensive list containing all the games in service's NES game library.
Like its competitors, Nintendo Switch Online can be purchased in different tiers. A single month costs $4/£3.50; three months costs $8/£7; and a whole year costs $20 / £18. Of course, if you have multiple people in your house who want their own accounts, you can purchase a family plan, which costs $35/£26 per year and allows up to eight people to play online. On top of online play and access to NES games, the service also allows for save data cloud save backup and access to special offers, such as the ability to pre-order Switch-compatible NES controllers.
Which NES games do you want to appear on Nintendo Switch Online? Let us know in the comments below.
Iron Tank
Iron Tank is a strange game that's evocative of its era. It's not the kind of game you see anymore, and an idea that only seems feasible when costs for games were low and the industry was more experimental. Players control a tank from a bird's-eye perspective, while they slowly progress up a map shooting missiles and their turret at other tanks and enemy vehicles, or running over infantry, which is kind of hilarious. In many ways, the game resembles vertical scrolling shooter games like Legendary Wings or 1942 with various power-ups the tank can collect, but with the action slowed down and multiple paths the tank can traverse (plus the lack of scrolling) this game is its own unique beast. While multiplayer was never implemented into the game, it feels like the perfect game to get a boost from the experience. Adding a 2-player option with two tanks on screen would be an absolute blast in this game, especially with some of the bosses and later missions getting especially challenging. The main gameplay experience is fun to begin with, but an NSO multiplayer boost would be a blast to see. | Dave Klein
Bubble Bobble
Cooperative NES games are an obvious choice to highlight the Switch's added online play, and Bubble Bobble offers one of the best co-op experiences of the era. You and a partner play as adorable dragons who blow bubbles to encase enemies--and then pop them. Each stage is a single-screen, and eliminating all the enemies lets you progress to the next one. You can get the standard ending by playing alone, but to reach the real final boss and truly beat the game, you'll need to play with a friend. Oh, and the music is an endlessly looping earworm so catchy it might get lodged in your head forever. | Chris Reed
Castlevania
Castlevania is the type of hard-as-nails action-platformer that warrants multiple players working together to complete it. Unfortunately, it was exclusively a single-player affair, meaning that any willing second players were forced to sit on the sidelines. While it would be great to see Castlevania brought to NSO's NES games library for posterity's sake, it would be even better if it included the ability for two players to play the game together and switch off play after death. This would benefit the experience as a whole because let's be real: Castlevania is demoralizingly difficult, so a competitive dynamic between two players would be a great way to keep things going. Those pesky medusa heads and stiff platforming are enough as it is to deal with on your own, so to have a shared bond in that suffering would really elevate the experience. It's a small tweak that shouldn't demand too much effort to implement, and it's one we firmly believe could make this classic vampire hunting adventure even better on NSO. | Matt Espineli
Contra
When people mention Contra these days, it's usually in reference to the 30-lives code the game popularized. But the reason people remember the code in the first place is because the game is so much fun to play--and replay, and play again. The controls are tight, with running, jumping, and shooting mechanics that feel pixel-perfect. You can equip a nice selection of weapons that help you defeat the alien threat, and each of the eight stages has a unique look and feel to it. Better yet, you can blast through the entire game with two players on screen the whole time, making it an ideal title to bring to the Switch's collection of newly online games. | Chris Reed
Gauntlet
Gauntlet is probably remembered best by fans for its various entries on arcades. However, the series' first entry saw an NES port that became one of publisher Tengen's most popular games. The game itself is a birds-eye view action game, with players stuck in a dungeon they're trying to progress and get out of as hordes of enemies attack them. In true arcade fashion, every monster killed results in the player gaining a number of points, and dungeons themselves are sprinkled treasure for you to pick up. Monsters have items on the screen which spawn them, and in most dungeons, players are required to kill these monster spawns in order to truly progress. While this is all fun to do for the sake of seeing how far you can get, where the game truly shines is in its multiplayer. Players pick from one of four different characters to control, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The arcade version supported up to four, while the NES port had to drop this down to two players. Nintendo Switch Online would be perfectly suited for this game, but Nintendo really wanted to up the ante, re-implementing four-player multiplayer into the NES port would be an amazing way to improve the game for the service and allow NES players an experience they've only dreamed of. | Dave Klein
Kirby's Adventure
The loveable pink puffball first debuted on the Game Boy back in 1992 with Kirby's Dreamland, but it was 1993's Kirby's Adventure that would truly turn Kirby into the icon he is today. While Kirby's Dreamland set the stage, Kirby's Adventure would first introduce Kirby's copy ability. The game has a nice, laid back pace to it and which also makes it a great candidate for NSO's multiplayer, as it's one of the few NES platform games that doesn't really heavily on fast-twitch reflexes. If multiplayer were implemented, a second player could control a cret that floats around and drops explosive coconuts on enemies--only with limited ammo. Or, to get really wild, and in the territory of probably not going to happen, the game could take a page out of "Kirby Super Star" and allow a second player helper to be created by the first player. | Dave Klein
Legendary Wings
Legendary Wings is one of the earlier games from the vertical scrolling shooting genre of games. However, unlike most of the time, it also contains horizontal scrolling shooting segments, making it somewhat of a hybrid. While the gameplay is fairly simplistic--shoot all of the enemies as you come across them without getting hit--it's that simplicity that makes Legendary Wings such a blast to play, with various power-ups you can get to help along the way. And it's perfectly suited for NSO's multiplayer features since it technically includes multiplayer. While it's a fun game to see how far you can get by yourself, we imagine it'd be even better to play with friends online. | Dave Klein
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
With Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 already included in Nintendo Switch's NES library, it's only a matter of time before the western version of Super Mario Bros. 2 is also added to the lineup. But while that game is most commonly accepted as Mario's second adventure, the original Super Mario Bros. 2--known outside of Japan as The Lost Levels due to how long it took to release in other regions--also deserves a spot in the library.
On the surface, The Lost Levels looks and feels very much like the original Super Mario Bros., albeit with a few notable distinctions. For one, the title only supports a single-player; rather than being able to take turns playing as Mario and Luigi, you'll have to choose one of the plumbers at the outset, and they each now have their own distinct characteristics. The biggest difference, however, is its sheer difficulty. The Lost Levels is much more challenging than any of Mario's other NES adventures; environmental hazards are more plentiful, and hidden blocks are placed fiendishly around certain levels to knock you into a pit when you least expect it.
It's this difficulty that would make The Lost Levels such a great addition to Switch's NES lineup. Despite its lack of multiplayer, you can still virtually pass control of Mario or Luigi between each other after the other player loses a life, making it fun to attempt the game cooperatively. You can also simply watch a friend struggle (likely in vain) to make it to the end. As they say, misery loves company. | Kevin Knezevic
Mega Man (2 & 3)
While we've had our fair share of Mega Man ports recently with Legacy Collections 1 & 2, Mega Man is such a classic it's hard to imagine an NES collection without it. Mega Man 3 actually had 2-player capabilities with the 2nd player being able to give the first player various abilities, such as a super jump. Bringing this back for Mega Man 3--and introducing it to Mega Man 2--would be a fun way to allow a second player to cooperate in an organic way or to totally screw with the first player. Regardless, these are timeless classics that deserve to be seen on the service, and there would be some fun ways to utilize Nintendo Switch Online's multiplayer functionality to add more value to these already highly recirculated games. | Dave Klein
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
Beat-'em-ups ruled the roost in the early days of co-op gaming, and one of the best examples of the genre on NES remains Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, the home console port of the 1989 arcade game. Unlike Konami's first (and notoriously difficult) stab at the license, TMNT II is a straightforward brawler, trading its predecessor's overworld segments and clumsy platforming for pure, side-scrolling action. At the start of the adventure, players choose one of the four turtles and fight their way through a series of stages filled with waves of Foot Soldiers, Mousers, and other familiar enemies, each culminating in a boss fight against one of Shredder's tougher minions.
While TMNT II is certainly enjoyable solo thanks to its snappy action and catchy soundtrack, like most other beat-'em-ups, the game is at its best when another player jumps in and fights alongside you, which would make it an ideal title to add to Nintendo Switch Online's NES library. Whether or not Konami will ever bring it to the service remains to be seen--there are undoubtedly some licensing hurdles that would need to be cleared before the game could be released on Switch--but TMNT II remains one of the turtles' better video game outings and would be a great title to play online with a friend. | Kevin Knezevic
EarthBound Beginnings
EarthBound--known as Mother 2 in Japan--is often considered one of the best JRPGs on the Super Nintendo, thanks in part to its modern day setting and quirky sense of humor. However, the series had its humble beginnings on the Famicom with its first entry. The game is infamous for having been fully localized for release in the United States but being dropped due in large part to the upcoming release of the Super Nintendo. Mother was eventually released in western territories for Wii U as EarthBound Beginnings. While it's not the best RPG out there, it would be great if the game was re-released on Switch's NES game library. Despite not having multiplayer functionality, it would still be a great addition for posterity's sake, and with enough support, it might just even lead to the release of Mother 3 on the service when Nintendo inevitably adds SNES games to the service. Keep the dream alive! | Dave Klein
Cocoron
Cocoron is a much more obscure game on our list, in part because it was never brought to the States. The game is another NES platformer, this time with players having the ability to customize the main character's look before playing the game, which also affects what abilities they'll have. Players can decide the order in which the tackle the levels, and for defeating bosses, will be able to create new allies they can play as. While it sounds like any other platform game, it was actually created by Akira Kitamura, the main designer of Mega Man. Not only that, but composer Takashi Tateishi, who composed music for Mega Man 2 also worked on the project.
It would be great to see games that never came to the states get a release via Nintendo Switch Online's NES library. A game like Cocoron would be a fantastic start, as it would require little translation work. And wIth the multiplayer functionality, it would be great if two players could each create their own characters and take turns playing after one player dies. While only a minor tweak, it would enhance an already amazing game that has for the most part gone unplayed by western audiences. | Dave Klein
Punch Out!!
Punch-Out!! Is an absolute NES classic, and one of the defining games of the console, with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! being a major selling point for the system in America. While the game hasn't received many sequels, in part due to its simplistic gameplay being hard to adapt into a more intricate game, the original still stands the test of time with its basic reactionary gameplay holding up to this day. While it's hard to imagine multiplayer in the game, there are some ways to get creative with it. On a basic level, a 2nd player could cheer along whenever Lil Mac knocks out their opponent. But a versus mode could be added with players attempting to knock each other out. If they're playing online, they could still both get the same perspective from their boxer's back. Imagine if players could choose different boxers from the game to play as. Of course, all of that sounds like a dream, but Mr. Dream is a part of the Punch-Out!! Series, so we're going to go with it. | Dave Klein
So much has already been said about Assassin's Creed Odyssey leading up to its release on October 5 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. But here, we have all the bases covered on the series' latest entry in one place. We'll run down many of Odyssey's broader features and go through the basics of what you should know before jumping in. Everything from story to combat tips are outlined below, along with links to more detailed guides if you wish to dig deeper. Note that there are no major story spoilers in this article.
You're probably aware that Assassin's Creed Odyssey takes place in Ancient Greece, but it specifically covers the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta. The game opens with a 300-esque battle scene where you take control of King Leonidas of Sparta during the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, then transitions to the start of the main protagonist's story almost 50 years later in 431 BCE.
Greece makes for some breathtaking views.
If you've followed Odyssey since it was first revealed at E3 2018, then you'll know that you can choose between taking on the role of a female or male lead; Kassandra and Alexios are two sides of the same coin and play exactly the same--the main differences are, of course, the voice acting and character model. Your choice also affects the narrative slightly; whoever you choose to play as is made to be the older sibling of the two. You come from Spartan lineage, but the game doesn't force you into aligning with either side of the war since you're a mercenary trying uncover the truth of your family's disappearance.
Prominent Greek figures like Socrates and Hippocrates make appearances throughout Odyssey, and you can interact with them as they offer side quests of their own. While historical fiction has always been the foundation of Assassin's Creed lore, it's never been afraid to incorporate the supernatural. Odyssey takes it a step further by pitting you against mythology itself; one example is a fight against Medusa where you try to avoid getting turned into stone.
Catch Up On Assassin's Creed Lore
This is a long-running franchise, but Odyssey can be a good point to jump into the series. Knowledge of previous events isn't necessarily required to enjoy the new game. However, if you need a refresher on the everything that have taken place up to this point, be sure to read our Assassin's Creed story summary.
How Long Is Odyssey?
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Assassin's Creed Odyssey is huge--its open world is about twice as big as Origins. That may not seem as daunting when you consider the fact that the Mediterranean Sea makes up a large portion of the map and that you'll spend plenty of time sailing the high seas. Regardless, there's still a great deal of ground to cover throughout Greece's mainland and several islands.
As for game length, it's difficult to get an accurate range since every player will engage in a varying number of optional quests and activities along the way. Estimates have been around 50 hours to complete the main story and a decent chunk of side activities. GameSpot editor Alessandro Fillari spent 60 hours with the game for the purposes of his review, and there remain more optional content for him to take part in.
New to the franchise is Exploration Mode. Instead of having waypoints and objective markers littered on screen in the traditional Guided Mode, Exploration Mode puts the onus on you to figure out where to go to complete quests. This means you'll have to pay closer attention to NPC dialogue and investigate the environment more closely.
This is especially true if you take on the optional quest to hunt down a cultist organization. They're a web of mysterious figures with hidden identities scattered throughout Greece and you'll need to do investigative work to locate and assassinate them. Sometimes, you'll happen to take them down in the midst of a side mission that they're involved in, but you'll often have to dig for clues on their whereabouts whether or not you've activated Exploration mode.
Fighting With Style
Odyssey builds off of Origins' combat system, but it introduces some key changes. Shields are no longer an option, which naturally pushes fights towards a faster pace. The skill tree remains divided in three categories attributed to specific playstyles (Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin), but it features some neat new abilities. You may think the Spartan Kick is in the game just for kicks and giggles until you realize that it's super effective for booting enemies off cliffs or creating space in fights. Another setting-appropriate ability is the Rush Assassination that lets you put the Spear of Leonidas to use during long-distance stealth kills.
The skill tree includes several abilities that allow you to tinker with different character builds.
In addition to multiple types of melee weapons (like polearms, swords, and maces), you have a bow that's both useful for attacking long-range and inflicting status effects on enemies. The Arrow Master skill unlocks arrows that can poison, paralyze, or explode on impact, opening up numerous possibilities in combat; combine that with Devastating Shot and your projectiles will be even stronger. The skill tree can be overwhelming at first, but we have a few tips on some good abilities to pick up early and how to use them in clever ways.
Don't worry about min-maxing in the skill tree; you can respec at any time for small cost. This affords you the opportunity to experiment with different combat approaches and character builds.
Setting Sail In The Mediterranean
With multiple islands scattered across Greece, great emphasis is placed on sailing and ship combat in Odyssey, essentially taking a page out of Black Flag's book. Engaging with hostile ships will have you firing arrow barrages, tossing waves of javelins, or using the naval ram to inflict damage. Once an enemy ship's health is depleted, you can either sink it for a small reward or board it with your crew to get better loot. If you board the ship, you'll have to get your hands dirty and fight the opposing crew.
Enemy ships vary in size, health, and strength, so be sure to know what you're up against before engaging. Throughout Odyssey, you'll upgrade your ship and recruit shipmates from quests or smooth dialogue interactions. Different crew members offer specific bonuses and attributes for your ship.
Play Your Part
Odyssey doubles down on RPG elements. There's leveling up, skill trees, gear scores, and numerous optional quests, which was implemented in Origins, but the series dips its toes into branching story threads for the first time. Dialogue trees permeate character interactions and you'll face consequences for your actions whether they be good or bad. The way you decide to complete some quests will affect the resulting narrative and can also spill into the details of other quest-lines; don't be surprised if there are unforeseen consequences and collateral damage.
With branching dialogue comes romance options. You're free to romance as many of the available characters as you want, and the circumstances for which you can romance them may change based on other decisions. Most often, these partners will become part of your ship's crew, which may be a bit of an unceremonious conclusion for love interests. However, these scenarios can play out strangely, and you can see for yourself how romance can feel awkward or forced.
By nature of being an RPG that deals with choice and consequence, there are multiple endings in Assassin's Creed Odyssey; nine to be specific. Unfortunately, you'll be hard-pressed to see them all in one playthrough since key decisions early in the game will affect the possible endings open to you.
You now have more agency in how the story plays out thanks to branching dialogue and quest decisions.
Different Versions, Special Editions, And DLC
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is out soon, but you can still snag the pre-order bonuses offered. Pre-ordering from the Ubisoft Store grants you access to the Blind King mission, Best Buy gifts you a $10 rewards certificate, and GameStop includes the Blind King mission and a Spartan helmet keychain. Aside from the standard edition of the game, there's a Deluxe edition ($80) that includes an XP and drachmae (in-game money) boost, the Kronos and Herald of Dusk gear pack, and the Capricornus naval pack. The Gold edition ($110) packs the DLC season pass, Secrets of Greece and Blind King bonus missions, and lets you start playing now. The Ultimate edition ($120) includes all the aforementioned content from both the Deluxe and Gold editions. There are few other special editions with collector's statues that you check out in our pre-order guide.
PC Minimum And Recommended Specs
For the PC players out there, make sure your system is powerful enough to run the game properly. If you're aiming for 4K resolution with High settings, Ubisoft recommends a system with at least an AMD Ryzen 1700X or Intel Core i7-7700 CPU, AMD Vega 64 or Nvidia GTX 1080 video card, and 16GB of RAM. For those not doing 4K, be sure to read up on the minimum and recommended PC specs to run AC Odyssey smoothly.
Review
You can read or watch our review of Assassin's Creed Odyssey right now; editor Alessandro Fillari concluded: "Assassin's Creed Odyssey's ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead. While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting." For perspectives from other critics on the game, you can read through our review roundup.
As is customary for the game, Destiny 2 players know Tuesday is the big day of the week. That's when the weekly reset takes place, refreshing a variety of timed challenges and bounties, and changing what tasks are laid out in front of you. This week is no different at a basic level, although you should be aware before diving in that there isn't a major new piece of content that's been introduced, as in recent weeks. That said, if you didn't speed through Forsaken, there may be something new for you, as the weekly missions offered by Petra in the Dreaming City have started over again. Here's everything you need to know about the Dreaming City, Nightfall, Ascendant Challenge, and more for the current week.
Where Is Xur?
We've reached the weekend, which means the mysterious merchant is back. Xur can be found on Io in Giant's Scar, and he's got a slate of Exotic armor and a weapon (Skyburner's Oath) for sale. Check out our full Xur location guide for all the details.
Sleeper Simulant Nerf, Festival Of The Lost, And Updates Inbound
Bungie's weekly blog post was a big one, as it outlined a variety of changes coming as part of two updates launching in October. The first will coincide with the launch of Festival of the Lost on October 16, while the second hits later in the month and nerfs Sleeper Simulant in Gambit. Other changes include transmat effects being added to the Collection, damage buffs for certain weapon types, tweaked Exotic drop rates, and fewer Edge Transits (hooray!).
Ascendant Challenge
For players who have advanced far enough in Forsaken, you may be ready for a high-end activity. The Ascendant Challenge is just the ticket, providing a difficult mission of sorts to take part in for some Powerful gear--provided you can find where to go. This time, you'll enter the challenge through a portal located in the Bay of Drowne. This takes you to the Agonarch Abyss, where you'll be platforming (probably to your death at least a few times).
Before starting, you'll need to pick up the bounty from Petra and to secure a Tincture of Queensfoil, a consumable item that provides the Ascendant buff that allows you to see and travel through a Taken portal to enter the Ascendant Plane.
Spider Bounty -- Wanted: Gravetide Summoner
The set of bounties available from Spider have rotated yet again. One of these in particular is worth grabbing, though you'll need five Ghost Fragments to purchase it. Completing the bounty, Wanted: Gravetide Summoner, will reward you with Powerful gear. Yes, this is a repeat of last week, but it's found in a slightly different spot, meaning you're doing a different Lost Sector.
As always, this provides you with an Adventure to do. This one is located on Titan, right next to the Siren's Watch landing zone (rather than The Rig last week).
Nightfall
Another avenue to Powerful gear is the Nightfall Strike. Taking part in the Nightfall allows you to pick from three different Strikes; this week's choices include Lake of Shadows, Tree of Probabilities, and The Arms Dealer. The corresponding bounties for Powerful gear, as usual, ask you to complete a Nightfall and to complete one with a score above 100,000.
Eververse
Tess at Eververse has new weekly bounties, the most expensive of which is Crucible Crux, but it also rewards you with the most Bright Dust based on what you spend on the bounty. This requires you to complete matches in the Crucible, with wins netting you extra progress.
Tess has also cycled in a new wave of items to get your hands on. Most important to grab is the Rise to the Challenge bounty. This only asks you to complete a challenge to receive a Prismatic Facet. This item allows you to activate the Prismatic Matrix, which is just an overly complex term for what is basically a chest with 10 cosmetic rewards inside. The Matrix's items rotate each week; here's what's available right now:
Sanctified Vigilance Shell (Exotic Ghost shell)
Transcendent Geometry (Exotic Warlock ornament for Vesper of Radius)
Aim to Misbehave (Exotic ornament for Malfeasance)
Dragonfly Regalia Greaves (Legendary Titan leg armor)
Smooth Dance (Legendary emote)
Where Stars Collide (Legendary ship)
Endymion Cavalcade (Legendary vehicle)
Mappa Mundarum (Legendary vehicle)
Jeweled Projection (Legendary Ghost projection)
Petra
Petra is the most important vendor and NPC in Forsaken, providing you with bounties in the Dreaming City. She continues to move around the area and this week can be found back in The Strand. She has multiple bounties offering Powerful gear, as well as Gateway Between Worlds, which rewards you with an Offering to the Oracle (which is now an easy ticket to a Seed of Light and third subclass tree).
Additionally, she's again offering a bounty to do the mission Broken Courier; this marks the first reset of the rotation of Dreaming City missions she has. If your Power level wasn't high enough to try this out in September, here's your opportunity to do what you missed. Petra actually has some dialogue to acknowledge that things are back to the way they were three weeks ago.
Clan Bounties
At the Tower, head over to Hawthorne to grab your daily and weekly clan bounties. On the weekly side, this week has you doing the following with clanmates: complete Blind Well at Tier 3 or higher; clear three waves of Escalation Protocol; and do three Heroic Adventures. As per usual, completing enough clan bounties before the weekly reset will net you some Powerful gear, as will completing the standard weekly clan objectives. The weekly Raid challenge has you complete the Which Witch challenge for Powerful gear.
Vanguard Strikes
For standard Strikes, the weekly challenge is to complete three while using the same Light element as a team member. The modifiers for Strikes have rotated, and here's what you can expect to encounter right now:
Arc Singe -- Arc damage increased
Grounded -- Damage taken while airborne increased
Grenadier -- Grenades deal more damage and recharge faster
Daily Heroic Story Missions
Five story missions have been swapped in for you to tackle as part of the daily Heroic story missions activity. Complete your choice of three before the next weekly reset to net a piece of Powerful gear. The modifiers are the same as Strikes, as outlined above. Here are the mission options:
Fury -- 280 Power level
Chosen -- 280 Power level
The Gateway -- 310 Power level
Last Call -- 500 Power level
High Plains Blues -- 500 Power level
Gambit
Gambit was already one of Forsaken's best additions, and it took on greater importance last week as it became a mandatory step in the questline to obtain the Exotic hand cannon Malfeasance. You'll sometimes encounter a special boss in place of the Primeval; defeat that to get an item called Seething Heart that will set you on the difficult path toward unlocking the gun.
For this week, The Drifter is offering a weekly bounty, On the Grind, that asks you to earn points in Gambit. Points are earned by defeating enemies and guardians, and by banking Motes. The reward is a piece of Powerful gear.
Flashpoint
The Flashpoint is not tied directly to the weekly reset, but it has nonetheless been shuffled. At the time of this writing, it can be found on Mercury. Complete Public Events, Lost Sectors, and Heroic Adventures in the zone to fill a meter and earn a piece of Powerful gear.
Where Is Xur?
Xur will arrive once again on Friday, October 5, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST. There's been no word about changes to him, so you can expect the usual Fated Engram (guaranteeing a Year One Exotic you don't own) along with one Exotic weapon and one piece of armor for each class.
With a number of Destiny 2 updates on the way, the one thing you can count on is an appearance from the mysterious merchant Xur. He's back once again to peddle his wares, which include the usual assortment of Exotic gear. Here's what he's selling this weekend, as well as where to find him.
This week, Xur continues his pattern of appearing in his same old locations. You'll find him right now on Io, in the Giant's Scar region. Spawn in at the landing zone, hop on your Sparrow, and make your way forward through an overpass. Head left in the wide-open area with the large drill and then jump up the small hill on the left of this area. You'll find Xur hiding out in a cave, as you can see in the map below.
On the item side, he has a standard assortment of gear: one Exotic weapon and one Exotic piece of armor for each class, as well as the expensive Fated Engram (which guarantees you a Year One Exotic you don't already own). The weapon is Skyburner's Oath, a scout rifle that fires explosive slugs. There have been complaints about scout rifle damage in PvE, but that's set to change with an update this month.
For armor, Hunters get the Young Ahamkara's Spine gauntlets, which improve Tripmines when you deal damage with abilities. Warlocks get the Skull of Dire Ahamkara helmet, which gives you Super energy when you get kills with Nova Bomb. And Titans get the Helm of Saint-14 helmet, which causes Ward of Dawn to blind enemies and grant an overshield to friendlies. The full lineup and prices follow below.
Young Ahamkara's Grasp (Exotic Hunter gauntlets) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Exotic Warlock helmet) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Helm of Saint-14 (Exotic Titan helmet) -- 23 Legendary Shards
You'll be able to pick up these items between now and the weekly reset on Tuesday, October 9. One week later, Festival of the Lost will debut alongside a new patch, version 2.0.4.
The Assassin's Creed series has always been known for its extensive storyline and dense lore and mythology. The latest entry Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a prequel to the franchise, but it's useful to learn about key characters and events from past games. To help get you up to speed on all the important happenings in the Assassin's Creed universe, here's a recap of everything you need to know before jumping into Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Be wary, there are major spoilers ahead.
Our recap goes over the major events of each game (sorry, no Assassin's Creed comics and books), filling in the back story of the Assassins and Templars, the Pieces of Eden, the Isu, and everything else you may have forgotten about. Odyssey is another great place to dive in even for newcomers, but you might have a fuller appreciation if you're caught up on everything that has happened thus far.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey comes out on October 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. As an interesting aside, the game will also be available to play on Google Chrome on launch day thanks to a new test the search giant is conducting to measure the strength of its game streaming technology. However, Google will only be choosing a select few users from those who sign up via its official website.
For Assassin's Creed Odyssey guides, be sure to check out our feature highlighting tips you should know before starting. We'll be posting more features and guides in the next coming days. And if you're curious about our thoughts on the game, be sure to read our Assassin's Creed Odyssey review. GameSpot editor Alessandro Fillari said in his review: "While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Assassin's Creed Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting."
Those Who Came Before
In the beginning, Earth was inhabited by the Isu, an ancient species of advanced humanoids. They possessed precognitive abilities and were gifted scientists; they also had incredibly long lifespans, though they were not immortal. Their immense power and intelligence lead them to create the human race, whom they designed in their image to be a capable, but docile, workforce. But in order to ensure that humanity remained subservient to their rule, the Isu created several powerful devices--later known to humanity as Pieces of Eden--to enslave their minds.
Rebellion And War
When the Isu created humanity, they designed them to be born with a chemical neurotransmitter in their brains that made them susceptible to the Pieces of Eden. However, over time interbreeding between humans and Isu lead to the creation of a hybrid race, who were immune to the effects of the mind-controlling devices of their benefactors. This resulted in an uprising by two hybrids, Adam and Eve, who stole a Piece of Eden known as the Apple to wage war against the Isu.
While the Isu were technologically superior to humans, the ensuing war took a toll on them as they were heavily outnumbered; a result of the Isu having produced so many humans to work for them. After a decade's worth of fighting, the conflict came to an abrupt end due to a massive solar flare that devastated the Earth, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. This event became known as the Toba Catastrophe.
Last Ditch Effort
During the war, there were three Isu scientists--Minerva, Juno, and Jupiter--who were actually aware of the solar flare that would hit Earth. They endeavored to prevent it by researching six different solutions; however, none adequately provided what was needed. Eventually Minerva created a seventh solution known as the Eye, a device capable of allowing them to manipulate the patterns and equations of existence. With its power, the Isu could deploy a planetary magnetic shield that would deflect the incoming disaster.
In the midst of the experiments, Juno developed a deep hatred for humans. She made plans to take over the world and enslave humanity in the solar flare's aftermath. However, Minerva and Jupiter caught wind of this and imprisoned her consciousness. But before Juno could be sealed away, she tampered with the pattern of the Eye, so that it would release her from prison upon its activation. Minerva discovered this and decided that instead of letting Juno get her way, it would be best to destroy the device and let the solar flare occur.
Messages To The Next Generation
Before the solar flare arrived to Earth, Minerva crafted a second Eye to relay messages to future generations of humanity in hopes of giving them the knowledge needed to prevent an inevitable second catastrophe. These messages were locked away in vaults hidden throughout the planet.
Despite these attempts to help the future of humanity, Juno's evil ambitions persisted. In her imprisonment, she managed to fix the first Eye and used it to commune with future generations in hopes of swaying them towards accomplishing her goals.
Reconciliation and The Fall of the Isu
The impact of the solar flare flipped the polarity of Earth's magnetic field and exposed it to the Sun's deadly radiation. While both the Isu and humanity survived the disaster, their numbers began to dwindle. As a result, both species made peace and worked together to rebuild the world.
Several Isu took steps to influence the human race, endeavoring to spread their knowledge. Some of these attempts would manifest themselves in superstitions and religious myths passed through the ages across different cultures. Despite their best efforts to preserve their ways, the Isu eventually went extinct. Humanity continued to thrive through the centuries ahead, slowly forgetting the existence of the Isu as they split off into new civilizations and cultures.
The Assassins And The Templars: A Battle of Ideology
As the centuries passed, humans began to discover several Pieces of Eden, which had survived the destruction of the Toba Catastrophe. The power the artifacts stirred debate towards how to use them for humanity's benefit. There were many who sought to fulfill humanity's true potential and decided it would be best to use the artifacts to create a utopia. While there were others who stood against their use, opting to give humanity complete freedom where all could live according to their own will. These two beliefs eventually manifested into two respective organizations, the Templars and the Assassins, who went on to wage a covert war spanning most of human history.
Enter Desmond Miles
A key player in the Assassin-Templar conflict was a man named Desmond Miles. A modern day Assassin, Desmond was wary of his organization's tenets and lifestyle growing up. At age 16, he fled home and moved to New York City to work as a bartender. However, he could not escape his origins, and was kidnapped by the Templars, who had at this point masked their activities under the guise of a company called Abstergo.
The unwilling Assassin was taken to one of Abstergo's laboratories where he was used as a test subject in the Animus, a device that could read the memories of a person's ancestors through the genetic memory encoded in their DNA. Leading the research experiment was a scientist named Warren Vidic and his assistant, Lucy Stillman. Their goal was to discover the locations of the Pieces of Eden.
Assassin's Creed -- Destiny
Desmond was made to relive the genetic memory of his ancestor, Altair Ibn-La'Ahad--a member of the Assassin order during the Third Crusade. By exploring Altair's memories, Vidic was able to discover the locations of numerous Pieces of Eden. After finding this out, Abstergo executives ordered Desmond's execution, as he had outlived his usefulness; however, Lucy revealed to Desmond that she was an undercover agent of the Assassins, and promised his safety.
Assassin's Creed II -- Becoming an Assassin and a Message From Minerva
Lucy busted Desmond out his cell and the two escaped from the Abstergo laboratory. Arriving at one of the Assassins' hideouts, Desmond and Lucy met with fellow members of the order, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. Their new goal was to train Desmond to be an Assassin using the Bleeding Effect, a symptom induced by prolonged exposure to the Animus that allowed a person to inherit abilities from their ancestors.
Desmond returned to the Animus to experience the memories of Ezio Auditore, an Assassin who lived through the Italian Renaissance. As the group pushed further into the Italian Assassin's memories, they discovered his encounter with one of Minerva's messages, which warned of the impending catastrophe and recounted the story of the war between the Isu and humanity. But what shocked Desmond was Minerva revealing that she was actually talking to him through Ezio. Following this revelation, Desmond was pulled from the Animus, as the Templars discovered their location. Despite an altercation with Vidic and his goons, the group managed to escape.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood -- Finding the Apple
The group fled north and set up shop at Monteriggioni, the former headquarters of the Italian Brotherhood during the 14th century. Once again Desmond used the Animus to dive into Ezio's memories in hopes of discovering information that could help the Assassins. However, the Bleeding Effect soon began to take a toll on him, as he began to experience more hallucinations. Regardless, Desmond pushed through it and learned that Ezio hid an Apple of Eden under the Colosseum in Rome.
At the Colosseum, the group discovered a path leading to an underground chamber where the Apple was held. A hologram of Juno appeared before them to reveal the existence of the Isu's secret vaults. Desmond then grabbed the Apple from its pedestal, but in doing so, the artifact activated, allowing Juno to take control of him and kill Lucy. The shock of the ordeal caused Desmond to fall into a coma.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations -- Escape From the Black Room
After the events of Lucy's murder, William Miles--Desmond's father and the de facto leader of the Assassins--dispatched several Assassins to retrieve the group from the Colosseum vault. Desmond was put back into the Animus to stabilize his condition. He awakened to find himself inside the Black Room, a safe mode built into the Animus' programming. There he met a visual construct of Clay Kaczmarek, a man who used the Animus prior to him during Vidic's experiments. Kaczmarek informed Desmond that he needed to keep reliving his ancestors' memories in order to awaken from his coma.
Desmond experienced not only the later years of Ezio's life, but Altair's as well. His journey through the memories of both his ancestors allowed him to discover a message from Jupiter, who revealed the location of the Grand Temple, which housed all of the research conducted to prevent the first solar flare. After having discovered this, Desmond awakened from his coma, with Shaun, Rebecca, and his father standing beside him.
Assassin's Creed III -- Finding the Grand Temple Key
As Desmond searched through Connor's memories, he occasionally took breaks to embark on missions to obtain batteries to power the Animus. However, the arrival of the second solar flare rapidly approached, and with no leads on the Grand Temple key's current location, the situation grew desperate. In an effort to maximize productivity, Desmond focused on reliving Connor's memories, while William retrieved a new battery from a museum in Cairo.
However, Vidic intercepted William and sent a video message to the group explaining that William would only be set free in exchange for the Apple of Eden. Desmond complied and traveled to the Abstergo facility where his father was being held, but instead of handing over the Apple, he used it to kill Vidic and his henchmen.
Assassin's Creed III (Cont.) -- Saving the World
Desmond returned to the Animus and learned that the Grand Temple key was hidden in a grave in Massachusetts. Using the key to open the gate to the Grand Temple's inner chamber, Desmond and the group entered only to be greeted by Juno, who revealed that they could save the world using the Eye. However, Minerva appeared and urged Desmond not to activate the device, explaining Juno's schemes to enslave humanity. She insisted that while the device would save the world from the solar flare, it would also kill Desmond and allow Juno to complete her quest to rule over Earth.
Despite Minerva's warnings, Desmond stated that if Juno was released, there could still be a slim chance that humanity could stop her. With his mind made up, Desmond activated the Eye, thus sacrificing himself to protect the planet and freeing Juno from imprisonment.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag -- Infiltrating Abstergo Entertainment
With the death of Desmond, Shaun, Rebecca, and William continued the fight against the Templars. However, William eventually stepped down as leader of the Assassins in order to go on a self-imposed exile.
Shaun and Rebecca then went undercover as low-level employees at Abstergo, who had managed to create a new version of the Animus that could let people relive the genetic memories of anyone's DNA, as long as the DNA was harvested. With this new tech--which was created using Desmond's DNA--the Templars formed Abstergo Entertainment, a branch of the company that created consumer products using Animus technology. However, Abstergo Entertainment was a front for the Templars to locate and acquire new Pieces of Eden.
The Assassins had an informant in the company, named John Standish, who began helping an unnamed Abstergo Entertainment employee (your player character) hack into the company's databases. The employee gradually fed the archived information to the Assassins.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Cont.) -- The Sage
Juno remained adamant towards advancing her schemes of world domination. However, she could do little without a physical body to transfer her consciousness into. Luckily, Juno had set a plan in motion prior to her imprisonment: she had managed to manipulate the human genetic code, creating a hidden trigger that would alter the genetic makeup of an individual, imbuing them with the memories and appearance of her husband. The experiment caused Juno's husband to be repeatedly reincarnated in human form for millennia. These reincarnations would be known as Sages.
Unbeknownst to everyone, John Standish was actually a Sage and plotted to transfer Juno's consciousness into the body of the unnamed Abstergo Entertainment employee. However, the plan failed and Abstergo security guards gunned down John.
Assassin's Creed Unity -- The Initiates
As a means of fighting the Templars, the Assassins enlisted the help of players using Abstergo Entertainment's gaming products. Those convinced to join were known as Initiates. With the help of an unnamed Initiate, an Assassin operative named Bishop managed to secure the location of an Apple of Eden via the memories of French Revolution era Assassin, Arno Dorian.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate -- Juno's Next Plan
The Templars began using John Standish's DNA to create an Isu from scratch, aiming to explore the genetic memories encoded in its DNA using the Animus. But in order to achieve this, they needed a Piece of Eden known as the Shroud; one was known to be hidden somewhere in London. The Assassins caught wind of this and once again enlisted the help of an unnamed Initiate.
By reliving the memories of Assassin twins, Jacob and Evie Frye, the Initiate discovered that the Shroud was located underneath Buckingham Palace. Shaun and Rebecca were dispatched to retrieve it, but were attacked by the Templars, who successfully escape with the Shroud. It was then revealed that Juno had secretly orchestrated the scheme from the beginning, manipulating the Templars into creating a new vessel for her to implant her consciousness.
Assassin's Creed Origins -- The Next Generation: Layla the Abstergo Researcher
Sometime after the events of Syndicate, Layla Hassan--a researcher at Abstergo's Historical Research Division--is tasked with finding and retrieving a mysterious artifact in Egypt. This inevitably leads her to finding the tomb containing the mummies of ancient Assassins Bayek and Aya. In hopes of finding information to secure her a position in the company's Animus Project, Layla decides to relive both Bayek's and Aya's memories using her Animus--going outside the jurisdiction of her responsibilities in the company. She secludes herself in a cave in the middle of a desert in Egypt.
Layla was inevitably attacked during her time spent reliving Bayek's and Aya's memories. Her best friend and radio support Deanna was also ambushed in the process; though, her fate remains unknown.
Layla continued to experience the memories of Bayek and Aya, learning the history of the Assassin brotherhood's origins in the process. Upon awakening from the Animus, she is met by none other than William Miles, whom asks her to work for the Assassins instead. Given how Abstergo enforcers attempted to attack Layla for not checking in, she ultimately accepts William's offer. However, she stops short of actually joining them as a member.
Assassin's Creed Origins (Cont.) -- Bayek and the Formation of the Brotherhood
As mentioned, Layla lives out the memories of Bayek, who is a respected Medjay in charge of protecting the Siwan Oasis during the Ptolemaic era of Egypt's history in 49 BCE. The Egyptian sheriff's life is turned upside down when he and his young son, Khemu, are abducted by a group of five masked men. The masked men force Bayek to use a golden orb to open a secret Vault. Khemu helps Bayek escape, but during the struggle to kill one of the masked men, Bayek accidentally stabs Khemu in the chest, killing him.
This leads Bayek and his wife Aya on a quest for vengeance. They figure out that the ones who orchestrated Bayek's kidnapping were a part of a much larger organization known as the Order of the Ancients. Bayek fights to take each one of its members down. Meanwhile, Aya assists in killing members of the Order while also working alongside Cleopatra on a separate venture to secure the Egyptian throne from Ptolemy XIII. Bayek eventually becomes involved in this pursuit by becoming Cleopatra's Medjay in order to further root out the Order's followers.
However, things go south when Cleopatra cuts ties with Bayek and Aya, instead allying with Julius Caesar and the Order. Realizing their mistake in supporting Cleopatra, Bayek and Aya gather their allies to form a brotherhood to counter the Order and defend the free will of the common people. The two eventually discover that the leader of the Order and the one who was behind Khemu's murder was Caesar's lieutenant, Flavius. Bayek then confronts and assassinates him, finally obtaining the vengeance he and Aya have longed for.
Upon returning from killing Flavius, Bayek discovers that Aya plans to head to Rome to assassinate Caesar and Lucius Septimius--the final remaining member of the Order. It's at this point that Bayek and Aya decide to part ways but swear to work together to protect the world from the shadows. After sharing a heartfelt goodbye, Bayek drops the eagle's skull charm, which was once part of a necklace he made for Khemu, into the sand. It leaves an impression that ends up becoming the symbol of their new Brotherhood.
Looking Ahead: Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Unlike Origins, the direction of the upcoming Assassin's Creed Odyssey's isn't as clear. It takes place even further back during the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE and follows the adventures of either Alexios or Kassandra, siblings and former Spartans-turned-mercenaries. Layla returns as the present-day protagonist and is continuing her adventures. She starts the game having discovered the Spear of Leonidas, a legendary weapon that also happens to be an Isu weapon. With the DNA traces left on it, she is able to see the memories of either Alexios or Kassandra using the Animus.
The question as to why Layla is going so far back in history remains unclear. She works for the Assassins now so it's possible this latest venture roots from their own goals and ambitions. There's a variety of possible theories, but we're personally thinking that this new story might have to do with the origins of the Templars and the Isu.
It's worth noting that the Juno plotline described in many of the past games was dropped in Origins, but we're curious whether or not it'll show up once more in some form in Odyssey. Seeing as the game is likely to deal a bit more heavily with the Isu given the presence of the Spear of Leonidas, there's a slight chance that we could hear more.
Throughout your travels in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, you'll no doubt come across many battles and conflicts that will put your wits and reflexes to the test. Taking on the role of a Spartan-turned-mercenary, you'll need to rely on every tool to your disposal to stand a chance against the warring armies and the dangerous cults that seek to rule the known world during Ancient Greece.
Much like Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey blends together RPG elements within the framework of an open-world action-adventure game, allowing you to explore and uncover resources at your leisure, while strengthening your character in the areas that you wish. But in Odyssey, the level of customization for your character is far more flexible, giving you more room to specialize the protagonist across several different archetypes.
Centering around the Warrior, Hunter, and Assassin archetypes, these areas are tied to melee, long-range, and stealth respectively. Each archetype possesses its own set of abilities and passive skills that add new options for you to take advantage of, many of which can be used in clever ways for some effective combos. With the amount of skills to choose from, you're free to respec your character at any time, allowing you to rebuild them to make a stronger and more refined adventurer.
In this feature, we've come up with several tips to help you out in battle, and along with our selection of the most useful abilities to overcome the deadly foes of Ancient Greece. Of course, this is all spoiler free, and only focuses on the core skills that can be unlocked from general progression. For more info on the series' new entry, check out our full Assassin's Creed Odyssey review along with our look back on every Assassin's Creed game we've reviewed over its 11-year history.
Critical Assassination
When sneaking up on your foe to pull off an assassination, you may discover that they're more powerful than you estimated as they survive your would-be killing blow To avoid this common occurrence, it's good to invest in the Critical Assassination skill. With this enabled, you can spend a single bar of Adrenaline to put some extra force into your silent attacks, allowing you to take out enemies that are more powerful than usual. When fully upgraded, this skill can deal three times as much Assassin damage than normal.
Sixth Sense
When performing stealth, there's the occasional chance that a guard may catch you in the corner of their eye. As a precaution, the Sixth Sense ability in the Hunter tree would be a valuable skill to have. With this enabled, you'll be given a short grace period after being noticed by guards, slowing down time and allowing you to get a shot off from your bow. If your aim is sharp, you might be able to land a headshot, keeping you in the clear. Upgrading this ability further can extend the slow-mo duration and increase your Hunter damage.
Spartan Kick
As one of Odyssey's most useful and versatile abilities, the Spartan Kick is a fast and vicious strike that can push foes back several feet--and it's also a lot of fun to use. As one of the first abilities you can acquire in the Warrior tree, the kick is especially effective for forcing an overly aggressive enemy back, or sending an unsuspecting foe flying. However, elite enemies are able to resist the pushback from this move, only resulting in normal damage. When upgraded to its max potential, the Spartan Kick will also let out a shockwave, stunning nearby enemies. You'll occasionally find enemies standing at the edge of cliff, and you'll find that it's difficult to resist the urge to kick them off and see them fly off into the distance.
Arrow Master
As a hunter, you may find yourself in situations that can make you rethink how you'll want to engage enemies at long-range. The Arrow Master skill will grant you the ability to craft different arrow types, opening up new ways to take on opponents. After the initial unlock, you can create flame and paralyzing arrows. Fire arrow are pretty self-explanatory--they ignite targets. The paralyzing arrows, however, can knock out and stun enemies. This is useful when you want to clear through locations without getting any blood on your hands, or when you want to recruit some elite enemies to your ship's crew. Upgrading the Arrow Master ability will allow you to craft Poison and Explosive arrows, which can be extremely effective in both stealth and combat.
Shield Breaker
While you can't use shields in Odyssey, the many foes you come across take advantage of them readily. While you can parry strikes and dodge their attacks, sometimes it's better to get rid of their shield altogether. With the Shield Breaker move, you can yank an enemy's shield out of their hands and bash them with it. However, Elite enemies wielding shields will require a bit more force to strip. Upgrading Shield Breaker to its max will not only deal more damage to the single target, it will also shatter the shield outright--harming nearby foes in the process.
Devastating Shot
When using the bow, you're most effective when you can fire off quick and powerful shots. With the Devastating Shot ability, one of the most useful skills in the Hunter tree, you can charge up a powerful shot to take out enemies in a single blow--at the cost of an Adrenaline bar. If you have the Arrow Master skill unlocked, the special arrows will also have increased effectiveness. Upgrading this ability further will increase the damage done from a single shot, with the max level hurling enemies back with incredible force. While this is useful for getting a clean kill while simultaneously pushing a body into some bushes, it's also invaluable during combat when dealing damage from a distance.
Second Wind
You'll often come across fights that get overwhelming quickly. With this in mind, it's useful to have a skill at the ready when you need a pick-me-up. As the closest thing to a healing potion, the Second Wind ability will regain a portion of your health at the cost of some Adrenaline. When upgraded to maximum, this ability can restore up to half your life, while also negating the effects of fire and poison damage outright. This is especially useful when fighting against foes that use special elemental weapons.
Overpower Attacks
Similar to Origins, you can use up a significant portion of your adrenaline to unleash a deadly attack. By pressing both the light and heavy attacks, the Overpower Attack will cause massive damage to a single enemy, with some light damage done to surrounding targets. This can be especially handy when up against elite and legendary foes with lots of health and plenty of skills to dish out. Depending on your weapon type, you'll see different types of Overpower Attacks.
Rush Assassination
During your infiltration missions, there may come a time when you need to take out a set of foes quick and quietly. Using the Rush Assassination, you can launch a series of quick assassinations. You'll immediately take down the first tagged enemy by throwing your Spear of Leonidas which activates a slow-mo effect to give you time to pick your next target. While the first rank of Rush Assassination only allows for two quick kills, upgrading it further can extend the chain to up to four different enemies. Though bear in mind, just like normal assassinations, some enemies are more powerful than they appear--resulting in heavy damage instead of an instant kill.
Hero Strike
As a blend between the Warrior and Assassin skill-sets, the Hero Strike executes a fatal multi-hit move. While it seems like a more elaborate version of an assassination (that's not too far off,) this skill is also usable during combat. The Hero Strike is an incredibly powerful ability that gets in quick damage, and when fully upgraded, it uses maximum Assassin strength to deal greater damage--which is especially deadly to foes in combat encounters.
Stealth Master
With the amount of bases and enemy compounds you'll need to sneak into, it's important that you know how to move undetected. With the Stealth Master skill, noise made during traversal will be minimized, and enemies will have a more difficult time seeing you while in the crouched position. Upgrading the skill further will make your stealth traversal more efficient and also increase your Assassin and Hunter attack power during night time.
Battlecry Of Ares
When you're up against multiple enemies, you may need to call upon your inner strength to even the odds. After you've invested points into the Overpower Attacks skill, you can acquire the Battlecry of Ares ability to amplify your base damage for a short period of time, while also increasing your defense against enemy attacks. As the peak ability in the Warrior tree, this ability is at its best when used with other skills like Overpower, Spartan Kick, and Shield Breaker. When fully upgraded, this special buffs becomes even more useful, with repeated attacks boosting damage power and activation that requires no Adrenaline.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey greatly expands upon the RPG-stylings of its predecessor. Not only is the game's world much bigger, but there's a wealth of new mechanics and systems in place to play with. Dialogue choices give you more freedom to guide the direction of your journey in subtle yet meaningful ways. A territory system has you aligning yourself with the competing powers of the Peloponnesian War to carve out the land. And this is in addition to the variety of improvements that have been made to pre-existing systems from Origins.
If you're a returning Origins player or a newcomer entirely, a lot of the new features and mechanics may perplex you. To help give you more clarity over all the new systems in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, we've gathered 11 tips that should help you become the best spartan mercenary/proto-Assassin you can be!
Assassin's Creed Odyssey comes out on October 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. As an interesting aside, the game will also be available to play on Google Chrome on launch day thanks to a new test the search giant is conducting to measure the strength of its game streaming technology. However, Google will only be choosing a select few users from those who sign up via its official website.
We'll be posting more features and guides in the next coming days. Be on the lookout for an extensive guide highlighting the best skills you can unlock, as well as a showcase of all the coolest armor sets. If you're curious about our thoughts on the game, be sure to read our Assassin's Creed Odyssey review. GameSpot editor Alessandro Fillari said in his review: "While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Assassin's Creed Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting."
In the meantime, got any handy beginner's tips you don't see here? Let us know in the comments below.
Play Exploration Mode
This isn't so much a tip as a strong recommendation. One of the most meaningful features added into Odyssey is Exploration Mode, a navigation option that strips away markers and quest objectives, forcing you to rely on your investigative and observation skills instead. The mode offers a more challenging experience that's well worth the effort.
What Are The Best Side Quests?
Odyssey has some great side quests that offer stories that range from tense and serious, to funny and light-hearted. Some even tie back into the main narrative. With so much content in Odyssey you might be wondering which side quests are worth your time. You'll find two types of quests in the world.
First are quests indicated on the map by these gold and black diamonds. These are the major side quests that are the most involved and in our experience are always worth your time.
The other kinds of quests are much smaller, usually consisting of a simple task. You can find these on the map with white and black diamond markers or at Message/Bounty Boards. The quality of these quests vary with some being fun small objectives like defending a philosopher, and others being noticeably lame, like this one where you just need to walk a couple hundred meters and talk to an NPC to complete it. If you're the kind of person who isn't interested in doing everything possible and just wants to see the good stuff, we recommend avoiding these smaller quests completely and only doing the major side quests with the gold and black markers.
Finding And Upgrading Weapons And Armor
Weapons and armor play an even greater role in Odyssey, allowing you to customize your look. There are several ways to get awesome new gear. Completing major side quests is a pretty straightforward option, and the quest menu even shows what reward you will earn. Mercenaries are another great way to earn loot. You can check the mercenaries menu to see a detailed description of the loot each has, and then track the one you want to find. This is the most reliable way to search for something specific. There are also conquest battles, which reward you with a random piece of Epic loot.
If you find a piece of armor that has stats you like or just looks cool, you can always upgrade it at a blacksmith, bringing it up to your current level. This is an awesome way to ensure Legendary gear you get early on remains viable in the late game. You can enhance gear further with engravings, which give you bonuses like increased damage against certain enemy types or boosts to specific abilities.
Don't Forget Engravings
The best way to find engravings are from the puzzle tablets that contain riddles on them similar to Origins' Papyrus puzzles. Following the clues to the treasure rewards you with a new engraving. Engravings can be upgraded by completing an associated goal or challenge so keep an eye on those to maximize their potential. Engravings aren't just one-time use items either so don't worry about saving one for later, and just put it on. You can also swap engravings whenever you want, but it will cost you a small fee.
Sell Your Stuff And Break It Down
If you're the sort of person who likes to pick up everything that comes your way, you're liable to start stockpiling weapons and armor really quickly. Don't hold on to that stuff! Make sure to break it down for resources in the inventory menu or to visit merchants to sell them for a reasonable profit. You never want to be hoarding items, as you'll need the money and resources from selling or dismantling to better your current loadout and ship.
You'll also accumulate a bunch of items that serve no purpose other than to be sold at a shop. Make sure to offload these under the option of "Sell All Trade Goods" in the Sell menu.
Get These Abilities!
Unlike Origins, Odyssey allows you acquire and swap abilities. You get a skill tree for Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin, and you start with eight slots to equip abilities--four for ranged attacks, and four for melee attacks.
If you're looking for some suggestions, we've got them. Shield enemies can be a real pain in a large fight so pick up Shield Breaker, which lets you rip their shields off and hit them with it for damage. If you want to take care of captains or enemies with large health bars quickly, get Hero Strike, which uses the damage statistic normally used for assassin attacks.
If you prefer the stealthy approach, Rush Assassination lets you break the laws of physics by throwing your spear and then basically teleporting next to the target. You can also chain this attack, making it a handy way to take out a base in a quiet and efficient manner. Critical Assassination is also key as it lets you deal more damage, allowing you to assassinate high-level enemies. Finally you should get Spartan Kick, which is perfect for knocking enemies off cliffs or walls and is also just really fun.
You Can Restat At Any Time
Being able to respec at any time is a useful new feature that lets you experiment with different character builds. So if at any moment you think you've dumped too many points into one category over another, simply hold down the left stick in the skills menu to reallocate all the points you've earned thus far.
How To Get Materials
Collecting resources and materials is a major component of Odyssey. You need them to upgrade your equipment and ship. Thankfully it's not much of a headache to collect these resources. For starters, you always want to dismantle unused equipment for materials. You also have the option to sell equipment to vendors, but the resources are much more valuable than the money, which you'll still earn in other ways You'll find common resources like wood in forests and iron in caves, but you if you really need more, vendors will also sell them. A hot tip is to always loot War Supplies before you burn them in an enemy camp. These carry large quantities of materials and you don't want to miss out on them.
Earn Loot With Conquest Battles
As a mercenary, you are a soldier for hire in the war between Sparta and Athens and can use this to your advantage. Every region is controlled by one of the two factions. You'll first need to lower the occupying nation's grip by burning War Supplies, pillaging nation chests, killing their soldiers, and assassinating their leader. Once you've lowered the meter enough, a conquest battle becomes available. You can fight for either side by visiting their camp. Yes, you can side with the army whose supplies you just spent the last few hours burning down--I guess they're a forgiving bunch. Siding with the defending army presents you one piece of Epic gear, while siding with the invading army nets you two pieces of Epic gear, but the battle will be tougher. In our experience it's always worth siding with the invading army for that extra loot.
When participating in the battle itself, always keep an eye out on the two meters up top and make sure you're staying ahead. It's best to ignore the basic soldiers and focus on the captains and hero units who show up since eliminating them is the quickest way to win. Because of how easily multiple soldiers can overwhelm you, it's a good idea to pick abilities that deal damage to multiple enemies at once, such as Rain of Destruction.
Our final tip is not to wait too long to start the conquest battle once it's available, as the opportunity can be lost if you wait too long. Thankfully, you can repeat this process in a region as many times as you want, keeping the war going forever and your inventory filled with loot.
Quick-Save And Manual Saves Are Your Friend
If you're a traditional Assassin's Creed player, chances are you might not notice there are a manual and quick-save options in Odyssey. Given the more pivotal choices you'll have to make as the game progresses, you may want to backpedal a few times. Fortunately, the game is not too brutal when it comes to autosaves, but make sure to utilize this feature in order to give yourself a proper backup plan when events go south on account of a horrible decision you made.
A Moment Of Meditation
Like Origins, you can advance time of day by simply holding the map button. Previously this was an ability you had to acquire via the skill tree, but you're given it early on this time around without having to spend a skill point; though, the game doesn't make a big show of it so you might even notice it's there. Regardless, advancing time is handy when you want to attack camps at night since the majority of guards tend to sleep, making it easier for you to sneak about.
After months of casting announcements, we've finally been given an idea of just when the DC Universe original shows will be landing on the service. At New York Comic Con, the team behind the three-week-old platform gave a presentation that included a helpful infographic laying out their tentative premier schedule into 2020.
The name of the game, according to DC co-publisher Jim Lee, is to have new original content available every week on the service for a full calendar year. Each show, with the exception of Young Justice Season 3, will be released on a one-episode-per-week basis. Young Justice will have a split season, bracketing Doom Patrol, will debut at a whirlwind three-episodes-per-week rate with a mid-season hiatus.
Titans, which had its official premier at the convention on Wednesday, is launching for DC Universe subscribers on Friday, October 12. The twelve episode season will take the platform's weekly schedule into 2019 before Young Justice kicks off, tentatively, in January.
The panel also announced a DC Universe exclusive digital prequel comic to Young Justice Season 3 that will be written by producer Greg Weisman and artist Christopher Jones, set for release in 2019 near the premier of the first episode.
Fans at the Titans world premiere were treated to a brief clip of Doom Patrol, which has begun filming in preparation for its early 2019 release, showcasing the team sitting around a surreal dinner table, and a surprise appearance by Brendan Fraser who will be voicing Robotman in the show. Fraser announced that Matthew Bomer had joined the cast as Negative Man, an ex-test pilot who suffered a horrific accident that left him permanently imbued with radioactive "negative" energy. Negative Man's condition means he has to be covered head-to-toe in bandages, which Jim Lee laughed was ironic for Bomer who is "maybe the most handsome man on earth."
In addition to Fraser and Bomer, Doom Patrol will feature Dianne Guerrero as Crazy Jane, Joivan Wade as Cyborg, Timothy Dalton as The Chief, and April Bowlby as Elasti-Girl.
Doom Patrol will be followed by the James Wan-produced Swamp Thing which has been slowly adding to its cast with the recent addition of Crystal Reed (Teen Wolf) as Abby Arcane. It's currently unknown as to whether or not Swamp Thing will follow in the same shared-universe mold as Titans and Doom Patrol, or if any of the shows will continue to interact with one another once they have official spun-off.
DC Universe's years' worth of original content officially kicks off October 12 on the DC Universe app. Fans outside the US will be able to watch Titans on Netflix.
New York Comic-Con 2018 is officially underway and the cosplay community has turned out in force. Be sure to keep checking back here to see everything we see, as we'll keep updating this gallery throughout the weekend with pictures of the cosplayers we meet.
It wouldn't be a Comic-Con without some serious comic book representation. Already, we've glimpsed a member of the Red Lantern Corps, Supergirl, The Joker, and several different version of our favorite wall-crawler (even Lego Spider-Man). One of our personal favorites is puppy Venom, which might be both the creepiest and cutest thing we've ever seen.
Anime characters are beginning to pop up as well. We've seen classic characters from older anime--like Myotismon, the villainous king of the dead in 1999's Digimon Adventure--and more modern characters from anime that's airing right now--like Fumikage Tokoyami, one of the members of Class 1-A in 2016's My Hero Academia.
Movie and video game characters make up the smallest number of cosplays we've seen so far, but we have spotted some good ones. We got to praise the sun with Dark Souls' Soltaire, see Kylo Ren meet Darth Vader, marvel as Kill Bill's The Bride strike a threatening pose, and cower in the face of both The Predator and Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees.
We expect to see new trailers for movies and TV series at NYCC too, but quite a few have been released prior to the convention. One of our favorites is the new trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which reveals that Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Gwen Stacy will be teaming up with SP//dr, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Ham in the upcoming animated movie. News of The Walking Dead's possible new direction, live-action versions of Mega Man and Lilo & Stitch, and early images of John Wick 3 and the upcoming Star Wars Mandalorian TV show have us excited as well.
New York Comic-Con 2018 runs from October 4 to October 7.
Kylo Ren
Solaire of Astora
Venom
Myotismon
Red Lantern
LEGO Spider-Man
Fumikage Tokoyami
Velma & Shaggy
Kylo Ren, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader
Supergirl
Joker
Beauty & The Beast
Kim Possible
Jason Voorhies
Keyblade Wielder Venom
Zoya The Destroya
Predator
Judge Dredd
Rorschach
Kylo Ren & Darth Vader
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